Here, for instance? 
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Very true.
A few years back, our non-French folk were targeted, quite specifically, by unscrupulous salesmen… due to their lack of language, they believed every word the "nice"salesman said.
“but he read the contract out to us, in English… he explained everything to us, in English” they bleated…
Huh… right old pigs ear that was…
Some contracts we could nip in the bud… others, we had to fight in the courts…
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Yes, you see if this happened to me I would feel it was partly my fault for leaving myself open to it. I suppose it is the result of a lifetime of looking out for my family but I would not like to feel that my kids or anybody I care about, is in a situation where they are not well equipped to look out for themselves.
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One Brit couldn’t believe he’d “been so daft” (his words not mine) and I had to assure him that ALL of us can be misled, so easily… carried away with enthusiasm…
This is one of the reasons I am so often posting on the forum… warning folk to check and double check… and check again…
(Our Mairie was so aghast… they told me to pass the word around… that anyone being asked to sign a contract/whatever… was advised to visit the Mairie before putting pen to paper…)
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Apologies @Sandcastle. My attempt to lighten the mood may have struck ad glib, which I surely do not mean.
You are quite right about being ‘taken for a ride’ as a foreigner and paying a bit more but I have found even that has its advantages.
We found that our newly purchased house still had its 100 year old roof, so we decided to redo it before any leaks were sprung into our newly decorated interior. The tried adage of artisans preferring to work for the Brits because they pay up and complain less meant that we managed to get our work very well done (chosen from 3 competitive quotes from primo companies) just as the war began in Ukraine and the cost of new terracotta tiles went up. For us, paying 5-10% over another quote that wouldn’t do the work until 2023, if even then, over whatever the changing climate may throw at us, is worth it. And our excellent artisan agreed to raise the tile cost no more than 5%. Mercy buckets!
I can assure you that sometimes you have the advantage, you just need to not worry so much. My dearest French uncle would always tell me that no one is bothering with my worries, so why worry.
On the other hand, he did once yell at me because an old Chinese lady pushed in front of me for the bus and took the last place. I said “But she’s old!” He said, “Why are you worried?! They have sharp elbows. Tell her you were there first! In the next war you will be the first to die.” “No”, I said. “I will not because I have a store of goods everyone will want.” It’s true, I had enough old light bulbs to last us until LED advances of 2020.
About 30 years ago a very nice man appeared at the door offering to sell me a box of potatoes and a box of apples. What a good idea, but I was soon puzzled on seeing the repeated journeys of him and his mate between van and door. We ended up with enough to fill a short chest freezer.
Fortunately I was able to find a broken one for free at the local plumbers and with straw between the layers everything was preserved perfectly till finally all eaten.
I even was able to use the freezer, filled with water, to sit in under the trees during the canicule of 2003. 
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Very true. My partner had a close call today at the vineyard where she works. Someone had bought a domain name that looked remarkably similar to the genuine domain name for B&M Stores, and emailed asking to order a lot of wine for the Comité d’Entreprise. Luckily she spotted the typo in the name. Also when she called the phone number her Spidey senses were tingling… Not least because the guy who was pretending to work for B&M had clearly never been to one of their stores and kept mentioning things about possibly also stocking wine for “their more prestigious clients”
Possibly, but again, I do not like to play the sympathy card or be treated “differently”.
At my time of life having spent the greater part of my adult life here I can assure you I do not worry about these things but that does not mean I am not aware of them. I gave my personal view on living in a country without speaking the language and tried to explain why I hold that view. I was fortunate to have a certain level of French before taking a job here otherwise I would not have taken it, and I worked hard at improving when I arrived. I believe this has stood me in good stead. I do not think that my life here would have run nearly so easily and smoothly if every letter, conversation, email or phone call had posed a challenge with the risk of misunderstanding. I would have found it all too exhausting. Hats off to those who can cope with that.
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Watching TV can help a lot especially if you look out for anything with English subtitles (or vice versa). And having the French radio on, say in the car, with a station you like the mix of words/music on will give you the chance to absorb more than you think. Even if at first, and for a long while, you don’t understand a word.
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I used to have the radio on while getting breakfast… I was so excited when I found myself understanding… and telling OH…
“Oh gosh… there’s a fire…”
where?
"no idea… but there’s a fire !! "
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As someone who just today muddled se tromper with à tromper I’m not sure I’d agree that I didn’t look silly!
After some recent comments about people who say they “get by” with very little French I have made a mental list of issues that could have been problematic had I not been able to communicate. Examples, being hugely overcharged at a supermarket, mistakes in drugs at pharmacy, endless phone calls to track down a missing parcel. Just everyday stuff, and easy to deal with if one can communicate. But if not…
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I felt a right fool, after asking a lady when the baby was expected…
I’d completely zapped “enceinte” (pregnant)and “enseignante” (teacher)
ooops… she was very pleasant, considering she must have thought I was bats…
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In Spanish, take care not to say “Yo soy embarazada” when embarrassed - it means I an pregnant. Very startling for all coming from a 15 year old at an all girls school, I can assure you.
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I’ve already told the locals “I’m hot stuff” but, thankfully, they took such indiscretions in their stride… 
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I shouldn’t worry if I were you. This is a language in which “little cauliflower head” is a term of endearment 
(Sorry, no cauli emoji)
I used to write down what I wanted to say… to buy… to find… whatever…
just a few phrases using a dictionary…
I’d take a peek before daring to open my mouth… but having the crib sheet helped a lot.
and… when/if the poor assistant was struggling with my accent… I’d produce the paper for them to read…
Aha… they would read the words aloud… understanding…
and I’m thinking… YES … isn’t that what I’ve been saying… ??
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I wouldn,t worry at all,if you have enough money and don,t need to work,you can always get by,no problem.
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For me reading and writing is fine, asking is fine too, but I can sometimes struggle with replies. I often explain that because I’m retired, I don’t speak French all day long at work, so my listening to spoken French is not as well developed. And this often results in a compliment (at least I think that’s what they are!).
The only area of French life where it’s a real problem is a visit to the doctor. Fortunately so far I’ve not had to explain to my doctor (who doesn’t speak any English) a particular form of pain, but I suspect that there, I would struggle.
The language of pain is often very nuanced in English, ‘stabbing’ versus ‘throbbing’ etc. I’m sure many on SF are unfortunately far more familiar with this situation than me and I wonder if many have found this a problem interacting with a docteur?
Douleur is the most useful word, but with a range of descriptors. There are standard ones in doctor speak, but really anything goes. So if you want to say poignardé par une aiguille it will be understood in place of douleur pongitive.
If one is in pain, you find a way to convey it!
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What’s “Ouch” in French?