Why Frenchwomen enjoy housework

  We all know that women still do most of the household chores despite over three decades of supposed equality between the sexes. A French researcher has just produced an interesting book that seeks to explain why women have not asserted their rights in the home like they have at work.

Part of the answer, according François de Singly, a Paris sociologist, is that women wield power over their partners by retaining their traditional role of maîtresse de maison.  "The unequal split of chores has the effect of making the man dependent. While the man benefits from the service of his companion, he loses a little of his mastery over his world."

It is a sacrifice that men are of course happy to make. "The man's loss of autonomy inside conjugal life is not equivalent to the loss of independence that stems from the woman's overload of domestic chores," Singly concludes in L'Injustice Ménagère (Household injustice). "Most men accept being disposessed of a role in building the shared life in order to avoid the work it requires."

Singly and colleagues from the CNRS, the state research institute, use case studies and statistics to show that women have not made housework a priority while they imposed a revolution in male attitudes in other domains.

Getting men to listen and communicate has been more urgent than forcing them to wash dishes and do laundry, they say.

Things have not changed much over the years in France. In 1974, women did three quarters of domestic labour. Now they do two thirds. In France, the dishes are washed by 93 percent of women and only seven percent of men. Ironing splits 86 percent - 14 percent and cooking 74 percent to 26 percent. Yet 74 percent of women say they are content with this situation. Not surprisingly 94 percent of men are satisfied.

The French researchers found that the idea of the woman serving her partner had changed since the old days when the husband would be handed his pipe and newspaper on his return from the office. The notion of equality is there and Frenchwomen do not accept criticism. "Iron it yourself" is the answer to a complaint about a badly-pressed shirt, not "I'm sorry chéri, I'll do it again."

Women, including those with equivalent jobs to their partners, have rationalised their much heavier share of chores. They say that they have more time, that they want things done "their way" and that they do it better. Women also find that "feminine" domestic chores reinforce their identity while Frenchmen see pursuits such as ironing as a threat to their virility. Women  "are afraid to lose their femininity and turn into bad mothers if they abandon certain chores to their husbands," say the researchers.

Singly and his team nail the fallacies in the arguments. For instance, if women work shorter hours professionally, it is not by choice but because they have been tied more to the home.

Singly does not just confine himself to diagnosing the "domestic injustice" that I suspect prevails slightly more in the Latin and Slavic nations of Europe than the northern ones. He suggests ways of achieving a "second emancipation", in which women would win equality at home, as they have at work -- at least officially. Men should be convinced that they are not real men if they are dependent on women in the home. And couples should abandon the idea that there are masculine and feminine chores. Women can put up shelves and men can wash the laundry.

Conjugal equality starts with the laundry, says Singly. There is a long way to go. In the average French working couple with full-time jobs, monsieur spends four minutes a day on le linge while madame devotes 32 minutes to it.

Singly's arguments are not exactly new.  We men have absorbed the theory of domestic equality since the early 1970s at least. The theory is simple. It's the practise part that's difficult.

I

Comments

[VisitorHK]

Does this book link its findings to different social or age groups?

In other (Nordic European) countries, the level of equality when it comes to household chores goes more or less hand in hand with the level of education.
This is generally challenged with the arrival of children. If both partners work the equality achieved will be preserved if there come in outside helpers (nanny, cleaning technicians), depending on the income.

If the chores are then still shared by both partners, it will remain challenging – even in the most emancipated or enlightened – places of Europe, but possible with some effort. On the other hand, speaking of myself, if I pursued my career as my husband does, where would we leave the children? Someone has to take them to school and pick them up after class. Primary education has a ‘garderie du matin’ before and an ‘étude du soir’ after school – taking care of the children up to 10 hours/day (4 days/week). My husband, though, leaves for his 12+ h workday (including commute) at 7 am.
When and where should there be room for household chores in his timetable on top of his??

I don’t quite trust that book’s statistics. It seems very traditional if not theoretical that French women wouldn’t embrace help from their spouse/partner. We are 37/41 years old, and I can clearly state that what is said in that book may well apply to those older than us, but those our age and younger share their chores as much as possible, with no virility impaired on the men’s side. Our friend W. is proud of his home-made marmalade (including fruit picking and cooking), does the grocery shopping for the week, etc. I see so many French fathers taking care of their kids on Wednesdays. “Household” clearly includes taking care of the kids’ activities from sports, music, homework to receiving their friends at home, serving them their ‘goûter’, etc – I see very involved partners/fathers.

I heard complaints about men not being too eager to climb up their career ladder (those socialists). Part of it may be explained this way. They WANT to share family chores, including household chores, be involved and know that they would put these, yes (!) achievements and their happiness at risk if they claimed the 60 hour work week outside home.

As for “older” couples, what has been said seems to be true. I may add that if men fear for their virility, women feel easily judged by their 5 to 7 course menu which is and must be an art in itself, just as the partner’s right choice of wine. These women love to be in control and thus the role of the “maîtresse de maison”. I find it curious to see, however, that that same phenomenon applies to my husband’s British supervisors who (unlike their French counterparts) enjoy jokingly complaining about their “bossy” spouses. French male partners treat their female counterparts with every due respect, if not admiration.

There is another particularity to this: Household doesn’t mean anymore to scrub the laundry on a wash-board and get rough and ugly hands. Modernity has rendered those classic household chores more and more efficient. They have become hardly time consuming at all. The dishwasher, washing machine, clothes dryer do a lot, and microwave ovens, freezers have their share in helping. It seems that Americans and representatives of what CB calls the Nordic countries try to be efficient as much as possible, making household chores always easier to the detriment of their value, i.e. devaluing them! When my mother came to our house and saw me cooking she “suffered” for me saying “Why all that effort with cooking?! You could pick that from the freezer and serve an ice cream for dessert!” She didn’t appreciate my preparations, considered my efforts to be redundant and inefficient. She hadn’t understood at what point I had already been francised.

In France, it is a pleasure, a joy and a must to create the “perfect” homemade meal – AND everybody will savour and appreciate it. Food isn’t just there to feed us! The French maîtresse de maison or what has remained of her, at least from time to time, reminds us of the pleasures of food - preparation and intake!

Of course, this will remain “un point fort” of French culture at least for some time, regardless of whether food preparation will be shared or not, and more often than not it will be and is already shared… -

[jorgandersen]

I suspect that things are not much different in France from the rest of the world. As long as women put up with it men will let them do the housework.

[azloon]

CB: do english wives, living in france, enjoy doing housework as well (i.e. did you clear this with your wife?)

does the word "enjoy" actually capture the essence of this matter? isn't is closer to "does it to maintain a degree of control" and/or "does it so she doesn't have to re-do it after her clueless husband screws it up."

[VisitorHK]

It is my guess that there lies some truth and some irony in this ‘joy’. It is an undeniable truth – for some to the point that it defines French femininity to some degree along with well-known fashion topics. This is unique, i.e. differs from other countries. One must participate in a French T.ware party once to truly understand French women’s passion with their household. One must not forget, though, that French working women don’t have much time to devote to this passion.

[azloon]

VISITORHK

"french tupperware party" is surely an oxymoron. please tell me you're joking.

these are considered fairly low-brow affairs in the u.s.

have the french managed to impart to them a dash of elan?

we are, after all, talking about what to do with old food.

i'm partial to zip-lock bags. mercifully, no parties required.

BTW, no wife, but i greatly enjoy looking at my sparkling house after the cleaning lady has been here.

[VisitorHK]

AZLOON:
I sure can provide some more detail on that French Tupperware Party (FTP). Somehow I get an invitation once with every move, where I get some first conclusive insight in local culture, buy an overpriced object and leave it at that. I have never been to a genuine American T Party.

The FTP that I have been to was on the high brow side – high brow men’s spouses – no oxymoron there. The price range for those plastic dishes explains it easily. Tupperware (T) isn’t about old food but about keeping fresh food from the local market fresh and about ‘highly efficient’ cooking utensils. Recipes tend to be made up of vegetables that are more difficult to handle than others. You will use shallots instead of simple onions in order to prove the necessity of the T onion chopper. The T party nowadays is about cooking. We were cooking using only T. - Cooking in our case meant creating a finely spiced three course meal in a minimum amount of time.

We had a ‘Pâté au saumon’ as entrée (the hostess had worked the ‘pâte brisée’ for that purpose all morning long – instead of buying the ready-to-use version from the next supermarket), followed by ‘Filet mignon à l’estragon’ and ‘Oeufs à la neige’ for dessert. Food talk was highly sophisticated. I just listened to learn and had the others believe that my silence was due to some linguistic deficiency. They were very patient with me explaining in slow motion how to make sure that the ‘caramel’ on the ‘oeufs à la neige’ wouldn’t get burnt. I was stunned by all this ‘ordinary’ French culinary expertise. There was more than simple factual knowledge about cooking but a simply unparalleled passion into food (preparation), as French cliché has it. This is just one particular side to French women’s love for their housework, although “work” isn’t right to the point. There is housework - and there’s cooking. – I was invited to host one of the following parties, declined with some excuse because I realized that my heat-and-thaw only Microwave oven wasn’t going to be up to the minimum requirements of kitchen equipment. IMHO, though, I am a very good cook, too. The French T lady in charge is VERY successful, very well trained and has an authentic American sense of business. More than that, one might call her greedy, because she takes her plastic dishes just a little too seriously but this is part of the T success story worldwide, isn’t it?

[colin grayson`]

this is a joke , surely !
having a house in rural france I watch the women visiting the local supermarket where the range of goods has changed out of all recognition in 20 years ; what was once french local products is now international type foods ; last month yet another jumbo freezer was installed for ready prepared meals ... impressed by it's sheer size I asked the manger what it cost ....€30,000 he said , but it will be profitable because it's what french people want
and in addition once a month a truck turns up in the village [ well , actually 2 different companies ] full of pre-ordered frozen produce to fill the freezer

to be fair , most houses here have a vegetable garden and a few chickens , but in every case kept by a lady of 70+ ......another tradition nearing it's end I fear

in 20 years it has changed from a 2CV to 2 or 3 german vehicles per household ; when I arrived with a swedish car it was the only foreign car in the village ; now down to perhaps 40% french !

face the fact , what you read about france is largely nonsense , for example

the food is wonderful , as is the wine
the bread is great
everybody shops in the markets
etc

all nonsense in general , just like the rest of europe

wine sales are down 50% in 30 years..because it's so good ?

the local relais routier now serves pre - prepared frozen foods for some items

people shop in the markets to buy speciality products only ;ok , on special occassions french people make an effort and put on a show ,but doesn't everybody ?

despite the artificially high price of bread it is a struggle to keep the boulangeries open , we have just had a miracle , the baker retired , his son didn't wish to do it ......but his nephew has taken over ; he will make a lot of money , but 80+ hours a week ? but proper bread is still available ; so we enjoy it ? well no , like an increasing number of people here we bought a breadmaking machine [ as now sold in the local supermarket ]and make exactly the type of whole bread we prefer made with flour from canadian wheat

the truth of the matter is that the tradition of home made products in france came from poverty ; certainly rural people could afford no other ; subsistance was the only possibility , anything edible , and it meant crushingly hard work , literally dawn to dusk for most , 6 days a week , maybe 7 at harvest time if the priest gave permission !

who wants a life like that ? french people aren't stupid!!! they see an easier way of life and are following it , good for them!!!
life expectancy is still increasing , so it can't be all bad

[VisitorHK]

COLIN GRAYSON’ :

There is no vegetable garden in the suburban village where I live, though our – young – neighbours are now growing their own tomatoes. Ours failed to thrive.

It is true, of course, that French supermarkets put up freezers for some existing clientele. The freezer serves perfectly well for quick lunches, when kids come home at noon, when there is no time to prepare food because of long working hours – and the French are glad about this efficiency just as anybody anywhere else.

I didn’t make that T. story up! Family meals are still very important where we live, not just on special occasions. It is an important moment in French families to gather around a several course meal (usually dinner). That family time combined with a quality meal is still cherished, at least by the more educated and the elderly, of course. If anything threatens this, it might be TV (not the freezer).

Local markets remain lively places, not just for the elderly. Well, the clientele is restricted by the fact that not everybody is free to go to the market on Wednesday mornings, as in our case. For all others, it is also open on Sunday mornings along with the local “Huit à huit” supermarket. Our village baker holds a monopoly with long lines reaching into the market; the neighbouring village has two bakeries. As I said, this is suburbia. People buy their bread in supermarkets or might use a bread maker but population growth here levels out any effect of it.

[Actu75]

Colin Grayson

One discussion only. (I could partly agree with you on the rest...)

"wine sales are down 50% in 30 years..because it's so good ?"

If you are suggesting that wine quality in France has been going down, you are damn' wrong. Actually, the average quality of wine in every range of price, and every "appelation" or region, has never been so good. There are many reasons to the regular consumption's decrease (considering it was exceptionnaly high in a country with a practice of "vin-aliment"). Most have to do with the cultural evolutions you tend to describe. Complexity an diversity of the french vignoble are both its main asset and its worst disadvantage. Specially for the young ones who do not understand it and prefer others alcoohols (and unfortunately import too the "binge drinking attitude but it 's another issue).
To make it shorter there are still too many wines that are not worth their price or alleged reputation, but in the same time there has never been so many wines that are worth or better than their price and reputation.

[Titus Kakembo]

Indeed women are so obsessed with the equal rights that they ignore the detail just under their noses to scream them selves hoarse about emancipation.
Where I come from they feel offended if a man does his laundry, cooking and house cleaning.
Traditionally men are not even allowed in the kitchen or they risk loosing their manhood!

[azloon]

TITUS KAKEMBO:

i don't know about losing my manhood (my radiant, cheerful disposition, maybe), but i'd love to be excluded from the kitchen, and from other domestic chores.

could you pick me up at the airport?

[rocket]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2045916.ece

I can't wait till this debate hits Charles blog

[colin grayson`]

actu 75 , I can only say that I have discussed the reasons for the rapid decrease in wine sales with my [french] neighbours , and why the weekly wine deliveries stopped at least 10 years ago
they opine that cheap french wine is now practically undrinkable mass produced junk....and the price of anything of quality is now so expensive as to make it a special occassion purchase , although they regard that as the worlds finest

[Sandrine]

"could you pick me up at the airport?"

Lol, excellent Azloon ! Good luck !! ;o)

[Robert Marchenoir]

I think we urgently need a new law to ensure equal sharing of household chores between sexes, with the relevant High Authority to process claims and sue offenders.

Of course, we will also have to settle the delicate matter of same-sex couples and those where one of the partners is transsexual.

Maybe they should be dispensed entirely with cleaning up their homes, as a token of recognition, by the state, of their truly progressive sexual orientation.

I say: give us more rights, and more inspectors to enforce them.

[peter kinsley www.peterkinsley.com]

In the Languedoc, a viticulteur would no more dream of going into the kitchen than his wife would dare to get on his tractor. One wife cooked ten meals, froze them, took the children to visit relatives in Normandy and her husband microwaved a dish each day until her return. Then she died, leaving him with four children. Within ten days he had to advertise for a wife.

[Tara_Lane]

Charles,

What a timely blog entry (for me, at least!) I am a teacher off for the summer...and longer, since I am expecting my first child in September. I was home today thinking how lost I felt in the matrix of housework; at least when I was working, I could console myself that things didn't need to be perfect because no one expected me to keep them that way - - after all, I was providing income. I feel like I might get greater satisfaction out of housework if I simply knew where to begin (note that I said "satisfaction," not "enjoyment.") Perhaps the French women this study refers to are better equipped to care for a home, and therefore more likely to get that satisfaction I lack???

And to Rocket: I went to Paris with my parents when I was about 10 years old, in 1986. I remember my parents warning me that we needed to remember we were guests in someone else's country and to behave accordingly. When we returned home, my parents were bombarded with questions about the supposed "rudeness" of the French, but sadly for the questioners, there was nothing to report. If we made an attempt at speaking French and weren't obnoxious or loud, we received the same treatment we hope Americans would give foreigners, too. Am curious to see what will happen with this new code.

[azloon]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2045916.ece

I can't wait till this debate hits Charles blog

ROCKET:

let's start it right here right now with a possible blog headline:

"FRENCH SET TOURIST REQUIREMENTS FOR RECEIVING POLITE TREATMENT"

the current compaign (there have been others before) appears designed as a contract between the visitor and the visitee (hereafter known as the tourist and the french). under terms of this deal, you don't get "nice" unless you buy something french, and refrain from urinating in public ("respect the city").

if this were a u.s. idea (not even a remote possiblity), there would be no way for visitors to buy something american since 95% of all manufactured goods here are made in china. perhaps france's protectionist streak has spared them this situation.

respect the city, certainly. but to promise to buy someting french ?? where else am i going to spend my money while in france? i guess i could be ordering stuff off amazon.com from a laptop in my hotel room, but i don't think this is what they had in mind. come to think of it, i don't know what they had in mind. just a reminder, i guess, that the french are a pricky lot, and you're not about to get them to make radical behavioural change without agreeing to something in return.

re: personal hygiene of the taxi drivers. this may have a more direct effect on visitors than being treated rudely (everyone expects it, so any exception is remarkable). one malodorous hour-long taxi ride across the city has a way of lingering in the mind longer than the more ephemeral personal slight.

in other parts of the world, parents are continually telling their children to "be nice." i am thinking that the current campaign would be unnecessary if this were part of the french parenting repetoire. you'll notice it's 'be nice,' not 'be nice if they give you money.'

i really don't think france has much to worry about. if rudeness toward foreign tourists were a deterrent to attracting them, the number going there would have declined a long time ago, and not increased as has happened.

in the end, though, how much fun would it be to blog here if the french were like most of the rest of the civilized world?

:)

[Valentin]

Rocket:
"I can't wait till this debate hits Charles blog"

You probably don't live in Paris intra-muros, Rocket. We're actually fed up with lazy-noisy tourists anting around everywhere from dusk till down. We do have jobs we need to attend to and things to do and homes to get to and a bunch of americans taking possession of the metro isn't our ideal end of evening on our way home from work.
Hopefully we'll soon get rid of Delanoe too and his bobo-like obsessions.

[rocket]

Valentin

I do live in Paris inra muras. In fact 10 minutes by foot from Champs Elysees. But more later as we foreigners who have opted out of the nanny state by principal, have to work.

[Actu75]

Colin Grayson
My advice: change neighbours when it comes to wine. Of course in any shop in any (wine producing) country you will find strange alcooholic beverage made of untasty feremented grapes daring claim to be labelled as wine. This doesn't affect the global evolution from "vin aliment" to "vin plaisir" that has lifted global quality. One of the reasons why the mass producing cooperatives in the Midi are now so mad about european directives for "arrachage" is that many have recently committed and invested in better quality. Too little probably, too lately surely.
The consumer problem is to be able not to buy overrated or badly made wines. In France (diversity small producers comlexity of the AOC) it requires to take time and interest. But I'm sure you could find many neighbours very proud of their "trouvailles". If you wish I'd be pleased to send you mines.

[Actu75]

ROCKET
This is surely the worst "maronnier" of anglo-american medias when it comes to Paris. Is this the reason why it has not -recently- reached this blog?
The campaign mentionned is not the first public communication plan on that matter. They target more foreign medias than mainstream parisians.
Parisian rudeness is such a cliché (with concrete reasons) that it truns into an "irrefragable" predjugement. No matter the evolutions.
So let me plead guilty for all the rude Parisians who for decades made not effort to speak decent english, and for the disgraceful ones who were deliberately unhelpful to foreigners.
But have you ever noticed the number of "english speaking" tourists who directly adress anyone in English without even (thinking of) priorly asking something like "Ayscousai moâ, parlay vou aneglé?"), and who feel offended if they ar nore well understood nore pefectly answered?
VALENTIN
When in holidays abroad, you are surely yourself a very hard working tourist. I've been living in Paris intra muros since I was born. Please: laisse venir à nous les petits Américain(e)s(*) (et tous les autres). They won't harm you in the metro. Even if their average "tour de taille" has been consistently growing these last 20 years.
As for Delanoe being soon replaced by Panafieu (or else), keep on dreaming but do not bet too much on it.

[Actu75]

PETER KINGSLEY

Isabelle Mergault made a film (partly) based on that kind of story.

http://www.gaumont.com/DVD/fiche_dvd.cfm?id_dvd=202

[rocket]

Actu75

"Ayscousai moâ, parlay vou aneglé?"),

What's a neglé?

If anyone tries to speak French like that they are sure de se "faire virer en moins de 2 seconds". Have you ever seen the look on Parisien faces when you don't pronounce a word correctly.

Usually their answer is a loud.... QUOI? barked in your face...

Your damned if you do and damned if you don't.

More later as I'm not on a 35 hour week.

[colin grayson`]

actu 75
I have learned to do without the wine , but change my wonderful french neighbours ......not a chance ; if events conspire against me and I am ever forced to leave here it will be one of the worst days of my life !
when we first came here many years ago , we were a little concerned that we would not be accepted ...after all somebody from 50 Km away was a foreigner !
but as one of my neighbours said when he realised that we intended to join the community ,you are not from paris so bienvenue ;maybe his tongue was in his cheek , but not altogether I think

[Edward Johns]

"the truth of the matter is that the tradition of home made products in france came from poverty ; certainly rural people could afford no other ; subsistance was the only possibility , anything edible , and it meant crushingly hard work , literally dawn to dusk for most , 6 days a week , maybe 7 at harvest time if the priest gave permission !"
There is another element to the new-style versus old-style argument in terms of food preparation.
This is the widespread use in France in the advertising of food and drink of phrases such as : -
"D'Antan", "A l'Ancienne" and "Methode Traditionelle". Is it a part of the French mindset to be looking wistfully backwards to the good old (pre WW2?) days when the nation's position was nearer to the top of the world's leading nations ?

[Edward Johns]

Hallo Again Robert,
it may be that you were being 'Tongue in cheek' when you finished off with :-

"I say: give us more rights, and more inspectors to enforce them."
If so, I thought you'd enjoy this headline and opening paragraph from the BBC site -the full story is on
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6282348.stm

US woman arrested over dry lawn

A 70-year-old US woman has been left bruised and bloody after an unexpected clash with police who came to caution her for not watering her lawn.

[Robert Marchenoir]

Hello Edward,

Of course I was. I saw that story about the dry lawn terrorist granny.

Sometimes you get the feeling that in America you are free to do whatever you like, as long as it is the same thing as everybody else.

Jeremy Clarkson, the car columnist of The Times, once went there to shoot a movie for his BBC program Top Gear, and returned with a couple of exceedingly nasty, funny and well-written pieces illustrating that point. They are among his best.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/jeremy_clarkson/article681768.ece

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/jeremy_clarkson/article684953.ece

[Francoise]

I am a french person.I had "latin boyfriends" and now I have a "Nordic boyfriend".I have to say that the Nordic are indeed the most sexist males I ever seen...They think they treat their girlfriends in a fair way but they don't.
They for example,ask you to do "males work" around the home...Which kind of sissy boys are they?At least the Latin do their "male work"around the house ,which can go from hoovering to clean the floor(as it is seen a hard work) and since when the Latin don't like to be in the kitchen...Excuse me?
I do believe we manage to reach some part of the equality in our home.
I dont like to cook,I will never iron anything,even for me(pure waste of time)...Because I am a woman and a lover to my boyfriend,not his mummy....Any French male knows that and won't even except it from you..until the birth of a child...Then the male play the male role and the female play the female role...This is natural and without too much conflict....
Francoise.

[azloon]

SANDRINE;

re: " pick me up at the airport"

it occured to me later that this may have been the "catch' -- perhaps no airport.

:)

[rocket]

An interesting read on service in France

http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2007/06/french_dsl

[Robert Marchenoir]

Now let's see, Françoise. I don't mean to be nosy, but since you brought up the subject...

You don't cook, you don't iron, you don't use the vacuum-cleaner and you don't wash floors. What is it you are doing exactly?

You're lucky this is not the "relationships wanted" section of the classifieds...

[azloon]

ROBERT MARCHENOIR:

the jeremy clarkson pieces are amusing. his view is not a totally implausible picture of present-day america. but, imo, he REALLY IS a hyperbolic, egomaniacal snob. for example, he says:

"Once, I urged a cop in Pensacola, Florida, to use his common sense and let me load a van in the no loading zone, since the airport was shut and it would make no difference."

are you kidding me?? post 9-11, NO one is permitted to loiter in airport loading zones, not even arrogant, hostile, brits. the airport "shut"? not likely. i don't know about britain, but airports in the u.s. don't "shut," and if it were actually shut, what's in the hell is he doing there? this is just a case of a british primadonna bitching and moaning because he couldn't get a special, unlikely, dispensation.

but, clarkson is bitingly funny and i would enjoy reading more about his distaste for u.s. culture (or lack thereof). we need more u.s.-bashing on this blog to balance the 'tweaking" the french must endure here.

Re: the woman, in utah, who was arrested for not(?) watering her lawn (utah is the operative word here). this must be an dated story since Utah is currently experiencing catastrophic fires after a 12 year drought (google utah news). i am certain water conservation measures are currently in effect. regardless, just remember we talking here about a state which not too long ago made polygamy illegal, but hasn't eradicated it ("Big Love," an HBO series is based on a polygamous family in present day utah). it is a bit of a strange place, or "more strange" if you prefer. perhaps the subtext of this story is that the woman was being harrassed because she had recently escaped a polygamous marriage.

BTW, utah is perhaps the most strikingly beautiful state in the u.s. -- land formation, forests, alpine scenery. their state "motto," on automobile license plates, is "greatest snow on earth." (not "show." get it?). i've been nordic skiing there for 25 years. it's worth the long flight from europe.

[Dominique, same old leftist whiner]

Being nice with tourist? for having them back? no way! ;=))

When i travel abroad, i am supposed to be polite, not the other way around! Can you imagine traveling to Texas and just go

"dites-moi mon brââven, sauriez vous me diren où je puis manger une tête de veau sauce grîbiiiche?", and then complain that you don't feel "home"?

I'll be polite with tourists when they learn how to behave. Again one of those tourist industry campaign ready to anything for Money. Well, once again, money does not buy everything! i don't work for the tourist industry!

BTW : i wonder why so many tourists are comming if this is so awfull here. Terry, any idea?

[Terry]

Francoise said:

At least the Latin do their "male work"around the house ,which can go from hoovering to clean the floor.

I don't know about France but vacuuming and cleaning the floor is not exactly "male work". I don't see Rocket wearing an apron pushing the hoover across the floor while watching Days of our Lives.

Dominique perhaps.

[rocket]

How much is your wife worth?

http://tinyurl.com/32f5lc

[Valentin]

lol way to go Dominique ! 110% behind you ! :))

"Please: laisse venir à nous les petits Américain(e)"

Ok, my last post was kinda nasty, me hathes to admit.
Which won't change the fact that Delanoe turned the city of Paris into a Mecca of tourism, a giant open-air museum. Normal tourist activity is gladly welcome, especially les americaines :) but forgetting the mere inhabitants to only focus on tourists is not something to knock my socks off with joy. Since my own street has been made walking-friendly, there is a river of tourists flooding my neighbourhood at the slightest ray of sunshine the sky blesses us with.

[Terry]

Dominique:

"BTW : i wonder why so many tourists are comming if this is so awfull here. Terry, any idea?"

Somebody, Maggie I think, said Europe is like a museum to Americans. You go to the French "wing" for cheese and the Louvre.

Valentin said:

Rocket. We're actually fed up with lazy-noisy tourists anting around everywhere from dusk till down.

Talk about a nonsensical sentence. Lazy tourists "anting" around everywhere all night? Seems like they are rather ambitious tourists to me. Lazy AND noisy? What are they doing? Sitting around on doorsteps yelling at people?

To get back to the subject. "Male work" in America is mowing the lawn, among other things. Older men may sometimes be seen mowing the lawn in Bermuda shorts with sandals and BLACK socks. I do not believe this fashion disaster occurs in France. Am I right?

[Robert Marchenoir]

Aha, Azloon, so you did notice that Jeremy Clarkson was a bit hyperbolic... Hyperbolic does not even begin to describe the man's style, I think.

That's where the whole fun lies.

You should see him trash a top of the range Ferrari, or describe an obscure cheapo Korean car as "a bit gay" on the BBC, that beacon of politically-correct, liberal inclusiveness...

[Dominique, same old leftist whiner]

Terry,

You're wrong again!;=))

Don't forget that the americanization of the world is happening. So we also take the worst of it ;=))

[Ros]

I don't either care much for VALENTIN's remark " Lazy and noisy tourists "anting" around everywhere all night? ": one of my sons (38 years old & anglo-french) takes this same attitude & have explained to him that EVERYONE including himself, who is a great traveller, is a tourist when they are away from their home country or even town! Someone from Marseille is considered as the worst kind of tourist in Paris & as for a Londoner ordering a haggis in a Glasgow pub, well, just try it.
Why ,oh why, should Parisians have to be able to speak enough english to help only english-speaking tourists, 'tho I've seen some trying quite valiantly. Try asking your way in french outside Selfridges & see the result (except of course that you'll probably be talking to a french tourist anyhow)!
I don't really see why Delanöe should have to come into it - Charles has kindly let us get away from politics for a few days (or maybe more)!
Secondly, if a tourist wants to be LAZY - well, why shouldn't he or she? After all he's on holiday!

[Robert Marchenoir]

"Older men may sometimes be seen mowing the lawn in Bermuda shorts with sandals and BLACK socks. I do not believe this fashion disaster occurs in France. Am I right?"

Of course it does not, Terry. When we French males vacuum the carpet (substitute for lawn-mowing because few of us have lawns), we always do so in bespoke Dior suits and hand-made Berlutti shoes.

Seems so effing obvious to me that I'm surprised you even dare to ask.

[Valentin]

"Talk about a nonsensical sentence. Lazy tourists "anting" around everywhere all night?"

Il me cherche là, Mr. Z, et il va finir par me trouver ! :)

I said "from dusk till down", should have been "from dawn till dusk". Oh well.
On the other hand, speaking of open-air museum, got nothing in particular against that. We should TAX these people, actually. We should establish a point system (only well-behaved americans, and women should get a big bonus!) for entry on european land, put a landing fee in place to help preserve these countries from the hoards of careless wanderers...

I once met an american girl from the great state of Ohio. She tells me, like, you know, I'm just like back from a 2-week trip to Europe. And what part of Europe have you been to? me asks curious. Well, we've like gone first to London, then we visited Paris, Venice, Florence, Rome, Vienna, Budapest. Oh wow, me says, dumbfounded.
And then just as I was about to ask how she liked the Louvre, she goes on to complain about the expensive coke and the even more expensive bony chicken at the Closerie.
Again, I rest my case !...

[rocket]

Robert

"Of course it does not, Terry. When we French males vacuum the carpet (substitute for lawn-mowing because few of us have lawns), we always do so in bespoke Dior suits and hand-made Berlutti shoes."

Actually I heard that Frenchmen clean the house in French maid costumes. Porte Jarettelles and all.

Is there any truth to that?

Dominique would you fill us in on that please

[rocket]

Hello all

I think Valentin was in fact kidding with his remarks about tourists.

Oui ou non valentin?

[azloon]

robert marchenoir (i have gone to a lower-case salutation because of a chastizing post on one of these blog strings):

jeremy clarkson, i read recently in a new yorker profile featuring that piers morgan fellow -- of "britain/america has talent" infamy -- reportedly once came to blows with morgan when each worked for different british dailies. morgan apparently had used his editorial preogatives to criticize clarkson in print. and clarkson being the mellow fellow we see in the pieces you linked, didn't like it. morgan apparently did have a reputation for over-the-top journalistic hi-jinks but, in this instance, he obviously had picked the wrong guy to try it out on (as i remember, the material was connected to what clarkson was doing away from his office).

morgan is now obviously where he belonged from day one, and clarkson cruises on, is as nasty as ever.

[peter kinsley www.peterkinsley.com]

Thanks Actu75 for the tip -- I shall try to see the film. Re housework: British men have a nasty trick : they invite the wife's mother to visit, and the cleaning starts. Every woman, it appears, is afraid of her mother remonstrating over a dirty house.

[Valentin]

"Hello all

I think Valentin was in fact kidding with his remarks about tourists."

Hah you don't really expect me to admit it in front of everybody here now do you ! :))

[Valentin]

"Secondly, if a tourist wants to be LAZY - well, why shouldn't he or she? After all he's on holiday!"

Sorry for daring to give you advice Ros, but you should really give more credit to your own son.
Lazy IS annoying when you go to work in the morning, well motivated (right boss ? :D), well dressed, and in a hurry and you stumble on the lazy blonds dragging their thonged feet, blocking the hallway and the doors with their bags and disturbing my concentration on my blackberrry reading this blog with their loud attempts to pronounce metro station names ! Ha !

[azloon]

valentin

kidding or not about tourists, i think you were "hitting on" that girl from ohio. otherwise, why would you have patiently listened during the endless recounting of the cities she visited? and the lazy blond in the metro -- she didn't look so bad either, did she? what you didn't reveal is what happened after this ohioan complained about expensive cokes. you agreed with her, yes, and then invited her back to your apartment for a drink?

(you are not absolved of salacious motives even if these characters are fictional.)