Europe / Europe
Adil - 08:00am Oct 12, 2004
J'ai pu remarquer que lorsqu'on parle de l'Europe, on a une vision différente. Vous avez mis en avant la culture, le poids de l'histoire alors que nous, nous avons parlé de l'avenir. Est ce que vous nous voyez vraiment comme un vieux continent fini? Il est vrai que notre histoire est plus ancienne que la votre mais il faut dire que depuis toujours nous avons connu la guerre. De 1870 à 1945 nous avons connu trois grandes guerres dont deux guerres mondiales! D'ailleurs, c'est pour cette raison qu'en Europe, nous étions contre la guerre en Irak. Notre passé nous pousse à s'en méfier davantage. Si nous parlons d'avenir c'est parce que nous avons l'espoir de ne plus se faire la guerre entre nous et de prospérer ensemble. J'ai été très surpris de savoir que vous connaissez peugeot! WAW! Comment ça se fait ? Que pensez vous de nos petites voitures ?
Jorge - 10:07pm Oct 15, 2004
I understand completely why no one in Europe would not like another world war - not everyone in the U.S. wants war, you know. It can definitely be said that most people in the U.S. would prefer to not create war amongst each other, rather prosper together, as you have said. Just because our president wants war, it does not reflect the nation's feeling about it.
The peugeot and many other European cars are very popular in the U.S. - maybe its a respectively recent wave of interest in European cars, but your small cars do appeal to us a lot. Recent movies like The Fast and the Furious and The Italian Job can attest to this.
Xiaojie - 08:01pm Oct 17, 2004
I always thought that the Europeans were very proud of their history, and was very suprised to find the word "future" occur so frequently in the French column. In fact, it must be an American misconception of the Europeans being snobby about their history.
It's good to hear that the Europeans now oppose war because of their history. I wish our President had paid attention in history class.
Your small cars are awesome, particularly because they are so much more fuel efficient than our cars.
Brian - 11:08pm Oct 17, 2004
I've never actually seen a French car here in the states - you've actually seen Peugeots? Plus, the MiniCooper is British, and the Beetle is a Volkswagen..
But I think the most striking difference between European and American cars is that there are no automatic cars in Europe - I think it's a combination of liking the old fashioned way of driving and the high gas prices, but maybe our French friends could comment on that?
The coolest small car I've seen in France is called a Smart Car, and apparently it's as long as a regular car is wide, so in order to parallel park it, all you have to do is pull it into the curb headfirst. Pretty cool.
Aparna - 04:52am Oct 18, 2004
I thought it was interesting that Americans mentioned culture and history, whereas the French talked about currency (the euro) and the future. Maybe Americans tend to think of the Old Europe and all of its rich cultual history, whereas the French think about the future of Europe and the newly formed European Union. Americans also seem to think that Europe isn't diverse, unlike the French who mention diversity.
Adil - 09:54am Oct 19, 2004
Aparna, Brian et les autres, je voulais avoir votre avis sur l'intégration de la Turquie dans l'Union Européenne. Comme vous l'avez vu, cette question est devenue polémique ici. Je voudrais avoir votre point de vue. Croyez vous que si 75% des français sont contre l'entrée de la Turquie c'est parce que : a) 75% des français sont racistes. (je ne crois pas!!) b) 75% des français ont peur de voir arriver une population à majorité musulmane dans l'UE. c) C'est pour la question des droits de l'homme en Turquie. d) Par ce que les gens considèrent que la Turquie ne fait pas partie de l'Europe.
Brian - 08:50pm Oct 20, 2004
Adil, your question is an interesting one, and I think that if we step back to look at it, it's difficult to choose just one of your options. I think it's a little bit of all four, although hopefully smaller proportions of a and b.
Adil - 11:21am Oct 22, 2004
Brian J Mullins, je suis d'accord avec toi. Il y a un peu de tou ça. Mais l'intégration de la Turquie se fera de toute façon...
marie - 12:08pm Oct 22, 2004
Je vais réagir par rapport aux mots unité / diversité et le rapprocher à la question de l'intégration de la turquie. Nous concevons plus l'Europe "unie" tandis que vous la percevez très diversifiée.
L'europe, malgré ces diversités culturelles tend théoriquement vers une certaine unité tant au niveau de ces valeurs qu'au niveau économique. En effet chaque pays membre de l'Europe prone la libérté la démocratie et essaie de respecter un certain nombre de critères concernant leurs économies. En pratique les pays membres ne sont pas toujours conformes aux règles de l'Europe. Cela engendre certaines tensions. Ces tensions seront d'autant plus importantes si la Turquie venait à s'intégrer en Europe. Mais quelle est votre opinion sur l'avenir de l'Europe et son influence dans le monde ?
Marie - 09:25pm Oct 24, 2004
I am glad to hear that Europeans and Europe look to the future. When I read articles about different European countries, i.e. National Geographic, everyone seems to be optimistic about the future of their country. Perhaps I always associate Europe with the past and history because Europeans have always preserved their history so well.
Marie - 09:27pm Oct 24, 2004
I'd also like to say that I think Europe and the European Union will play a great role in the future of the world, including politics and art. It seems to me that although the United States is very "take-charge" when it comes to global politics, we will always look to Europe for guidance from past incidents. I don't know why I feel like this, but I still sometimes think the U.S. is the younger cousin of Europe?
Xiaojie - 11:27pm Oct 24, 2004
What do Americans think of the European Union? As a tourist, I would oppose it because it makes traveling to Europe very expensive.
marie - 10:37am Oct 25, 2004
effectivement, je pense aussi que l'Europe joue un rôle important au niveau mondial en politique et dans le domaine artististique.
"the U.S. is the younger cousin of Europe" notre degré de parenté est lié à notre histoire à nos guerres communes!!!!!!et effectivement les USA sont plus jeunes, vous avez toujours un pas d'avance devant nous. Beaucoup de brevets d'inventions (venant de tous les pays) sont réalisés aux USA, car les conditions sont plus intéressantes.
Aparna - 09:03pm Oct 25, 2004
In general do the French think that the European Union has improved their lives? According to a 2003 Harris Poll, only 36% of Europeans believe that their lives have improved in the last 5 years compared to 57% of Americans. I understand that Europe is extremely diverse and that responses could greatly vary from region to region. Are the French satisfied with the European Union in general?
Xiaojie - 10:31pm Oct 25, 2004
According to a Gallup pole, http://www.gallup.com/poll/content/login.aspx?ci=12106, residents of EU member states trust the EU more than their national governments. Is this the case in France? With your emphasis on tradition, how do you reconcile the fact that the EU is not necessarily representative of your heritage, culture, and religion?
William - 09:47am Nov 8, 2004
I am curious about the French reaction to the proposed European Constitution. There seem to be many points in favor and against unifying the continent like this, so what do you all think?
http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3224,36-383092,0.html