[RWebb]

There is a lot of stereotyping about the "the French" here.

First, Sarkozy is a Hungarian implant... does not mean he is not French of course.

Second, I will bet that a lot of the stereotype is due to Paris - people in big cities tend be a tad similar. Parisians are a bit like New Yorkers.

People in rural or small town France may well act quite differently from those who live in Paris.

Then there are the non-European "French" -- people in old French colonies whose culture is heavily influenced by France. That includes people from E. Canada to Vietnam to Algiers to two different types of "french" just in Louisiana.

I don't think they are all going to fit under anyone's stereotype.