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| Europe |
| To offend the French, fondle a slice of cheese |
| 2007-01-04 |
| In a city with an international reputation for rudeness, it is a gesture that any British visitor will find indispensable. You stick out your lower lip, raise your eyebrows and shoulders simultaneously and emit a nonchalant "Bof". The Gallic Shrug is one of many simple but brutally effective gestures listed in a new travel guide produced by the Paris tourist board. Aware that it can do very little to change the stereotype of the arrogant Frenchman, it wants to help discerning visitors blend in by using the same body language. C'est So Paris, produced by the Ile-de-France regional committee of tourism, lists the gestures under the colloquial title "Cop the Parisian Attitude". They are specially designed for British visitors who have traditionally been made to feel uncomfortable by rude waiters, couldn't-care-less taxi drivers or sulky beauties sitting outside cafés on the Champs-Elysées. While the Gallic Shrug can be useful in numerous everyday situations — from a response to sloppy service to reacting to spurned romantic advances — more offensive displays are also graphically illustrated. They include Le Camembert, which is used to tell somebody to shut up. You hold your hand in front of you in the shape of an L, and then slowly bring thumbs and forefingers together, as if gently clasping a small slice of soft cheese. A blank face — signifying vast indifference — completes this traditional French pose. "It's a rude way of telling someone to shut their mouth; not to be used in polite company," said a tourism committee spokesman. Just as offensive is Les Boules, or The Balls. "It's a vulgar way of saying that you're unlucky, you're upset or you can't take any more," said the spokesman. The gesture involves "holding an imaginary set of tennis balls — one in each hand" in front of your chest and twisting your face into a look of utter frustration. Another traditional favourite is La Moue, or The Pout. It has been widely employed by French icons throughout the ages — especially female ones, from Napoleon's empress Joséphine de Beauharnais to the actress Brigitte Bardot. "It's the classic way to convey just about any negative emotion, including discontent, disdain and disgust," said the spokesman. The guide advises Britons to "start by looking bored", then "pucker your lips" before "shaking your head slowly for more impact". Another useful expression is "Répète". It involves cupping your hand over your ear, so feigning deafness. The guide adds usefully: "Scowl at the same time to express displeasure." But if you're so fed up you want to make a rapid exit, hold a hand out vertically, move it up and down and tap the top of your wrist with your other hand. Your companions will get the message. The guide says: "You don't need to be French to understand Parisians. Use the gestures the next time you're in Paris. People will start mistaking you for a native in no time." The article includes a helpful graphic. |
| Posted by:mrp |
| #13 "English-language portal" > myself and other Netters had been saying that for yarns now, but for naught. Americans still get ENGLISH/BRIT-CENTRIC, FRENCH-LANGUAGE Channels + Giant Brit Breasts from BBS America, etal. HHHHHHHMMMMM, HHHMMMMMMMMM, CHEESE vs. BIG BREASTS - "tis a mighty quagmire/quandry to choose from. OBVIOUSLY THE CHEESE HAVE BEEN VICTORIOUS. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-01-04 23:01 |
| #12 Have instructional videos in methods to insult the French been posted on YouTube? Inquiring minds want to know. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2007-01-04 20:09 |
| #11 Thanks, DMFD. That's better than a "Gallic Shrug", no? :) An English-language news portal is a necessity if a publication desires to punch above its native online weight. People interested in things Norsky can check Aftenposten. Access to German political news and events can be had via DW or Spiegel Online, and the Danes and Finns have, respectively, timely EL articles posted at J-P and H-S. Oslo and Helsinki are just a click away. For English-only readers, Paris is not so close. I strongly believe that the lack of comprehensive EL news portals hosted by the major French dailies is having a noticeable impact on the effectiveness of French foreign and domestic policies. That may be a good thing for US and UK policy makers in the short-run, but if the increasingly influential Anglo-phone blogosphere doesn't have access to French cultural and political discourse, then the only voices heard discussing French concerns will be from US-UK government/media sources. And I think that will lead to long-term trouble. |
| Posted by: mrp 2007-01-04 20:08 |
| #10 "To offend the French, fondle a slice of cheese" Hell, to offend the Phrench, just be American. Quite pleasurable, too. ;-p |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2007-01-04 19:35 |
| #9 mrp - LeMonde in English (sort of) |
| Posted by: DMFD 2007-01-04 18:54 |
| #8 Or if the garcon is rude to you, go outside the restaurant and ignite his Citroen. |
| Posted by: DMFD 2007-01-04 18:52 |
| #7 Hanger in there 5089 you got many friends here, altho we tend to be a messy lot. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2007-01-04 18:10 |
| #6 I agree that the knee-jerk bloviation is boring. What I found interesting about the article was the fact that the Paris tourist board is spending a great deal of money promoting French stereotypes in the hope that, by reminding Brits and Americans of past experiences in the City of Lights, that foreign visitors might cough up more dough for a repeat performance. I've not been to France, but I am not unaware of the many contributions that the French have given to the world, and I am cognizant of the many examples of French courage and honor earned on battlefields in the not-so-distant past - Dien Bien Phu and Verdun being just a small sample. But one of the difficulties afflicting US-French relations in the 21st century is the lack of English-language portals hosted by any of the main French dailies. One can surmise the reason(s) for such a deficit, but there can be little doubt that the isolation of French political and cultural discourse from the Anglo-phone world is not to the West's benefit. We are talking past one another, comfortable with our prejudices, because engagement and debate on subjects involving the life of death or Civilization is just too difficult, painful, or expensive to broach and recourse to the NYT's-owned IHT doesn't cut it. Perhaps non-francophone readers like myself aren't missing much when it comes to the op-ed pages of Figaro or Le Monde , but sooner or later one of those rags will have to make the effort. |
| Posted by: mrp 2007-01-04 14:04 |
| #5 Moose - I think you meant "good interacial pr0n". If not, please capitalize "God". :) |
| Posted by: GORT 2007-01-04 13:34 |
| #4 The left out the olfactory component of French nonverbal communication. Right. And all americans are fat, their soldiers can't fight and have to hide behind technology, they're stoopid and uneducated, it's a country without culture, they're owned by the jooooos, etc, etc... I'm such an idiot. I go to rightwing blogs and all, read the comments (see above, and more), and think "these guys don't know what they talk about", and then I come back here, and I think I'd better use my internet time to look for god interracial porn. |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2007-01-04 12:50 |
| #3 When in Assholia, do as the Assholions do. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2007-01-04 12:19 |
| #2 Strange...they also left out the universal gesture using the raised middle finger (useful in all manner of ways to offend) |
| Posted by: FOTSGreg 2007-01-04 11:31 |
| #1 The left out the olfactory component of French nonverbal communication. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-01-04 10:37 |