Irritable¹ waiters huffing in cafes. A gallic shrug² in a heated debate. Street protests at every new government initiative. Many may already see France as a nation of grumblers, but a new survey shows the French agree.

餐厅里的服务生脾气暴躁、态度蛮横；激烈的争论中他们总会给你一个法式耸肩；政府每出台一项新政都会出现街头抗议。很多人可能早已觉得法国人爱发牢骚，然而一项最新调查表明法国人竟然也对此表示认同。

The poll commissioned（委任） by insurance company Maaf found that 93 percent of French people think their compatriots（同胞） grumble³（抱怨） often, although only 37 percent admit they tend to complain.

The older you are the more likely that you will be grouchy⁴（不高兴的，不满的） , with politicians being the biggest bugbear（怪物，棘手的难题） for sexagenarians（六十至九十岁的人） .

"You have to grumble in life, otherwise you get trampled⁵ on," was the main reason given by almost one in six people in the land of liberty, equality and fraternity（友爱，兄弟会） .

Just under one third said grousing⁶ was in the French temperament⁷.

Men were the grumpier of the two sexes, said 43 percent of respondents, with around one in five men saying they moaned（呻吟，抱怨） to get what they wanted compared with 16 percent of women.

One in four said carping（挑毛病的，吹毛求疵的） was a way of relaxing.

The survey, entitled "Are the French moaners?" polled more than 1,000 people over 18 across France and was carried out by market research firm Opinionway (www.opinion-way.com).

The French also see themselves as the world champions of moaning. More than 70 percent believe they outgripe the rest of the world compared with 15 percent of Italians, 4 percent of Americans and 3 percent of Britons.

Banks, insurance firms and other administrative⁸ centres were the main target of gripes（抱怨） among those polled.

And the biggest cause of grumbles⁹? Thirty-one percent of women said their partners gave them the most grief -- ahead of their children, colleagues and bosses.