Eh ww2 wouldn’t have been such a huge ordeal if Germany had been a “joke of a country”. Their music is good if you know what to look for- like all music and it’s origins. From the three wines I’ve had (2 French 1 Californian) their wine is good and I can easily see how it got its reputation if you drink the fancy stuff
The wine is great. The history is full of ups and downs like everyone's. Paris is simultaneously awesome and god-awful as only large cities can be. The people? Great as personal friends, complete bastards to work with. Long experience here.
I’m going to mostly agree with snowbeast, except I save my verdict on working with the French as it varies in my experience. But I mean, Nazi Germany occupied or had cave before them most of Europe- including Germany. French Wine in my view is no better or worse than any wine from a similar caliber winery- I’m not a wine person, but oddly I’ve had a broad sampling spanning the US and world- and there’s good and bad everywhere. And Paris- like Snow Beast says- it’s a big city. New York has never impressed me- but it has its charms. San Francisco is.. was(?) a city I loved but also hated. LA and most of the areaI hated for most of my life until I discovered its charms. Miami, San Jose, Portland, Seattle, Raleigh, Dallas, Austin, Ontario, Tokyo, blah blah. They all have good and bad.
They also have a lot of great music in France, poetry, art. France isn’t the super power it was centuries past- but few of the “old world powers” really are. As for speaking another language- it’s probably good to speak at least 2- especially if you share borders and regular commerce. But.... it’s not like they’re the only country with a dominant language or one “official” language.
It’s pretty odd. They were a dominant force in history and shapes the modern world through their victories. They invented several pivotal or revolutionary martial implements and concepts. Even in the present day- French special operations units boast some impressive confirmed and alleged actions. Buuut.... the modern concept of French military prowess comes largely from sentiments from WW2. Where the rank and file British or American soldier slogging through Europe- and especially France-
Far from home, miserable, often poorly fed and having been through... unpleasantness of various types... blamed the French for having to be there. For Americans- a war against the Nazis wasn’t strictly speaking “our war,” the public was mobilized on largely idealistic grounds with healthy doses of propaganda, and Americans without close personal ties to Europe- many Americans at that point in history- didn’t really have a stake in a European war beyond the potential threat that Nazi Europe may one day pose to America.
So here they are, in France, at a time where many of these kids had never left their state or even home town area, a time where most people had never been on an airplane and a good number of folks had never seen one up close- in a far off land fighting to free the French, and what they largely did not see was a French army fighting with them.
So the perspective of an enlisted rank- probably drafted- average soldier was one that saw a similarly sized and far less prepared at wars outbreak UK, fight off and resist the Nazis even after the much hyped events like Dunkirk where they were all but broken. London burned and rockets landed in their homes and here the Brits were- but the French were not so much.
Of course WE know that isn’t the truth. We know of French resistance of many kinds. We know of too secret French agents and communications and actions against the Nazis. We know many French did find their way to combat with organized militaries and militias. But for the kid landing on a beach to “free the French” the thought almost certainly occurred to many, and we know occurred to at least some: “why are we doing this and the French can’t do it themselves?” “We fought Nazis in Africa and Asia and all over Europe, pole to pole- and they’re on the ropes, and the French can’t finish the job?”
Again- not accurate or fair to say- but from the perspective of an infantry soldier under duress and with the information they’d have available- one could see where they’d draw the conclusion. These soldiers went home, many did not, but those who did sometimes felt a certain way as did the public at large, who’s husbands and fathers and brothers and such were taken for long periods and maybe didn’t come back.
As is the case with trauma or just bad things- we look to place blame. Of course the Nazis were to blame, but many looked to the French since it was on their behalf these loved ones were going over more or less. Soldiers, some bitter, might do the same, and of course we’ve all heard Americans and Brits and even others say something akin to: “Hey- it’s thanks to me you aren’t speaking German.” There’s often ego at play there- but really at the core is a desire to give some meaning to suffering. To feel like one suffered but at least themselves received something for it.
War is hard, long wars, involved wars especially. But the “Monday after” can be just as hard. Suddenly you aren’t needed. Yesterday’s hero, yesterdays important person- suddenly is just one of a million “no bodies” like anyone else. Finding someone who served after a war like WW2? A dime a dozen. Finding guys with real or embellished or made up tales of luck and valor and virtue? Dime a dozen.
The sense of purpose, importance, and the routines are stripped away. There is relief often- not worrying today’s rush is the one that gets you. Not worrying that while you sleep you’ll be killed. You get to go home, have a cold drink, soft bed, all that. But.... there’s also a listlessness that can come. What now? For many, it isn’t the same stamping washing machine parts as it is to be a member of a unit liberating villages and “defending the world.” As complex as it can be and politics and all- there’s also often a simplicity to war. Back to the world and.... it’s a different kind of chaos. It’s too many options. It’s different rules and you often no longer have a brotherhood watching out for you and working to a common goal.
There are often parades. Free drinks. In a “popular war” you may feel like a celebrity. That fades. Everyone else is back to Monday too. The rationing ends. Things start going “back to normal” for most folks, most folks didn’t fight in the war. To them it is much easier made a distant memory, a closed chapter in history. They forget. And some guys, it’s an insult.
Many modern wars, Tripp’s have come back and didn’t get their parades. They get it right away and we’ve seen what that does. They did their duty. Did what they were supposed to do. Sacrificed and often suffered- and the world forgets. So some guys, at least sometimes in a moment- they get upset. Don’t want people to forget.
But for an individual- the contribution they feel they personally make to an effort is often proportional to how much they FEEL they endured. “If everyone is special- is anyone special?” That whole deal. How many men landed at D day? For almost every one of them it was a terrible day, and for probably most it may have been the worst of their lives in many regards. So- of thousands of men all share that experience, is one single man “special?” Id say yes. Each is. But- we often don’t think on those terms.
Every single French person wasn’t and isn’t going to kiss the shoes of every single Allied troop or anyone else for that matter that played a part in their liberation- and at the end of the day, many French suffered terribly too. Different suffering, different Resnais much of the time. You can’t compare suffering- but each person tends to think theirs is worse than the other guys.
France wasn't really in a position to fight another war after WW1. There were a multitude of other reasons why they got steamrolled by Nazi Germany, far more valid than them just giving up or fighting poorly.
I've heard that we're seen as lazy because we work "only" 35 hours/week, which is far less than some countries. But we just work faster than those who work 40 for the same _at best_ result.
And we have some good music too.
And we have some good music too.