| Submit your comments on this article |
| Europe |
| French get a rude French awakening |
| 2004-10-13 |
| PARIS -- The French are arrogant, rude and surly to foreign visitors, said a leading French politician behind a scathing report on how the Gallic welcome leaves much to be desired. Bernard Plasait, a member of France's upper house of parliament, has concluded what millions of visitors have known for years. "Our bad image in this area, the arrogance we are accused of, our refusal to speak foreign languages, the sense we give that it's a great honor to visit us are among the ugly facts of which we should not be proud," reads the first paragraph of Mr. Plasait's report, which was commissioned by the government. "Certainly, these accusations don't date from yesterday," the report continues. |
| Posted by:Mark Espinola |
| #44 rkb, OK, I'll settle for Calgary and Alberta only, with an option on the Yukon. Montana gets Calgary and No Dakota gets Alberta. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-10-14 12:02:41 AM |
| #43 We have about a TENTH of your population, so we can't AFFORD a big military. But a significant part your population can afford to be snowbirds. Thanks for the tourist-income, BTW. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2004-10-13 10:08:00 PM |
| #42 I dunno rkb, they've been askin' fer it since that Molson ad. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-10-13 8:41:31 PM |
| #41 Okay, I'm going to defend relations with Canada here, including and especially trade relations. Just because Canada manufactures things designed here (and that is by no means always the case) doesn't relegate her to a lesser status. Natural resources and some people resources are important contributors to product value. So too is the value of having a functional economy next door to us. Am I happy about all things Canadian? Not at all - there are many many things about Canada that I not only don't like, I find them worrisome for our own security. However - credit where credit is due, and the comments here that denigrate Canadan contribution to products is misguided. So is much of Spemble Spains3686's tirade, but that doesn't excuse the same thing from others. [/soapbox] |
| Posted by: rkb 2004-10-13 8:33:49 PM |
| #40 I got 12 CG Cutters and 18 flyable helicopters that say the Great Lakes are US territory. Now, about the Yukon.... |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-10-13 6:48:52 PM |
| #39 The whole problem with Canada is that it is run by frogs. If they would stop bending over for Quebec it would probably straignten out quickly. How long will it take western Canada to secede and join the US? It would probably make the most sense to just fold BC into Washington (similar politics and demographics), Calgary and Alberta into Montana, and Saskatchewan into North Dakota. Most western Canadians outside Vancouver ad anglophile Victoria would probably support this. As to our side, this arrangement would probably add equally to the red and blue sides of the electoral equation, so both Dems and Repubs would get on board. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-10-13 5:53:23 PM |
| #38 Hi NMM! You ready for the ACC with Miami in bakitball? Gonna give the NC crowd a little something to get back 'eh? Off today? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-10-13 5:41:15 PM |
| #37 Well screw you all. We have about a TENTH of your population, so we can't AFFORD a big military. Please explain how Canada managed to have such a large military during WW2. They were an incredible asset throughout the war despite their tiny population. They could AFFORD a big military then, and now, they have simply chosen not to. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2004-10-13 5:28:33 PM |
| #36 But that doesn't stop us from producing a carbine assault rifle that your marine forces are clamoring to get their hands on. Picking the bees off one by one won't destroy the colony. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-10-13 4:50:23 PM |
| #35 The whole problem with Canada is that it is run by frogs. If they would stop bending over for Quebec it would probably straignten out quickly. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-10-13 4:36:15 PM |
| #34 That works for me. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-10-13 4:20:09 PM |
| #33 Leave Myers and take Peter Jennings. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-10-13 4:08:40 PM |
| #32 Oh, and take back Jim Carrey and Mike Myers while you're at it. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-10-13 4:05:56 PM |
| #31 Re: #18. I don't have anything against Canada, but I sure don't care for this line: Not to mention signing on for your ridiculous and infantile missle defense shield, a technology which will never work. Only the smallest of minds can ever dismiss something like this for the simple reason it's never been done before. Thank God there are people out there with more vision and dedication to the pursuit of knowledge than you. That boneheads like you reap the benefits of science, medicine, and technology today that previous boneheads once called impossible and dismissed out of hand is the living definition of irony and ignorance. |
| Posted by: Dar 2004-10-13 3:56:31 PM |
| #30 canadians are just like the majority of the rest of the world...envious our prosperity and ingenuity and pissed that thier own system sucks.. Spains3686 - tell me why so many canadians go south of the border when expensive medical treatment is needed? or when they want to fill up their tanks? cause buddy your system sucks - all those taxes and you get a shitty medical system (but free)... |
| Posted by: Dan 2004-10-13 3:53:19 PM |
| #29 How 'bout actually being excellent and available? Image then will take care of itself. Truer words have never been spoken. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-10-13 3:48:57 PM |
| #28 Spemble Spains3686 - dumbass the stryker is being built by GM General Dynamics Land Systems Defense Group LLC which employs many of you yoodles up there.. Engineering will take place in Sterling Heights, Mich http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/iav.htm there is not much produced in canada that wasn't designed in the states... canada is just a bunch of freeloaders - wellfare from your own govt and security from uncle sam. anyways you should chill - as soon as your country breaks up many of your provinces will be a state of the union... |
| Posted by: Dan 2004-10-13 3:47:22 PM |
| #27 "Cars, haha -- who buys French cars?" Think...Nissan! Renault owns 44% (controlling interst?) of Nissan. Also, and probably the saddest, sigh, the French bought controlling interest in the distillery that makes Wild Turkey. Hup |
| Posted by: Huputch Jesh6219 2004-10-13 3:43:11 PM |
| #26 drain the Great Lakes at your convenience Uh huh. And then what did the voices tell you? |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-10-13 3:35:19 PM |
| #25 Can't afford a big military? What happened to Canadia "punching above it's weight" as in WWI, WWII, Korea... But you can afford a billion dollars to register guns? Or some of 'em, anyway. I doubt the Mohawks told you where to find all theirs... |
| Posted by: mojo 2004-10-13 3:33:41 PM |
| #24 Sorry I'm late to this thread, but I had to run another extension cord up to Niagara...my brother wanted to charge up his iPod. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2004-10-13 3:20:37 PM |
| #23 Thanks for Stryker. But please, take back Pam Anderson, eh? |
| Posted by: lex 2004-10-13 2:57:23 PM |
| #22 How does Canada's population compare to Australia's? and what about military commitment to freedom, involvement in WW IV, resistance to Shariah, and opposition to Islamofascist terrorists? Just wondering. |
| Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) 2004-10-13 2:56:16 PM |
| #21 Spemble-Leafer, Here's a trade for you: we'll take your best doctors and businessmen and scientists and technologists, and you take our Mikey Moore types. No tariffs either way. One-for-one swap, perfect parity. Deal? |
| Posted by: lex 2004-10-13 2:49:56 PM |
| #20 No problem. Shut down the border and go our separate ways. |
| Posted by: ed 2004-10-13 2:48:29 PM |
| #19 You're right, we should be ashamed. We steal your prettiest women, your best doctors and technologists and athletes as well. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-10-13 2:47:49 PM |
| #18 Excuse me? Americans talking about how rude the French are? No fucknig way... As a Canadian, we get the heavy hand of American arrogance every single day of our lives. You people lay out huge protective "tariffs" on our lumber, wheat, cattle, steel. You steal our electricity, and drain the Great Lakes at your convenience and then have the GALL to tell us we don't "pull our weight" in sending troops to Iraq. Well screw you all. We have about a TENTH of your population, so we can't AFFORD a big military. But that doesn't stop us from producing a carbine assault rifle that your marine forces are clamoring to get their hands on. That doesn't stop us from inventing and producing the Stryker armored vehicle which is even now saving your lives in Iraq. Not to mention signing on for your ridiculous and infantile missle defense shield, a technology which will never work. |
| Posted by: Spemble Spains3686 2004-10-13 2:45:10 PM |
| #17 The French think tourists are a nuisance. Kerry thinks terrorists are. How 'bout a terrorist-for-every-tourist swap? We re-direct terrorists to France, and they redirect tourists to the US. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-10-13 2:31:49 PM |
| #16 Boycotting French cheese is in fact a big hardship. Their wine and perfume can easily be substituted, and there are plenty of other places to visit on vacation. But the cheese ! |
| Posted by: buwaya 2004-10-13 2:26:49 PM |
| #15 What other French export can one boycott? Well, companies can stop buying Alcatel stuff. Me, I stopped using Motul oil in my motorcycle. :) |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-10-13 2:23:01 PM |
| #14 If you want to put a crimp in their snotty attitudes, boycott, or better yet, put a prohibitive import duty on French luxury products. It cost very little to manufacture and is sold for way too much. Cosmetics and perfumes ($.50 worth of product sold for $50), high fashion and accessories (e.g. Louis Vitton). But most important, place high tariffs on profitable and growing segments of industry. For instance by placing tariffs on French designed or manufactured bio-engineered goods, a high barrier is in place against any multinational locating the neccessary R&D and manufacturing in France. A generation of this and France will turn into a technological backwater. |
| Posted by: ed 2004-10-13 2:21:34 PM |
| #13 but a pretty card lol |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-10-13 2:21:18 PM |
| #12 LOL, AP. You're such a card. ;-) |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-10-13 2:14:12 PM |
| #11 Paddy Irish Whiskey is on the list----that is a tregedy................because............ the French bought out the distillery. That will be my most painful one to lose.....besides the cosmetics, you understand. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-10-13 2:01:15 PM |
| #10 Well, I was thinking more in terms of a product type with high meaning in their neurotic self-perception. Cheese is probably not that big an export of theirs. Cars, haha -- who buys French cars? I think fragrance and cosmetics should be a target. Wine and perfume are the essence of what the French think they are the best at. So, no more tourism in France, no more French wine (do comment on wine lists in restaurants), and no more French fragrance. |
| Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) 2004-10-13 2:00:45 PM |
| #9 Kalle, For starters you can boycott french cheese then go on the French cars (Renalt, Citroen, Pegeault), then French airlines...... and finally French Hookers Together, if we care we can bring thwem to their knees, or at least weaken their economy which is basically the only thing that really interests them. |
| Posted by: Elder of Zion 2004-10-13 12:13:28 PM |
| #8 Buy Italian. |
| Posted by: someone 2004-10-13 11:53:06 AM |
| #7 rj, the French produce great trains that they are geting ready to export to China, soon to be their biggest trading partner. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-10-13 11:30:37 AM |
| #6 The sad thing is the French produce nothing I like so I can't really boycott them. Or else you can say I've been boycotting them for most of my life. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2004-10-13 11:28:51 AM |
| #5 Not surprised that the U.S. is the #1 destination. Everywhere I have traveled outside the U.S. most people have expressed a desire to visit or live in the U.S. Aside from the Jihadists pouring into Frenchistan, I doubt anybody is willing to emigrate to France. This does not apply to Congolese deserters. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2004-10-13 11:17:32 AM |
| #4 Kalle: Here's a good list of products. I found I couldn't boycott France since I never bought their products anyway, so what I did was to start buying more Australian wine so the comparative difference would be larger. |
| Posted by: BH 2004-10-13 10:37:52 AM |
| #3 I thought denial was in Egypt, but apparently it runs through Paris too. |
| Posted by: BH 2004-10-13 10:34:56 AM |
| #2 The French think tourists are a nuisance. Kerry thinks terrorists are. By the way, I have quit buying French wine since late 2002, and I actively discourage others from ordering French bottles in restaurants (pretty easy, considering both the quality of wines from friendly countries and the high cost of French wine). I've considered making disparaging comments on the wine list if there are French wines, too; restaurant owners need to give up on that habit too. What other French export can one boycott? |
| Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) 2004-10-13 10:26:34 AM |
| #1 The French government particularly was alarmed by the 21 percent, or $6 billion, drop in spending by visitors from the United States. This is due to a lack of Welcome to France signs and poor baggage handling? Just keep fooling yourselves, kuffirs. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-10-13 9:34:00 AM |