Thread: Are french people rude?

Hi I am French and had some similar experiences. Here is my thoughts on this.
French people aren't really rude, but they have a different way of life than the anglo saxons. There are many more "rules of behaviour" in France and if you stick to them the people are really nice. If you go too direct they will get rude. Not just to tourists to anyone.

Here are two examples:
1. One night me and my girlfriend who is German went to a bar at about 22:00 and tried to by cigarettes, they don't sell them and there were no open shops. When approaching the waiter I politely approached him "Mister, good evening, I am looking for a place to buy cigarettes. Is there any chance I could buy them here... etc etc." The waiter apologized that he could not sell them to me and then went out of the bar on the street almost crossed to the other side to show me where I could get some smokes. He told me how to ask and what I could get.
My girlfriend who also thought all French are rude was shocked to see how friendly and helpful the man was. I didn't think much about it as I have often seen them do things like that.

2. One day I was buying something in a hardware store. I came with my stuff to the counter and the lady on the other side frankly could not care less about me. I was upset about that as I had my hands full and wanted to buy. I.e. it is people like me that give her her pay! How the hell is it that she almost thinks I am bothering her (and I speak perfect french BTW).
My colleague who was with me stepped in as I was obviously about to get upset about this. And she just smiled and got really polite with the lady, the lady then cheered up and became really friendly.

Conclusion:
If you really are friendly with them and humble, they normally are extremely friendly back. It's weird as when one lives in the US one is used to being smiled at from the moment one steps in a store. It's something the French are working on learning - but let me guarantee you they are great people.

Voila - hope you managed to read all this.

Interesting post Sylvester:

I guess there are many ways of learning a culture such as the french and I mean the more you know the easier it gets.

Knowing some actual french phrases while out shopping will also be seen as a positive thing.

really ? they are rude ?

i thought french language are the most romantic language in the world !

i think we cannot generalize one race as rude.. we cannot say that french people are rude, because naturally there are kind people in every country, continent or wherever place it may be.. the safe answer is that "that young french lady you had an argument with is a rude lady." nothing more..

Originally Posted by Jewel

I think it's common sense that there will rude people in every country, as well as polite people. It depends on the person, not on where they are from. I know that a lot of people have similar misconceptions, but really, it's ignorant to think that one person is representative of an entire country or culture.

Yes, I agree with you. Although I haven't been to France, I have met many Frenchmen. They are friendly and helpful.

as what Mr. Nelson Mandela said, "always believe in the goodness of the human heart."

I think it's common sense that there will rude people in every country, as well as polite people. It depends on the person, not on where they are from. I know that a lot of people have similar misconceptions, but really, it's ignorant to think that one person is representative of an entire country or culture.