How Would You Define Frenchness?
It all started by Robert Scoble saying that to gain more followers on Twitter and Friendfeed, you could question my Frenchness (see #27). It got me think about what is Frenchness and I asked on Twitter and Friendfeed. In a matter of minutes I started to get huge feedback so I compiled them here, thank you all for the fun.
hakandahlstrom: @loic Cheese
willhiggins: @loic Frenchness is directly proportional to ones level of frenchitude.
alexanderhorre: @loic americans are full of themselves; frenchies are stuck up with themselves.
shefaly: @loic Obsessed with slow food, argumentative, smart but under-rated in that area, warmer than Germans/ British but generally aloof.
plasticbagUK: @loic "The quality of being mostly at war with the English"
calixte: @loic As a matter of fact, with some friends we're currently working on a SM project entitled REDEFINE FRANCE. Anybody can join, now :)
mattcampagna: @loic Frenchness = Class, good taste, craftsmanship, superiority, arrogance, and charm. To me, anyway. I'm only 1/4 French :)
sam_piroton: @loic frenchness = 2-hour lunch?
1938media: @loic A quickness to surrender, bad humor, mice in hotels, insane restaurant owners. Pepe La Pew. and you, King of the Frenchies in my book.
ledretch: @loic we never agree, but we always do it! =D
bruceprokopets: @loic An American really wishes their sex partner had your accent. Your Frenchness is solely based on how Americans perceive your accent lol Chris_Hougardy: @loic Something Scobble would like to attain but do not succeed
rahulrrao: @loic Anything that's got a "le", "la" or "les" before it? :-)
plasticbagUK: @loic Dude! I think you'll find it was all started by William, Duke of Normandy!
kevinmarks: @loic I always liked De Gaulle's comment that its impossible to rule a contry with 250 kinds of cheese.
grouchal: @loic just driven through France to get back to Spain - Frenchness: arrogant, argumentative, low regard 4 others - deep down nice people
shefaly: @loic Why not ask as a balance what Americanness means to people? Would be interesting to compare 2 nations steeped in 'exceptionalism'!
iphonefresh: @loic gourmet cuisine
dnsf: @loic: Là, tout n'est qu'ordre et beauté, Luxe, calme et volupté.
kevinmarks: @loic go to Google, type in "French Military Victories" and click "I'm Feeling Lucky"
michaelfieldcom: @loic Myer department store in #Australia had a French woman @ the information desk. I asked directions to anything just to hear her speak..
michaelreuter: @loic frenchness tags: taste, savoir vivre, grandezza, dirigisme, intellectuel, culture, nourriture, paris, st. tropez, arrogance
vaelentin: @loic : What is your 1/4 French ? Class ? good taste ? craftsmanship ?superiority ? arrogance ? or charm ?
mrouldug: @loic Being French is valuing social interactions around a good meal
MaryTrigiani: @loic How I define "Frenchness:" Pepe le Pew.
mrouldug: @loic Being French is being able to make things work when they don't
MaryTrigiani: @loic http://tinyurl.com/224sbr (expand) Just think of it as payback for your witty comments about Italians. HA.
cvillemeur: @loic Frenchness = French in the US proving Americans that WE run the web
mrouldug: @loic Being French is giving lessons to the entire world, thus being perceived as arrogant
marsha: @loic Frenchness? Exceptionally high level in architectural design, cuisine, couture, and all the arts - and the art of living
cvillemeur: @loic lol frenchness is actually, for some unknown reason, being too proud of your slow and close-minded country
kosmar: @loic healthy ignorance in face of reality
sam_piroton: @loic frenchness = exception culturelle
theparallaxview: @loic France is all about sea salt http://tinyurl.com/8nt695
JayneHilditch: @loic an inherent sense of just *knowing* that french wine and cheese, (and let's face it, everything else french) is superior.
pd0: @loic Unwilling to speak to me even I try hard with my very bad french. Then declaring me an idiot in perfect cockney. I've had it happen.
rozyroze: @loic the ability to be the most well-mannered, polite and the most rude person, sometimes at the same time!!
alexip: @loic frenchness how do you translate and tag : péter plus haut que son cul
johngalpin: @loic ask for a steak "bein cuit" and check out the reaction! Always accepted but not always happily.
papadimitriou: @loic by a certain "je ne sais quoi" ^^
Hippowill: @loic A certain calm or bitchy superiority some may call arrogance, cooking great food and appreciating the terroir, sophistication, wit
RichardStacy: @loic hierachy and centralised authority on the one hand - and popular resistance to it on the other
salimismail: @loic - the French are the only people who will say "it works in practice, but will it work in theory?"
mled: @loic biensur l'amour, amicable debates, les bobos, diversity- encadrement à banlieue, croissant cafe chlop, beaujolais nouveau, ft lumieres
lanounou: @loic someone said French are just Italians on a bad mood.
lanounou: @loic and I would add : grumpy, always-ready-to-go-on-strike people, very aware of their "rights", forgetting their "must-do" and "I can"
kevinmarks: @loic the French don't have a word for entrepreneur (kidding) They don't have a way to say 'he said one thing and meant another' (Stoppard)
FacundoV: @loic I guess some Frenchness is about having breakfast without a plate (toast on the table) :)
JonnyStark: @loic one late arrival -frenchness=not british. Though languages are 50% the same. Drive very fast and drink a lot of wine (often at once).
sanatawileh: @loic French "chauvinisme" - aggressive pride and confidence with a touch of elegance!
sidharthdassani: @loic 2 hour lunch
Cheese - Håkan Dahlström
Frenchness is directly proportional to ones level of frenchitude. - Will Higgins
style, charm, and a bit of attitude, if you are Parisian. If not, then well...the term 'provencial' comes to mind, with all it's myriad meanings... :) - सत्याग्रह {Bren}
2-hour lunch - Mike Doeff
Macarons. - Mona N.
My impression of Frenchness is pretty much synonymous with my impression of Parisians, or so I've heard the one or two people I know who've known people from other areas of France say. - Spidra Webster
cigarettes - sean percival
Lots of rich food, wine, and kisses on the cheek. - Rochelle
Based on the French people I know? American-phile. Is that a word? I have no POR because all the French people I know can be dropped into any large city in the US and be at home. - Anika Malone
A certain... je ne sais quoi. :) - Jandy Stone
People who really know how to love life! Simple, elegant, smart, witty, lovers, passionate people. Also great cuisine!, cheese, wine, cafe shops, french bread, pastries, croissants! Parisian street scenes, lavender fields!! - Susan Beebe
Wine. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. Unions & strikes. Roadside cafes. Art. I've never been to France though. - Arvind
@loic Revolutions ! :) People really showing what they mean and rallying to Paris for anything:) Just my perception, but Frenchness when it comes to economy; solid industries but dependant on state support and hard to change around because of very strong and hardline unions. And principles! The best free healthcare. - Thomas Bøhm
French... bimonthly cycles of burning tyres in the streets :) - Prolific Programmer
americans, with style - ouriel
Conservative revolutionaries - Bertrand Doux via fftogo
2 hour lunch - Sidharth Dassani
