Are people rude in Paris to Americans that have a limited understanding of french?

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eorpach_agus_eireannach

Rudeness breeds rudeness. If you speak some French even merci, si vous plait, bonjour, salut, au revoir. They all go a long way.

I remember being in a restaurant and an American couple were basically trying to get a table without speaking a word of French or even saying please in English or being polite, they just kept getting louder when the waitress didn't understand them. They just left grumbling how rude the French were.

There is a difference between customer service in US and Europe. Europeans (Not just the French and German, but Irish and English) will not take crap from people. Especially if you are in smaller towns or cities barking orders a people will end in disaster and rudeness. I worked in customer service and if a person swore at you, you were in your full right to hang up on them, most places would have a similar policy.

If you want to try someplace different I would suggest Lyon. The centre of the city is beautiful, outside is quite industrial but Fourviere and Catedral Saint Jean are spectacular.

cas

I've been to Paris many times and english is the only language I speak, but I made sure I at least knew the basic common phrases in French, even if I could never pronounce the words correctly. I can't think of one time where a French person was rude to me. Please and thank you goes a long way in the language of the country you're in, as in any other country.

Of course it would be nice if in all non-english speaking tourist areas they spoke a bit of english (vice versa with other languages), but if they don't, put yourself in their position... Two people trying to communicate in two different languages can sometimes lead to frustration. It's not always the fault of the French person.

jmp78

They may seem rude but in fact there's a lot of explaining to do behind this. French people love people who come to France for tourist purposes and are very proud to see their country is rated at the top of the tourist places to see.

What really annoys them (which may make them sound rude) is people (not only Americans I must add) don't make the effort to speak just a little French. I'm not talking about full conversations, just a simple hi/bye/please or thank you will do, just to show they are polite. Why would someone be polite to a person who is rude to them?? It works both ways you know :)

My mom is from the US and her best friend came to France a few months ago, she loved it there and said no one had been rude to her, her daughter has just spent 6 months in Paris to study and she said she had to make do with the language in the beginning and struggled a little but loved it in the end.

the_lipsiot

Not generally no.

On a purely commercial front, most French people that Americans will encounter will be involved in the tourist industry, or the hotel, or a restaurant. They realise that they need to have some understanding of English and need to be polite to non-French speakers in order to earn a living.

Outside of these areas, it can be a little different. But this is natural, I think, and not unique to Parisians. In London, people can be very rude to (for instance) Japanese visitors who speak little English.

Most Parisians, in common with most people, will appreciate it if you have a genuine attempt to speak just a little to them in their own language - as long as they have time for it.

chanteur68

Hi, I've been living in Paris for three years and no one has ever been rude to me. The French are actually very sweet, kind, and polite people. If you don't speak any French it will be difficult but this is true anywhere in the world. The French are alot like Americans: very proud of their language and culture so... They prefer you to speak French. Americans do the same thing. If you tried to speak Spanish to a waiter in a U.S. restaurant imagine the reaction (unless they speak spanish of course).

So, just learn a few phrases and use those and you'll get good results.

paul v

Well, I'm from the south of france. Les parisiens (people from paris) are mean towards anyone, even french people !!!
Well, we don't really like each other.....

Not a lot of french, like the "parisians" anyway!!!!

We have a lot of jokes about them......... I don't think there is anything related to the language !!!!

But like anywhere else in the world, you'll find wonderful people........but also morons !!!

If you can express yourself in french it's better..........even it's only bonjour, au revoir, le menu s'il vous plait. you know just basic words. And be polite also.
But it's not only in france, it's like that in spain, england......anywhere !!

Anyway, Tips are not compulsory in France.............so if they wanna get any, they have to be nice !!!!!

Sled

French people are very proud of their languages. They are proud of their country. They obviously know about other languages that exists but they don't want to speak in any other languages but french.

People who live in Paris are mostly able to speak in english even a little but they just don't like to speak with that language, that's why they look rude.

littleflower

It sure seems like it. We went to a show in Moulin Rouge for a show and we were late. The group in front of us spoke
English and got a table that doesn't have too much view. My friend was clever and quickly change to speak spanish to the waitor. We got a table right off the side of the stage.

The is very obvious isn't it? Personally, I feel that probably even favor Asians more than Americans

poisonous_nightshade

French people are just rude, even more so if you don't speak French. I once heard that if you attempt to speak a bit of French, then ask the person you are speaking to if they can speak English, they will be nice to you. That doesn't work, they get annoyed because you aren't pronouncing the words properly, and then that you are asking them to speak English. It's a lose-lose situation.

G77Project

Yes. Rude and rude, just like Americans but not so loud.

frenzalpixie

No. People in Paris are rude to ANYONE that have a limited understanding of the language! That's just the way they are.

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