I frequently hear this stereotype from people who haven’t been to France. I specifically hear that the French are rude to anyone who doesn’t speak French. My experience was that they can be rude to Americans who assume everyone will speak English. I would do my best to have a conversation in French, and the locals would usually take pity on me and switch to English.
I’m not denying there are unfriendly French people, but I would expect anyone to get tired of tourists who don’t make any effort to speak the local language.
Also, I think mainstream Americans expect people to be bouncy and grinning all the time or else they say you have resting bitch face and a case of the Mondays. In a lot of cultures, grinning at a complete stranger is condescending and makes you look foolish.
I frequently hear this stereotype from people who haven’t been to France. I specifically hear that the French are rude to anyone who doesn’t speak French. My experience was that they can be rude to Americans who assume everyone will speak English. I would do my best to have a conversation in French, and the locals would usually take pity on me and switch to English.
I’m not denying there are unfriendly French people, but I would expect anyone to get tired of tourists who don’t make any effort to speak the local language.
Also, I think mainstream Americans expect people to be bouncy and grinning all the time or else they say you have resting bitch face and a case of the Mondays. In a lot of cultures, grinning at a complete stranger is condescending and makes you look foolish.