How does french mind work ?

Be aware when you expose a new idea to a French

2007-08-04T08:48:00.000-07:00

When you have a new idea, be sure that French people will find an argument (valuable or not) to contradict you.
I think that it comes from his need to show that he knows, and when he contradict you, people will see that he knows and this will fuel his arrogance.
You can imagine his face, when he find such an argument, it's like someone having found the holy graal.
But the problem of that story is that most of the time his argument is ridiculous, and concerns differents cases.
There is a collegue, i name “Mr No”, because for every idea i expose to him, the first word i hear is “No”,
brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, why ......

French try to ignore you

2007-07-31T10:48:00.000-07:00

You see people in the underground seeing the roof, as if there are stars shining so brightly, but Paris underground roof is not so beautifull i think, what's happening ? They see things i can't see ?

Look to the photo, only sad faces. Hey my friends what's heppening ?

At work managers are aggressive

2007-07-31T10:47:00.000-07:00

Hear in French, w you find a new kind of management, called “management by aggressivity”, witch means “the more aggressive you are, the better manager you become”

French managers think that when they shout and humiliate workers, the job will be done well : Strange way of thinking, isn't it.

I must confess, by honesty that there is managers who are very good and comprehensive, but some other incompetents ones have (all bad things in one person), arrogance, humiliating people, agressivity.

French daily behavior

2007-07-14T14:22:00.000-07:00

In France, You must to be “grande gueule”, which means “big mouth”, or “the one who shout”
If you are such a person, you will be respected. So they respect persons that when you hear them talking you think they shout
If you talk with a monotonous voice, they will see you as a weak person, and remember when a predator find a weak prey, it's very bad news for it.
Hey English people in France you must to change your customs, Sorry for that news.
There is another tone to use like “Parisians bourgeois” do.
This tone uses 'e' sounds like 'oe' in the end of words, and those parisians are called “titis Parisiens”,
I perceive such a person as someone without any conviction, very spoiled, boring, someone you can't trust.
But surprisingly most of Parisians like thoses persons, oh my god.

French arrogance

2007-07-14T14:21:00.000-07:00

French think that they have a mission for the world, they think that they must behave perfectly to be models for other countries, so they can inspire from and follow them.
But when you see the reality, it's the complete opposite. A person who is a model, must be honest, without a changing opinions like the wind directions.
At the end of the day, i say to my self : Hey man will never have French as a model

French hate companies chairmans

2007-07-14T14:20:00.000-07:00

For a French “normal” citizen, a company chairman is some one who is against workers, the evil to hunt.
He make them unemployed, he exploit them, he do not pay them enough, he is avid of money.
For them it's mainly workers who build the company richness, but i will add this comment “Dear French, without the company chairman workers won't find any job”, because a ship without captain will sink.
They have a very bad vision of capitalism, they see it as exploitation and not as progress for humanity.
They are afraid mainly of flexibility, and they see it as redunduncy and poverty and extremely bad work conditions, so they call it “précarité”, witch means miserable life with too much uncertainty.

French and money

2007-07-14T14:19:00.000-07:00

French do not like to talk about money
Money spending efficiency is perceived as stinginess, and they hate that a lot.
In the other hand, the first problem of workers is salary and then it's a money problem, workers want more money “strange for some one who do not like money”
They say that this money is necessary for life, “we only need money to live”, perhaps they will say no to any extra money compared to lifehood needs,
If you say that you earn much money, you will be seen as corrupted and arrogant person who worship the dirty money like thoses stupid Americains (i must to remember that French people think that Americain are stupid and inelegant), like a lord watching a farmer equipped with his work dirty clothes.

French gray opinions

2007-07-14T14:18:00.000-07:00

Never try to declare any truth, it's the biggest mistake.
Never to be offensive or to show that you are sure of your self, because they will try to find any argument (acurate or not), to destroy this truth.
They are sure that what you are exposing is partially false, it's their pessimistic side who push them to do that.
Example : Sarkosy proposed in it's presidential compain to be opened for rival socialist party and to accept some as ministers, and when he did that, people said that “it's a strategy to destroy the socialist party”.
See that : “selecting the dream team to lead France” become a “vicious strategy to destroy socialist party “ : ahhh this French mind.

Talking about someone abscent

2007-07-14T14:17:00.000-07:00

It's their favourite sport and they find it normal de talk (mostly badly) about some one without finding that yhis is a coward behavior.
I always heard, in the street or in the underground, people complaining from theirs colleagues, friends, lovers, families. It's always complains, complains, hear is the complain kingdom, it's so depressing.
I dreamt to hear one time some thing positive about someone, because all this negativity and aggressivity is too hard for a normal mind to carry.

French humor

2007-07-14T14:14:00.000-07:00

How to describe French humour. After years of living in France i declare that it's like a tasteless food, you know like Tofu or Soya.
Added to that the fact that it is spicy, because French humor can be very humiliating and if you try to defend yourself you become a man who do not have any bit of humor and who is serious and therfore in-interesting person.
In fact what they want, is that you accept their humor (even if you are the victim), and it's better for you to laugh with them, if you decide to make a rebellion you will become the black sheep.
In fact, the best thing is to answer some one who diminish you by doing the same by using humour obviously.
As a foreigner, i put too much time to understand that facts, and i was always looked at bizarrely as “the man we French can't communicate with”.
Warning : if you use English humor mainly, you are , definitively, in the shit because it's difficult for a French brain to understand English humor subtilities.
English people, prepare yourself to have wide opened eyes in looking to you.

Introduction

2007-07-14T14:12:00.000-07:00

I'm a foreigner living in France during 8 years, and even now, i can say that French mind is a deep mystery.
I will try to share my experience and situations hear in France, with fun.
If you experienced strange situations in France, please send me your story, i will publish it....