http://www.understandfrance.org/France/Intercultural4.html

What the French do not understand about America and Americans....

Gun control : The American attitude regarding guns is impossible to understand by the French (and probably by anybody outside the US). Who can reasonably believe that owning an AK 47 can protect you and reduce the crime rate ?
The constant mix of moral pretexts and political or business issues (an example : to try to eliminate the French train company in a bid, a Californian politician and a few lobbyists demanding an apology for its alleged complicity with Nazi crimes : read more about it)
Trials : the judicial system is very different (see French judicial system) (but now, influenced by US TV programs, young delinquents have started calling the judge "Your Honor " instead of "Monsieur le Président")

I chose this website as i thought it was fairly light-hearted and summed up what the french think of America. I do agree with the postings as i believe the french are confused by America, and certainly when i am in france, my family seem to assume i would know all the answers to their questions. One of the facts given was that their are 8 times more people in jail per 1000 inhabitants in the USA, which has been influenced by popular culture. I can clearly see why France are so shocked by this, although there are similar crime programmes in france, the impact of them is not the same.