British French hippy party
British and French people celebrated the friendship or maybe the nouveau entente cordiale between Britain and France by partying in hippy outfits!
They were members of the twinning movement, which encourages friendship between towns and villages in various countries.
Each town that is a member of the movement has a twinning association, which regularly organises visits to their twin towns and villages. This was a visit by French twinners to their counterparts in Britain.
Although I spoke French to the French twinners, it soon became obvious that this wasn’t necessary, because many of them spoke good English. This might mean that the French, or at least some French people, have changed their attitude to speaking English. In the past, they had a reputation for refusing to speak it.
As `evidence’ that they might have changed their attitude, the last time I took some photographs of French twinners – about five years’ ago, hardly anyone spoke English.
Even so, it’s preferable and more courteous to speak French to them. Maybe we should try to see it from their point of view.
The French language is constantly threatened by the widespread use of English. But the French language is part of their unique national identity. No-one would want their language and unique national identity to disappear.
It is estimated that about 300.000 French people will emigrate to Britain this year, mostly to start new businesses. According to many French people who have emigrated to the UK, Britain has a more dynamic, less restrictive, economy than the French economy.
It seemed pretty strange to see French people in hippy outfits, perhaps because we tend to associate the hippy movement more with America and Britain than with France.