French etiquette rules, manners, and politesse, as well as other tips for living in France.
If you are not sure where to start, I recommend starting here:
There are times when you just want to get rid of someone. Ok, maybe not. But since we had a bit of fun with the Bonjour in French (how did you do on the quiz?), you knew we had to…
You may think you know the basics, but I bet there are certain ones that will you up. After 10 years in France, even I still sometimes get caught on the rules of saying hello in French. I imagine you…
You are not going to run into royalty when you visit France (the French have chopped off all their heads), but if you're planning to eat during your trip, you should probably brush up on some French Dining etiquette. It…
France is renowned for its gastronomy. But nearly as important, is how French people eat a typical meal. A traditional French dinner, even if it is at the end of a busy day, will pull out all the stops. And…
Living in France for so long, there is always a bit of a culture shock every time I return "home". There are just those small little things that are not like what I'm now used to in France, and make…
French dining is a lot like eating with your parents. The waiters (aka your grumpy parents) will frown at you as if you were a child, and get very annoyed. "Yes, you have to eat everything, no substitutions, and no…
"Sois sage!" as French parents regularly tell their kids, usually when they are being little terrors. Even the fondest parents will agree, little kids can be down-right little savages. But we just don’t expect anybody else call them that to…
Being introduced to people in France can be quite a formal affair. There is a proper way to say Bonjour and Nice to meet you in French. When you walk into a party, you do not just walk in and…
Picture the scene, my first day at a new job in a new country. I had the usual first day butterflies, but nothing I thought of as too unusual. Until lunchtime that is, when I came across what us North…
The French take their food very seriously. They also take Christmas very seriously, so as you can imagine French Christmas traditions are quite an affair! In North America, we tend to cook a big meal, spread the whole thing out…
I hesitated to write about this next item on the list of French social etiquette because it certainly smacks of sexism. It doesn’t belong in the 21st century. But if you happen to be dining with an older French person, even en famille, they…
The first time I came across it, I was baffled. And then irritated. We were at a beachside hotel near Saint-Malo and they seemed to be missing a few cups and mugs at morning breakfast. My husband helpfully pointed me…
After living in a foreign country for several years, it’s funny how suddenly you notice something that you never noticed before. With hindsight, I realized that being an etranger no one will tell you “Oh that’s rude!”. They just put it down to you…
When I got married, a lovely French friend offered me an elegant set of cloth table napkins. I'm sure I looked at her oddly, but she let it slide. Weren’t cloth napkins just for restaurants? I put my observation skills to…