I find it interesting that everybody speaks English in Rennes-les-Chateau, but a lot of the Germans in GK2 don't speak English. Every German I have ever met speaks at least 3 languages fluently.

...usually it goes like this:
you ask a German "do you speak English?" Their answer will be "a little bit", turns out they speak more than just a little bit and can usually hold a full conversation quite easily...

you ask a Frenchman the same, they will just look at you with a mixture of a dumbfounded expression, some national pride, and something that seems to express "how dare you address me in anything but my own, wonderful, magnificent language... (the French are a bunch of **********, **-*************, ******** ******... every grand invention has been either German, Italian, Spanish, or Greek ;D... btw Napoleon B. was not a Frenchman... he was actually Italian... not by birth, but by blood)

considering the impression the United States still seem to have of Germany (or Europe in general)...

vice versa, the USA are a lot more diverse than Europeans believe... not every citizen of the USA is a gun-toting, violently patriotic, Texan... soooo... I guess it evens out...

If anybody finds any irony in this post... you can keep it and win in the category "not offended by meaningless BS"

let me get off my soap box now... good day everyone...
:D

French have had for a long time this reputation of being incompetent in foreign languages due to the defense of Francophonie - and probably habit of having French as the language of the world elites for decades. It gets better those last years thanks to Internet that spreads English-speaking culture, but in 1999, if it is the year that GK 3 takes place, it's unlikely you'd have witnessed many English language speakers at a touristic but provincial place like Rennes-le-Château.

Hi,
your presentation of the issue is indeed quite close to the reality. Most Germans do speak a few foreign languages and English is the most common one to my experience. Now as for our poor Frenchies (I'm a Flemish guy living in France by the way): things are getting better -at least for knowing a bit of English - but it will take at least a few generations before they'll have put up with the rest of the Europeans. As a small example this. Last week I entered a professional formation in which the knowledge and the wright speaking of English is important. So one day and a half out of 4 days and a half is completely retaking the things seen in French and discussed about in English. Out of 16 persons 3 persons are not expected in those courses because their level of English is widely above the knowledge of the others. But none of them is French. We all three live in France but were born and raised else: one person spend most of her live in Germany, the second was born and raised in Portugal and only came to France a few years ago, and as for myself I spend most of my life in Belgium, yet it is almost 20 years I live in France.
On the part of reclaiming there importance, over estimating their importance; sadly that is not ready to disappear. Point is that in France once you live in France and you achieve something of importance they'll steel your origins and claim you are (were) French and especially when you talk French as a common language.
Oh, by the way I love soap box speakers at least they say us the truth as it is; cold and hard to accept. Have a nice one too