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anybody. On top of that, they deal with a lot of argumentative
French people. So they wouldn't tend towards warm and fuzzy,
even if that were the normal French approach towards strangers.
Your patience is essential. You may have other things to
do, but they do not. Walk into a post ofi ce telling yourself
you have all the time in the world. Relax yourself in the queue
by observing the people around you. Mimic how they deal
with the situation.
Flee Boredom
The French love to argue, or rather, to debate. They call it 'discussion',
and they have been doing it a long time. The Roman Tacitus reported
that if the Gauls hadn't quarrelled so much among themselves, they
wouldn't have been defeated. This quarrelling (the
engueulade
) has
a healthy and positive direction to it. It brings a lot of ideas out onto
the table to consider.
And the French don't always argue. To see the warm and fuzzy
'chick' inside the Gallic hot-and-cold rooster, take a puppy for a walk
on any street in Paris. That aloof, elegantly dressed French woman
will drop at your feet to slobber gurgles of adoration on the animal.
She may be nearly as sympathetic with a human being, if he is on
crutches (I only discovered this by breaking my leg.)
These strong shifts of mood and temper have a wonderful effect in
France: they keep everyone from getting bored. More than anything,
a Frenchman hates to be bored.
“Flee boredom,” advised Coco Chanel. “It's fattening.”
“They cannot bear being bored,” said Alphonse de Lamartine of
his countrymen in 1847. And they rarely are. Nor will you be..
When your turn comes, approach that fellow at the post
ofi ce or the woman at the bank as a human being in an
important professional capacity, whose assistance means a
lot to you. (That is true.) Remember to say
Bonjour, Madame
or
Monsieur
i rst and try to have your questions ready in
advance in proper French. Maintain their dignity and you
will establish yours.
Since this topic was i rst written 15 years ago, I have
noticed a distinct sweetening of people in the service sector
in France. The Post Ofi ce workers have changed most
dramatically. They have recreated themselves in a new
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