Off Topic France

Best bread in the world, worst cars in the world, best cheese in the world, worst politicians in the world. Some decent footballers, a national rugby team more algerian than french... Now others can gentrify the thread with more sensible comments than my drivvle!!!!

 

My two pennies worth:
1. Wine - Second best after Italy.
2. Cheese - Not bad, but prefer Spanish.
3. Food - Rates higher than the UK or Germany.
4. Cars - No idea, but generally smaller (and more environmental) than German monsters.
5. Language - Impossible ! As Mark Twain said 'I could never make them understand their own language'.
6. Politicians - Better than Senegal
7. Football and Rugby - One of the few nations good at both.
8. Women - On a par with most other nations but not up to Italian levels.
9. Music - Ok. if done by Africans or Bretons. Paris has a very good music scene.
10. Arts - got a good record here.
11. General life style - Generally better than in the UK or in Germany. I find the idea of playing Boulle together after a days work a very good one.
12. Press freedom - Somewhat over the top at times, I didn't buy into all this 'Je suis Charlie' stuff.

I hope that someone can add something constructive to all this !!!!

 

Just so good to have a France thread at last - people have been calling out for it.

Wine,cheese weather = good
Cars - never had one of theirs but you have to give some marks for different styling / suspension
Politicians - as the world over
Football -finally learned how to play these last 20 years
Rugby - less good than they were
Films - pretentious
Beer - have they any?
Food - pretentious - not as good as they think they are
Music - up to Eurovision standards
Va va voom - of course

 

Best new thread of the year


1. Wine - Overrated.. white lost the plot.. but some good reds
2. Cheese - almost as good as ours. and so much better with a nice red overlooking the rurual idyll
3. Food - yes love it... who can make a lettuce salad divine... the French!
4. Cars -Those in the know dont buy Renault
5. Language - One of the hardest... but also most beautiful languages
6. Politicians - As bad as ours... but at least they can all sleep with who they like
7. Football and Rugby - good
8. Women - i had a French girl friend in my younger years: food, wine, bed, sex, coffee and croissants in a rooftop atelier in Paris..... superb.... but can be too intense...and not just the coffee
9. Music - Eurovision or ethnic... choice is clear
10. Arts - we have art museums and galleries all over our remote region... great
11. General life style - J'aime bien
12. Press freedom - Polarized like ours really
13. People - Country people helpful and good friends, but everyone knows your business. Tourist centres waiters are so rude.
14. Roads. Motorways and Paris --- beware. Elsewhere like the UK in the 50s.

 

1. Wine - Excellent and great value Gaillac, Reds, whites and perle best.
2. Cheese - very good, can be very expensive in some markets, ask price first.
3. Food - Abundance of reasonably priced restaurants, French supermarkets actually a pleasure, best bread in the world.
4. Cars - not good, My new scenic eventually crunched to a halt, avoid.
5. Language - Too difficult for me.
6. Politicians - Much more crooked than ours. Fillon now under investigation, all on the fiddle.
7. Football and rugby - excellent local facilities.
8. Women - Chic
9. Music - forgettable
10. Arts - pretentious
11. General life style - Certainly in the South West, fantastic if not looking for a job or self employed.
12. People - Friendly, helpful and sociable.
Roads - Many main roads and motorways have deteriorated since late 90's. The French drive too fast and rarely stay on their side of the road.

 

Great carp fishing in the south too, used to go a bit when I was younger!

Decent ladies there to, but without the French they were harder to catch than the carp!

 

I find they're always on the wrong side of the road Same with most Johnny foreigners seem to have the wheel on the wrong side too.... What a liberty...

 

I have to say I like France. The language seems fine to me but then I lived a couple of years in Tunisia and rather than learn arabic it was a fantastic option to go for French and indeed the old Ricky school CSE (I used it as my muckabout class) turned out to be a good grounding. I concur that the reds are so much better than the whites and better still with a decent unpasteurised Brie and crusty bread spread out on the grass by a river in the Loire.. mmm the mind travels. I don't know how they do it but the coffee is exceptional too and on a par with the italians and again complemented by fresh hot croissants to dunk.... I guess whats best about France for me though is a plats de fruits de mer enjoyed after looning around in the countryside around Le Mans after the race weekend (in the old days before it was taken over by obnoxious chav brits) with the French gendarme of old being more sporting than today and allowing a certain excess in the use of their roads for fun not utility....

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...nquiry-into-payments-to-francois-fillons-wife

 

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Q: Were you trying to coax the carp out of the water using broken French?

 

And now the results from the German jury - see how they compare to France:
1. Wine - German whites are generally too sweet for my tastes, the Reds are better. France has the lead on this.
2. Cheese - Some very good cheeses here, but none of them are exported. 2-0 to France.
3. Food - German food does not have the same reputation as French, though they have learned a great deal from Meditteranean immigration - the second biggest eaters of spaghetti in the World. 3-0 to France.
4. Cars - The real religion of Germany. Too big, not environmentally friendly, and status symbol number 1. 3-1 to France.
5. Language - A mutually understood system of grunts and groans. If you come as a tourist then you are not expected to partake in this. But if you live here you will be grunting and groaning with everyone else in no time. They stick whole sentences into one word eg. Mönchengladbacherdudelsackspielergesellschaft. 4-1 to France
6. Politics - Run by a frumpy housewife aided by Daimler. 4-2 to France.
7. Football - The second religion. 4-3 to France.
8. Rugby - Confined to the St. Pauli womens team (lots of laughs) 5-3 to France.
9. Women - A tight one here. German women do not go out of their way to look sexy and are at their best when they are trying not to be. Hamburg is the best here. 5-4 to France.
10. Sex - An extension of athletics or gymnastics. 6-4 to France.
11. The Arts - Probably a draw on this one. Still 6-4 to France.
12. Humour - There is a time and place for humour in Germany. Cabaret is very good here. 6-5
13. TV - The worst in Europe. 7-5 to France.
14. Public transport - As you would expect for a country with such a strong car industry the public transport here is below standard (apart from the main fast train connections) Still on a par with France. 7-5
15. Music - Stopped at Beethoven. Lost a lot of folk music during the War years. 8-5 to France.
16. Beer - Second only to Belgium. Somewhat regional ie. when in Cologne you drink a Cologne beer. Has some of the oldest breweries in the World. 8-6 to France.
17. Bread - Very varied. German bakeries do not have the flair of their French counterparts, and you need to like dark bread here. Actually draws with France on this.
18. The People - Somewhat direct in comparison to the English. Don't expect too many unnecessary politeness in Germany. It takes time to make friendships here - but, once established you don't lose them. Regions are different on this. The Berliner comes over as aggressive but it's only because of the accent. The Hamburger takes his time about everything. The Cologne people are more extroverted, and nosey at times. Draws with France on this.

The result 8-6 to the French. (Only because we ignored sausages)

 

TV series about art in France starting Monday night....

 

I'm no expert on many of these categories, but I'm going to attempt to do a UK v FRA v GER v ITA thing here. 3pts for a win, 1pt for close.

1. Wine - I know the UK are trying, but they are the first to rule out of points here. Sorry, but the Germans are next out. Sweet whites just a tad too close to anti-freeze. I love Italian reds, but the French have to be better across the board. FRA, 3; ITA, 1, GER, 0; UK, 0.
2. Cheese - I love cheese. I do worry for my heart, but it has to understand. I'm no expert on German cheese, but I'm going to go for French as best, followed by UK - in a word, Stilton. FRA, 6; ITA, 1; UK, 1; GER, 0.
3. Food - I love Italian food. I like English food. I love French food. German food? Well, like I said I'm no expert, but I wasn't big into it. FRA, 9; ITA, 2; UK, 1; GER, 0.
4. Cars - Our second car is a Renault and I love it. That said the Germans make solid cars (if a little less green than they used to be ). Did we make cars once? But anyone who makes a Miura gets 3pts. FRA, 9; ITA, 5; GER, 1; UK, 1.
5. Language - 'O' level German has a lot to answer for. This is tricky as I love the Latin languages. But ours is generally pretty brilliant. FRA, 10; ITA, 5; UK, 4; GER, 1.
6. Politics - the UK seems to be full of closet racists, Italy is a little madcap, the Germans seem to run pragmatically, the French I tend to admire for putting their money where their mouths are. FRA, 13; ITA, 5; UK, 4; GER, 2.
7. Football - The Italians are crazy about football, but I have to be biased. FRA, 13; UK, 7; ITA, 6; GER, 2.
8. Rugby - Don't watch it as much as I used to. FRA, 14; UK, 10; ITA, 6; GER, 2.
9. Women - Lying next to a beautiful Englishwoman, I have to be careful. Excluding her ... FRA, 15; UK, 10; ITA, 9; GER, 2.
10. Sex - I've never slept with a German, so I have to go on supposition. FRA, 16; ITA, 12; UK, 10; GER, 2.
11. The Arts - The French respect their artists better than we do. So do the Germans. And the Italians. So... FRA, 19; ITA, 12; UK, 10; GER, 3.
12. Humour - The breadth of our humour is what makes it the best, I think. The French can take themselves a little too seriously at times, and the Germans are a little too obvious for me. FRA, 19; ITA, 13; UK, 13; GER, 3.
13. TV - Ours is going rapidly downhill. However. FRA, 20; UK, 16; ITA, 13; GER, 3.
14. Public transport - Ours has long since disappeared round the U-bend. FRA, 23; UK, 16; ITA, 13; GER, 4.
15. Music - Over history, I'm tending towards Verdi et al over Bach/Beethoven. Sorry. Personal taste. FRA, 23; UK, 19; ITA, 14; GER, 4.
16. Beer - Easy. FRA, 23; UK, 22; ITA, 14; GER, 5.
17. Bread - Not so easy. But... FRA, 26; UK, 22; ITA, 15; GER, 5.
18. The People - Difficult. I like Germans very much. I really like the French, and Italians are great. Hmmm. OK. FRA, 27; UK, 22; ITA, 18; GER, 5.

Do you hate me, Cologne?

 

I always enjoy my trips to France, but I am staying with my ex-father-in-law, who is a Jerseyman.
Wine - no opinion, as I can't drink, although when I could drink I tended to drink red more than white.
Music - one genius in Jean-Michel Jarre, and although this may seem slightly odd, I like Vanessa Paradis but that may have something to do with the fact she's only 3 weeks older than me.

 

very interesting.. i think you may have been a bit harsh on the Germans.... I made it 7 when i did it....

 

According to partial results Benoît Hamon has beaten the current Prime Minister Manuel Valls to be the socialist contender in the Presidential contest later this year. The opinion polls suggest that it didn't matter which of the two won, Hollande has left them with an impossible task.

 

You obviously know more than me about German rugby.

 

You obviously haven't seen the St. Pauli womens team !!! In order to correct Germany's tarnished reputation I would like to add the following catagories:
1. Sausages
2. Pointed useless cathedrals stuck in the middle of nowhere.
3. Inland water transport. (Getting desparate here)
4. Christmas markets
5. Sauerkraut.