IT reads like a film script – a high-flying TV producer who quit her city life to move to rural France after falling in love with a Frenchman.
And for writer Samantha Brick, it was a fairytale ending, as since tying the knot with retired carpenter Pascal, 62, in 2007, she’s embraced life abroad – and says it’s way better than Blighty.
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Samantha, 52, originally from Birmingham, said: “I’ve lived her for 15 years, I’m married to a French man and in our household we only speak French.
“It’s fair to say I’m totally immersed in the culture and know my Brigitte Macron from my Brigitte Bardot.
“There are only two things I miss about British society – Marmite and teabags – because the French really do so many things better.”
Here Sam reveals six things she thinks our continental cousins have got right – and tells us why French men will always triumph over British blokes.
Sex
We might as well get the obvious one out of the way. Sex is as natural as breathing in France.
I’m sick of reading about British women giving up in the bedroom when the menopause years kick in.
French women embrace their midlife sensuality. Our pharmacies are packed with all sorts of lotions and potions to ensure your love life doesn’t dry up.
This healthy, ‘let’s-do-this’ attitude towards sex starts in schools. Contraception is openly discussed.
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There is no shame about enjoying an active sex life whatever your age.
There is no moral tut-tutting about the number of sexual partners notched up.
Men don’t get called playboys and women certainly don’t get referred to as the negative equivalent, either.
French women don’t feel the need to distort the number of lovers they’ve had.
It’s simply not an issue if single men and women have a number of sexual partners on the go.
Sex is to be thoroughly enjoyed – how gloriously refreshing is that?
Flirting
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If you’ve been to France you’ll have passed through passport control. I’m fairly sure as a woman you’ll have engaged in a bit of lingering eye contact with your (usually male) border officer.
From the moment you step foot in France the flirting begins and the compliments flow.
Frenchmen worship women as though they are goddesses. Whether it’s the waiter in the bar or the bank manager, you are guaranteed to float out of the establishment feeling like the gorgeous girl you actually are.
Enjoy the flirting – it’s part of the art of conversation in France.
And just know that most men are more than happy to make women of all ages feel amazing about themselves.
Two-hour lunch break
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There was a quiz on French radio recently about what’s worse: picking your nose in public or eating your lunch at your desk.
Unsurprisingly the audience and the DJs went for the latter.
The French embrace their two-hour leisurely lunches like a long-lost lover.
It’s out of the question whether you are working from home or present in the office to be expected to forgo your (at least) three-course lunch.
It still amuses me to spot men and women on their own at service stations, village bistros or posh city restaurants ordering a meal for one.
I’ve done it myself once while in a Toulouse restaurant. I had a salad to start followed by the lightest fluffiest omelette and polished off a crème brulee.
It goes without saying there was unlimited baguette and wine on offer too – what’s more, it cost less than a tenner.
No Dry January – just drink all year
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Binge drinking has no place in French society – and neither does Dry January.
France produces far too much wine, Champagne, beer and digestives such as brandy for the love affair with it not to be taken seriously.
Publicity everywhere encourages us to consume – but with moderation – and we do.
Bars don’t sell pints of beer. Also off the drinks menu are those ginormous 250ml wine glasses.
Drinking too much simply has no place in French bars or at dinner parties.
Everyone indulges – but in little amounts, which means that their tipple of choice can be consumed often.
Beauty bonus
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I take all of my girlfriends to visit the supermarket aisles to point out the best French beauty brands under a tenner.
Even celebs such as Gwyneth Paltrow showcase them on their posh wellness and beauty sites. Think Bourgeois (which can now be bought in Superdrug) and L’Oréal.
I also take them to beauty stores like Sephora. One of the best things about beauty shopping in France is the try-before-you-buy sample culture.
It means I regularly go away on my holidays with the freebie cleanse-tone-moisturise products I’ve been gifted!
Naked truth
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I’ll confess, at first I was shocked about how often male and female nude bodies are featured across French society.
From TV shows, to magazines, to the sheer number of nudist camps – the French are extremely “laissez-faire” when it comes to flashing their flesh.
Refreshingly there is zero whiff of seediness about letting it all hang out.
Bums and boobs of all shapes and sizes can be spotted on beaches and even on the TV screen – and yes, before 9pm.
Pop around to any French home for Sunday lunch and if they’re having a pool party then it’s the norm to strip off and dive in for a skinny dip.
I like to think it’s a healthy attitude to appreciating our gloriously imperfect bodies.
