Why do so many British people seem to dislike Paris / France / French people on here?

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For the sake of clarity, I am not British and I am not French. I love Paris and visit France frequently, I think it is a fabulous city.

Yet I see time and time again Paris being cited as the worst place people have ever been etc. And I wondered why there's such an animosity towards it. Is it historical? A sort of general 'not getting on with the neighbours' type of thing.

Because I honestly don't recognise some of the descriptions of Paris that I read here - 'filthy, unsafe, smells of wee, full of rude people, etc'

It's baffling and I'm curious about it.

I've lived in Paris and absolutely loved it and I visit frequently and always have a good time there.

I can't speak as to why British people might not like it, but having lived in Southern France my whole life, I can confirm that pretty much all French people down here also hate it!

I think it's mainly because people are seen as very uptight and difficult in Paris, quite snobby, rude, entitled etc. I've never been to Paris so can't comment, however, a lot of Parisians vacation in the South during the summer and I can attest to their behaviour down here not being the best!

In my experience (and I do love Paris) the infrastructure isn't as good. The metro IS dirty, smells, and is a nightmare if you can't do steps. In comparison the tube is actually pretty clean these days, is easy to navigate with prams or wheelchairs.

I always thought it was a bit Jeremy Clarkson; cheese eating surrender monkeys. Paris is beautiful but crowded and dirty in places. It’s a bit like London, interesting and nice for a visit but no idea how normal people can afford to live there.

I once had a French person tell me in a lighthearted way "the only people the French hate more than the English are the Parisians".

The main reason I don't like France is simply the language barrier and I don't think it's all that special or different than the UK honestly. Doesn't really do it for me. I don't hate it but I don't love it either and don't travel there unless I have to for work really.

But it's also the only place I've ever had anyone mock me for attempting to speak in the local language. I actually had a woman at a cafe laugh with another customer about the way I pronounced a word while ordering a coffee. I don't speak French, but I was trying and I didn't want to be one of those Brits who just rocks up and assumes they can speak to everyone in English. So I was doing my best! I understood enough French to grasp the exchange between the two of them though.

All that being said, it's just much more pleasant and enjoyable to travel somewhere you can speak the language. I can speak Spanish (and do my best in Portuguese), so I prefer Spain and Portugal instead. Or places where English is also a first language for many.

I hate Paris because I got raped there at 19. Everyone I know who's been has said they've been harassed there. I'd imagine that's why a lot of women don't like going. Women don't like being harassed or raped. 🤦‍♀️

I like other places in France BTW but you couldn't pay me to return to Paris.

There's a lot of anti-London posting on here too.

It’s a sibling relationship isn’t it? We moan about the French and say we hate them but underneath we love them really and wouldn’t be without them.

I think its mainly English people that hate the French on here anyways, hate them yet go to their gites and the inlaws holiday homes for the summer and are surprised there is French people speaking French and closing their shops half days !

I studied French at university, lived there in my year abroad, met and later married a French man, have lots of French family and friends.

I'm not a fan of Paris. I much prefer other places in France. Of course there are lots of wonderful things about Paris, but I disliked the brief period I spent living there. The metro is old and dirty and it does smell of wee!

I guess it depends which part of Paris you live in or visit. If you can afford to be in a nice part and can manage to get around without using the metro, it's probably lovely.

I think one reason I detest Paris so much is all my life I wanted to go, I learned French from age 6 because I wanted to live there, and it's portrayed as this beautiful, wonderful place and that first time I went, the reality was just so very different.
This is a documented phenomenon amongst the Japanese:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6197921.stm

Paris is cited a lot as the 'most disappointing place you've ever been' because of the gap between Real Paris and Fantasy Paris.

In every (especially Hollywood) movie you've ever seen Paris is the dream city full of beauty, romance, chic yet sexy inhabitants, delicious patisserie and stunning art and architecture.

The reality can be different. Dirty metro, traffic, racism, poverty, les banlieus, the Sacre Couer is littered with shit art and tourist tat, the Moulin Rouge is tacky, hotels and restaurants are ridiculously expensive and the best ones fairly elitist.

It's no different to any other major city in that respect (London, NYC, Amsterdam) but because Paris is SO FETED by movies and books it is a bit of a letdown sometimes. And it can be hard work - the people, the opening times, the crowds.

Disclaimer: I love Paris and France and even the French.

I’ve never noticed that, until that one person yesterday.

This cunt

I really like france and think it’s great for holidays. So many different options and I’ve never had a problem bumbling through with my GCSE level French.

However, Paris is just not that nice, it’s my least favourite city that I’ve visited. It reeks of urine, has far too many people aggressively selling tat and is overrun with rats. (I always feel a bit gross seeing those pictures of people eating pic is in front of the Eiffel Tower because in the evening there are SO MANY rats).

It’s also the only city where I’ve been approached by police and told to leave an area because it wasn’t safe.

I speak a decent amount of German, a moderate amount of French, and a courteous smattering of Welsh, Polish, Spanish and Italian. I've been to most European countries in the past decade.

Paris definitely stands out for cunty, unwelcoming behaviour, as do other parts of France to a lesser extent. And it's not my French - because the same French on Morocco or Tunisia is suddenly perfectly understandable.

Vienna knocks spots off Paris IMO for architecture and friendly locals. Other stand out friendly places: Gdansk, Mostar, Belfast, Faro, Barcelona. Bucharest is a bit mental, but in a friendly way.

I went in the 90's. I found a lot of very rude, impatient people and didn't think that much of the place in general. Over hyped

It’s a sibling relationship isn’t it? We moan about the French and say we hate them but underneath we love them really and wouldn’t be without them.*
Same as Scottish/English etc.
BiscuitsandPuffin sorry

I'm of French heritage. I hate Paris as do all my French relatives. It's dirty, has a massive homeless problem, has sat on its laurels for far too long regarding its food culture (I'll take Lyon over Paris any day) and it has a shit climate. A lot of it is really fucking sketchy too - ok, not Marseille-sketchy, but still far worse then anywhere in London or Berlin or Madrid. Oh, and add to that the huge levels of discrimination, bordering on apartheid, between Paris and the banlieues whereby you are basically subhuman if you happen to live on the wrong side of a road (yes, I'm aware this is a problem in other French cities too).

Cross-posted with BiscuitsandPuffin - also sorry about your experience

London is less of a let down because you know it's going to be gritty - it has a reputation for it. In fact a lot of the culture we export tells everyone it's going to be a bit rough (grime & Eastenders for example) Same with Amsterdam. But cities that market themselves as gorgeous dreamboats like Paris, Rome & Barcelona are always going to risk disappointment.

I went on a French exchange to Paris when I was about 12. My host family were so unpleasant and rude to me it put me off for life. I've never been back.

I've not been to Paris but I agree about the city thing, they are romatisised. We visited London recently and I love London but there is dirt everywhere people sleeping in rows on the streets beggars etc etc

I hate Paris, last time I was there I was ripped off by a taxi driver and someone tried to pick pocket me on the Metro.

I love France though, it’s a beautiful country. We always went on holiday there when I was a kid.
I’ve probably been 20 times and we always had a great time.

We have holidayed in coastal and rural France and enjoyed it and didn't find anybody offensively rude ! Some people were abrupt but not rude ime.