the French vs. the Franks

Danes are known to be hedonists. They stuff themselves with big biffs, beer and goodies, are sexually licentious etc....but how is that possible when they are Germanics?

But France is often so very refined, so aristocratic, so pessimistic, so quarrelsome.
Although Spain and Italy can be refined they are simple and basic at the same time.
This is best seen in the films and in the cuisine.


you seem to confuse "french" with Parisian... Paris is the capital of the country but is very diferent to the rest of the country.
By the way, paris is not only a "bourgoise" and refined city (PS aristocratie doesn't exist since 1789), but also a vibrant multi-racial cosmopolitan urban area of 10 million people (more then in your country)- with poor, rich, educated, noneducated, black, whites, muslims, rappers, writters, singers, homeless, but all of them are french...

In Province the things and people are simple and spontaneous. the food is traditional. the dinners are faimilial and friendly...

Those differences exist inside Italy and Spain also. come to Milano, this city is fashion, chic, snobish... some districts of Madrid and Barcelona too.


"While in Northern France they are grey and brown."
Not true, come to alsace, there is much color.
the colorness has nothing with been latin. the color of the architecture is not linked with latinity. In Barcelona or madrid the majority of the buildings are in rock (like in paris), and in brick in the suburbs (like in london or amsterdam). Spain is not a tipical colorful architecture. Italy is more colorful in the north (venezia, bolognia, genova) , but not very much in southern italy.

I have been to Alsace and of course it looked very German! Lots of deep red, brown, orange etc, typically German.

Of course my image of France is very coloured by Paris. Because Paris defines Frenchness. That is why it is so interesting to travel through France and see that the country can be rather different from the official Paris propaganda...

Have you ever been to Germany, and seen how the villages resemble the French ones?

Although you Frenchmen have an enormous dislike of America, do you know that you resemble them very much in one aspect?

That you see your country as "une grande idée", a humanitarian project that people should not make jokes about! A person living by the Meditaranean might be insulted if you say some shit about his country because he would interpret it as an assault on his honour etc, I think you French guys are more like the Americans in that way, since both countries were born out of revolutions...

While we Norwegians, British etc. can really make fun of the silly sides of our nations. The Germans too, if they had some homour. But if they hate something German, they just get angry.

French is perhaps still the language of love for the refined and educated ones, but here in Norway English and Spanish have replaced French as the language of love, I would say, mostly because of Hollywood films.

"Danes are known to be hedonists. They stuff themselves with big biffs, beer and goodies, are sexually licentious etc....but how is that possible when they are Germanics?"

I don't think that being germanic mean necesary you to be strict and to much respectuous. usually when you are too much respectuous , one day you become crazy and act as a mad. (tipical english-german behaviour)
also Being hedonist for us doesn't mean doing crazy things, but having a taste for the quality and pleasure of life. Appreciating simple moments as much as class and fashion, living to eat not eat to live, love, fine arts, culture is more important than money. This are things that we deply share with Italians.

"French films are always so sad, negative and dark (noir). People want love to be positive, and not connected to mistresses, prostitutes, syphilis and other artistic things!"
First not all french films are dark and sad. they ar "intimsite" (speaking about human personal relations, their loves, their hates, their fellings, their joys, their cries, etc...), or politic films (spanish, italian and even latinamerican cinema is very similar to french one - fellini, almodovar or bunuel have more in commun with truffaut than with spielberg. sepaking aboutpsychology, leelings, love or politics. At the contray we often consider anglo-saxon cineam as too much superficial. Us, the latins we are more complex people in our psychology.

"a vibrant multi-racial cosmopolitan urban area of 10 million people (more then in your country)- "

Should I feel bad about being small!? I cannot help it!

Have you seen the Italian film La vita é bella?
I don't think that film really could have been French.
Spanish films are also dark and a bit crazy, but they are kind of optimistic. Even though your mother is a transvestite, you can find a happy modus vivendi, is the moral, I feel!
But in French filsm it is more: let's have a "picante" menagerie-aux-trois now, before we get old and ugly and our sex becomes un-refined and smelly!
:-))

"I have been to Alsace and of course it looked very German! Lots of deep red, brown, orange etc, typically German."

This is exactly what I wanted you to say : alsace has a tipically german look and is very colorful. So the colorness has nothing to see with being latin. central europe is much more colorful than france and is not latin at all (hungary, south germany, austria, etc... all those colors !)

Paris is not at all colorfull., western france cities are generally not colored (paris, nantes, orleans, angers, bordeaux, rennes) why eastern cities are generally very colored (strasbourg, lyon, nice,etc...)

Italy has more color in the north, spain is mostly in white, grey and brick.

But don't misunderstand me, I love the more positive sides of France. The enjoyment of civilized company, of manners (bonjour, madame!), of living the perfect, Gallic lifestyle, the charmingly naïve beflief in that life outside France is not liveable, the passion people have for cheeses, the energy people use in keeping traditions alive just because they are French and lovely etc...

But people on the opposite side of the Rhine (Baden, Rhineland) are also famous in Germany for their love of food, wine etc.
Can it be so difficult to admit that in some matters Alsace and Baden share a bit of cultural stuff, just as Provence and Liguria share some culture?

"Have you seen the Italian film La vita é bella? "

Yes of course, in france we appreciated very much this film that plays on both tragic and joy. Have you seen le "fabuleux destin d'amélie Poulain", full of melancholy and simpliness naive joy, is a very optimistic fable about love, care to others and hedonism of everyday ordinary life - changing sadness of ordinary lives into a marvelous detiny - canno't be more optimistic . It was one of the most famous french films of the past years.

I have to say that my belief is: Culture changes a bit from region to region, and not in big jumps. Holland share something with Flanders and Flanders share something with Wallonia and Wallonia with Northern France and Northern France with Central France and Central France with Southern France and Southern France with Catalonia and Catalonia with Central Spain and Central Spain with Andalusia and Andalusia with Morocco....
Nationalistic powerhouses like Paris, Madrid, Rome, Oslo, London can influence the whole country, but less and less as you move towards the edge/border...

"fabuleux destin d'amélie Poulain" = the fabolous Amelie from Monmartre?
If yes, then I saw most of it, I think. Nice film, but more subtle, not with so big passions as La vita e bella.