I think on this topic it is easy to see how one has a different perspective of a place when one lives there as opposed to viewing it as a tourist. The American side focuses on the tourist aspects of Europe, while the French also mention problems that a tourist would not know about, such as economic problems. 

It seems to me that the American students have a textbook knowledge of Europe - we learned the basics in history class in high school.  But because Europe is so far away from the US I think that the current events and daily life are not something most Americans are knowledgeable about. 

I found it interesting that many French students used words like ensemble and citoyen europeen,  and I wonder if their parents also felt like Europe was as united or if this is a recent feeling among the French.

Je constate qu'aucun français ne mentionne l'histoire de l'Europe, alors que vous le faite;

Arturo, crois-tu qu'un touriste ne peut pas voir les problèmes économiques d'un pays? Je crois que si: je suis allé en Grèce cette été et j'ai bien vu se qui se passait!

Je voudrais savoir se que la presse américaine vous apprend sur la France: j'ai l'impression que la presse française parle beaucoup des US ?

I think that in the US media, France is mentioned whenever something major is happening, like the riots in the Paris suburbs a few years ago or when Sarkozy married Carla Bruni.  But regular events are not generally covered, for example I only know of the upcoming elections because I am in a French course, but I think that closer to actual election time the US news may cover the story. 

Kirrah,

peux-tu expliquer pourquoi les journaux américains ne parlent pas de la France, sauf quand il se passe quelque chose? Ici, on parle de la politique et de l'économie de votre pays tous les jours à la TV ou dans les journaus.

Je voudrai savoir se que représente pour vous l'Europe? Est-ce que vous la voyez comme un acteur économique majeur, un marché pour les USA?

On pensait que l'euro pourrait concurrencer le dollar, mais c'était avant la crise "grecque".

Pour info, voici deux articles aujourd'hui dans le Monde, un de nos grands journaux quotidiens: les USA sont toujours présents dans la presse française, pas un jour sans, je suis d'accord avec Claire:

http://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2011/10/06/hillary-clinton-d...

http://www.lemonde.fr/ameriques/article/2011/10/06/sarah-palin-ne-sera-p...

Michèle

Yes, I definitely feel that Europe is a major economic player, and it has been in the news alot recently due to the economic issues with Greece and other euro countries.  But also alot of economic talk centers around China because we borrow heavily from that nation. As for what represents Europe, personally I usually think of France, Britain and Germany, and then the other all of the others...not sure if that's what you're asking

Claire

Because the US is such a large nation, I think that precedence is often given to national issues.  With 50 states something is always going on in one of them!  Also crimes are a big part of our news and with a bigger country we have more crime to discuss

I believe that this is why our news doesn't cover France politics and economy as much as France covers American politics and economy.

Claire:

I think Kirrah is right; moreover, at the risk of overgeneralizing, I think that many Americans feel less obligation to learn about other cultures and ssues in other countries than do many Europeans.  Thus, our news stories are often centered around issues more directly pertaining to us. 

Do French news stories generally focus on either the U.S or France, or are there other countries that receive a lot of attention?

Sophie Weber

Oct 06, 2011

@ kIRRAH

quand tu penses à la France, l'Allemagne et la Grande-Bretagne en pensant à l'Europe, tu n'as pas tort: ce sont les pays qui sont au centre de l'Europe, sauf pour la Grande-Bretagne, qui pour nous est toujours tournée vers les USA plus que vers l'Europe. Toujour cette vieille guerre entre les français et les anglais!!!

@ Sophie

dans nos journaux, tous les pays européens sont traités, ainsi que les USA; il y a toujours beaucoup d'articles sur votre pays, la politique américaine, la politique européenne, etc....

Peux-tu expliquer pourquoi tu dis que les américains sont moins intéressés par les cultures des autres?

Est-ce que l'américain moyen lit beaucoup les journaux?

@ Michèle

I think saying that Americans are less interested in the cultures of others is a big generalization - it is true to some extent, but not true at all for many Americans.  That being said, if someone lives their entire life in the Midwest or Great Plains or some other similarly isolated part of the country, it is very unlikely that they will have any interactions with non-Americans ever.  Of course this is changing daily due to globalization, new media especially the internet, immigration, etc.....

I think that most Americans read the newspapers regularly, as well as look at online news sources and listen to talk radio

It was interesting for me to find out that the French conceive of Europe as not only the European Union as an institution (which is probably most often the case where I come from -- Bulgaria), but also many times there appear words like union (with a little "u"), European citizenship, cultural indentity and "tous ensemble." I'd like to ask you whether you think that this cultural integration at the level of self-perception has been successful in France and elsewhere in Europe? Because, based on your responses, it is indeed part of your mindsets, but at the political level and in the "new" countries like mine, that is perhaps much less the case.