# Things I \*LIKE\* about the damned French **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 27, 2004, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-like-about-the-damned-french/276917 "2004-11-27T21:28:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-like-about-the-damned-french/276917/41 "2004-11-28T20:40:50Z")
I’ve only dated two French women, but both lived up to the stereotypes, good and bad. They’re contrary as all hell – complain about the weather, and they’ll tell you to grow up. Comment that it’s a nice day, and they’ll roll their eyes and tell you it’s better on the Riviera. But they more than make up for it all in the bedroom. Other things I’m grateful to the French for: - They prove that we Americans _don’t_ really respect people who stand up to us; and - The quality of their cars ensures that we’ll never make the worst ones on the planet. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-like-about-the-damned-french/276917/42 "2004-11-28T22:06:00Z")
> [@F. U. Shakespeare](#): > > - The quality of their cars ensures that we’ll never make the worst ones on the planet. I thought their _beer_ ensured that we’ll never make the worst beer on the planet :). ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-like-about-the-damned-french/276917/43 "2004-11-29T00:09:08Z")
**Jules Verne** Gounod’s _Carmen_ New Wave Cinema Jean (Moebius) Giraud Champagne Cannes _Metal Hurlant_ ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-like-about-the-damned-french/276917/44 "2004-11-29T01:39:39Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > **Jules Verne** :smack: I can’t believe i forgot Jules Verne. He’s one of my favorite writers. And has anyone mentioned Samuel Beckett? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-like-about-the-damned-french/276917/45 "2004-11-29T01:46:57Z")
The Irishman? ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-like-about-the-damned-french/276917/46 "2004-11-29T06:24:41Z")
The food, the wine, the cheese. Frnech cinema: so much of the dreck that Hollywood churns out is just that: it is formulaic(which is why we have so many sequels), and targetted at the free-spending 15-22 year old age group. Tha’s why it is so refreshing to see a movie that MAKES you think! In engineering, the French have chosen some very interesting ways to do things. The fact is, France has chosen to be its own country…France is a modern country that makes supersonic jet fighters, nuclear submarines, and aircraft carrers. It does this with mostly indigenous technologies. And,I think the French are right about nuclear power-they get over 80% of their electricity from nuclear, and they have modern power plants. Something I think we ought to emulate. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-like-about-the-damned-french/276917/47 "2004-11-29T07:38:45Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Sophie Marceau. Sweet mother of god do I find her gorgeous. Is she any relation to Marcel? ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-like-about-the-damned-french/276917/48 "2004-11-29T09:03:59Z")
Everything mentioned already (I adore France), plus **Brittany** (I’ve never been but I’d love to go) **Julie Delphy** (I’d highly recommend **Before Sunrise** and **Before Sunset** ) **Isabelle Adjani** (Breathtaking even in terrible movies) **Henri Langlois and the Cinémathèque Française** (French New Wave wouldn’t exist without them) ---
**Author:** ![Freejooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ba8739/32.png) [@Freejooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freejooky)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-like-about-the-damned-french/276917/49 "2004-11-29T09:15:06Z")
[Anna Karina](http://michaelbenedikt.tripod.com/pict38.gif) and [Brigitte Bardot](http://www.screensavershot.com/persons2/bardot.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-like-about-the-damned-french/276917/50 "2004-11-29T14:41:16Z")
The fact that I can go to Paris for a day trip. The fact that from where I am writing this I can be in the heart of france in 2 and a half hours (this still amazes me) The TGV Orangina Concorde (well they built the ashtrays and headrests) Only EU space power (with cool rockets) The MILF thing that they do Smelly cheese David Ginola (them arsenal players can feck off) Lingerie The fact that they occupy the same place in British military history as the Washington Generals do in the Harlem Globetrotters’ history. Black and white films that the BBC showed when I was a lad that had actual real life BOOBIES in them. The Magic Roundabout The Pigalle district Pere La Chaise (sp?) cemetery Their ongoing fight against the americanisation of their culture (they’re losing but at least they’re fighting) ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-like-about-the-damned-french/276917/51 "2004-11-29T16:58:02Z")
Yeah, I understand at one point the U.S. was actually kind of grateful to this Lafayette guy… (and recognized the fact that the U.S. would still be colonies without the French) And I’ve got one thing to say to > [@](#): > > they occupy the same place in British military history as the Washington Generals do in the Harlem Globetrotters’ history. 1. (Or maybe you haven’t noticed that half of our language came from French? Far more than ‘le weekend’ and company have made it into French). In fact, I don’t think England ever conquered France, did they? Not to mention that Charlemagne guy who conquered more of Europe than England ever did. And you have to admit there’s a reason that French was the international language of diplomacy for centuries and that crazy people want to be Napoleon and not Prince Charles Has anyone mentioned just the general concept of women speaking English with ze delightful accent? Or, for the other extreme, canned goods and Pasturization? ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-like-about-the-damned-french/276917/52 "2004-11-29T17:38:51Z")
I don’t even get why anyone would call them the “damned French”. Most of the things Americans seem to dislike about them can pretty much be found in the USA. The food, the countryside and the wine are all fantastic. The women can make the eyes pop from your head and my wife assures me that many of the young men are not at all shabby (although she was mystified how they got so ugly when they got older 😉 ). The breads and pastries are all wonderful. Even if you don’t care for French biere, they bring in some really good stuff from Belgium. And the language is easily one of the most beautiful in the world, even if it’s a terribly difficult for me to pronounce correctly. Oh, and finally, that thing the French do with their tongues, not with the mouth, but a bit lower. There should be a museum just for that! ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-like-about-the-damned-french/276917/53 "2004-11-29T18:26:49Z")
Could the second line partially explain the first? 😉 > [@ShibbOleth](#): > > (although (my wife) was mystified how (French men) got so ugly when they got older 😉 ). > > The breads and pastries are all wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-like-about-the-damned-french/276917/54 "2004-11-29T18:40:20Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > In fact, I don’t think England ever conquered France, did they? Not in its entirety. I think England held about half of France in the time of _Jeanne d’Arc._ ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-like-about-the-damned-french/276917/55 "2004-11-29T19:43:38Z")
**F U Shakespeare** asked: \*Could the second line partially explain the first? \* I think the cause and effect relationship is actually in these two sentances: > [@](#): > > Although she was mystified how they got so ugly when they got older… Oh, and finally, that thing the French do with their tongues… _Chortle, chortle. Snort. Guffaw_ ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-like-about-the-damned-french/276917/56 "2004-11-29T20:26:48Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > I don’t even get why anyone would call them the “damned French”. It’s far easier for folks to insult them than to admit they have a point. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-like-about-the-damned-french/276917/57 "2004-11-30T01:44:40Z")
Off the top of my head: Voltaire, Baudelaire, Proust, Gide, Camus and (a cheat) Beckett. Rameau, Belioz and Messiaen. Gance, Renoir, Resnais, Godard, Demy. Deneuve. Manet, etc. etc. Picasso as honorary. Laplace, Poincare, Zinn-Justin. And places: St. Denis, St. Chapelle, the Musee Cluny, at least one obscure restaurent on the West Bank, Avignon and Albi. What the hell: Paris, _in general_. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-like-about-the-damned-french/276917/58 "2004-11-30T02:52:06Z")
> [@bonzer](#): > > Laplace, Poincare, Zinn-Justin. I’d place Lavoisiser and Nicholas LeBlanc at the top of that list. The former invented modern chemistry. The latter invented a way to make sodium carbonate inexpensively from table salt, which meant it became possible to make inexpensive soap. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-like-about-the-damned-french/276917/59 "2004-11-30T03:20:10Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > Yeah, I understand at one point the U.S. was actually kind of grateful to this Lafayette guy… (and recognized the fact that the U.S. would still be colonies without the French) > > And I’ve got one thing to say to > > > [@](#): > > > > they occupy the same place in British military history as the Washington Generals do in the Harlem Globetrotters’ history. > > 1. Technically, giving the French total credit for winning the Battle of Hastings is incorrect. It was the _Normans_ who defeated the Anglo-Saxons. The Normans were Norse who settled in the north of France and eventually adopted the French language. Even though there was some intermarriage between the Norse and the French, you should also give at least partial credit to the Scandanavians for the victory. Not to mention that Charlemagne guy who conquered more of Europe than England ever did. And you have to admit there’s a reason that French was the international language of diplomacy for centuries and that crazy people want to be Napoleon and not Prince Charles. [/QUOTE] Charlemagne was a Frank–a Germanic tribe. Napoleon was a French-speaking Corsican which, ethnically, is probably closer to Italian than French. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-like-about-the-damned-french/276917/60 "2004-11-30T10:10:52Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > I don’t even get why anyone would call them the “damned French”. Most of the things Americans seem to dislike about them can pretty much be found in the USA. This may be the answer right here. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-like-about-the-damned-french/276917.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-like-about-the-damned-french/276917.md?page=4)