MovieChat Forums > Vatel (2000) Discussion > No wonder the French are like they are

No wonder the French are like they are

posted 15 years ago by mmattagirl
2 replies | jump to latest

with the bunch of t*rds they had ruling them for so long. What were they thinking? Spending all that money on bloody nonsense when people were starving in the streets. I'm aware that it wasn't much better elsewhere, but at least in England our monarch knew his place, and more or less only did what parliament would allow him to do, and only gave him the money he wanted IF he did what he was told.

Of course, the man in the street wasn't much better off in England, but I think the government had more sense than that French lot swanning around the country bankrupting any poor sod they decided to land on for a few days.
Ye gods, what a horrible bunch - no wonder they all ended up with their heads in a basket.

Very interesting story though, and sad at the end. You know, put not your trust in princes, it tells you that in the bible.

George... don't do that!

[–] drouais 15 years ago

what were they thinking ? just a couple hundred years of tradition and a system that, in truth, wasn't as disorganised as it's often made to seem. sure, there was abuse and privilege- what society doesn't have those things ? not to excuse it, but look at it in its proper context. or, compare it to england !

in england at the same time, charles II was trying his own version of absolutism by dissolving parliament and ruling without it from 1678 until his death in 1685.

in england at the same time, the english people were actually taxed more than in france. surprising given the litany of different taxes- gabelle, corvee, vingtieme, etc.- in france at the same time. but no, in england people were taxed more heavily.

they weren't bankrupting a "poor sod." the prince de conde' was a prince of the blood and the king's cousin. the conde' were a cadet branch of the house of bourbon, and as such were well able to host the king; if anything this was an honour they all fought for as it gave them prestige and the possibility to become closer to the king.

and yes, such spectacles were expensive, but in a way they were expected. the kings of france had a certain magical quality attached to their persons ; it's not for nothing that belief in the "king's touch" to cure scrofula continued into the 1820s with charles X. pomp and display served to further highlight the glory of the monarch who, in effect, embodied the glory of the kingdom.

no wonder certain people make assumptions about whole countries, when they don't keep certain things in mind.

[–] 15 years ago

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