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

183 replies

ShoeSearch · 07/09/2023 12:18

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.

OP posts:
DuesToTheDirt · 07/09/2023 20:30

@MarkWithaC On French people, I will say that they're the only nationality where I find much more often than not that if you try to speak French, or even just say a loan word/phrase that comes from French, they get upset/offended at your accent or pretend they can't understand you.

Totally agree. I speak decent French (or used to, anyway), and I remember a train ticket seller refusing to understand where I wanted to go. When she finally pretended to get it understood me, she repeated the destination several times for my education. Hmm

Sometimes they'll speak English back to you, as your French isn't good enough for them - fair enough if you're a beginner, insulting if you're pretty fluent.

But of course, if you speak English to these people from the off, they get offended with that too.

Sure, it's not all French people, but it's more than a few. I reckon they've got a chip on their shoulder because English and not French is the Lingua Franca of the world.

RandomButtons · 07/09/2023 20:32

I hate Paris because it’s the worse place in the world I’ve been to as a young woman. Never been to any other city where the men sneer and stare and pinch or slap your arse like that. There are a lot of predatory men there. It’s the only city where I’ve literally had to fight men off a girl friend so that they (a group) didn’t forcibly take her away from the rest of us. We were 16 on a school trip FFS.

CremeEggThief · 07/09/2023 20:35

Envy and tit for tat mainly. "They don't like us and we don't like them" attitude.

Delatron · 07/09/2023 20:41

DuesToTheDirt · 07/09/2023 20:30

@MarkWithaC On French people, I will say that they're the only nationality where I find much more often than not that if you try to speak French, or even just say a loan word/phrase that comes from French, they get upset/offended at your accent or pretend they can't understand you.

Totally agree. I speak decent French (or used to, anyway), and I remember a train ticket seller refusing to understand where I wanted to go. When she finally pretended to get it understood me, she repeated the destination several times for my education. Hmm

Sometimes they'll speak English back to you, as your French isn't good enough for them - fair enough if you're a beginner, insulting if you're pretty fluent.

But of course, if you speak English to these people from the off, they get offended with that too.

Sure, it's not all French people, but it's more than a few. I reckon they've got a chip on their shoulder because English and not French is the Lingua Franca of the world.

Yep after living there for a year I was pretty fluent. But quite often unless you pronounce something perfectly they’ll pretend not to understand. Imagine if we did that to them?!

Or they would just speak English back. Very annoying.

Phos · 07/09/2023 20:42

I have some French heritage and speak fluent French. I don't like Paris. I think it's vastly overrated. It does seem somehow grimy in comparison to some other European capitals. We did encounter one very rude waiter but we also met some lovely people, our favourite was the guy waiting tables at a little cafe near Gare Du Nord (ok also not the nicest area, which is probably why we weren't wandering about) - he spoke no English, was so happy I could speak French and he was just lovely. The rude waiter was kind of funny afterwards, like "well that was our quintessential Paris experience then"

I do like other areas of France. Bordeaux and surrounding areas, Rouen, Poitiers and Pau are all lovely.

ThoughtEvokingReflectiveFemale · 07/09/2023 20:43

Dog poo.

timberho · 07/09/2023 21:30

timberho · 07/09/2023 20:14

Well au contraire, on mumsnet I find people fanatical about france and how everything is better there Confused

Exhibit A www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/4889466-french-school-meals

MargotBamborough · 07/09/2023 21:38

CremeEggThief · 07/09/2023 20:35

Envy and tit for tat mainly. "They don't like us and we don't like them" attitude.

It's pretty much one way though.

Most French people I have met seem to like us Brits well enough or, at most, just don't think about us.

We definitely aren't living rent free in French people's heads the way they apparently are in a lot of British people's.

lavenderlou · 07/09/2023 22:12

Like Paris, love, love, love France. Have travelled there extensively at least once a year for the last twenty years and often as a child- beautiful scenery, coastline, historic towns and villages everywhere and delicious food. France is the most visited country in the world so presumably there are plenty of people out there who like it.

lavenderlou · 07/09/2023 22:13

ThoughtEvokingReflectiveFemale · 07/09/2023 20:43

Dog poo.

In recent years dog poo seems to be much more prevalent in England than France!

MadamWhiteleigh · 07/09/2023 22:41

ShoeSearch · 07/09/2023 20:24

@MadamWhiteleigh that was not our experience of the metro this summer - my observations are more like @HappiDaze

That’s so weird! We saw homeless people living on the platforms….we had to queue 15 minutes to buy a paper ticket from the machine because there’s no other way …..manual doors on some trains…..these things are well in the past in London.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 08/09/2023 08:57

Other things aside, the Gare du Nord is ghastly and a disgrace to Paris.

everetting · 08/09/2023 09:03

I really like Paris.
Shop assistants are rude because entering a shop and not saying hello to the assistants is very rude. So they think you are a rude customer and act accordingly.

everetting · 08/09/2023 09:07

And go up the eiffel tower. It is a beautiful structure.

MarkWithaC · 08/09/2023 09:46

DuesToTheDirt, I think you're right about the lingua franca thing! Grin

MargotBamborough · 08/09/2023 10:13

everetting · 08/09/2023 09:07

And go up the eiffel tower. It is a beautiful structure.

It's more beautiful when seen from a distance! Especially if you then get to avoid the whole scuzzy Champ de Mars area.

Berlinlover · 08/09/2023 10:18

I’m Irish and really disliked Paris. Parisians are rude to everyone not just the British.

TropicalTrama · 08/09/2023 10:33

Shop assistants are rude because entering a shop and not saying hello to the assistants is very rude. So they think you are a rude customer and act accordingly.
I’ve never met a French person from elsewhere in France that speaks well of Parisiens, including my own Aunt who is from the suburbs 🤣, and they obviously all know basic social etiquette like this.

MelodiousThunk · 08/09/2023 10:47

TropicalTrama · 08/09/2023 10:33

Shop assistants are rude because entering a shop and not saying hello to the assistants is very rude. So they think you are a rude customer and act accordingly.
I’ve never met a French person from elsewhere in France that speaks well of Parisiens, including my own Aunt who is from the suburbs 🤣, and they obviously all know basic social etiquette like this.

Exactly, the elephant in the room is that <<les provinciaux>> loathe Parisiens and Paris just as much as everyone else. More so I find than non-Londoners hate London (although that is a big thing in the UK too).

MargotBamborough · 08/09/2023 10:51

MelodiousThunk · 08/09/2023 10:47

Exactly, the elephant in the room is that <<les provinciaux>> loathe Parisiens and Paris just as much as everyone else. More so I find than non-Londoners hate London (although that is a big thing in the UK too).

Show quote history

I don't know, I find it pretty similar to the way working class leave voters loathe remainers and vice versa. And it is very much a generalisation.

The French love to moan but most of them don't hate anyone.

Spambod · 08/09/2023 10:58

I visited the posh bits many years ago for a wedding and found it ok. When there on a work trip we all found the people unfriendly rude and the food terrible we were also warned about street crime and not to venture from our work group. My husband works for a global company and Paris Is the posting no one wants due to crime apparently street crime and burglary are commonplace. My mums friends went for a short trip there and said they found it intimidating and felt afraid due to crime and the people on the streets. These are all anecdotal, true and very different real life experiences of it being a crime ridden hole.

senua · 08/09/2023 12:08

Shop assistants are rude because entering a shop and not saying hello to the assistants is very rude. So they think you are a rude customer and act accordingly.
Several people have mentioned this. Can someone explain: why is it up to the customer to say hello first? If the shop assistant thinks a 'hello' is so important then why don't they initiate cordialities.
It's nothing to do with politeness, is it. It's a power trip thing.

MargotBamborough · 08/09/2023 12:33

senua · 08/09/2023 12:08

Shop assistants are rude because entering a shop and not saying hello to the assistants is very rude. So they think you are a rude customer and act accordingly.
Several people have mentioned this. Can someone explain: why is it up to the customer to say hello first? If the shop assistant thinks a 'hello' is so important then why don't they initiate cordialities.
It's nothing to do with politeness, is it. It's a power trip thing.

It is what is considered to be polite in the country you have chosen to visit.

Can lead to misunderstandings all round if you don't know about this custom, but now you do.

MargotBamborough · 08/09/2023 12:36

For what it's worth I've just walked into a shop in Paris and both members of staff politely greeted me as I walked in.

Ohthatsabitshit · 08/09/2023 12:37

@MargotBamborough thats very standard manners in France.