The French has the benefit of a long (and often highly successful) tradition in the following areas (with only a few examples):
- Literature (Rabelais, Balzac, Flaubert, Proust, Camus, Hugo, Baudelaire, Montaigne... (this is the shortlist))
- Philosophy (Tocqueville, Voltaire, Rousseau, Sartre, Barthes, Derrida, Lacan, etc.)
- Art (Claude Monet, The Louvre, etc.)
- Music (Berlioz, Bizet, Ravel, Debussy, Bartók, Satie, Daft Punk)
- Cuisine (they invented the following: crème brûlée, hollandaise sauce, crème fraîche, coq au vin)
- Military (The Normans rocked the Britons' world, and they took out their king because they didn't like the idea of monarchy anymore)
- Language (...nearly 50% of the English language is derived from French, thanks mainly to the Normans)
The French also brought the following to the world:
- The Statue of Liberty
- Braille
- The diesel engine
- The Eiffel Tower
- Stethoscopes
- Hot air balloons
- Digital calculators
- Pasteurization
- Parachutes
- The sewing machine
- Bikinis!
There are many reasons to look up to the French; not least of which includes the fact that the country is responsible for producing both of these women:
Brigitte Bardot
Audrey Tautou
The sense of sophistication comes out of a society of innovation and cultural richness... over a very long history. But it really is about perspective, though: What have they done lately?