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The French are generally attached to politeness. You might be surprised to see that you are greeted by other customers when
you walk into a restaurant or shop. Return the courtesy and address your hellos/goodbyes to everyone when you enter or leave
small shops and cafes. It is, for the French, very impolite to start a conversation with a stranger (even a shopkeeper or
client) without at least a polite word like "bonjour". For this reason, starting the conversation with at least a few basic
French phrases, or some equivalent polite form in English, goes a long way to convince them to try and help you.
Note
that French spoken with a hard English accent or an American accent can be very difficult for the average French person to
understand. In such circumstances, it may be best to write down what you are trying to say. But tales of waiters refusing
to serve tourists because their pronunciation doesn't meet French standards are highly exaggerated. A good-faith effort will
usually be appreciated, but don't be offended if a waiter responds to your fractured French, or even fluent but accented,
in English (If you are a fluent French speaker and the waiter speaks to you in English when you'd prefer to speak French,
continue to respond in French and the waiter will usually switch back - this is a common occurrence in the more tourist-orientated
areas, especially in Paris).
Please note that some parts of France (such as Paris) are at times overrun by tourists.
The locals there may have some blasé feelings about helping for the umpteenth time foreign tourists who speak in an unintelligible
language and ask for directions to the other side of the city. Be courteous and understanding.
As France is a very
multicultural society, many African languages, Arabic, Chinese dialects, Vietnamese or Cambodian could be spoken.
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