Great points. I honestly did not know about the North/South differences, though I should have assumed it since it’s true in so many other countries as well. I also had never thought about the tendency to portray the French only as dark-skinned, and after pondering for a bit I saw another odd thing about it: it’s mainly true with regard to French actors. The best-known of the actresses (Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Adjani, Eva Green, Brigitte Bardot, and so many others) tend to be light-skinned.

Stay grumpy!