7 mistakes you’d better not make in France

This summer, two million of us are heading to la douce France. Besides Italy and Greece, it remains our favorite holiday destination. From Paris to Aix-en-Provence and Saint-Tropez and everything in between, we are scouring the entire country. The French are everything – stylish, well-read, charming, art-loving – but also quite eh critical. And I can know this because I have worked with them for years. So if you want to blend in a bit with the couleur locale, you should especially avoid making these mistakes.

Better not do this in France: flaunting labels

The French don't like that. They do like luxury, but understated. This also explains the success of bag designer Jérôme Dreyfuss, who made an affordable bag – at least compared to other designer labels – and shows his brand only through three subtle dots. Clothing is important, but the French prefer it to have a story rather than waving your credit card in a frenzy at the Dior boutique on Avenue Montaigne. Money talks, style whispers. Better to wear a Cartier from your grandmother on your wrist than a polished Rolex.

French style rule: let your hair be loose and natural

In France, everything is about that better je ne sais quoi feeling. There is indeed a lot of attention put into it, but it shouldn't look like it. Your hair has probably been cut by one of the best hairdressers in the country – the better Parisienne is surely friends with him – but it looks like you've just run your hands through it. Sitting for an hour at the hairdresser to blow-dry it all nicely is very fun in Italy or Spain, but the French won't understand it.

In France, they don't shout on the phone in public

Where an Italian likes to put the phone on speaker and chat away from a meter away, you recognize the Frenchman by the fact that they call with their hand over the microphone part, speaking in a whisper. They probably don't do this to avoid disturbing you, but rather because their conversation is none of your business.

Eating vegetarian in France? Prepare yourself

Although the number of vegetarians in France is increasing – 5.21% of the population does not eat meat – many restaurants still find you a bit annoying if you ask for the vegetarian option. There's a good chance you'll get a salad with a thick slice of cheese. The French cuisine simply has a lot of meat and fish on the menu.
But: there is light on the non-meat-eating horizon. In Paris, there are already 60 vegetarian restaurants, and the area around the Bastille is even called Veggie Town due to the enormous variety of vegetarian eateries and restaurants. And in Lyon, there's Culina Hortus, which was crowned the best vegetarian restaurant in the world two years ago. So there is hope.

France = book country (and thus no Netflix on your beach chair)

Take the metro in Paris and you will always see someone with their nose in Sartre or De Beauvoir. The French love culture and seize every moment to go to a museum or read a book. Want to score points: always place a book on the corner of your table. You will lose points if you secretly watch Netflix on your beach chair.

In France, children behave (and so do you)

With whiny children, the French take swift action. They can come to restaurants and it can get late, but they must behave. While Italians dance around the children and find everything fine as long as they can twirl their pasta around their fork, the French do not. Maman rules with a firm hand, sometimes even literally. So if you dance around your little one all evening and let your child scream and whine, you can expect quite a few disapproving looks from the other tables.

In France, you remain polite and not too familiar

Don't rush from vous to tu – the French don't like being too familiar. Also impolite: asking too direct questions. We Dutch tend to – all well-intentioned, of course – sometimes ask a bit too quickly where someone is from and what work they do. The French sometimes find that too direct. It's better to have a pleasant conversation and learn more about the other person playfully.

Bonus: more things you better leave behind in France.

Leave picky eating behind in France

The French are proud of their cuisine and find it terrible if you cringe at the sight of how your dining companion slides her escargots down. Also, don't start talking about how gruesome the process of making foie gras is. You are right, talk to everyone about it, but if you want to have a bit of fun in France, you should just puff away your anger for now.

Public drunkenness? Not in France

You might find this strange – that in the land of wine, drunkenness is seen as something bad. But just like in Italy, it's about decorum and présence in France. One glass is fine, two or three too. But drunk? You don't get that. And if you do, then in the privacy of your own home.

In France, you don't talk about money

Join point 7: being too familiar. Talking about money is not comme il faut. Or as my friend's French grandmother, who was quite well-off, always said: “Money? You have it. But you don't talk about it.”

Credit: STÉPHANIE BRANCHU/NETFLIX