How to Avoid Being the 'Ugly French'

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject Communications - Intercultural Communication, grade: 2,7, The FOM University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, course: Intercultural Competences, language: English, abstract: Moulin Rouge, red wine, champagne and 365 sorts of cheese - for many people France seems to be kind of a lost paradise. The 'appreciative' of our neighbours, their savoir vivre and the food traditions exert a big fascination on other countries. Their distinctive culture marked the French stereotype particularly and has worldwide left strong impressions. Today, it would seem that most of the French population believes itself lofty and superior in the world. By other nations in fact, with an ironic undertone there is often spoken of France as the 'Grande Nation'. As opposed to the idea at the beginning, the French are habitually perceived as arrogant, nationalistic and elitist. In the scope of this seminar paper, it subsequently will be necessary to evaluate especially this custom to its verisimilitude and as a result, one will be able to give a response to the question: 'How to avoid being the ugly French?'