A French Connection

In her twenties, and on a scholarship to France, Sheryl Bagwell discovered a life straight out of the movies. Left Bank cafes, handsome waiters, and endless discussions about love. Here, she tells of her ongoing fascination with the people and politics of one of the world's most attractive cultures.

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'As others before me have observed, it can be hard sometimes to figure out the French...' In 1988, journalist Sheryle Bagwell went to France seeking an escape from her real life back home. She discovered an unexpected country - one where the popular images of naturally thin women and natural arrogance vie with the spread of fast food and crippling self-doubt about France's place in the worked; where hypochondria and the slacker ethic are national obsession; and where the code of liberte, egalite and fraternite is being tested by the rise of an anti-immigration mood and violent street riots. Living and working in Paris and Lyon with her husband, Michael, Sheryle navigates local customs, language and baffling social niceties, uncovering a country that is charming, sometimes maddening, and more than a little contradictory.