The French are an ill-mannered hircine herd of medicated thankless layabouts. Classic stereotypes, bigoted exaggerations, right? Well, as it turns out, no. A preponderation of French studies, French reports, and French surveys have established these stereotypes as facts.

We have earlier reported on French rudeness (and here), heavy medication, and ingratitude. But the French have obliged us yet another damning document.

IS THERE MORE THAN A WHIFF OF TRUTH ABOUT GALLIC CHARM?

A booklet published by the weekly Le Point magazine draws on a mixture of polling information and academic research to paint a sometimes surprising – and not always flattering – picture of Gallic daily life.

Among the statistics contained in “24 Hours in France – An Unusual Portrait of France and the French” is the fact that only one in 10 of the population regularly uses soap, while almost one in 25 admit that they never shower or bath, and one in 33 say they never brush their teeth.

No wonder, perhaps, that nine out of 10 French women and half of all French men apply perfume and cosmetics every day, spending €17·7million (£12·4million) between them. The French do spend long periods in the bathroom: between 48 and 56 minutes each day, according to the figures. Yet much of this is apparently devoted to pursuits other than cleanliness. While in there, one third say they read and one quarter that they daydream. A further 14 per cent make telephone calls, eight per cent sing, six per cent smoke – and one in 100 eats.

To forget their woes, each day 2·4million French people take mood-altering prescription drugs and more than 550 have facelifts or other plastic surgery. About 450,000 smoke cannabis every day.

And updating our previous post on Parisian déjections canines:

[A]ccording to Le Point, the city’s 200,000 dogs deposit 16 tons of dirt on the pavements every day...

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