Speaking French in France: Oui or Non?

Go for it! What is the worst that can happen?

I have found through years of traveling in France that most people welcome me speaking my limited French. Definitely the basics like bonjour and merci. Maybe I'm naive.

If I try to go further, they usually understand me. But I, of course, can't keep up with their quick words and I'm soon lost. So we settle on English. Their English is almost always better than my French.

I say give it a try. Sometimes, if it's someone you see often during your stay, like a hotel receptionist or the woman behind the counter at the boulangerie your frequenting, you'll find your conversations become a hybrid of both languages.

But of course, there's always that one person who, no matter how well you pronounce your French, refuse to tolerate it, rolls their eyes and responds in English.

Absolutely use what French you have. It telegraphs your understanding that the defect in communication is yours not theirs -- blustering along in English always come across as a bit arrogant (or a lot arrogant). Start in your bad French and if they switch to English, fine. There may have been a time when French locals disdained those who speak French badly but these days people seem to appreciate the effort.

I have always had great reactions to my pedestrian and elementary French. Go for it! And keep your sense of humor: a free years ago a Paris waiter teased me for a gender mistake, and when I responded lightly to that, he became my new best friend, at least for the evening. It was a great experience.

Any reaction to my rudimentary French has always been positive.

I don’t know “les Frenchies”

I have always spoken French when I’ve been in France and people have responded in French.

BUT it’s been a few years since my last trip to France, and I can feel my French getting a little rusty with age and lack of practice. So it’s not as good as it used to be. Next time I go, I will still speak French (to the best of my ability), but if the person I’m speaking to switches to English I won’t be offended. No big deal - I can switch to English too.

If you are able to speak French, speak French. If you don’t speak French, be sure to learn polite words and greetings in French.

You should use whatever French you know as much as possible. A waiter told me last year that he does appreciate it and thinks it is important to make the effort. Most of your major interactions will be in restaurants, so watch some videos on phrases you could use in that situation.

Also learn the customs, dining etiquette, and social norms before you go and follow them as a visitor. Also, unlearn the outdated stereotypes that I still hear people saying unfortunately.

French people are some of the kindest I have met on the continent, no reason to be intimidated.

I saw that episode of Les Frenchies and what I took from it was that people should not stress out about trying to learn French in order to visit Paris and to use tools like Google translate and also learn the key basics like bonjour and merci, etc.

Where there is historical data suggesting a fondness for the use of the guillotine

When was the last time someone was guillotined for misconjugating a French verb?

"The French don't care what you do actually, as long as you pronounce it properly."
Professor Henry Higgins

Mike, your comment about the Les Frenchies video really surprised me. Is it possible that you misunderstood? The last video I watched, they explicitly recommended speaking French , even if you only know the bare minimum. And at least asking "parlez vous anglais?." And of course, the VERY important Bonjour when entering a store, restaurant, etc.

DH and I are lucky that we are both comfortable speaking French, even though we aren't as fluent as we once were. Our experience has been one of acceptance of our efforts and patience (99% of the time) with our shortcomings. And if the person we are speaking with switches to English, that's great, too.

I have never been treated rudely in any country for speaking (or attempting to speak) their language, including France. Sometimes I have been responded to in English, other times it has been in French. Same when I speak Italian in Italy - same result. I speak a little bit of Serbo-Croatian and in Bosnia was told I had a great Bosnian accent. I took it to mean that the local appreciated my attempts more than anything because I surely do not have a Bosnian accent.

One of my favorite travel experiences was just last year in Ostuni, Italy when I somehow ended up tagging along behind a group of French women from Corsica walk to the train station. I spoke my terrible (out of practice) French to her and she spoke her better English to me. It was not perfect but we got communicated well enough for such a short time.

The worst that will happen is they tell you are butchering their language. But in my experience, they very much would not tell you directly to your face. And if they do, they may say it in French and you may not understand them anyway.

Regardless, life is short, parlez le francais!

I think there’s a time and a place. Dusting off your 40 year old high school French while asking directions in a busy location - probably not a good idea. You probably wouldn’t really understand the response, and the person would have to repeat themselves in English anyway.

Polite greetings with a server, sure. Just don’t be surprised if they respond to you in English.

Politely try your French. They will most likely finish the conversation in English.

I have never hear a French person comment on a tourist's ability to parrot a few words in French. If you really do speak French, then yes, they will notice. Learn French for yourself, not because you expect a few French words will somehow elevate you as a visiter. Sorry, but it does not.

What is important, and what is expected is a greeting; but hello works just as well as bonjour.

My experience is that almost everyone appreciates me trying to speak in French.

Some will switch to English and some absolutely refuse to and they stay in French.

But I've never had anyone get upset with me starting in French.

The biggest thing, at least in my experience, is politeness. Start all conversations with "Bonjour" and you will get a better response.

Basil Fawlty had the right idea, just speak louder

I don't know any French who will be offended if you try to speak French, even if what you say with your American accent is a complete mystery!

If it happens, it will be with someone who behaves badly with everyone anyway.

We may have good croissants, but don't forget that we also have a few jerks in France.

The French don’t speak good English so you often have to speak French just to communicate. They don’t have a good tolerance for people mangling their language but when communication is the aim you have to use whatever methods you can.

don't forget that we also have a few jerks in France.

My experience is that French jerkiness manifests primarily behind the wheel of a voiture, and that predominantly in the Touraine and Provence. Person to person, the French are as kind and helpful a people as I've ever encountered, always assuming one isn't being a jerk oneself.

The Bordelais drivers unfailingly yield to pedestrians in the zebra, even when they are crossing against the signal. In Tours and Orleans, they would really, really rather not stop, regardless of the signal status.

Honestly, it can go both ways. We have had waiters who have allowed us to use our basic French. But I have also gone to a bakery where the staff laughed at my poor attempts at French. Needless to say I walked out of that place.

Most likely scenario, you greet French people in French and they will immediately switch to English because they can tell by your vowels you are English.

Most likely scenario, you greet French people in French, and they will immediately switch to English because they can tell by your vowels you are English.

Polite people in any country will do that. You showed a willingness to acknowledge you are a visitor by attempting a few words. They may appreciate that. But then they have work to do and trying to pick their way through bad ... any language ... when they speak good English is not time spent productively for them.

I hang out a few evenings a week at a local establishment. The visitors trying to speak the local language and the wait staff responses are always my best entertainment. The wait staff is polite but keep bringing the tourist back to English so they can have time to help other customers.

In any conversation beyond ordering dinner, I always start the conversation with, "Bonjour, je vais massacre votre belle langue"...and have always, to a person, been met with a chuckle and kindness. It seems to disarm the most crusty Frenchman and we proceed. Sometimes in French and sometimes in English.

My claim to fame is that my mock French speaking exam in school was recorded and shown around the district as an example of good pronunciation. I have since forgotten (almost) everything and would struggle terribly to have a conversation. It does (partially) come back after a few days of thinking in French, in my experience of visiting France and Belgium.

We have never had formal French lessons but have been trying to gain a little facility for years with on line phrases and with Duo Lingo and have some minimal skill now. I can only recall one instance in many trips where we had an issue with it. It was a waiter in a touristy area of Lyon (restaurant Mercier) and he was the embodiment of American stereotypes of French waiters and the French in general. AND one of only two jerk waiters we have encounters in many many trips to France.

My husband wanted the veloute and ordered it and the waiter simply could not understand and switched to English and my husband said 'the potato soup' and the waiter did one of those fluttery acts where he stressed that NO such THING was SERVED at this restaurant. Husband finally pointed to the veloute on the menu. Then my turn. they had 5 things on a sandwich board so a fairly limited menu and I ordered the Quenelles which has been a favorite since I had them at La Tour d'Argent in Paris. I am sure my pronunciation was not fabulous but it is one of their specialties and according to my French friends my pronunciation was close and perfectly understandable. Again the big fluttery show about not understanding. Pointed to sign. So the waiter was a giant (insert obscenity). The food was decent enough and the potato soup outstanding.

this was unusual -- waiters are usually helpful and courteous.

An ABSOLUTE no brainer - in any foreign language country - is to lead with French/German/Spanish/whatever fits their language preference.

Literally all travel guides have several pages dedicated to useful phrases, and we almost all have smart phones so can toss a language app on it. I think flights to Europe alone would provide a nice intense few hours to "study" the words & phrases and memorize the ones that get you into the "I'm a polite foreigner trying to speak your language but as you can see, I'm not perfect, and if you happen to speak English better, it might benefit us both to meet there." :-)

I am reminded of our first visit to Paris. I needed directions and asked, excusez moi, parlez vous Anglais. When the woman said non, I followed with Eh bien, je cherche ——-, ou est il? She replied, oh, I speak a little English and gave us directions in English.

On our more recent trip to France, we found many locals in the Dordogne and Loire whose English was on par with our French and we spoke bilingually. Others had less English so we managed in French … and vice versa.

Our efforts and our being polite (J’espere) were always appreciated.

LATE NOTE Marginal as my French is, at least my accent is a bit better than many Americans … the product of having spent a month in Neuchâtel Switzerland for a language school and living with a family there who spoke no English.

It also helps to watch a bunch of French TV shows and movies with French captions (not English) before you go.

SECOND LATE NOTE outside of Paris, and away from main tourist sites, we encountered many folks who spoke little to no English on our 3 visits to France.

I did read something recently that waitstaff may revert to English if they are very busy in the restaurant and wanting to move things along quickly.
I would still try and speak to people in their language.
At the very least I think it’s only polite to learn please, thank you, hello , goodbye and help before arriving in a foreign country.

My trouble is that I know a few words in a few different languages, so often it comes out in a sort of garbled mix of languages!
I do believe that people around the world appreciate the effort.

I start off with my limited French and continue until I can't go any further...regardless. They will respond in French, naturally, then it' s up to me to do likewise.

I haven't read all the replies, but I believe there is a difference between being polite and using some French, and expecting them to give you a language lesson. That is, be polite, but be respectful of other people's time. if you are in a busy café and your wait person's English is better than your French (usually the case), it may be easier on them to just speak English and move on with their work. I have had hotel front desk personnel ask if I wanted to continue in French or English after I greeted them and introduced myself in French, but they may have just been trying to be polite to a guest when they had the time.

Mike Beebe,
If you’re confident enough with your French, then it’s really up to you whether or not you want to speak it, or not.
Most importantly, as others have already mentioned, is being polite and greeting everyone with a, “bonjour” or “bonsoir”, whenever you walk into any establishment, or before you ask anyone a question.

My experience has been that most French people appreciate it when I try to speak French but will often switch to English.

While traveling around France with my daughter (2016), we were sitting at a cafe in Avignon and we befriended a couple who were sitting near us when we heard them speak English.
I’d noticed that the woman had ordered in what sounded like perfectly pronounced French (to me) but the waiter had quickly switched the conversation to English.
It’s interesting because this same woman mentioned that she was a French professor at a major university in the U.S., and despite her expertise with the language, she said that most French could detect that she was not French and switched to English.

Just make sure your pronunciation is correct when it comes to ordering train tickets at the ticket window.
When trying to buy ticket from Amboise to Blois, I mispronounced Blois, and the woman at the ticket counter gave me a puzzled look.
I proceeded to write it out for her and then she said it so differently than what was written in the RS French book! Ha!

Wishing you a wonderful trip!

I think it's only proper and polite to learn and use the basics of language anywhere you go, just to get things going. As noted the recipient will quickly realize you speak English and shift over but I think you get brownie points.

And to those like me who really did take French in high school, you might find yourself needing it more than you think. Twice now I've been in major train stations where no one in the ticket office spoke English (which really makes no sense if you give it a moment's thought). My stumbling French saved the day on both occasions. Of course nowadays there is google translate but what's the fun in that?

After I saw that episode of Les Frenchies I did think for a minute that perhaps Monsieur was not noticing that it might be HIS French that people are not responding well to, since he is apparently French Canadian.

I remember back in 2021, my only visit to Paris (and France, thus far) I made a point of at least speaking the basics (greeting in French, etc). At one restaurant, I asked (in French) if they accepted American Express for payment. The waiter, responding to me in English said no they didn't, but that they accepted French Express. So that little interaction also served to disabuse me of the notion that all French waiters were rude and humorless. (Ended up paying with Visa)

I must have missed that video by Les Frenchies ( excellent Youtube channel ! )

If nothing else, they say to ALWAYS say ‘bonjour’ when entering a shop.

My wife had no problems speaking French on our visits the past 2 years.

nowadays there is google translate but what's the fun in that?

The fun is in actually making yourself understood and getting the answers you need.

It's not such a huge deal for me in France, but Poland? Google Translate was a lifesaver several times, even though the Poles are in general quite competent in English.

Mais oui, Michel. In France we say "On fait ce qu'on peut." So do it.

phred: he's not French Canadian and even if he were, French Canadian accents are perfectly understandable here in France even those from way up north in Québec Province. On the other hand, I've rarely heard a worse accent than Madame Frenchie. Cringe-worthy.
I liked the videos in the beginning and then....

Au contraire, phred. According to their website, he was born and raised in France. I've never noticed a hint of Quebecois in his speech. She is a native Floridian, who only moved to France in '22; which explains a lot about her pronunciation.

And while i gave no doubt that Elizabeth is correct that a Frenchman can still understand the Quebec patois, I'll relate this experience. We were in our hotel room watching a French TV channel and a movie came on. After a few minutes we looked at each other, puzzled. The movie was in French, but it was playing with French subtitles. No, we didn't have closed captioning on- we realized the actors were speaking Quebecois, and not Parisian French. That was our chuckle for the evening.

If you want a brain workout, try understanding a grandmere from Marseille speaking at her typical speed in Provencal. It's comprehensible, but takes effort. It sounds very Italian. I know some adages in Provencal from DH's grandmere, but hesitate to put them on this forum as they are "earthy", to say the least! (But lots of fun to say!)

And while i gave no doubt that Elizabeth is correct that a Frenchman can still understand the Quebec patois, I'll relate this experience. We were in our hotel room watching a French TV channel and a movie came on. After a few minutes we looked at each other, puzzled. The movie was in French, but it was playing with French subtitles. No, we didn't have closed captioning on- we realized the actors were speaking Quebecois, and not Parisian French. That was our chuckle for the evening.

We get TV5MondeUSA at home in the US through Sling TV, and we have seen the same thing done to French Canadian productions, particularly movies, since the programming is originally intended for a French audience, they will subtitle the Canadian French with French language subtitles. Otherwise, a movie or production from France is subtitled in English...honestly I find the French subtitles are helpful since I read the language much better than I comprehend spoken French.

Yes, sometimes TV5 Monde subtitles African French, too, when it's perfectly understandable to those of us who speak standard French. May it's so the Québécois and Saint Pierre and Miquelon French territory residents off Newfoundland can understand it and vise-versa.

Judy, very few would understand the Provençal though we'd certainly find similarities. It's a different language.

the Quebec patois

Any reasonably well educated Quebecer can speak both Québécois French with all its weird (to the French) slang and expressions, and standard French (with an accent, but still standard French). So some Quebec-made films need subtitles in France, but a tourist from Quebec should be able to get along fine even if their accent will instantly flag them as not French. Going the other way, French people visiting or immigrating to Quebec usually pick up the local lingo quite easily. Because it's still French.

Some of my Québécois compatriots do report getting grief in France for their way of speaking. It isn't unusual to encounter French people who find some Québécois accents grating. But it's even more common to find French people who are indifferent to such foreign accents, or even who find them charming. I'm not really sure but I suspect some of them are getting friction not for their accent or colourful expressions, but for jumping straight to "tu" when "vous" would be more appropriate. As for me, I am able to fly under the radar most of the time, but then I'll let slip a "patate" when I should say "pomme" and all is lost.

I know Spanish and Italian, but I used the Mango app for a year prior to my Tour de France/Olympics trip last year and I got by pretty good.....I even spoke ENTIRELY in French to the servers in three restaurants (one in Nice and two in Paris), I was pretty proud of myself, even though that's probably the most basic French possible......

My favorite mistake was in a buillon when I accidentally asked for a carafe of water in Italian, the waiter teased me HAHAHA

siesta, 2 posts up, picks up a point which caught my eye when reading the original post.

What I saw was "J'ai marché sur ton Corgi!)" ... now I learned French from my mother and for 3 years in school in England and the US, and then lived in Montréal (in Québec, Canada). Mostly I spoke Franglais in public in the Francophone areas of the city and English in the other areas. Franglais is how Montrealers of both languages communicated, both being mostly fluent in both languages and words from both were in most sentences.

So that's my background, and I am no longer young so my French is not only rusty but old fashioned I am sure.

I would never have used "ton" with a stranger. I would have always used "votre".

Maybe I would be looked down on, but I have always believed in more rather than less formality with strangers...

Nigel, I don't pretend to know all the ins and outs of using tu and vous but I do find, especially as a greyhair, that you can't go wrong calling a stranger vous, whether in France or Canada. At worst you might come across as a stuffy old fogey. Tu on the other hand has to be used judiciously. So I just stick to vous except if: I know the person, I'm talking to a child, or the person called me tu first.

Two years ago we struck up a conversation with a couple from Montreal. She was a native French/Quebecois speaker. They were near the end of a three month stay in Paris.

She was quite frustrated that when she spoke in French to Parisians, they frequently responded to her in English. C’est la vie.

Mike,
I recall my mother-in-law and her brother and her mother all remarking how the Parisians were a bit snarky and snooty when speaking with the French from any place that wasn't Paris, especially Grandmere's Marseille accent (slightly Provencal). This was post WWII. DH also encountered it into the 60's. That doesn't seem to happen any more, as far as I can see. Television and movies being far more accessible than in the 40's and 50's have somewhat homogenized most languages, IMHO. People are even more tolerant of my poor French now than they were fifty years ago. (The false cognates do still crop up in my conversing with the family, which has led to some hilarious around-the-dinner-table digestif moments! Ah!.....good times!)

That doesn't seem to happen anymore, as far as I can see.

It's still like that today. It's even worse, I think. Parisian snobbery is well known to French people living in the provinces.

Friendly or unfriendly remarks about accents are common among French people too, not only with foreign tourists. There are French accents that are even stronger than the accent of an American or Canadian speaking a basic French.

Not to mention the comments and insults between drivers, since the license plate shows the French department the car comes from.

Non-Parisians call Parisians "Parigots, têtes de veau" (Parisians, calf's head). It doesn't mean anything, it's just a rhyme.

Parisians call provincials "Ploucs" (rednecks).

Vous exagérez un peu. Some of my best friends are Parisians.

Plouc is a very rude word to attach to anyone, reserved for a very vulgar person, as defined in English, and isn’t a word to throw around. I hope people reading this don’t add it to their vocabulary.

Yes, it's best to avoid calling a non-Parisian "Plouc" (Or "Péquenaud" which is pretty much the same thing)

As a Parisian myself, born in Paris and having lived and worked in Paris for a long time, I haven't used this term much except as a joke.

Now that I'm no longer Parisian and live in a rural area, I consider myself and claim to be a Plouc to my Parisian "Bobos" friends. But I'm quite good at self-deprecation.

In any country, I try to learn the simple phrase for “I do not speak________, do you speak English?” In French, I believe, it is Je ne parle pas francais, parle vous anglais? Works like a charm at politely setting the stage for using English or muddling along with a few words and miming. Even in a city like Annecy I found people who did not wish to, or could not, speak English.

And I was surprised to find some Swiss who did not speak English in a couple of small towns so my limited German (Ich spreche nur ein bisschen Deutsch) opened the door.

Laurel, when I was in a 2 week Italian class in Italy I had some Swedes and some Germans in my class. I asked them how to say "this is the only thing I know how to say in German/Swedish" and I still remember those sentences! Folks that I come across in the US that I use that with get a kick out of it :)

Katherine, what a great phrase!

Hi Mike,
So much excellent advice above, including from folks who were born there. Maybe consider leading conversations with the below modest intro?

"I will try speaking a bit of French" = "Je vais essayer de parler un p'tit peu de français."

We are soon Tours-bound. That Loire city is apparently where the most perfect French is spoken. My Montreal-born wife will have exactly zero problems, but I lag behind. The high-school French that our 70s Toronto rock band once used in Quebec to introduce our songs (CJean do you remember the Chaud or Le Cerq clubs?) made all the difference. Our respect shown to the local culture was well-appreciated, especially by our female fans (sound of slap).

Good for you Mike, for posting this enquiry.
I am done. the French surname, the startled Corgi and the responsible traveler

I have to admit that I'm wonderfully surprised at all the amazing replies to my modest inquiry.

Honestly, I love trying out snippets of French when I'm in France. I used the ever-handy Je suis désolé when I forgot to punch my ticket on the train between Strasbourg and Colmar, thus earning a mere stink-eye'd "tut-tut" from the ticket guy as opposed to a multi-Euro fine for my transgression. I've also learned the joy of whipping out un pue petit when asking for a little cheese from the esteemed fromagerie off the un-touristed Rue Cler. Heck, I even greet my wife each morning with a hearty bonjour! until she tells me to knock it off and go to work.

I'm obviously not the most gifted speaker, nor even the second or third most-gifted speaker, of French -- but y'know what? Gosh darnit, I'm willing to try and bear the slings and arrows of perturbed Frenchmen (and/or women) when I boldly declare Une pieuvre m'a volé mon portefeuille!

(I think that's the correct way to ask for directions to the nearest bar)

-- Mike Beebe

Mike and others,
I am enjoying this thread. I have been toying around with learning phrases and sometimes more since 2016. The first was Swedish. What I find is that I pick up a lot of vocabulary very quickly, but my learning screeches to a halt when trying to learn the grammar. I think this language dabbling is good for my brain so I continue to do it. I became very discouraged regarding the Swedish, because despite hours and hours of study, I couldn't really have a conversation. However, I could read a lot of stuff! It was very comforting to me when touring to be able to get the gist of things on signs and menus.

I have done the best with Japanese. It just makes sense to me. I was able to learn Hiragana and Katakana pretty quickly. My language skills really paid off. Twice we were able to get along very well in a "no English" restaurant. We were also able to have longer interactions with people that we came across. However, I don't believe that I will be going to Japan as often as to French speaking countries.

Therefore, I have decided to stop trying to learn a miniscule amount of every language and concentrate on French. I generally spend about 15 minutes a day (give or take) doing some sort of language study. (Duolingo, Youtube language video, French show with French subtitles...).

I appreciate the thread because the prevailing opinion here has been my own, but I do worry about wasting another person's time. I went to Quebec (QC and Montreal) in May. Except for the train attendant who fabulously spoke to me very slowly and did her best to understand me, everyone spoke back to me in English. My experiences in France, including Paris vary. Some switch, some continue in French. Three waiters and one taxi driver would not speak any English at all and I was able to fumble through the conversation. I can't recall even one rude Parisian or Norman. Which is saying something!

My fantasy is that in about 5 years I can successfully carry out a full conversation in French and be understood and understand what the person says back to me!

Mike, as a comic in all seriousness I recco playing French Scrabble as well.
I am done. the game board

The beauty of learning French is that you will always have something new to learn, for years and years and year. The grammar and writing will keep you busy to your dying day. Watch those accents on your gravestone.

I’m guilty of dusting off my high school french. What I found out is a lot of the simple phrases I learned then are very passé now. If I were someone easily embarrassed, I would have been. Instead, I pretty much just laughed at how arcane & strange I must’ve sounded to them!

I do admire the pride the French take in their language though & I want to honor that. So, to recover from my errors I try to brush up on or re-learn key phrases - especially things along the lines of “I apologize my French is so poor, I’m learning & I’m trying” which usually leads to them smiling & then saying “ok then, let’s speak English.” The only time this has gone wrong for me is when I forgot to start with bonjour or started with “do you speak English” without any attempt to even try the simplest of French phrases. From the French you’ve whipped out in this thread I think you light years ahead of me & I get by!

a lot of the simple phrases I learned then are very passé now.

My goal in speaking French in France isn't to be thought au courant. It's to make myself understood and to understand what the French are saying to me. I couldn't care less if what I'm saying is passé.

So far this trip through Francophone areas, the French speakers have seemed delighted (and likely amused) by my A2-level attempts to communicate. They've routinely told me how good my French is. Like most well-meaning falsehoods, it's great to hear.

'Like most well-meaning falsehoods, it's great to hear.'
Yo JP, outstanding!
I am done. the communications

I learn the basic pleasantries and greetings. When I try to get more elaborate I'm usually cut off and the conversation switches to English, so I guess I butcher it up pretty bad plus I have a southern accent. My wife says my monsieur sounds like "man sewer."

Agree that just boldly going forth with English seems rude. It's not that hard to learn a few basic words and phrases in French.

I learned a few basic travel phrases and it worked out just fine.

"Some switch , some continue in French." True.

Even those who see me struggling in French or I get very little of what is being said to me, their switching over to English does me no good, I'm not benefitting, basically losing out. The there those seeing you having trouble with French and do not switch.

Most of the time I do well enough ordering dinner and all that in French from the beginning to the end; given an English menu happens a few times, but hardly . (I preempt that) . I tell them I would like one in French...it does me no good looking at an English menu and ordering in English.

In Germany it's a different story, I always get a German menu.

Any attempt to speak the local language is appreciated, even by the English, whose entire society is divided by accents.

We spent a month in France a few years ago. Two weeks in Paris, followed by two weeks in Provence. I worked hard over a period of months to get my long-dormant college French in shape. I started almost all my conversations in French. People were unfailingly cordial and receptive. The Parisians (who can spot an American tourist a mile away) invariably almost immediately switched to English because they knew it was going to make it a lot easier for us to communicate. Also, as someone pointed out, many Parisians actually welcome the opportunity to brush up on their English! I was actually a bit disappointed--I had only one instance where the other person either couldn't or didn't want to speak English, so I was able to use more of my French.

Provence was different. Most of the time we were in settings where tourism & hospitality were prominent, and again people had pretty good English. But I did have several occasions when we were wandering around a small village and I got to use more of my French.

On one memorable occasion I was in a car-repair shop in Isle-sur-la-Sorgue trying to explain a problem I was having with the navigation system in my rental car. None of my French studies equipped me for this subject matter, and the mechanic had exactly zero English. We ended up grouped around the shop's computer, where the shop's receptionist (whose English was limited) typed everything we said into Google Translate and we eventually got the problem resolved! It was great fun!

In France, regardless where, Paris or a host of other towns, I start the exchange in French and if I can continue that linguistically (and that's a big "if" ), even when "they" know I am from here, "they" don't switch. Why should they, just make it easy for me as a visitor?

There are those times I am able to continue in French with the exchange staying in French, which is what I want anyway. Switching whether by me or "them" does me no benefit.