The French Paradox

Among the questions which the natives of my adoptive country pose to me, this is interesting and yet most delicate to answer. What do I think of the French?

For a start, they are paradoxical.

Camping (the movie)

At first impression, they are to me, creative and open-minded. On the contrary, there is also a portion of the population that is stubborn and fermé. Not long ago, the French people only started to travel out of France. They are at least 2 generations behind in terms of travelling and having international exposures. I have not many acquaintances here, and out of 30 people that I know, 4 are afraid of taking the plane. That makes 13.33% in statistics by simple population sampling. There is even one of them who have never been out of France….ever.

My grandparents emigrated from China to Malaysia in the early 20^th century. Even after they have settled down in Malaysia, I remember that my grandmother travelled occasionally to China and the neighbouring countries in Asia for holiday. My grandmother is not any different from an average south-east Asian. However, it is not a norm in France. That’s what I meant by the 2-generations analogy. We just beginning to see my French peers tipping the statistics; being savvy travellers, discovering countries that offer something other than Alps, lavender, cheese, and Renaissance.

I like the movie Camping. It’s about regular holiday-makers who spend their summer religiously in the same camping ground year after year. The funniest line I have heard from the film is when an unusual face who stumbled upon the camping park, asked the regular guests: “why don’t you just buy a holiday home here since you like the place and come here every year?” The answer was: “we like moving about with the camping car to see different places”. Ironic, isn’t it? The answer was absolutely logical. But what about the part on “seeing different places”?

Camping is a microscopic analogy of what was mentioned in the earlier paragraphs. I don’t deny that French people travel a lot. But, I mean yes, they do travel a lot around France. Yes, France the same giant camping park. 

David Guetta & Croquettes

What is the difference between David Guetta and Croquettes? Guetta is French and the croquette (even au fromage) is foreign. And what is common between the two then? Both are new ideas and not easily acceptable in France. House music is now beginning to get the attention in Paris, however I think we are about 10 years late in accepting new music. This is an analogy that I like to use to illustrate that new (and foreign) things are not easily acceptable in France. Furthermore, something French (e.g. Guetta) may not be readily acceptable by the average French. By the way, the famous DJ has nothing to do with croquettes. A comparison is made just to amplify the point.

We are about 10 years behind in appreciating foreign cuisine. I remember when I was in England between 1995 and 1998, sushi and Japanese udon (noodles) were beginning to be popular in London. Yet, many Parisians today have never frequented a sushi bar.

The Forefathers

So how did we have in the same population, the “camping people” and the sorts who spearheaded the high-speed train, philosophy and haute couture? Who are the ancestors who discovered that frog’s legs can be a delicious dish? I’m certainly awed by the geniuses who founded Renaissance and the European Union.

I adore the country and am trying to learn more about the people (is there anything else hidden that I don’t know about them?). For one thing that I hope is that the French people continue to be “so French” and for more of them to look beyond the camping park. As your forefathers have proved that you can be marvelous, I’m convinced that not all French people are camping people.