France is the world's leading tourist destination in spite of the derogatory remarks you often hear. French people seem to have a poor reputation in some parts of the world, but the overseas visitors continue to flock in. Can it be that some of us have realised that many of the criticisms are outdated while the long appreciated aspects of French life still continue to give pleasure?

France is the world's leading tourist destination in spite of the derogatory remarks you often hear. French people seem to have a poor reputation in some parts of the world, but the overseas visitors continue to flock in. Can it be that some of us have realised that many of the criticisms are outdated while the long appreciated aspects of French life still continue to give pleasure?

What do we consider common knowledge about French life?

From the school canteen to the highest Michelin starred restaurant, food and cooking are of paramount importance in France. From an early age, children are expected to, and usually do, eat proper three course lunches; yes, fast food has arrived in France, but the majority of the population still try to eat balanced good quality tasty meals. Modest restaurants offer good value lunches to office workers and artisans. Most people do stop to eat and rest at lunchtime, and say it's essential to their health and well-being.

It seems that they are right to place this emphasis on proper meals rather than eating on the move and snacking. The French are a little more healthy and less overweight than many other populations. Visitors can be confident that most set-price menus will be great value for money.

Perhaps the most famous symbol of French life has been the French loaf. The term "French bread" is usually taken to mean the traditional baguette, but there's a huge variety of shapes, sizes and ingredients available. Even going into a boulangerie to buy a baguette, you'll find that there are a great many other long thin loaves which you might have thought were baguettes! Each of these has its own name (which might vary slightly from area to area). The traditional baguette goes stale within a few hours whereas a growing number of other breads, such as multi-cereal, wholemeal and so on, keep longer and this may be why they are gradually gaining in popularity with younger generations.

With that bread we will sometimes eat cheese, of which there are over four hundred types in France. So I think that some parts of well-known derogatory epithets should be taken as complimentary! There are few people who don't enjoy at least one of the varieties.

The most famous French produce is probably wine. We tend to think that we need some knowledge (and some money!) in order to appreciate French wine. It's true that many French people do tend to know quite a lot about the topic and they do buy for their own personal cellar. However, many just buy from the local supermarket and don't spend a great deal, but still take the subject seriously.

We may be admiring of the French wines and cuisine, but we are not so happy about how they are made. Whilst farmers and fishermen make up a small percentage of Finch workers, we do become annoyed at their apparently widespread power and there are frequent televised images of angry protesting farmers and others.

The French eat and drink in a healthy and enjoyable way; but what else do they do for pleasure while putting up with all those strikes and demonstrations?

Cinema is a very well regarded art form so that school children are taken to films from an early age and there are frequent magazine and television discussions on the subject. New films are shown even in remote areas, often in a Salle de Ftes by the local film society. Similarly, libraries in villages may be run by volunteers. The availability of the arts is regarded as important and voluntary work is vital to keep these going.

French designers are also world famous and Paris fashion shows are televised all over the world; we consider French people to be sophisticated dressers.

Quite a contradictory set of icons for this nation! But one thing is sure, people from all over the world keep returning to visit and to benefit from many aspects of the French life. Could the complaints arise from envy?