Features of the population and culture of France. How we saw her
What do you associate France with first of all? Croissants, baguettes, frog legs, wine, Eiffel Tower, berets, accordion ... Well, it's time to replenish this list or even rewrite it.
Well, I will not tell the already obvious to everyone that the French are very welcoming, polite and friendly. Easily strike up a conversation on the street. If they see that they need help, they do not hesitate to help. Or about the fact that by default everyone always greets and smiles in stores..
I'll tell you what we managed to notice, closely communicating with many inhabitants of this fabulous country and having the opportunity to observe their life, while our independent travel in Europe by car took place in France.
The peculiarities of the culture of France, as it seemed to us, are manifested, for example, in the love of its inhabitants for antiques, from small things to old houses..
Unusual new uses for old things
Locals take care of all the ancient sites in the vicinity
We were fortunate enough to stay for a few days with friends in an amazing house-museum, where the entire interior is harmoniously decorated in antique style. I really wanted to put on a long dress and swim around such a house, imagining myself in the 19th century..
Home of a family that loves all the old
Home of a family that loves all the old
Home of a family that loves all the old
Home of a family that loves all the old
As we were told, in France, even if they want to build a new house, they demolish everything except the outer walls so as not to violate the integrity of the architectural ensemble of the street. And it also happens that outwardly the house looks very nice, because it is clearly old, but inside everything is very simple and it even happens that it has long been without repair, although it also happens the other way around - the inside is as cute as the outside. And thanks to this desire of the French to preserve everything old, it happens that there are whole toy cities with unusually beautiful streets, for which my aesthetic feelings are very grateful to this nation..
One wall was left from the old house
The old house has new plastic windows - and everything is harmonious
There are such old houses on the streets of France.
A toy house in one of the towns in the South of France
Ordinary toy streets of a typical French town
Ordinary toy streets of a typical French town
Toy town in the South of France
Toy shop in Paris
Several times it so happened that we drove into small French towns in the evening at 9-10, and there was a feeling that the city was simply empty. There is almost no one on the streets, and due to the fact that the shutters are closed in all the houses, there is no usual glow from the windows and it seems that there is no one or everyone has been sleeping for a long time. Unusual sensation.
Window shutters are very common in France
In France, as we understood, everything that is original is very popular. Hand-made crafts (jewelry, bags, scarves, etc.) are in good demand, and people manage to make good money on it.
Here's a funny example of hand-made
In this kitchen, a lot is done by hand.
I don't know if this can be attributed to the peculiarities of the population of France, but we noticed that the French attach quite a lot of importance to food. Almost always and everyone has a genuine interest in what you had lunch today, and what was for dinner? And they cook, of course, they are excellent! We stayed with several French families and every meal was almost royal. At the same time, we always forgot that we should not gorge ourselves to the full, because at the end, according to tradition, there will be cheese as a dessert, and more than one!
One of the most delicious dishes we tasted in France
There is a great variety of cheeses in France. I will even take the liberty of claiming that these are some of the features of the culture of France. According to unverified data, there are more than 300 types of them. And these are not just yellow semi-hard cheeses, like ours, they are of different colors, different consistencies, different smells, ages and, of course, taste! Some of the cheeses are so hard that they are cut into thin slices with a special device, some are so thin that you can only eat them with a spoon when you open the package. You can write a separate article about cheeses, but it's best to just try them. As I write, salivation began to flow. And now I can already say with certainty: no, the French are not paddling pools! These are raw foodists, syromaniacs, syrophans.!
You can sell your soul for a variety of French cheeses.
This cheese is considered a great delicacy, but we could not eat it
Well, bread is also a separate song. It is eaten a lot and its varieties are also immeasurable. Only it is all predominantly white, and they eat it mostly fresh, and if he managed to stay in the bread bin for a couple of days, then before being served, he is heated in the oven. On the street, you can often see such a cute picture: a Frenchman chewing on a freshly bought baguette.
Bakery and pastry shop Grenoble
Well, about the fact that the French love to sit in cafes on the streets and so everyone knows.
An ordinary morning, ordinary residents of Marseille
French people who like to sit in a cafe
We were quite surprised at how technically advanced the older generation in France was. The peers of our parents and older people keep their blogs, communicate with friends via Skype and facebook, many have touchphones.
Maybe we were just lucky, but most of the French people we met work for themselves in one way or another. Either it is its own theater, or it is a craftsman who collects display furniture, or a taster in restaurants, or a garden designer, or people generally have their own small private enterprise. And all these activities allow you to lead a financially decent life..
We have not met a single Frenchman who, in one way or another, would not start talking about politics with us. Of course, now this is a very sore subject in connection with the attempt to adopt a new law on pensions, but, nevertheless, there is a lot of talk about the superiors. Sarkozy has been compared to Napoleon and Hitler. But that's a completely different story ...
If we talk about the peculiarities of the population of France, well, one cannot fail to mention the crowd of Arabs. And the farther south the city, the more of them. As our friend, a resident of Marseille, explained to us: the southern climate is closer to them, so they flock there. In the evenings, noisy drunken companies of this very nationality walk around in large cities, from which it is not clear what to expect. You somehow recognize your own people, you understand who is better to bypass, but here it is not clear. But we ran into such a bunch only once, in Paris at two o'clock in the morning, and the guy decided to help us find a hotel. :)
Arabs on the streets of Paris
Arabs on the streets of Paris
Oddly enough, the local driving culture is very similar to ours. Often they do not turn on the turn signals, drive through the red, cut them off, although, of course, not as shamelessly as in Russia. But, just like ours, they warn with headlights about «traffic cops» nearby.
Such traces are surprisingly common.
It may be bold to say so, but it seemed to us that despite all the cultural and national characteristics of France, it is very similar to Russia. Take our old lady, have her plastic surgery, or just good makeup, start feeding her as it should and helping her when needed, and she, too, will become a land of love. But seriously, we just would have more order, better social support and a higher overall standard of living, and we will become the same French, smiling, attentive and polite. At least, well, I really want to believe it ...
P.S. The article turned out to be too long, so about how the French live, about their conditions and standard of living I will tell you in the next article.