France begs its citizens to lighten up with tourists

[dipsydoodle]

The world's most popular city, Paris, is wrestling with its reputation as the rudest place on earth for tourists. French authorities have rolled out yet another plea for locals to refrain from the Gallic snarl in encounters with foreign visitors.

Speaking at the launch of a new master-plan for tourism at a national conference, Commerce Minister Fleur Pellerin said France needed to “recover a sense of hospitality”, as “too often we mistake service for servility”.

Accompanying her was Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who said the government now aimed to attract 100 million tourists a year compared to 83 million in 2012.

Fabius, however, warned that the famed French surliness was a pothole on the road to tourism victory: “The logic is simple. An unhappy tourist is a tourist who never comes back.”

http://www.france24.com/en/20140621-france-tourism-industry-rudeness-parisians-industry-economy/?ns_campaign=reseaux_sociaux&ns_source=FB&ns_mchannel=social&ns_linkname=editorial&aef_campaign_ref=partage_aef&aef_campaign_date=2014-06-22

[liberal N proud]

1. I can't say that I experienced any more rudeness than here in the USA

[pscot]

2. The French can't touch the Austrians

when it comes to rude.

[COLGATE4]

3. Amen. And their first cousins, the Germans

aren't far behind them in overall surliness to the tourist.

[PumpkinAle]

4. I have found

that a smile, friendliness and trying to speak the language goes a long way to breaking the ice - whatever country you are in.

And yes there are rude people all over the world and that goes for tourists too.

I wish France good luck or rather bonne chance with this effort.

[3catwoman3]

8. I never took any French classes in school, so my French...

...is limited to a few words and sentences from those little survival tourist phrase books. During my second visit to Paris, I was in a patisserie and attempted to order a raspberry filled pastry. I was given one with cheese. I had the feeling the person behind the counter was deliberately misunderstanding me, because, even with a non-native accent, I think frambois (?sp) sounds fairly different from frommage.

[JustAnotherGen]

5. I've never experienced a rude French person

In my travels there. Paris is like NYC ; if you remember that they are in an ultimate "rat race" you are fine.

And bonjour Madame or Monsieur when you walk into a business goes a very long way.

We Americans sometimes forget simple greetings and warmth - the French don't.

Now the rudest people I've experienced are those in St. Martin, Holland - and although polite - London comes across as frosty and arrogant.

Quite a difference when you leave London for Dublin and the Irish are so friendly and curious.

[CTyankee]

9. You are so right about the "bonjour, madame/monsieur" thing...

it goes the same in Italy with "buon giorno, signora, signore." They are used to the greeting and the title used to address them.

And I didn't find the Parisians particularly rude. You can, however, find a rude person here and there in every country. The Dutch and Belgians are prickly but not mean. The Belgians, in particular, didn't much like Americans speaking to them in French...they knew English very well and would prefer us to use their language of Flemish, esp. outside of Brussels...

[Aristus]

6. When I was in France, the only people who treated me rudely were British tourists.

"Oh, how droll! Check out the Yank who thinks he can speak our language properly!"

That sort of thing.

The French were cool.

When I was stationed in Germany in the Army, strangers may not have been warm and effusive, but they were always polite. The German friends I made over there, however, were meltingly kind, friendly, funny, and open.

I suspect if one goes looking for rude behavior, he or she will most likely find it...

[lucca18]

7. The French people were great, but the "con artists" were a different story!

During our 10 days in Paris we had about a dozen people trying to scam us, but after awhile we just laughed it off.

[lady lib]

10. They've improved.

I was in Paris in the late 80's and they were every bit as rude as my French teachers had warned me about. Then I went back two years ago and didn't encounter any rudeness at all. What I did encounter was a police and military presence that I don't remember seeing on my earlier visit.

[roguevalley]

11. when we were in London the kids from france and other counties over to buff up their english

were incredibly rude. They didn't even try to pretend to form lines. I can't tell you how many times I was run over on the underground or slagged by an elbow by an idiot cutting in line.

[raccoon]

12. Those who speak French, please post appropriate curse words here. I'm going to Paris

next week, and may need them.


(Just to clarify:

[lady lib]

13. excusez-moi, s'il vous plaît, et merci

be the change...

Also, bring lots and lots of euros if you plan on eating anywhere other than the Turkish doner shops (kabobs, etc.). fyi.

[raccoon]

14. Why, don't they take plastic? nt

[lady lib]

15. Yes, well what I meant was

it can be expensive to eat out, and American credit cards can be iffy if you don't have a chip and pin style card (most American cards don't have that technology yet). They will probably take it regardless, but it's good to have cash just in case. Hope that helps.

Hope you have a blast on your trip!!

[lady lib]

16. One more thing.

You've probably already done this, but I feel like I need to mention it.
Don't forget to call your credit card company and let them know you'll be traveling overseas (they'll want the dates and country). This is to prevent your card from being flagged for fraudulent use.

Again, have a great trip!

[raccoon]

17. THanks! Yes, I did that. About 7 years ago, I was in Churchill MB, and hadn't told my credit

card people I was travelling (didn't know to) and .....guess what?

The card wasn't accepted!

Luckily I was able to call the 800 number and get it straightened out. Lesson learned.

[Earth_First]

18. Tourists are not without their faults either...

Making at least an elementary attempt to converse in the language of the country you are visiting goes a long way.

Many English-speaking tourists take it for granted that many speak English, or in fact multiple languages.

Additionally knowing simple cultural observances such as hand gestures, eye contact and posture turn otherwise innocuous situations into tense, less than welcoming events.

Travel well...

[FBaggins]

19. Wouldn't that ruin the je ne sais quoi appeal?

It's what tourists expect in Paris.