Quelques clichés et vérités sur la Roumanie.

This paper aims at analysing several clichés and facts about Romania, filtered through the perspectives of a French and a Romanian researcher. It does so in order to reveal that the force of a cliché is sometimes greater than that of the factual reality. Being situated at the confluence of several cultural axes, Romania is not a homogenous country, but Balkan, Eastern and Central European at one and the same time. This geographical position has brought about Romania's image of a "marginal" space, exotic and unique. Being viewed as one of the last "terra incognita" in Europe, the Romanian space is a victim of stereotypes. Out of the multitude of ideas about Romania, be they preconceived or not, we chose to discuss the myth of Dracula, and some of the positive and negative valences pertaining to it, such as the notion of "traditional Romanian hospitality", "Romanians as thieves", 'Bucharest - the little Paris' and "The beauty of Romanian women". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]