One of the more fun words in Icelandic is “peysa”, meaning sweater. In French, “paysan” means farmer, but when the French became the foreign nation that fished most frequently in Icelandic waters between 1850 and 1914, between 200-300 schooners would be present off the coast of Iceland from May to October, with almost five thousand fishermen aboard. When they came ashore, they would point at the locals and ask in French, paysan – “Are you a farmer?” The Icelandic farmers misunderstood the question and thought they were being asked about their sweater (peysa in Icelandic), and the word stuck in the Icelandic language.
At that time, the French established bases, such as in Reykjavík and Vestmannaeyjar, but their main stronghold was in Fáskrúdsfjördur in the East Fjords. To this day, one can still feel French influences there, as the French were very active in the area. Among other things, they built an impressive hospital and a Catholic chapel. Relations between the two nations have been good and successful throughout the centuries. According to the Icelandic Tourist Board, in 2023 the French were the fourth largest group of tourists to visit Iceland, numbering 99,208.
France is Iceland’s second largest buyer of seafood products, with exports to France totalling 40 billion ISK last year, having doubled in constant prices over ten years. According to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, France is Iceland’s fourth largest export market, with a total of 63 billion ISK in goods exported there. France ranks eighth among the countries Iceland imports goods from, with imports from France amounting to 34 billion ISK last year.
Cultural exchanges between the two nations have been strong over the centuries, and one of Iceland’s first embassies was established in Paris in 1946. Icelandic Times has been published in French since 2012, for 12 years, and thus recently took a trip to France, this great nation of culture and cuisine. Here are a few glimpses of what we came across.
France 19/09/2024: A7CR – FE 1.2/50mm GM, FE 2.8/100mm GM
Images & text: Páll Stefánsson
