Comments on: Do French People Really Wear Berets? French Clichés Investigated

By: Janine

Janine — Sat, 05 Nov 2022 01:11:23 +0000

I travelled recently from Màcon to Paris, through towns, villages and into “la France profonde”. Everywhere, streets, houses, public buildings, gardens, farms, road sides, railway sidings, everywhere,
was cared for.

By: Charli

Charli — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 19:16:26 +0000

In reply to Cliff. Thanks for the comment Cliff -- compared to NYC I find Paris to be very clean, but many Parisians don't think it is at all and this continues to be a big debate here!

By: Cliff

Cliff — Sun, 24 Feb 2019 20:45:43 +0000

D’accord ! Another cliché I have been asked about (j´habite en Paris) is if the streets are truly as disgusting as people have heard. Bien sûr, oui et non. Yes, sometimes I see dog owners failing in their duties, and humans (exclusively men so far) who can’t seem to bother to find a bathroom, but the streets get cleaned *every day* ! I have never seen a US street get cleaned that often, and even weekly is surprising. I have never lived in Chicago or NY but I have lived in Dallas-Fort Worth and I say Parisian streets are no worse than US streets, and most of the time are much better, depending on the weather and district. But don’t swim in the Seine.

For another anecdote of French hospitality, our landlady actually called the electricity company to help us set up our electricity account since we could not yet speak French at the time. Further, it is rare for me to even see French angry at each other, much less at me. If I start with “Bonjour” and am not rude I have never gotten a rude response. If I try to speak French, even badly, I am always met with people going out of their way to help.

By: Charli

Charli — Sun, 21 Oct 2018 02:19:11 +0000

In reply to David. Oui, je comprends cela, mais peut-être pas les anglophones. Donc j’ai écrit “and” et pas “et.” :)

By: David

David — Sun, 21 Oct 2018 01:53:00 +0000

It’s oui et non, not oui and non.

By: Charli

Charli — Mon, 20 Aug 2018 14:43:00 +0000

In reply to Roland Scales. Hahaha yes, this is true. I have only seen a French person wearing both at the same time once (tourists do it of course).

By: Roland Scales

Roland Scales — Mon, 06 Aug 2018 09:13:30 +0000

I own about 4 stripey tops and I also have two berets. I never wear them together, (a sartorial fail) and I have hardly ever seen a anyone on France wearing the two together. In fact the beret is seen as an item of regional clothing, and it’s usually worn by old gaffers, as I found for myself when I was trying to put up my tent, one windy day in France. I was wearing a beret, as it happened. A passing scout troop took pity on the old geezer and put my tent up for me.

By: douglas

douglas — Tue, 22 May 2018 20:39:00 +0000

They are much more formal than most other races esp. re. handshaking and kissing (2,3 or even 4 times), and their letters….!

By: Charli

Charli — Mon, 21 May 2018 18:56:28 +0000

In reply to Bethany. C’est vrai!

By: Bethany

Bethany — Mon, 21 May 2018 11:39:00 +0000

Occasional French people may wear occasional bérets. But when you see a whole family walking around together in bérets, NO WAY ! You know they have to be tourists. From Bethany, an American in Paris