Sadly we must report that France has lost primacy in another area of renown.

RUDENESS RULES IN NETHERLANDS

October 3, 2006 (Scotsman) - The Dutch have voted themselves Europe's third most loutish, bad-mannered nation behind Russia and France, according to a survey in Dutch daily newspaper De Telegraaf.

France. [Slight pause.] Second place. [Pause. A muffled sigh.]

Take heart. This is only teeny Netherlands, a small nation of self-critical Dutch folk probably lying for the distinction. Any nation can vote itself up, but countless nations still put France at the top of the rudeness heap. The French continue, correctly we believe, to claim this longstanding distinction for France.

Still, best tend to the slippage in the Netherlands. A week or two of French particularity toward the Dutch should put things right.

PFFT (What is this?): Another cultural asset at risk 2½ | Rayonnement français 0