Stereotypes of French people include real or imagined characteristics of the

French people The French people (french: Français) are an ethnic group and nation primarily located in Western Europe that share a common French culture, history, and language, identified with the country of France. The French people, especially the nati ...

used by people who see the French people as a single and

homogeneous Homogeneity and heterogeneity are concepts often used in the sciences and statistics relating to the uniformity of a substance or organism. A material or image that is homogeneous is uniform in composition or character (i.e. color, shape, siz ...

group. French

stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...

s are common beliefs among those expressing

anti-French sentiment Anti-French sentiment (Francophobia or Gallophobia) is fear or antagonism of France, the French people, French culture, the French government or the Francophonie (set of political entities that use French as an official language or whose French- ...

. There exist stereotypes of French people amongst themselves depending on the region.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Stereotypes of the French by the

British people British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mo ...

, especially the

English people The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language in England, English language, a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language, and share a common history and culture. The English identi ...

, have existed for centuries. This is in part due to the many

Anglo-French Wars The Anglo-French Wars were a series of conflicts between England (and after 1707, Britain) and France, including: Middle Ages High Middle Ages * Anglo-French War (1109–1113) – first conflict between the Capetian Dynasty and the House of Norma ...

(1193-1815).

United States

Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many Multi ...

view the French as effeminate and cowardly.

Francophobia Anti-French sentiment (Francophobia or Gallophobia) is fear or antagonism of France, the French people, French culture, the French government or the Francophonie (set of political entities that use French as an official language or whose French-s ...

and

xenophobic Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...

sentiments towards the French have been an established part of the

culture of the United States The culture of the United States of America is primarily of Western, and European origin, yet its influences includes the cultures of Asian American, African American, Latin American, and Native American peoples and their cultures. The Un ...

. The French have a reputation for tipping poorly. The French tend to spend less on food, clothes and cars compared to most Americans.

Common stereotypes

Culinary

French cuisine French cuisine () is the cooking traditions and practices from France. It has been influenced over the centuries by the many surrounding cultures of Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium, in addition to the food traditions of the re ...

is a major part of French culture, and French food is often regarded as among the best in the world, with ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' stating "a really fine French dish represents one of the undisputed pinnacles of human cultural achievement." The French are commonly regarded to enjoy eating

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

snails A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gastrop ...

frog legs Frog legs ( French: ''Cuisses de grenouille'') are one of the better-known delicacies of French cuisine, where it has been considered as a national delicacy. The legs of edible frogs are also consumed in other parts of the world, including Vi ...

, and plenty of bread, particularly

baguette A baguette (; ) is a long, thin type of bread of French origin that is commonly made from basic lean dough (the dough, though not the shape, is defined by French law). It is distinguishable by its length and crisp crust. A baguette has a di ...

s and

croissant A croissant is a buttery, flaky, Austrian viennoiserie pastry inspired by the shape of the Austrian kipferl but using the French yeast-leavened laminated dough. Croissants are named for their historical crescent shape, the dough is layered wi ...

s. The French are also known for their fondness for wine.

High fashion

France, particularly Paris, has been perceived for being a high fashion place where designer clothes and cosmetics are made.

Hygiene

The French are perceived as having poor hygiene, originating from American soldiers during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Laziness

The perception that French workers are prone to strikes and take a lot of time off has established a stereotype of the French being workshy.

Onion Johnny

A common stereotypical image of French people, especially in British media, was of a man on a bicycle wearing a striped jumper and

beret A beret ( or ; ; eu, txapela, ) is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap, usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre. Mass production of berets began in 19th century France and Spain, and the beret remains ...

with a string of onions around their neck. This derives from the "

Onion Johnny Onion Johnnies ( cy, 'Sioni Winwns' or 'Sioni Nionod') were Breton farmers and agricultural labourers who travelled on bicycles selling distinctive pink onions door to door in Great Britain, and especially in Wales where they share linguistic s ...

," a nickname for

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

itinerant onion-sellers who cycled around

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

in the 20th century; for many British people, this would be their only contact with French people.

Military

Despite being one of the world's leading powers from the 17th–19th centuries, the French military had been perceived as poor in armed combat and could be easily defeated in armed struggles, thus likely to surrender. The stereotype is attributed to France's roles during World War II and the Franco-Prussian War, in which the French government surrendered to German forces. This stereotype was referenced on ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'', where they were described as "

Cheese-eating surrender monkeys "Cheese-eating surrender monkeys", sometimes shortened to "surrender monkeys", is a pejorative term for French people. The term is based on the stereotype of the French that they surrender quickly. It was coined in 1995 by Ken Keeler, a writer for ...

Anti-French sentiment in the United States Anti-French sentiment in the United States has consisted of unfavorable estimations of the French government, culture, language or people of France by people in the United States of America spurred on by media and government leaders. 18th century ...

increased due to the French government's opposition to the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

. This precipitated the renaming of "

French fries French fries (North American English), chips (British English), finger chips ( Indian English), french-fried potatoes, or simply fries, are '' batonnet'' or ''allumette''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium and France. Th ...

" to "

Freedom fries Freedom fries was a politically motivated renaming of French fries in the United States. The term was created in February 2003 in a North Carolina restaurant, and was widely publicized a month later when the then Republican Chairman of the Comm ...

" in several congressional cafeterias.

Romance

French people are perceived as being very romantic.

Rudeness

French waiters have been perceived as rude and disrespectful, especially to foreigners who speak little to no French.

Smokers

Smoking in France Smoking in France was first restricted on public transport by the 1976 Veil law. Further restrictions were established in the 1991 Évin law, which contains a variety of measures against alcoholism and tobacco consumption. A much stronger smoki ...

is a common trope when associated with France, especially the local

Gauloises Gauloises (, "Gaulish" eminine pluralin French; ''cigarette'' is a feminine noun in French) is a brand of cigarette of French origin. It is produced by the company Imperial Tobacco following its acquisition of Altadis in January 2008 in most co ...

brand.

References

{{Reflist

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Stereotypes In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...