Many thanks to Conde Nast Traveler.
FRANCE
Absolutely verboten: Talking money. Wages are almost never a topic of conversation, even in vague terms. Any long conversation about prices of real estate, schools, etc., is probably not a good idea.
Radioactive: Joking about France’s surrender to the Germans during the war—not really a laughing matter.
Definitely not: Asking a woman how old she is is even worse in France than in other parts of the world.
Not a good idea: Overly detailed discussions of dietary restrictions or requirements, which will make you look unreasonably fussy and “American.”
Ill-advised: The immigrant underclass and, conversely, the anti-immigrant right-wing movements (and how many votes they’ve gotten in a few past elections).
Talk away! The food, of course; and the other glories of French culture.
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Some of my Australian visitors this year should probably have paid attention to the “Radioactive” topic before announcing, out loud, on the Champs Elysees that the French are ‘cheese-eating surrender monkeys’……
This also made me realise why an entire group at a dinner party was shocked and scolded a women when she asked my age.
On the money topic though, it seems like its perfectly acceptable to talk about how much rent you pay, whether you got a bargain, whether you’re getting ripped off etc.
Very true about discussions on nutritional value in foods, eating a more healthy diet with lots of fruit and vegetables and more fibre – I’m often considered weird when I say I really feel like a piece of fruit, or when checking products in the supermarket for fat content and additives. Its much more acceptable to talk about being on a diet, eating next to nothing, what weight-loss supplement you’re taking etc. The French seem to believe that they have not in fact put on weight/fat, but have instead just have ” water retention”. Hence, loads of products in supermarkets and chemists for “losing excess water”.
The immigrant underclass – well, ain’t that an interesting topic. I totally agree with the recommendation here, its just ill-advised. I think the French have a real conflict between wanting to be humanitarian, and yet realising that this comes at a price (in the form of stupidly high taxes to fund immigration integration and sending some people back home – illegal immigrants that are caught or not granted residency in France are sent home with travel costs paid for and an amount of money to get them settled back in their home country. Not bad, huh?). Its just best not to even get started on this topic with Frenchies. Just let them talk, give their opinion, and subtly change the subject….