Aduchamp wrote: "... Thank you."

You forgot to add "and have a nice day." Or were you too busy?

when I hear or read someone who says the French are rude, I wonder if they went to the same country, France that I have visited and know in some many areas and have made many friends. Today my best friend, A Provençal emailed me with terrible news that her husband has Lou Gerig's disease (sp?)
After 9/11 all my French friends called or emailed to say how sorry they were to hear the bad news.
The friendships and generosities
have overwhelmed us.

So sorry to hear about your friend, cigalechanta, LG is such a nasty disease. I also knew someone who had it.

I find it just as annoying when people say 'X nation are all so nice!' than when they say they are all rude. There are nice and rude people everywhere and indeed the same person can be both depending on their mood and circumstances that day. I've lived in France and been there many times and there are PLENTY of rude people there. I've been in Paris and gone up to station employees, in a polite manner and speaking fluent French, and been met with total rudeness on several occasions. Some Parisians are wonderful but the reputation is definitely not completely untrue. I think the OP's experience was good luck more than anything else. I'm glad the OP had a good trip though!

"my French in-laws however often say the same thing - about the French being rude - to each other. figure that out. When they come to the U.S. they are amazed how polite folks in stores are - on the street, etc."

Yes, I did notice that too, in my place of work and elsewhere. I couldn't place my finger on it. I think perhaps in France, they don't do 'fake-nice' - they don't smile, make small talk etc, just to be polite like we do in Ireland. If they don't like you, they just don't bother with you.

mariposa85 wrote: "If they [the French] don't like you, they just don't bother with you."

I wouldn't know about that.

There are some rude and some nice people in every city. States and France.

What I don't get, and no one has yet to explain it to me( and I have asked many times) is how some Americans seem to think if they are treated rudely it is because of their nationality, like they are the ONLY tourists who speak english or count or something. Many Canadains sound just like Americans, so if someone is rude to me why do I not assume it is because I am Canadain???

Is it because it is really the Americans who are doing the hating, not the French?

"What I don't get, and no one has yet to explain it to me( and I have asked many times) is how some Americans seem to think if they are treated rudely it is because of their nationality"

I think it has more to do with the ones who go up to people speaking loudly in English, and complaining that nobody speaks English, and why can't they buy this or that item like they can at home. I saw plenty of them in my job (worked in a hotel) and it created a bad impression of Americans among the staff there. Perhaps some people take that out on Americans who AREN'T behaving that way? Just a thought. I don't think it has anything to do with politics really.

>Where does this idea come from that French people are all "rude" or "hate Americans"?<

If you had visited Paris from 1965-1985 you would have found that to have been a very prevalent attitude.

There really has been a change in French attitudes toward tourists in the last 15 years, and not just in Paris.
I am with Ira on this one. I was 21 in the early seventies visiting Paris with some friends and hated it and swore never to return.
Oh my, how happy I am now that I have been back several times. People there are wonderful. BTW no-one seems to even care about my own view on politics
if the subject comes up. Trust me I am not the one to start this conversation.

mariposa,

I've experienced direct anti-Americanism as have my children and our American friends. Didn't happen to us in France, but we don't live there. It's happened quite often in the international community we're a part of here in Zurich. The joke amongst the Americans is, "we didn't know how many people didn't like us"...

Everytime I socialize with the international crowd, somebody shares a remark that an American would consider rude. Now I just avoid some social gatherings, or some people. In the beginning it was actually pretty shocking.

I think tourists can make inaccurate assumptions about rudeness sometimes. When you live somewhere, it's pretty clear that people are stereotyping you and have no qualms about "putting you down" based on nationality.

Also, it is pretty common and acceptable in Europe to find fault with people based on nationality. In the US, people may do that, but it's not PC to, so it's not usually direct.

In our experience politics definitely has a lot to do with the perception of Americans and the US.

gruezi

Saying French people are rude is like saying Windows Vista is horrible.

Both have lots of people saying it that have no personal experience.

Many who went to France in those bygone years may have unknowingly provoked the behavior they were expecting.

I guess I could clarify it more, what I mean is I have often seen threads about "Americans being treated rudely" and posts by Americans worried about it, but I have yet to see a post by a Canadian, New Zealander, or Australian saying " I have heard the French are rude to ------ ( insert nationality here) is it true??
The Parisienes who I have encountered that were rude or abrupt( yes they do exist, 10 million people are not ALL nice, LOL ) are equal opportunity rude craps. They snap the heads off anyone be they Canadains, Americans , or FRENCH! Metro workers are famous for this, basically I figure they have low paying crappy ( underground all day would make me nuts) jobs and answer the same questions day in and day out and some of them just get burnt out and snap! Like any dead end job that has no fun in it ,, there are going to be grumps. There are here where I live, can't imagine human nature is any different anywhere else in the world.


Oops, one exception, the people in Hawaii are always so dam nice,, I mean they are the most laid back, easy going, friendly people I have had the pleasure of meeting( I 've been at least 6 times) .. a bit slow , but hey its " island time" .. LOL


PS I do believe that the poster who mentioned that even the French think Parisienes are rude is not totally off base. My relatives would laughingly agree( French and Parisiene) ,, the trick is to snap back, don't be a wimp.. it can be fun if you embrace the experience, LOL

Been to Paris twice and I agree, French people are among the friendliest people in the world. Just had to share a couple of accounts here.

After my sis and I got done scowering the L'Orangerie (we were there 'til closing), there we were stood outside by a street lamp post, trying to decipher our whereabouts on the map. Out of nowhere, this friendly (& goodlooking) Frenchman on a bike approached us, offering his help.

Another time was when we were riding the Metro, trying to amuse ourselves, my sis and I started taking candid photos of ourselves. And this nice Frenchwoman sat across us offered to take our picture.

We just love Paris even more!

<i>I have often seen threads about &quot;Americans being treated rudely&quot; and posts by Americans worried about it, but I have yet to see a post by a Canadian, New Zealander, or Australian saying &quot; I have heard the French are rude to ------ ( insert nationality here) is it true??</i>

Don't make this into some sort of American deficiency. I work in an international office and I hear more grumblings from the Europeans than the Americans. It might seem silly for an American to complain about the French antipathy towards English, but wait until you listen to a Danish or Dutch person rail against the French for not speaking the common language of the world. They speak fluent English and can't even begin to understand why a Frenchman doesn't.

<i>French people are among the friendliest people in the world.</i>

You need to get out more. I really, really like French people, but &quot;among the friendliest people in the world&quot;? They have nothing on the average Thai. And I find the Canadians more friendly. Plenty of places in the US (Mid-west, Hawaii, South) have friendlier people too.

I recall the French outrage about American racism in the US in the 1960's and how well they embraced Josephine Baker, James Baldwin etc. As if they were above racism. Not that it wasn't deserved, but I thought the French had not earned the right of criticsm.

In recent years, there have, of course, been riots in the neighborhoods where non-white immigrants reside and the fear of French Jews. I think one's &quot;friendliness&quot; is not only observed by how they treat the paying customers but how they treat those that are different.

I went to Paris for the first time when I was 19. I too was told by people that the French, especially those in Paris would be rude to me.

Well, it was our 3rd day in Europe, we were still jet lagged and young, very young. Though we didn't think the French rude, we did think them very cold, found Paris on the whole to be a cold and desolate place.

Funny thing was that after 2 months of traveling around to other places, meeting lots of different people, we had to return through Paris. I was suprised at how much friendlier &amp; warmer everyone had become! Who knew people could change so much in such a short amount of time...

Just came back.. 99 % were lovely.. only had one restaurant owner who was rude.. rolled her eyes at us because we could not hear the dessert menu.. Maybe it was because we were sitting next to the loudest most obnoxious American getting drunker by the minute.. business men.. and oh the toilet door.. Gee no one else American was around us..or French for that matter..(we are the &quot;A ' word)..... We never should have sat there.or even stayed... Had even confirmed our reservations... Anyway waiters lovely.. She was not nice.. Wished we had just left.. there are all sorts of people everywhere... I would not say they are not nice.. ok well except today I had an email from a friend who lives there.. and just had a shop owner scream her out the door because she had tried on a skirt before she realized it was 350 E...But I have had someone here do something similar.. go figure.

Lest anyone think French service has become a total love-in, here's a story that's just appeared on www.viedemerde.fr (my rough translation):

&quot;Today the server* called me <i>jeune fille</i>. Delighted, I said it was a long time since anyone called me that. He replied &quot;OK, <i>vieille fille</i>, then. I flustered &quot;Oh but I'm married..&quot; Answer: &quot;I didn't ask for your life story&quot;. &quot;

*maybe this was in a staff canteen?

I think it also helps to go before the summer vacation rush. This time of year they aren't completely fed up with tourists, they have had all winter to get over the &quot;rudeness&quot; of the tourists in town last summer.

I always think the Parisians are the nicest, sweetest, most welcoming people....however, this may be because I've been subjected to 6 years in Brussels! I'm constantly still surprised at the rudeness of so many Bruxellois.