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.
Bad French Table Manners Are… To start drinking before everybody has a full glass in front of them (and someone has a chance to make a toast). To keep your hands under the table. If you are a man, to serve yourself before offering the food to the woman sitting next to you.
Refusing food or drink in someone's home. The French are big on hospitality and always welcome guests with refreshments. This is just the 'done thing', and refusing food and drink is considered a direct snub of their welcome and will almost always offend the French.
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.
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.
For Parisians eye contact is a personal matter, much like your choice of wine, or infidelity in relationships. As a general rule, you have to avoid looking strangers in the eye; it's slightly offensive. Remember, personal space reigns.
Common taboos involve restrictions or ritual regulation of killing and hunting; sex and sexual relationships; reproduction; the dead and their graves; as well as food and dining (primarily cannibalism and dietary laws such as vegetarianism, kashrut, and halal) or religious (treif and haram).
Hugging in France
Unlike Americans, the French do not use hugging as a greeting. Instead, they kiss cheeks (faire la bise) informally and shake hands in formal settings. Because they are not given often, hugs tend to make French people uncomfortable and can easily seem like an invasion of personal space.
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.
Kissing in France
Do you or don't you kiss someone when you meet them? How many times do you kiss them? The basic etiquette rules in France for kissing are – if you're meeting someone for the first time, shake their hands, don't lunge at them and try to kiss them on the cheek, they will think you're very odd!
Putain. The word "putain" is another popular French swear word, and it is equivalent to the English word "fuck". It is used to express anger, frustration, or even excitement, and can be very versatile.
Anti-French sentiment (Francophobia or Gallophobia) is the fear of or hatred towards France, the French people, French culture, the French government or the Francophonie (set of political entities that use French as an official language or whose French-speaking population is numerically or proportionally large).
Respect is shown in verbal greetings by referring to the person as 'Madam' ('Ms') or 'Monsieur' ('Mr'). Though previously the title 'Madam' referred to a married woman and 'Mademoiselle' referred to an unwed woman, this practice is no longer commonplace.
The French authorities are continuing with measures to "preserve and modernize" their language - and are banning English words as part of this effort. After terms "Facebook", "Twitter", and "e-mail" were outlawed earlier, "hashtag" is next in line to be banished from official French documents.
Nose Tapping
But tapping under your nose with two fingers is a gesture used in France to mean something's too easy.
Chin Flick: Tilt your head back slightly and flick the back of your fingers forward in an arc from under your chin. In Italy and France, this means "I'm not interested, you bore me," or "You bother me." In southern Italy it can mean "No."
The reason behind these differences remains unknown. One respondent remarked that the custom of three kisses appeared more prevalent in the area roughly corresponding to 17th-century Protestant France, and that it could have been a way of recognising those of the same faith (three being a sign of the Trinity).
It is true that in France, faire la bise is firmly anchored in the habits of the French, and… we kiss each other all day long: it is a must ritual! More than a tradition, it's a habit and even a reflex.
La bise is a traditional, common way to greet family, friends, and even coworkers (depending on your workplace). It's the equivalent of both a handshake and a hug. Basically, faire la bise consists of lightly kissing someone on the cheek or cheeks.
Historically, cannibalism is the ultimate taboo – the line that can't be crossed. What distinguishes it from other types of on-screen nastiness is that it disgusts us in two separate ways – in other words, the prospect of being eaten is nightmarish, but the prospect of doing the eating is almost as bad.
What are some examples of taboo behaviour? Well, you wouldn't walk down a street naked, burp in a stranger's face, or steal a purse from an elderly person. Calling someone a rude name and catcalling a woman in the middle of the day are also considered increasingly unpleasant.