Letters from Paris: Things Parisians Like.

The thing I love about Parisians is they just don’t give a damn. And that, contrary to popular belief, they aren’t rude. In fact, they’re wonderfully polite.

I think people don’t understand that there are a number of things that are said and that have to be done in order for anything to start. Sometimes I’ll see Americans in a store in my neighbourhood and they’ve gone right to the front – they don’t understand that there’s a line. Maybe they just weren’t paying enough attention. “I want that in the window!” They don’t understand that you begin by saying hello, and you don’t just say hello. You say, “Hello ma’am,” or “Hello, sir.” You have to do that in Paris. You have to say “madame” or “monsieur.” You have to remind them what sex they are. There are these pleasantries that have to be exchanged. It’s like the American South that way.

I always think it’s funny when people say, “Well, they said, ‘Hello, how are you?’ but they didn’t mean it.'” Aren’t you an adult? Nobody means it. You just do it. It’s all part of the conversation. It’s a prelude and it has to be done. But so many people who think that the French are horrible just don’t acknowledge that part of it.

– David Sedaris on misconceptions about Parisians

Listen to David Sedaris talk about living in Paris with Ira Glass on This American Life’s Americans in Paris.

Les Parisiens aiment:
Fumer!
Foulards!
Jack Russell Terriers
Red lipstick on the weekends
Marlboros, Camels, and Pall Malls
Les lunettes trés chic
Department store mannequins in semi-sexual positions
Meringue
Macarons
Sitting in cafés. All day and all night. All night and all day.
Meat
Cheese
Du pain, du vin, du chocolat!
Faire du shopping!
Rollerblading in the streets
Politeness
Living in the moment
Biking in heels
Their beautiful culture
Eminem and Daft Punk
Really bad classic rock
Typography on their clothes
Longer-haired guys
Pacifiers for 4-year olds
Government-sponsored everything!
Obama
Scooters

Les Parisiens n’aiment pas:
Bicycle helmets
Faire du jogging!
Exercise
Spoiled children
Work
Pedestrians in crosswalks
Kale
Les Arabs
Doing business on Sundays
Doing business on Mondays
Doing business after 7pm (or, as they say in France, 19h)
Rules
Consequences
Rude tourists
George Bush
Dick Cheney