The Cullman Tribune on Thursday reported that its namesake city received a visit this week from two French journalists, who seemed to be quite impressed by Alabama’s people.
French Press Agency’s Sebastien Duval and Bastien Inzaurralde reportedly chose to visit Cullman — and Winston County — to hear directly from “Trump country” conservative voters. These locales are in Alabama’s Fourth Congressional District, which boasted the nation’s highest percentage of vote share for then-candidate Donald Trump in 2016.
Duval is a Washington, D.C.-based reporter and Inzaurralde is a video journalist who has also previously worked for The Washington Post and The Guardian.
Per The Cullman Tribune, Duval said their mission was to get outside of the urban coastal bubble and talk to real people who comprise Main Street America.
While he acknowledged that some people were worried about the media disingenuously portraying them as “hillbillies,” the local paper noted that Duval ended up finding Alabamians to be “friendly, hospitable and willing to talk.”
Here is a snippet from The Cullman Tribune on Duval’s impression of the Yellowhammer State:
Overall, he regarded his visit as a “very positive experience,” saying, “It was my very first time in Alabama, and the southern hospitality is not a legend! People were very welcoming and friendly. We’ve seen a fair amount of people and many, many positives.”
He added, “I’ve been to the South before, and I know I like the slower pace of life compared to D.C.- a good break away from all the craziness that’s happening at the moment in this city.”
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Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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