People outside of the Paris area look and sound different. They're not quite as slim; their clothes aren't quite as swanky; their tournures de phrase aren't as charmantes. In short, as a Versaillaise I know put it: "Le Français moyen n'est vraiment pas beau." But beautiful or not, the Français moyen happens to inhabit the picaresque French countryside that Parisians can't seem to get enough of--at least for a weekend at a time.Perhaps it's not merely the leisurely riparian picnics and fresh country air, though, that propel French people to leave the comforts of city life again and again. One can't help wondering if part of urban elites' persistent attraction to la France profonde is due to pure snobisme. Indeed, with their 75s on their license plates, textbook grammar, and names that don't sound like they've been taken from an American teen drama series, Parisians must feel pretty snazzy next to their beauf compatriots.
Or maybe they see it as a chance to let down their Parisian guard for a day or two. Who knows: en cachette, they might even remember how to smile again.
Sylvia Bataille as Henriette. [Online image] 1936.
