The French drink, smoke and eat more fat than anyone in the world, yet they live longer and have fewer heart problems than the English and the Americans. They work 35-hour weeks and take seven weeks' paid holiday each year, yet they are the world's fourth-biggest economic power. So how do they do it? From a distance modern France looks like a riddle. It is both rigidly authoritarian, yet incredibly inventive; traditional (even archaic) yet modern; lacking clout on the international stage yet still hugely influential. But with the observations, anecdotes and analysis of the authors, who spent nearly three years living in France, it begins to makes sense. 'Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong' is a journey into the French heart, mind and soul. This book reveals French ideas about land, food, privacy and language and weaves together the threads of French society, uncovering the essence of life in France and giving, for the first time, a complete picture of the French.
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"Should be handed out at Calais and Charles de Gaulle airport to anyone hoping to get a grip on France." Daily Telegraph, 10 March 2004
--This text refers to an alternate
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About the Author
Born in Sherbrooke, Quebec, in 1964, Jean-Benoit Nadeau holds a bachelor's degree in political science and history from McGill University. A journalist since 1987, he has been the recipient of 17 journalism awards.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
By Chris Chalk
Format:Paperback
This book is billed as away of understanding the cultural vagaries that exist in our nearest neighbour. In that respect it does in part fulfil its aim BUT I wouldn’t want to take the book too literally. For starters the two Canadian authors focus their research around their own personal experience (based mainly around Paris) and the experiences of their friends and colleagues, who appear to me to be fairly universally middle to upper-class with the odd bohemian style artist thrown in for good measure. This is deemed to be a good cross-section of the population sampled, but look around you in England and ask yourself – is London the fairest representation of the entire country and its culture?
My other main bugbear is the amount of repetition in the book, points are made, emphasised, re-made then told one more time for good luck. This gets annoying. I know they are trying to drum the point into us but I did find myself skipping pages and feeling like I hadn’t missed anything. Anyway, did I tell you about the repetition?
Well, onwards and upwards as once you get past these petty annoyances this is quite a good book. It is no-where near as funny as A Year In The Merde but does have a light hearted side that makes it a damn site more palatable that it otherwise would have been. The insights into French (Parisian) culture and lifestyle are intriguing and they offer some wonderful paradoxes, most notable was the story regarding a strike by French transport workers who were aggrieved that a train guide died at the hands of street vendors. Well it turns out the guy died of a heart attack so the union stayed on strike to complain about stressful conditions. Were the public up in arms? Not a bit of it.
... Read more ›36 of 39 people found the following review helpful
By AnthonyWeir
Format:Paperback
A book which should have been written years ago and is immensely helpful in defining the differences between the Anglosphere and the Francosphere, it is unfortunately full of "blue bits" - that is to say sloppy grammar, poor translation ("Alsatia" for Alsace!) and lots of inaccuracies - the most amazing of which is the assertion that Norway (the only country whose population refused to join the EU) became a member in 1974! Mistakes like this (and about the important topic of Algeria) seriously undermine its value. It needs a revised and copy-edited second edition. (Are there no copy-editors now in the Anglosphere ?)
30 of 33 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Very interesting topic and also some interesting chapters, but the book is clearly about 100 pages too long, contains a number of errors, some already pointed out here.
Something that particularly annoyed me was the constant 'during our years in France not a week went by without a bombing or murder in Corsica', swiping generalisations that undermine the arguments and overall credibility of the book.
You will also get the 'didn't I just read this?' feeling as a number of things are mentioned more than once.
Having said that if you have ever lived in France you will now understand the smugness of all those who boasts about their diplomas from the 'Grande Ecole/ ENA/ IEP/ ESSEC etc'
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By N. Fanget
Format:Paperback
I am a Frenchman living in England, and was lent this book by an English friend. I was worried it might be ladden with stereotypes, as is inevitable, but was actually quite happy with the way the authors portrayed my native land. Obviously it isn't possible to have a comprehensive review of any country by spending just three years and 350 pages on it, but they did a fair job of it in my opinion.
I actually learnt a lot about the way anglo-saxons look at us, and gave me an insight in how both foreigners and I react in different ways. Overall very interesting, I can't remember any repetition that annoyed me. There were some shocking mistakes, such as the Norway and british GP errors.
To "Pas pour moi", there is an active volcanoe in France, it is the Piton de la Fournaise on the Reunion island in the Indian Ocean.
I actually learnt a lot about the way anglo-saxons look at us, and gave me an insight in how both foreigners and I react in different ways. Overall very interesting, I can't remember any repetition that annoyed me. There were some shocking mistakes, such as the Norway and british GP errors.
To "Pas pour moi", there is an active volcanoe in France, it is the Piton de la Fournaise on the Reunion island in the Indian Ocean.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
First impressions of France and her people - a privileged view from above
16 Sep 2008
By frhout
Format:Paperback
Two and a half years of experience amount to a short time to study and write a book on "Frenchmen", or indeed on any people. There is throughout the book a historical background only to disguise its inadequacy in research and arguments, with a simplistic view of the French people, institutions and the society based on facile first impressions and hearsay. For a book with an aim to help understand the French as they are, with due respect to both writers, this is cripplingly insufficient.
To translate or not to translate the various French terms: this is the fundamental difficulty encountered by Julie Barlow and Jean-Benoît Nadeau from the outset, the former anglophone, the latter francophone. Their decision to translate fully and literally for some of them, partially for others, and not at all for the rest, renders the book incoherent and at times, incomprehensible. So we have "Honest" men for "honnêtes hommes", so it seems; "the Mining School" without the original French name Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines (for civil engineers); "instituteurs" as "teachers" instead of the quite specific primary school teachers. There is no such organisation in English as the "Society of Nations", it's the League of Nations. Readers unfamiliar of France will be confused by the "Minister of Overseas", they mean not the Foreign Minister but the Minister of French Overseas Territories. "Attentistes" as "waiters", not those we have in restaurants, but "wait-and-seers" ...
Certain categories of French do consider writers and journalists with higher esteem, Ms Barlow and Mr Nadeau at least got that right! They make no bones about telling us that: "We introduced ourselves as writers, and the invitations to parties, conferences, round tables started flowing in".... Read more ›
To translate or not to translate the various French terms: this is the fundamental difficulty encountered by Julie Barlow and Jean-Benoît Nadeau from the outset, the former anglophone, the latter francophone. Their decision to translate fully and literally for some of them, partially for others, and not at all for the rest, renders the book incoherent and at times, incomprehensible. So we have "Honest" men for "honnêtes hommes", so it seems; "the Mining School" without the original French name Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines (for civil engineers); "instituteurs" as "teachers" instead of the quite specific primary school teachers. There is no such organisation in English as the "Society of Nations", it's the League of Nations. Readers unfamiliar of France will be confused by the "Minister of Overseas", they mean not the Foreign Minister but the Minister of French Overseas Territories. "Attentistes" as "waiters", not those we have in restaurants, but "wait-and-seers" ...
Certain categories of French do consider writers and journalists with higher esteem, Ms Barlow and Mr Nadeau at least got that right! They make no bones about telling us that: "We introduced ourselves as writers, and the invitations to parties, conferences, round tables started flowing in".... Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Helpful for understanding, but not for the improvement of your own...
This book explains a lot - but from rather a prejudiced standpoint.
I have personally had a lot of trouble fitting in in France and therefore have some not altogether... Read more
I have personally had a lot of trouble fitting in in France and therefore have some not altogether... Read more
Published 2 months ago by E. J. Akhurst
4.0 out of 5 stars
French loyalty
Not what I expected from the title but very interesting, and an education on the history of French government and the changes emanating from membership of the EU
Published 3 months ago by Ocky
4.0 out of 5 stars
A decent attempt to make sense of what makes France, well so French
A reviewer said it could have been better but I think that is a bit harsh. At the start it was a bit dull and earnest. Read more
Published 7 months ago by "Belgo Geordie"
5.0 out of 5 stars
Powerfuly Insightful
This is the best, most comprehensive book I have ever read on the French. I am myself French and believe every "Frenchmen" should read it. Read more
Published 13 months ago by yohann
4.0 out of 5 stars
Useful explanations for expats
This book is not one of those lightweight digs at the French, full of stereotypes and easy laughs borne of brief holiday experiences by the British in Brittany. Read more
Published on 10 Jan 2011 by Random Reader
4.0 out of 5 stars
A must if you are living in La France !!
Having lived in France I strongly recommend this book if you plan to live there. If someone would have told me about it the first day I got there, it would have helped me a lot to... Read more
Published on 25 Sep 2010 by Gustavo Gzz
3.0 out of 5 stars
sixty million Frenchmen can't be wrong
I have only just begun to read it so it is hard for me to pass an opinion as yet, maybe I will do later.
Published on 12 Feb 2010 by Margaret Ogden
1.0 out of 5 stars
60 Million Frenchmen
How can you write a book about the French and NOT write about their attitude towards food and wine, about the importance of terroir, the ceremony of lunch, the importance of dining... Read more
Published on 1 Jun 2009 by Mr. Peter Vose
5.0 out of 5 stars
Be careful what to expect...
The cover of the book suggests this might be a comedic novel, or possibly in chick-lit mode, but it is anything but. Read more
Published on 17 Mar 2009 by GM12
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting but ultimately disappointing
The authors of this book, Jean-Benoit Nadeau and Julie Barlow, are clearly very intelligent and educated observers who managed to get the inside track on a lot of French life,... Read more
Published on 24 July 2007 by Lozatron
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