What do the foreigners think about the French and France?

Résumé du document

Everybody has a perception (mostly sterotype) about a different culture or a country. Even if one has not been to a country, we always have a first impression through movies or word of mouth. France is a famous country due to its historical heritage, food, wines and fashion. Furthermore, the president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, wants France to become a worldwide heritage of UNESCO. But what do foreigners think about the French and France? Some of them think the French are pretentious and other people consider France as the most beautiful country in the world. Foreigner perception about the French and France seems very different. The analysis of their perception according to their home country and their education should help us to answer this question.

Extraits

[...] What do the foreigners think about the French and France? Table of contents Introduction History of foreigners' stereotypes Different foreigners' stereotypes Repercussion of foreigners' stereotypes The five main stereotypes Conclusion Introduction Everybody has in mind stereotypes about other countries or other cultures. Even if we do not know these other countries, we always have a first impression through movies or word of mouth. France is a very famous country abroad due to its historical heritage, its food and wines, its fashion . [...]

[...] The purpose of this study could be to compare the foreigners' stereotypes according to the various generations and to measure the impact of the barrier language on those stereotypes. Bibliography e.g. FENRIS. (2006). Do you think that French people are pretentious? [Online]. Available from http://fr.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060712085502AADTfTM [Accessed 25 March 2006] e.g. L'internaute actualité. Que pensent les touristes étrangers des Français? [Online]. Available from http://www.linternaute.com/actualite/dossier/06/touristes-etrangers- france/mexique.shtml[Accessed 15 March 2008]. e.g. e-dito com Comment les étrangers perçoivent les Français par Christian Gatard [Online]. Available from http://www.e- dito.com/socio.asp?id_fichier=125 [Accessed 15 March 2008]. [...]

[...] They also talk about the “French kiss” or about the reputation of French lover who is perceived as more romantic. French people and in particular the Parisians appear very pretentious. They also consider the French are well-dressed, sophisticated but, dirty too. Europe and Middle East (Lebanon, Turkey, Slovakia) The European and Middle East tourists appreciate a lot the food and cooking as well as the diversity of the landscapes. They think France is a very beautiful country but the French may appear as intolerant person; for them, the symbol of France is the culture, the historical heritage and the country of respect of Human Rights. [...]

[...] I tried to summarize the author's comments in splitting the world in three main areas: South America (Mexico, Brazil and Chile): Most of people in these countries think the French are not open-minded and that they don't speak English very well. But they also know the historical heritage like luxury, fashion with famous designers, the excellent wine and cheese, the Louvre museum and the Eiffel Tower. They say France is the country with 340 different sort of cheese. They consider the French are sexy and beautiful too. [...]