Avoid asking personal questions relating to one's age, sexual orientation, family or children unless you have a well-established friendship. The French highly value their privacy and the privacy of others. Inquiring about one's salary and finances is taboo.
It is rude to sit with one's legs spread apart unless in a relaxed context. Rather, sit straight with your legs crossed at the knee or knees together. Feet should not be placed on tables or chairs. If someone is invited to a restaurant or a business function, it is acceptable to arrive at the specific time.
Overall, the older generation still considers money a taboo in France, mainly because it is a tradition.
Eye Contact: Direct eye contact is understood as a form of respect. It is considered to be extremely rude not to make and maintain eye contact. Gestures: French people tend to use the 'thumbs up' sign to indicate 'okay'. Making a circle with the thumb and index finger means 'zero' in France.
While speaking English, in Paris, is not considered rude, expecting every French person to speak French will surely be seen as such. To avoid a cold reaction from the other party, it will always be appreciated to start the conversation with a simple sentence in French.
France. A law against begging ended in 1994 but begging with aggressive animals or children is still outlawed.
Don't eat with your hands.
Other than the bread and/or french fries, food is not eaten with your hands. For foods like Pizza, burgers, all the meals that we usually think to eat with our hands, French people will use a knife and fork.
1 – Don't Talk About Money in France
Talking about money is considered vulgar by French people, so we don't like to share the bill at the end of a meal. It's part of our French politeness to take turn treating friends, and we kind of keep track mentally of who hosted last, who paid for a restaurant etc…
It is not necessarily rude to leave food on a plate in Paris, but when someone is finished eating, they should place their knife and fork across their plate to indicate to the waiter they are done. Otherwise, the plate will not be cleared.
Men must not wear extremely short shorts, chunky sports shoes, sweatpants, graphic tees, and clothes with bright and bold words on them when in Paris. Women should avoid wearing stilettos, brightly colored dresses, clunky accessories, and beachwear when in Paris.
The “fig sign”: The fig sign, or “la figue,” is a gesture that involves making a fist and sticking the thumb between the index and middle fingers. This gesture is considered vulgar and offensive in France and is used to express contempt or insult someone.
Most Europeans chew gum briefly after a meal, and spit it out in short order. In the Netherlands, chewing gum while talking is considered rude, and in Belgium and France, chewing gum at all is considered vulgar.
3 - Don't smile too much
Everybody gets a smile and it is considered rude not to smile. The smile is free and ubiquitous, like air or sunshine. It's expected and polite. Everyone gets a smile but in France, French people perceive the smile differently to Americans.
A waiter in a café is sometimes called un garçon de café, but French people use the word un serveur much more often, for any type of waiter. A waitress is une serveuse. Yelling “Garçon !” to catch a waiter's attention in a restaurant (or a café) is rude and outdated.
In France, when it comes to French etiquette at the table, you should simply refrain from producing any slurping, chewing, gargling, or burping sounds at the table, or really, in any public place.
Parisian women have finally caught up with the 21st century (and the end of the 20th century for that matter): They can now wear pants! January 31, the 213-year-old ban was officially lifted. "The repeal of the law... was made by France's Minister for Women's Rights, Ms.
A few years back, there were numerous reports of clowns terrorising people in the French village of Vendragues. In response, authorities made it illegal to dress up as a clown on Halloween and the entire month of November for anyone 13 and older.
Article 226-1 of the criminal code (Code pénal) makes violating the intimate private life of others by posing, recording or transmitting a persons image in private setting without their consent a crime punishable by a year of imprisonment and €45,000 fine.
Common mistakes include pronouncing 'ih' sounds in English as 'ee' sounds, as well 'ahr' (like in cart) sounds pronounced as an 'ah' sound. For example, 'ship' sounds like 'sheep', 'kid' sounds like 'keed', 'read' sounds like 'rid', and 'cart' sounds like 'cat'.
The expression originates from the 19th century, and was used literally. When English people used French expressions in conversation, they would often apologise for it, presumably because many of their listeners were not familiar with the language! Example: "Excuse my French, but that guys needs a kick in the ass!"
You can survive in France without speaking French. While the majority of French people consider themselves not to have a satisfactory level of English, people working in tourism can almost always speak English. Most young French people are fluent in English to some degree.