There are many, possibly too many posts IMO on SFN moaning about the unfriendly and even rude French so here is one to redress the balance.
I would like to place on record my thanks and appreciation for the very nice French lady who let me take the taxi she had booked when yesterday Friday 22 Aug 2014 owing to a diversion for long term road works a different bus arrived at my stop and I boarded it in error ending up kilometres away from my place of work. Luckily there was a taxi waiting at a supermarket where I had got off and owing to her kindness I was able to take this to work and arrived on time. I also thank the taxi driver who was friendly and courteous. Anyone who says that the French are rude are very misinformed in my experience over the last 16 months since I moved here to live and work and quit the UK.
Thanks for making me smile this morning Catharine. I can now picture the little chipolatas skipping after la mère saucisse watched over by a large Savoy boar. Oh and here comes the English sausage herd. Doesn't he look happy! Sausage farms indeed.
Living in France it is necessary to understand the mentality of La France profonde, which is totally different from the large towns and cities.
Most french people have farming somewhere in their blood and a family home in the country which they visit regularly.
I could not live in a town without having a long view to wake up to each morning.
And make sure they don't keep it to themselves... my cat actually rattles his bowl, the racket is bad enough for us, I don't know what it must be like for him. No matter, he puts up with it to teach us a lesson!
Doreen, I can confirm there has been no change. They simply can't cope with their plumbing problems, the basement is rat infested and doctors and nurses go to work in their wellies. It's still supposed to be the best children's hospital in France, so I'm not sure about the others....
Cats are VERY clear about what they believe to deserve: the best money can buy, and then some! I didn't know that pin des landes worked as a stain remover, I've been using ox gall soap. I'd be happy to switch to a refreshing sprucy smell, so I'm going to keep my eyes open, thanks for the tip!
Steve, this has provoked some interesting opinions, on the whole the experience seems to be good. We live in the deepest greenest country and have found nothing but extreme kindness. For example this morning we have work going on outside to dig trenches to put the electricity underground. The guys asked me this morning whether they could tip soil on a piece of our land and I agreed. In return they have offered to level the land which would haev cost us a bout 500 € and as a favour to clear, level and plough up a piece of land for a minimal cost to allow us to start building our potager. Saving 1000€ minimum!
I guess it may also be about how courteous one is oneself. I am sure we have all forgotten the obligatory Bonjour occasionally, only to be met with the classic frosty look, and why not?
@ Doreen - what a pain. I'd be peed off too. I hate it when you're waiting for something and it doesn't arrive. Really annoying. Sending you a virtual cup of coffee and hobnob to ease the pain! x
@ Marie-Claire, we're in Les Landes and I use the pin des landes cleaning stuff - the green version is excellent as a pre wash stain remover for laundry too.
Your comment about Armani underwear made me laugh. Cats are soo pernickety aren't they!
I think it is impossible to generalise Steve. You're experience is (so far) limited to a decent city.
We on the other hand, have lived mainly in more rural French regions for the last 12 years and have found that in the main, the supermarkets are pretty dire. The fish counter in our local store is distictly fly-blown and a couple of months back I stopped at a large supermarket and ended up photographing the shelves in the meat section as they were covered in dirt and MOULD. I've never seen anything like it in my life and can't imagine any UK supermarket being in the same state.
Besides...if you complain in the UK, generally things happen. Here, they are more likely to call security and escort you from the premises.
And this isn't just about food stores. go to Leroy Merlin in Bayonne and there is ONE ladies loo which is invariably dirty. If it is even open. The last time I went the toilet seat was hanging off and the tiles were cracked. Hardly a good advert for their products. Drive 20 minutes across the border to Irun and the Leroy Merlin there has EIGHT gleaming ladies loos and a tapas bar and coffee shop. Guess where I spend my hard earned cash?
Catharine, I don't know where you live in France, but you can buy cleaning supplies which are produced in the south of France (a lot of miles if you live up north, of course), they are more or less the same value for money as the stuff you can get in supermarkets and are available in organic food shops. You can also get cat food, cat litter and non-bleached toilet paper (I skip that as I haven't found it ermmmm efficient...). The cat food I buy for our demanding prince is actually organic, but not produced in France (It's Italian, and, based on the price, no doubt designed for people who wear Armani underwear...). Nothing else fits the bill in his Grace's discerning eye.