Do I need to know French to live in France?<\/a>.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n5. Wearing the wrong bathing suit to a pool <\/h2>\n
In France, men must wear tight bathing suits to the pool, not loose bathing shorts. If you show up in beach-style trunks, you will be denied entry. This rule was created to preserve cleanliness of pool water. The logic is that authorities cannot be sure that your beach trunks have not been worn outdoors and collected dirt, whereas they can be reasonably certain that your Speedos have never touched the seats of the Paris metro, for example. <\/p>\n
It’s also rare to see women wearing bikinis at the pool. Opt for a one-piece bathing suit instead. <\/p>\n
6. Showing off your money <\/h2>\n
Ironically, people in France, the land of luxury, do not like outward displays of wealth. As such, avoid talking about how much money you have or swinging around your Gucci bag. It\u2019s absolutely okay to own brand names, but consider sporting them in a tasteful and subdued way.<\/p>\n
7. Being early or on time to a party<\/h2>\n
If you\u2019ve been invited to a party, don\u2019t show up too on time, and especially not early. Instead, arrive 15-30 minutes late. This gives the host more time to prepare, and you also avoid being the lone guest for too long. But if you are good friends with the host and you know that he or she appreciates punctuality (or if it\u2019s a type of gathering that necessitates punctuality), then this rule would obviously not apply. <\/p>\n
8. Expecting guests to bring dishes <\/h2>\n
The concept of potluck buffet doesn\u2019t exist in France. People might bring a drink or some snacks, but no one will be bringing a full dish to your dinner party. Keep this in mind when organising a gathering to avoid under-preparing the amount of food required. <\/p>\n
9. Not sharing your alcohol<\/h2>\n
If you\u2019re from some parts of the world, you might be used to BYOBs (parties or gatherings where you bring your own beer). You bring alcohol for your own consumption, and other guests do the same. This does not exist in France, where alcohol is meant to be shared and enjoyed together. <\/p>\n
10. Not making adequate eye contact when cheersing <\/h2>\n
The French are serious about their wine, and as such, you probably already know that you should clink glasses before starting to drink. What you might not know, however, is that you must be sure to clink and make eye contact with every single person. It\u2019s not enough to just hastily raise your glass toward the middle once. Instead, in France people expect you to clink their specific glass, look them in the eyes, and say sant\u00e9<\/em> (health), or something else of the sort. <\/p>\n11. Eating a burger with your hands<\/h2>\n
Burgers are often enjoyed with a fork and knife in France. I\u2019ve asked French friends if it would be rude to eat it with my hands, and though they always say it\u2019s not a big deal, I\u2019ve never seen them doing it themselves. So if you want to blend in, use your utensils. <\/p>\n
12. Taking debates too personally <\/h2>\n
Compared to people from Anglo-American cultures, the French prefer to speak their mind. They are less averse to debates and so are more inclined to share their opinions on topics that we might find sensitive. If this happens to you, try not to get offended or flustered, because many French people don’t necessarily see debates as conflicts, but rather as a way to strengthen rapport. <\/p>\n\n\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tTo learn even more about French culture, check out the interviews I conducted in
France explained by 3 French people (why they eat late, smoke, complain\u2026)<\/a>.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Having now lived in France for almost three years, I can say that I\u2019ve learned a thing or two about French culture and also made my fair share of mistakes. But I\u2019ve bounced back from my embarrassment to bring you the learnings I\u2019ve gleaned from all my experiences. Whether you are just visiting or moving […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":443629,"featured_media":422445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[899],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-426291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cultureactivities","pays-france-en"],"acf":[],"comments_count":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pvtistes.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pvtistes.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pvtistes.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pvtistes.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/443629"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pvtistes.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=426291"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/pvtistes.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":452695,"href":"https:\/\/pvtistes.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426291\/revisions\/452695"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pvtistes.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/422445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pvtistes.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=426291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pvtistes.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=426291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pvtistes.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=426291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}