Agreed:

- Tell AF their service is deteriorating compared to many other European competitors such as BA, LX, and TK. Answer: "well, if you think we are increasingly close to low cost, try Ryanair, you'll have to pay for you water and your boarding card!"

- Tell taxis their service is expensive and less friendly and competent than in the UK or Germany. Answer: "well, if you think we are not that good, try taxis in Bogota, you'll most likely be scammed and perhaps even robbed!"

- Tell banks that services tend to be really expensive in France as compared to most other European countries: "well, if you think we are expensive, look at the US where people have to pay a fee just to have a current account and more fees for checkbooks!"

As you say, the systematic answer is that there is always some place where things are even worse, and therefore, we do not need to learn from places where they are done better. This is really sad because many others are better than us at observing what we do well and using it to improve. A few years ago, when they were working particularly well, the French health system and pre-school and primary education systems were thoroughly studied by countries such as Germany and the UK to try and improve their own offerings. When Central European countries democratised, several looked at the French institutional structure and electoral system as one of their sources of inspiration for effective governance. I don't remember anyone suggesting that this was humiliating or that they needn't look elsewhere because "there is always worse somewhere else" but we seem chronically adverse to accepting that policy transfer is the most natural way to try and progressively improve life for our inhabitants and should in and should in no way be construed as some sort of national betrayal.