Poland and France cultures are similar

no,I try to widen my thought beyond that.

I'm Belgian, native French-speaker. Knowing both France and Poland really makes me wonder in which way they are similar. Except maybe for the fact that Mickiewicz and Kieslowski both spent a part of their career in France ;-). Anyway, when I read things like the following...

...here is what I want to answer :

Some French are thinkers, intellectuals and attentive to details. They indeed have a fifferent structure of thought because their culture articulates around Cartesian logics, which differs from Slavic culture.

France and Poland both have good cuisine. I prefer the Polish one which I found to be healthier.

Both Poles and French are very instructed. Each coutry in its part of Europe had a large cultural influence on neighbouring countries.

Poles are often friendly, more than the French who often looks down on others by excessive self-esteem, oftent thinking they are superior to the rest of the world. Which, of course, often makes them the joke of the world and not the most desired people.

I find Polish women more elegant than French ones, and Polish people in general not so big-mouthed, warmer and with better manners.

I hope Poland doesn't fall in the same trap as Western Europe did and will NOT have a sexual/racial revolution, like the ones which damaged our society. I hope the only transition I hope they will go through is an economically one allowing low salaries to increase.

Anyway, I learnt something with the time. When I'm in a foreign country where I try to speak the local language (often with a little French accent which I cannot always manage to hide), I immediately specify that I'm Belgian and not French. Immediate effect: I'm better welcomed ;-)...

That's a hursh thing to say? what about the rights that women got during this revolutions? how we outgrown our 100 centuries old habits and customs to create modern society? How about the evolution from pre-destined life (born-work-find partner) to a more individual-based decition making for our own lifes?

Was that a damage to the society? huh i wonder

I was thinking to other things that women rights. I was rather thinking of what happened during the last 20 years, not during the last 50 or 100 years. It is a big difference.

You belong to the ones who think that society "progressed". For me, progress means "improvement", not just doing things differently than in the past. You are happy that the modification of society helped solving some social problems which were critical 50 or 100 years ago, and granted more liberties to some citizens. I agree with you about the facts. But this modernization you praise also generated new problems which grew up in critical proportions as well. Things changed but overall society didn't progress. I consider that it is regressing, declining... Probably we will never agree on this issue. ;-)

Mention some!

What I meant,I try to think of French beyond the problem they had with the Algerians in the past.

Individual french,I have no problem with them,their behaviour in the past was horrible and cruel.

present time I found their politics as backward and intolerant to certain extent.

I think about culture in this case in terms of the arts!
Not about politics or societal structures .... I find French humor and temper more appealing to Polish soul. Not to mention folk music quite different, yet on some level similar in the aspect of expression?

yes very similar

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I know many Polish people, none of whom speak French; I know many French people, none of whom speak Polish. So how do they communicate? By speaking English of course. So that's one thing the two cultures have in common! (But of course the French pretend to the English that they cannot speak English even though they all can!)

I've been to Poland and France many times but I find it hard to find any real cultural similarities, apart from the bureaucracy; and although I try to avoid the lazy habit of stereotyping people by supposed national character traits, if I do try to make such a comparison between the French and the Poles I can find no real common ground. There is a common love of food and dining but I find some French a bit anal about it whereas the Polish enjoy food for the opportunity of socialising and simply enjoying a good meal.

I think countries which have had empires (in relatively recent history) have a completely different mentality to countries which have not, and of course a lasting legacy of immigration from the countries which were previously under their control which tends to make such countries very multicultural. I think that it is easier to find cultural differences between Poland and France than cultural similarities and I think the biggest difference is in the area of multiculturalism. Although the French and English 'hate' each other (sorry for the stereotyping there) the fact is that they have a great deal in common, including much shared history, and it is interesting that each country accuses the other of the same negative characteristics such as arrogance.

Even though France is essentially a Catholic country, it has managed to pretty much separate the state from the church; what the Revolution started, multiculturalism is rapidly completing. Poles, though strongly Catholic, are gradually adopting a more relaxed (or is it resistant?) attitude to the influence the individual allows the Church to wield as in the case, for example, of divorce, but the culture of the Church is still far more overt in Poland and is still a very strong cultural influence there.

There is also the legacy of communism which I believe still influences how many people in Poland act and think, a political ideology which France has never lived under; ironic given that France gave the world the Communards!

This is of course only a personal view, but I find it hard to think of two more culturally dissimilar countries than Poland and France.....but I'm willing to be convinced otherwise!

I have seen very few Poles who look comfortable with a glass of wine.

they both fought germany! thats the only thing i know of that they both have

It wasn't much of a fight they put up.

Well, as general Charles de Gaulle once said...



... :)

Many, many common traits and links:

-never at war one with another, and a common enemy: Germany
- the Polish anthem is the only anthem in Europe referring to a foreigner, and that foreigner is Napoleon, who played a significant role in Poland's history

2 great polish heroes, Chopin and Mickiewicz, spent most of their life in France. Chopin himself has a French father. Same for Maria Sklodowska who went to France to study, married there and became Marie Curie

Several french kings had polish wifes or mistresses: Louis XV, Napoleon and the other way also: Wladislaw IV's wife was French, same for Jan Sobieski who married Marysienka

De Gaulle also spent several years in Poland in the early 20s to help train the newly formed Polish army (hence his statue on Rondo De gaulle'a in Warsaw).

Today: France is the first foreign investor in Poland (ahead of US, Germany, Netherlands..)

Well that's because of Germany inbetween....;)

Do Poles eat frogs and snails??? I didn't know that...

(I'm not sure the French would like to hear that you compare their culture with the polish one)

Most French have never eaten frogs; many snails eaten in France are produced in Poland and Hungary...

Anyway...you should start to be proud of your own culture, not because of some invented similiarity with a foreign one, nor should you make your country hymn about a foreign leader, or that your most famous heads needed another country to become what they are....that all doesn't look so good...people could think you haven't anything of your own..mind you...

Polish-French Friendship Association:

tppf.pl/index.php

We have so many friends, Hungarians are our Eternal Brothers, French our closest partners,
Turks never acknowledged partitions (just like Denmark and Spain didn't), Portugal,
Spain, Malta and Italy are our Catholic brothers (not to mention Irish who are simply
a lost tribes of Poles) elites of Lithuania very often speak Polish as their second language
and, let's be honest, Ukrainians and Russians are just wannabe Poles. This continent is
feckin OURS!

*I'm not even mentioning Germans because, as our friend Crow has satisfactorily proven,
they are nothing else but Germanized Poles who forgot their roots* :)

Yeah...Friends like the French who rather preferred to sit on their asses instead of coming to help in '39 or your eternal brothers the Hungarians who preferred to be allies of Germany in both wars instead of rushing to polish aid...the same with Italy....

You don't need enemies with that friends Torqi! ;)

...and that Crow-thingie.....all wishful thinking I say!

You should really start to appreciate your one, true enemy during the times Torq...no lies, treason, backstabbing, broken treaties nor other disappointments here....with Germany you always know what you get, honest and seriously! ;)

You just can't look on a larger scope than that pathetic 6 years of WW2 (when in fact,
Hungary despite being temporarily forced to the alliance with Germany by the political
circumstances of that time, did so much to help Poles).


Actually, Germany are in my good books recently, apart from the fact of being the thieves
of footballers. Out of 82,329,758 Germans only Erika Steinbach is our true enemy (I don't
count the retards painting anti-Polish graffiti and sticking up posters "Polen invasion
stoppen" as enemies ;)).

Me and some others...:(


You have to mention that every time, don't you! ;)
See it that way..through Poldi and Klose (and maybe Trochowski) Poland will be still part
of the world championship in South Africa! YAY! :)

Yes - it bothers me. Such things should not have place among friends ;)

Then you can't be French.

Good spot, z_darius! By the way, which country are you from mvefa?

i don't think our cultures are similar. however, a lot of French are of Polish origin and they are very proud people. we have got Polish French rugby player,fashion designer, models, singers, artists. we have a lot in common.

Yes,French cannot produce serious piwo.(the tone goes to wo).

at least we have the best wine in the world. i don't like piwo anyways

And no wodka.

Poles can be quite sophisticated, especially if you're a North American observer (I have been to Warsaw). Being too sophisticated on the other hand makes you look like an horses a'ss. I hear the Frenchies make their children "learn" about food even in the beginning stages if pre-school. They take food waaaay more seriously than Poles and even Germans and Russians I think. Poles have a different history, more oppressive. This could be a big reason our culture was not exported. As a result we are not that arrogant but of course we have our own thinkers, intelectuals etc. It's not Polands fault due to politics that we are overlooked sometimes.





Plac Stanislas in Nancy, France. Naming a square after a Polish guy is a pretty nice friggin gesture in my opinion. The result of a friendly country maybe?