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Au Contraire: Figuring Out the French (Paperback)

by Gilles Asselin (Author), Ruth Mastron (Author) "French cultural values, behaviors, and attitudes differ markedly from those in the United States..." (more)
Key Phrases: United States, European Union, World Cup (more...)

4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Coca-Cola ran headlong into French culture when a hardcore, bottom-line management style met with boycotts in cafes and supermarkets. Even Mickey Mouse met angry protesters hurling tomatoes and eggs when joining Michael Eisner to launch Euro Disney's arrival on the Paris stock market. What makes the French so...well, French? This work provides readers with the critical tools to effectively develop creative and appropriate responses to any situation, based on a deep understanding of unique cultural dynamics. There is also a quick and useful guide to social behaviour and etiquette, as well as professional guidelines for managers.

Product Details

Paperback: 305 pages
Publisher: Intercultural Press (January 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 187786482X
ISBN-13: 978-1877864827
Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds

Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #393,618 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
French cultural values, behaviors, and attitudes differ markedly from those in the United States. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, European Union, World Cup, World War, Assembl�e Nationale, Front National, Rh�ne-Poulenc Rorer, Elisabeth Badinter, Euro Disney, Expatriate Assignment, Fashion Fair, Fifth Republic, General de Gaulle, Laurence Wylie

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 48 books:

Descartes: Discourse On Method by Laurence J. Lafleur on page 147, and Back Matter
The Trouble with France (New York University studies in French culture and civilization) by Alain Peyrefitte on page 131, and Back Matter
France Today: A New and Revised Edition of France in the 1980's by John Ardagh in Back Matter
Business Cultures in Europe, Second Edition by William Brierley in Back Matter
The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations by Christopher Lasch in Back Matter

See all 48 books this book cites

Books on Related Topics (learn more)

Parties and the Party System in France by Andrew Knapp

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	44% buy the item featured on this page: Au Contraire: Figuring Out the French 4.7 out of 5 stars (18)
	17% buy Savoir Flair: 211 Tips for Enjoying France and the French 4.3 out of 5 stars (37) $11.53
	15% buy Talk to the Snail: Ten Commandments for Understanding the French 4.3 out of 5 stars (20) $10.85
	13% buy Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong: Why We Love France but Not the French 4.0 out of 5 stars (60) $11.53

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Customer Reviews

18 Reviews

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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Average Customer Review

4.7 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

316 of 361 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Moi, je suis contre, November 15, 2002

By A Customer

What a self-serving pack of lies this is. I'm always incensed by so much misinformation presented as unbiased fact. The authors claim to provide "an understanding of hidden and often unconscious cultural patterns." Within that lofty sounding agenda, the old stereotypes I've read countless times before get trotted out one more time in the guise of providing a useful intro to the French: rude, arrogant, unfriendly, smell bad, move slowly and are lazy, is either implicit or explicit throughout this book. If you said such things about blacks or women you'd be called racist or chauvinist. You certainly wouldn't get published. Speaking about the French, however, it seems anything goes -- as long as you have dubious statistics to back it up: "Researchers found that the French are the most resistant to deodorant -- only half of those surveyed use it". An edifying fact you can find by simply looking up "cleanliness -- personal" in the index.)

Even for these tunnel-vision authors, stereotypes are hard to maintain. While at one point in the book they critique the French for being too logical and reasonable -- Descartes don't you know (YAWN!) -- in another they caution American managers about French emotionality in business. Well, which is it? Rational or emotional? And everywhere there is either a thinly veiled pat on the back for an American way of being or, at one shocking point, downright cruelty toward the French.

Try this handy tip to further your business relations: They counsel Americans to begin by speaking French with a French business person not out of deference for the fact that you are in their country, but to protect yourself from those vindictive French. "Avoiding the appearance of arrogance will forestall the French from striking back by speaking extremely rapid and slangy French just to make your life miserable. And, yes, there are French people who enjoy doing just that." So the American is absolved from actually being arrogant by expecting a foreigner to speak his or her language, while the French are condemned for speaking French the way they actually speak it. Rapid and slangy is the way most people speak their native tongue -- don't you? Why should a French person be expected to dumb things down to accommodate someone who doesn't have the courtesy or decency to meet them at least part of the way?

It reminds me of the jogging suit-clad American woman on the Ile St. Louis in Paris last summer, who within earshot of a vast assembly of locals and tourists gathered at an outdoor cafe, loudly lambasted a couple of ice cream street vendors for not knowing the English word for vanilla, which is vanille in French, and pronounced "vanee". The woman couldn't have looked that up in a French phrase book? Can you imagine any French person going to New York city and verbally abusing a New Yorker for not knowing the French equivalent of something? Now who's arrogant?

Read this book at your peril. Anything you find here will be misleading at best, deliberately self-serving at its worst. Clearly the authors wrote this book hoping to jack up their consulting practice by making Americans feel like they're okay, no matter how inappropriately they behave internationally. To hear the authors tell it, the French don't do much of anything right, either in their business or private lives, including spending lots of time with their families or raising and schooling their kids. Impartiality indeed!

If the authors truly see this as a way of furthering business relations between the two countries, and you believe them, I fear not only for the future of your business but for your immortal soul. Was Sartre alluding to his encounter with these kinds of unbiased consultants when he wrote, "Hell is other people"?

Sherwood Fleming (Lyon, France)

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23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent advice, July 26, 2003

By	MJB (San Diego) - See all my reviews

Although this book was written before the current political crisis that strained relations between France and the United States, it provides excellent general advice for everyone traveling between the two countries. It gives a fair assessment of both cultures and urges the visiter to adopt an open mind and leave cultural baggage and prejudice at home. I spent almost two years planning our recent 3 week trip throughout France and studying the language (which as the authors say is a must). It is arrogant to expect that people in any other country will automatically speak your language. Why should they? Everywhere we went people were reserved, as we expected, but courteous and helpful and sometimes quite friendly. I agree with the authors that the key to good relations and living, working or vacationing in another country, France in this case, is to learn "their" history, culture and language and embrace the differences. I recommend this book highly.

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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Au Contraire, c'est magnifique! You need this book., March 14, 2001

By	Beatrice Shushan (Oceanside, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This is a wonderful text for everyone who does business with French companies or who has an intercultural relationship (as I have.) The authors dissect and explain those little cultural differences which often cause great frustration and prevent full cooperation, then they suggest ways in which we can adapt presentations, work situations and family plans in order to motivate culturally different persons. I was amazed by the depth of the analases and the efficacy of the solutions. Very difficult situations have been rendered simple and straightforward by application of a few basic ideas. Harmony restored.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars The Basics
Provides the basics, though not much in-depth analysis. However, the compare-and-contrast points of the Franco-American enigma are touched upon nicely, as are the basics of French... Read more

Published 6 months ago by A. Bilger

5.0 out of 5 stars a class book i enjoyed
This book was used in my french business class as a cultural aspect. Its easy to follow and tries to help us American's step out of our own ideas of culture. Read more

Published on January 20, 2005 by Samantha S. Smith

5.0 out of 5 stars It's the best
Anyone who visits France will enjoy this well written book. It explains much of the french culture, and relates it to the history of France. Read more

Published on October 5, 2004 by James C. Pickens

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS BOOK DESERVES SIX STARS!
This book was insightful, rich, honest, and interesting. I could not put it down! This book is definetly worth buying, even if you are not interested in the french particularly... Read more

Published on October 22, 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars The Insider's Look
Au Contraire is more than a book on France, the French language, or a trifle on French "something." This book touches the essence of what it means to be French. Read more

Published on April 24, 2003 by Michael Stephens

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnifique!
AU CONTRAIRE is a joy to read, and informative. Having read
books by Polly Platt on French culture, I would rate this
book as "creme brulee" to Polly's... Read more

Published on February 19, 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh! how hard it is to be different
I was born to French-Jewish parents that decided that I had to have a British accent and was sent away to Britain for schooling. Read more

Published on February 9, 2002 by Kerry Davidson (femme)

5.0 out of 5 stars The French Review
Yes! For any American who is travelling to France for business or pleasure, this book is a must if you are interested in understanding what's going on around you! Read more

Published on December 4, 2001 by gascon2

5.0 out of 5 stars "Don't leave home without it"
French and American cultures are so close on the surface and so different underneath that if you plan to live in France for some time or if you live there already, you will never... Read more

Published on October 14, 2001 by Jean-Claude Balland

5.0 out of 5 stars I've Figured it Out!
Ok, so my dad's cousin Ruth is one of the funniest people you'll ever meet! She's a great lady who loves to do impressions of our Jewish ancestors. Read more

Published on September 17, 2001 by Aubri Webb

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