Do you find the French rude?
Written by Karen Bryan
It was the first “Paris Tourist Day” yesterday. One of the aims of the day is to make Parisians more aware of the importance of tourism to the economy of their city and asking Parisians to more welcoming and friendly to tourists.
I am sick of reading about how rude the French are to tourists. I’ve visited France on several occasions, although only once to Paris. The vast majority of French people that I met were charming, friendly and helpful. I always try to speak French. My French is not good, mainly what I remember from studying French at school thirty years ago. However the effort is greatly appreciated and the response is often delivered in English.
photo by Tomoyishi
I say look at yourself before you start criticising residents of the country in which you are a guest. If you were working in a busy restaurant earning the minimum wage would you be able to and have the time to explain the menu to French tourists in French?
If I can’t speak the language of the country which I am visiting. I apologise that I can’t speak the language and ask politely if anyone there can speak English. I certainly don’t start shouting in English and expect everyone to speak English. Also try smiling instead of looking hacked off and try to adopt body language that is relaxed and open.
How have you found the French when in France?
Hah! If I had a centime for every time a foreigner asked me if I found the French rude …
When I moved to France I was given a piece of advice with regards to speaking the language that was for me more profound than it was intended to be. It was, “don’t be afraid to make a fool of yourself.”
When in France previously, I had in fact been afraid of making an idiot of myself, after all we are brought up not to be foolish. So I just threw myself into the language, and yes some Frenchmen, and women, laughed and they still do. But most importantly, they all appreciate the fact that I have tried.
The French are very protective over their language, mainly because certain politicians instil the fear of ‘death’ into them, and insist that radio stations only play a certain percentage of English language content. Trying, even at the in-expense of one’s personal pride, can go along way!
I’ve had the same experience. You learn the polite words. You belt out a hearty “Bonjour!” when you enter a shop in the morning. You take an interest in what’s going on, and Parisians will by and large accept you. As in any country, if you won’t learn the little acts of politeness, you won’t get far. I’ve had Parisians take me by the arm and lead me a long way to good restaurants when I’ve been studying menus. Never had a problem with people in France.
james
Thomas and James – Your experiences seem to be similar to mine, if in France, launch into the best French you can muster (which is pretty abysmal in my case) and the majority of French people will be delighted and assist you in any way possible.
In 1997, I spent 9 months in Paris as an exchange student and had a great time. I have to say that it took me a little while to figure out the cultural differences, because Italian and French people seem so similar in many ways, but they are very different in more respects that I had expected. At first I had the impression that some people were being rude to me, but then I figured it was just a different way to approach certain situations. I learnt that French people are often very direct and never worried of saying what they believe to be true, which is not always appropriate in an Italian cultural context, so I got some comments that I didn’t expect. And the other thing that sometimes disoriented me was that they seemed to have a much deeper sense of their rights, and sometimes people insisted on certain principles more than Italians would have ever done in the same situation (we are actually at the opposite extreme), so they sometimes came across as too tight or stubborn to my Italian eyes. But it didn’t take me long to understand better these cultural differences, make a lot of friends and fall in love with France.
Gloria – living in a country gives you an opportunity to really understand cultural difference and dramatically improve speaking the language.