STRANGE things I STILL don't understand about life in France
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- Опубліковано 16 вер 2024
- Even after living in France for years, there are some things that still confuse me about life here. There are many aspects of life in France and French culture that make so much sense… like cheap wine and cheese, affordable healthcare for all, and that whole work/life balance thing. And then there are other French things that will leave you scratching your head. Most of the things I don't understand aren’t that serious but I’d like to share them with you so you’re more informed and know what to expect if you find yourself living or traveling in France.
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Salut! I'm Diane, the American behind the living abroad lifestyle blog Oui In France. My channel's focus is "Everyday French life and beyond," so let me know what you want to see! I make videos on French culture topics, food, travel, language, and give you my thoughts about what it's like living in France as an American in the Loire Valley. Thanks for being here and if you enjoy this sort of thing, please share with friends and subscribe!
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Certains noms de famille étaient à l'origine des prénoms (Eric ÉTIENNE, David MATTHIEU...) : utiliser des majuscules pour le nom de famille permet de bien le distinguer du prénom et d'éviter les confusions.
J'avais jamais pensé à ça 😅
Eau!
D'ailleurs, le nom de famille le plus courant en France est MARTIN, qui est aussi un prénom.
Oui mais si on respectait l'ordre prénom / nom de famille il n'y aurait pas de confusion possible.
@@_asphobelle6887 oui, mais non, car en France les prénoms composés sont courants, et si en plus on a un deuxième voire un troisième prénom, vraiment la solution la plus simple c'est de mettre le nom de famille en majuscules.
"Sorry to bother you" is showing you respect the other person's time and you don't take for granted that they will stop everything they re doing for you, just because you've asked. I personally mean it when I say it, but not everyone does i agree with that
Right, it's just French, or even more, European politness, which many Americans should draw inspiration from.
It’s the same in Canada
Yes ! If i call my boss or a colleague at home because I need an quick answer, I say "désolé de te/vous déranger".
It's the same in uruguay
@@alinebilodeau4094 Politeness of Canadians is a meme in US media
The little rhyme someone taught me about Celsius the first time I studied abroad was:
30 is hot
20 is nice
10 is cool
And 0 is ice.
Worked like a charm! But I agree going from Celsius to fahrenheit must be way more complicated than the other way around.
Love that!
@MrTherealpad celsius is logical ... 0 is ice, 100 is boiling water.
at least with measure unit like yards or foot, you can have a rough equivalent in mind and just do the math (like 3 feet = 3x30cm = 90cm... ok let's say one meter. that will be the "translation" if for example, you're in a novel saying an object was 3 feet away from a character), but the °F to °C conversion is not something you can do in your head : C = (F-32)*5/9
The Celsius degrees scale is based on physics and how water reacts.
It's actually pretty simple :
0°C is when water turns into ice, when it freezes ;
100°C is when water turns into steam (vapor), when it boils.
And you know by experience that half-boiling water (50°C) is already pretty hot !
Your rhyme does work, of course.
@@FlatFab004 You can say that 50 ° is desert temperature in summer ... and it can kill you very fast ... that gives an idea of it
"Anything above 30°C is hell"
Me : literally dying with 40°C+ every summer in southern France
Does it rain much in Southern France? I've heard the raindrops are thick and heavy there instead of light and misty in Northern France.
@@raspberrybitch4299
South west have big rains, it's one of the most rainy area in France.because you have an oceanic climate ( Atlantic ocean make steam => turning into clouds => turning into rain ) , south east is VERY dryer with smaller rains and a Mediterranean climate, it's more like Italy or Spain, but sometimes you can have summer thunderstorms
I lived in the north of France, there's 2 times more rain in south west , but there's also 3 times more sun, the north of France is kinda like England weather, cloudy , grey , wet and cold.
We say "excuse me" or "sorry to bother you" to people who work in stores when asking for their help. We assume that they were busy doing their actual work, and that although helping us is part of their job they might have been busy doing other tasks or just thinking about something that needs to be done. Of course, this may be a southern thing, but is it excessive? That worries me! I just think it is better to err on the side of politeness!
Sorry to seem critical . . . I don't mean it that way! I always enjoy watching the videos you make!
Hi there, makes complete sense and I've adapted to the French way more than I had even realized and when I'm back in the USA like I am now, my relatives tease me for being so polite. Hahhaa. Not sure it's excessive, just different, but like you I think it's better to err on the side of politeness! For sure!!
Paris area inhabitant here... ✋
We do exactly the same here.
I always excuse myself in advance for bothering a salesperson when he/she seems occupied to replace price tags or to refill an aisle in supermarkets or any other store...
Here in Chile we do that too!
Same in Canada. I start almost all inquiries, with ‘Sorry but…’ . Not in a phone call or an email tho.
To be fair, everytime I see a video of american customers I'm horrified how they talk to employees. If you talk like that in France or even in Europe in general, you are directly ask to get out :p I know it's not every americans who behave like that but I find it funny they think that we are rude in France. Well obviously if you're rude to an french employee, he'll do the same I guess.
There is only one emergency number to remember : 112 You get an operator and he will connect you on the right service (police/medical assistance and so on). This number is valid in Europe and even further since it works in Russia and India. I've been told that, since it's an European number, you get a translator if you don't speak french but I don't know if it's true. The other number are kept for historical reasons and are still valid.
it's true
Not only historical if you need police and call them directly you won't clutters médicales line and it help them gain time since they don't have to sort your urgence. Our parents and school make us learn at least 17 for police and 18 or 15 for medical emergency. These are 2 totally different types of emergencies so having several numbers is convenient. When you call the 15 the person at the end of the line can explain how to do first aid while waiting for the arrival of an ambulance.
Not quite true from what I've been told by a fireman. It seems that some high instances in the medical field (maybe the ministère de la santé ?) refused to have a unified number when it was mandatory to have one in Europe. So it was decided to transfer these calls to the fire department. This also means that 112 is not sending to a dispatch center that would transfer you to the right service.
To be honest no one really knows how to write an address properly, we just make it look nice and hope for the best 😂
So true
🙄
Writing the surname in capitals is very useful in a multicultural society, when sometimes it's not obvious which one is first and which one is last name.
It is, but more simply, several French last names, including the most common one (Martin) are also names (You might have heard of a former French Prime Minister that goes by the name of Edouard PHILIPPE. Which one is his last name? :D )
If you wonder, it seems that the origins of those last-names-as-names come from orphans that were never adopted, so at adulthood, they were given the name of the Saint of the day they were found.
As a french guy, here is some info to help a little :
1 - writing an adress in France... If you follow the "rules" it should have a ' , ' after the number... but almost no one will care if you don't use it. lol
2 - Last names in caps can be a way for us to show easily what is the last name. example... Franck Daniel. Both can be a first name so... FRANCK Daniel. Now it's clear what is the last name. As for the order... as long as you can say easily what part is the last name, it doesn't matter at all. (might have some lost traditions about that but i don't know them, and i'm french lol)
also, some families have complicated last names... i remember one guy that had COEUR d'ACIER D'EUGENE as last name... Probably a name coming from nobility at some point. Writing all that in caps like i did make it easier to know where that name begin and all lol.
3 - Bonsoir... no consensus on that from what i know. Also, if you know the people you're greeting, and not in Formal situation, using Salut is more than fine. (similar to your Hello)
4 - Celsius. 0°C is water freezing, 100°C is water boiling. Simple lol. it begins to really feel hot on our skin at around 30°C (that what you would more or less get at summer time in France).
5 - Insurance... I'm french, and i'm confused about it too, it's way too complicated xD.
6 - if you call 112, the reaction will depend on the kind of urgency you're calling for. If a life is in immediate danger, they will transfer to the right person, if not, they will tell you what number to call, so that it can free the line for other people to use. And yes i agree... the efficiency is not that great.
7 - Sorry to bother you... On that, it's a cultural thing. As french we value our privacy a lot, be it at home or even at work, so using that is a way to show that we know we are 'invading' their privacy. Politeness and all that ^^,
Coeur d'Acier d'Eugène 💘
That makes so much sense, what you said about the last names. We here in Canada also are always saying the 'sorry to bother you'. :-)
Very good summary. However, about 1, you're actually supposed *not* to have any typographic character (commas, etc.) in most of the address: from the street line onwards. So no comma after the building number. This is because that part of the address goes through OCR machines for sorting, and these characters were determined to be more likely to cause recognition errors without providing any supplementary information. It's specified by the AFNOR NF Z 10-011 norm.
In practice, you can use a comma or not, your letter/parcel will reach its destination.
Good explanations! As a small note; I'd say Salut is more akin to a "Hi" or "How are you" in America. Very informal and even rude if done in a professional setting, however more than fine if done to someone you know well.
"Hello" Is seen as formal, like a Bonjour. It's seen as respectful when done in a professional setting but a bit over-the-top when said to a friend. They might give you a momentary quizzical look if you said "Hello" to them. They'd probably respond with a confused "Hi?".
:)
" the efficiency is not that great."
Indeed , if you call the right number it is efficient ...
112 is only for information purpose or to transfert your call;
in case of emergency the real numbers to know in France are 15 - 17 and 18 , respectively for SAMU , Police and Firefighters
Last names are in capital letters on official documents so that there are no mistakes in your name. In small letters and with cursive writing, it's not always easy to distinguish how your name is supposed to be written. Also, official documents might be put in alphabetical order and if the name is in capital letters, it's easier to spot for the one putting the files in order.
I’m from Ireland and when I lived in the US for a few years back in the 80s the temperature in Fahrenheit was one of the most challenging adjustments for me. I was also a pediatrician and I was genuinely worried about calculating drug doses adjusted by weight for children. Fortunately in the hospital we used Kg! Then I moved to Canada and I feel much more at home here. I know what 30 decrees Centigrade (or Celsius) means but I don’t have a mental model of what that looks like in Fahrenheit. I know what a 2 Kg baby is like but if someone tells me their baby weighed 4 and a half pounds I will have to look up the conversion. When it comes to baking, I feel that measurement of dry ingredients by weight is far superior to using cups and spoons, because the volume of a dry ingredient varies with its density. That’s just science!
For cooking, it depends on the recipe as far as measures. There are conversions for volume to weight for certain items, but they must be converted for each item. Rather than convert a recipe, use the measures that are in the recipe, volume or weight.
You did not go to the US if they measured in KG! Come on 40years ago? I mean today they do still
I agree. Imperial system is a nightmare and an archaism. Don't understand why americans still use these bullshit unities. The metric system is so easy to use in comparison.
That’s odd as I worked in the medical field and we used metric for 30 years. My mother worked 40 years and it was all metric too. So I find your experience an outlier.
Same here! Metric is so much more exact.
French peolple all write in cursive. Writing your name in capital letters is just to avoid any writing/reading mistakes that could more easily happen with cursive.
About order, in french, "first name" is "prénom" which litterally means "before the name". So it should be written first. Some old fashioned administrations ask for the last name first, probably so that forms can more easily be sorted by alhabetical order of the last name. I guess it's inheritance from before computer ages.
I think it's more of an inheritance of the *beginning* of computer age, because if you want to sort by hand, the order of the names don't really matter, but if you want to sort by alphabetical order in one of the first basic spreadsheet, you need the name you sort by to be first.
That's makes so much sense
On the politeness...in Canada...everyone will say to you, sorry to interrupt, sorry to bother you, excuse me sorry to trouble you .... 😁😁
@@_asphobelle6887 I believe this to be true, if you had one field for the name, you put the last name (which is called family name and not last name in many parts of Europe) first and in capitals. In many languages here, when you write in capitals, you can leave the diacritics (accents in french, umlauts in german and what not, off. making ordering alphabetically a lot easier.
Another reason that english speakers will not take into account is... accents. Particularly now when we have to deal with various computer databases on a regular basis. If your name includes an accented vowel, it's really annoying (to put it mildly) to be forced to write it with a non-accented letter instead because it just looks wrong that way. A lot of French people incorrectly believe that lack of accent is OK on capital letters (because most newspapers do it that way), and so they are less shocked seeing their last name in non-accented all-caps;
The nuance between Bonjour and Bonsoir is not orchestrated by formal rules. It's really something automatical. But if I had to explain how it works, it would be like:
- Autumn/Winter: when it's dark, you say Bonsoir. Easy...
- Spring/Summer : the clear majority greet with Bonjour before 4:30pm and with Bonsoir after 7:30pm
- the interlude between 4:30pm & 7:30pm at summertime is a free zone in which the greetings are highly influenced by the next thing you're planning to do, whether it is related to an evening ritual, or to a daytime thing.
For instance, I am hanging out in a park with my friends, not thinking about getting home yet. I would greet with Bonjour, even at 6:30pm.
If we are going to a bar or buying some food for dinner together, I would rather say Bonsoir.
At work at 5:30pm, I would say Bonjour. But the days I leave earlier, would be able to say Bonsoir at 5pm while I am heading back home.
I calculate Celsius to Fahrenheit by doubling the number and add 30: 20 C doubled is 40; add 30 and it is 70 F (approximately).
As you know, "last name" in French is "nom de famille." So, 1) it doesn't have to come last, and 2) the capital letters help to highlight your family name, the "group" you belong to. I live in Cameroon in central Africa, and we see the same custom here
Ah, well, but it depends where you live. What I mean is here in Canada we do not say 'nom de famille'....well, at least where I live we do not say that. We just say prénom and nom, and I believe they say it that way in France, too, although I can't remember for sure.
I understand what you mean when you say 'nom de famille' but it sounds strange to me, and I'd just call it 'nom'.
The first name is the "prénom" which means litteraly the same thing, "pré" means before. We should put our first name first but decades of administration has led us to write our family name before
@@Julia-nl3gq In France, if you just ask someone "quel est ton nom" it can be the firstname, that's why we commonly add "de famille" to be more precise. Or "Nom" globally means the whole thing (first name + last name), excepted in administration where it's associated with "prénom" and is more often written "NOM" for "nom de famille".
Out of politeness, there are a lot of things we say that we don't mean but I think that "Sorry to bother you" is something we really mean. Even if people we are talking to are paid to answer our questions, we are afraid to disturb while they're in the middle of something else.
By the way, thank you for your videos, it's really fun!!
So glad you enjoy my videos Thank you! Absolutely, being polite is the thing to do and I say sorry to bother you every time. In the US before I started doing things the French way before I moved, I'd most likely just say excuse me and not sorry to bother you unless they were clearly in the middle of something. Now it's just second nature ;-)
1/ you don't need a coma to separate the number from the road , you may want to use it between the road and the city if you write everything on the same row
2/ Last name in capital is for distinguish the first name from the last name, it's not mandatory, and the last name is first because you don't call people you don't know well with their first name in France
3/ They're no cut off time, you say "bonsoir" starting late afternoon when you feel it's starting to be late
4/ Fahrenheit is stupid honestly, celius is simple, 0°C water freeze, 100°C water boil, easy
5/ The assurance maladie reimburse fix rate, if it's above the amount it's on you, you can ask your doctor/pharmacist to know how it is reimbursed
6/ if you call the wrong emergency number (15/17/18) you will automatically redirected, 112 is an european emergency number prefer the french ones in france
7/ people are busy, may pick up in case it is an emergency but won't have time for other things. Also people in store are not necessary here to serve you, unlike in the US they're no "the client is king" in France and so you're interrupting someone for your self-interest that's why you apologize to bother them, that's not over the top or a language expression, that's just proper etiquette
Thank you; this is helpful.
Ecrire une virgule après le numéro de la rue était l'ancienne manière d'écrire une adresse en France. Certaines personnes agées écrivent encore une adresse de cette manière : 22, avenue de la République
Mais officiellement il ne faut pas mettre de virgule après le numéro de rue.
La manière correcte décrire une adresse est : 22 avenue de la République
" Also people in store are not necessary here to serve you," Well, I customers will spend their money elsewhere (like amazon) and then the shop will have no money to pay the salaries of the store staff who think "you're interrupting someone for your self-interest" and that they are not there to serve the customer.
@@anastasia10017 there are people to help customer but some are here to replace things in the shop for example and saying one sentence to be polite will not kill you. If you feel the need to be rude to employees, they will be happy to see you online shopping
Since customer service isn't a thing in France, I can see why people feel the need to say, "Excuse me, sorry to bother you" because you are, in fact, bothering the employee. In the U.S. employees are instructed by their employer to be courteous and assist the customer. However, the customer should be polite as well and say thank you.
We have actually 3 usual emergency numbers : 15 medical, 17 police and 18 firemen, and if you don't really know 15 and 18 are connected
4:45 It's kinda a national game to caught someone telling you "bonjour" and politely answering "bonsoir" because they should've said that
Or people answering "Salut" when you say "Bonjour".
I’m American but know some very basic french (I’ve taken classes but haven’t kept up on it so I’m not fluent but would like to be) I’ve been to France twice and have noticed this while I’m there
I say AVE or hello cousin. I hate the formality of bonjour
I find it helpful to know, with certainty, that the last name is indeed the LAST NAME, especially in situations where a person’s last name is also a commonly seen first name. The order doesn’t bother me at all because there’s no doubt about which is the given name and which is the surname when the surname is capitalized. As a retired teacher, I began capitalizing last names regardless; it helped me learn their names, a task that remained daunting throughout my 20 years of teaching.
Thank you for all your content, I have learned so much about France from your videos. Don’t let the negative people get you down, your channel is great !
All caps for the last name : many people in France have a last name that sound like a first name. Like : Jean OLIVIER or Paul SÉBASTIEN.... it’s confusing, but since the 12th century, when surname started to get used, it was the tradition that foundling were given a first name, and as surname, the name of the saint of the day they were founded.
Putting the surname in all caps avoids confusion on which is what!
@@MichaelTheophilus906 Often several, actually! In catholic countries, calendar used to put the name of the (main) saint facing the date…. Many popular saying concerning gardening or the weather mention the name of the saint rather than the date, like : A la sainte Catherine, tout bois prend racine ( if you plant a tree on saint Catherine day,it will take roots)
That makes total sense. Thanks for pointing that out. It's true that in English I don't think we have as many lst names that sound like first names.
"Excuser-moi de vous deranger": That is a nice intro/buffer/way of entering your personal space that I miss in the US. Americans can be abrupt when addressing others. "Where is North Street?" or "Where did you buy your outfit?" Coming from someone you never saw before, often almost jumping at you without preamble is kind of intrusive and lacking boundaries.
The medical thing is something that really attracts me to Europe. I feel like I'm going to be paying off a family member's 8 day hospital stay... for the rest of my life. Most of the major stressors I seem to face as an American are taken care of in places where work/life balance is prioritized, and I think that is remarkable.
I agree. It just sounds like it works better, isn't as stressful. Maybe it's one of those "the grass is greener on the other side" situations, but I really don't think so.
My boyfriend has heard, or known of, people in Canada waiting and waiting for tests. He said their system is broken. I don't know enough about their medical care, just that my mom (who is French-Canadian) speaks highly of it.
I wonder how it compares to Europe.
Feel for you with the medical bills. Don't get me started on what I think of the U.S. system of treating healthcare like a business and a privelege, not a right.
I'm Canadian. There are a lot of problems with our system. What a lot of people outside of Canada maybe don't realize is that, yes, we can see a doctor for free. But prescriptions are not covered. At all.
Now, a lot of people have a health care plan through their place of employment, and that covers like 80 percent of their precription costs. But for those of us - me! - who do not have a health plan at work, I have to pay for all of my prescrptions. Which are crazy expensive.
So, the place a lot of us find ourselves in is this - sure, we can visit the doctor for free, but it doesn't matter, because we can't pay for the prescription he gives us!
Also, no dental is covered, and no optomitrists are covered. Just doctors. So if you need dental work or glasses (I desperatly need both, but can't afford it), you have to, again, have coverage through your work's health plan, or pay for it all yourself.
So, for me, I need prescriptions, I need eye tests, I need glasses, I badly need dental work, and none of it is covered in Canada's health system, and I have no coverage with my work. So my eyes hurt all the time from the strain, I can't get the prescriptions I need for my prolactinma or other issues, and my cavities get bigger and bigger.
Also, the waiting thing is true. Sure, I can get an MRI for free, but I might die waiting for it. True story: when I was getting diagnosed with my prolactinoma (a type of pituitary tumour) I needed an MRI. The wait list was like 9 months long, but they called me after only 6 months, and said they suddenly had an available time for an MRI the next day, cause the guy with that time slot had died. Probably died because he had to wait a year to get a scan of his tumour.
I mean, that's my opinion on our healthy care system. Some here think it's amazing, some thing it's terrible. Lot of different opinions on it, for sure. And to be clear, I do appreciate that I can visit a doctor or have an MRI or a blood test for free. It's just that there are downsides to our system, too.
Still, I think I'd prefer ours over the American system...but then again, I'm not familar with how the American system really works. I mean, I know they have to either have insurance or pay to see a doctor, but I don't know how expensive insurance is, I don't know what a doctor visit would cost, I don't know what changes ObamaCare made to it, and I don' t know if those changes are still in effect. So I guess I have a lot to learn before I can say I prefer ours. Can't really compare when I don't understand their system.
I'm French, so I'm totally biased on this, but the main reason why I will never ever live in the US is their crazy health insurance system, in which people have to choose between two life saving medicines or fearing for their financial situation in case of an accident. So yes, our system is underfinanced because of 40 years of politicians attacking it. Yes, not everything (espacially dental care and glasses) is covered. Yes, we might wait a little bit when something is not an emergency. But I have never feared bankruptcy for any medical trouble and have always received the medical care I needed. Right now, I'm sitting with a broken leg, which has needed surgery and a lot of prescriptions, and I haven't pay and won't pay anything, thanks to the social security system. This system has some weaknesses, yes, but no one dies because of too expensive medical visits or medications (doctors and pharmaceutical stuffs are mostly covered, even though not everything is completely covered, as she said)
@@solenemb5546 All of this. It's still better than the US. I appreciate your explanation of the differences. :)
Actually, as a French graphic designer, "majuscules" are the grammatical form of the first letter of a sentence or the first letter of a proper name which should be written in capitals. Capitals are the right name of letters written in CAPITALS. But since Windows 95, and the worldwide standardisation of the Office Word mistaken translation in France, captitals are both "Majuscules" and "CAPITALES"... Concerning the first/last names thing, it's simple : your family name is more important so it has to be written in capitals whereas your first name is second so it's only "majuscule" on the first letter then lowercase on the rest. Regarding the order between first and last/surname, it depends on the context... If it's administrative, LAST NAME then First name (which make more sense in France, because it's FAMILY NAME then First Name and family is more important.... If it's more casual, Frist then FAMILY NAME... ;) In France, first name is "prénom", meaning ""prename"" so, it's more logical considering that the surname/family name comes first, that it's more important cause it's your family, it's more important because it's the part you carry on from generation to generation... The "prénom" is just the name you use to make the difference from your dad/grand-parents/ancestors... ;)
I’d add it’s also because capital letters are usually easier tonread
@@_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_I_ Ce n'est pas parce qu'elle ne va pas répondre qu'elle ne va pas forcément lire, ou que ça ne va pas apprendre des choses à quelqu'un d'autre qui passait par là.
Je ne comprends vraiment pas l'intérêt qu'ont certains de descendre les commentateurs qui prennent le temps de partager leur savoir en développant leur argumentaire...
En plus, ce commentaire n'est pas si long que ça, peut-être un petit manque d' "aération" entre les paragraphes, mais y a franchement pire. ^^'
@@carolef7025 C'est exactement ce que j'allais dire jusqu'à ce que vois ta réponse x)
Généralement j'écris toujours mon nom de famille en majuscules pour éviter les erreurs de lecture donc quand c'est pour des documents importants, merci pour les explications
For me, we are using Caps for last names because some last names are also first names: Robert, Philippe etc… this is the only way to make the difference!
The free emergencies and medical care in France incite many people to call them for nothing, for example calling the firemen because you lost your keyes and are blocked outside your home, or because you need help to carry your bags (this really happens). So maybe if you don't say anything they'll considered it as a joke or a wrong call and won't lose more time, because when they're busy with not urgent call, they can't handle true urgent needs
Another thing not clogging up their lines is the level of violent crime in the US (looking at you, gun-related incidents). Also overdose deaths (how many is it now - 90,000/year?) Whereas it can and does happen that someone would call, not speak and need to be called back or otherwise investigate, I think it's a far less common scenario.
Yes as a European who has immigrated to the USA, it’s still after 3 decades shocking to me that people call me and start talking without asking if they are disturbing me 😁
I (Italian, now living in Switzerland) absolutely *am* sorry to bother supermarket employees when I stop them to ask where something is: they are already busy doing something else, for sure. In my experience there aren't people "waiting around" in Italian (or Swiss) supermarkets: yes, they are doing the job they're paid for... and that job is *not* customer service :-D
That said, people will generally be graceful enough to help you or refer you to someone else (you might have stopped someone who only ever works at the fresh produce section to ask about... I don't know, bottled soda), especially if you are graceful and polite about it.
- On my credit card, it's first name first. If your name is Jane Smith and if you say "Madame..." it's supposed to be in that order "Madame Jane Smith".
- The last name in capitals: so that it's easier to know which is the last name (if it's a foreign name or if both sound like a first name).
- The last name first : if i'ts an alphabetical order. List of students names is always formatted like this.
- In a form, they ask you for your last name, then first name: because last name is more important.
I'll add up to this : as said, lastname in capital is to avoid confusion, and this is quite important as many lastnames are also first names, like "MARTIN" (the most common in France) for instance
I find it interesting that many of the experiences that you have had that seem unusual are actually more common here in the southeastern US than apparently it must be in the northeastern US.
Hey i hope this helps about the emergency numbers:
-18 is the fire department: which you would call when someone needs rescuing like in a car (or plane) crash. Generally they deal any emergency that is not crime related or purely medical. They are the ones to call if the scene is hard to get to (fire departments have the equiment needed to get to you). They will coordinate with medical emergency personel and police if need be.
-17 is the law enforcement emergency number depending on where you are it will either be gendarmerie or police. They are always separated from the other responders though.
-15 is the purely medical emergency number they will advise you in case you don't know whether or not you should go to the emergency room and if it's not safe for you to get there yourself they will send either a ambulance with only paramedics or a SAMU ambulance with a doctor, paramedic and nurse depending on how bad of a condition you are in.
Depending on the country 112 gets you different first responders on the phone in france it's the fire department or the medical emergenciies which is why they told you to hang up so you could call the police as their call centers are separated and they can't transfer the calls . The idea of a single phone number for all emergencies is such a good one and i wish we had that.
how are you supposed to remember all that when you are having a heart attack or someone has a knife to your kid's throat ?
@@anastasia10017 I know right. My parents made sure my brother and I remembered them well. And schools teach them too but I guess you never know till you have been in one of these situations how you would react and that's why I think one emergency number is better. There actually is talk of doing that soon in France but there is resistance from doctors saying that the time needed to sort through the calls that aren't related to medical emergency might lose critical time for the patients.
@@anastasia10017 Cause we learn it when we're children and it's written everywhere, remembered on TV, etc.
It's not so difficult when you're use to it, police 17! Medical 15! When I was a kid they make us learn 18 first because they can do both medical, fire problem and will bring police with them if needed.
Listed this on my phone so whenever I can return to France I have this pertinent information. Merci beaucoup! Do you actually have to have the - before the number?
Yes, Chinese always have their family name first and given name next. Note that the given name is typically two name and it’s always go together. Unfortunately most western countries assumed the two given name as first name and middle name, which is not the case. It’s best view as the two name contain a hyphen in between.
15 for SAMU (EMS), 17 for Police, 18 for Firefighters, that’s the numbers you pretty much need to know and that every kid learn. Since we got mobile, we got the 112 number that work all around Europe (since each country have their own number) and you can simply request to the 112 to be put in contact with the services you’re looking for.
1) The coma is not compulsory to send mail, I actually discovered French ppl do that in your video and I'm a French guy
2) Capital letters are used to make a difference between the first and last names. It's very common to have a regular first name as a last name as you said 👍🏽
3) In mainland France, it's kind of linked with the position of the sun, when the sun is setting, past 4pm, you'd say Bonsoir. In the Antilles however it's common to say Bonsoir past midday (especially in Guadeloupe)
5) For all the medical fees: Medication is free if prescribed by your doctor (even condoms can be reimbursed that way). Conventionné secteur 1 = basically free/ secteur 2 = more fees, generaly around +15€ for a specialist. You'll have additional fees if you need your doc to come at home. The mutuelle is used paired with the Sécurité Sociale, especially when you need a nurse and/or some medication like hormones
6) The three numbers you should absolutely know: 15 = SAMU (medical emergency)/ 17=Police/ 18=Firemen. To remember them, they work counter alphabetical (SPF) and the number 16 is not attributed ! 15 is a round number, the only one you need to remember 🙏🏽
Another informative video Diane! Love the variety of what you cover on your channel. I also like reading everyone’s comments with their experiences. One thing I’ve noticed, but this may be specific to who I write to, is how neat and precise the French printing is. As the years have gone by, my printing and cursive have gotten sloppier, but I’ve not noticed that with the French people I correspond with.
Putting sur surname before the given name reeks of officialdom, student lists, the military… organizations that sort people according to surname first, then given name. (By the way, calling people by their surname only, without putting "Monsieur" or "Madame" before, really smacks of the military or old-style schooling; even more so if you put nothing for males but "Mademoiselle" for young women.) The normal textual way is first name then last name.
Capitals are used when it could be confusing which is the given name and which is the surname. In the old days (it probably still occurs today but on a far smaller scale; the law about this is still on the books), abandoned children were given a given name (Michel, Richard…) as last name. As pointed out in another comment, this also comes handy for foreign names.
A number of things that you cited are confusing for the French, including which medicines are reimbursed at which rates and the cutoff between bonjour and bonsoir. I honestly don't know the criteria why certain oral contraceptived are covered and some are not.
5:20 It's always correct: it express their mood or what they plan to do.
Same in Canada for 911. I can't believe that operator did not call you back. Wow. Here they calk you back till they get you and if they can't reach you there's a squaddie at your door within 10 min.
We use désolé de vous déranger on the phone because we assume the other person is doing something, it gives the person called the opportunity to immediatly suggest a to call back at a better time and schedule it. You can at the begining of the conversation say "can I call you back in x time" and get it over with immediatly because it is assumed you were doing something and had to answer the phone because you didn't know who it was but could be important and it will not be considered rude to say that you aren't available now because it's a bad time.
For the address, we use to put the "," but with automatic sorting of the mail "la poste" ask people to not put the comma after the number to avoid problems.
That's interesting! I had no idea it was for proper mail sorting. I never use the comma so I'll continue to do it that way.
I'm French and 60. I've always put a coma after the number. That's how I was taught as a secretary at school. Thanks for the update, I didn't know about the La Poste advice not put it... I'll try and do it, though it sounds weird...
Putting a comma after the number was also common in Britain, but is no longer the norm. In countries such as India and Pakistan, which were once part of the British Empire, the comma is still often used.
@@rosapenco3365 I'm 50 and French. I think it was something like 30 years ago, when they introduce the envelopes with the 5 squares for the postal code, to help with the automatic sorting.
For emergencies, all across europe 112 will work. They will redirect you if needed ;-)
For vital emergency or medical assistance, 112 will work. But without any medical assistance require, we call the 17 for human who not behave well and 18 if it is for animal issues (dangerous or tricked) or a fire.
yeah don't worry, i'm french and it happen a lot of times to me to say "bonjour" and to be answered "bonsoir" ^^
112 is for medical emergencies and works through out Europe. 110 is the same but for police. But in France most people would call 18 for firefighters (medical and fire) 15 for serious medical and talk with doctor and 17 for police.
Writing the last name in capitals is very useful when a person has a Christian name for last name. For example, writing "Alain PAUL" will permit to determine which of the two is the last name of this person (Christian names as last names are pretty current in France).
I once entered a shop at 17:59 and was greeted with a bonjour, left the shop and said bonne journée but was corrected to bonne soirée. It was 18:01.
Writing the date as Day/Month/Year confused me when making reservations. Being in the IT field I would prefer YYYYMMDD because it is easy to sort
@MrTherealpadYeah we have to be special here in the US - still would like YYYYMMDD :)
While we are at it, who negotiated the work 5 days off 2 days. That needs to be changed to at least work 4 days and off 3 days
Celsius is based on water changes of state. Water freezes at 0°C and boils at 100°C
capitalization of last name on official documents is to prevent confusion in case of last names that are also first name (martin being common as both first and last name is only one example)
Also last name is in first position because you can only have one and it's limited to one hyphen, but you can have a lot of first names (I've seen up to 4) and they are sometimes required in documents
I dont know where you grew up, but in English you say good morning until noon, good afternoon in the afternoon and good evening at 5pm. it's really not complicated. And you say good night when you leave and are saying good bye. We have different parts of the day : Morning, afternoon and evening. So you can say things like " late in the evening" or "early in the afternoon" or "late morning" and people have an idea of what time to which you refer. This is basic English and not confusing.
I'm from NW Ohio and your description of times of day is what's natural to me But when I lived in Virginia, it seemed like there was hardly any afternoon. By 2 or 2:30, folks were saying "good evening."
@@rontuohy1739 I lived in VA as well and never came across anyone saying good evening at 230pm
I have no idea why I'm subscribed to this channel, but I love it. I have no plans to move to France, or even to visit there in the near future. I did grow up in a French (Canadian) speaking household, (in the USA) but never learned the language. At family functions all of the adults would speak French, and as kids we didn't think there was anything unusual about it, but we weren't particularly interested in learning it at the time. Opportunities missed...
En Guadeloupe on dit bonsoir à partir de midi ! Mais des fois je me fais corriger alors ça dépend de chacun
J'ai grandi dans le Berry, et là-bas, on utilise "bonsoir" pour dire "au revoir", même le matin !
The last name thing in capital letter certainly comes from school habit. At least for me, at school, handing over a written test, it was last name first in capital letter. Also all alphabetic name lists are last name first, so people usually follow this when writting an official letter to an administration for example ..
I just found you. Been living in Normandie for almost five years now and I was thinking about starting a channel like yours. But yours is so great! 😂 I'm just going to Bing watch these and find another topic. 🍿 Really great work! Thank you!
45° on the terrace here and doing ok ! Of course America is used to AC everywhere and ice cubes in every drink so it's harder for them. When I go to a supermarket and I see people stocking up on cheap wine, I know that they are foreigners. Better to spend a bit more on a good wine bottled at the chateau and drink less than knock back cheap industrial wine like it was water. In France, less is more. Life should always go for quality above quantity.
We totally do that here in Canada! The whole sorry-to-bother-you thing. It's interesting to see that someone would view that as a bit over the top. To me, it feels natural to say that to a store clerk because, well, store clerks are never just standing around doing nothing, they're stocking shelves or doing some other task usually, so I feel I'm interuppting them, and therefore need to apologize for that.
And even if they are just, say, standing behind a till or something, and not doing a task, I still feel like I don't know if they are about to start a task, and my question is preventing them from starting that task, so I feel that need to say sorry for bothering them.
I mean not every single person here does this or anything, but I do, and I think a lot of people do.
In Canada, in the province of Quebec a women doesn’t take her husbands name. She keeps her maiden name it is the law.
In fact legally french woman keep all her life her birth name and there is always a place to wrote the birth name on the paper. But she can if she wants get the name of her husband but her husband can take the name of his wife also but it's rare. It's also possible to have the two name joint.
It’s the same here in Louisiana USA. We have the Napoleonic code while the rest of the US is under the UniformCommercial Code. When we marry, we may use our husband’s last name but on legal documents we use our own name. We were part of France first and have clung to our French heritage.
I know. I think that's great. I wish it was like this in all of Canada, not just Quebec. (I'm Canadian, but don't live in Quebec).
During the last century it was common in France to be called only by your lastname at school or at work. The fistname was for family or friends. Younger people will use first name then lastname, and older people will use lastname first.
The administration uses generally lastname first too.
I guess it's difficult to switch from one to another, but Fareinheit makes no sense compared to Celsius.
I lived in the US for 9 years (I'm French) and refused to have anything to do with Fahrenheit, LOL
Celsius is very logical.
0 is water going into ice.
100 is water going into vapor.
@@mchess6141 and Human Body temperature 37° C
@@MichaelTheophilus906 Right, but nobody (in my experience) uses Celsius...
Sometimes the service really suck in French shops. If you don't say 'Bonjour' and 'Sorry to bother you' then you're might already be in a lot of troubles and the shop workers will have 'authority' over you. A french person might try to re-establish their authority by excusing themselves then arguing if necessary. But I don't see foreigners do that. You have to establish your status as an important customer and without politeness you'll be immediatly disqualified and set in the category of impolite people they can now treat however they feel like.
7:20 - It is great both that you got reimbursed for almost full price of than MRI, and that this full price was only €78. Some US hospitals will charge you (or your insurance) ten times more for a bag of saline.
Isn't that exactly what she was saying?
* "Smith John" is uglily formal, sounds like military and/or administrative stuff. "John Smith" is the smooth and casual way. Capitals don't matter.
* The "Bonjour" or "Bonsoir" limit is a mystery to french people, too. Sorry about that ;) .
* Universal emergency number is 112. Dispatching. No exceptions certified, as far as I noticed.
* "Désolé de vous déranger" is just a polite way to say an employee you consider them as an equal human being, and not as an underdog.
Merci pour tes vidéos, je suis français et je vis une histoire d'amour depuis peu avec une franco-américaine ici depuis 16 ans, j'avais découvert déjà ta chaîne avant de la rencontrer, et je l'apprécie toujours autant et d'autant plus. Keep it on :)
Re: addresses...when I was an exchange student in ‘85, we didn’t use a comma between the number & street name. I saw an earlier commenter say the Poste asked folks not to use it because it confused the automatic sorters. I don’t think they were being used in Narbonne in ‘85. Maybe it’s a regional preference kind of thing??
it is proper punctuation. Computers have taken over and eradicated what is correct writing and punctuation to suit their programming.
About the comma in addresses : the comma is a recommendation by the Code typographique de l'Imprimerie nationale, which is used primarily in publishing ; but the Post office prefers no comma and even all caps (because addresses must be legible by a machine).
15 pour les urgences médicales , 18 pour les pompiers et 17 pour la police. Sinon en cas de grosse panique le 112 (numéro d'urgence générale )
Et le 114 qui communique par SMS pour les malentendants
I really like that telephone etiquette.
Regarding temperature these four ratios will give you a guide ;
32° F = 0°C, 50° F = 10°C , 70° F = 21°C and 90° F = 32°C.
In the U.K. all emergencies are covered by one number, 999 .
Hi
You are totally right the emergency numbers. I’m French and i’ve always found confusing and complicated to remember all those numbers. I wish we would have a French 911. It would be so much easier!
It’s always a real pleasure to watch your videos! You’re so lucky to be in the US, I love going there (have a couple of friends there) and I can’t wait to go back!
🇫🇷❤️🇺🇸
I'm from the USA and think France is really a wonderful country. I just love it. Our people here in the USA are told ( or at least they used to be) that the French are "rude," but I never saw that in the three times I was there. It's just a great country and I hope to go back. And I also like very much the way they will help you with their language. Just a great place overall. And, of course, absolutely wonderful food!
I'm pretty sure 112 is the European equivalent of American's 911. Check it out.
Historically, French people (like British) only had one name (Pierre, Paul, Jacques, etc…). It’s only when people started to travel outside of their village/city that had to identify themselves more precisely. So they started to have a name of group, name of family, such the Family of Paris, or Family of Edinburgh, etc… Royals people still using this naming such William of Windsor, etc… However, not everyone was royal and had a specific lineage, so they use common names, which could have been another name. So to identify which is the name of the family/group and which is the first name (prénom, which is prior-name) they started to use the “name LASTNAME”. However, every administration system are first categorizing by Last Name which could be easier because you can have thousands of people name Pierre, Paul or Jacques. That’s why on many official document, we can sometimes see the format LASTNAME Name. So to make sure there’s no confusion, the etiquette is to put the last name in full CAP, so even people that would have two similar name or a last name based on a regular usual name would still be identified easily. Someone that would be call Pierre PAUL, we would know that PAUL is his family name, contrary to Paul PIERRE where Pierre would be his family name.
3:15 J'ai grandi ici, j'ai 40 ans passé et je me souviens d'avoir toujours appris que le prénom venait en premier (en minuscules) et le nom de famille en dernier (en MAJUSCULES)... Mais ensuite, je ne me souviens pas du tout quand j'ai découvert ça, mais j'ai vu sur des document que le nom pouvait être écrit en premier, et encore pire... Le nom de famille pouvait être écrit en minuscules ! Alors effectivement, c'est pas clair... Mais la version traditionnelle en France c'est : Prénom NOMDEFAMILLE.
3:53 In France, it's precisely the capitalization that makes you understand which is wich, especially for people whose last name could be a first name : like Antoine DANIEL or Sophie MARIE etc.
Very good video, as a French person living in France, I ask myself the same questions as you.
Thank you for watching!! Glad you found it helpful ;-)
Capitalisation of surnames: Whatever the order, capitalization tells you the surname/family name/last name. Good idea.
Do you know the handy C/F conversion? 16C=61F 28C=82F The comfortable temperature range might be 16-28C or 61-82F. Just reverse the numerals.
I am a New Zealander in France sice 2017.
5:22 This is confusing for French too. Like, some people say "bonsoir" at 2PM! WTF?
Also, sometimes I hesitate in the middle of the word and end up saying "Bonsour" or "Bonjoir"... 😆
For names, it used to always be Last name first which of course is not called last name in French but family name.
The Anglo-saxons influence made the first name last name order more common. So now if you are addressing someone like in a letter you do it the American way but for lists, data and forms it’s usually the classic way with last name first.
As for the capitalisation, lots of last names are common first names so fully capitalising the last name makes it obvious which is which. For example Pierre Martin you wouldn’t know which first and which is last. It became especially useful with the lack of consistency in the order of the names.
In this case the capitalisation is not shouting but a stronger capitalisation than the first name.
That emergency number in “all” of Europe is a change since I lived in England. Back then (1985-1989) it was 999.
Yeah, as some have already mentioned, I think you have an answer in your question. On the capitalization of the last names. It must be precisely because the name order can change and you can be sure which one is the last name.
In France it's usual to give "composed" first name : Jean-Pierre, Marie-Hélène, or christian and foreign first names: Pierre Mohamed.
Additionally, catholic tradition is to give multiple first names to the children (usually parent's choice, then grandfather/grandmother or godfather/godmother or any other). But only one of this first names, the usual one, will be used in daily life. Most of the time it will be the first first name, but people displeased with it can use second or third or abbreviation of any of them without official declaration.
And you can have multiple names, usually father then mother names (Martin Dupont) or -seemingly- noble name (Giscard d'Estaing). Last century old politicians also combined their family name and resistance pseudo (Servan Schreiber, Bloch Dassault).
Here again, people can informally use in daily life either of their official last name. It's quite common for women to use their marital name at work, even for a period after divorce, or for children to opt for either father's or mother's name after divorce.
Administration, to reduce homonyms, ask you to declare all first names and surnames, disregarding what you use in daily life.
So your friend Marion Lebrun will be named, on her Id card and any administrative document (which must reflect the Id card) : Lou-Anne Marie Françoise Martin Lebrun.
Good luck to find the last name only by order (Martin Lebrun).
Also, in daily life you introduce yourself by usual first name and last name. But for classification reason, on administrative papers you declare last name then first name to sort people alphabetically.
Hi Diane! It's strange to hear about the emergency calls in France, especially because my husband actually works here for 911. He no longer takes calls, but they go through so much training including how to determine who to forward calls to. Here in NH, we even have enhanced 911 so pretty much any call, even from any cellphone, can be traced if the person can't call back. They have cartographers who actually go out and plot coordinates for any building, driveways, cell towers, apartment numbers in complexes, etc. Sounds kind of scary in France! :)
Hi Jan, I can't say that no French emergency # calls you back if you butt dial or hang up on emergency services (or that 112 won't ever reroute the call to the right emergency dept) but in my experience, this has been the case. I asked a few family members in France as well and they have erroneously dialed 112 w/their touch screen and haven't gotten a call back either. Just a different way of doing things but doesn't put me at ease if I'm ever incapacitated....
Non-standardized emergency number does sound odd, as a Canadian. But … maybe it’s because safer country means it’s not seen as needed. As for the call back, we have that too but maybe it’s the same idea. The number of times it may be warranted … I think first responder service numbers probably have a high rate of mistaken calls so they don’t see it as necc.
@@OuiInFrance emergency number in France are easy, 15 medical, 17 police, 18 firemen, we learn it at a very young age. 112 is fairly new, around 15/20 year ago, I and probably most of the french never use it
Very easy if you have a doubt use 18 it is firemen and they are used to it. Of course if you are witness of a bank robbery 17 police is of course the right one 😂
Funny enough a long Time project exists in France for a unique emergency number. But the different parties (emergency unit, fire Dpt,…) are not agreeing with this.
They prefer to keep their own separate call desk.May be this could change in the future. Meanwhile we can use the European emergency number :112
In America the list of annoyances are much, much longer
Hi Diane, I just moved from USA to Czech Republic and we are headed to France June 13th to see if we can find a house! Very exciting times for me but also right now coming from the USA, many things confuse me! I have to tell myself to have different expectations from different cultures. One is how formal everything is. When we do official paperwork, everything takes forever but also no one seems to have the power to fix problems, even when they are the ones who made the error. But I do love many things about living here so I'm sure in the end everything will work itself out!
French administration and their agents are the 9th circle of hell. Bon courage!
In France, you write the last name in capital and the first name in lower case so you know which one is which . It’s as simple as that. Nothing to be confused about. Then in ordinary situation, the first name comes first and in official situation like passport, documents the last name come first. Very simple.
The first time I came to the US, about 30 years ago, I have been very surprise that several times a day, people were saying me that I am welcome is their country or business. And I was answering "thanks" at any "you're welcome". And sometimes my "thanks" even prompted a new "you're welcome" ;-).
No worries about bonjour/bonsoir, recently someone told me bonsoir at 4pm, with full sun 🤣 I was taken aback honestly, and only answered bonjour😝
I think every country has its own non sense things, including in the US. I never understood why there are 4 stops intersections where drivers check each other to see whose turn is to cross. Somebody has to explain me why in some states, bicycle riders must wear a helmet but legally, motorcycle riders don’t have to wear one. We could wonder why in the 21st century, the official and common measuring system is imperial using a base 12 system and as a result, most of people can’t made simple additions or soustractions. Also, why do I have to buy groceries, beer and liquors in three different stores in some states? Don’t get me wrong... I got used to of those things. I just wanted to show that there are some weird things in every country.
...because Americans have their own culture the US is not your colony anymore you the French have still a heap of colonies or semi colonies
@@towaritch France has no colonies since 1962. I’m not sure this is the point anyway. What I tried to say is that all countries have non-senses and it is what makes the multi-cultural system so beautiful.
I am from Eastern Europe and it is strange for me to see all supermarkets being closed on Sundays in "old Europe". Sunday is a good day for shopping, and this is a good day for earninig money for buisness. But not. All business activity is stopped. And at the same time people crying on "unemployment"... quite stupid.
The easiest answer is because most of the laws that affect people on a daily basis are made by state and not the federal government in the US. That’s why there’s 50 different sets of rules.
Merci 🇫🇷😊 J’adore vos vidéos!
So glad!!! Thanks for watching!
the coma after the number in a address is the old way to write an address. I sometimes write it that way. both are accepted, i think.
After 20 years in the US , I still struggle to understand how the health insurances work, what " Tier"/ category the medications are put on or switched to, what service is to be applied to the deductible or not, etc...seems to me reimbursement for health services/products is way to complex in either countries.
Nobody understands how health insurance works in the US. It's a mystery every time you use a health service and often a very unpleasant surprise.
I agree with the emergency numbers, there should be one number and they decide who to call.
I live in the US and what she’s enumerating happens exactly the same in the US (the address thing, the name thing, the hello/good evening, health insurance, etc).
I work third shift I just say good morning all the time now
112 is for life threatening emergencies only. There are alternative Numbers that go to police/medical etc. This is because operators have a really big problem with people with non emergent cases block people with real emergencies, which have led to a lot of deaths
J'adore tes videos! I'm a french guy living in Toronto and your videos are teaching me about my own country ahha, it seems like you are doing a great job to fit into the french society, even me I don't even know some of these rules 😁
To sum up, if you speak first, you can say "Bonjour" and "Au revoir" it will be ok anytime. And it's easier with people you know : just say "Salut" anytime for greetings and good bye. If you respond to someone, just repeat the word he said and that's it ;)
Since first name and last name in French are "Prénom" and "Nom (de famille)" there isn't an inherent order to them. The custom is to write the "Nom" in capital letters first, then the "Prénom" in formal situations, like writing an address on a mail or on a cheque. The capitalization of the "Nom" was important in the 70's until the early 2000's because automated optical devices used for sorting and processing these documents in postal services, banks and _sécurité sociale_ weren't as efficient as today, so it was more expensive to manually deal with lowcase writing.
Capitalisation is seen as yelling only since the internet and instant messenger or email exist.
So after watching this video as a lifelong American I think, "That's it? The biggest drawback might be multiple emergency numbers? France sounds great!" And my first and middle name wouldn't even be weird--Danielle Yvette!
La majuscule est la première lettre d'un mot écrit en capitale. Si le mot est entièrement écrit en "majuscules", on ne dit pas majuscules mais capitales (comme en anglais) . On peut aussi dire "haut de casse" pour capitale et "bas de casse" pour minuscule. Cela vient du vocabulaire de l'imprimerie. On rangeait les Capitales en haut et les minuscule en bas.
I’m surprised you didn’t mention how the “maiden names” of women end up in uppercase on driver’s licences, etc. Or the French rules of succession/inheritance!
The coma is mandatory if you write an address in a text. But this is not very well known and is a very common mistake. Furthermore, La Poste does not enforce this rule when one writes mail.
As for capitalisation on last names, it may well be to prevent confusion mistaking a poorly hand written letter for another as could be u and v. Example: Mr. LEFEBVRE (to make matters worse,V is silent and is pronounced as would be Lefèvre...) is not Mr. LEFEBURE.
Even here in in the US many official documents (particularly military) have the last name first, usually with a comma in between. This is because such correspondence is filed alphabetically according to last name. I suspect the practice in France is an ingrained respect for the family (last name = family name) over self. Much the same way I’d be introduced here in the US as “Howard and Maxine’s boy” rather than by my name.
About the comma in the adresse, it use to be the norm to have one but it changed recently so people who are used to the old way are still doing it.