TO any place, its biggest asset is usually the people. And France has said to have the most romantic people in the planet. It’s not just because French (which has a Romance etymology) is said to be the most poetic and therefore the most romantic language in the world, it’s because the people in France are the most intellectual and the most intellectual people are usually the ones who can concoct things up on how to be romantic. Of course, there is no one in France who is more romantic than its president himself, Nicholas Sarkozy, who is set to marry his model girlfriend this year. So romance is definitely in the air the whole 365 days of 2008 here in France so it’s really nice to have a vacation here whether during summer, spring or autumn. The Mediterranean coast of France is very nice to live in since diet there is restricted mostly to seafood sautéed in olive oil which is the healthiest cooking oil in the world due to its low fat content. Aside from that, the Mediterranean coast of France has Agde, the largest nudist resort in the world. It is not just a beach resort, it is also a shopping mall but all the staff is in the nude. Isn’t that lovely?

But the thing I look forward more this year in France is the annual Cannes film festival. It will be held sometime in May. In this weeklong festival, it is not just the abundance of movies that you’ll get but the abundance of food as well. Binge around local stuff like cod dipped in garlic sauce, sea bass in lime, beef fillet dipped in foie gras and wild boar. This is the essence of French elegant dining.

Meanwhile, the French government has joined the bandwagon in calling for the preserving of the environment which was first launched into worldwide attention by the former vice president of the United States, Al Gore, in his film An Inconvenient Truth. Sarkozy, the French president, is having skepticism in nuclear energy and genetically modified crops. These may be ticklish subjects but the French government has started to take care of the environment in its own little ways such as preventing overfishing. In maintaining all the beach resorts in France clean, it has tapped the help of the European Union as well as the Swiss hotel school industry. The European Union is periodically inspecting all beaches in France to conform to environmental standards while selected Swiss hotel schools are training their students on how to be environment-friendly and churning out these graduates to the French hospitality sector.

Because of their nationalistic pride and tourism status, the French are now more confident not to adapt foreign languages. In fact, all English programs in the state-owned television network have been scrapped at the turn of this year. This is indeed a testament on how France handles its policies elegantly. Kudos to the French!