Perplexed french.

[MANICHAEAN]

Team GB success leaves French ‘perplexed’

I came across this article and wondered if there was a correlation between the French being perplexed and their diet?

"While British fans have been enjoying a bevy of golds at the London Olympics, our friends across the Channel seem to be having a hard time rationalising Team GB's success.

Fans and officials have been left baffled by just how well our athletes are doing. And nowhere more so than in the Velodrome, with France's track cycling team director Isabelle Gautheron suggesting that British stars such as Victoria Pendleton and Sir Chris Hoy are using 'Magic Wheels'.

"We are asking a lot of questions: how have they gained so many tenths of seconds? Have they found a new training process based on certain energy pathways? I am not talking about any illicit product, because anti-doping tests are so strong," a perplexed Gautheron told L'Equipe.

"Honestly, we are looking a lot at the kit they use. It is not yet time to analyse, though. It's all over for these Games.

"They hide their wheels a lot. The ones for the bikes they race on are put in wheel covers at the finish (of a race). Do they really have (official supplier) Mavic wheels? We know that they work with McLaren."

British Cycling performance director Dave Brailsford laughed at the French line of questioning.

"It's interesting that people are starting to ask questions. It's no different from when we raced the last three and a half weeks at the Tour de France," he said.

"It's the same method, the same philosophy and essentially fantastic coaching which is the only secret weapon we possess. As far as the Olympic Games go, only two weeks are important: one week in Beijing, one week here. And we've peaked for both."

Question marks have also been raised about Jessica Ennis. Thierry Vautrat, a journalist with Ouest France, tweeted after her win in the Heptathlon: "Ennis? She's a bit unreal. Wonder how she could win the (final event) 800m so easily, with no pain. Surprising."

Britain's performances in cycling and rowing also started trending in France on Twitter with French fans unhappy about how Britain were allowed restarts in both events.

L'Equipe said that perceived favouritism towards the hosts had left "a great part of the public and TV viewers incredulous".

Meanwhile, Le Monde noted how French internet users "exasperated by the turn of events in the men's pairs rowing final on Saturday, reinvented the rules of the Olympic sports in favour of representatives of her gracious majesty".

[cacian]

Well perplexed is a french word no surprises there for the French Bon Sang and oh all that stuff.
And as a general rule anthing the English do leaves the world beddazled in fact in awe of who the English are. No surprises there either.
So to answer your question I think diet and mentality and slightely linked but not that much. It is true that the French have a more outward appetite for things that the English would not have.
Frogs and birds and other less appealing delicate species is not an appetite fit for a king. English are robust and so would need more down to earth food.
French cordon bleu is no less then an attitude so they dress it up for looks then eat it. The English like to eat to keep fit.
Royal duties cannot be delayed with attitudes.

What do YOU think MANICHEAN? Is there a cause for overperplextion perhaps?

[kiki1982]

Hmm, that about the wheels is a bit strange, although the French, as all those in the velodrome, ride with covers. Strange that.

They also conveniently forget that Pendleton and her partner were relegated for a faulty exchange. So no favoritism there.

I'm not sure what that about the rowing, but the 100 meter rule is still there (although they propose to abolish it), but a part of his seat came off. Equipment failure is a legitimate reason. Seems right to me.

Although the cmmentator did say, 'If something happens and it isn't broken, make sure that by the time you get to the side, it is broken.' I guess athletes are also human :D.

Although I have only been watching BBC, so it's not as if I am unbiased...

[prendrelemick]

If only upsetting the French was an Olympic sport !

[kiki1982]

Oh, they have been reminding them of Napoleon's downfall by having the triathletes run under Wellington Arch how many times today? :D

gna gna gna

[MANICHAEAN]

The French –English relationship has always been a strange one. It’s almost as if “They hate to love us, but love to hate us!”
But back to the diet issue. Do you think all that “fromage,” is giving the French nightmares?

[cacian]

If only upsetting the French was an Olympic sport !
Haha what an idea hey. :p

Oh, they have been reminding them of Napoleon's downfall by having the triathletes run under Wellington Arch how many times today? :D

gna gna gna
Touche kiki I never thought of that.
Napeleon with all his cavalries and demena should have known better not to wonder off to foreign lands to fight his own battles. Foreign can be very tricky.

The French –English relationship has always been a strange one. It’s almost as if “They hate to love us, but love to hate us!”
But back to the diet issue. Do you think all that “fromage,” is giving the French nightmares?

I am not sure it is hate as much as not understanding a land that kept its monarchy and another that's got rid of it.
There lies the issues.
As to fromage are we talking camembert because if it is then that would be it.
Can't stand the thing.

[kiki1982]

Touche kiki I never thought of that.
Napeleon with all his cavalries and demena should have known better not to wonder off to foreign lands to fight his own battles. Foreign can be very tricky.

Oh, I didn't want to do any of that. No maliciousness there, but the thought occurred to me. although the English wouldn't do that with that express purpose.

Napoleon should have known better, but then he was pretty arrogant in those repects (pretty much like Wellington himself, I expect, though; both great army men).


I am not sure it is hate as much as not understanding a land that kept its monarchy and another that's got rid of it.
There lies the issues.

Oh, that hate or at least animosity goes back centuries! Already in the 16th century they were on each other's backs. The English scheming with any enemy of France they could find, preferably wedging them between Spain and Belgium (also Spain then) and the French getting their own back later. Things didn't improve when the English decided that the seas were the way to go. The French have never forgotten that they were totally upstaged by the English, and still are to a certain extent in that department. It could be blamed on the French chronic lack of money.
I guess it all started when the English king couldn't have France as well, or something, and then lost his lands in Normandy altogether. He felt left out somehow, because he was away over the Channel. Never could stomach it. And so he decided first he was going to get his throne back and then, when that proved futile, decided he would tease them for ever more.
The monarchy is a side show in all of that.

Or that's at least my take on it. ;)

Can't comment on the cheese.

[MANICHAEAN]

Bonjour Cacian

Comment sa va aujourd oui? En bon santé j’espere. Excuse me pulling your leg. My French wife has had to put up with it for the last thirty years!

Correct me if I’m wrong but Napoleon as such did not initially wander off to foreign fields to fight. Was there not, as a result of the French Revolution, already a hostile war alliance in place as he rose to power? He merely took the fight to them, before they invaded France. Later, in Spain & Russia it was different.


Kiki
At what stage do you think the Normans stopped being French and became Englishmen? After all they brought their culture with them, of which nothing now remains; neither a penchant for camembert, or introducing truffle hunting into the Olympic programme.

[prendrelemick]

Henry the V was the king who started keeping "The Rolls" and other Court documents in English. The Hundred Years war was probably the start of Us and Them.
Non of this really mattered to us peasants until much later.

[cacian]

Bonjour Cacian

Comment sa va aujourd oui? En bon santé j’espere. Excuse me pulling your leg. My French wife has had to put up with it for the last thirty years!

Correct me if I’m wrong but Napoleon as such did not initially wander off to foreign fields to fight. Was there not, as a result of the French Revolution, already a hostile war alliance in place as he rose to power? He merely took the fight to them, before they invaded France. Later, in Spain & Russia it was different.


Kiki
At what stage do you think the Normans stopped being French and became Englishmen? After all they brought their culture with them, of which nothing now remains; neither a penchant for camembert, or introducing truffle hunting into the Olympic programme.
Hi MANICHEAN not at all.:p
I think the only reasob Napoleon rose was because of the French revolution.
The same with the nazis the first world war paved the way to the second. It is a military tactic.
Without the first war the nazis would have never been able to declare the second.
A bit like the french saying
''Jamais deux sans trois'' what they really mean is ''never one without two'' since you cannot have two or three without one.
Napoleon 's tactics were entirely military, another type of regime if you count the French Monarchy as one type. He coup d'etated himself and took power and then declared himself emperor.
It is a very similar tactic to the romans. He spread invaded then took what was more or less not his. His failures were bounds.
His tactics were to ''premaditate wars'' by venturing out onto the unknown before others was a costly mistake not a very clever one I would say.
In any normal situation one must stay put to cover their backs leaving one's territory to go to others is in effect leaving one's territory at risks of other outer invasions not overseen.