French fries? Not French. Although they are called pommes frites in French, they are actually Belgian in origin. French kiss? Nah. Kissing with tongues is practiced pretty much all over the world, so no — not strictly a French convention. But wait, what about French toast, you wonder? Mais, non! Ce n’est pas Francais.
Well even if those three things aren’t French, Tonic gives you 10 reasons to love all things French and raise a glass of Champagne (actually from the region of Champagne in central northern France) to toast (and maybe roast) our French friends on the occasion of their 2,000th birthday.
1. The French are generous. They gave us the Statue of Liberty, which they called Statue de la Liberte, to commemorate the centennial of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence as a symbol of our country’s 100th birthday.
2. The French know how to eat well. In Paris, even lowly street food like a baguette with brie, tomato and basil is far superior to anything we might buy from a cart in a shopping mall or on a city street. There is nothing that is put in one’s mouth which is taken for granted in France since the way the bread is baked, the cheese is cured or the basil is grown are all strictly regulated to ensure the best quality.
3. The French know how to drink well. The storied anise-flavored and highly alcoholic (45-74 proof) liquor absinthe has come out of locked cabinets to make a comeback, although I’ve never tried it. Popularized by bohemian Parisian artists and writers, rather, I’m more familiar and enamored with the many splendored variety of vineyards and their bottled potables. The first night I set foot in Paris, I happened to be be there for a fantabulous fireworks display above the Seine and there is only one way to watch fireworks in Paris — with a very French bottle of red wine.
4. The French know how to speak well. Doesn’t everything sound better when it’s said in French? Yes, they can roll their Rs and they have a cute accent egu, but this is a language so refined that even swear words sound dignified.
5. The French know how to paint well. Degas, Monet, Lautrec, Renoir, Rousseau have all picked up a brush to worldwide acclaim, just to name a handful. Truthfully, there are more than 1,000 French painters listed on Wikipedia alone. What would the world be without a Louvre?
6. The French know how to write well. From Baudelaire to Camus to Sartre, France is home to some of the world’s greatest writers and thinkers. Visiting Victor Hugo’s home on the Place des Vosges, I got to see this writer’s collection of drawings, paintings and even envy his mighty pen.
7. The French have elevated the reputation of the lowly sewer. The French sewer system in Paris dates back to 1370 when the first underground system was constructed under rue Montmartre. Later, in 1850 Baron Haussman, a famed civic planner who also redesigned much of Paris’ layout, including the Bois de Boulogne, designed the present day Paris sewer system, which is now a museum that attracts thousands of visitors each year. By the way, in French, it’s known as Musee Des Egouts de Paris. Doesn’t that sound better than Paris Sewer Museum? And visitors will learn fascinating factoids like that Victor Hugo got inspiration for Les Miserables from visiting the sewers and based his character Jean Valjean on his friend, the sewer inspector Emmanuel Bruneseau.
8. The French have brought heaven to earth, in the form of great cathedrals like Notre Dame, Chartres and Sainte Chapelle. There is no way to enter such a place and not feel elevated — and grounded, all at the same time.
9. The French adopted a quirky American named George Whitman who opened an English language bookstore on rue de la Bucherie in Paris called Shakespeare and Company in 1951, not to be confused with the original Shakespeare & Company founded by Sylvia Beach in the 20s on another Parisian street, who published and sold English language books. Unlike any other business in France, Whitman’s bookstore is open 365 days a year (for many years from noon to midnight), is frequented by all manner of wayfarers, wanderlusts and writers, and he allows them to literally sleep on daybeds pushed up against walls of books at night. There is no place like it.
10. The French live an enviable life. Everything about their way of life is art — the language they speak, the food they eat, the buildings they dwell in, the parks they play in. It is a slower, more satisfying existence and one clearly worth celebrating.
In any language, the sentiment is the same: Happy 2000th Birthday, France!
Read more Tonic Lists.
Photo of Paris at night by agaw.dilim via Flickr and photos of French wine and baguettes by Let Ideas Compete via Flickr.