Why do so many Americans hate French people? (to live, military)

[Tea Tea]

most other countries don't like the french. the french are known for being rude. my sister lived there and i visited her. "please" and "thank you" aren't used as much as they should be. i remember being in a restaurant and getting pushed around by the waiters without any "excuse me"

[Mooseketeer]

Originally Posted by Tea Tea

most other countries don't like the french. the french are known for being rude. my sister lived there and i visited her. "please" and "thank you" aren't used as much as they should be. i remember being in a restaurant and getting pushed around by the waiters without any "excuse me"

I find that really strange because one of the many things my English ( from Yorkshire ) partner loves about France is how polite people are . You go into a shop anywhere in France and they say Hello and then they always "Goodbye" when you leave even if you haven't bought a thing. He always moans that in England and the US people MIGHT say hello when you come in and don't give a toss when you leave. I am really surprised at your experience and sorry that is what you experienced. France is a lot more formal as a society and that is something I am still trying to adjust to in Britain. In 18 years of living here I am still surprised that nobody brings flowers or presents to dinner parties, nobody sends you thank you cards afterwards, nobody thanks you for wedding presents ,nobody holds the door for you, or says thank you for anything. I have learnt to accept this as just a different way of dealing with things but my partner just seethes...
I was always told in France how polite the Brits were and I just have not found that. I guess we all have bad experiences. The only people i have found who "hate" the French are the Brits and the Americans. I have never encountered any bad feeling from anyone else. And British kids are on the whole really badly behaved compared to French kids too. It's like parents have no control over them and do not use the word "no" ever. Another thing which really puzzles me. They control their parents rather than the other way around and actually chose what they eat ? That is really bizarre to me.

[mal_flisk]

Some of it may be a hangover from the post-WWII days, when the US expected a modicum of gratitude from the French in the UN security council and often wound up at loggerheads over seeming trifles. Some may be from the Indochinese lead-up to VietNam, some from the reversal of opinion on Viet Nam by the French (who expected more support in the Algerian unpleasantness). War debts, and intended or unintended slurs and other newsworthy items predominated French news for a while. It is a case of bad communications and unnecessarily high expectations from either side.

Neither side has a monopoly on these things. We disagree on the Middle East, starting with Lebanon on the 40's and 50's, Palestine from the same period, Israel and Palestine today. A larger proportion of an Islamic population in France has sent the public opinion of Mid-East politics in France on a direct opposition to US actions and politics. Not necessarily wrong, but again, the people here in the US expect a debt of gratitude from France that may or may not be felt by the average French person.

[dullnboring]

This isn't really related to the topic at hand except for the fact that it deals with a cultural difference between Americans and French that had never occurred to me before. I just saw a story about it on the local news:

More Rimbaud and less Rambo, critics tell sweaty jogger Sarkozy - Times Online

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by Tea Tea

most other countries don't like the french. the french are known for being rude. my sister lived there and i visited her. "please" and "thank you" aren't used as much as they should be. i remember being in a restaurant and getting pushed around by the waiters without any "excuse me"

What other countries don't like the French?

Wow, I've never been pushed around by waiters in Paris or any other town in France.
But the very first time I was in Paris, I was indeed taken aback just a bit.
(Perhaps my lack of knowledge of the French language might have had something to do with it.)
There are cultural differences, and if you take the time to learn a bit about them, it can really help prevent any misunderstandings.My kid (who is living there now) has told me a million things that I never would have known otherwise. He has no false illusions about the French being perfect, yet enthusiastically recognizes the fact that the American way is not the *only* way.

One book I read that was enlightening:Almost French
This Aussie girl marries a Frenchman. Her expatriate experiences are mostly in Paris, so it's not like she moves to some quaint little village in the Dordogne. She lives in a big city, meets very sophisticated people.
The misunderstandings and faux pas are fascinating.

I agree with Mal that both sides would benefit from working at it.
Dull, that article was pretty funny.

[clawson26]

Wow I didn't particularly dislike the French until now. I have disagreed with their foreign policy, actions at the UN, certain comments about our country etc. But I never really disliked the French until I read this thread. SOME of the representatives on the pro-French side have been so obnoxious on this thread that I am converted. I officially cast my vote against the French. PooPoo on the French!!!

[Drouzin]

I don't know why so many Americans hate French people other than perhaps the media's swing on the whole sticky Iraq thing. People wanted to rename French Fries, Freedom Fries, the French Quarter, the Freedom Quarter, etc. No offence, but no self respecting New Orleanian would ever call the Quarter anything but French. Don't worry ya'll we have an American Quarter too, it's called the Garden District.

I guess being a Louisiana native I have a different view on the French. I was always told that France was our "Mother Country," and my family was always proud of its French roots.

I was in France for a week and toured the Normandy Coast. It was awsome. The people were really nice to us, all it took was a bon jour for them to open up and talk. What was even nicer was that a lot of the people were short like us! The food was good and the escargo(sp?) reminded me of shrimp scampi. I love garlic!

The thing that impressed me the most was the gratefulness shown to Americans (and other countries) over 50 years after D-Day. On just about every shop and house on the coast flew an American flag where the Americans landed on D-Day.

I wish my father could have seen that, he was there for D-Day. He always talked about how wonderful the French were when they fought their way through to Germany.

Anyways, I have learned from the gratitude shown by the French people of Normandy. We now have a Canadian flag and will fly it (next to the American one) on the aniversary of Katrina each year. It is our tribute to a country who came out of their way to help.

No, I don't hate the French.

[winter]

Why would I dislike a French person when they love France the way I love the USA.

[X-Greensboro Resident]

I had heard of this stereotype about the French being rude or whatever, and Americans and French not liking eachother but then while in college, a French couple (Exchange students) moved next door to me for two semesters and they were the nicest people. We got to know eachother very well and still keep in touch after 9 years. Then, last year, I had to travel to France for business and I don't speak any French, I learned a few generic words/sentences like Hello, please, goodbye, I don't speak French etc., and had a great time, not a single French person was rude to me. They really liked that I tried to speak a few words and then they'd start speaking English and were very helpful. I spent most of my time in Strousburg, it was absolutely great, I also stopped in Paris for one night to catch up with my old French Neighbors from College and had a blast, even Parisans were okay, I didn't have any problems. I gotta tell you, I've seen many more rude folks in NYC. That's my two cents.

[Visvaldis]

Could it be that many people who find the French to be rude and obnoxious go to France with that attitude, and try hard to look for examples to bolster the prejudice?
I have been to France several times and encountered friendly people for the most part. If the encounter was not polite, I didn't take that event as representative of the whole population.
What sort of behavior can you find in France that you couldn't find in America?