I was just thinking, how different France has become, from its earlier postwar posture.
My old man, American of course but who grew up in Germany, of German parents (he was born in the US, but they moved back) was assigned by his employer to work in Paris for 12 months, as an on-site liaison for a joint project, with IIRC was State-owned Total.
He jumped at the chance, since he was part of the Paris Liberation in 1945 but only got 24 hours in the city. His unit was moved up the road, quickly...no French mademoiselles for that platoon. He was apparently still bitter about that...and got to see rebuilt Paris.
He had a great time, but he spoke of how ACTIVELY the police kept tabs on him. It may not have helped that his working language in Paris was, German. The French still had resentments. Interesting...the French are funny about language. If you are (were) in Paris, speaking English...all of a sudden all the educated Parisians, who learned English in schools, would forget how to understand it. But if you spoke in fractured French, no matter how ghastly your attempt...they'd kindly take time to try to understand, even correct your words, spell things on paper to help.
They understood German fine, in the street - but it put them on immediately formal, almost hostile, footing. So, the old man started taking French classes...he was bilingual but that wasn't enough.
So...every night the police inspector would be at the hotel, enquiring of the desk staff, asking to see my father's papers once more. The old man took it in good humor, and even tried to ask the inspector of his life. In French. They did develop a casual friendship, over the weeks and months.
Behaving as Uglo Greta behaves now, back then, would have gotten a foreigner a room at the Bastille.
