Le corps

It's pretty interesting how the French treat their bodies.

On one hand, they have the tastiest, freshest food ever. Fruit and vegetables picked just this morning, seafood caught just this morning (here in Toulon especially), and beef raised in their backyards along with their cheese. And yet! They smoke like no other. Young and old, boy do the French know how to smoke. One of our own lively personnes accompagnées, Mohamed, can't go long without popping a slim white sucker into his mouth to puff for a while. He got up several times during a luncheon in Marseilles to, as he called it with a grin cracking across his wrinkled face, "payer les impôts" (pay his taxes). He wasn't the only one there doing it, either. It doesn't make them any worse of people, of course. It's just...interesting.

Then, the French almost all have slim, sun-browned bodies. They use them to walk to and from the marché day after day for their fresh food, swim in the Mediterranean, and lift their baby strollers onto the bus. And in this 35-degree summer weather--that translates to 95 degrees Fahrenheit--they put almost nothing on them. The less, the better. That means short shorts for girls AND guys, see-through shirts, and sandals. And on the beach, that means even less. No explanation (or pictures) needed. True to form, then, at the start of our visit with feisty Marie (another personne accompagnée), she started pulling her shirt off to change into something cooler before she even got into her room.


So it seems to me that it's all about culture and comfort.

Why do the French eat good food? Because they can, because it's tradition, and because it tastes good. Simple enough. Why do the French smoke, then? Because they can, because it's normal, and because it's enjoyable. Same thing with what they wear. The current temperature along with the current French style drives their clothing choices. They think of their bodies as tools for living and as tools for enjoying life. So they use them that way.