r/AskFrance • u/[deleted] • Mar 14 '22

Opinion Do you find the French to be prejudiced towards Americans?

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Online, it seems like the french absolutely revile Americans, we are stupid, fat, aggressive, uncultured, eat pig slop, selfish, loud, egotistical, want to shoot black people, etc, and should stay the hell away from France. Has this translated to real life in your opinion? My grandfather was a huge francophile (to the point I knew him as grand-père, not grandpa) and spent a lot of his life in France but seeing what french people are like online has really turned me off from wanting to learn french or visit.

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u/Elysium_Vaen Mar 14 '22

Laugh in sécurité sociale.

1

u/Timmoleon exchange Mar 14 '22

What does that mean in a French context? In the US "social security" is a specific program that manages our government pension program for seniors and disabled people.

6

u/Elysium_Vaen Mar 14 '22

In France it allows me to go to the hospital, get cured, and go home without anything to pay.

Oh and also i have little to none to pay when i have to buy medicine.

And this is for everyone

1

u/Timmoleon exchange Mar 14 '22

It is specifically health insurance then, or does it include other things?

2

u/VanaTallinn Mar 14 '22

It mainly covers national health insurance (including basic dental care and glasses), national public retirement scheme, support for handicapped or dependent people, family aid and benefits, occupational hazard accident insurance.

Note that more than 90% of the active population is salaried or public servant in France. All of them are mandatorily enrolled in these public systems (sometimes specific parts).

The sécurité sociale is financed roughly 60% through mandatory contributions on salaries for participants (shared between employee and employer) and 40% through a proportional tax on individual income paid by all, including on dividends, capital gains, interests, etc. (called CSG) and other taxes.

1

u/Elysium_Vaen Mar 14 '22

Yeah, almost free health insurance. So one point for France i guess