Author(s): Gilles Asselin

Literature

When Coca-Cola entered the French market with a hard-core bottom-line management style, they were met with boycotts in cafes and supermarkets. At the launch of EuroDisney in Paris, Mickey Mouse was 'greeted' by angry protesters hurling tomatoes and eggs. What went wrong? As a culture, the French are fiercely independent yet romantic, conservative yet avant-garde, rational yet emotional. In "Au Contraire!: Figuring Out the French", bilingual and bicultural authors Gilles Asselin and Ruth Mastron explore beyond the stereotypes, examining the assumptions, attitudes, patterns of thought and beliefs that make the French so - French. Written for anyone interested in or interacting with the French, "Au Contraire!: Figuring Out the French" unearths the often invisible cultural forces that govern behaviour. Gilles Asselin and Ruth Mastron draw on their own experiences as consultants and trainers, as well as those of expatriate students and professionals, to offer the best and most useful analysis and advice on intercultural relations with the French.