When most Americans think of France, the Eiffel Tower stands as dramatically over their mental image as it does over the heart and streets of Paris.
And soon after that impressive icon fades, one’s mind most likely conjures up the taste of strong cheese, the image of the latest fashions and the idea of expensive perfume and amour lingering in the air.
Whether one’s passport bears a “France” stamp in it or not, many people hold a romanticized view of the modern trendsetting nation that speaks the age-old language of love.
Still, many hesitate to book a ticket or admire the country’s sights, smells and tastes.
Asking instead: “Do the French like Americans?”
The French people — 60 million strong — may laugh at caricatures of President George W. Bush but are more than willing to invite Americans into their homes to taste their country’s specialty gourmet food and encourage them to see all the beauty France has to offer.
Want to join the throng of experience-seekers who make France number 1 in tourism, with more tourists entering its welcoming embrace than any other country in the world? Go ahead.
While Paris is famous for its proclivity for rain showers, cool winters and mild summers make year-round travel a definite possibility.
Most French, however — proud of their beautiful and varied geography — will agree travelers should plan their trip to coincide with the yearly blooming of the land’s breathtaking flora.
Window boxes and exquisite gardens filled with these vibrant flowers accent the quaint architecture and cobblestone roads typical of any French village.
And though imposing stone walls and gates give away the French people’s tendency to preserve their privacy, their hospitality remains strong.
Memories and traditions
France also holds strong memories and traditions, as evidenced by the large, ornate war memorials that hail the French in nearly every town on a daily basis.
And couched in that memorialized tradition is the country’s religious heritage. France, about 85 percent Catholic, is considered a “Christian” nation. But among the breathtaking cathedrals and Catholic churches, Baptist workers are forced to combat the secularism preached by the French government and the humanism and intellectualism heralded by the French culture.
And because of this, despite a history of famed French Protestants such as John Calvin and the persecuted Huguenots, the French are resistant to the message of the gospel — if they’ve even heard it presented before.
Much of this mind-set is perhaps due to — or partially the cause of — the nation’s status as one of the most modern nations in the world. It’s a new tolerance preached from the pulpit of the government — one that both homogenizes religious expression in schools and gives greater freedom to all faiths everywhere else.
What the French government sees as its new cutting-edge tolerance mirrors its approach at international relationships. The internal uniformity France sought to achieve soon moved outside its borders economically through the adoption of a single currency — the euro.
In 1999, France joined with 10 other European countries (Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain) to adopt the European Union’s (EU) unified monetary system.
In 2000, Greece joined, then in 2002, the EU birthed the euro in paper and coin form. That currency recently surpassed the U.S. dollar in strength for the first time.
The introduction of the euro marked a new singleness in the European market, and as a result EU members became stronger in international trade.
The euro also made what the EU sees as a political step — a symbol of common identity, shared values and European integration.
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