User Panel
User Panel
User Panel
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 6:32:41 AM EDT
Things must be bad when people want to be French!
 ANdy It's l'amour: one in five Britons would rather be French By Robert Colvile (Filed: 09/10/2006) The British have a reputation for having a national superiority complex. Yet more than a fifth of us are hiding a shameful truth: we would actually prefer to be French. Wooed either by a better climate, a more efficient health service, or simply the greater availability of cheap alcohol, the English have long seen France as the perfect retirement destination. Francophiles: Mark Cooper and daughter Emily However, a survey of more than 1,000 people aged under 50 suggests that the young are equally dazzled by the Gallic way of life. Twenty-two per cent would prefer to have been born in France, while 32 per cent would prefer to live there. "Many people are seeking a better, more relaxed way of life, and they see that in France," said Nick Wall, the editor of France magazine. "Couple that with the fact that French football stars such as Thierry Henry have had a tremendous influence on how we now view the French, and all things French have become even more attractive." Despite the fact that British relations with France have traditionally been tinged with frustration and condescension, the two countries are now more interlinked than ever. British retirees still emigrate in large numbers to France, while Henry is one of an estimated 300,000 French nationals now living in Britain. Another 15,000 more arrive every year, attracted by the lower taxes and London's high pay and cosmopolitan lifestyle. At the same time the survey, carried out to mark French wine week, confirmed that coffee and a croissant has displaced the full English breakfast in Britons' affections, just as the glass of wine is preferred to the pint of bitter. One of those considering making the move across the Channel is Mark Cooper, a 41-year-old who works in marketing. Both he and his wife have spent long periods in France, and are already speaking French to their 12-week-old daughter. "A whole set of intangibles create something that is fabulously appealing," he said of life in France. "There's good food, an abundance of wine, a general conviviality and love of conversation, and if you live in the capital, the Metro's a damn sight more efficient than the Tube." The ties between the two countries were the subject of debate over the weekend at the first London Paris Festival, organised by the group Intelligence Squared. Its events revealed that although there are many ties between Britain and France, there are still profound cultural gaps. In the opening debate on Saturday, "The French model has much to teach the world", commentator Will Hutton pointed out that there are as many similarities between the countries' economies as there are differences: the British see themselves as low-tax capitalists, yet have higher levels of state spending than Germany, while the French social model has produced a cutting-edge corporate sector with more major brands than Britain. In a discussion compered by Andrew Neil, the presenter of This Week, it was agreed that the high cost of buying a house in France was a major obstacle to economic progress. However, Anatole Kaletsky, the economic commentator, insisted while opposing the debate that the only thing the French had to teach the world was how not to do things – he described its vaunted social security system, for instance, "as simply a fraud, a ruse, an excuse for the protection of vested interests". The fireworks erupted in a later debate on whether Britain's Special Relationship should be with Washington or Paris, in which the commentators Bruce Anderson and Christopher Hitchens savaged the Elysée's track record. After Anderson had accused France of not being "a serious country", Hitchens caused further spluttering when he accused France of "a jackal policy to consciously exploit the difficulties of its allies at any cost". It seems that in international relations, if not in the cultural sphere, the entente cordiale still has some way to go. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/10/09/nfrench09.xml |
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 6:37:18 AM EDT
[#1]
Britain went to the dogs with their open borders. They can't enforce laws now because their prisoners are overcrowded and the law is too liberal to administer harsh punishment. Homeowners can't even defend their homes in England. Ahh, Napoleon finally won.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 6:37:37 AM EDT
[#2]
i'd rather be dead
|
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 6:38:27 AM EDT
[#3]
I'd rather be Irish… …and I am. ANdy |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 6:40:24 AM EDT
[#4]
As long as neither the British, Irish or French move here.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 6:44:59 AM EDT
[#5]
A lot of British retirees are selling their highly-appreciated real estate and moving to the French countryside. Less well-off ones go to cheaper countries like Portugal or Bulgaria.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 6:49:55 AM EDT
[#6]
No fracking way
 I dont believe that.Sorry Andy,I have to call bullshit on that.That would be like saying "1 in 5 British men wish they didnt have testicals" That poll as about as much validity as the ones here that predicted POTUS Kerry in 04. Nah,the sons of Churchill havnt slid that far,sorry 
|
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 6:56:16 AM EDT
[#7]
[blazing saddles] we will take the brittish and the french..... but we don't want the irish [/blazing saddles] of course we will take all 3 so long as those damn dutch stay away
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 6:56:58 AM EDT
[#8]
Y'all are in trouble.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 7:00:48 AM EDT
[#9]
One in 4 US citizens are willing to help our welfare leeches emmigrate to France.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 7:03:18 AM EDT
[#10]
Yup… I live in a bottom of the market 2 bedroom bungalow, it's worth £200,000 ($374,000), and that's a bargain basement price for the type of property. Me and Mrs Vito have done some reaseach on Portugal and the Canary Islands, £100,000 or so will buy us something really nice with 20 acres of land. Add in the cost of living is about half and the sun shines 330 days a year instead of 33 days and it's a no brainer. Habla Espanol? You bet I will! ANdy |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 7:13:49 AM EDT
[#11]
It's true… www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=398856&in_page_id=1770 Just from personal family experience in the last 12 months… Mother: Moved back to Ireland Brother: Emigrating to Canada Son and his family: Applied to Emigrate to Canada Uncle: Emigrated to US Cousin and his family: Emigrated to Bermuda Cousin and his family: Emigrated to Australia ANdy |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 7:24:14 AM EDT
[#12]
Well, dang, Get a tan, learn spanish, and "immigrate" here. 
|
||
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 7:30:32 AM EDT
[#13]
That's because they have never heard our current musical production
|
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 8:25:07 AM EDT
[#14]
Interesting......So Brits are leaving and the third worlders are moving on in, out breeding and taking over.
Is there any hope ? |
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 8:45:39 AM EDT
[#15]
No news to me,I've been to both countries and think both places are full of arrogant pricks(although I like the Brits a little better),and don't EVEN get started one why WE one the Great War. To me,Frenchmen are just smelly Brits in denial.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 8:57:07 AM EDT
[#16]
Kinda scary when you break it down like this. Or perhaps the Irish should invade?
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 9:05:26 AM EDT
[#17]
Who is "We." Please don't tell me you were in Europe talking shit about the US involvement in the Great War? Oh, and I believe the word you were looking for was "won" - past tense of the infinitive, "to win." |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 10:16:57 AM EDT
[#18]
I was in England and France back in August. I met a lot of Brits living in France. The feeling I got from the ones living in France was:
1. Thought the British government was destroying their country with the open borders. 2. It was cheaper to live in France 3. They all hated Tony Blair 4. They like the weather better! You think America has an immigration problem.......try Europe sometime! My two cents! 
|
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 10:25:54 AM EDT
[#19]
But but i have read here that the situation is worse in France? That we have 20% of muslims and will be soon a minority in our own country. That the current riots are the work of the ROP'ers. And these Brits are still in France? Damn... |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 10:28:52 AM EDT
[#20]
Arfcom is where I go to find out what the average guy I am standing in line behind at Home Depot might be thinking. It is definitely NOT the place I go to for facts about security policy, history, international relations, demographics, or things of that nature. Admittedly, though - sometimes the comments here cause me to look up info regarding something I was not previously familiar with. |
||
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 10:40:12 AM EDT
[#21]
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 11:13:23 AM EDT
[#22]
 I'm not saying that Britain has an enfeebled armed forces, just the fact that most don't acknowledge the importance of our efforts during their times of need.
|
||
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 11:16:09 AM EDT
[#23]
Wow. You really should learn about WWI. When have you worked with the British Army? The French? |
|||
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 11:27:16 AM EDT
[#24]
When I was stationed in Germany we had the annual Tri-Nationals at Grafenwhere(spelling?),or maybe it was at Hohenfels,I can't really remember,but don't get me wrong,I'm NOT poking fun of their military(the Brits). They were great soldiors to work with and I had good times with them. I don't recall seeing any French soldiors,unless they were pulling support somewhere in the rear echelon sector. AHHH.. I just caught your name, Didn't the British suffer near-defeat During the Bohr War? I can't really remember the details to that one.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 11:43:19 AM EDT
[#25]
They're gonna regret it when the next big holy war starts in Europe. The French, Spanish, and Portugese are all gonna fold like a dinner napkin. |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 11:45:55 AM EDT
[#26]
Bulgaria??? WTF? 
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 11:56:42 AM EDT
[#27]
I believe you are thinking of the late 19th century Boer wars in South Africa. My screen name is a play on Niels Bohr, the Danish Physicist who developed the first practical working model of the Atom. |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 12:00:46 PM EDT
[#28]
Charlton Heston says no… ANdy |
||
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 2:40:12 PM EDT
[#29]
|
||
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 3:37:06 PM EDT
[#30]
|
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 3:38:38 PM EDT
[#31]
They don't speak Spanish in Portugal Is the czech republic expensive? |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 3:39:18 PM EDT
[#32]
Cheap, casual, laid-back, uncrowded, no hustle-bustle, warm. |
||
|
|
|
Posted: 10/29/2006 3:40:17 PM EDT
[#33]
I'd live in france before briton. Much better gun laws, comparatively speaking.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 10/30/2006 1:45:38 AM EDT
[#34]
It's close enough, anyways, Mrs Vito wants Portugal, I want the Islands. Yes, Czech republics is cheap. ANdy |
||
|
|
Win a FREE Membership!
Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!
You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.
AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types.
From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to receive firearm news, product discounts from your favorite Industry Partners, and more.
Copyright © 1996-2024 AR15.COM LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.
AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own.
