What I love about France and the French

You can sum it up in a single word -terroir

<11. Almost every city has signs pointing to Centre Ville, and usually Centre Ville is the area you want to be in.>

I also get a kick out of "toutes directions" and "autres Direction" LOL

<That the Police will not even begin to answer your question, before yopu have said Bonjour.>

Not just the police . We were going through customs when the man in front of us started talking to the officer. The officer kept saying Bonjour until the man finally got the hint and responded.

To add to your list.
Cashiers in the grocery store who sit rather than stand.

The way the French take their Sundays and relax and spend time with families rather than in the malls.

Don't forget all the houses bedecked with flowers and pottery,
the various PASTIS,
The road signs directing you to your hotel or B&B,
The flea markets,
the cafe life.

Im with you intex!

Tres bien intex...

I agree, there is something special about the way of life over there.

Food, of oourse, is something that they value, and I like that in a country. I remember ordering chicken at a restaurant and it was listed with an 'appelation' and I thought that was so different than at home.

I remember my first solo trip to France, travelling in the Loire and finding a last minute hotel. I'm almost sure I was the only one there. I went to the hotel restaurant, and I WAS the only one there. Thinking to myself, I'm going to get leftovers from back when. And...it was a fantastic meal...as were all of my dinners from that trip.

Buying flowers at a store and the lady ask if they are a gift...on saying yes, she spends much time with bows making it just so.

Buying a sweet at a shop and since to go, they package it in in a fancy box with ribbon , even though I will be devouring it within minutes of exiting.

I like their print and TV ads.

I like their style. Perhaps just because it is not North American and therefore different, but maybe more because they seem to have a higher sense of style (at least in the cities).

I like that they support culture and invest much taxpayer money to promote.

I like their remembrance of history..in Paris the plaques in the Marais saying from this place xx children were sent to the camps, at this spot french soldier MM died liberating Paris. I like being in a place where there is so much history to see, and that it dates back so far. The blend of the new and old...TGV to Lyon, then 20 minutes later sitting in a roman amphitheatre overlooking the city and imagining what events transpired there.

No high rises in downtown Paris (except for Montparnasse)

I like that they have these neat little specialty shops. Who knew there would be a store in Paris that just sold Le Petit Prince items.

The Christmas windows at the Grands Magasins.

The number of parks.

A transit system and a rail system that works.

A health care system that works.

A lifestyle that works to live

Also the best street food to enjoy eaten in the local gardens, baguette sandwiches, crepes, quiches of every kind, French hotdogs (the best!), home-made pizzas from the boulangeries, list goes on.

I find the street food generally in the US greasy, lots of preservatives and tasteless.

Also love the fresh spring water fountains (Wallace Fountains). Free spring water everywhere around the city.

Being in Bayeux and having people scream out of the car Viva America. That is one of my bestest memories of France. And of course how wonderful everyone was to me. When I was lost, homesick, just plain sick, hungry and being chartiable with their heart. I approached some Red Cross workers passing out food to the homeless and started talking with a lady worker. After giving a donation you'd a thought I gave her a million dollars, really made me feel good inside my heart.

OK, today I have to add another:
- I love the food at Atelier Joel Rubuchon, even though its on the high side.

- I forgot to mention the way the French honor their war dead. Last month I saw what seemded to be hundreds of plaques with names of the war dead, and during Sept., the City of Paris placed flowers next to each plaque!

"You can sum it up in a single word -terroir"


In your opinion, what is the meaning you put in the word "terroir"? Just curious (I'm French).

Terroir is what makes the wine/food taste how it does because of the soil, the water, the climate, the slopes, irrigation but there is much debate if it's really rhat important

6. The french patronize local shops, develop relationships, even if it is not the lowest cost place to purchase.>

Intex - i agree with most of your observations and applaud you for mixing so well\

except - #6 - this IMO is only a Parisian thing and probably because authorities strictly limit larger super markets in Paris (i believe) - thus the ones you have are terrible cramped

anyway i spend a lot of time with family in ordinary Orleans suburb and everyone flocks to Carrefour, Eclair, Auchan, etc. and there are nearly no local food stores left.

In fact France seems to be amongst the most enamored with hypermarches, which it seems started here - they are everywhere outside central Paris.

5. Wherever you go throughout France, you experience something new, something that awes you. (US Strip Mall developers take note).

This also does not jive with my reality outside Paris - no they do not have strip malls but much much worse

every N or main road into towns are lined by the blightest blight and tackiest commercial strips i've ever seen anywhere - even in the U.S.

no aesthetics here - a real hodge podge of huge neon signs, etc.

But again i agree with most of your observations and glad to hear it

Well,I can't speak for Sheila, but to me terroir connotes the sometimes powerful connection that many French people seem to have with the (sometimes very specific) places in France they and their families came from or grew up in. It's an ineffable concept, but it seems to pervade their very being sometimes. They seem to be imbued with all the physical aspects of "place" - climate, soil, vegetation, terrain, cuisine.....and it affects, or at least appears to us foreigners to affect, how they lead their lives, even if they are thousands of miles away from wherever that point of origin was.

Cheese. Cheese. And, oh...fromage.

www.hereinfranklin.wordpress.com

"Terroir is what makes the wine/food taste how it does because of the soil, the water, the climate, the slopes, irrigation".


Agreed, but what has it to do with the various points raised by the OP except points 6 and 7

Pvoyageuse, I guess I was being a bit of a smart ass. I know what terroir means,technically, (like Mimi said) but I meant it to express all the things that GROUND French people in their Frenchness or locality.

There is a way/pace of life thing which is hugely sought after and why I think so many Brits have emigrated in recent years. I know that in the cities- and, indeed, everywhere- the whole pace of life thing with us all chasing teh mighty dollar (or €uro) has as big an effect as it does here, but it FEELS different.

You DO make people mind their manners; you do eat better than we do, in general- some of that is a climate thing.

In rural areas people do patronise their local shops. I enjoy that, although I think if I lved there all the time, I'd get mightily fed up with everyone knowing my business.

In markets, I look for the local people ahead of the professional market people. There's a lot less finding products for the sake of having them, and selling what's in season- although, again, I can see that breaking down a little with every passing year.

I had a conversation with our neighbours last week, about whether they felt French, or Gascon, or what; and got two distinctly different answers. Madame was French et rien plus. Monsieur was Commingeois.

But I would struggle to get Commingeoise products in Paris, and even our local AOC wines are hard to find there.

I think you are, generally, more French than citizens of the world. I think we become more American with every passing day.

Sheila
Thank you for your most interesting answer which provides grounds both for agreement and disagreement
I do understand how it France can feel different for a foreigner but what you write about is a very romantic view of French society which is disappearing and practically non-existent in big cities. Granted we say bonjour and bonsoir but politenes considered as simple consideration for people is going down the drain as is unfortunately the case in most of the Western world. People are after the Euros here just like everywhere else (what do you thing our famed strikes are about?)

Granted, we do eat better and love our markets. But many women work full-time and have no time to go in the morning.
We even subsidize small village grocers so that they can buy a truck, fill it with tax-free gasoline and sell their goods in remote villages where people do not have access to big supermarkets. We think they serve as a link....... to civilization????
But in cities (alas) supermarkets are the norm and have killed pop and mom's stores.

"I look for the local people ahead of the professional market people."
This is also an urban legend. Market people ARE mostly professionals, even if in some small towns you still see a few grand-mothers selling a few jars of home-made jams or freshly picked mushrooms. The rest of the crowd buys their fruit and vegetables at Rungis or local Marché de Gros at 5 am in the morning before the market opens. What they sell is what they chose to buy and what they chose to buy is not necessarily what is grown locally but what will sell better.

As to being Commingeois vs being French, this is very cute, very true and at the same time strikes me as being very parochial in 2008. I am sure the same happens in Hamburg vs Munich, Milan vs Bari and Barcelona vs Malaga.

I'm not setting myself up as any sort of expert here, but we spean about 4 weeks a year in the Hautes Pyrenees- about as rural as it gets these days.

I know a lot of what you say is true, but some is not QUITE so. I know excatly where to find the local guys in our local markets in Trie, Mirande and Bagneres.

I try not to be romantic about it; it's a tough world, and I think it's badly affected by the number of maisons secondaires. But otherwise the rural depopulation would be a total scourge.

Trie has a premanent poulation of 3500 a peu pres, and no fewer than 4 bakeries. There's a welcome difference right there.

The Commingeois thing is just interesting. And interesting that two people in the same marriage had such strongly held different views- wouldn't happen in MY house!

Sometimes i think foreigners may misinterpret the French fondness for quaint small stores, etc.

In many cases i believe these trends are dictated by laws - like Sunday closings and restricted shopping hours. Thus on Sundays some French flock to outdoor markets simply because the Carrefours, Auchans and hypermarches are forced to close by law - and Arab stores are allowed open on Sundays and on that day they perhaps make most of the money it seems by the cars pulling up constantly to the one where i stay in Saran.

and take pharmacies, which you see, small pharmacies everywhere - the gov't will not allow 'grandes surfaces' (sp?) or huge stores like Carrefour to sell pharmaceuticals - thus the many small pharmacies

So not all seemingly quaint French tradtions IMO are voluntary but rather forced.

Many of the points you make apply to many European countires, not exclusively France. Where I live we say hello to strangers, and when we enter small shops.
Apart from supermarkets we still have lots of small specialist food stores.
We have roundabouts, as does most of Europe, and whilst the French may have had the first (with priorité a droit which kind of defeated the object of the exercise) it was the British who developed it into what it is today.
We love our outdoor markets, even in the rain.
The French are the worlds worst parkers. I have watched them park at the Eurotunnel carpark and manage to crash into three cars in the process, then just get out and walk away as if they have done nothing wrong. Anyone can park a Smart.
All European youth knows more about the world than many Americans do - they are taught about the world and for them it doesn't end at the state border.
The idea of traffic and pedestrians mixing is in fact a Dutch idea and proven to work better than fencing everyone off.
Plenty of other countries offer canal/riverboat cruise too.
With the exception of the main (tourist) cities all shops are shut here on Sundays. Once a month they are allowed to open on a Sunday. they are popular then, but not enough to make opening every week wanted or desirable.
Sorry but nearly everything you love is true of a great swathe of other countries too.

a1139a,
I agree as well about the cheese, I am a cheese lover as well, but am amazed at how much they can eat, after a meal. Many of the restuarants we went to throughout France, had most of the patrons asking for a plate (large) of three cheeses after a large lunch. My cardiologist would have an attack if he saw this.

Where I live we say hello to strangers>

Well that may be a Dutch Treat but it AIN'T something the French do - say hi to strangers on the street

When my French in-laws come here they are always pleasantly amazed at how folks on the street will indeed say good morning, hi, etc. - something they say is never done in France.

And though yes store clerks parrot the ubiquitous 'bonjour madade, etc.' store clerks in big stores are not overly friendly and this my French in-laws also like in the States - clerks that are really friendly (we are talking about the big box stores where nearly all French now seem to shop)

Indeed when my French son, born and bred in France returns to France he always remarks on how he finds the French so rude and impolite as opposed to the States.

PalenQ wrote: "... it AIN'T something the French do - say hi to strangers on the street..."

Literally, that is true. They would say "bonjour" or "bonsoir".

Did all those people who greeted me last week in various parts of Brittany already know me?

Pad - i am telling you what many French people tell me

and also in my years and years of being in France - no one ever says Bonjour or whatever to you on the street

Celts may be different - P.S. - they are not ethnic French - i am not disputing your experience obviously but it does not exist in most places in France IMO

Greeting strangers has nothing to do with being Celtic. Strangers don't greet me in Rennes any more than they do in Paris or Manhattan or Dublin (unless it is a preliminary to asking me for money). It has much to do with pace of life, and the pace of life is easier in villages and small towns, the sort of places I was in.

My host in Brittany has sailed a lot. He told me that on the north coast, near his home port, it was traditional to wave to all boats he passed, but it was different in the south, where there are so many boats that if he waved to everybody he would not have time to manage his boat. Pace of life.

Padraig - i agree

and thus for 95% of places where French live you would not i think see such warmth - only in such settings and yes the pace of life, etc. That i agree with

I have a love/hate relationship with the arrogance of some French. I used to despise it and now that I understand it more I admire in a way the complete belief in themselves and "La France".

I work with a lot of "polytechniciens" - the "elite" french graduates who work predominantly in high level french governmental and industry posts.

Being a down to earth Irish pragmatic type it has taken me many years to understand how these guys operate. They still annoy me by times, but I take my hat off to them for their networking/planning/getting what they want/getting things done.

It's not been illegal for supermarkets to close on Sundays for some considerable time. It is simply a matter of choice; and, more and more, the choice is to open

It WOULD be illegal in the whole EU to allow "Arab" stores to open and not French ones

Sheila in France the Grandes Surfaces cannot open on Sunday except in some tourist areas like the Champs elysees and some weeks before Christmas

I think you are talking about Britain perhaps

there is no pan EU rule regards this

Arab stores are not specifically exempted i believe though they may be because Sunday is not a Sunday to them but i think it has more to do with family-run places and large familied Arabs with family willing to work long hours for little money may be why

I do not know the exact law re Sunday closings except, unless changed since Feb, big box stores cannot open on Sundays

and for whatever reason nearly all the small stores open on Sundays are Arab run.

"It WOULD be illegal in the whole EU to allow "Arab" stores to open and not French ones"

There are no "Artab" stores in France. It is absolutely illegal to differentiate ownership ("French" stores vs "Arab" stores) for statistical purposes.
The only reason they remain open is that they are usually family-owned, do not employ outside people and consequently do not have to pay over-time.

and like immigrants in the U.S. do not mind working harder for less wages than the French do - no overtime for Sunday - the reason you see nearly no French run stores open i would think - plus not having large families.

But P - thanks for clarifying the law.

and also in my years and years of being in France - no one ever says Bonjour or whatever to you on the street

It depends on the size of the town, village, or hamlet, and how many people are in the street at that time.

All my years they do in villages and staying in small hotels and B&Bs but not in Paris usually.

There are more and more Franprix and G20 supermarkets open all day Sunday in Paris, just for the record.

Vive le difference!
Heaven is where the police are British, the cooks are French, the engineers are German, the administrators are Swiss and the lovers are Italian. Hell is where the police are German, the cooks are British, the engineers are Italian, the administrators are French and the lovers are Swiss.

Pal

We may be disagreeing as to what is or is not a supermarket. The Intermarche (NOT an Ecomarche) in "our" village opened on Sundays last year and this- summer only, mind you, and I'm told that's simply because of the custom available. It's also not run by Arabs. Neither are the Petit Casino, the bakeries, or the butcher in "our" village- all of which open on Sundays, at least in the morning.

This thread is about France, isn't it? Why would you think I was speaking about Britain on it?

I did not suggest that there was a pan EU rule on that. There is, however, pan EU law on discrimination.

Maggie, that is hilarious( and would be so true) .. loved it.

Now back to why everyone should love France( but I don't care if anyone else does,just as soon have everyone else stay away,, LOL )

Intex,, your post was spot on., and many others added excellant points .

I have serious cheese and pate issues, there is no where that does cheese or pate ,, like France. And the bread,, well, it is special, I have never had the proper french bread anywhere outside of France, no matter how many special bakeries I go searching through here at home.

Sunday lunches ,, I have French relatives( I was born there to a French father and Canadian mother, but was raised in Canada) and Sunday lunch is still very important,,even now it is almost sacred( at least my experience has been that way).

I really have a hard time defining what it is I love so much,, I mean, my own mother, who went to Paris as a young secretary for an international company,, met and married a dashing Parisian,, had a child there, lived there for 4 years,, well, she never got why I loved it so much either.. I have always been like this.. I have always felt a bit special that my siblings were only born here, and I was born in France,, I have always loved the smell of France,, yes, even when my 12 yr old and I were in Paris this last July, and got caught in a narrow passageway that reeked of pee, I laughed and told my daughter,, " that is the smell of anicent pee" LOL, gag, LOL, gag..

I agree it is just the "terroir," which I mean in a way that it is perhaps not meant..

Not the exact equivalent of terroir, but I would venture to say that the French have roots that influence their personality, their cuisine, their outlook on life and quite a few other things, whereas many Americans are rootless due to a more homogenized culture and all of that moving around that people do.

You can still find 'roots' among a lot of American groups, but generally more in recent groups -- Hispanics, Asians, Arab-Americans, etc.

Roots in France (and in Europe in general) are longer and deeper.

I was born in Austria but have been an American almost all my life. I still return to Austria and Germany often and have lots of relatives there, but for some reason France is my favorite country to visit. The food is the best of anywhere I've been and we love the people. We even loved St. Barts because it was French. We haven't been treated any more rudely in France than anywhere else in the world.

Some years ago we did a five week camping trip of Europe and still remember the fabulous French campground, complete with two inground pools overlooking the valley, castle on the grounds, four course restaurant and, best of all, fresh croissants and cheese in the mornings. Next year we will spend a week in an apartment in Arcachon and four days in Paris. Can't wait!

"12. Lack of food chain stores, as compared to the US. People here don't flock to the Olive Garden for italien food."

Not entirely true. Most grocery shopping is done in very, very large hypermarkets (Carrefour, Auchan, Cora etc). Hypermarkets are indeed a French invention.

Plus there are also a lot of chain restaurants (oke not as much as in the States); Hippopotamus, Buffalo grill, Flunch, Courte Paille Cafeteria Casino, Quick etc.

So although there are still a lot of people buying in small grocery stores and markets, most people (lik in all developed countries) go to super- and hypermarkets. And even the French sometimes like to grab a quick meal in a chain restaurant.

"every N or main road into towns are lined by the blightest blight and tackiest commercial strips i've ever seen anywhere - even in the U.S."

Try Belgium... The commercial strips there are worse than in France.

About opening on Sundays; IMO more and more supermarkets and hypermarkets around the bigger cities and tourist places open their doors on Sunday (at least Sunday morning).

In general I agree with your opinions though. But I think that your view of France in general is maybe a little too idyllic. It is a modern and developed country, where most things work and look exactly like they do in other modern and developed countries.

"In general I agree with your opinions though. But I think that your view of France in general is maybe a little too idyllic. It is a modern and developed country, where most things work and look exactly like they do in other modern and developed countries."

I consider myself a real Francophile, and try to visit at every possible opportunity. I am sometimes asked if I would like to retire there - and I say no, since I am afraid to give up all my romantic notions of the country. Nothing wrong with a little fantasy now and then ...

True, nothing wrong with a little fantasy and/or rose colored glasses indeed!

But it is also good to sometimes put some things in perspective!
France is great, but has it flaws as every other country has!

"MY" Intermarche is also open on Sundays in high season. We don't have "Arab" groceries in the Perigord, because by and large we don't have "Arabs," not that that's a good thing, but it's the way it is here.

There's a lot of seeing France through rose-colored glasses here, and that's not entirely a bad thing. I know how that happens, and I like it. Everyone in my village says Bonjour to each other when we meet on the "streets." We don't even HAVE " streets" actually, so it would be really hard to pass by someone without acknowledgment. Except when we are inside our houses we are pretty much in each other's faces, and you can take that as a good or bad thing, depending on your mood and what's happening on any particular day.

What I have sensed over a couple of decades of being here as a part-time resident is an incredibly refined sense of privacy coupled with an incredibly refined sense of comaraderie, when comaraderie is called for. Plus a remarkable trend of modernization that has reached far, far into la France profonde, rendering a very dichotomous existence for many folks. You may live in a house with no central heat and raise geese for the gavage and find yourself at the supermarket on a Sunday morning like everyone else, mingling with the tourists, buying your factory-made baguette because it is cheaper there than at the boulangerie you used to patronize.

Those in search of the "idyllic" have made Sarlat the 3rd most visited site in France after the Eiffel Tower and Mont Saint Michel.

Rocamadour, an easy component to any Dordogne trip, used to tout itself as the '2nd most visited site outside Paris, after Mont-Saint-Michel. Sarlat i guess has passed it.

Hypermarches or grandes surfaces as i believe the law calls them are forbidden to open on Sundays anywhere - except just prior to Christmas

Intermarches - small supermarkets that basically sell only groceries are usually open to noon or so on Sundays

The Sunday closing issue has come to the surface recently with the Government thinking about scrapping the Sunday closing laws - but unions are firecely opposed to it (even though here in the U.S. at my local supermarket all the veteran employees beg to work on Sunday because of the mandated overtime)

but it certainly would provide more jobs and east the tremendous Saturday crowding you see at hypermarches like Carrefour - a buying frenzy when time allows it.

I may be wrong but think hypermarches still are not allowed to open on Sundays anywhere - urban areas or rural.

I would happily be corrected because i would like to go to my local Carrefour at my French home base on Sundays.

Many French believe however that Sundays still should belong to families - not shopping or working - even though it seems the traditional family Sunday noon meal is fading fast.

No, Rocamadour never touted itself as the second most visited site in France, it touted itself as the second most visited pilgrimage site, after le MSM.

I had no idea Sarlat was that popular, although after trying to make my way through the Saturday market in August, I should have guessed.

I would think Lourdes and Rocamadour attract far more pilgrims than Mont-Saint-Michel which seems mainly to attract tourists and not pilgrims like Lourdes and Rocamadour which are two of Catholicism's most holy shrines.

I really don't know - perhaps MSM is a thriving pilgrim mecca that has escaped my attention

Well the Rocamadour (and several other sites) still claims that it is the most visited place in France after MSM - says nothing about pilgrims

Rocamadour.net - France, Pictures, Videos, & Info
The exquisite natural setting and beautiful buildings have made Rocamadour France's second-most visited site (after Mount St. Michael, Normandy). ...
www.rocamadour.net/ -

Another two items:

1. I love the sound of the gravel that is used throughout France, my friends have tried to replicate this in the U.S., but for some reason, the size or shape is different, and it doesn't mimick the french.

2. Love the sound of the crickets in the South of France, although others may say we have the same sound in the U.S., I will stand by my assumption that it sounds different there, and always brings back memories of Provence in the summer.

I agree with the statement about the U.S. being homogenized, The French definately have older roots.

PS- My Champion here is open all day on Sunday.

"I may be wrong but think hypermarches still are not allowed to open on Sundays anywhere - urban areas or rural".

I am afraid you are wrong. In touristy areas hypermarchés are allowed to open on Sunday morning and on national holidays.

Proy - yes i said that in an earlier post on this thread - that in tourist areas like the Champs Elysees stores are allowed open

Yet can you tell me one Hypermarche that is only on Sunday anywhere? A Carrefour - i would like to know in Paris as i may well want to go there

I believe there are none allowed except the Prisunic type places in Paris that are not Hypermarches but like Intermarches - a different category perhaps

But these tourist areas i believe are few and far between - seaside resorts in season, Alps in winter but still i wonder if a true Hypermarche in these areas even are allowed to open

and this is my impression - you may well be right

Having just had an almighty spring-clean at home I came across the very first issue of Bonjour dated February/March 2000 - needless to say I had to read it all over again and came across this article written by Vernon Coleman.
It seemed appropriate to "What I love about France and the French":

He says thus: "Why do I love France so much"?
Well, the weather is more palatable than the variety we get in Britain, the food is invariably well-presented and tasty and the cheap wine they keep for themselves is vastly superior to the expensive stuff they sell us. All these things outbalance the fact the country is absurdley bureaucratic and if I was trying to describe the French people I would have difficulty in doing so without using the words 'aloof', 'vain', 'pompous', 'smug', 'self-satisfied', and 'humourless'.

But it isn't the weather, the food or the wine that drags me back repeatedly onto the overpriced planes and trains. It isn't the museums or the countryside or the beaches which keep me going back to France so often that I now know enough French to order a salad, a coffee, and a bottle of wine without opening a phrase book.
It's the cafe`s.
I adore French cafe`s. I love them all; smart fashionable ones where the waiters are all clearly former French aristocrats and small scruffy ones frequented by workmen and run by a couple whose corpulence is an advertisement for the food he cooks and she serves.

In winter I love sitting inside, my hands wrapped round a glass of vin chaud (essential ingredients include a slice of orange, two large spoonfuls of sugar and a generous sprinkling of canelle), watching wet French businessmen scurrying to and fro in the rain.

In summer I love sitting outside under a striped umbrella, sipping something cold and long watching the world meander (or jiggle)by.
I love ordering a glass of Ricard, a beer or bottle of wine at 10 o'clock in the morning without anyone batting an eyelid. I love the fact that I can order a tomato salad and a plate of frites at midnight without the waiter taking off his watch and winding it up.

I love buying a cup of coffee, taking out my book and settling down for the day, knowing that my ticket in the saucer isn't for the drink but the rent on my chair.

I love the fact that if I go into a cafe` more than once or twice, and acquire my wings as a regular, the waiter and the proprietor will shake my hand and greet me with a smile when I enter and offer me the same courtesy when I leave.
Good cafe`s are serene and time stands still the moment you enter through the door. The world, and all it's hideous techniclour problems, must stay outside".

Nicely put hey? I agree wholeheartedly!

I leave you with his travel tip:
"The wine on aeroplanes is invariably undrinkable but the stuff they serve on Eurostar is decent enough. Arriving in Paris after a couple of bottles I usually find I can speak fluent French. Sadly, this miracle always coincides with the French natives losing their innate ability to understand their own language!".

Driving through France, I have seen a number of hypermarkets with banners proclaiming "open Sunday morning 9h-13h" -- both Carrefour and Auchan. The fact that there are banners would imply that it is a recent development.

By the same token, ever since Monoprix in Paris extended its hours to 22h, Franprix and Casino, among others, now have banners saying that they are open until 22h.

The law has obviously been recently changed - in Feb when i was there there was a debate about it in the press and it said none were allowed to open. But of course i could have read it wrong i guess. Anyway Proveny is right.

PalenQ
I don't live in Paris but in Southern France and I know of one Hypercasino open on Sunday morning in season.
Carrefour, Intermarché, Leclerc, Casino were open on May 8, Ascension Day, Whitsun Monday, July 14 and August 15. They will no doubt be open on November 11. Lots of "superéttes" are also open on Sunday morning: Petit Casino, G20, 8 à 8, Viva, etc......
I think, but I am not sure, that it is the Prefet who gives (or not) the authorization in each département.

I hate entering into this hideous debate about supermarket openings.....but I think I can say with some compunction - to answer PalenQs question - there is no carrefour around Paris open on Sundays and usually the only Carrefours open on Sundays are the Carrefour Markets.....thought occasionally you get the ouverture exceptionnelle.

The law on this Code du travail is a bit complicated and dates from 1906. There are about 40 categoroies of derogations from the Sunday opening - which include touristic places - which is very prone to wide interpretation - which may be why many have seen certain places open.

I havea French lawyer friend who works for Carrefour in China. Shall i ask her?

Or shall we settle for the fact we likethat supermarkets aren't, on the whole, open.....?

Wonder if the Chinese are still boycotting Carrefours in China because of the Olympic Flame incident?

The manager of Carrefour China was the only foreign person invited to carry the Olympic torch in Beijing.

"Yet can you tell me one Hypermarche that is only on Sunday anywhere? A Carrefour - i would like to know in Paris as i may well want to go there"

Carrefour Champs sur Marne (in a suburb of Paris near Torcy) is open on Sunday morning (form the Carrefour site):

Votre magasin de Champs sur Marne est le seul hypermarché Carrefour ouvert le dimanche matin de 8h30 à 13h00. A cette occasion l'équipe du magasin vous offrira le petit déjeuner avant l'ouverture.

Horaires d'ouverture :
du mardi au jeudi de 08h30 à 20h30
du vendredi au samedi de 08h30 à 21h00
dimanche de 08h30 à 13h00

Adresse :
Avenue des Pyramides
77420 CHAMPS SUR MARNE
Tél : 01 60 05 38 72

"1. I love the sound of the gravel that is used throughout France, my friends have tried to replicate this in the U.S., but for some reason, the size or shape is different, and it doesn't mimick the french.

2. Love the sound of the crickets in the South of France, although others may say we have the same sound in the U.S., I will stand by my assumption that it sounds different there, and always brings back memories of Provence in the summer."

An intriguing question - what is your favorite French sound? For me, it is the click-clacking of the stones on the Nice beach when a wave is receding. A unique experience which I have not duplicated anywhere else, and which is my touchstone to the city.

We stopped for coffee at Place de la Contrescarpe in Paris this summer on an Electric Bike tour. Our guide asked me what was my favourite thing about France and I answered "Driving!" She said nobody had ever told her that before.

But I do. I love to drive in France compared to North America. The roads are well kept and the traffic moves quickly. Having just driven
2,100 km from Nice to Paris I was still on a French driving high!

Another thing I love is eating outdoors. I think we ate inside once during 15 days in France last month.

Rob

This has been around a while, but it's still funny.

Travel tips for US citizens visiting France
---------------------------------------------
The following advisory for American travelers heading for France was compiled from information provided by the US State Department, the Central Intelligence Agency, the US Chamber of Commerce, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control, and some very expensive spy satellites that the French don't know about. It is intended as a guide for American travelers only.

General Overview
-----------------------------
France is a medium-sized foreign country situated in the continent of Europe. It is an important member of the world community, though not nearly as important as it thinks. It is bounded by Germany, Spain, Switzerland and some smaller nations of no particular consequence and with not very good shopping. France is a very old country with many treasures, such as the Louvre and EuroDisney. Among its contributions to western civilization are champagne, Camembert cheese and the guillotine.

Although France likes to think of itself as a modern nation, air conditioning is little used and it is next to impossible to get decent Mexican food. One continuing exasperation for American visitors is that the people willfully persist in speaking French, though many will speak English if shouted at. As in any foreign country, watch your change at all times.

The People
---------------------------------
France has a population of 54 million people, most of whom drink and smoke a great deal, drive like lunatics, are dangerously oversexed, and have no concept of standing patiently in line. The French people are in general gloomy, temperamental, proud, arrogant, aloof, and undisciplined; and those are their good points.

Most French citizens are Roman Catholic, though you would hardly guess it from their behavior. Many people are communists, and topless sunbathing is common. Men sometimes have girls' names like Marie, and they kiss each other when they hand out medals.

American travelers are advised to travel in groups and to wear baseball caps and colorful trousers for easier mutual recognition.

Safety
-------------------
In general, France is a safe destination, though travelers are advised that, from time to time, it is invaded by Germany. By tradition, the French surrender more or less at once and, apart from a temporary shortage of Scotch whisky and increased difficulty in getting baseball scores and stock market prices, life for the visitor generally goes on much as before.

A tunnel connecting France to Britain beneath the English Channel has been opened in recent years to make it easier for the Government to flee to London.

History
----------------------
France was discovered by Charlemagne in the Dark Ages. Other important Historical figures are Louis XIV, the Huguenots, Joan of Arc, Jacques Cousteau and Charles de Gaulle, who was President for many years and is now an airport.

Government
------------------------
The French form of government is democratic but noisy. Elections are held more or less continuously, and always result in a run-off. For administrative purposes, the country is divided into regions, departments, districts' municipalities, cantons, communes, villages, cafes, booths, and floor tiles.

Parliament consists of two chambers, the Upper and Lower (though,confusingly, they are both on the ground floor), whose members are either Gaullists or communists, neither of whom is to be trusted, frankly. Parliament's principal preoccupations are setting off atomic bombs in the South Pacific and acting indignant when anyone complains

According to the most current State Department intelligence, the President now is someone named Jacques. Further information is not available at this time.

Culture
-----------------
The French pride themselves on their culture, though it is not easy to see why. All their songs sound the same, and they have hardly ever made a movie that you would want to watch for anything but the nude scenes. And nothing, of course, is more boring than a French novel.

Cuisine
--------------------------
Let's face it, no matter how much garlic you put on it, a snail is just a slug with a shell on its back. Croissants, on the other hand, are excellent, though it is impossible for most Americans to pronounce this word. In general, travelers are advised to stick to cheeseburgers at leading hotels such as Sheraton and Holiday Inn.

Economy
--------------------
France has a large and diversified economy, second only to Germany's in Europe, which is surprising because people hardly work at all. If they are not spending four hours dawdling over lunch, they are on strike and blocking the roads with their trucks and tractors. France's principal exports, in order of importance to the economy, are wine, nuclear weapons, perfume, guided missiles, champagne, high-caliber weaponry, grenade launchers, land mines, tanks, attack aircraft, miscellaneous armaments and cheese.

Public Holidays
-----------------------------
France has more holidays than any other nation in the world. Among its 361 national holidays are 197 saints' days, 37 National Liberation Days, 16 Declaration of Republic Days, 54 Return of Charles de Gaulle in Triumph as if he Won the War Single-Handed Days, 18 Napoleon Sent into Exile Days, 17 Napoleon Called Back from Exile Days, and 112 France is Great and the Rest of the World is Rubbish Days. Other important holidays are National Nuclear Bomb Day (January 12), the Feast of St.Brigitte Bardot Day (March 1), and National Guillotine Day (November 12). Bastille Day is July 14. (or as the French would say, "14 July"

Conclusion--France enjoys a rich history, a picturesque and varied landscape, and a temperate climate. In short, it would be a very nice country if it weren't inhabited by French people. The best thing that can be said for it is that it is not Germany.

A Word of Warning--The consular services of the United States government are intended solely for the promotion of the interests of American businesses such as McDonald's, Pizza Hut and the Coca-Cola Corporation. In the event that you are the victim of a crime or serious injury involving at least the loss of a limb, report to the American Embassy between the hours of 5.l5 am and 5.20 am on a Tuesday or Wednesday, and a consular official who is supremely indifferent to your plight will give you a list of qualified dentists or something similarly useless.

Remember, no one ordered you to go abroad.

Talking about eating outside, this whole summer, all the restauarnts along Rue Guisarde in St Germain, aly out the tables in the middle of the street (the whole street), and the whole street and sidewalks are one swarm of tables from Marche St Germain to the bottom of the street.

The Champion on Rue Buci in St Germaine is open almost all day on Sunday, at least this summer, and as of last Sunday, when I visisted it. Monoprix is closed here though.

As for the sound of the water on the pebbles in Nice, that comment also brought back those memeories, as well as memeories of sore feet for days.

whenever i'm in france and i enter a freshly used toilette, i notice that the smell is heavenly yet earthy at the same time. it's a beautiful odour that is so much nicer than the smell of american faeces. omg...i just LOVE everything french! O...M...G!

Get a grip on yourself!

Rufus--
Hillarious!
Visiting Paris in November. Thanks for the great tips. We'll make sure to bring our overalls and plaid flannel shirts.