Day 3211 (Tuesday) 24th March 2026

This is Antibes

And this is Nice.

It was another lovely sunny day and Huw had to go to Ken’s house for work again. While he was up there I sunbathed for a few hours – first time this year – and it was great. When he came home at lunchtime we went down to Bobby’s for lunch. There were lots of people in the square and it seems like the tourists have started to come. Also Rue du Poilu is covered in scaffolding with workmen everywhere.

Surely they should have started all this work months ago, I really hope they get it finished before the hordes of tourists arrive. At least they seem to be tidying the town up a bit finally. 

8 preconceived ideas about France and the French by Manon

You've already heard a lot of things about the French and you don't know what to think of them. With this article, I will try to untangle the true from the false of preconceived ideas about France and the French. I will then present you the top 8 preconceived ideas about France and the French.

 

#1 The French are dirty

I was very surprised the first time I heard that foreigners think the French don't wash. For my part, I wash every day and so do all the French people I know (unless they are lying).

So I looked into the subject, and I found the origin of this misconception. We have to go back to XVIᵉ century, at the time of the nobility when hygiene was not really the priority of the French. It was therefore common for nobles to spray themselves with perfume instead of washing themselves to cover their bad smells. 

What about now? Are the French still dirty ?

Well, apparently so. According to a poll dating from 2015, only 57% of French people wash every day. Which means that a third of the French don't wash every day. However, still according to this survey, the reasons why the French don't wash every day are mainly economic.

But rest assured these are just numbers, the French remain civilized and clean on them.
 

#2 The French drink wine at every meal 

Well, okay, it's not just a popular misconception. It's true the French do drink a lot of wine. Maybe not at every meal. We don't drink wine at breakfast. And no, minors don't drink wine either. At least, they're not allowed to drink alcohol.

France leads the ranking of the biggest wine consumers with 44.2 litres per person per year. At the same time, it remains the 2ᵉ country that produces the most wine. Which is rather good news, it means that the French consume locally.

Yes it's true, even the figures say it, the French drink a lot of wine.

Be careful not to generalise, don't expect to come across a completely alcoholic Frenchman on every street corner. The French remain bon vivants, but this does not mean that they consume wine every day and at every meal.

For my part, I, once again, do not find myself in these figures at all, because I do not drink alcohol at all. So as I told you, you shouldn't generalise.
 

#3 There is only Paris to visit in France

It's true that sometimes it's a little hard to understand why foreigners are so infatuated with Paris. It's a beautiful city, we agree. There are thousands of things to do, to visit, to see. It's a romantic, cultural city, a city that lives at a hundred miles an hour and makes you dream.

But, when I want to go sightseeing in France it's not at all the first destination I turn to. There are places so much more breathtaking and less stressful than Paris. 

 

#4 The French are unfaithful 

Dirty, alcoholic and now unfaithful! It's not the best portrait...

And unfortunately this is also a true misconception, according to studies. And yes, with the Italians, we are apparently the champions of infidelity. More than one in two men and one in three women have been unfaithful. And more than one Frenchman in three says he could be unfaithful if he is certain that nobody would know about it. Once again, one should not generalise, even if, it is true, the French are bon vivants in many fields. Maybe that's why I prefer to share my life with a Belgian.
 

#5 The French are lazy.

A bit of a positive, isn't it? No. Okay.

Since the French have moved to 35 hours a week, it is true that foreigners take the French for slackers.

 

#6 The French are bad at languages

You are English-speaking and you are a tourist in France. You are looking for your direction and you ask a Frenchman passing by for directions. Oops! He hardly understands what you are saying. He stutters a few words in English with great difficulty in order to help you. Result: you are still as lost as ever.

Yes, the French aren't very good at languages. Not all French people, but the vast majority are. According to a study, carried out on 72 countries around the world, France comes in at 29ᵉ place regarding its English skills. Worse still, it comes 22ᵉ out of 26 European countries.

There are several reasons for these results, which are alarming to say the least. The first reason is the very low number of hours of foreign languages taught in the French school system.

The second is the low diffusion of foreign languages. All films, series and video games are translated into French, whereas in other countries the original language is kept and subtitles are added.

#7 French people wear a beret, a sailor's beret and always have a baguette under their arm

Okay, now that's really cliché.

You may come across a Frenchman wearing a beret, another wearing a sailor's beret, and another with a baguette under his arm. But all three at the same time, no, that probably won't happen.

These are representative signs of France and the French, but this does not mean that every Frenchman owns a beret and a sailor's hat.

For the baguette I'm making an exception. The French are big consumers of bread. You will often see early in the morning a line in front of a bakery and customers  coming out with their baguette under their arm.

 

#8 The French are not welcoming

I don't think that last misconception is true.

France is still the most visited country in the world. It would not be visited as much if the French were not welcoming.

Afterwards, it should be remembered that most tourists arrive by Paris and it is true that Parisians are not the most pleasant, especially if you make a detour by the metro.

This was Badger this morning in my box of ponchos.