Genesea

Message: I found this funny satire (but nice!) by a Scandinavian (http://www.skovgaard.org/europe/france.htm) a while ago about the French. I think you'll enjoy it (disclaimer: some of this info may be wrong -- like about the crottes bikes). Here are some notable comments:<BR><BR>Foie Gras:<BR><BR>A Frenchman who doesn't eat foie gras, a p&acirc;t&eacute; made of swollen liver from force-fed ducks or geese, for Christmas isn't a real Frenchman, or he's been the victim of an Anglo-Saxon plot.<BR><BR>Les Crottes:<BR><BR>The Paris Town Hall are trying to keep the pavements clean by having an army of moto-crottes driving around in the city. You may not have come across the word moto-crotte in your French lessons. It's a scooter equipped with a special vacuum cleaner for removing the poos. 4400 street sweepers help the moto-crottes. This operation costs between 62 and 100 million francs per year. The cost of removing 1 kg poo is 36 francs, or 3 francs per poo. The dogs produce 15 tonnes every day, that is 5500 tonnes per year, enough to fill 27 average size houses. 650 citizens are hospitalised each year after having slipped in a poo.<BR><BR>Le Boulot:<BR><BR>French employees expect their employer to take care of them like a father. By law, the employer must pay for half the cost of public transport to and from work. But employees, particularly in the public service, expect far more than that: Lunch tickets, savings on shopping and cinema tickets, right not to move work location, and much more. <BR><BR>La Viande:<BR><BR>You should be aware that the French are not afraid of red meat. In general, it's difficult to get your steak well done. If you insist, the waiter will think that you should rather have gone to see a psychiatrist than a restaurant. Beware that if you send your steak back to the kitchen for further cooking, there's a risk of the cook dropping it on the floor and stepping on it. <BR><BR>La Police:<BR><BR>If the police occasionally have to arrest a suspected criminal, they will be sure to beat him up first and ask questions afterwards. They do that to get relief for the frustration of having to interrupt their office duties. For people outside the police, this apparently brutal behaviour may appear to be a problem. In fact, Amnesty International is criticising the French police for brutality. But one may wonder if that will change anything in a country whose government blew up Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior ship in a New Zealand harbour. <BR>

stateside

Genesea...and the point of this is?

Kate2

Genesea,<BR>I especially like the part about the moto crotte and the poo!<BR><BR>I think the point was that it was gentle satire and humorous.

LVSue

I liked the moto-crottes, too.

icithecat

I made sure to get a picture of one of those beautiful green modified BMW 650s in action for my album.<BR><BR>As for the quantity, I pity anyone wheeling luggage down a street and then into their hotel room on a hot August night.