He's my (Aussie) opinion for the record. When I started reading it I thought it was a true story but soon realised someone was having joke at the Frenchman's expense. I had a chuckle myself because of the perceived 'funny 'cause it's true' slant. Of course jokes are usually funnier when they aren't aimed at our own culture, race, religion etc.
After reading Pierre's comment I can understand his feelings on the matter as he was standing up for his country and his countryman. Then I thought about it more and placed myself in Normandy at that time, and I decided that I would be unlikely to be a Frenchman (or an Aussie
) on that beach greeting soldiers for the following reasons:
1) They were from another country (US, UK etc).
2) I had heard rumours that the 'invaders' were going to remain in my country even if the Germans had been defeated.
3) The area had been bombed heavily by air and sea over a long period and many coastal villages had been damaged and civilians killed.
4) The German soldiers had orders to arrest and or shoot any person found on the channel coast beaches because they could be passing information to the British etc.
5) There was a large battle going on and many soldiers, and the civilians that remained, were likely to be killed.
6) The Germans said they would throw the invaders back into the sea in a short time - which they did at Dieppe etc.
7) Nearly all of the (sensible) US, UK and Canadian etc soldiers on the beach wished they were also not there at that time
Sadly we often get the wrong impression of other people and countries because of things learnt from the media as well as relatives and friends that have travelled overseas for short periods. I'm sure most people think Australians (if they know where Australia is) are lazy beer drinking dopes that live in dusty outback towns and spend most of their time dodging the ever present kangaroos
In fact Australians are no lazier than most other people but we like to have some fun while working. Australians don't like to see any inequity, so minimum wages are relatively high down under. For example the waiter/waitress in an Australian restaurant will be paid at least the equivalent of US $12 an hour. Conversely, tiping is not customary in Australia so it's very rare for an Aussie to leave a tip for a waiter in Australia - which makes American tourists popular in Australian restaurants
Most workers here receive time and a half on saturday and double time on Sundays and public holidays. A teacher's (average professional worker) starting wage after leaving University is about US $30,000 pa and they receive full pay while students (and teachers) are on holidays.
Most Australians drink wine rather than beer, Australia has some of the best wines and wineries in the world and winery bus tours are a popular weekend away. People rarely drink much if driving while away from home because of the tough drink-driving laws in Australia. Btw I have
never yet seen an Australian drink Fosters beer which is a 'tourist' beer. Female Australians almost never drink beer, especially in public, as it's considered a guys drink.
About 90% of Australians live in cities, mainly in south-east Australia. Most Australians feel the outback (which is much of inland Australia) is dusty and boring and it's considered an ok place to visit just to say you've been there, but no one would want to live there.
Almost all Australian native mammals are nocturnal because of the hot and dry climate, therefore you will be very unlikely to see a kangaroo during the day unless it is in a zoo.
