[Old Reliable]

french cooking is a style employed by the finest restaurants around the world. if you watch the show Iron Chef you know what I am talking about. Wines and cheese...the staple of French cooking. if you have not heard of Louis Pasteur, then I suggest you look on a milk carton as it will most likely say "pasteurized." Descartes is also one of history's greatest philosophers, mostly dealing with mathematics. France is also the second country to have a declaration of independence. During that time, Paris was considered the world's capital for grandeur...great politicians and diplomats met at Paris. to list the contributions of Frenchmen to us throughout history is rather lengthy.

I suggest if you are really interested in it, that you find out for yourself. The problem with trying to explain something like this to people like you is you believe France to only be 200 years old, when in fact France has a history far beyond America's and the past 200 years. I will gladly expand on this if you want. my opinion may be biased, but that is only because I have a deep love for the European continent and its history as a whole.