Living in France as an Englishman/Woman - What do you think when it comes to Holidays?

[Nick65]

OK, so you have now been living in France for (?) years - Summer time approaches and you know the English are coming over for the vacances -

What do you think?

Oh God here we go!!

They don't even make an effort to try and speak the language!!

See which one gets drunk first??

or maybe you think

At least they are making an effort to speak

How do you feel know you live in France - Do you get embarrased or do you think great to hear an English voice?

I often wonder what it would be like to live in France and hear the English approaching at Summer?

This is NOT mean't to be a dig at the English, but more like do you get homesick when you see them? Sort of conversation

[Kitty]

Summer in France, with the English arriving, means that I'll be able to buy a daily UK newspaper instead of having to read the news online...

 

 

[suzy]

Speak French and avoid them like the plague !

Sue

[Cendrillon]

I hate it when Super-U start their announcements in English but then perhaps some of our clients like that[;-)]

[Gluestick]

Or pretend you're Swedish: as I have done for years when travelling in France....................

 

[Sunday Driver]

English people coming across to our country are the same as any other tourist.  They enjoy their holiday visit and spend their money here, so why on earth would anyone in France consider not extending a welcome? 

If you lived in England and you encountered a French family having a struggle with the language at a Tesco's checkout, I expect you would offer to help them, so why the snobbery about the English in France?

 

[Cendrillon]

Yes, I agree and would always help them out with the language it they are having problems but don't like the bi-lingual announcements.

[Renaud]

Patrick Campbell wrote an excellent if slightly cruel short story in the 'Penguin P P P Patrick Campbell' on the subject of 'Ot Hunting' on the Riveria.

As I remember it, an Ot hound - ideally a swimsuit clad young lady carrying an English newspaper - would position herslf near her prey, typically a pink, perspiring man who obviously was at the start of his holiday.

Wagers were placed on his conversational opening gambit.

"Ot, init" scored highly. 

[Sunday Driver]

If French people living in the UK heard that their local Tesco's were providing French announcements to help visiting French tourists, do you think they would object?  What about the French announcements on English ferries or the Tunnel?

Or is it solely the English language that we seem to be embarrassed about?

 

[Frenchie]

[quote user="Sunday Driver"]

English people coming across to our country are the same as any other tourist.  They enjoy their holiday visit and spend their money here, so why on earth would anyone in France consider not extending a welcome? 

If you lived in England and you encountered a French family having a struggle with the language at a Tesco's checkout, I expect you would offer to help them, so why the snobbery about the English in France?

 

[/quote]  Seconded.. I am french, and I appreciate it when I am welcome and people speak to me kindly atWoolsworth or tesco, and I would hate it if British people didn't feel welcome in my country..

 

[Jacqui Too]

 

[Gluestick]

Gary:

Surely, the OP was alluding to Brits living in France, avoiding the naff English speaking tourists?

At least, that's the way I read it.

You know, those who speak ever more slowly (as if the listener's mentally retarded) and ever more loudly (as if the listener is stone deaf!). Wear appalling shorts; wear woolly socks with either dirty trainers or Addidas flip-flops! A back to front baseball cap; Rude T shirts; enjoy a huge gut; builder's bum; demand burgers and brown sauce and Red Barrel and complain bitterly about the bread, cheese, wine and the fact that no one seems to speak English! Constantly try and ask locals where the nearest McDonald's, Kentucky Fried Cat, Piza Hut, Chinky, Injun or Kebbab bar is!

You know; those sort of delightful delegates of everything that is so great about Britain!

I've enjoyed many a pleasant time, assisting French tourists in London with routes and directions: they have often been confused by the tube system.

That said, I've taken great pains to avoid (e.g.) drunken Scottish Celtic fans in London, the night before a match!

Once my colleague and I were locked into our "local" in Kensington, when mine host barred the doors as hundreds of Celtic fans rampaged through the street, clutching cans of McEwans............................

Imagine that! Locked Inside a pub! Terrible fate.

And I've avoided the Great Brit Abroad, successfully in Spain, Greece, Italy, France, Holland........................................................................

[:D]

 

[cooperlola]

In the middle of June, we are of course inundated with British tourists, here.  They are like any other group of people - diverse.  Some are chavs who behave badly; others are charming and pleasant.  The former are easily recognisable as they tend to have very short hair, drink too much beer and not enough water, wander about with no shirts on when the temperature is over 30 thus rapidly becoming the colour of the average lobster, and never attempt to speak even one word of French (I don't mean they're not fluent or anything, only that they cannot even be bothered to say "hello" in French).  They are, thus, easy to spot and hence avoid.

[raindog]

Don't really get that many round here....more German, Dutch and of course French

[Cendrillon]

[quote user="Sunday Driver"]

If French people living in the UK heard that their local Tesco's were providing French announcements to help visiting French tourists, do you think they would object?  What about the French announcements on English ferries or the Tunnel?

Or is it solely the English language that we seem to be embarrassed about?

 

[/quote]

S.D.

When I am shopping in France I want the French experience and not have shop announcements translated, especially when they (S. market) are wishing me a wonderful holiday in their region or telling me how to benefit from the loyalty card which the majority of holiday makers would not need anyway.

Travel information announcements are different IMHO

If I wished to be surrounded by my fellow countrymen / women and English cafês and announcements then I would have chosen the Costa Brava as an alternative.

[I] Anyway, have just realised I am not qualified to answer this question as I don't live in France full time[Www] 

FWIW I do have a Super-U card though LOL[:)]

[Just Katie]

You really are an odd bunch.  Did you all purchase your properties before holidaying in France?  Of course not.  So what made you purchase in such place where 'snobs' hide from you in embarrassment for being British?

[Nick65]

Surely, the OP was alluding to Brits living in France, avoiding the naff English speaking tourists?

 

Yup that's the whole point of this - I just wondered what it would be like to be an Englishman in France and how you see things from the new perspective of not being an Englishman/Brit on holiday.

What are our European friends like when they come on holiday? Do they do the same as the Brits or ?

You see all these thinsg about the Brits getting ratted and smashing up places, but do you hear in France or Spain or wherever about local French teenagers or whoever doing that? Is it just the British culture or does it just not get reported in the UK press?

Please note I am not here to start a wind up conversation just interested to see if it is the Teenage way or the papers spreading there filth?

[Will]

I think you just need to travel on a ferry with a coach party or two of French teens to see that they too are perfectly capable of antisocial behaviour (e.g. Portsmouth to Caen yesterday). There are plenty of stereotypes of different European (and other) nations, the English do not have the monopoly in this. Though the British tabloid media has a lot to answer for - those papers intended to appeal to the yob culture do a great job for xenophobia, while the 'Little Englander' ones enjoy exaggerating the effect of that minority of yobs. Most people, particularly the English, behave perfectly reasonably, but nobody notices them.

However, wanting to avoid one's fellow countrymen when one goes to live in another country does seem to be a trait peculiar to some - thankfully not all - English abroad. I'm on Katie's side, though it seems that we are in a minority.

 

[Gluestick]

Well a little story which is truth, Nick.

A few years ago I was travelling one Saturday by train to London for a council meeting of my professional body: I had papers all over the seat, reading and preparing. I live at the end of the line and the train stops and meanders through Essex until it reaches the City.

At the next station, the door of the carriage opened and four French students got on.

They industrially examined an A-Z and plotted their day: between the Tower of London and points West until Buck House.

They spoke quietly and beahaved with dignity.

When the train reached the main town of our local urban sprawl, the doors smahed back and a load of unruly oiks leapt in

It was apparent they were football supporters, travelling to East Ham for a match.

After a bit, one young oik with a gravelly voice started reading from a paper. It was - I later learnt  - an "Underground" supporter's weekly paper, full of scurillous comments about other teams and their players.His language was, to say the least, shall we say, fruity.

Leader dog posed a question: "Wots the difference between an Essex gel an' a Man U supportuh?"

"Dunno" came the erudite answer from a few of his colleagues.

"What's the answer, Wayne?" said a young maiden.

"Nuffinck!" said Wayne, "They both wenter Spain and they boff got screwed!"

(I discovered afterwards that apparently Manchester United had played in Spain and had been soundly beaten.)

After a pregnant pause (And I promise you this is verbatim!), the young maiden said, "'Ere, Wayne! I wenter Spain this year: an' I didn't get screwed!"

"Ah!" said young Wayne, "That's 'cos yer an Essex Lidy. Sharon; not an Essex gel!"

At this point, I sincerely hoped that the French students spoke little if any English..............................

 

[Just Katie]

That is hilarious GS.  It is British humour.  I purposely go for walks through my town on a Saturday morning to hear conversations like this and relay them back to my mates.  Come on look on the lighter side of life.

By the way,  I like the way you admit to having all your papers about the place.  I hope this left nobody standing otherwise you would have been the rude oik!! [Www]  [:D]

[Jacqui Too]

I hate these sort of threads [:-))]

I find they are a kind of inverted racism, Just change a few words and then ask yourself is this racism?

[quote user="Nick65"]

OK, so you have now been living in France for (?) years - Summer time approaches and you know the Germans are coming over for the vacances -

What do you think?

Oh God here we go!!

They don't even make an effort to try and speak the language!!

See which one gets drunk first??

or maybe you think

At least they are making an effort to speak

How do you feel know you live in France - Do you get embarrased or do you think great to hear an German voice?

I often wonder what it would be like to live in France and hear the German approaching at Summer?

This is NOT mean't to be a dig at the Germans, but more like do you get homesick when you see them? Sort of conversation

[/quote]

On a forum like this there are many members who live full time in France, many of them rely on the 'English' for their lively hoods eg; B&B, gites, campsites ect. and some are retired, Some of us own 2nd homes, and some come for holidays, we all have something in common: we come to France because we like it.

I have welcomed into my home, French girls and their families, German and Italians. Welcomed people from Malta, America, Oman, and India into my holiday home(gite) here in England. I like to take people as I find them, I don't like every French person or Welsh person or German person and I don't like every English person either, I have seen badly behaved French/ German & American children, you get loud people all over the world, Americans are probably the worst, its just the way people are.

 

 

 

[Nick65]

This is in NO way racist - I am Half French - Half English and as I am going to be moving to Montpellier one year in the future I just thought I'd ask to see what you thought?

Of course there are some real ar***** from every country but I was just enquiring how it felt from your point of view.

My friend lives in Santander and loves the English who go through that way as it tends to be campers and people who are a bit more savvy of Spain and it's ways - But when he goes to Majorca to visit our other mate he loves the idea of coming "home" to Santander, as he says all he sees is people getting bladdered, smashing up places and being ..... well you know what I mean.

This is his view - Not mine

I am one of those people who absolutely love Europe (According to the papers I am in a minority) but it is great - Yes even Britain. I have just never come across idiots like that in Belgium or Paris, Geneva or Montpellier. 

[Catalpa]

I've no opinion on British people who're here on holiday. As... Katie?... said earlier: we were them once. Except I think Katie said it more elegantly. [:P]

I just wish some of the British oiks that live here permanently would move elsewhere. [6]

No, not you Will. As if. [kiss]

But sadly, I'm not joking. We're in smaller communities here so meeting up with the usual faces at village "events" is unavoidable. There are just a few people locally who are total twonks and I know that at some point my knee and their groins are going to collide.

[Nick65]

I know that at some point my knee and their groins are going to collide.[:)]

 

[Just Katie]

Have you ever been to a football match Nick, because the effects of hooliganism which is attached to this great sport is evident throughout europe.

I think in answer to your original question, many Brits cringe when they hear their countrymen abroad but I am not one of these people.  And, as Will pointed out, I may be in the minority.

Anyway,  what about you being half French, do you ever cringe in hearing a Frenchie in Britain or vice versa?