The rumor/caveat: French people allot the most minimal of efforts to personal hygiene and thus smell icky.
This international legend dates back to the 16th century, an epoch during which Parisians disposed of their household wastes by nonchalantly hurling it out of their windows, not really bothering to forewarn the unsuspecting pedestrians strolling below.
Furthermore, the court of Versailles was notorious for its deplorable hygiene; nobles practically bathed in perfume to sufficiently mask the naeuseating odors.
The stereotype persists in modern day society, and actually, it’s not entirely unwarranted. The French consume, on average, about half of the soap of their English and German confreres, and less than 1 in 2 frenchmen opt to wash themselves daily.
Source: Article appearing in the newspaper Ca m’intéresse.
#1 by alphee on February 24, 2010 - 1:15 pm
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French people smells romanticism and foreigners are jealous.
Shame to English and Germans for spoiling their rivers with soap !!!