15 Differences Between France & England | French Culture vs British Culture | Paris vs London

[@vwpunk99]

As an Englishman who lived in France for 8 years I would say that the French are more classically stylish, whereas the English/British tend to take more risks with their choices. Which may or may not pay off

[@gourishankarsolapure1097]

Hi

[@philipellis7039]

As a Brit I’d say French people are definitely more concerned about how they look in public than many Brits are. Eating out in France is different than the U.K. - it’s much less flexible, lunchtime is long but you can’t get food served outside of that, restaurants often don’t open in the evening until much later than in the U.K. Want to spot a British tourist in France? Those are the people shuffling around outside closed restaurants at 6:30pm.

[@WanderingRavens]

Haha, you can spot Americans shuffling peering in closed restaurants at 6:30pm too. It's so hard to find food in France before 7!

[@stefanronin2785]

You probably dont care but does any of you know of a tool to log back into an Instagram account..? I was stupid lost my login password. I would love any tips you can give me.

[@nehemiahimmanuel4689]

@Stefan Ronin instablaster :)

[@stefanronin2785]

@Nehemiah Immanuel I really appreciate your reply. I found the site through google and I'm in the hacking process atm. I see it takes quite some time so I will reply here later with my results.

[@stefanronin2785]

@Nehemiah Immanuel it did the trick and I actually got access to my account again. Im so happy:D Thanks so much you saved my account!

[@aktolman]

We do have strikes in the UK, but nothing on the level the French do! they love it!

[@WanderingRavens]

Thanks for answering our question! 😁

[@peterwesson7324]

Everything changed in the UK regarding strikes with the Conservative government headed by Margaret Thatcher. Prior to this the UK was heavily unionised and went on strike so often it had a reputation as the sick man of Europe. The Conservative government used the law to surpress strikes and break the Unions. This is so long ago say 1980s that few people likely to watch your channel will know how different it was. If interested search on 1970s three day week, miner's strike etc. Now it is so far the other way in the UK with zero hours contracts etc it is hard to believe how different it was.

[@aktolman]

@@peterwesson7324 Arthur Scargill :)

[@johnlewis9158]

In the sixties and seventies the UK and France did have one thing in common and that being strikes and more strikes. Even as a apprentice from 1970 to 1976 i spent quite a lot of my time on the picket line

[@spadeface8500]

Yeah, But being on strike means i'm not being paid. And that notion disagrees with me to no end.

[@baaford]

Public transport is very expensive and unreliable in the UK because we privatised it to reduce the cost and improve the reliability. It worked so badly that we privatised everything else too.

[@bewareofsnow]

"To my palate, English cheese is a lot better" - and that was how the war with France began!

[@APC3370]

De Gaulle called Churchill complaining about the strikes, again ! And De Gaulle end it with : « if you’d know how complicated it is to govern a nation that that’s 365 different kind of cheese ! « To which Churchill reply : « if you’d know how complicated it is to govern a nation that has one kind of cheese «

[@cigmorfil4101]

The MOT is required every year starting from the 3rd anniversary of first registration when new.

[@kenhunt9434]

I have noticed that when young women in Britain go out for the evening they dress up (perhaps not in clothes my mum would have approved of) yet the men wear the sort of clothes that I would wear to wash the car.

[@kevinb814]

What.. You'd wash your car in a £200+ designer shirt?

[@michellemobakeng5938]

@@kevinb814 Just a white shirt, that's it.

[@mporvichova]

I am a Czech living in London and I never know how to greet people, so I just wait for the other person to intiate the greeting. In Czech republic it's most common to just say Hi without any hugs or kisses or any touching in general.

[@EnglishLad]

Culture shocks are common when someone lives in another country for a while, but you've earned my respect for waiting for us to greet you. That's the way to learn the UK culture. You are the type of immigrant who can stay.

[@yungkiann4798]

No one hugs and touches in the UK what clapped area have you been to?

[@ktkee7161]

Just say hello. English people say please thank you and sorry a lot too. London might be different because half the people who live there aren't English!

[@TheEulerID]

There was a time in the 1970s and early 1980s when the British could show the French how to strike. One coal strike essentially brought to a government under Ted Heath. It was only with reforms by Margaret Thatcher to labour laws and toughing out a strike by the coal miners (and a lot of repressive action by the police to control secondary action) that it all changed. To put it in numbers, in 1979 the country lost 29.5 million working days to industrial action and, of course, the impact to the economy was much worse than that raw figure as it would affect the ability of other people to work. However, if I take the statistics for 2018, it was 0.3 million working days. That's a reduction of 99% over what was, admittedly, the worst year in the 1970s. However, the 2018 figure is fairly typical. These days, the French lose about 7 times as many working days per million workers than do the British, but at it's peak in the 1970s the British were around 15 times worse than the France is now (when you factor in the smaller workforce in those days). The effects on the economy was devastating.

[@inwedavid6919]

Well France don't let all his workers die to starve like Tatcher does.... UK users accept all especially paid hour by hour, being fired for no reason, being fired and engaged anew for a lower salary. Strike in France is always the sames company, state electricity, train, state workers, else it is quite rare. Do they smile? Are you in Paris and a big city or a small one, they are very different. IN Paris there are 10 tourist per habitants, they are feed of saying hello. For Peeing there are very few toilets and many persons, especially males don't care. If we eat at 7 to 8 Pm it is also because we have a small brunch around 16H. (4PM) so you are less hungry. Train price in UK are private from company who makes a lot of profit while it is a state service in France, no shareholders to feed. Scooters are cheap (1000€) and don't need a licence. Poo of dogs is condam with a fee but few policem care of it. For la bise it also depends of region, from 1 to 5, on my area it was 4 (west of France). There is also French bread without gluten, feel free to try. For cheese don't compare, there are more than 700 variety of cheese of all taste, from nearly no taste to strong. fare more variety than UK.

[@TheEulerID]

@@inwedavid6919 Gee you aren't very well informed. In any event, to tackle one point, there are over 750 different varieties of cheese made in the UK. www.petersyard.com/journal/a-guide-to-british-cheese-varieties/ www.newsweek.com/britain-produces-more-cheese-france-484465

[@inwedavid6919]

@@TheEulerID Yes but go to an UK supermarket, you have cheedar and cheedar and cheedar and rarely something else, goes to the same supermarket in France you'll finde dozen of different cheese. I lived in both countries.

[@TheEulerID]

@@inwedavid6919 You are talking garbage. There are huge numbers of cheeses in any decent sized UK supermarket, and from many countries. The better supermarkets have deli counters. In any event, you were demonstrably wrong.

[@inwedavid6919]

@@TheEulerID Typicaly the reflexion of a Brexiter, "we do it best" I'm from Swindon and I left the country as there is a lot of persons like you there. Hopefully you leave EU soon and we won't see you again. Go back to boots and tell me how many cheese that are not cheedar (or industrial cheese) and many different variety of OK cheese. And it is even worst in irland where a lot of cheese exist.

[@slightlyconfused876]

My experience of France, mainly in the south and central parts, is that total strangers will say good morning to you, and will get very annoyed if you don't respond.

[@WanderingRavens]

Good to know! We haven't been to central or southern France yet!

[@Laurent69ftm]

Total strangers might greet you anywhere in France. But it's mostly in small villages, mountains... And you are supposed to answer, why wouldn't you?

[@ktkee7161]

Apparently in Germany this a complete no-no (greeting strangers). Would like someone to confirm.

[@thegingerwitch322]

The Brits will always talk to a dog before a person! The only thing about this video is that you may be talking about Paris - not France as a whole, a bit like talking about London rather than the whole of the UK (which you dont do)

[@philroberts7238]

Yes, every French person you're ever likely to meet will tell you that Parisians are rude and surly and too "pressé" to give you the time of day - even those who were born and bred in Paris will tell you this. Speaking personally, I've rarely come across any serious impoliteness in France, not even in Paris. One thing though: when you enter a shop you are expected to say "Bonjour Monsieur/Madame" as you come in - not to do so would be considered rude.

[@ffotograffydd]

You have to compare like for like. Paris is very similar to London in most ways. People in both the UK and France behave differently if they live in large cities than if they live in small towns and rural areas. We don’t have double decker trains in the UK because most of our rail infrastructure was built in the 19th century and the taller trains wouldn’t fit through the tunnels.

[@WanderingRavens]

We hadn't considered the tunnels! Makes perfect sense :D

[@JohnnyZenith]

Paris is one of my favourite cities but overall it has nothing on London. London is far more diverse and exciting.

[@bastianhunter7278]

@@JohnnyZenith and more racially motivated

[@JohnnyZenith]

@@bastianhunter7278 What?

[@pidajou]

But the double decker buses is because the UK streets are too narrow for longer buses (such as bendy - or accordeon - buses) to be able to turn.

[@anielloschiavone2154]

I love the king of cheeses Stilton even the French are jealous of this one, its a Christmas tradition to have this with Port and grapes.

[@WanderingRavens]

Yessss, Stilton is wonderful! Haven't had it with Port and grapes though, will have to try that this Christmas :D

[@johnlewis9158]

To quote Charles De Gaulle.How can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty six different kinds of cheese

[@nigem6611]

You either love Stilton or hate it personally I'd rather eat my own vomit!

[@christianjambou8208]

Total shyte.

[@stephenflynn7600]

How bad could Stilton be if Wallace and Gromit eat it! 😜

[@gedwhittaker874]

Public transport in France is heavily subsidised by their Government, this is fairly common amongst European Nations. In the UK however it is not, hence the difference.

[@hlund73]

UK public transport is subsidised, just not for the passengers 😒

[@elephantsmemory3142]

@@hlund73 Nice one

[@CyrilleParis]

False : Public transport in the UK is heavily subsidised. The differnce comes from bad public/private management + you pay the shareholders

[@jenniedarling3710]

What part of France are you staying in? As you say there is a big difference between friendliness in London and the rest of the UK. I wonder if it's some in France in terms of a city v country thing.

[@WanderingRavens]

We're staying in the country, about 40 minutes south of Paris, so we've had a decent taste of both. And yes, the French in the country are much friendlier than the French in the city :)

[@shaungordon9737]

@@WanderingRavens that's not the country, go a few hours from Paris

[@AlexandreABRAHAM]

I live 45 minutes away from Paris by train and everybody say hello to everybody when crossing them in the street.

[@RosLanta]

While I do eat lots of gorgeous British cheese, I also eat plenty of cheeses from all over the Continent, which I think is fairly common in the UK these days - especially at Christmas when many people have cheese boards and often buy types they don't get the rest of the year. French cheeses are fine but if I'm going to pick one European country that does cheese best, I'm going for the Netherlands. If you've never been to a Dutch cheese shop, put that on your to-do list, they're amazing.

[@n.martinez5214]

Dog poop: we do get fined, but that's if a policeman sees you. I remember in some town, they actually run a DNA test to know whose dog poop it is and fine the owner. The law is only 13 years old. Before that, it was totally normal to let it on the streets so some people still think it's not a big deal, especially in rural areas.

[@richmorris2870]

Public transport is so expensive in the UK because the Conservative Government in the 90s privatised the railways. In France and most European countries the railways are at least part public owned if not totally nationalised

[@Jakeyboy-eh4cr]

Hi Guys, love the shows. In regards to fashion the French are very chic and stylish whereas we English generally base our fashion around Pop culture and Football casual wear. Strikes are few and far between in the UK. Keep up the good work

[@raymartin7172]

If you think that the French eat late (and I do) try Spain, especially Madrid. People eat their evening meal between 10.00 and midnight.

[@jenbroughton9140]

Generally have found the Greeks eat very late . Think it's because they have a sleep in the afternoons then they are able to enjoy the evenings when its cooler . Greek children are often awake and running around at midnight

[@1Rik1]

There are fewer strikes in Britain because it's impossible to get public support. The media in this country immediately start a propaganda campaign against the strikers to deter support. They show interviews with people who are inconvenienced by the strike and very rarely discuss the merits of the strike, or even the reasons for striking.

[@mikenowacki9729]

UK train network is privatised much to our annoyance, this means one line is operated by one company another line is operated by another etc. These companies are from all over Europe, so German French, Italian companies etc. The cost is high because of this for some reason, we hope for it to become publicly owned again one day a la British Rail (pre 1990's)

[@mrmessy7334]

I'm British and my lunch break at every job I've had has been an hour.

[@WanderingRavens]

Wow! That's really nice!

[@hexoslaya3696]

Jammy git. The longest break I’ve ever had was 30 mins.

[@reverendnumbnuts1857]

I get a 30 minute paid dinner which imo is better than a one hour unpaid dinner.

[@johnbuyers8095]

Yes, but I don't get paid for the time I'm on break..

[@noodle3681]

British here. I'd say it depends on your occupation but typically an office job allows for a 15 min morning break, 30-60 min lunch and 15 min afternoon break.

[@MrRamtalok]

French here, la bise is a regional touch. There's actually a website called Combiendebises.com showing how many you should do (most common is 2 or 3, but can sometimes be 1 or up to 5). Whuch side you shoud start on is also a debate depending of the region you're from. It's kind of an ice-breaker to fumble about when meeting new people. Guys to guys is usually in the South and between close friends at least.

[@n.martinez5214]

There is a lack of negociations in France. Basically, when the power (governements or bosses) wants something that is not popular, they go for it anyway, often beyond necessary. This way, if there is no strike, it's all benefits. And if there is one, they still have some margin to negociate. Often in our history, without any strike, we wouldn't have had so many social protections (health care system, retirement, unemployment pay, etc). That said, I do think some strikes are unecessary and we tend to overuse them.

[@christianlegoff1434]

you have no strike just because tacher destroyed your syndicats. our are too strong and yours to weak

[@n.martinez5214]

@@christianlegoff1434 I'm french btw...

[@stevesilk51]

The French seem to dive into strikes with little regard to it's effect on the general public and have more propensity to damage things, start fires etc.

[@paulrice8358]

Strip the managing director naked and chase them out of their premises.

[@paulrice8358]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXnHqXuBhLiLr8k

[@johnbuyers8095]

The French especially enjoy if they can set fire to a few English lorries first

[@AlexBermann]

One time, they even went so far as beheading their king.

[@adrianpetyt9167]

Funny, I'm old enough to remember the 1970s and 80s when strikes in the UK were so common that the continentals referred to striking as "the British disease". Conservatives talked as if "the unions ranges the country". Comedies like Carry On Behind and tv shows like Till Death Do Us Part and Love Thy Neighbour (when not talking about race) talked about unions and strikes quite a bit, too.

[@stefanwoodhouse2028]

The dinner time varies a bit by part of the country and as always, class. Working class people tend to eat earlier whereas middle & upper class people tend to eat later. Within my friends and acquaintances people start dinner between 5 and 7:30.

[@trippydrew8492]

Trains prices are ridiculous over here in the UK. Buses are cheap though! I used to do a regular bus journey of about an hour or so and it was £4.

[@cigmorfil4101]

Using time for train travel is not a good idea. Recently my wife and I visited her mother using the train. It took 1 hr 45 minutes to get there and 2 hrs 12 minutes to get home afterward; it cost £2.60, full fare, each way (just over £5 each for the return trip). Just to explain: the journey was about 20 miles across London (skirting around zone 1) and we had to change trains - on the journey home a train was cancelled creating an half hour wait.

[@BillCameronWC]

I’m British but lived in Paris for several years. Public urination by men - in the parts of Paris where I lived/worked (very upmarket, specially where I lived) I can’t say I ever saw this, but certainly in other less well-off areas, or more “commercial” areas I did see that. In the very upmarket area where I lived we did have a particular problem with dog urination & faeces - very smartly dressed middle-aged or elderly ladies would take their (usually quite small & immaculately groomed) dogs for walks, letting them urinate & defecate any place & every place, never even making an attempt to clean up after them. At least several times a day where I lived, city employee would patrol pavements on specially equipped sorts of scooters, with brush/spray attachments to scoop up & clean pavements where dogs had defecated, some slightly more responsible ladies would direct their dogs to the gutters, as these were flushed by the public water system at least once/twice a day and the detritus flushed down into the sewer system - but such owners were very much in the minority. However in the very upmarket area where I lived there were certain other late-night practices (which I won’t detail here) between consenting adults of diverse sexes (usually for money) that went on pretty openly in some even quite busy streets that I could not imagine in a million years seeing in many other places on the planet, and I’ve lived in or visited quite a few, let alone very wealthy areas as this was.

[@WanderingRavens]

Thank you for taking the time to share your stories with us, Bill!

[@Lwena]

About security cameras: the French are very cautious when it comes to public surveillance, data protection, filing, etc. The origin of this could have something to do with World War II: France lived under the yoke of an enemy power, and a government that was on the side of the enemy. If the French government at the time had the technical possibility of identifying and tracking down fleeing Jews and resistance fighters, the toll would have been even heavier. My (French) mother has always been fiercely against surveillance, massive filing, and when I asked her why, she said to me "Yes, the State can do good things with it, but if tomorrow the power at the head of the State changes, it could just as well use it against us ".

[@richt71]

London v Paris transport costs. I think you're covering apples and oranges as a 1-6 monthly travelcard I believe you quoted covers over 400 square miles of greater London for trains, tubes,dlr, buses and trams. Paris system I believe covers about 80 square miles. It's also worth noting that if you avoid zone 1 (very central London) the costs are considerably cheaper.

[@WanderingRavens]

Ah, good to know! I didn't realize how big the London metro area was.

[@wrs10]

@@WanderingRavens Plus Zone6 in London goes beyond the city boundaries en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stations_in_London_fare_zone_6

[@ronburden7236]

@@WanderingRavens first in the world-like the steam engine,WE invented it (and the English language))

[@zaydalaoui9397]

Paris navigo covers all ile de france which is huge not just Paris. So the comparison is legit

[@theon1534]

Paris transportation don't cover only Paris(it's just the zone 1) but a huge zone around Paris far more extended than 1000 km²

[@hootie1964]

Cars need a MOT every year starting on their 3rd birthday.

[@RosLanta]

We do have strikes in the UK but I'd say the vast majority are very short, maybe a day at a time (sometimes several days but not consecutive). An NHS one back in 2014 was only 4 hours long - although that's partly because emergency service staff are often the most reluctant to strike and do their best not to risk any lives. There are long strikes sometimes but they're not very common here, certainly not in comparison with some countries - Greece seems to have a lot of them judging by the couple of times I've been there!

[@markthomas1278]

The French are the biggest cheese consumers in the world, by the way the British consume more champagne than the French.

[@enochpowellnickgriff]

Interesting video, thanks. Whenever I visit France, it's closed, however I haven't been for several years.

[@ianp7661]

The public transport costs in the UK are insane. I think it’s mostly because the system is privatised and somehow it makes things more expensive, plus money hungry bastards.

[@canopus101]

MOT test is annual in the UK. Confusion may have arisen as if you buy a new car or motorcycle you can keep it for three yers before you are required by law to get the vehicle tested.

[@stuarttaylor1799]

The French rail system in France SNCF is publically owned. Fares are subsidised. Thatcher privatised the railways in the UK in the 80's. Hence they're more expensive.

[@LeslieGilpinRailways]

Thatcher didn't privatise British Rail, it was the Major government 5 or so years later.

[@raymartin7172]

In the UK a car, once it is three years old has to have an Mot test every year, regardless of mileage.

[@carolinepiper8773]

Hi guys, we do have a very smelly cheese called Stinking Bishop. It gets its name from the pear that is rubbed on the rind. Although it really does stink it tastes really good if you like that sort of thing.

[@amberdavey4042]

We really love dogs in the UK. It is near impossible to walk past a dog without saying 'hey cutie' and making kissy faces at it. I think the French think they're too cool... I rented a room in a family home when living in Nantes (weird but wonderful place!) and they found my love for their dog very endearing! They seemed surprised when I asked if I could take him out for walks!

[@baylessnow]

We were the strike capital of the world back in the 70's, part of the downfall of the British Motor Industry but then Maggie came into power and took on the miners, she eventually made it, basically, illegal for union reps, ie; shop stewards and branch secretaries to suddenly tell the bosses that production is stopping and for the workforce to "down tools" because they were now on strike, thus taking any powers away from the shop floor and handing it back to the bosses!

[@jeremywilson2022]

In France car insurance is related directly to the value of the car so if the car gets scrapes and bumps it is cheaper to insure.

[@WanderingRavens]

Good to know! And that policy makes sense

[@franck4294]

no

[@roberthayter157]

All the bridges over the railways and the railway tunnels are, unfortunately, too low for double decker trains. We really could do with them because of the overcrowding on commuter trains.

[@alexhando8541]

1.No double-decker trains in the UK. Apart from HS1, the rest of the country has what is effectively a Victorian railway system, the only changes being in the service and rolling stock (the trains themselves). 2.The reason why it is so expensive is because of the way that they are run (it is very very complicated... But to make it easier to understand, lots of companies bid on a route to run trains. The UK government gives these "franchises" a certain period of time before they are auctioned off again and the company has to try and win back the same route that they won. Because there are so few routes that fast trains run on; the franchise companies make a monopoly due to there being no competition - allowing them to make ticket prices astronomically high without improving the service (except where absolutely necessary in terms of Govt. Regulation). Because of this, trains are unreasonable, uncomfortable and unreliable.

[@10wanderer]

Frernch transport is subsidised

[@grahamsmith9541]

The double deck trains are Eurotunnel. They just ferry cars through the channel tunnel. The trains on HS1 are Eurostar, and Javelin. Both single deck. We did have double deck trains that ran from Charring Cross to Dartford from 1949 to 1971. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jIDahoONoJV-oKM

[@angeladavies898]

Regarding newer cars, in the U.K. a few years ago there was a push to get older cars off the road for ‘environmental reasons’ which gave financial incentives to trade in old cars

[@flossnjess]

So I think we used to have more strikes but I think it's like almost a stereotype how much the French seem to be on strike. People strike in the UK too, historically the miners but now mostly teachers, lecturers, train drivers and the NHS strikes which were a big deal. I think the difference in travel is that our train services got privatised so there's competition and it just keeps driving the price up. I don't know if it's private in France but if it got too expensive they'd probably go on strike. Also, I think they pay higher taxes, or there's more revenue generated from somewhere to provide public services where as in the UK we've been living under austerity for the last decade. With the cars, I don't know if this is a thing but in the UK loads of people get their cars on a finance plan rather than buying it out right. So you pay £200 a month or something to pay off your car but then after about three years they'll offer you to trade it in for a newer model which is only slightly more expensive and is back under warranty, so rather than having a car that'll continue to depreciate and also might cost to fix and pass it's MOT, people just swap it back in with a newer model. Also, I've always eaten lunch at about 1:30 and dinner at 8pm, but I know some people still eat dinner at like 5 which blows my mind! Also I think lunch breaks vary but in 'corporate' jobs I think you'd get an hour usually. I dunno why I've written this entire essay....

[@WanderingRavens]

Hi Jess! Thank you for taking the time to answer all of our questions! This clears up a lot for us. We appreciate you :D

[@RosLanta]

Re meal times, I would say it varies enormously in the UK. Breakfast anytime between 6 and 10 (maybe later on a weekend), lunch anytime between 12 and 2, dinner/tea anytime between 5 and 8.30 (or I've known some people to give their kids tea first at 5-6pm and make their own hot meal later on, though its not the norm). Many people don't get home from work early enough for the 5-6pm slot you suggested (well, pre-lockdown!). Dinner out at a restaurant is rarely before 7.30pm at earliest unless you have kids with you. Italians eat really late. I believe often 9pm ish.

[@tonywilkinson6895]

I love French style, I'm from London and if I hear a woman from France speaking my body comes to life, like I'm on FIRE.

[@finngregory3599]

Eww

[@nelsonkaiowa4347]

With kisses, just take your cue from the other person. Bread in France is better. Love cheeses in both countries (heck, in any country). You have to drink wine with French cheese. I believe you don´t drink and that makes a big difference! The wine enhances the taste of the cheese and vice versa. And you eat some bread to cleanse the pallet between cheeses.

[@nigem6611]

Here in the UK in the sixties and seventies we were known as the "Sick Man of Europe" due to the amount of strikes we had then. Also in the UK cars older than 3 years have to have an annual M.O.T. not every 3 years.

[@MeStevely]

Yep, MOT every year in the UK, NOT every 3 years.

[@WanderingRavens]

We hadn't heard about the "Sick man of Europe" phase! What was the cause of all the strikes?

[@keithholland1376]

Wandering Ravens - Rampant Socialism and unions who wanted to run the country. Unions are now restricted to representing their membership on work centric matters, not political idealism.

[@WanderingRavens]

@@MeStevely Wow! Even more frequently than we thought!

[@davidmarsden9800]

@@WanderingRavens in the 1950's, 60's, 70's and early 1980's the UK was known worldwide for it's strikes. There's an old comedy film called "I'm alright Jack" which will give you a flavour of British management and trades union relations of the time. UK was known as the sick man of Europe due to the amount of strikes. Unions would start a strike over pay and conditions and loads of other unions would come out in support. The last great strike was the miners strike of 1984 which was defeated by Mrs Thatcher's government and the laws outlawing secondary pivoting etc were brought in. She had been in the Ted Heath conservative government of the early 1970's which was brought down by striking unions especially the miners and the power workers among others which left us siting in the dark for hours in the winter evenings and a three day week for work. We still get occasional strikes but nothing like it was. In the winter of 1978/9 was known as the winter of discontent for the mass strikes that brought the country to it's knees. Even the dead piled up unburied in the morgues and undertakers, the rubbish bins overflowed for months under the Labour government. Then in 1979 general election Mrs Thatcher was voted in with a huge landslide majority and over the next 10 years restored the country to a much more thriving state.

[@draoi99]

The English have this thing about what they think is a typically French gesture called the "Gallic shrug". Seen any of that?

[@WanderingRavens]

I haven't heard of that before, but I know exactly what you're talking about haha

[@CEDRICKB]

In France, we think that dry cheeses taste like soap. We still like them in salads or in burgers, or as an aperitif.

[@Arnie10101]

As I live near a port on the south coast of England I have popped over to France may times, often just for a long day shopping. Damn near every time I've been, there has been a demonstration, or organised march, right through where I was having lunch! As far as I could tell it was often about fishing quotas, there not being many reasons why the march was being led by a young lady dressed as a cod. The best part was learning that they referred to an event like this as 'une manifestation'. It sounded like they were hoping to summon up a demon or something, but had to get by with the young lady dressed as a cod.

[@pureholy]

I like very strong cheddar, now about the bread. The French make French bread better than the Brits - go figure; but what traditional British bread did you try? Bloomer, Cottage, Cob - all unsliced - Hot Cross Bun, Crumpet, Barm cake, Chelsea Bun, Sally Lunn Bun etc.

[@WanderingRavens]

We had quite a bit of bread in England, but I don't remember what they were called! Definitely need to go back and eat my way through this list you shared though - these sound delicious!

[@kevinomalley9487]

Sally lunn from bath

[@hotierfrancoise1904]

About dogs poos: you get fined in case you don’t pick it up...BUT the police is so busy with other matters or events that it seems this law is forgotten, .... thanks for your energy and comparisons..and your smile!

[@WanderingRavens]

Bonjour Hotier! Thank you for taking the time to answer our question :D We're glad you're enjoying our videos!

[@johnbuyers8095]

Encore, les Lois anglais... or if you are an English speaker, laws that the English abide by, and the rest of Europe ignore, hoping to raise taxes by off the now reclusive Brits

[@OneLadAndHisDrone.]

Public transport isn't public anymore in the uk because it's all been privatised & like most companys they want to make has much money has they can for their shareholders. The trains in the uk really do need taking back it's in the public interest to make them run on time & to poor the profits back into the railways & intern would make the fares cheaper.

[@TheEulerID]

The term public transport is nothing to do with who owns it. Public transport means shared mass transport, and the first such systems were the railways which were all initially privately built in VIctorian times plus privately run horse drawn omnibuses. Also, when it comes to London, TFL is not private, and nor is the tube system or bus system (although it was originally built by private investment). As far as the rail system goes, it is all publicly owned. Network Rail, who own and manage the tracks is a publicly owned company. It is also fearsomely expensive and inefficient and is constantly going massively over-budget and delayed on projects. Witness Cross-rail, which is way over-budget and years late in delivery and we don't even have a date for when it will be opened. Network rail has £51bn of debt on its books. As for the train operating companies, those are all just franchise businesses. They don't really own anything. The rolling stock is leased, and hat is expensive. The problem with the UK rail industry is that it's hopelessly inefficient and expensive and the projects and infrastructure have poor management. The system freezes in ridiculous working practices and the way the industry is structured is bureaucratic and expensive. Unions are opposed to more efficient practices, whether in the public or private sector. However, one good thing is that, the rail system is now far safer than it was under British Rail operation. The UK's trains are now the safest in Europe, and have been for several years. There hasn't been a major accident since 2004, and that was caused by somebody committing suicide by parking his car on a level crossing to be hit by an Intercity 125. A total of 7 people died. Potters Bar (2002) with 7 deaths was the last major failure by the railway operators.

[@OneLadAndHisDrone.]

@@TheEulerID WOW that was a very long winded reply so you agreed that the train companies are private has are the buses. I live in the north west & never go to or ever want to goto london because there is a world outside of london!

[@MrFlazz99]

@@OneLadAndHisDrone. I think @Steve Jones was making the point that there are no profits in Public transport to plough back. Also that it was private money that built the railways and bus services and that public sector infrastructure projects are cursed by cost and time overruns (caused by the very political nature of such projects - they are announced at a certain cost level that government won't object to (deliberately low-balled), but everybody working inside them knows that these targets can never be met). You see it everywhere - the Channel Tunnel was disastrously expensive (so bad that it had to be bailed out by governments when the developer ran out of money), Cross-Rail in London is hopelessly over-budget and late and in the next 10-20 years we will see how astonishingly expensive HS2 turns out (I predict three or four times what they currently estimate). HS2 will be the biggest millstone around taxpayers necks (apart from the cost of social care for the elderly) for future generations - it only exists for political reasons because it will be too expensive to actually use once completed and then require gigantic subsidies like SNCF. I completely concur with you on the matter of ever going to London - it's ridiculously expensive, overcrowded and dirty and a world unto itself (not least because the world seems to inhabit it - every nationality under the sun).

[@OneLadAndHisDrone.]

@@MrFlazz99 I really liked your reply but still wouldn't projects for improvements be better state run rather than private companies who must do it to make profits. Just look at Carlion I think I've spelled it wrong but the large construction company that wanted the government to bail it out just before it went bankrupt. Even though the directors had been paying themselves massive bonuses theres a brand new hospital in liverpool what is un finished & started to fall down. The tax payer will end up paying for its completion even so I just think that some things should be state owned & run & not left to private companies to bleed dry. Just look at mrs May's nuclear power plants she signed off on for the Chinese to build it a recipe for disaster I think that public resources like water, electric, gas, railways, BT & post office should be state run instead of private companies increasing charges & being unreliable.

[@MrFlazz99]

@@OneLadAndHisDrone. I completely agree that involving profit in public works is licensed rape of taxpayers. Gordon Brown's Public Private Partnerships were a travesty of bad value. Carillion overextended itself and got bogged down in projects where the traditional lowballing tactic to win business came back to bite them. Keeping projects in the public sector in the first place might prevent them from going-bust and be morally nicer, but public sector works have a tendency to suffer slackness and lack of control. The right hybrid of proper control of public enterprise is tricky - NHS management is probably the best example and even that is always slated for being cut off from medical matters. As for nuclear power plants, decades of governmental cowardice causing a moratorium on replacement sadly led talented British experts to go ply their wares in countries where they were wanted. We need new plants, the French are far and away the most experienced in Europe - they own our nuclear plants now anyway - and the Chinese want to invest all over the world, so we take Chinese money and French expertise to build our new plants.

[@paulknox999]

before 2018 I think the French MOT was if it makes it to testing station your probably going to pass. I think they have now toughened it up so you may start to see less of the old bangers (beat up old cars) not sure its as tough as UK MOT still, and I think you only have to test it every 2 years not every year

[@davidhabert]

This video had me torn (but in a good way). You see I know most of these facts about both countries. I live in England, but I'm also half French thanks to my dad's and mother's part of the family. So in a way Eric & Grace, you could say I've had the best (and worst) of both worlds.

[@n.martinez5214]

CCTV: I see two main reasons. First reason: In France, we are strongly attached to what we call "Le droit à l'image" (meaning "Pictures right"). You can't take a picture of someone before asking for her/his consent, unless you're a journalist and the photo serves an information purpose (and even then, there are some rules). People are wary of their image being used wrongfully. They are also very wary of a possible pedophile targetting their child through a photo. CCTV feels like someone is spying on you. You don't know who's behind the camera. Second reason: Most importantly, even if you can trust the people in charge of your country when they install their CCTV, who knows what will happen in the future. How can you guarantee that those CCTV won't be used to keep in check political opponents? In France, we actually had some scandals in the last few decades about some illegal bugging of political opponents. Basically, trust is the main issue and this technology is too powerful.

[@markthomas1278]

In U.K. £75 fine if your caught not clearing up dog poop

[@richieduliban87]

you need to try more French cheeses to make that judgement

[@classixgamer5922]

If u buy a ticket in England 90 days before u go it can be very cheap. Like for example where I live u can get a single to London Liverpool Street for around £9 single is one way. Return is more but if u book in advance it will be very cheap. Also u can get rail cards that give u a 1/3 off maybe more depending on what the rail card is. Yes u have to pay for the card for a year but my is £50 for three years that's very good

[@WanderingRavens]

This is really good to know! Thank you for filling us in!

[@allanpadfield2370]

British mot start at three years old then every year in the EU not is once every two years.the British mot is to a higher standard as a ex mot tester myself of over 27 years testing. Keep up the good content.👍

[@WanderingRavens]

Thanks for updating us, Allan! That's good to know! And we're so glad you enjoy our content :D

[@Joe20231-p]

we have strikes in the UK trains are always on strike

[@MrFlazz99]

True - it's one of the last bastions of trade union dominance in the UK. Twenty years ago I applied to become a trainee train driver and probably scared the interviewers (pissed on my chips) by mentioning that I don't agree with trade unions. I was trying to suggest that I'm work-focused, but in retrospect they probably heard those words and worried that I might upset the train drivers trade union closed shop. Very well-paid work, driving trains. London Underground drivers are even better paid (because of working under the ground - and because of the malaria risk, so I heard).

[@markprior2278]

Not only is our public transport expensive but its rarely on time either. But the government still want us to use it more often.

[@ednammansfield8553]

The MOT in the UK is every year not three years. Prices in London are very expensive compared with other parts of the UK especially with travel on buses which are far cheaper than London. London is a travellers destination and will charge more than anywhere else.

[@tomstorey8559]

Never seen an oyster card outside of London

[@neuralwarp]

They're disappearing in London too. You can just wave your credit card.

[@lissandrafreljord7913]

Both France and Britain are countries with peripheral cultures found in the Celto-Germano-Latin border. France lies predominantly in the Latin territory, but it does have its foot on some Germanic soil (Alsace), and a bit on the Celtic side too (Brittany). Britain predominantly lies in the Germanic territory (84% of Britain is English, and even most of the population of Wales and Scotland speak English instead of a Celtic language), but it does have significant Latin influence, especially in the language, and some Celtic influence, especially true for Scotland and Wales. This makes both France and Britain transitional cultures. France is the gateway to Latin culture for Germanic people, and the exit for Latin people. Britain is the gateway to Germanic culture for Latin people, and the exit for Germanic people. France is definitely Latin, but less than say Italy or Spain, as it does have a more Northern European mentality in some aspects of life, such as being more industrial and organized. Same with Britain, as it does have a less stiff and more relaxed approach to work and life than the super punctual, calculated, and efficient-obsessed Germany. You can clearly see all this with their language and historical attitude toward food, art, fashion, religion, laws, work life, drinking culture, etc.

[@robertwilloughby8050]

I remember a strike in the early 80's - 83, I think - there was a water workers strike. We had to boil our water for three weeks! The freezer was working overtime, making ice out of water we had left to cool down, and water that has been boiled and then left to cool down, even with ice cubes is FOUL. I am British!

[@stevenoconnor3493]

Peeing in public is ok as long as you are being discreet about it. Guys, when you get out of quarentine go to Ireland! Great show..keep it up.

[@stuey36]

I think France is lucky to be culturally in between the serious North of Europe and romantic south, which prizes beauty and quality of life. They strike the perfect balance between efficiency and beauty. As a Londoner, I sigh at the new construction of tube stations that are just grey on all the walls, no colour at all. I don't think they would do that in Paris.

[@EASYTIGER10]

As a Brit, I have to admit, the French have better food, scenery and climate. But hey, we have...bangers and mash and Blackpool...

[@Melmel9703]

Lot of people must have already answered the question , I am from the region ile de France which is the same region as Paris and I always start la bise by the right cheak and it's just cheak/cheak and not cheak/leaps. And most of the time we make 2. First with the right cheak then with the left one. Sometimes we do mistakes because we are in an other region and they make 3 or 4 (or 1). So we say sorry or laugh and it's okay. So if I'm a stranger I would make 2 and start by the right side. Exept if you are in the South-west of France it's 3 start by right.

[@nikc888]

In england it's much easier to get cheap finance on cars, means a lot more new cars on the road.

[@pidajou]

Also, many company / fleet cars in the UK part of the employment contract as benefit, with 2 year lease, hence mostly new cars on the road. This is not the case in France with most cars privately purchased and owned, so people keep them for longer time and end up not taking really care when the car gets old and loses its resell value.

[@kaykoo955]

I live in the U.K. and learned to greets my friends differently depends on their preference, nationality and the industries they are working in! Of course all of my french friends and people who works in PR will get the kisses. I greets my Spanish friends with kisses and big hugs. Asian and English friends I’d just say hi and that’s it really. So it depends🤷🏻‍♀️

[@parco7735]

Yes with the fashion but the french are more classic but the english are more experimental which I prefer the latter and the french can be very hostile with people who dress differently

[@WanderingRavens]

Thanks for taking the time to answer our question! It's been a lot of fun to see the different clothing styles in France and England.

[@mauricecasey5556]

Style over substance. Substance always wins! ;-)

[@trevorbrown6654]

In the UK it isn't really legal to drink alcohol until you are 18 so the majority of Brits don't know how to handle their booze at that age. In France consumption of alcohol is more ingrained from an early age via the family and eating out so I can only assume French people treat it as a cultural norm whereas Brits see it as a treat. Also beer consumption is quite high in the UK whereas France and some other countries bordering the Mediterranean are a nation of wine drinkers, perhaps that's a difference? The Brits also historically haven't had the choice of spirits unlike the French. Gin and Scotch have tended to be the shots spirits with gin especially being associated with the masses of times gone by (especially women) whilst whisky was associated with men and brandy was a treat often smuggled over from France in times gone by. As for strikes, they are much harder to organise in the UK nowadays. Of course they do happen but are usually considered a last resort. 50 years ago wildcat strikes were common but under the Conservative government of Mrs Thatcher in the 1980s a lot of unions had their powers curtailed. Also the media in the UK have more or less been very negative in their portrayal of unions on the past and it severely hurt their image with the middle classes. Not sure if that's the case in France though, maybe a French reader can answer that.

[@legoreview2538]

Check out comedian Paul Taylor’s video on la bise, then you’ll understand the rules get very complicated

[@WanderingRavens]

Thank you for the recommendation! Those were bloody brilliant 😂

[@legoreview2538]

Wandering Ravens any time, my wife and I have travelled a lot to france and live in the Uk, so we’ve picked up a few things. Now you need to watch all of Paul’s back catalogue. 😉

[@madyottoyotto3055]

Per miles UK expensive with trains but think about it like this in USA how much would it cost you to go from one city to its nearest one

[@scollyb]

The $400 travel card is for all zones, you can get a zone 1-2 for £140 which will cover the centre of London and most tourist sights and it an equivalent area to Paris. Still expensive but not as outrageous

[@WanderingRavens]

Good to know! Thank you for updating us on that. I should have checked first to see how big the zones were

[@scollyb]

@@WanderingRavens For some context the longest line on the Paris metro is 15 miles. That would be the 4th shortest on the underground. Which has 4 lines over 40 miles

[@inwedavid6919]

Same in paris a card for city center is around 70€ to 80€

[@adrianvelasco8653]

Apparently there is no French direct translation for the word, “shrug” which I find hilarious. Is it true?

[@maten146]

Yeah it is prohibited to let your dog poo on the street in France, same thing with peing in the street, but the police doesn't apply it very well (fortunately most French still take the poo of their dogs out of the street). For the security cameras, it really depends where you are going to, most public transport have it, most important place have it, most stores have it, and most cities have it in the street, you don't have a lot of it in Paris because of the mayor (even though you still have some especially in touristic areas) but if you go in places such as Nice you would have a lot of them. Really depends of the municipality. For la bise in most places you start with the right cheek and do it 2 times (it is like that in Parisian region and most places) but otherwise it is geographics differences, look at a map about it. What are you talking about cheese? You have more than 300 kinds of cheese over here in France, you have anything you could want, strong or soft, ... So your question between French and English cheese doesn't make sense, both cheese exist in France (and are French cheese).

[@Stephneechan]

I live in the UK and people here are pretty bad at picking up their dog poo too. You come across new poos on the sidewalk daily. I've been to paris before and don't remember seeing a lot of dog poo though. I tend to disagree on UK having better sliced bread, most of the bread you buy in shops isn't even fresh but instead the plastic bag "toast" bread. But then again I'm a belgian and biased to belgian bread lol.

[@xKynOx]

You should watch a video about the Winter of discontent or the miners strike if you want to see hardcore British strikes.

[@CEDRICKB]

we kiss on the right or left depending on whether we live in the north or the south ... why? nobody knows. Also we can kiss our close male friends or close male friend's close male friends, eventhough we don't know them. Sometime we don't ... depending on the mood. Formal way is to shake hands anyway, even a woman's.

[@zapbrannigan9770]

MOT is every year. You don’t have to MOT a new car for the first 3 years. Cries like London have introduced emission charges which newer cars a exempt from. This could be a reason for the old bangers being rarer in the UK.

[@elliottslab]

the uk loved a strike in the 70s but now its alot less still had doctor, train driver and teachers strike

[@BBRC7612]

That's why we must stop dangerous far left politics

[@BBRC7612]

Strikes were caused by Labour Unions and its why we no longer make anything in an quantity such as commercial vehicles. Waste of money.. Now we pay heavily as ee over rely on banks which are declining! Also we are too easier led by takeover offers.. The Government should block it just like in France Germany or America. Still the same as we've seen with successful companies like Cadbury's and Worcester Boilers. Blame Europe and Tony Blair being all things to all men!

[@BBRC7612]

They have more bakers whereas here.. Supermarket put the traditional Baker out of business!

[@andyalexander5816]

Public transport in England is unreliable and ridiculously expensive, thanks to the government selling it off to private companies, who can charge so much because there's no competition. There's loads of cameras in England, mainly because there's a lack of respect for the law. It's a cultural thing, which I don't quite understand. The police are usually very helpful!

[@stephenpitt6363]

Scooters, i presume you mean the push along type (or electric assisted) not the motorcycle type. There not legal on uk roads unlike the States

[@alejandrabustamante889]

Do you prefer to live in UK or in France, Im debating about moving to one of them but I dont know. Loved the video

[@ktkee7161]

Where are you from?

[@alejandrabustamante889]

@@ktkee7161 from Peru! i speak great English but my french is only intermediate 😅

[@ktkee7161]

@@alejandrabustamante889 Well it depends what you're moving for (study, work). You would have to investigate Brexit. Before if you moved to one EU country it was easy to move to the others and I'm not sure how Brexit has affected that if you want to work and travel Europe-wide. Also not a great time to be moving with Covid (unless you're happy to stay in one country).

[@BBRC7612]

Here it would be cheaper buying a train.. But it's still more efficient and cheaper than driving and parking etc

[@emmamaclean737]

We have 1 hr lunch breaks we do gave strikes like the royal mail, or train companies etc

[@classixgamer5922]

Lunch break can vary 30 minutes but I have been in a job where I got a hour

[@WanderingRavens]

In the UK?

[@classixgamer5922]

@@WanderingRavens yes

[@owl2944]

btw nobody calls it central england, you say the midlands

[@markthomas1278]

There is a problem with drinking to excess in the U.K. I’m British , I live in the city and I have two children and I won’t go out later than 1730 on weekend

[@colinwilson4658]

Yes JohnnyZenith greetings were always a formal handshake until he younger generation started mimicking the hugging from from the plethora of American TVs hows that came with multi channel TV