Day 3402 (Friday) 2nd October 2026

This is Sainte Agnes

and this was taken from Eze Village.

I found this interesting article, comparing the French with Anglo-Saxons, it’s quite long so I’ll post it over two days 

France and the French

Cultural Preconception

A lesson in Cartesian Logic

Cogito ergo sum, i.e., “I think, therefore I am”…French. Blame it on René Descartes and his philosophic treastise outlining what is known today as Cartesian Logic, but myths, urban legends and stereotypes about the French abound. Arrogant, rude, impatient, individualistic – four adjectives often used by other cultures to describe the French. As always, these kinds of judgements are a matter of opinion and filtered through one’s own views and preconceptions. Each one of these impressions can be traced to the behavioural psyche and history of this great people. For those people the French lump together and call Anglo-Saxons, it will help make your trip more enjoyable to understand these cultural tag-lines. Here we offer a personal American-British view for your review and links for those who want more information on the subject.

Relationships - Public vs. Private : Dogs vs. Cats

The French are private people and have different rules of behaviour for people within their social circle and those who are not, which are very different from Anglo-Saxon behaviour, in particular Americans. While the French are generally polite in all dealings, they tend to be extremely discrete with strangers as it is only with their close friends and family that the French are free to be themselves.

Anglo-Saxons and the French do not share the same concept of verbal exchange. When there is no relationship between others, the French “will recreate distance with silence, the American with conversation…” as one eminent source has explained. The reason for this is that the French perceive silence as neutral whereas most Anglo-Saxons perceive it as at best unpleasant and at worst intimidating. This simple fact sets the stage for huge cultural misunderstandings between the two.

An analogy I like to use is if you think of the French as being similar in temperament to cats and then Anglo-Saxons (except for the English) tend to be more like dogs.  Dogs are trusting and friendly until the other proves unworthy while cats are guarded and will only warm to the other when they feel like it and this may be never.

Arrogant or simply self-assured: For North Americans and indeed most Anglo-Saxons, acceptance and graciousness towards others is usually the first rule of the day. To the French, however knowledge is power and even if they don’t really know something, they will rarely admit it. This cultural trait translates into having an opinion about everything and no hesitation in pronouncing it or contradicting you. For Anglo-Saxons, this type of behaviour can be perceived as arrogant; however, don’t be offended, as it is just their desire to “create a discussion” with others. Sometimes, you will find French people passionately debating an opinion they do not believe in just to open a contradictory view to a conversation. This form of playful debate isn’t unheard of in the Anglo-Saxon world either and indeed both have a similar term for it. In France it is called “se faire l’avocat du diable”, i.e. “to make oneself the lawyer of devil, similar to the English phrase “to play the devil’s advocate”. Thanks to the intense cultural influence of the philosopher René Descartes, who promoted the systematic thesis and anti-thesis approaches for maintaining total objectivity on the path to scientific knowledge, the French are educated to reveal and amplify contradiction in anything and everything. So considering this as a simple rhetorical game will allow you to see it in context and you might even be able to enter the fray without getting bruised.

Rude or just direct: The French are among the friendliest and most helpful people and yet this trait is the most widely held one worldwide about them. Understanding where tactful diplomacy tends to be the first approach by an American or a Brit with most anyone, stereotypically for the French, American politeness or “niceness” is naïve or misplaced and British “diplomacy” translates to beating around the bush and obfuscation. They view themselves however as honest and frank. The only people who are rude for the French are paradoxically, Parisians. Do not be put off by the typical first response to your request, which is always – Non. French rudeness is like a game and Non is more of a rhetorical statement. View it as an opening foray meaning “convince me that you have a good reason for your request and I’ll consider it” and your life will become easier.

Impatient or merely intense: An extremely visible characteristic, the French can be quite abrupt and peremptory, cutting each other, and you, off if you are just a nanosecond too slow off the mark. Not unlike America, meetings take on Kafkaesque proportions as most often everyone talks at once and over each other. Understanding however that for the French, meetings are not meant for decision taking but making sure your opinion is voiced, even if it wasn’t heard, is key to stress reduction! Impatience is a general way of life, with once again, Parisians leading the pack. (An exception to this behaviour we can confirm, is anything having to do with eating, where most everyone’s patience abounds.) A word of caution here: beware of displaying your own impatience unless you have a very good command of the French language. Your moment of piqué will be at best spurned by indifference and at worst, be greeted with genuine hostile behaviour.

I’ll post the rest of these tomorrow…