Anywhere

It varies depending on what part of France you’re in, but where we live French people greet each other with a double kiss. This is always accompanied by an enthusiastic greeting. ‘Ah Bonjour, ça va ?’, ‘Oui bien, et toi ?’, ‘Oui ça va, ça va’. Then a rapid exchange of news often follows. This lovely little process can take quite a while, and will happen almost anywhere, despite the possibility for inconvenience to others.

The other day in Troyes, whilst sitting enjoying a coffee in the sun, we witnessed a typical example of how ingrained this is in the French culture. As we sipped on our Perriers, the lights on the little road that flows out of Troyes centre ville turned green, and a car pulled silently away, but then there was a ‘beep’. Shocked to hear it, as the drivers here rarely resort to the car horn, we looked up to see a couple rush toward the next car in line at the lights, which had obviously beeped to attract their attention. The typical greetings ensued between the driver and the couple through the car window, almost blissfully unaware that they were holding up the cars behind them. After what seemed an uncomfortably long time, the ‘Bonne journées’ were traded, and all the traffic then went on its way without a single beep or cross word. Amazing. It’s those little glimpses into the politeness of French culture that I love.