Maybe the French are not so bad after all

by Ian Jarrett

Let’s talk about the dogs first. They are a national obsession in France. They pop up everywhere. Skidding across polished marble floors on gold leashes in luxury-label retail stores; on owner’s laps in airport departure lounges; on trains and – as I observed in La Rochelle – sitting up at a table at an outdoor restaurant while being hand-fed.

The cutest dog was the silky terrier waiting patiently at Nice airport for a flight to Zurich. The meanest was the muzzled Rottweiler being held by a gendarme on crowd control following England’s Rugby World Cup defeat of Australia in Marseille.

Even allowing for the dog poo on pavements, the graffiti-tagged TGV trains, and the cigarette smoke drifting over your morning baguette, France remains a special place other destinations find hard to imitate.

A book called 50 Reasons to Hate the French, written by two Brits, recently hit the New York Times bestseller lists but the number of Americans still visiting France indicates that most US citizens are ignoring the book’s advice.

My previous visits – quite some years ago it must be said – were mostly quick trips across the Channel from the UK to the port towns of Calais and Dieppe, and sometimes onward to Paris. But there was rarely time to do anything another than take a long lunch with friends and dash back for the last ferry home.

But when you skim across a country, there is little opportunity to test whether preconceived ideas are accurate.

The French are frequently accused of being haughty, disdainful of foreigners and having public toilets that should be consigned to a medieval museum. The latter still exist in some places, by the way.

A month was long enough for me to explore new areas and enjoy different experiences of France. From the splendid seaside town of La Rochelle on the west coast, to a small village near Poitiers, and on to the Canal du Midi and the regions of Languedoc and Provence.

The Brits have arrived in large numbers in France, claiming that it is a much better place to live than in the UK.

“France is like England was 30 years ago,” said one UK expat who lives on a boat with his wife on the Canal du Midi.

“People here have time for each other. They are polite and friendly.”

Reasons to love the French include the wonderful produce in the markets, the courtesy of French shopkeepers, Provence in October, and the easy pace of life outside the major cities.

Pity about the dogs, though.