On my visits to the Dordogne (my FIL's region) I've found people to be friendly too. That and the fact that many people who do live in my local area in fact come from other regions in France or even other countries. But in fact, this is mainly down to the long work hours/spending time with family attitude. To us Anglo Saxons (how I hate that term), that could be construed as being rude. Here in our rural Ile de France village, I have met a few friendly people - but have found people do tend to keep themselves to themselves. Having French PIL's who are from down south, I get an interesting comparison of how different things are down there compared to up here in the Paris region. Have been living in the Essonne for the last 14 years. I don't visit those boards or blogs either :) But the behaviour of some of my compatriots, who come here for sunshine and cheap wine, don't bother to learn the language, and miss no opportunity to whine about "the French" embarrasses me (why, for example, is one of the major expat forums called "Survive France"?). I've been living here for 15 years and our neighbours have been unfailingly kind and welcoming. What country doesn't have rude people? (if there is one, please tell me, I'll move there!). Of course I've met rude people in France. You can get good customer service, but it's not a given - you're expected to work at it, which can be pretty shocking for Americans :) For example if you enter a shop and don't greet the shop assistant with a "Bonjour Madame/Monsieur" as appropriate, but just start straight in with what you want, _they_ will think _you_ are rude, so you're off to a bad start straight away. If you don't make an effort to understand cultural norms, you _will_ have bad experiences. Thanks again for opening up the discussion, I'm sure it will bring many differing opinions! Sad but true, my French is appauling but I try and am greeted with smiles for just ying. I look at being able to live in this beautiful place as a benefit. How utterly boring if the whole world were just like the UK or the US or Japan, etc. It is nothing more than respect to try to learn about it all AND if we want it to be just like where we came from why on earth would we come in the first place. I expect nothing and why would I, this is their country, their culture, their languauge. As a transplant, I am grateful our French friends and neighbors have welcomed us. I do believe that in every situation we find ourselves in, we get out of it what we put into it. I could not, however, disagree more about the French shopping experience as not only do shopkeepers always make a point to say hello and good bye, so does every other patron in the store.the greeting process can be somewhat overwhelming when you are new to France but something that I quickly came to love. Other countries and cultures could learn something here. While being told a dress is not the right one, could certainly be looked at as rude, it could also be looked at as helpful! I would certainly agree that the French are not interested in anything superficial and frankly I love this! Life to me is simply too short for anything else. They are quiet, gentle, genuine and welcoming. I think on a whole the French are the most gracious, kind and polite people I have come across in living or vacationing. I am from the US, lived in the UK for 4 years and now in France for almost two. I am outraged by the rude stereotype and often get comments about such from people who have never even been here! This always surprises us because we have traveled to the USA several times (including several visits to NYC which we adore) and only ever encountered wonderful, friendly people and great service. It seems that the friendly, helpful people we encounter in the US can become demanding, complaining and even rude when abroad and things are different and 'not done the way they are done in America'. I will be honest and say that in our many years of traveling my husband and I have often encountered rude and critical fellow tourists, most often from the USA and particularly when in large groups. I always smile, never criticize and am always positive about the place and people I am visiting.
I believe it is very much dependent on the attitude of the visitor.
The same applies to the locals from all of the other many places we've visited. My husband and I have been traveling to France every year for many years and I can truthfully say I have never, ever experienced a rude French person.