Quote:
Originally Posted by pigeonhole
I'd rather say "who knows and understands who in Europe". Speaking for the French, they know and understand the British in spite of 1000 years of rivalry (and have a particular liking for the Scots , read : Auld Alliance), the Irish, the Belgians (even the Flemish), the Dutch, the Luxemburgians, the Swiss, Italians, Spanish, Portuguese, and, to a lesser degree, the Greeks. All other nationalities could as well live on Planet Mars, even the Germans in spite of more than a half-century Franco-German coming together. And most French people probably feel closer to Algerians (abd other nationalities of the former French Empire) than to Poles or Czechs or even Scandinavians (although the "Scandinavian model" is highly praised by French politicians).
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When I travelled around Europe back in the 70's there was no love lost among French, Spanish and Italians. English were nice, more so Irish. The first time I visited Italy, 1975, communist unions smashed my window shield when they saw a Spanish tag, and they treated Spanish as dirt. It was all political, Franco executed some communist terrorists and it seems that all Spanish were guilty.
Things have changed much in a radical manner, there is no rivalry with French anymore, no more name calling, and I even believe that Spain is quite popular in France and Italy.
But there might be some bickering left, Dutch and Germans, maybe also gone.....and France and Belgium, maybe more folklorical than anything else, Norway and Sweden, probably gone, etc.
Right, the "new Europe" looks very remote.
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