Posted on 01/15/2013 2:02:26 PM PST by nickcarraway
Clichés and stereotypes are flourishing along the French-German border, with the French associating their eastern neighbours with beer and efficiency, and the Germans looking west for bucolic joie de vivre.
Marking this month's 50th anniversary of the Èlysée Treaty of reconciliation between the European heavyweights, the German Embassy in Paris commissioned a survey from the ifop Institute to see what the two nations thought of each other.
The results suggested that although the animosity generated during two world wars had gone, the stereotypes of the hard-working German and life-loving French had survived well into the 21st century.
When asked for the first thing they thought of when considering Germany, 29 percent of the French people quizzed said Chancellor Angela "Merkel", followed by 23 percent who said "Beer". Following them were "Car" and "Strict" with 18 percent each. Then came the classics "Sausage" and "Sauerkraut" which each attracted 12 percent of first associations.
The Germans had a far more romantic image of France, with 56 percent associating it primarily with the word "Paris", 37 percent coming up with "Eiffel Tower", 32 percent going for "Wine" and a further 27 percent plumping for "Baguette".
It might reflect the relative political weighting of the countries that Germans do not mention anything to do with politics when thinking about France.
Yet the stereotypes also seem to be positive in both directions, with 85 percent of the French and 87 percent of the Germans asked reporting feeling good towards each other.
And no German mentioned France being a nice place for a hike along tree lined roads with a quarter million of their countrymen?
The Germans have a euro/mark in their pocket and the French are skint. A convenient lesson in socialism.
‘56 percent associating it primarily with the word “Paris”, 37 percent coming up with “Eiffel Tower”, 32 percent going for “Wine” and a further 27 percent plumping for “Baguette”.’
I don’t know any of this is “romantic”. Oh well. Maybe wine.
Funny this is probably along the “disputed” Alsace-Loraine region, which is Bavarian and such Germans are good at partying. Northern Germans are more of the dour stereotype. Southern Germans are more open and fun. (All are hard workers and genius.) I have all of it in my blood.
Funny how north-south fits here in this country too - and the Germans who came here tended to go from their respective regions to the similar regions here. We’re more Bavarian in the south.
Not strictly true.The people of Cologne are generally more fun-loving than the Bavarians. Some even refer to Cologne as the most northern Italian city. The weather, however, is anything but Italian.
Not stereotypes. In Germany, everything is orderly, disciplined, with police regulations for all possible human endeavor.
France is utter chaos, and when you set foot in Paris, you simultaneously want to fall in love, paint a picture, and throw yourself in the Seine. And you don’t know why.
I can see why the Germans kept going back, driving in tanks because the French drive like lunatics. Still don’t hold a candle to driving in Rome, however, where traffic is exactly the opposite as it is in the civilized world.
Frog legs with a side of kraut ping.
Thanks nickcarraway.
“Don’t mention the war.”
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