ATHENS – France’s gentler, kinder dealings with Greece during a more than eight-year-long economic crisis are preferred to those of Germany, the biggest contributor to 326 billion euros ($377.35 billion) in three bailouts, a survey showed.

Germany has demanded and gotten in return harsh austerity measures that have devastated the lives of many Greeks, especially workers, pensioners and the poor with Chancellor Angela Merkel sticking to a punishing hard line to insure her country’s banks get paid and make big profits off Greece’s misery, making her a hated figure to Greeks.

The Pulse RC survey that was commissioned by Kathimerini ewspaper, found that France and China are the two countries most admired by Greeks with the French getting 63 percent support and China, which has invested heavily in the country and runs the port of Piraeus, coming in second at 54 percent.

The United States, allegedly an ideological enemy of Greece’s ruling Radical Left SYRIZA was third with 49 percent as Prime Minister and Radical Left SYRIZA leader is trying to closen ties with the US after threatening to end any American military presence in Greece.

The authors of the survey said positive opinion for both France and China could be explained by the mentality of the Greeks and the multiculturalism of Greek society, a mixture of Western and Eastern cultural characteristics, the paper said, and as both countries have frequently expressed support for Greece during its troubles.

Russia and Turkey, which has been constantly provoking Greece, sending more fighter jets and warships into Greek airspace and waters, joined Germany as the least-liked by Greeks.