Xenophobe's guide to the French

The French invented diplomacy, as a weapon of state. They realised, at least a century before any other nation, that it is cheaper to delude or defraud other nations than to go to war with them. At home they use exactly the same approach to their neighbours. It is no coincidence that, for much the same reason, the French have occupied the key position of Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund for 37 out of the last 50 years (74% of that period), despite the fact that everyone knows that the French economy has been in dire straits for roughly 74% of the nation's existence.

DECISION MAKING

Sit a group of British managers down to solve a problem and they will make an honest attempt, eventually coming up with a solution, no matter how unsuitable. Faced with the same problem, French managers will enjoy the discussion, move smartly off at several tangents, and end up with a totally new problem to discuss, to their great satisfaction.

The current French Constitution was drafted in the knowledge that a lurch towards tyranny afflicts France once every generation.

They have an expression: le discours. It can mean anything from idle chatter to a formal speech, but their favoured use of it is as "a piece of discursive reasoning".