Just back from Paris. It was absolutely freezing and beautiful and I hope to return when the gardens are in bloom. I always used "Bonjour" followed by "Parle vous englee?" and everyone said yes/ yes a little and the rest of the converstaion was in simple english. Everyone was gracious and polite from the bus drivers to the waiters to the supermarket cashiers to the hotel staff. Bon vovage !

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to let you know that our colleagues at Living Language really liked this question and used it for a blog story. You can check it out here: http://livinglanguage.com/blog/2012/...nch-greetings/

Hey Amy, that's pretty cool. Thanks for posting that!

In a market, if in doubt of the proper greeting just reach out and start picking through the produce. The proprietor will greet you. Works every time.

I don't know if anybody said that you should also say "bonjour monsieur/madame" to taxi drivers. For bus drivers, a simple "bonjour" and a smile are adequate.