Advise on social situation

You just happpened on a couple of princesses. You did them a favor if they were stupid enough to place their handbags on a third chair. However, it is unusual to get that sort of miffed attitude from French people who are usually very sharing of space. Were these tourists?

Yes Emma, and they put their bags on the seat next to them, and don't move them when the train fills up.
Or leave them in the aisle because they can't be bothered to use their muscles to put them in the overhead rack; or becuase they read on some forum that they must keep their bags in sight at all times so don't want to put them in the space provided.

Debbie, don't worry, you just got unlucky.

Surely the same "ladies" were the ones that gave me a dirty look when last in Venice as three of us dare consider sitting in the stern of the vaporetto requiring them to remove their legs from an oh so comfortable reclining position. I suppose we could have left their private salon and found seats elsewhere, but especially not given the initial reception.

These had to be tourists. See the same boorish behavior all over here. I have seen buses with their 44 seats occupied by 22 people, with no place for the 23rd person to sit. And worse, I have seen this done so as to chose the type of person who is allowed to split the seat. It's a good thing our airplanes have assigned seating.

A similar Parisian situation. Parks like Luxembourg Gardens and Tuilleries have oodles of movable chairs. It is common for people to use chairs for their feet or as picnic tables. It is however perfectly acceptable to go up to someone doing this if there are no other chairs available and gesture politely that you would like the chair. I have had this done when I was using a second chair and have done it when I needed a chair. I have never seen anyone get rude about it when asked.

In a cafe, people borrow chairs from other tables all the time and generally people are gracious about it. Karma will get the women in your story as the best way to lose a purse is to put it on the extra chair. Effective pickpockets/thieves can have such a purse and be gone without being noticed.

Thanks everyone. I value your perspectives, I am doing my absolute best to be kind, gracious and polite during my lovely stay. They were indeed Parisian princesses, but no matter. They actually moved to another location and repeated the behavior. My luck is their vacancy provided a delightful opportunity for two nice Parisians to sit next to me and we engaged in a nice chat. Voila.

Happy traveling to all. Headed back home in the morning. Already I long for Paris.

Debbie -- good for you for not letting their boorishness keep you from the table, and even better, the chatting with the nice folks that arrived after they moved!!!

i get so annoyed on the metro etc -- it's like: oh yes I understand that it's more important for your bag to have a seat than me, a human being. One day last week, a lady had literally laid her UMBRELLA (small and folded up) on the seat next to her. I wanted to say, "Sorry to have taken your umbrella's seat." SHEESH!!

How great that you didn't let their attitudes bother you! One of those women must have been the one on a train I took in Germany. She was in my assigned seat when I boarded the train, but refused to move; she made her boyfriend give up his seat for me. She also mocked my attempt to be polite and use German.

I never let someone take my seat unless there is an equivalent seat I can easily take and then if they are polite I accommodate. I have had people try to take either my aisle or window seat on planes -- nu uh. I will move to accommodate a late boarding family so they are not separated from a child if the seat is equivalent or it is a short flight -- but entitled people who think they can squat on the best seats or worse yet argue that their child should have it because it is his first flight or grandpa should have it,because it is his first flight -- not even.

Did you say hello before you asked them about the table?