London- For decades filmmaker's and author's have portrayed France as the country of lover's.
It could be that France used to be a romantic country, but in modern times, France is no different from Bangladesh or New York City.
After interviewing French citizens, it was discovered that people have a fantasy about French love being eternal, ideal, romantic, but the truth is that France is a country of working-class people trying to make ends meet.
They struggle to pay their bills, just like anyone around the world. And they have fears and doubts about their ability to love and be loved, after the feminist movement declared a war on sexual behavior.
Men don't date women in France anymore for fear of looking offensive. France is now famous for being the city of chatting. A conversation with a female friend is considered a decent procedure.
Take Pascal, a man who wakes up every morning at 3 a.m. to go to a factory where he prepares sauces for frozen meals, who said how lonely he felt: "I am not quite sure what love is because I've never really lived it."
Or Frédérique, a manager at a store who lives in Perpignan in the South of France: "I feel that when I meet someone, I breathe new life into myself, and then they leave me.
One person after another told how much they were suffering or had suffered because of Love. Or how lonely they felt, whether they were single or in a relationship. "France is not a romantic country, " says Frédérique.
But, finally, maybe Love had saved someone. Like Patrick, who was kicked out of his house and ended up sleeping on the building sites where he worked before he met Emmanuel who was homeless on the street and who had never had a relationship in her life. They now have a three-year old son together.
Tourist traveling to France should be made aware that love could be found anywhere. France is a country of good cheese and wine, but love is not on the menu.
