What small rituals do you do? 😄

Manners make life more  pleasant

That's what I like about France! There's still a sense of common decency which is slowly but steadily eroding everywhere else. I love that the Paris feels "silent" despite the many people here. There's normally no noisy conversation in small cafes or brasseries (until unaware tourists enters the scene 😉)

I love that you speak both English and French and your tone and voice is lovely, thank you ❤️

As an English speaking Montrealer these are all extremely normal behaviors I was raised with. I would say the same is true for most Canadians across the country. However, the few times I have been in Paris I did not notice Parisians being rude and wondered why they had that reputation.

I have never had a French person be rude to me. But - I have also always begun with 'hello' ('bonjour' in France and Belgium).  I have found that if you are friendly and open and make a real effort, people (everywhere) will respond in kind.  There are the occasional jerks who won't, but - in my experience - they are super-rare.

In Canada too (or at least where i live), the person who reaches the door first opens it, starts through it, then holds it for the next person.

Merci pour le vidéo. Vous savez, j’ai visité la France plusieurs fois, je n’ai jamais trouvé les Français impolis. C’est absolument ma destination préférée.

I like your mix of English and French.  It helps my French by dipping in and out of it, it is not so overwhelming and seems so natural.

One thing more important than everything is eye contact. When you say ‘Bonjour’, ‘merci’, ‘Santé’, eye contact is essential!

I lived for 15 years in Paris. I came back to the States in '97. I ALWAYS open the door for those behind me (trained by my years in France). I am STILL shocked by the LACK OF MANNERS here in the States and how people (9 times out of 10) DO NOT hold the door for those coming behind them. I now have grey hair. You would think that THAT would matter. No. People here simply do NOT pay attention to those around them. I know Parisians can seem rude, but those small gestures of Politesse that you mention in this video, I MISS!!!
Also, it is lovely to hear French and English all mixed up. I miss that (with my friends, it's how we spoke, moving from one language to another and back... "souvenirs, souvenirs!"). Merci! ❤

Common courtesy is becoming less common!

Merci! Good manners "should" be universal! My parents were first generation European- Americans. My upbringing included all of your tips! I feel so blessed to have been raised by polite people.

I already knew about the "Bonjour" rule, and it makes a huge difference. I forgot once, looked  the clerk, immediately apologized, and then began again with "Bonjour." I always end with "Merci, Bonne journee, au revoir!" I've also used "Milles mercis" when I've received especially wonderful service or help. All good! About the neutral smile. I've noticed this, especially in Paris, but in our mid-sized city northeast of Paris, it hasn't been as much of a factor. But my husband and I have also noticed that attitude makes a big difference. We never expect French people to speak English. (We never, ever ask "Parlez-vous anglais?"). We're also self-deprecating, and we also freely say why we love our chosen city and France.

In another example, I went to my local pharmacy to get my medication. I made a mistake with my French, turned red, and then laughed at myself. The pharmacist tech immediately smiled and laughed, too. We then made jokes about speaking French and English. We ended up having a very pleasant exchange with many smiles and laughs. I try to just "read the room" with smiling.

Thank you for explaining the difference between "Pardon" and "Excusez-moi."

Please do a Part Two!

I was just in France and everyone was SO NICE. I did my best with French and got corrected a few times (which, thanks to YouTube, I know is totally normal and seen as helpful, not that they think you are a moron), but every interaction was positive!

It’s funny that people say the French are rude, when actually the French are very polite, and they are being rude. I felt very comfortable in Paris because interactions are very structured. If you walk into a shop, say bonjour, when you leave, say au revoir. I used bonjour, excuse-moi to ask a question. It is true that a French person will look at you strangely if you do not start with Bonjour, because you are being very impolite. They will wait for it. A video about food—for example, not touching vegetables at an outdoor food market (be polite and hope for the best), or the tiny bit of satisfaction that cashiers seem to derive if you pay with an amount that allows them to give you a single coin/dollar in return, would be fun. I love that you switch from English to French and back. I think, in addition to these small politenesses, learning some basic French phrases, like ‘I’m looking for’ or ‘can you tell me’ or ‘should I go left or right’ etc is always appreciated, because you are making an effort. They will probably switch to English, but you have demonstrated respect for the French language.

Hah! Yes, I experienced the stare. I was near the Eiffel Tower and wanted to buy something to eat. First, I stood there waiting for the man behind the counter to ask what I wanted. He just stared at me, then held up his hands, mumbled something and turned around and started working again. I finally caught on and using my worst French (not on purpose) I excused myself then started over with the "Bonjour Monsieur", he responded and then I told him what I wanted. It was a bit of a hard lesson, and I really did not mean to be rude, it just took a moment for me to get used to things. Definitely remembered the "Merci".

I have to say taht it was 50/50 in Paris whether or not someone was going to be rude or sociable, but outside of Paris, it was about 90+% of the time people were extremely sociable. So it is likely that people in Paris are just over tourists, and no matter how you present yourself as a tourist, unless they can't tell you are going to get the cold shoulder. Outside of Paris, where they don't get as much tourist trade, they are much more excited to have people spending money and are almost over the top sometimes to make you feel welcome!

So, back in the early 1950’s my father landed in Paris and was taking a cab to his new school he was studying at, he attempted to give directions to the driver in French, the driver stopped yelled at him and kicked him out of the cab.

I do these things and I've largely been treated warmly around France ☺️