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2010-09-22 15:45:43
We were sipping a glass of wine by the pool this afternoon among girlfriends talking about men -what else could we talk about? After all, we are in France- when it finally hit me why are French men so irresistible.
I think most women would agree with me that French men have a "je ne sais quoi" that makes them irresistible. They might not be the most handsome ones, but they are charming and lovable. But what makes French men so different to other Europeans or Americans? Here you will find the answer
What makes French men so irresistible?
1. From the first impressions you recognize a French man by his outfit. A Parisian has no competitors for fashion sense. Ordinarily you would never buy an orange scarf for your boyfriend, until you see a Parisian walking along the Champs Elysees with an orange silk scarf complementing his "decontracte" style. Only the Italians come closer with their particular sense of elegance and distinction.
2. Attitude. French guys look straight into your eyes when they are talking to you. Ok. Sometimes their eyes stray away towards your boobs, but quickly they come back to meet your eyes. It is actually considered bad manners not to look into the eyes of someone when you are talking to them and someone told me that it brings 7 years bad sex if you do not look straight into the eyes of someone when toasting!
3. They are passionate about anything they might be talking about which usually is food, wine or sex.
4. Conversation. With French men you can talk about anything you talk with your girlfriends. It does not matter their education, any French man will be able to talk with you about the latest fashion trends, cooking recipes and of course wine and cheese.
5. The French have a highly developed sense of smell. A French man actually appreciates your selection of toiletries. They can even recognize your perfume by name. I still remember the time I met a French fashion photographer in a Marbella nightclub, after being introduced he asked me -just to corroborate that he was right- if I was wearing Nilang, a perfume by Lalique, which at the time was only available in the Lalique shops in Paris so the scent was very exclusive and unknown. That impressed me!
6. French men can cook. And I am not talking about an omelette or opening a can of baked beans... no, no, no. I am talking about delicious well prepared meals cooked with lashes of fresh cream and herbs that you have never heard about; all served at a well decorated table and eaten with three hours of delightful conversation.
7. It does not matter what a French man tells you, if he says it in French you will be at his feet. Their accent, pronunciation and who knows what else are so irresistible, that I have almost fallen in love with many men without even having looked at their faces.
8. They are very expressive; they like to tell you how they feel and if they compliment you they really mean it. By and large they are not afraid to show their emotions. They will tell you that they love you, that they are mad about you and pour their heart out to you without feeling compromised for doing it. Even tough cinema actor Vincent Cassel has been quoted saying: "I think I'm actually more vulnerable than people imagine."
9. Most men do not drink beer -whisky as an aperitif is more acceptable and wine with a meal-. By and large a more elegant choice of drink.
10. Their life does not revolve around football matches. In three years living in France I have not yet met a football fan; at least not the type that spends Saturday afternoon in front of the tv. drinking a beer and cheering his team.
11. French men are still gentlemen and as such they still pay for you when you go out with them. French men like to pick up the bill. I know many feminists will be outraged by this, but they do it naturally. If you go out dining with male friends you do not have to go through the awkward discussion of who ate what or take out the calculator to divide the bills. Most of them are just happy to pay for you.
Some of my favourite French actors who personify my ideal of French men are:
Vincent Cassel
Born in Paris with impossibly blue eyes is a star of European cinema. Famous for his tough guy roles and eclectic choices, is also known for being Monica Belluci's husband.
Gerard Depardieu
This is actually a weird choice for many. Depardieu is by no means a handsome hero but if you have ever seen him playing Cyrano de Bergerac (in French original version) you will understand why there was not a better choice for the character and why so many women are mad about him. Just listen to the video of Cyrano talking to his beloved Roxane.
Alain Delon
An icon of French cinematography, one of the few incredibly handsome French actors. Even now aged 72 he is still hot and you can see him in his latest film Ast rix aux jeux olympiques (2008), where he plays Julius Cesar.
Vincent Perez:
Although born in Switzerland (1962), Perez is considered a French actor. He has been quoted saying "j' tais perdu, sans pays, la france m'a adopt " (I was lost with no country and France adopted me).
Vincent Perez has a soulful, exotic-look about him and if you listen to him in French, you could just melt like an ice cream.
One of my favourite films where he features along with Isabelle Adjani is "La Reine Margot". Like the Newsday reviewed it: a film " Filled to the brim with dramatic family confrontations, death-bed scenes, poisoned books, sex, redemption and expert scenery. Every moment is riveting, every actor gives his all. Particularly good are (...) Vincent Perez as Margot's hot-blooded beloved, La Mole."
What so special about French men?
by Connell Laura
What so special about French men?
I once fell for a French boy. It was the summer after my first set of serious examinations at school- I was only fifteen. My two closest friends and I had set off to spend a week in France. We arrived in a tiny village on the South West coast about an hour out of Biarritz. I have never forgotten its rows of small cafes, the shops, the vastness of the white beach which lined the ocean but most importantly, I have never forgotten him. The frenchie. Admittedly, it was not one of those massively communicative relationships this no doubt increased its charm as many of you will agree.
I am not the only one whose experience of France has been more than platonic. On the contrary, a great number of the women interviewed admitted to either having had a fling or a relationship with a French man. Those who have not had such an experience want one and could envisage themselves embarking upon a trans-Channel aventure at some point in the future. One interviewee, who shall remain nameless for the sake of her new husband s dignity, even stated that if she were to have an affair, she would undoubtedly have one with a French man because that s what you do, isn t it?
So the following question imposes itself: why do women find French men so attractive? Why are so many of our stars (think Jane Birkin with Serge Gainsbourg, Kylie Minogue with Olivier Martinez but also Kristin Scott-Thomas with Francois Olivennes and Eva Longoria with French basketball player Tony Parker) bagging themselves Frenchies?
Let us dispel the myths at once: French men are not necessarily better lovers (I say necessarily because that entirely depends on your experience of English men) , they are not all romantics and they are not all tortured intellectuals. Nevertheless, they do have a certain je ne sais quoi . Perhaps it is there confidence and their unashamed honesty about their interest in you, which makes them more appealing. It may just be exoticism, the element of the culturally alien or the romantic connotations of the Continent to which we associate them. Whatever it is, the French man consistently appears in our fantasies and indeed, our lives. There has to be more than geography to the duration of our Entente Cordiale.
It is a mystery which will perhaps forever remain unsolved. Nevertheless, it makes me laugh to think that whenever I remember the Frenchie leaning into my ear to tell me that I smelled exqueesite , my legs go weak...