7 Things the French are WEIRDLY more relaxed about than Americans | France vs. USA:
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- čas přidán 2. 06. 2024
- If we compare the French vs. Americans, who seems more relaxed and chilled out? Who seems more stressed? Let's look at how relaxed Americans are versus the French about certain things. In this video, I took a look at USA vs. French culture and how relaxed the French seem to be about 7 things.
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Salut! I'm Diane, the American behind the living abroad lifestyle blog Oui In France. My channel's focus is "Everyday French life and beyond," so let me know what you want to see! I make videos on French culture topics, food, travel, language, and give you my thoughts about what it's like living in France as an American in the Loire Valley. Thanks for being here and if you enjoy this sort of thing, please share with friends and subscribe!
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Pas de dessert, c’est une punition!
Moi je n’aime pas trop les desserts. Ils sont trop sucés pour moi. Je trouve que les desserts sont mieux en France mais je préfère de juste manger mon plat principal.
PS pardon mes erreurs.
@@Eric-xh9ee bonjour, il n'y a presque aucune erreur dans votre texte, excepté "sucé" au lieu de sucré (le sens est très différent mais c'est probablement une faute de frappe sur le clavier), et "pardon mes erreurs", c'est plutôt "pardonne mes erreurs" (tutoiement) ou "pardonnez mes erreurs" (vouvoiement).
Sinon quand ça concerne la langue, on parle plus de "fautes" (sous entendu d'orthographe) que d'erreurs.
Quoiqu'il en soit félicitations pour votre français qui est très bon par ailleurs, et meilleur que celui de beaucoup de français 😉
@@tfjdfhozs3s849 merci beaucoup pour le retour. J'ai essayé d'améliorer mon français avec des apps en ligne mais tous le monde a utilisé la langue non traditionnelle alors c'était difficile de pratiquer. J'ai essayé de faire attention quand j'étais au lycée héhé
@@Eric-xh9ee c'était un plaisir, très bonne continuation 😉
au resto des grandes villes ou dans les brasseries, les portions sont souvent généreuses et quand vous avez mangés un plat avec boisson et / ou une entrée, perso je préfère juste un café pour clore mon repas parce que je suis rassasié et pour raison budget aussi !
On the late piece, here's a funny Paris story. I was once massively chewed by a doctor in the 7ème for being 5 minutes late... After the same doctor made me wait 45 minutes for err, 20+ times... So I decided to go out on a limb. I printed a fictitious invoice at 100€ an hour.. so 75€ x 10 times. I deducted my 5 minute delay. So on my next visit I handed him a "bill" for 741.66€ and then added "friend discount, amount due=0" He hesitated for a bit and asked me "Sérieux ?" To which I responded "Oui Docteur". He literally burst out laughing and asked if he could keep the invoice. He never stops talking about it and has it framed on his desk. He's still late. But he smiles now. Welcome to Paris :-)
@paestum70= Waiting in a doctor’s waiting room is absolutely normal in France. Many doctors are ‘conventionnés’, meaning that to get a decent salary they must process an uninterrupted flow of patients. The normal duration of a consultation is 1/4 hr; but if one has a serious problem, the doctor will take more time to investigate : so the patients in the waiting room expect the doctor - if he is a good doctor and takes time to investigate anomalies - to always be late !
But counting on a delay from the doctor and arriving late from the appointed hour is a risky bet: some days (maybe once or twice per year) there are no anomalies and the doctor is on time…. But it has never happened to me!
@@christianfournier6862 I know this, I've lived in France for many years :-) This doctor was a specialist-- an allergist to be specific- and was not "conventionné". The problem wasn't the number of patients- he was eternally late and totally disorganized.
that's brilliant. Love it!
on dit aussi "la ponctualité est la politesse des rois", donc être à l'heure à un rendez-vous fixe (médecin, patron, banque etc) et avoir un flottement d'un quart d'heure pour les amis et la famille histoire de ne pas faire trop intrusif... comme tout en France c'est selon les cas !
Au Québec, c'est l'exacte inverse.
Ah bin dans ma belle famille , si on nous invite a 12h00 , on y va pour 12h15 . C'est malpoli en France d'être en avance pour certaines personnes . Par contre le 1/4 d'heure pour les rdv oui ça se fait beaucoup .
@@jpbigpimouss surtout à Paris et d’angle sud
Et le retard est la politesse des artistes 😌
Interestingly, in the 1950's, the view on vacation time in the US was more like France. My Dad had four and eventually five weeks of vacation, and that is what he took. The company even put someone in to keep things in order while he was gone. We lived in Michigan and went to a lodge on a lake in northern Ontario for a month and then five weeks. It was heavenly!
I love the work/life balance in France. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to stay. I have embraced the French way of thinking about food. I enjoy what I am eating, enjoy preparing the food for me and my husband. I am looking forward to being able to go to a restaurant soon and have a lovely dinner...with wine and dessert!
Me too! Hoping they open up next month!
Aaaaah, the french way of life ;) not so bad finally ;)
I'm happy to see someone who like our country
@@xxnatendiusxx2959 most foreigners and tourists like or love France but not always the way French would want it and need it. It's like with beautiful women: many men like their company, enjoy looking at them, some will want to merry them to stay with, some want to posses them... It's more about getting and enjoying then giving and understanding. I wish more foreigners knew France better and saw its importance as one of the crucial actors in the world. That has nothing to do with the limiting ideas of "nationalism" or "grandeur" and not so much to do with the official politics. It has more to do with the essence of this country and its people and what it has to offer to the world. And it's also about these foreigners helping the French see their real strength and become confident about things they should be confident about. Often the French don't see their huge potential as it has been hidden behind the administration labyrinth and suffocated by the intricate law network.
The negative talk about "guilt" having a dessert is funny wherever it happens. Balance is important for France, I feel. I think you're right - portion sizes (not overeating) and no snacking make a big difference!
:)
I'm french, I snack, I take dessert, all time, and I'm skinny. We can take some sweet after the meal, the meal is healthy. Sometimes when I look US actors eating at TV I feel sick... What is this terrifying stuff in bottle they named cheese??? How it's possible to eat 6eggs every morning??? I take my snack, I raise with my dessert, and I keep my healthy cheese 😁
I think guilt in the USA is because of the obesity epidemic.
Not sure if you've noticed this Diane, but when I lived in France I found that they were much more willing to discuss topics that might be considered taboo in the US. At a dinner party with people you've just met, for instance, the topic of politics is generally not discussed in the US. Not so in France. And not only do the French seem more willing to discuss politics, but they do so with less emotion. Whereas in the US people generally avoid anything that might be lead to a difference of opinion with people they've just met, the French seem to enjoy debating someone whose views are different than theirs. I think that this consequently leads to a perception in France of Americans as not being sufficiently deep or thoughtful people. Anyhow, just my 2 cents.
That is totaly so French 🤣 "discuss" is a bit of an euphemism tho, let's say it can get lively, but we still love eachother in the end (most of the time...🤣) Christmas diner parties and other family reunions are often both anticipated and feared 🤭
This is mediterannean way of exchanging with each others. Spaniards, Italians, Greeks are frequently acting the same way.
I disagree , you don't discuss politics in france even within families..it's amazing for a french to see americans put republican or democratic flags outside their houses during election time
I'd say it depends. It's becoming more and more difficult to have a discussion about politics as the society gets divided.
Here in the Vendee 'the Vendee half hour' is expected. No one is ever on time, alway 30 min late. I also find that Weddings a by far more relaxed, sometimes even a bit chaotic. No bridezillas here.
Yes, love that weddings are more chilled out in France. I feel like so many people stress and spend so much money on what's supposed to be one of the happiest days of their lives and don't even get to enjoy it. And then it's over.
about time leniency in france one very important point is that when someone invites you over, the time they tell you is usually the time they expect to be ready to receive you so showing up earlier is actually inconvenient. you shouldn't show up 2h late, but arriving in the 1/2h following the time is the norm.
With my best friend, it is not uncommon to be several hours late :). Like, if you plan to meet at 13, meeting at 15 or 16 would not be unusual.
1/2 an hour late when your host has a roast beef in the oven or opened oysters isn’t cool
@@franciscouderq1100 except it doesn't work like that in france for 90% of people, as the "apéro" is a very important part of the dining experience , usually you start by having a drink and a few appetizer while talking for not less than 1/2h which is when you usually put your food in the oven if it cannot sit in the still hot turned off oven like when you do "rosebeef".
It is best to arrive the closest possible to the time agreed upon, but arriving earlier you might catch your host still under the shower, which is very uncool.
@@franciscouderq1100 If the roast is french, it will be 1/2 a hour late, too. AOC.
No, 15 minutes late is the maximum that is accepted.
30 minutes would be very rude, as arriving 5 minutes earlier.
Don't be late if I invite you.
I really enjoy learning all these little facts about life in France .
Come to visit us, that's real, we are a little bit rude, but we have a lot of humor and amazing landscapes!
@@nathnn3419 i went through dozens of tourists here in Rouen, Normandy, 80 percent of them Americans, and they told me that we are the sweetest guests...
@@MrSebfrench76 Ho, yeah, we know how to receive guests, but if somebody ask us for direction when we are in late... And I will always remember this guy from location boat, throwing a brick at the head of this poor Dutchman who had left without paying, believing that we were paying on the way back... Rentals guy who was otherwise a love and very funny as a friend. But I imagine US can be worst, this afternoon, again, (I work in tourism), an US tell me he come to live in France and searching for a house, because we are sweetest and less angry 😂
As a Brit living in France I have to agree about 'after sales service'. It's not good. There's no rush about rectifying anything and, if a repair is needed, the item goes back to the shop/supplier to be repaired with no replacement/substitute being offered in the meantime. However, I do like the fact that they always try to repair rather than just supply a new item no matter how frustrating that can be at times.
Ah yes, the "We will have it repaired for you extremely quickly monsieur......Perhaps 1 to 2, at most 43 weeks".
Maybe we don't have problem to finish our meals with a dessert is due to the fact that our dessert are great :)
Joke aside, I think it's a cultural thing as in France meals are very important. As an example, lunch time during the week, most of us have 1 hour to lunch and it's an important moment for us to chill out, joke and exchange on different things etc.
Holidays/vacation in France.. what to say... depending of the company you're in, you may have up to 8/9 weeks a year (or 5 weeks) :) Keep in mind that in France "we work to live, we do not live to work". Most of us don't see the point of having a lot of money in the bank if you cannot enjoy life, spend time with your friends or family etc.
God, I can't imagine to have just a week of holidays in summer...
Actually French don't need to have as much money as Americans because national health and work insurance and national retirement system mean that they don't need to put tens of thousand or millions to shelter from the future.
@@gengis737 Right answer. Our system was designed to give equal protection for all of us. Solidarity system, everybody pays the same proportion of his income via the "cotisations sociales", and when one has a health problem, that's the money saved by everybody who pays the bill. When back healthy, his money will pay the bill for another people. Very efficient and overall, must cheaper than the US system (say american economists). And once you enter in the system (starting with your first job, even part-time), it's for your life.
For the dessert part, 2 things that i want to say ! First, i have seen many people, adults, mostly women, actually not finishing their meal/main course at the restaurant to keep room for dessert.. Between finishing your plate and having no dessert because you' re full or leaving half of it and take a crème brûlée, the choice is quickly made lol Second one is about kids : if a kid doesn' t eat his veggies, saying that he or she isn' t hungry anymore, then the parents will say : so.. no dessert for you then, you' re full right ? And if the kid wants to eat dessert, he or she isn' t full so they have to eat all of their veggies.. Dessert can be leverage to force kids eating their greens, so it' s not a bad thing because more than 50% of the time, kids will choose to have dessert so they' ll force themselves to finish their plate. Bonus : i have even seen women running or doing sports in general just thinking about the fact that it will allow them to burn enough calories so they can have sweets. Not to look good or anything, just to eat dessert
ahahahah ! We've all heard that one: "Finish your plate or you won't have dessert"
I don’t see your point. You can tell your children they won’t have a dessert if they don’t finish the
I go on: if they don’t finish the main course while you eat your dessert.
@@iparipaitegianiparipaitegi4643 i don' t understand what you are trying to say
When I was little that was standard. No pudding if you didn’t eat the greens - and incidentally the fat on your meat.
My old aunts used to say when they were little you’d have to use the same plate and your plate had to be clean!
I don't normally comment, but damn, I love your videos. I'm lebanese and was born in lebanon. Lebanese second language is French. We are very similar to the French people. Our foods are very similar as well. Keep up the awesome work, I've been following you for a while now and just thought I'd let you know that you're doing a wonderful job. Thank you so much!
Vous trouvez que la nourriture libanaise ressemble à la nourriture française ? Je trouve que la culture culinaire libanaise est équivalente à la culture culinaire française mais les produits sont très différents. On commence à trouver du Tahiné en France, et parfois même du sumac mais ce n'est pas évident... J'adore la cuisine libanaise !
First, the Lebanese cuisine is a gift to the world. Second, I had some of the wildest and best party nights of my life in Beirut.
@@midas1929 I went back to lebanon 3 years ago for 2 months in summer time. Last time I was there before that I was a child. I had the best time of my life. The summers there are non stop fun. Nothing comes close and I've partied everywhere. Summer in The Village is life changingly fun.
Lebanese ppl are so obsessed with France
@@soureyya9300 There are many Lebanese or French of Lebanese origin who today contribute to the richness of French culture (Amin Maalouf, Louis et Matthieu Chédid, Mika, Guy Béart, Léa Salamé...), .
Here are two topics that I'd like to ask you to tackle s'il vous plait?
1. Discuss/compare French and American friendship?
2. Secondary school education between US high school equivalence and French baccalaureat ? Difficulty? Depth of knowledge? Personal preference? Merci.
Arriving on time in France: For invited guest, you must show 10 minutes past the invitation hours (NEVER exactly on time). For MDs, arriving late may cost you dearly by a long extra waiting time. NO we French are not late for everything, it depends for what.
You know hearing you say that French bosses know that their employees can manage their time off, makes me think that American bosses don't trust their employees enough to let them utilize time off. The work life balance here in the United States is abysmal and I don't see things changing too much even with Covid. I'm happy though that you live in a country where you can utilize your paid time off without being shamed for it.
Well depending on the employer, job nature and company it's not complete autonomy on when the employee use it's vacation time either: we must schedule it enough time in advance not to disrupt works, but the baseline is that the employer need a justification to refuse it and not the other way around and if he doesn't want to play fair... well he can discover that union are still a thing in France and can be a real pain in his butt.
@@enomiellanidrac9137 That all really makes sense, thanks for the input.
@@enomiellanidrac9137 not only unions, employers have to follow the Work law (code du travail) plus the specific agreements of the area of work ( convention collective) otherwise he could have problems ! La DIRRECTE, " inspection du travail" is a state sort of "work police" and financial penalties could be quite high !
French employers still were really distrusting of home office... until the pandemic forced it and they saw that it wasn't so bad.
And in that miss trust from the bosses, equals less than what the potential of the employees can bring. Because they have to watch their backs constantly in the US.
I once heard Gordon Ramsay (if I remember correctly, might have been another chef) say that "there are lots of different cuisines around the world, but there is only one pâtisserie" or something along those lines. So I guess it makes sense we tend to eat dessert more systematically than other cultures.
Thank you for your videos, Diane. It's really fun watching our French ways seen through the eyes of a good-humored American like you. I just have a little reservation on what you say about taking appointment times lightly: I would strongly recommend being on time on a corporate appointment in France, especially if you are applying for a job and undergoing an interview. Being late would unfailingly disqualify you once and for all... And you are also expected to arrive in time (and preferably a few minutes in advance) at your company every day and to respect deadlines. Failing to do so would undoubtedly (and rightly) cost you your job... The example of doctors that you take is an exception : for us, a doctor taking all the time he needs to investigate our condition thoroughly and to reach the right diagnosis and prescription is more important than the extra time spent in the waiting room when our health is at stake. Yes, in France we enjoy plenty of holidays, but then we can't afford to be slack at work...
One of my first shocks in the US was to see this poster at the Doctor's office warning you ( the patient) that you will be rescheduled and still charged if arriving late to your appointment! THAT is shocking. We are supposed to be understanding that Doctor's can be late for your appointment because of their line of work, and NO they don't always let you know when they're running late, and YES I have been left waiting with a sick child for more than an hour without even an apology. At least in France, you can appreciate that time matters on both sides, and everyone tries their best to be on time. That is how I see it.
Being early at a party is quite impolite in France as we wish to give time to the hosts to get ready. Also leaving early is frowned upon as if you're saying I'm not having a good time here; unless you let the host know upon arriving that you must leave early. Also impolite not to RSVP and still show up. I've found this common in the US and I just hate it! It comes from the cultural sensitivity that when you host you go above and beyond for your guests, it doesn't have to be fancy, but you put your heart into it, often home cooked dinners, etc...so you just need to know that the guests care as much as you do and also from a practical point of view, you feel more comfortable when you know for how many you're preparing! Again...sharing a meal is more than eating together for French people, even more so when they invite you. And don't show up empty handed: again, nothing fancy but bring something for the host!
For the interracial mariages, i tend to be agree about the fact that we, French people, are not really looking at skin differences. I think the major factor is the language and it is what unite the most a country in general. Speaking fluently French makes it easier for people to be accepted by the locals.
Le racisme existe en France mais il se manifeste différemment que celui qui peut exister aux us. Et tu as raison il est plus culturel (et ça historiquement parlant ! Le racisme colonial était très culturel et une personne colonisée qui s’assimilait à la culture française pouvait monter très haut dans la hiérarchie, on a eu un ministre sénégalais dans les années 30). Et tu as raison c’est très difficile de faire la part des choses entre le racisme et ce qui relèverait du mépris de classe parfois (dans la perception des banlieues dans le débat public par exemple).
france dont like communities. it is a nation. if you're french , you're french =equals. from north of france to reunion, guyana and new caledonia , *almost also african french speaking countries by extension(historically), we're the same but they need visas . No mariage problem. we consider an 'interracial' mariage as a success (we say mix). we get racism in france because of the unemployment rate (last immigration wave=communities, leaving in cheap areas= location classical speech:who want to steal work from other or consume taxes.. ) and some people who will never change(#religion)..
I completely agree with the comments above!
One of the problems with dessert in the U.S. is the gigantic portions restaurants persist in giving customers. It seems to get worse year by year. There's a severe obesity problem here, yet people sit down in a restaurant and consume vast quantities because that's what they're given. Afterwards, completely stuffed with food, the waiter or waitress will ask, "Did you leave room for dessert?" I always want to reply, "You're kidding, right?" My wife and I will often split a meal in a restaurant because the portions are so ridiculously huge. I'd be curious to know what food portions are like in France (I'm guessing smaller).
Yes. In the US, everything is bigger (even standardized stuff like McDonald's). In France if you take say an entrecôte with fries, the size will be very reasonable, not half a beef and a dozen potatoes. Keep in mind, the fanciest the restaurant, the smaller the portions, so don't go to an "étoilé" if you're too hungry. About desserts I would say while it's common to take one at restaurants, it's by no meansthe norm, mainly because people don't want to spend the extra money, and sometimes also because of trying to lose weight/keep weight down. At home though or at friends/family, a meal without dessert isn't a real meal.
About tardiness, French even have what is called "the quarter of hour of politeness" when they're invited to someone's home, because to not embarass our host being late in their preparations, it's better to arrive a little late yourself.
About television programs, it's just that French channels were mostly nationals (hence being less led by money from ads) and have a part of their program late in the night that is just blank or rebroadcasts that are just compressible, so extending a program is not a problem.
About "Interracial couples"... it's just that they don't talk about races. Apart from racists, French don't consider there are races among humans. It's even considered illegal to say there are. It's mostly in the US that this concept of races is that strong, and imho, responsible fo maintaining that level of racism.
About vacations, it's more than that: it's legally mandatory when you're an employee to take at least 5 weeks of them per year. If you don't, your employer can be brought to justice by inspectors who check that employees are well treated.
the point of view on races is very diverse according to the peoples. Some consider color skin as a negligeable trait and that this isn't enough to speak of races, others think it is and consider diversity make the world beautiful, others are racists. We also have a strong fear to be seen as racist simply by commenting the skin color of someone. So many tried to not speak about theses things. But it depends on the peoples, my family don't believe it's racist to say someone is black but it would be if someone use it as a excuse to bellitle the personn or insult it.
It's NEVER been illegal to say in France that there are many races among human beings!!! Collecting race data is not legal, that's totally different!
I lived in Sweden for 4 decades and find that Americans are more relaxed about money, accidental double charges on a credit card or waiting for reimbursement from an insurance company. Swedish companies are diligent about making payments. In the US, I have been asked to overlook an $8 double charge on my card (CVS) or wait one year for a reimbursement from my medical insurance company.
Something you will often find in a French restaurant / bistro, mainly at lunch time. A Set menu will often be 3 courses with a choice on each course, sometimes a small supplement on a particular choice. Here it gets interesting, they will often offer 2 of the 3 courses for a small reduction. Starter & main or main & dessert.
ONE course is plenty for me!
@@RottnwomanYou can get just that at lunch, "le plat". Starters and desserts are over-priced.
For the "customer service" thing it's just that french people are raised with the idea that there's a difference between a customer and a CLIENT , why would the person who's barely paid enough to make ends meet care about the ultimate rando that will never show up again when they could be spending more energy with the people that are actually TRYING to make a connection ?
about customer service = have you ever noticed that for the same product you usually get a 3 months warranty in the USA while you get a 1 year warranty in Europe?
About desserts : a big difference is perhaps that US desserts are more of the German / English kind , huge and creamy, while French desserts are much smaller with more importance on variety of smell and taste.
Also, French use the car much less than American, having to walk or take public transport from home to school to work. So that they burn calories effortlessly everyday.
Great point; also in a lot of mainstream US restaurants, portion sizes are HUGE. I’ve eaten in places where I had enough leftovers for another two meals. The last thing I would feel like is a similarly enormous dessert.
About nudity, bear in mind that when I was a kid South Park was rated 10, and they only rated it up to 12 now.
Many things rated R18 in america are rated 10 or 12 here (Kickass, deadpool, fifty shade, etc). You will rarely see something being rated 18 here (beside se/ual contents) the most high I have seen in regular tv was 16, and it's mostly with gory horror movies.
Even in music. I recommand you the great Mickael Youn aka Fatal Bazooka and one of his song named "Parle à main" and Yelle with her song "Je veux te voir", when those songs were out many kids of my age (10 and less) were singing those songs without understanding the lyrics xD
Je me rappelle que Plastic Bertrand chantait "Ça Plane Pour Moi" dans des émissions pour enfant le mercredi après midi.
I’m from Paris and to me, having sth sweet at the end of the meal is very important. When I went to Germany for a school trip, I was 12, the family that welcomed me never ate dessert at the end of the meals. I ended up missing sugar, and sometimes it would be so violent that I would compulsively buy everything sweet that I saw in the shops (like candies etc.), and spend my entire day eating candies, just to try to fill my problem 🥴
Of course it didn’t work because candies only make you want more sugar. It was truly not enough for me to eat sugar only in the form of a juice or a waffle in the morning. In France I always eat something for dessert, be it a fruit, a yogurt or just a biscuit, but it’s much more important than it looks once your body is used to it 😂
Dear American friends, remember : you're not supposed to arrive early if you're invited for dinner in France. It's stressful for the hostess who is cooking dinner. :-) !
For "interatial marige" as french I have hear the therme only from auther country translation. In general people (that I see) don't speak of "race" but of "(etnical) origines"
I confirm!
I really like how fair, direct and clear you’re in your comments. By the way, my dog is exactly like yours❤️. Love from Canada.🇨🇦
Thank you so much! What is your pup's name? Give him or her a kiss from me ;-)
I am an average, normal weight guy in Europe. In many cases, I do not manage to finish a plate in US restaurants. It is often too much for me.
I still remember my first visit to an American breakfast bar. We were astonished at the amount of stuff the Americans piled on their plates. Savoury and sweet all mixed together and maple syrup poured over the whole thing.
It was fascinating.
@@fainitesbarley2245 French here, both my brother and I experienced it as well. He loved it, I was mildly horrified and honestly couldn't help thinking "uh so here comes the weight issue" tbh :/
Haha a common misconception amongst foreigners who visit the US is that you're supposed to finish all of your food in one sitting. Most people eat what they can (or want to) and take leftovers to finish later. I rarely finish my meal at a restaurant, and if I did, I would be a bit disappointed that I didn't have enough leftover to take home.
@@BD-ze3ys We are fully aware of the "doggy bag" concept. But there is unvortunately also too much food waste.
5 weeks of (paid) vacations per year is the legal minimum - if you work full time, your employer can't give you less. And not only it won't be a problem is you use them, but it might be a problem if you don't use them, because it's a legal requirement that you get time off.
Personally, my mother is a fonctionnaire, and my dad work for a non-profit, wich means both of them get more vacations than that. So when me and my brother were children, they would take each year a full month of vacation in the summer to go on vacation (we'd spend the other month is summer camp), plus a week each at each school vacation (students get 2 weeks 4 times a year) so they could take care of us when we were'nt in school. That's a total of 8 weeks a year, for each of them.
Now, it's also because it's legally possible to work more than the legal time a week, and get more vacation time in exchange, which both my parents were doing.
This is not the norm, my parents definitely had more vacations times than the average French worker. But at the same time, it wasn't exceptional either.
Do you also have Long Service Leave? We in Australia get an extra three months of paid leave for each ten years we work. That's why there are so many Aussies in Europe every summer.
Maybe french are more relax because we spend our time moaning 😅
le sport national !
You bring up a good point ;-)
Peut-être que si on se plaignait moins on aurait pas le train de vie que l'on a. En se plaignant et en manifestant , on a eu : les semaines de congés payé, la sécurité social et bien d'autre acquis sociaux. Regardez les américains.... Ils manifestent rarement... et ben, ils ont pas beaucoup d'acquis ! Ah si ils ont droit d'avoir 3 jobs en même temps et des journées de 16 heures de travail.
Hi Diane, I'm a black American woman living in France and have seen that interracial relationships seem to be accepted, if not even just normal. The thing that I noticed is that there are many more black female/white male relationships than in the US, where I saw many more white female/black male relationships. Thanks for another great video!
Black female / white male is still super rare outside Paris.
I noticed this as well. I live in England, its similar to France. When i go on holiday there (France). I never feel uncomfortable going anywhere with my girlfriend. She is from Gambia in Africa. We traveled all over Champagne, Bourgogne and Franche Comte last month, nobody looked at us twice. When we visited the US, it was less welcoming. Connecticut was the most friendly, South Carolina, less so. Being from the US, you will know why i'm sure.
@@salkoharper2908 yes. In France and I'd venture to guess in Europe in general it's just normal to see interracial relationships.
@@PatriciaBrooksCarefreeExpat you need to add in the fact that hate speech is actively illegal. And unlike in the US, cannot be claimed to be protected. Being openly racist can, if you're a public figure of any sort, lead you to court. All the while it is not as easy to go to court than in the US.
In court they don't try to say that it's a form of pseech that is protected, they try to defend themselves by saying that what they said was not hate speech. Which makes the kind of very obvious hate speech we see in political contexts in the US much more un likely to happen in Europe.
For exemple, Poland is (or was at some point at least) under some sanctions from the EU for it's hard anti-LGBTQ laws. that went against the neutral-pro-lgbtq European stance and guidelines.
This also applies to racism, anti*semitism, islamophobia, anti-atheism, anti-christianism. Hence, hate speech, as a general thing, cannot be promoted, which over time makes the affiliated hate get toned down, diluted and finally dissapear.
@@majinslamer313 I do agree. Racism problems in France aren't color racism. it's cultural racism. And often the racism is tied to a lack of understanding, by the racist person, of how intricate the french history is with that culture's history. The brits, the germans, the two colonial empires (before 7 year war and African colonial empire) Etcaetera
Which actually makes me VERY annoyed at the american anti-racism movement being transfered to France. no that there aren't racism problem. But they are different, much more complex with a more intricate and complex background to it and thus require different solutions to be taken than those applied to the American racism problem (whic I consider to be much more "basic", much less complex)
Another 👍 great video Diane. Thank you so much.
You are so welcome! Thx for watching!
Speaking about politics is not only more accepted in France, but expected. I find ppl to be more willing in France to express their political beliefs, (sometimes in a heated debate). Even after a heated debate, they can still remain friends, (if that's how they started out LOL). Also people are expected to share their opinions ,when asked especially, and if they don't have one are thought to be simpleminded, (sometimes). Sorry 'bout all the parentheses.
With my family and friends we NEVER discuss politics... and money.
Racism exists in France, and probably in every country around the world. It's just more hidden: you'll see it in the hiring process, or what is said about a specific group/ethnicity. There are still generalizing words such as "noir" et "arabe" (those are the ones we hear the most often). But I would still think that racism is not as bad as in the US, and it's mostly concentrated in rural areas or some groups.
From what I've witnessed, French people mix up very easily. I grew up with many types of ethnicities and I am from one. In my closest circle, nobody never thought anything about having friends of all origins. My friends never seemed to see origins as a differentiating characteristic, we were all French.
Maybe my experience cannot be generalized but I come from the middle class of suburban Paris. So I guess, it's probably pretty accurate as a picture of France on this particular subject.
I am french, and i fail to see how saying "noir" or "arabe" is racism. In that case, saying i am white is racism too. But it is merely a fact, so how could it be? French people are french people. Color is irrelevant. But i fail to see why it would be weird to acknowledge individuals for what they are. But it is true i was called racist in the past for just saying someone was black. For some reason, black people whose families originate from Reunion, Guadeloupe, Polynésie or such places don't have such problems with being black, from my experience. I really feel that black people in France tend to push their fears of being discriminated based on colors on us as soon as we simply notice they are black. There is nothing wrong with being black, and there is nothing wrong with pointing i am white. I could never understand that. But i am so glad we don't have this "racial" stuff in our laws and rules like in the USA. And that we don't have African french. Only French.
@@nox8730 Give it a few years; it’s coming.
@@richardpowell1772 I am unsure of that. France is not the UK.
Almost every person I know who has been to the States says that the meals are far too big, to the point that some even say they were put off eating anything. Look at obesity rates in the States and you can see that my acquaintances are probably not exaggerating.
Restaurant meals are generally bigger but the good thing is, doggy bags are quite common!
Great video as usual...Thank you xoxo
The thing about interacial couple is that we don't really care about "race"
Love just happen and ethnicity doesn't matter (unless you're racist)
This was interesting! Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
You talk about desserts but make no mention of the previous course, the cheese! I use this to finish the bottle of red before having a Montbazillac with the pudding.
It seems to me the awards shows would often go over by as much as 30 minutes when I younger. I'm not sure when that change happened but I remember it being discussed at the time. I believe you talked about this already but another thing the French are more relaxed about is taking time for meals. Most Americans are always in a hurry and sometimes even pressured to leave a restaurant to free up the table.
I agree with everything except don't show up late at a doctor appointment. They sometimes are late in the "rendez vous" because they take more time with the patient that they thought they would but showing late at a doctor appointment is extremely rude.
Even if you have to wait then wait because if the doctor is ready to receive you at the time you should'have been there ad you're late, they will just take another person instead of you or you will mess up the whole schedule for everyone....
Being late to a dinner party you are invited to is so that the host have additional time in case they didn't quite finish everything. It's not that we are late just because we are more "relaxed" about but it's more a social convention so to speak. But yeah in general you are right about our time management ^^
Talking about the desert thing.
There also are people which would rather having an hors-d'œuvre or a bigger main dish than a desert.
I'm one of those lol
Very true! My brother would fall into that category as well.
I never comment, but please note that the concept of race is not the same between France and USA. As a french person I am really shocked to see americans speak about "Black, White... etc" and all the debat about this. The aknowledge a race is racist because we are all the humane race.
You will more heard french people talk about the geographic origin of somebody, and here there are still a lot of popular stereotypes/racism.
(And any polls or database with the "race" of people is totally forbidden in France)
So where is France's black president? Where is your Algerian president? If France really doesn't acknowledge race, then presumably it is mere coincidence that it has elected only white leaders?
There is a hypothesis that the obsession with race in countries like America is an attempt to confront its problems and correct its past sins, while the lack of such obsession in European countries is a way of sweeping similar problems under the rug.
I'm not saying I disagree with your argument - just saying that other ways of looking at the issue do have merit, and are not merely the byproduct of not being France.
@@cisium1184 In every country in the world it is all about race ..
@@cisium1184 French credo is that individual talent count, not "race". French revolutionary army of late 18th century had black generals and the soldier-citizens did not complain : Saint-George, Dumas, Séjean.
Yes leaders tend to be white, because statistically the most educated people tend to be white. With notable exceptions : African Eboué was governor of French Gabon as early as WW2, Senegalese Sedar Senghor was academician and congressman just after WW2 then first president of Senegal. Recently Najat Vallaud Belkacem and Rachida Dati were major political women, from North African origin.
France declared all citizen equals in 1849. Not after a civil war and one century more of racialist laws.
Of course racism is present, but not in the same terms as in America.
Is calling someone racist is acknowledging the existence of races, hence being racism.
Calling for racism can be racism.
Give it a few years; it’s coming. LOL!
America’s most recent toxic export, “woke” ideology, is spreading to Europe.
So, it’s coming and your country will be infected by it in a few years. God help you when it does.
In the general, anglo-saxons people think about meal as "scientific" nutrition when french people think pleasure, love and taste, that's all. We don't go to restaurant for feeding but for eating. I think that there's the main explication for dessert.
In the US attitudes towards dessert are sadly still impacted by Puritanical frowning on anything perceived as pleasurable and frivolous, an attitude in modern times that’s exacerbated by toxic dieting culture. Anything above a size 2 is considered “fat.”
Sorry I have to say something about desserts... Dessert are NOT an option! It is the only way to end a meal (afer cheese and before coffee ^^).
Very good video, and absolutely right!
Glad you enjoyed it!
If there is a benefit to the pandemic is that my work is insisting that we use our vacation: they're realizing how stressed everyone is and the need to get away. My work even created a special COVID bonus time for us to use either for caring for family, getting tested, etc.
Magic 💰 Money allows many perks, but one of these days someone will have to pay the bill...
@@towaritch Huh?
Hey, in France, if you are invited at dinner at 8:pm, you DO NOT have to arrive at 8. You should arrive after 8:15. We call that " le quart d'heure de la ménagère". ( The housewife's 15 minutes). Why ? Because it is polite to let your friends to fix everything if they are running late.
i might have a weird background because if we are invited to a family event, if we don't show up an hour early then we are late. and i don't know why lmao
"le quart d'heure de la ménagère"? J'avais jamais entendu. C'est marrant.
J'ai toujours entendu l'expression "le quart d'heure de politesse".
The first time I ever saw a biracial couple was in Paris in 1966, when I was a naïve young American student. Fast forward to American TV in 2021, when many commercials depict bi-racial couples, a reflection of reality in the U.S. Same for gay couples.
As usual. Great content.
About customer services, the companies have to provide free phone numbers by law
But they very often highlight paid numbers to trick people
L'UFC que choisir maintains a list of green numbers for a lot of companies
Showing up even a bit late to a medical appointment in France is not a good idea though, if you want to keep your doctor. 🤣
😄 love from Norway! ❤️
I find it interesting on how long the government takes to get things done and how much paperwork needed and multiple copies...
Yes, very true how long admin paperwork can take
@@OuiInFrance this may well be true, for me I have only visited France numerous times, and have never experienced any problems with government. :D
Hi from the uk
I believe that 5 weeks is normal across Europe and uk I have met with several engineers from the US and I am appalled by the 2 weeks allocated to most and then that a majority of employers expect its employees to not use the allocated 2 weeks. I would like the uk to take on the experiment being run in Sweeden that allows people to work 3 and 4 day weeks and in somme cases 5 and 6 hour days. They have reported better productivity with shorter days / weeks. What do you think of Europe vs US employment regulations
As a French, I am as well still puzzled and upset to have the customer service phone lines not for free…
I worked in the States for a large bank in the '70s and had two weeks paid vacation. No problem at all taking my paid time off all at once.
Thank you for a great video , love France as I live just off the coast .
Dating an American so interesting video on the differences Merci 😊
You're very welcome!
In anticipation of the five-week paid vacations that grownups are encouraged to take, French juniors have a minimum 90-minute lunch break at school during which they are literally taught to have dessert. And not to leave the table until everybody is finished.
Food is important in France, and it is highly respected. Portions here are smaller and of course, we usually have room for desert. However, whenever I'm in the US, I hate the way people throw their napkin in their half-full plate at the end of the meal, as if food was not important and could be easily wasted. This infuriates me everytime! Take smaller portions in the first place. Take some more if you need to but please, stop waste food! That's another cultural difference: I want quality for my money (FR) vs. I want quantity for my money (US)...
idk how that compares to the US, but swearing in general is very common in France, with friends, but also with family members and colleagues, we insult each other (jokingly, most of the time) a lot. it's still important to find a balance of course, we don't do it with strangers, and if we know someone is sensitive to that then we don't do it, it's all fun and games.
Have you ever heard of the "quart d'heure de politesse"?
When you're invited in France for exemple at 8 p.m show yourself at 8.15 p.m, this way the host could end of all details and no one get pressure on.
Thanks!
Thank you so much, Laurette!
I had this picture in my mind of Amercian's people way more relax than french people, i went 3 weeks in NYC and i noticed that in the street for example no one look at you no one cares everybody's doing his own life, in France that's not the same there is a judgment atmosphere everywhere (or maybe its bcz NYC is a big city and i'm not living in a big city but still)
I loved the short time I lived in France. Thank you for the great video. I quit trying to explain the differences to my friends here. It seems to always devolve to it being socialism. Lol. Like American people don’t have socialism. But I digress.
Socialism is a very toxic word in US, but american don't know at all what socialism means, even less communism. They still stick to the Mc Carthy era's ideology, without being aware that it was pure propaganda. It's always surprising for a French to hear that his country is communist, because France never was and never will be because we know for real what communism is, which is quite different of what americans think it is....
one of the thing that shocked me the most that you said in this video, is the fact that it’s almost a shame to have dessert in america. while in france, it’s really normal. it’s part of the meal tbh. it’s even more weird if you don’t have dessert at the end, and people would think that you’re on a diet (at least it’s like that in my family). usually, at the end of the meal, you have like a yogurt, or sometimes cake but it’s usually yogurt and ice creams especially when you’re a kid. there’s even a lot of dessert adds on the tv. I’m 17 and still live with my parents. I’ve always lived in france and never left the country, so I didn’t know about that. since I was a kid, I’ve always had dessert. it’s literally part of the meal to me 😂. so the fact that some americans tends to be judgy when you have dessert is really weird to me lmao. the cultural differences are crazy!
@lena because there is no rule in the US when you can have dessert, people tend to be chubbier than people in your country. That's why they feel guilty when they eat dessert.
@@veelash3505 oh okay! thanks for explaining!
In France it is a law that every employee can take 2 weeks of uninterrupted vacation during the summer months.
At least two weeks...
Do you find the generally more relaxed attitude about work-life balance to contribute to or impact family life and quality time? Parental leave and how employers and colleagues view it? I think our American way of work and time off, parental leave, etc are very detrimental to our society in how we live and care for ourselves, our children and our elders. It seems backwards to me and I’d love to hear your thought and observations from a French and perhaps even general European way of life.
"In 2019, ranked on GDP per hour worked, the UK came fourth highest out of the G7 countries: France 1st (77 USD per hour), US 2nd and Japan 3rd. UK productivity (64 USD per hour) was around 17% below France and the US." (commonslibrary parliament uk research-briefings sn02791)
About TV and commercials: in France, you pay a yearly tax for general purpose TV networks. It is called "redevance audiovisuelle" and it is collected through le Trésor public (the dudes that collect all public money, ranging from income to municipal taxes). It's not cheap either, something like 135 euros a year. And nobody is spared: I am a Canadian with an apartment in Nice. Have not been there for ~20 months (due to pandemic) but the tax was collected nonetheless...
The TV tax "redevance audiovisuelle" was abolished in 2022.
When i visited Francei wish i had watched this before i visited France. Oh well - now i will know more for my next visit.
☮️💟
Quote "Man is the sole animal whose nudity offend his own companions ..." Stan Muir
Why didn't I move to France years ago?? I've watched, and enjoyed, many of your videos and I have so many ways of living that are the norm in France. 😀 TY
It's very normal to have people on vacations, so we just deal with it. Like "where is Martin ? Oh he's on vacation for a week, okay" and we just move on. Except for really high positions or important tasks that absolutely need to get done, we'd never think about interrupting someone's vacations.
About interracial couples, I think most French people are at least okay about it as long as it's not in their family. They're not judging the idea of interracial couples, the problem is that someone from another culture is entering their family, if they have any problem with that (which is not the case for most people, at least I believe).
Unfortunately, about the cursing and nudity thing on TV, it's less and less true in France. Well, it's still very far from what can be seen (or not seen) on US TV, but more and more programs have been using the "US bip" for about 10 years now. It's not on all cursing words like in the US and, fortunately, most channels don't use it at all... But still, this useless bip feels quite annoying here when used. Concerning nudity, it's not an issue like in the US, but if you compare programs from the 90s or 2000s and the ones from now, you often feel that "no, that would not be possible now", as if viewers got slowly used to have less and less nudity on TV over the years.
Yes, definitely true about more and more censorship although I still hear putain regularly on prime time programming on public channels, like even kid-friendly shows like The Voice. No way would that fly in the US!
When I would visit France in the 1980s and 90s any television commercial involving bath products was sure to show a woman seins nus, most usually in the shower. Not nearly as common now. The beep on American television when someone uses the F*** or SH** words actually calls attention to the vulgar language rather than obliterating it. We can always guess what the character was saying.
@@timotheelegrincheux2204 I remember seeing a nude woman for a yogurt commercial when I was a kid and i wasn t shocked by it, if you don t turn it into a big deal it won t be...
@@2222titia I was not complaining about seeing bare breasts.
When i was a kid, in the 70's, nudity was very common on advertising boards in the street, or in the subway, at the bus stops, in magazine and newspaper. But strong language, swearing although not really censored, were extremly rare on tv shows or radio broadcast. Movies or play were not censored.
In France, any business legally has to provide a free customer service phone number, so yes usually they display the one for which you have to pay but if you google it you will find the free one because it's mandatory.
Regarding desert, I feel like it depends on your environment, I felt less guilty eating desert in the USA than in France with my colleagues who were uptight about gaining weight or whatever.
Uuuh Doctor appointment I wouldn't treat as optional. Sure, patient typically wait as overtime from previous patients adds up but when someone miss the appointment it can be reset and if you're not there on time for your you can *easily* be canceled.
On the dessert bit, I will say, America does have the tendency to serve larger portions! So I guess this would influence more often than not when we take a dessert or not and how embarrassing it would be. However, I think the concept of “room for dessert” is pretty universal for any culture having a dessert haha
6:58 - Ha, I'm from the US and am in my mid 50's and I have literally never gotten any heads up, call, text, or what have you, that a doctor is running late. And I find that being on time is the exception rather than the rule for doctors. Maybe I need to try another state!
Wait until you have terminal cancer and the doc is over an hour away. They call and let you know the doc is 2+ hours behind because they know what a rigmarole it is to get in the car, physically painful to wait seated for that long, etc. Or maybe our doc is just extra considerate.
@@OuiInFrance Sorry to hear that. Glad your doc is considerate.
@@GS-lq2is Yeah, my mom had a good medical team. But I’m sure there are more out there :-)
American restaurants: Huge portion size+ poor quality+ Free soda refillsl+ (mandatory) tips= bad experience for the customer. I generally avoid going to restaurants.
I sometimes take 2 weeks vacation two days before leaving and it's ok ^^
No I never agreed with that and I'm french.
“Avant l’heure c’est pas l’heure, après l’heure c’est plus l’heure” …..et je ne suis pas Suisse .🙂
I don't agree with point 5: I am french and can not tolerate people who are late, particularly doctors. If they are very late, I always tell them that this is not ok. I see it as a sign of arrogance on their part: because they are in a superiority position, they sometimes feel they don't need to apologize as if the patient's time did not matter . But this is changing.
Concerning interracial mixing, a clear difference is that the notion of "race" is not really central in France, at least the word itself is less and less used.
Actually, the less you work, the more effective you are. So it compensates.
Each person should decide for themselves who they are friends with and who they get married to. Everyone from one place is not necessarily like anyone else from that area.
J'avoue que tu nous cernes vraiment pas mal! :) La règle est simple , Apéro, entrée, plat ET dessert! #onnaquunevie
What tv show was shown where a guy is doing naked jumping jacks?
I work in California and have to guard every word I say for fear one person may find a way to file a grievance against me so I don't even discuss food, shopping or anything seemingly neutral. Same for images we use in presentations, that cat offends me because you are belittling obese people, omg it's a cat sitting in a funny position, give me a break!
That you Diane for the different perspectives.
Cheers!
Oh! One thing I am curious about is litter. So much litter here, in the city and rural roads. I've seen people pitch bags from their car window. Is litter a problem in areas in france?
I am French and this is exactly that!
There's a saying in German: If you arrive on time, you're already late! 🤣 But don't believe that ALL Germans are punctual!
Well, when I served in the French Navy, the motto was "to be on time is to be late" !
5 weeks of vacation! That sounds fantastic
And when you have a nice job you expect more...
And that’s the minimum.
Yeah I got 8
Maybe you can take some time off without pay. After all, they are getting paid less per year to compensate for that.
It sounds NORMAL!
Please tell us about how important perfume is in France!
true tradition for dessert in france : madam feels guilty about having a dessert so don't take one but eat half of mister's one