Just a side note, the 5 weeks paid vacations a year is the MINIMUM required by law ! Most companies offer more than that. At my corporate job, we get 7 weeks a year + RTT, which are paid days off given to employees that work more than 35 hours a week. Most corporate job will have you work 37 hrs a week, so that's 7 weeks of paid vacations + 13 days of RTT = 48 days/10 weeks of paid vacations a year. Thanks French unions ;)
J'ai plus que 5 semaines de congés, car j'ai aussi des RTT, mais dire que la plupart des entreprises offrent plus, honnêtement, je ne crois pas. Dans mon entourage, beaucoup de gens n'ont aucun RTT et 5 semaines de congés payé, pas plus.
@@aurelien1241 La moyenne en France c'est 33 jours de congés + RTT, soit 6 semaines 1/2. Par ailleurs je parle de corporate job, en gros d'encadrement dans une grosse boite ou administration et là tu as le plus souvent un accord de branche ou d'entreprise qui prévoit plus que le minimum légal :)
Exactly that's what I had ( former employee in. the public sector here). I took a month vacation in winter and even had 2 days added. Traveled to Canary Islands, Tulum or Thailand.And the best : a 5 $ 3 course quality meal for lunch.
Speedos for men: yes it's public hygiene. They noticed that in summer, men tend to stay all day long in their swimming shorts and go to the pool that way without changing! In terms of hygiene, I also never understood why in the US, doctors and nurses would wear their scrubs in the streets (back from work, or going to work!). And washing their scrubs at home! In France, in hospitals you change yourself into your scrubs at the hospital, and you leave your scrub at the end of the day at the hospital. The hospital laundry will wash it (very high degree, heavy detergent to kill properly bacterias and viruses). I never understood why a country who is so scared of bacterias like the US, would let their doctors and nurses go back home and be in contact with loads of persons in between, in their dirty scrubs....
When I lived in Paris a decade ago the public pools required for men "maillots" - best translated as "Speedos". There was no similar minimum fabric requirement for women and women at public pools used all sorts of styles from minimal bikinis to styles older women in US wear.
@@peggiescraftcafe7117 as said in the comment, the difference is that men could spend their entire day in the swim trunk and not just the time they are at the pool. For example, they could walk in the streets in it etc and then go in the pool without changing it. Also, because of that they used to be people who kept their underwear underneath the swim shorts which is not very hygenic. Hope that was clear
@@peggiescraftcafe7117 Because it's not about swimming all day in them, or it's not about comfort. It's about going to the pool in an outfit in which you have traces of body fluids and excrement because you wore it all day....Hence the fact that people are required to change before going to the pool. Also, in shorts, sometimes people forget their tissues, papers, money and it ends up in the pool....I find it very funny from a cultural point of view, that one of clichés about french people is being dirty and yet, there's definitely something going on about the hygienic perception of these swimming shorts ...ah ah ah
The speedo is also weird from a German perspective too, because you can see everything in public. Although I would be totally naked in the Sauna :) (which is more more tit for tat naked )
This is why Walmart failed in both France and Germany. Walmart is antiunion, and tried to force their way of business on the 2 countries, and it didn't work for them.
@@mturynP Companies must have a serious reason that could stand on court to fire an employee in France otherwise they’ll get sued. The only reason you can fire someone in France, other than serious economic reasons, is if their actions/behavior really damaged the company (and going on strike is a legal right that can’t be considered as damaging for the company).
Cashiers sitting. It shocked me when I went there that the cashiers at the grocery store had stools. Why do they have to stand in the US? It just never occurred to me.
In the United States if you are not standing then you are being lazy. This is the view of anyone. If you even look as if you are relaxing for a moment at work you are wasting the company's time, which means their profits are declining. "If you have time to lean you have time to clean" is not just a funny saying, it is very concretely true in the minds of American companies.
I’m 61. I’ve had four vacations in my entire life, the longest one was ten days total. Altogether, they don’t add up to what the French enjoy annually. In the USA, we work until we drop dead. No choice, unless you’re born into luxury to begin with.
I am now in forced retirement at 65 (health issues, which will probably bankrupt me except that medical debt is exempted from bankruptcy proceedings so those guys will get their figurative pound of flesh along with the literal ones.) I have taken one week-long vacation in my adult life. In October of 2019. All the rest of my vacation time got paid out to me when the jobs ended, not when I took time off. (Lots of reasons for jobs to end, including COVID 19. My job at that firm is the only one that hasn't be reopened.) USA's attitude toward workers and unions went down the drain with the Movement Republicans and firing all of the air traffic controllers. That and what followed frightened too many workers.
@@cepahreinholt8710 An old american lady, who had lived many years in France once told : In USA people is afraid of government, in France the government is afraid of the people. Don't mess with people in France when it come to civil, healthcare, social laws things. Don't touch our "art de vivre"...
Hanging clothing outside on a rack or line is no longer acceptable in some parts of the US. I have a small folding rack, and often put a few items on it, on my own balcony. This apparently offends some people. If clean clothing bothers you, I say, don’t look. I frequently saw items drying outside in France, Germany and Italy. Energy conscious too!
@@OuiInFrance There are laws specifying where you are not allowed to hang your laundry. I know about regulations and restrictions concerning balconies. For example when you live in an apartment building of a "résidence" type, you are not allowed to dry your clothes on a line, you can only use a rack that is less visible. It seems to me that some 20 years ago or even less it was still possible to hang your laundry outside even in tiny streets in cities like Nice. Or am I confusing it with Italy? Locals will know better. Today people feel offended, it's not esthetic enough.
That's how I dry all my washing in the summer, we have 3 clothes horses that I put outside my door on the little paved ''patio'' area. The heat coming up from the stone helps and they normally dry in a few hours. [Winter is different obviously]. I used to have a washing line but there isn't one where I'm currently renting. Radiators also get covered in winter, great for drying undies and socks.
@@hanavanek1379 In Canada, each municipality has their own bylaws that may prevent hanging laundry outside, but that has changed over the years since we are all being encouraged to conserve energy. I've always hung my own clothes and especially my darks because the dryer is very hard on clothes and ages them more quickly. But for years now our dryer has been broken and I really don't care, I just hang everything now, and hang inside in winter.
France has more favorable customs when it comes to employment, health insurance, vacation, family leave, and a focus on minimizing stress and taking care of one's health.
@@billl1127 There are so many Americans working two or three jobs just to keep head above water and then to have the possibility of getting bankrupted by medical bills. I would rather earn less, pay tax and live carefree knowing whether I get a heart attack or cancer, it will not add extra burden or concern.
U think thats bad? Fathers only get 3 or 4 days tops, so moms are forced to recoup from birth while taking care of a newborn by themselves while the father is at work
Most places here do not offer any maternity leave at all. And if they do, its often unpaid. Paternity leave is almost unheard of. I have known many women who either quit or who have to go back to work within days of giving birth. I was lucky enough to be self employed when I had each of mine, but that did mean no income at all for that period. We saved up ahead of time.
In France we call our payment cards "cartes de crédit" but they should be called "cartes de débit", because as you said it is very rare that such a card actually allows people to pay above the amount of money they have on their bank account.
In the UK, when you pay with a Debit card, the payment comes direct out of the linked Bank account. While with Credit cards, the payment is added to a separate account which has to then be settled with a payment, usually per month. I've avoided Credit cards as many in the UK also require an additional fee.
? The carte de crédit allows to go a lot higher than what you have in your bank account. That's why it's called credit card. Unless you have such poor track record that your card is not allowing anything, but thats rare and such people would only be offered debit card anyway.
What most of the french have actually are credit cards. Your account is not debited of your purchases until the end of the month. That means there is actually a "free" credit.
@@nmolodiets6274 Wrong , most people have instant debit cards ... not monthly debit. Both exists , example my mother always had a credit card with monthly payment ... i always had an instant one , and it's not because i'm poor ( cause i'm not ) , it's just my choice to see instantly what is on my account and what did i spent recently.
What she has inadvertently managed to do is to show how dreadful work conditions and employment terms are in the USA. While the rich get richer,the American worker works his/her life away.
I felt this way when I was in my early and mid 20's then I realized I didn't have to sit there working the same dead end job my whole life. What an idea!
@@fredrika27 Apparently it's SO bad that millions of foreigners both legal and illegal flood into the country each year. Your statement was a stupid JOKE !
Other thing is the horrible American health care system. My friend and his wife moved to a home just north of Lyon. They became French citizens and not long after that his wife had appendicitis. She was rushed to the hospital and they removed her appendix and had her in hospital for almost 4 days for observation. OK, guess what her total out of pocket was? Yep, 32 Euros. If she had this with American health insurance in the USA, her copays would probably have somewhere between $4,000 - $8,000.
Just to clarify the school topic, most schools only give you half the day off on Wednesday and some schools have school on Saturday mornings. Also school days usually last from 8 AM to 5 PM (although we have gaps in our schedules on some days), which also makes up for any hours lost. Since it’s guaranteed that we don’t have school on Wednesday afternoons, many after school activities take place at that time (or at least one of the sessions offered is on that day)
Windows shutters because of the highest sleeping quality achievable: The best thing to sleep correctly: total darkness, dry, cool and quite => Blackout Shutters, no LED from TV or whatever device, sleeping room door closed, no interstice under the door, and if not in a very quite place, closed windows.. Perfect sleep
I actually really like the idea of window shutters. What is crazy here in the USA some houses have fake shutters that are not functional on the sides of the windows outside.
I'm french, living in an appartment, and I sleep all nights without shutting my windows, that means in the public lights and with quite much sound from partying students. However, I'm still sleeping well, I get used to it
I've always worked in Europe where I've had a minimum of 30 days holiday (excluding bank holidays) - I always took time off, as much as possible. There's a lot of data out there that productivity and time off is correlated, and even that working shorter but sharper times actually is better than spending 10+ hours in the office (which is pointlesS).
You mentioned full month vacations, I was in Paris in August and was shocked at how many businesses completely shut down for the entire summer. Especially an ice cream shop. I was pretty shocked.
It is because if the store remain open, then the people in the store do not have a life. We want people to have a life. And me being able to get some random shit on a sunday morning is less important than that. It probably can wait an extra day, or I can plan ahead. That is also why most shops are closed on sunday and mondays. ( in some areas it is by law )
August is also part of summer holidays for school. So if you want to spend time with your kids and you have an independent shop, you close your shop and enjoy your holidays with family. Of course it will be different for chain stores.
Before engaging a debate about culture and the vacations, I'd like to ad something about tourism in France: it's a huge business. The government knows it's a huge business and income source, so they favor tourism in France. Including domestic tourism: this is why our vacations are so important.Because our government knows we're gonna use vacations to visit France and spend money in several business, putting money into this economy. It can be seen as a virtous cycle. And this is why we have the annual french debate about "are school vacations too long?" yes they are for the kids, they forget a lot of what they learned and get bored, but we're not going to have shorter vacations, because tourism has a lobby and will push the government not to shorten or reschedule any holyday. This is also why France has a complicated official school vacations schedule. Not every kid in France has their school holidays at the same time, it depends on their location. Different regions have differents holidays, so tourism can have clients basically all year long. And this is why poverty is seen as a huge problem: people have less and less money to spend for their vacations, it's not a light subjet, in France it's a political debate, because a big part of our economy is at stake.
In Australia full time employees are by law required to take 4 weeks holidays.... it seems terrible that in the USA this is not law... where is work life balance?
I'm in the USA. 55 years old, and I can barely remember a time when I had less than 4 weeks of paid time off. Even in my early 20's it was always 3 weeks. I started a new job about 8 years ago, and got 4 weeks. All you have to do is ask. Most people don't, and they end up with 2. I am not a professional, just a lowly, non-union, tradesman. Also, I have never had a problem getting 2 consecutive weeks off in the summer. My previous employers, as well as my current employer wouldn't bat an eye at that. I don't know where this woman worked, but I can tell you, her experience seems to be outside the norm. The reality is that many Americans voluntarily forfeit their vacation time, in exchange for the money. Yes, you can take the money instead of the time off.
I'm German and prefer it the French way. A lot more similar to my own country. I learned the word Speedo only a few weeks ago on another channel and had to look it up. It didn't exist in my school time nor did boys or men wear shorts instead when swimming. But it's getting more common in Germany in the younger generation because we have so many migrants and they seem to be more prudish. But not as prudish as Americans are what always amuses me, but what I also find very weird. Living and working conditions seem to be much better in Europe as well as sexual freedom and other forms of freedom.
Speedo was the brand name of swimwear designed for swimming races. In the 1950s and 60s, in Australia, the words 'racing bathers' and 'Speedos' meant the same thing. They were made of an opaque nylon knit fabric (no elastane) and came in women's and girl's styles as well as men's.
@Chris Watson thx for the explanation. We have the same thing here, e.g.if paper handkerchiefs are called Tempo or (American brands) diapers are just called pampers or household paper Kleenex. But is constantly changing as there are so many different brands now available that the first ones are not so popular any more. Btw the male swimming trousers I am used to don't fit your speedo description. They cover a bit more. Still, prudery is on the rise here, too. A pity.
@@beatrixpastoors1104 not all Americans are prudish. . I happily used the saunas when I was in Germany but if I knew Americans would be in a hotel I noticed they would wear their swimsuits in the sauna, even though there was a rule against
@@beatrixpastoors1104 the word "prude" is so abusive. there is nothing wrong with having a different standard than others. i knew a florida state trooper years ago, he would tell me about tourists in florida. one time he said that germans would get naked for anything which is funny but it would be unfair to make a negative judgement about germans just because they do this and americans don't.
I grew up in the US when Speedo style swim trunks were very popular. Later when longer swim trunks started catching on, a lot of American pools started some restrictions on length and materials. Before baggy trunks, even non-Speedo trunks were close fitting and short.
I moved to France from the uk last year and have just bought my first pair of speedos. It has been a tough transition but the wine has helped a little.
@@OuiInFrance Switzerland is even better. Start out with 5 weeks and if you are over 55, I think you get another week. In the states when you turn 55 the best you can hope for is 10 cents off your McDonald’s coffee.
Another issue is paid maternity leave. And yes, paternity leave, as well. Although truly, when my sister felt as though she was pressured to return to work 3 weeks after her C-section birth; that seemed brutal to me. Here she was nursing her 3 week old infant and having to go back to work full time. She was a chemist then. She said the men who ran the company never looked at her the same when she came back from that brief maternity leave. Her stellar performance reviews prior to this, took a 180 and she was demoted so fast, she was forced to seek another job.
Strange how all of you love to cry and want the government to force your employer to give you time off, but none of you have the balls to open your own company and run it the way you want too despite the fact absolutely no one is stopping you.
@@603storm Yeah. Switzerland is so much better. That's why corporations that were based in Switzerland flee the nation any time they can. My buddy works for Roche here in the US. Imagine having to flee to the USA because Switzerland is so bad to do business in.
I love how I learn so much about French culture/customs, when I was actually born and raised in France lol. Things that were just normal to me and that I never really questioned. You’ve done research about it and have many background info I knew nothing about.
Really love your channel! Also about the volets, in France very few homes have screens for insect protection mainly because I've noticed there are a lot less bugs in France then in the US., whereas most volets will provide sufficient protection against wandering insects that might try to enter your home. The problem with having screens as we have them in the US is that it makes it impossible to open or shut traditional volets without removing the screens and that would be a real pain!
Actually, in the southern part of France, where there is quite a lot of flies in summer, many houses have both screens and shutters in their doors and windows. Screens have magnets or can be slipped, to open or close the shutters easily.
For the school thing, it's because Wednesday is encouraged as the day for extra-scholar activities. Almost every single club, be they tied to the school or independent companies, have their classes on Wednesday because it's the day without school for the kids.
can i add something about credit law... they have laws about interest. it's totally different in the uk. you simply cannot be charged high interest in france. France does not encourage people to get into debt.
If I have one piece of advice as a french person it's: don't buy non essentials things with money you don't have yet. Just wait a little. It's always cheaper.
Regarding vacation in France, there are rules in the law which define modalities to take them. For exemple, once a year you have to take a period of at least 12 days. You also have to take vacation during the May-October period. Your employer can also define your vacation period. There are companies which are closed in august so there is no choice (less than before but it tends to be the case in factories). My employer, for exemple, requests that I take at least 3 weeks during the summer. You can also have additional vacation. My contract is based on worked days not on worked hours (it is clearly indicated that I must work the hours necessary to complete the tasks entrusted to me). In compensation, I have 2 weeks off on top of my 5 weeks of vacation.
My first year I got ZERO vacation unless you consider Christmas Day off and that fell on a weekend which I always had off anyway. After one year I got a “week” of vacation. And by week, that’s 5 days and I couldn’t take them all in a row. Second year I got two weeks (10 days) and once again you can’t take them all at one time. If I had stayed their six years, I could have gotten 3 weeks (15) days of vacation, but as usual, you can’t take them all off in a row and you do not increase time off after those six years. It’s just 15 days for the rest of your years there.
Hi Diane. French people take 4 weeks in Summer because it’s the law. Those weeks have to be taken between May 1st and Oct 31st unless the company authorizes the employees to take some of those vacation days outside of that period. Companies may to have to compensate with extra vacation days in that case. Historically, the industry used to close their manufacturing plants in August for preventive maintenance so people had to take those 4 weeks in August. Companies are more flexible nowadays. Credit cards as they are in the US are not authorized actually in France. They are as you said debit card with immediate charges or differed charges (end of the month). You can find credit cards but payment are generally scheduled in total or partially (revolving). So, it may be not a cultural thing. Thank you for the video.
I used to work at a large manufacturing facility in the US and they had a history of firing long term well respected employees because they accepted a bottle of wine or spirits from a supplier given as a Christmas gift. One time they fired six maintenance employees because they drank a bottle of beer in the parking lot after working an optional Saturday moving heavy equipment in oppressive summer heat. Interestingly I worked in a engine manufacturing factory owned in part by the same corporation and most employees brought a thermos to work filled with a mix of coffee and whiskey or brandy. Then they had a staggered lunch break so the employees could cross the road in front of the factory to spend 30 minutes slamming shots and 8 ounce glasses of beer at the bars that surround the factory. And most of the employees ran heavy dangerous machinery while intoxicated. So at two factories (in different states) owned by the same parent company the view of drinking was 180 degrees different. At one everyone was drunk and at the other having an unopened bottle of wine could end your career. Welcome to America!
I like your videos, not only because you are culturally sensitive and educated, but because you put out there simple truths that must be very helpful to expats on one side or the other. I have fun mirroring your comments the other way around!
Lingoda is a great way to learn French - I took Diane’s advice and am now in my second month of the Super Sprint program! Great platform and easy to sign up for classes at times that are convenient for you. Never thought I could do the Zoom class thing, but the teachers are great and the the students are all over the world. Maximum class size that I’ve had is 5 people, so you get to do a lot of speaking. Thanks again, Diane!
Terrific! Thank you for those interesting observations. I think Australia sits halfway between the two cultures: work conditions are more like France. We have mandated holidays and sick pay for all employees, and the employee can choose when to take them. (within reason). Schools have uniforms and are definitely Monday to Friday. Houses are shown to buyers without the owners present. Business lunch is less than an hour, and alcohol is discouraged, even cause for sacking. Striking is a right, but rarely used nowadays, as the union membership is no longer compulsory, and therefore they have less power than before.
Absolutely love your comments and videos! I am french and have lived in the UK for 30 years now so can relate to your observations on different cultures.
Wednesdays are generally a half-day for French high school students. Generally, only younger students get the full day off. What I've always found strange is that sometimes French people continue to go to high school AFTER their graduation. If they do a "prépa" or pursue a technical degree like a "BTS", those courses are taught in high schools. I do know some BTS programs are sometimes taught in specialized, dedicated high schools but in other cases the same high school will cater to both nongraduates and graduates! I don't know if regular students ever cross paths with high school graduates? In the US, you'd attend a community or technical college. No going back to high school.
Hey ! As someone who have done a prepa or CPGE (Classe Préparatoire aux Grandes Ecoles - Preparation course for Bigs schools, a same for the most pretigious and the one who give the higher qualification), we are more or less in the same building than high schooler, but we got our own classroom/corridor/wings and our own professor most of the time. We will meet nongraduate in the corridor or at the canteen. As a prepa student, we got the last floor for us (around 4 rooms) ; and were sharing the lab on the floor bellow with highschoolers. I think the logic for having class prepa in high school is : 1) You are not yet in the true school that will teach you your job, you are still in a mostly general course (for prepa) 2) Prepa/BTS are in big city, so we don't have a lot of space. It's easier just to build an extra wing or to reassigne a few classrooms to Prepa students than to build a whole new school, which who also meens fewer prepa/BTS schools globaly, if all the classes were concentrate on one school. 3) It allow to attract more student, as somebody who came in high school will probably find it easier to get into a Prepa/BTS in his own high school (don"t know if it's really work, but that something we all have more or less conscienly in mind when we choose) ; or at least, be more prepared to the exigence of that Prepa/BTS, because we got professor on hand to ask question, and to prepare ourself.
we have started to have "dual enrollment" for the actual high school classes to take the college level courses (many types, not just technical), In many cases the college faculty travel to the high school to teach the class/ and in some cases we hire the high school faculty (if credentials match course demands), and in some cases High School students are bused to one of our campus locations for the college. (this is in many places in the USA, not just at South Texas College)
French are less in debt because banks aren't allowed to lend you money if it represents more than 30% of your total incomes. The gouvernment is very protective over his citizens compared to USA or Canada (where I am from)
When I lived in France in the '60s, I noticed the following difference between French and American cultures: in France. there were a lot of discussions about politics and religion. In Aix, people would sit in cafes and discuss politics by the hour. In the states, the common rule was no talk about politics or religion, to avoid any unpleasantness. Well, I guess that's gone by the wayside now.
My mother was french I grew up in Massachusetts.. At the dinner table there was always discussion and debate about politics and social issues. Now the trend in the US is to personally attack and insult anyone who doesn't agree to one's opinions instead of having a lively conversation, even argument.
@@viviannedonnelly233 Yes. Political conversations in the U.S. can get very ugly, very fast. The political conversations I had in France many years ago were a very lively, fun exchange of ideas and opinions. Never acrimonious. And always over wonderful coffee and food.
I'm french and Yes, you're right, even in Europe the french are an exception for that, they love politics! They love it so much that most of the time they don't even réalise they can be rude because the other people don't agree. But that's the way the french are, they argue very actively about politics and then they go out together very best friends because to speak about politics is considered as part of the democracy, and we hope the other one will defend his opinions very actively with arguments! They love politics so much that they didn't hesitate to change the regime, to do a revolution, to kill their own king, to adopt Napoléon as an emperor, to put kings back again, to put an emperor again, and finally to adopt the Republic. They even tried socialism with Mitterand. Part of the politics, strikes are in France an institution and you can't hire somebody because he went on strike. In fact you can't hire very easily at all and the french got lot's of rights thanks to their strikes, including for example the paid vacations, 35 hours of work per week and free medical care..., what they are very proud about! and they vote! , and you have all kind of parties, from the right to the left. You're right, it makes such a contrast with the americans who are usually not very fond of politics. In fact, the french always want to change the world. For example, they helped the US to get their indépendance from England, they created the European Union, the Olympic games... This is one of their particularity, they always want to be an active part of it! Which is not the case of most European countries. For example, Germany is much more found of business and compromise, as France loves the confrontation of ideas. And France can go very far to defend its values Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, Laïcité. We had problems of terorism because Charlie hebdo defended the values of Laïcité (meaning that religion mustn't interfere with politics). You find these values on all the townhalls. France is the oldest Allied of the US, and has always been the Allied of the US, but a turbulent allied that doesn't hesitate to say no when she doesn't agree! It can be felt as arrogance, because we are a medium country that behave like a big country. I think It is due to the fact that, like the British, we used to have lots of colonies around the world, and that, even if we don't have them anymore, we still behave as if we still had them. Contrary to the British, we accepted the situation, that's why France did every thing possible to create the EU to stay strong, as the UK still thinks she can stay alone and rely on its ex-empire the common wealth, so did the Brexit. Even in the EU, France tends to be considered as arrogant because, as the other countries have no much vues, she tends to impose her vues, and wants to go fast because she knows what she wants, as the other countries don't all feel as European. In reality, France would like to make a political Union, as most european countries just want to confortably stay in a common market. The french can be a bit tiring with all their politics but don't worry, they also have very good qualities!!!
regarding strike. Actually, there are no that much strikes. However, we are professionnal at striking. it is about communication, hit hard and strong and you will get something. what´s the point of striking if nobody heards of it, not even the guy you are trying to get on the negotiating table ?
🙋🏻♂️ Bonjour, Diane. When I taught in France from 1999-2001, my high school students went to school from 8 AM to 12 PM on Wednesdays. They did a half day. 👨🏻🏫
When I was in Catholic school in Brooklyn in the 60s, we took off from 1pm every Wednesday so public school kids could come into our school for religious education. The public schools totally accommodated this. As far as I knew, this was city-wide. From the perspective of those getting out early, we called it “released time.” I don’t know when this ended. I found it interesting that it is the same day in France. Maybe immigrants took that practice here to the US back when we had a lot of immigration from Europe?
In Belgium, at least the Flemish part, kids have no school on Wednesday afternoon. But the entire system is organized to work with that. There's day-care attached to school, there's grandparents that come forward, there's special work contracts that allow Wednesday off. It works very well. I'm from Portugal. Shutters on the windows are awesome. I miss them. For example in warm summer nights you can open you window but leave the shutters closed for privacy and security. If you have money, you buy. If you don't have money... you don't buy. The american style of credit is crazy because everyone is broke. America, the greatest country in the world according to them. Oh, no paid vacation? Thank you, but no thank you. I'll remain in Europe.
When I was in Germany, I also do payments with debit card, that I always aware of my money situation, yet I don't feel burdened with carrying cash or debt from credit card.
I'm so happy to live in France, really, lol. What is wrong with Americans and AC?? It's freezing! It's freezing in cars, in shops, everywhere! Come on! I know that there are some areas where it's so hot that the AC is not an option, but sometimes it's too much! And yes, I was very surprised to see in the movies or TV series that there are no volets at windows. It's so frightening to sleep in a room where it's open!! Vacations? Yes, I think we're mastered it! lol And you know what? I'm an independant, I'm my own boss, I can do whatever I want and I take almost all the vacations of school with my son! Maybe working a day or two. As for speedos, it's disgusting to come and swim in a short you wear all day, it's just for hygiene and thanks for that.
"... frightening to sleep in a room where it's open" -- In pre-A/C days, it was traditional in many parts of the U.S. to sleep with the windows open. Houses were often designed to encourage air flow.
The alternative to a speedo isn't wearing shorts that are street clothes in the pool. Just that a different style of swimsuits seems to be more popular in the USA
About the primary school week : when I entered primary school I had the whole Wednesday off and course on some Saturday mornings, but Saturday courses ended more than ten years ago. Also, now children have school on Wednesday mornings.
The US really is backward in some respects. In the U.K. we’ve had paid holidays (initially it was only a week) since 1938. I think nowadays the minimum is generally twenty days.
It all depends on where you work and for how long. After 15 years, I received 6 weeks, + 12 sick days and 11 holidays. And I prefer to split it up over the year. I can bank up to 240 hrs, which because I already maxed the bank, I have to use all 6 weeks. When I was in France on a 3-week business trip, the students were striking against the govt decision to allow business to pay students at a lower wage. Their strikes involved burning cars, which I noticed happens a lot in France, whenever there’s a protest.
When I retired in 2017, I had 8 week of paid vacation, with a 5 year bonus check, every 5 years I got a bonus of 70% of the 5 years pay, plus I sold my company stock back to the company at 100%, plus I have a 401k for retirement ,I got 5 check less than 2 weeks after I retired, in 2023, I will be at my full retirement age and get another check from my 401k, as my 401k was in 3 different accounts which I didn't know about, my brother gets the last 401k check to pay my final bills after I pass away
Shutters are great at avoiding air conditioning. On hot summer you close or half close them, to protect from direct sun light, and refresh the air at night. You save 90% of the energy and noise of an AC. Same in Italy or Spain.
When I was 16 and travelled to Paris with college we stayed in an international youth hostel. We were given meal vouchers to breakfast and dinner, these vouchers included wine, even at breakfast if you wished. Also there was a bar in the hostel and nobody asking for proof of age when I was buying beer. Vive la France.
@@towaritch no surprise there, it was 36 years ago. Personally I think a kid/teen having a drink with their parents can teach them how to drink responsibly, that was the case for myself. But I guess some parents would be poor role models and that governments need to make rules to protect those that are vulnerable.
It was common practice in much of southern Europe (France, Spain, Italy) to close up shop from mid July through mid August as working in enclosed spaces was unhealthy (no air conditioning, poor ventilation, hot and humid air) and this became law in a lot of places. It does not apply to all industries (bakeries in France must remain open for certain hours since they had themselves declared a national necessity) such as hospitality or entertainment or tourism. Same thing as the Spanish siesta which breaks the day into two parts - the cooler morning and the cooler evening.
In France My neighbours close their shutters with loud bangs at 7.30. Curfew time 25 minutes after The Angelus bell from the village church. Some habits die hard even after 500 years! The shutters keep out the very hot weather but let air through and in winter save on fuel bills.
This isn’t selling the US to me! No holidays, no wine at lunchtime & rely on AC to keep the house cool rather than close the volets during the day (which is eco friendly)! Not to mention poor worker protection laws!
When it's 40C degrees in Florida, Texas or the rest of the South during the Summer, you need AC. The heat is so hot in the southern US you can actually die without AC.
@@oceanegougeon3025 Those temperatures are not that common in France compared to Florida, where it is 30C degrees or more everyday for about 10 months of the year. Our houses are build perfectly.
when I retired in 2017, I have 8 weeks vacation, plus bonus checks every 5 years and the company I worked for paid 80% of my monthly healthcare premium, it cost me $8.00 a month for my healthcare premium, it depends on the company you work for in the US how much vacation time you get, it is not government mandated like some countires
Vienna, Austria, here, comparing France to Germany and Austria. A weekday without school is unheard of in Germany, unless it's a holiday. Beer replaces wine, and striking is less common: changes in work life are negotiated between trade unions and employers' associations. Strikes may happen in the negotiations as a means of pressure, but not to the level of France. And most Germans and Austrians have seen a bidet on their holiday, but don't know what to do with it.
I’m looking forward to a big move from Berkeley, California to Amigny, Sancerre, France on the 26th of June! Our stuff and our two cars have already set sail. We purchased the house six months ago and I’m anxious to see it in person...not on Google Maps.
when I was a kid in the day off school was on Thursday - later it became on wednesday - What you have to take into account is a shool day in France starts at 8:30 am a lunch break from 12:00 till 13.30 and then untill 04:30 pm - the Wednesday break is meant for kids to have a shool break but mostly to be able to practice on sports -musik - dance - or anything cultural linked to their taste, and family culture - Most parents do work on wednesday in France, but on that day they do organise themselves withe either family ( grand parents) or relations, friends etc... and also there is on wednesday what's called " centre aéré" for children playground activities, most cities do have this offer for a litte " abonnement annuel" like if your child would go regularly to a " bibliothèque" to borow books for reading - As you know in France no one has to " choose " the classes they want to go to, here everone has to follow the programm ( French litt - writing /grammar - math - geography, history, gym, sciences etc !) it's called " culture generale - nowadays it tends to be much more " loose" but still no choice at school while you're under 10 or 11 - then starting " le second degré" you have to chose 1 or 2 foreign languages added to the rest - and then when you reached 14 years you can even add a third foreign language or more math and sciences if that is what you're good at ! and the two last year before the " baccalaureat" you have to add phylosophie ( if you're on litterature track) and if you're on the scientific track you add more math, physics, and chemistry. I happened to go to school in the states, and I can tell you, for me it was like " holliday" !
My first business trip to France was an eye opener for me, copious amounts of wine at lunch (in a private managers dining room) followed by mid afternoon beverages including beer. 😀. Only one Frenchman overindulged at lunch and at break and the next time I was there for a meeting he was no longer with the company. Not sure what happened to him!
Hi Julie, yes I can definitely see how that might have surprised you! I feel like certain industries in the US might be more open to midday wine, but in France I know people in all types of jobs who have wine midday. Love it!!
Great video Diane 👍🌈 Hit the nail on the head. So ready to move back to Europe, for more reasons than you even mentioned. Thank you for all your work ❤
When I was a child in the US in 1950s and 1960, I recall two sales of my family homes along with purchases of the next homes. I went to showings and was home for showings. Showings were typically over weekends and it was quite normal for families to be at home, so clearly the expectation changed at some point. In my adult life, I have not been involved in a lot of showings but the owner has never been on site that I can recall.
1) Sellers are not home due to a possible conflict with the fair housing laws! If the sellers do not see their prospective buyers they are less likely to discriminate against protected classes. I love the 3 payment option in stores for large purchases! At one of my jobs in the U.S., I was counseled for having a sangria with Mexican food at a business lunch....crazy!
My experience as a tenant of a landlord that was selling (and yes, that's uncomfortable) was that it had much more to do with the ease and comfort of the Realtor than any law. (My landlord's Realtor actually preferred that I be there, as the house was being sold "As-is" and therefore the buyers needed to be made aware of what they'd be agreeing to. I've also shown an adjacent unit to potential renters for my _previous_ landlord before.) Realtors in some jurisdictions have also been taken to court for making comments about the seller's race and for trying to convince buyers to make lower offers due to the race or ethnicity of the seller. Therefore, I strongly suspect that not all is as it appears.
Varies by country of course, however one other reason to not have the owners present is to avoid them answering questions they should not answer as the information can, and will, be relied upon by the purchasers and if it is insufficient or in error may result in liability by the vendor and/or the realtor.
Well , that doesn't sound real good if your country has to " protect classes" against discrimination . I suppose we don"t share the same history though. What do I care if the prospective buyer is a black disabled lesbian ?
I went to France for the job for 15 months. At our 1st team lunch I just did not believe them about the wine they that the proj mgr ordered. I had to call my French boss and he assured me they weren't pulling anything over on me. My boss learned something too. He was shocked to learn the American counter culture. 😂
A fairly important element of the difference about owners not being around during home viewings for potential purchasers is American litigiousness: the realtor does not want the owner saying anything to potential viewers which may be misleading (either positively or negatively). In France, anything the seller says is not considered legally valid unless and until it's in writing in the paperwork. "The septic tank was emptied last week" (no, it was two years ago), "the neighbours are lovely people, we socialise all the time" (actually we hate each other's company and they are noisy and inconvenient to live next to), etc etc. In the USA, anything the seller says without going through the realtor is immediately actionable and the realtor will make sure that they do not make representations that would not stand up in a court of law.
I'm guessing, but I could be wrong, that you are doing this video in the US because I see wall-to-wall carpet behind you (more common in the US than in France) :)
Hello. I just started viewing Oui in France. I love it so much. I am learning french presently. Thank you for the journey. God bless you...sincerely Denise⚘
When we went house hunting for our first house, our only house as it turns out after 20 years, we found the house we fell in love with and eventually bought and the homeowner was at home. Now this is in the US. The homeowner loved us so much that he actually took our offer even though it was lower. This infuriated his real estate agent as she lost some commission in the process. Personally I love this house so much that when it eventually comes time for us to sell I am going to insist that I meet the buyers and I will probably do something similar rather than sell to the highest offer I will sell to somebody who I think will both appreciate and take care of the house that I loved so much. Is that being overly emotional and foolish, I can afford to let a few dollars go to indulge myself and so I will.
I imagine it's not really uncommon that homeowners want their beloved home to go to good people who will also love it. There can be a lot of emotion connected to a house (home), and I think it's entirely natural for that to be a factor in selling it.
So yes, here in France we get a lot of paid vacation, and we also go on strike a lot. I wonder if there is a cause and effect relationship between these two things ? :o)
For the public pool, the speedos are a bit outdated too. Many wear swimming boxers. But it's true that loose bathing shorts are not allowed for hygienic reasons.
So if you're a dirty person, and you slip on a banana hammock, you're good to go? I fail to see how one piece of clothing is more hygienic than another. Makes absolutely zero sense.
we were told to get out of our apartment when there were viewings. that was ile de france. one thing... if you view in paris, especially the luxury end, you need to wait about a week to actually view because the owners need time to arrange thier lives, and the agents won't have the keys. they have to atrange to collect the keys every time there's a request to view. i viewed places in paris for aboit 2 years and it was really difficult.
At my last job (U.S.), there was no rule against having alcohol at lunch (off campus, of course), provided we did not come back to work intoxicated. My partner at the time worked at the local competitor company (we worked for the 2 of the biggest medical insurance companies. We actually had to report the relationship to our respective HR offices due to the potential "conflict of interest". (HR determined there was actually not much conflict, since we didn't work for closely related departments.)) But when I met my partner for lunch and I ordered a glass of wine one time, she could not believe I was not totally breaking the rules, since it was very against the rules at HER company. On the other hand, at my company we couldn't wear jeans to work except on "casual Fridays", whereas she wore jeans every day. Both companies considered their dress codes "business casual". That can mean a HUGE range of things. I hadn't worn dresses in years and years when I started there. By the time I left, I'd adopted long skirts with knee high socks (you'd usually think I was wearing tights) as my style, because they were actually the most comfortable thing I could wear (with fibromyalgia) while meeting the dress code there. Years of disability later, and now identifying as non-binary, long skirts and dresses are still almost always what I wear when I go out, because it's the closest I can come to wearing a blanket. :)
In the Netherlands most employees have 5 weeks vacation a year. And a bunch of holidays like Christmas, Newyear, Easter, Kings Day and some other Christian days
I think I am about 15 years older than you, probably. When I was young, striking was a lot more common here in the USA, too. Unfortunately, as the labor unions were systematically weakened and , in large part, eliminated, striking has gone away, too, as you say because American workers have very little job security. Not only can we be easily replaced with other American workers, but employers, even those who claim to have high social values, are very willing to fire American workers and move jobs overseas to places like India and the Philippines. It sucks and voters, and nonvoters, here have allowed this to happen as they have been manipulated. This is also why we have less vacation, are more overworked, most no longer have retirement, and have fewer other benefits. The average American worker had it a lot better when I was young than what I now face as a single late middle aged American woman. On a more pleasant note, the working shutters on French windows are a great idea and I wish they would gain popularity here.
I went to a private Catholic school for grammar school and high school in California in the 1950’s. We had Wednesday off and school on Saturday. Major pain for our parents even though usually moms didn’t work then. We had no one to play with and on Saturday missed the fun our friends who went to public school were having. Mostly we figured it was to keep us away from boys!
@@OuiInFrance They don’t do it any more. It definitely had a European history to it. But by our time, the Catholic day students didn’t have to study religion but did go to concerts and other cultural things. On Saturdays, we didn’t have regular classes. The biggest thing I remember is that we had “Courtesy” where we were taught how to be caring and polite in all kinds of situations plus etiquette! The thing I remember most though was we had 2 hours of penmanship every Saturday where we wrote letters to loved ones and copied poetry and other texts. Seems like the 18th century now!
@@jow.2450 It was pretty unusual. None of the other private schools around us did it. But our school was very old and I think actually founded by French sisters. So....
@@florencecousin5577 I am 25. I got school on Saturday when I was 7-9, but only one of two, that was the beginning of having school only 4 days week. The government try 5 years ago to get back to an half-day either Wednesday or Saturday, but it was really strange, as they wanted for the children to have school an half-day more, but without adding any hours of school ???? and without a national coordination ... That was anarchy ... After two years, they got back to 4days par week for children in elementary school.
In public swimming pools, for hygiene reasons, it is forbidden to bathe with clothes that may have been worn outside, such as on a public bench or a seat on a bus.
Diane-- love your videos! Informative, interesting, so well written and presented in a relaxed and straight to the point manner, no wasted time. I enjoy hearing you tell about French culture-- 'next best thing to being there.' Thanks again! ⚜️
Some of the schools in my area have half-day Wednesdays like in Amherst, MA. l belonged to a union and we could strike but trying to get ANY time off was like pulling hen's teeth, let alone anything longer or even a whole week - and even then they'd try to call you in! Now, my work was with people who weren't able to fend for themselves so it had to be staffed (residential group homes) 24/7 365 days a year hurricanes blizzards etc but the contract stated management - even the "big ones" were supposed to fill in if push came to shove but THAT never seemed to ever happen, forced to work far past legal working hour caps and hence no time off in a field that really needed downtime to make a better, happier residential counselor. If you were ever to have a glass of wine with lunch you'd get fired because there were no lunches or breaks yet nobody was underage and a glass of wine would have been nice. We're not as civilized as we think we are.
I'm French but I live in Canada now and I DREAM of real vacations: 3 weeks off in one set. I have 3 weeks off per year but am not allowed to take more then 2 at a time... :-(
Your point concerning holidays in US has a major effect on us citizen and us foreign politics. I travel a lot in the world and in comparison to the 'wealthyness' of the country, American travelers are not so common. And in most cases the holidays seams like a rush! Europe in 6 days! Waouh. How are you suppose to understand people and culture like that? I think it would be a major game changer to the world to 'give' proper holidays to the US workers. We need time to understand each others.
one huge difference is that in France vacation days are a right and nobody can stop you taking your vacation. In the USA, vacation days are given at the whim of your employer and you have to ask permission to take time off -- and your boss can refuse to allow you to take the time if he feels it is inconvenient for him or for any other random reason.
I'm 21 and my generation was the last one to have school on saturday mornings in France. I still remember how happy I was when my mom told me that I wouldn't have to go anymore
@@CleopatraTelevision The thing is... I am one the few French citizen who realize how lucky we are and I love our 5 weeks of vacation, our free health care and all our social rights ;) Btw, I traveled to USA when I was younger and I loved it! ^^
@@yemiandco9428 ☺️ je m’adressais en fait à la personne qui disait qu’on ne savait pas à quel point on était chanceux. Il n’est jamais trop tard pour se faire du bien et venir rejoindre notre beau pays ☺️
Canada is the same for paid vacation time. In British Columbia, it’s 4% for the first 4 years of employment (works out to 2 weeks if you work f/t); 6% from 5yrs of employment, onward (3weeks). Anything beyond that, is not legally required. I’d be curious what non-contract employees get in France? Contract work in Canada isn’t seen as a step up; if anything it means you have LESS benefits, not more.
That's the thing : we don't have non-contract employees. It's illegal for a company to have people working and getting paid without a contract. It's called "travail au noir" (black work) or "travail dissimulé" (hidden work). The contract obviously protects the employee but also the company, and it also ensures that the government gets all the taxes the company has to pay for each employee. If a company gets caught (or is sued by a non-contract employee hired illegally), they are fined a lot of money and in some cases, the boss goes directly to jail...
As a buyer, I prefer to visit a house without the owner. However when I had to sell my houses and was forced to leave the premises with 2 young children, and everything straightened "model home" style, I didn't like it a bit! Also as you mentioned I would have liked to answer questions or explain a few things I'm not sure my Realtor did well.
I agree, Anne, I think it can be more relaxed without the seller home but as you said, if the realtor isn't really on top of things, the seller might have good info to add.
We've sold houses both ways. But I have to say that when we returned home after a showing, we were disappointed to find doors unlocked and even windows open. The realtor should have closed returned the house to the condition they found it in.
When I was growing up Thursday was the day off school, but in school on Saturday . That was the 50’s. And yes leaving France it was a shock to adjust to reduced Canadian holidays.
*Americans should also assume they are being monitored while touring homes for sale. With the ubiquity of home security systems like Nest or even Alexa Echo may be listening in on the prospective buyers while they look at the house. I used to coach my buyers that even if they don't see a security system, assume that there is one.
When I was in high school in New Orleans, our French teacher ironically named Madame Lala would play recordings of a French tv show called “Toute le Monde”. I remember there was one character named Jean Claude who always wore black turtlenecks to show he was a Communist. We thought that was hysterical that French communists had a dress code. Cant say we learned much French pronunciation but we loved the show. We all wound up with French/Southern accents when we tried to speak French.
I live in one of the most french town in North America and cloth lines/cord are very common here. Another thing is the men and women toilets/washrooms are in close proximity in public places. There is only one washroom in farmers market in the downtown area. You will see men and women at the same time in the washroom. No big deal.
I have lived in France and it is about quality of life whereas in the USA it's about the quantity of work you can give to your employer. Many businesses closing in August did catch me out the first time but you quickly adapt and work around it
The U.S. is actually closer to the equator than France which is why we have to rely on some form of air conditioning in most (not all) of the states. In southern states people do use shutters, but most people I know who have them only close them when a major storm is approaching - which is why they are more commonly called "hurricane shutters".
Part of the USA is closer to the equator... however... another part of the USA gets those Canadian Arctic winds! As a Chicagoan I was AMAZED how mild the Parisian winters are - and especially because of that Atlantic Gulf Stream that moderates the most Western European coastal winters....
@@rmp7400 Those "Canadian Arctic winds" came from the Arctic, hitting Canada as they hit some U.S states. We are just as much a victim of those unbearable cold Arctic winds as anyone else. 😂 Where I live in Canada, there are 27 U.S states at least partially north of me and 13 which are entirely north of me. 😊
Diane, I love your channel. The French have helped refined you and by making you aware of how unfiltered Americans are. I long for civility. As an English professor in a prestigious private college I have watched previously polished students turn into useless wart hogs. Now, The political "cancel culture'" has canceled respect, common sense, and fundamental self-awareness and has nurtured narcissism. THANKS for hope. Suzanne Foglesong
If it sounds as if I assumed you were ever rough around the edges, I apologize. Class is a fixed personality trait which you demonstrate. Behavior is is a product of culture and responses to others.
For additional info, the chips on bank cards are a French invention and they existed on french cards way earlier than in the US or the rest of the world.
Just a side note, the 5 weeks paid vacations a year is the MINIMUM required by law ! Most companies offer more than that. At my corporate job, we get 7 weeks a year + RTT, which are paid days off given to employees that work more than 35 hours a week. Most corporate job will have you work 37 hrs a week, so that's 7 weeks of paid vacations + 13 days of RTT = 48 days/10 weeks of paid vacations a year. Thanks French unions ;)
J'ai plus que 5 semaines de congés, car j'ai aussi des RTT, mais dire que la plupart des entreprises offrent plus, honnêtement, je ne crois pas. Dans mon entourage, beaucoup de gens n'ont aucun RTT et 5 semaines de congés payé, pas plus.
@@aurelien1241 La moyenne en France c'est 33 jours de congés + RTT, soit 6 semaines 1/2. Par ailleurs je parle de corporate job, en gros d'encadrement dans une grosse boite ou administration et là tu as le plus souvent un accord de branche ou d'entreprise qui prévoit plus que le minimum légal :)
@@aurelien1241 Anglais s'il vous plâit
@@thibault973 Anglais s'il vous plâit
Exactly that's what I had ( former employee in. the public sector here). I took a month vacation in winter and even had 2 days added. Traveled to Canary Islands, Tulum or Thailand.And the best : a 5 $ 3 course quality meal for lunch.
Speedos for men: yes it's public hygiene. They noticed that in summer, men tend to stay all day long in their swimming shorts and go to the pool that way without changing! In terms of hygiene, I also never understood why in the US, doctors and nurses would wear their scrubs in the streets (back from work, or going to work!). And washing their scrubs at home! In France, in hospitals you change yourself into your scrubs at the hospital, and you leave your scrub at the end of the day at the hospital. The hospital laundry will wash it (very high degree, heavy detergent to kill properly bacterias and viruses). I never understood why a country who is so scared of bacterias like the US, would let their doctors and nurses go back home and be in contact with loads of persons in between, in their dirty scrubs....
When I lived in Paris a decade ago the public pools required for men "maillots" - best translated as "Speedos". There was no similar minimum fabric requirement for women and women at public pools used all sorts of styles from minimal bikinis to styles older women in US wear.
Why is it more hygienic to wear a tiny, tight speedo than American style swim trunks? Swim all day in a speedo or trunks - what's the difference?
@@peggiescraftcafe7117 as said in the comment, the difference is that men could spend their entire day in the swim trunk and not just the time they are at the pool. For example, they could walk in the streets in it etc and then go in the pool without changing it. Also, because of that they used to be people who kept their underwear underneath the swim shorts which is not very hygenic. Hope that was clear
@@peggiescraftcafe7117 Because it's not about swimming all day in them, or it's not about comfort. It's about going to the pool in an outfit in which you have traces of body fluids and excrement because you wore it all day....Hence the fact that people are required to change before going to the pool. Also, in shorts, sometimes people forget their tissues, papers, money and it ends up in the pool....I find it very funny from a cultural point of view, that one of clichés about french people is being dirty and yet, there's definitely something going on about the hygienic perception of these swimming shorts ...ah ah ah
The speedo is also weird from a German perspective too, because you can see everything in public. Although I would be totally naked in the Sauna :) (which is more more tit for tat naked )
Striking is a fundamental right for all workers. It is illegal to fire someone for having been on a strike in France
Do employers find ways around that? People in the U.S. get fired all the time for reasons different to the official reasons….
If you have a personal contract, a union one is the only way to protect your employment. You can get fired for having cancer! Freedom goes both ways
This is why Walmart failed in both France and Germany. Walmart is antiunion, and tried to force their way of business on the 2 countries, and it didn't work for them.
@@davenwin1973 Good, Walmart sucks, Amazon sucks, both anti union trillion dollar companies not wanting to share!
@@mturynP Companies must have a serious reason that could stand on court to fire an employee in France otherwise they’ll get sued. The only reason you can fire someone in France, other than serious economic reasons, is if their actions/behavior really damaged the company (and going on strike is a legal right that can’t be considered as damaging for the company).
Cashiers sitting. It shocked me when I went there that the cashiers at the grocery store had stools. Why do they have to stand in the US? It just never occurred to me.
I thought all cashiers sat down, they do in UK too, unless its at the cigarette counter for example.
@Ember Rhapsody REALLY! Far from it,they still do their job,plus,its much more comfortable.
@Ember Rhapsody I dont blame you. Its really bad for you.
In the United States if you are not standing then you are being lazy. This is the view of anyone. If you even look as if you are relaxing for a moment at work you are wasting the company's time, which means their profits are declining. "If you have time to lean you have time to clean" is not just a funny saying, it is very concretely true in the minds of American companies.
@@carlinemoon2484 That is shocking!
I’m 61. I’ve had four vacations in my entire life, the longest one was ten days total. Altogether, they don’t add up to what the French enjoy annually. In the USA, we work until we drop dead. No choice, unless you’re born into luxury to begin with.
I am now in forced retirement at 65 (health issues, which will probably bankrupt me except that medical debt is exempted from bankruptcy proceedings so those guys will get their figurative pound of flesh along with the literal ones.)
I have taken one week-long vacation in my adult life. In October of 2019. All the rest of my vacation time got paid out to me when the jobs ended, not when I took time off. (Lots of reasons for jobs to end, including COVID 19. My job at that firm is the only one that hasn't be reopened.)
USA's attitude toward workers and unions went down the drain with the Movement Republicans and firing all of the air traffic controllers. That and what followed frightened too many workers.
When I see american work conditions I think french strikes are not that bad.
Lots of quality if life improvement happened because of them.
Not if you get a decent job.
This comment made me really really sad. For humanity I mean.
@@cepahreinholt8710 An old american lady, who had lived many years in France once told : In USA people is afraid of government, in France the government is afraid of the people. Don't mess with people in France when it come to civil, healthcare, social laws things. Don't touch our "art de vivre"...
Hanging clothing outside on a rack or line is no longer acceptable in some parts of the US. I have a small folding rack, and often put a few items on it, on my own balcony. This apparently offends some people. If clean clothing bothers you, I say, don’t look. I frequently saw items drying outside in France, Germany and Italy. Energy conscious too!
Yes, many people still dry their clothes outdoors here. Totally normal
@@OuiInFrance There are laws specifying where you are not allowed to hang your laundry. I know about regulations and restrictions concerning balconies. For example when you live in an apartment building of a "résidence" type, you are not allowed to dry your clothes on a line, you can only use a rack that is less visible. It seems to me that some 20 years ago or even less it was still possible to hang your laundry outside even in tiny streets in cities like Nice. Or am I confusing it with Italy? Locals will know better. Today people feel offended, it's not esthetic enough.
That's how I dry all my washing in the summer, we have 3 clothes horses that I put outside my door on the little paved ''patio'' area. The heat coming up from the stone helps and they normally dry in a few hours. [Winter is different obviously]. I used to have a washing line but there isn't one where I'm currently renting. Radiators also get covered in winter, great for drying undies and socks.
@@hanavanek1379 In Canada, each municipality has their own bylaws that may prevent hanging laundry outside, but that has changed over the years since we are all being encouraged to conserve energy. I've always hung my own clothes and especially my darks because the dryer is very hard on clothes and ages them more quickly. But for years now our dryer has been broken and I really don't care, I just hang everything now, and hang inside in winter.
@@hanavanek1379 I live in an appartment un the south of France and we dry our clothes on the outside line
France has more favorable customs when it comes to employment, health insurance, vacation, family leave, and a focus on minimizing stress and taking care of one's health.
US is very backward on Health Care.
Nothing to be proud of not giving sufficient leave to employees.
And you are taxed to death
@@billl1127 There are so many Americans working two or three jobs just to keep head above water and then to have the possibility of getting bankrupted by medical bills.
I would rather earn less, pay tax and live carefree knowing whether I get a heart attack or cancer, it will not add extra burden or concern.
In the USA and Canada you're live to work ,in Europe you work to live
Speaking of the difference in time off, I am still amazed that you don't have paid parental leave in the US.
Even more shocking is that there is no maternity leave across the board! Good employers offer both but it should be a no-brainer for everyone.
We have to use our vacation time.
@@OuiInFrance the companies We work for has maternity leave for up to 9 months, it's up to the company you work for
U think thats bad? Fathers only get 3 or 4 days tops, so moms are forced to recoup from birth while taking care of a newborn by themselves while the father is at work
Most places here do not offer any maternity leave at all. And if they do, its often unpaid. Paternity leave is almost unheard of. I have known many women who either quit or who have to go back to work within days of giving birth. I was lucky enough to be self employed when I had each of mine, but that did mean no income at all for that period. We saved up ahead of time.
In France we call our payment cards "cartes de crédit" but they should be called "cartes de débit", because as you said it is very rare that such a card actually allows people to pay above the amount of money they have on their bank account.
In the UK, when you pay with a Debit card, the payment comes direct out of the linked Bank account. While with Credit cards, the payment is added to a separate account which has to then be settled with a payment, usually per month. I've avoided Credit cards as many in the UK also require an additional fee.
? The carte de crédit allows to go a lot higher than what you have in your bank account. That's why it's called credit card. Unless you have such poor track record that your card is not allowing anything, but thats rare and such people would only be offered debit card anyway.
What most of the french have actually are credit cards. Your account is not debited of your purchases until the end of the month. That means there is actually a "free" credit.
You guys have both types of cards, eh.
@@nmolodiets6274 Wrong , most people have instant debit cards ... not monthly debit.
Both exists , example my mother always had a credit card with monthly payment ... i always had an instant one , and it's not because i'm poor ( cause i'm not ) , it's just my choice to see instantly what is on my account and what did i spent recently.
The main utility of volets / shutters is to avoid being disturbed by sun light when sleeping. The other uses you mentioned are secondary.
In the summer, shutting them during the day is not secondary at all
In Britanny we use them to protect the windows from outside weather...
Privacy is a big part for me.
I hate being seen/spied on by my neighbors at night so I won't turn lights on till my volets/shutters are closed.
What she has inadvertently managed to do is to show how dreadful work conditions and employment terms are in the USA.
While the rich get richer,the American worker works his/her life away.
In Russia 5 weeks per year. AND, they have 25 public holidays per year too.... :D
I felt this way when I was in my early and mid 20's then I realized I didn't have to sit there working the same dead end job my whole life. What an idea!
This is why so many Americans leave for better pastures abroad with 5,000 to 10,000 giving up their American passports!
@@fredrika27 Apparently it's SO bad that millions of foreigners both legal and illegal flood into the country each year.
Your statement was a stupid JOKE !
Other thing is the horrible American health care system. My friend and his wife moved
to a home just north of Lyon. They became French citizens and not long after that
his wife had appendicitis. She was rushed to the hospital and they removed her
appendix and had her in hospital for almost 4 days for observation.
OK, guess what her total out of pocket was? Yep, 32 Euros. If she had this
with American health insurance in the USA, her copays would probably have
somewhere between $4,000 - $8,000.
Just to clarify the school topic, most schools only give you half the day off on Wednesday and some schools have school on Saturday mornings. Also school days usually last from 8 AM to 5 PM (although we have gaps in our schedules on some days), which also makes up for any hours lost. Since it’s guaranteed that we don’t have school on Wednesday afternoons, many after school activities take place at that time (or at least one of the sessions offered is on that day)
Windows shutters because of the highest sleeping quality achievable: The best thing to sleep correctly: total darkness, dry, cool and quite => Blackout Shutters, no LED from TV or whatever device, sleeping room door closed, no interstice under the door, and if not in a very quite place, closed windows.. Perfect sleep
It's spelled "quiet"!...
@@zootsootful sorry i mixed it up
I actually really like the idea of window shutters. What is crazy here in the USA some houses have fake shutters that are not functional on the sides of the windows outside.
I'm french, living in an appartment, and I sleep all nights without shutting my windows, that means in the public lights and with quite much sound from partying students.
However, I'm still sleeping well, I get used to it
I think we'd suffocate it if were hot as we leave things open at night for ventilation (in the summer).
I've always worked in Europe where I've had a minimum of 30 days holiday (excluding bank holidays) - I always took time off, as much as possible. There's a lot of data out there that productivity and time off is correlated, and even that working shorter but sharper times actually is better than spending 10+ hours in the office (which is pointlesS).
So true. French worker's productivity is the best in Europe. Not surprising.
Working conditions are better where the voters get to decide them. In the US, legislators are selected, paid and fired by big business.
Fun fact: healthcare in the US is structured for shareholders. I have saved for retirement, but cannot quit until Medicare kicks in at age 65.
You mentioned full month vacations, I was in Paris in August and was shocked at how many businesses completely shut down for the entire summer. Especially an ice cream shop. I was pretty shocked.
It is because if the store remain open, then the people in the store do not have a life. We want people to have a life. And me being able to get some random shit on a sunday morning is less important than that. It probably can wait an extra day, or I can plan ahead. That is also why most shops are closed on sunday and mondays. ( in some areas it is by law )
August is also part of summer holidays for school. So if you want to spend time with your kids and you have an independent shop, you close your shop and enjoy your holidays with family. Of course it will be different for chain stores.
August in Paris, parisians get away from the city to avoid road work and whatnot, it's completely deserted of parisians.
Few are air conditioned.
Vacations 🇫🇷😁
Before engaging a debate about culture and the vacations, I'd like to ad something about tourism in France: it's a huge business. The government knows it's a huge business and income source, so they favor tourism in France. Including domestic tourism: this is why our vacations are so important.Because our government knows we're gonna use vacations to visit France and spend money in several business, putting money into this economy. It can be seen as a virtous cycle. And this is why we have the annual french debate about "are school vacations too long?" yes they are for the kids, they forget a lot of what they learned and get bored, but we're not going to have shorter vacations, because tourism has a lobby and will push the government not to shorten or reschedule any holyday.
This is also why France has a complicated official school vacations schedule. Not every kid in France has their school holidays at the same time, it depends on their location. Different regions have differents holidays, so tourism can have clients basically all year long. And this is why poverty is seen as a huge problem: people have less and less money to spend for their vacations, it's not a light subjet, in France it's a political debate, because a big part of our economy is at stake.
" Big part " ... ouai , bon , 7.5 % du PIB , c'est pas mal mais on survivrait même sans tourisme, c'est pas la Thaïlande ou Bali quoi ;)
Paris is the most visited city in the world.
I miss those shutters - they do such a better job of blocking sunlight than anything we do here
In Australia full time employees are by law required to take 4 weeks holidays.... it seems terrible that in the USA this is not law... where is work life balance?
I'm in the USA. 55 years old, and I can barely remember a time when I had less than 4 weeks of paid time off. Even in my early 20's it was always 3 weeks. I started a new job about 8 years ago, and got 4 weeks. All you have to do is ask. Most people don't, and they end up with 2. I am not a professional, just a lowly, non-union, tradesman.
Also, I have never had a problem getting 2 consecutive weeks off in the summer. My previous employers, as well as my current employer wouldn't bat an eye at that. I don't know where this woman worked, but I can tell you, her experience seems to be outside the norm.
The reality is that many Americans voluntarily forfeit their vacation time, in exchange for the money. Yes, you can take the money instead of the time off.
There isn’t any. And if you try why you’re a slacker. You should “be lucky you still have a job” and I kid you not.
Great question and wish I had the answer!
Work-life balance is a luxury benefit many people just don’t get from their jobs.
@@susan8823 that’s sad. It would have to mess with mental health 😢
I'm German and prefer it the French way. A lot more similar to my own country. I learned the word Speedo only a few weeks ago on another channel and had to look it up. It didn't exist in my school time nor did boys or men wear shorts instead when swimming. But it's getting more common in Germany in the younger generation because we have so many migrants and they seem to be more prudish. But not as prudish as Americans are what always amuses me, but what I also find very weird. Living and working conditions seem to be much better in Europe as well as sexual freedom and other forms of freedom.
Speedo was the brand name of swimwear designed for swimming races. In the 1950s and 60s, in Australia, the words 'racing bathers' and 'Speedos' meant the same thing. They were made of an opaque nylon knit fabric (no elastane) and came in women's and girl's styles as well as men's.
@Chris Watson thx for the explanation. We have the same thing here, e.g.if paper handkerchiefs are called Tempo or (American brands) diapers are just called pampers or household paper Kleenex. But is constantly changing as there are so many different brands now available that the first ones are not so popular any more. Btw the male swimming trousers I am used to don't fit your speedo description. They cover a bit more. Still, prudery is on the rise here, too. A pity.
@@beatrixpastoors1104 Having the brand name used as a generic word for similar products, is a marketer's dream.
@@beatrixpastoors1104 not all Americans are prudish. . I happily used the saunas when I was in Germany but if I knew Americans would be in a hotel I noticed they would wear their swimsuits in the sauna, even though there was a rule against
@@beatrixpastoors1104 the word "prude" is so abusive. there is nothing wrong with having a different standard than others. i knew a florida state trooper years ago, he would tell me about tourists in florida. one time he said that germans would get naked for anything which is funny but it would be unfair to make a negative judgement about germans just because they do this and americans don't.
I grew up in the US when Speedo style swim trunks were very popular. Later when longer swim trunks started catching on, a lot of American pools started some restrictions on length and materials. Before baggy trunks, even non-Speedo trunks were close fitting and short.
I moved to France from the uk last year and have just bought my first pair of speedos. It has been a tough transition but the wine has helped a little.
The US is draconian with vacation time. I’m a DoD contractor which is double draconian. Want to know why people go postal, look no further.
Yeah it's really a shame that we don't have federally mandated vacation time in the US! Seems nuts.
@@OuiInFrance Switzerland is even better. Start out with 5 weeks and if you are over 55, I think you get another week. In the states when you turn 55 the best you can hope for is 10 cents off your McDonald’s coffee.
Another issue is paid maternity leave. And yes, paternity leave, as well. Although truly, when my sister felt as though she was pressured to return to work 3 weeks after her C-section birth; that seemed brutal to me. Here she was nursing her 3 week old infant and having to go back to work full time. She was a chemist then. She said the men who ran the company never looked at her the same when she came back from that brief maternity leave. Her stellar performance reviews prior to this, took a 180 and she was demoted so fast, she was forced to seek another job.
Strange how all of you love to cry and want the government to force your employer to give you time off, but none of you have the balls to open your own company and run it the way you want too despite the fact absolutely no one is stopping you.
@@603storm Yeah. Switzerland is so much better. That's why corporations that were based in Switzerland flee the nation any time they can.
My buddy works for Roche here in the US. Imagine having to flee to the USA because Switzerland is so bad to do business in.
I love how I learn so much about French culture/customs, when I was actually born and raised in France lol.
Things that were just normal to me and that I never really questioned. You’ve done research about it and have many background info I knew nothing about.
Really love your channel! Also about the volets, in France very few homes have screens for insect protection mainly because I've noticed there are a lot less bugs in France then in the US., whereas most volets will provide sufficient protection against wandering insects that might try to enter your home. The problem with having screens as we have them in the US is that it makes it impossible to open or shut traditional volets without removing the screens and that would be a real pain!
An opening there for a new design! Come on you young Designers *get your thinking caps on*
Actually, in the southern part of France, where there is quite a lot of flies in summer, many houses have both screens and shutters in their doors and windows. Screens have magnets or can be slipped, to open or close the shutters easily.
Very true. My family lives in Brittany so of course I was using that area as an example.
Yes in the south it's a different story
i feel very sorry for your hard times in France
@@francocanuck9435 - What can I say… living in a “socialist “ country is a trial!
For the school thing, it's because Wednesday is encouraged as the day for extra-scholar activities. Almost every single club, be they tied to the school or independent companies, have their classes on Wednesday because it's the day without school for the kids.
can i add something about credit law... they have laws about interest. it's totally different in the uk. you simply cannot be charged high interest in france. France does not encourage people to get into debt.
That's good. Usury should be illegal
@@sandie157 Usury is defined differently in different places.
We USED to have laws against usury in the U.S. as well, but now we have legal loan sharking...score one for France.
If I have one piece of advice as a french person it's: don't buy non essentials things with money you don't have yet. Just wait a little. It's always cheaper.
Totally false. The French loan sharks ( Cofidis for instance) propose 17% interest loans.This is usury in my book.
Regarding vacation in France, there are rules in the law which define modalities to take them.
For exemple, once a year you have to take a period of at least 12 days. You also have to take vacation during the May-October period.
Your employer can also define your vacation period. There are companies which are closed in august so there is no choice (less than before but it tends to be the case in factories). My employer, for exemple, requests that I take at least 3 weeks during the summer.
You can also have additional vacation. My contract is based on worked days not on worked hours (it is clearly indicated that I must work the hours necessary to complete the tasks entrusted to me). In compensation, I have 2 weeks off on top of my 5 weeks of vacation.
My first year I got ZERO vacation unless you consider Christmas Day off and that fell on a weekend which I always had off anyway. After one year I got a “week” of vacation. And by week, that’s 5 days and I couldn’t take them all in a row. Second year I got two weeks (10 days) and once again you can’t take them all at one time. If I had stayed their six years, I could have gotten 3 weeks (15) days of vacation, but as usual, you can’t take them all off in a row and you do not increase time off after those six years. It’s just 15 days for the rest of your years there.
Hi Diane. French people take 4 weeks in Summer because it’s the law. Those weeks have to be taken between May 1st and Oct 31st unless the company authorizes the employees to take some of those vacation days outside of that period. Companies may to have to compensate with extra vacation days in that case. Historically, the industry used to close their manufacturing plants in August for preventive maintenance so people had to take those 4 weeks in August. Companies are more flexible nowadays.
Credit cards as they are in the US are not authorized actually in France. They are as you said debit card with immediate charges or differed charges (end of the month). You can find credit cards but payment are generally scheduled in total or partially (revolving). So, it may be not a cultural thing. Thank you for the video.
deferred charges.
I used to work at a large manufacturing facility in the US and they had a history of firing long term well respected employees because they accepted a bottle of wine or spirits from a supplier given as a Christmas gift. One time they fired six maintenance employees because they drank a bottle of beer in the parking lot after working an optional Saturday moving heavy equipment in oppressive summer heat.
Interestingly I worked in a engine manufacturing factory owned in part by the same corporation and most employees brought a thermos to work filled with a mix of coffee and whiskey or brandy. Then they had a staggered lunch break so the employees could cross the road in front of the factory to spend 30 minutes slamming shots and 8 ounce glasses of beer at the bars that surround the factory. And most of the employees ran heavy dangerous machinery while intoxicated.
So at two factories (in different states) owned by the same parent company the view of drinking was 180 degrees different. At one everyone was drunk and at the other having an unopened bottle of wine could end your career. Welcome to America!
I like your videos, not only because you are culturally sensitive and educated, but because you put out there simple truths that must be very helpful to expats on one side or the other. I have fun mirroring your comments the other way around!
I appreciate that so much, Anne!! Thank you for being here ;-)
Lingoda is a great way to learn French - I took Diane’s advice and am now in my second month of the Super Sprint program! Great platform and easy to sign up for classes at times that are convenient for you. Never thought I could do the Zoom class thing, but the teachers are great and the the students are all over the world. Maximum class size that I’ve had is 5 people, so you get to do a lot of speaking. Thanks again, Diane!
Wonderful to hear, Janice. Thanks for the update!! Bonne continuation!
Terrific! Thank you for those interesting observations. I think Australia sits halfway between the two cultures: work conditions are more like France. We have mandated holidays and sick pay for all employees, and the employee can choose when to take them. (within reason). Schools have uniforms and are definitely Monday to Friday. Houses are shown to buyers without the owners present. Business lunch is less than an hour, and alcohol is discouraged, even cause for sacking. Striking is a right, but rarely used nowadays, as the union membership is no longer compulsory, and therefore they have less power than before.
Absolutely love your comments and videos! I am french and have lived in the UK for 30 years now so can relate to your observations on different cultures.
Wednesdays are generally a half-day for French high school students. Generally, only younger students get the full day off. What I've always found strange is that sometimes French people continue to go to high school AFTER their graduation. If they do a "prépa" or pursue a technical degree like a "BTS", those courses are taught in high schools. I do know some BTS programs are sometimes taught in specialized, dedicated high schools but in other cases the same high school will cater to both nongraduates and graduates! I don't know if regular students ever cross paths with high school graduates? In the US, you'd attend a community or technical college. No going back to high school.
Hey ! As someone who have done a prepa or CPGE (Classe Préparatoire aux Grandes Ecoles - Preparation course for Bigs schools, a same for the most pretigious and the one who give the higher qualification), we are more or less in the same building than high schooler, but we got our own classroom/corridor/wings and our own professor most of the time. We will meet nongraduate in the corridor or at the canteen. As a prepa student, we got the last floor for us (around 4 rooms) ; and were sharing the lab on the floor bellow with highschoolers.
I think the logic for having class prepa in high school is :
1) You are not yet in the true school that will teach you your job, you are still in a mostly general course (for prepa)
2) Prepa/BTS are in big city, so we don't have a lot of space. It's easier just to build an extra wing or to reassigne a few classrooms to Prepa students than to build a whole new school, which who also meens fewer prepa/BTS schools globaly, if all the classes were concentrate on one school.
3) It allow to attract more student, as somebody who came in high school will probably find it easier to get into a Prepa/BTS in his own high school (don"t know if it's really work, but that something we all have more or less conscienly in mind when we choose) ; or at least, be more prepared to the exigence of that Prepa/BTS, because we got professor on hand to ask question, and to prepare ourself.
I miss the whole day off tbh
we have started to have "dual enrollment" for the actual high school classes to take the college level courses (many types, not just technical), In many cases the college faculty travel to the high school to teach the class/ and in some cases we hire the high school faculty (if credentials match course demands), and in some cases High School students are bused to one of our campus locations for the college. (this is in many places in the USA, not just at South Texas College)
French are less in debt because banks aren't allowed to lend you money if it represents more than 30% of your total incomes. The gouvernment is very protective over his citizens compared to USA or Canada (where I am from)
I’m also from the USA .. both children now live in France. So …. These videos are WONDERFUL! Thank you so much for your respectful insight.
You are so welcome, Susan! So happy you enjoy my videos.
When I lived in France in the '60s, I noticed the following difference between French and American cultures: in France. there were a lot of discussions about politics and religion. In Aix, people would sit in cafes and discuss politics by the hour. In the states, the common rule was no talk about politics or religion, to avoid any unpleasantness. Well, I guess that's gone by the wayside now.
My mother was french I grew up in Massachusetts.. At the dinner table there was always discussion and debate about politics and social issues. Now the trend in the US is to personally attack and insult anyone who doesn't agree to one's opinions instead of having a lively conversation, even argument.
@@viviannedonnelly233 Yes. Political conversations in the U.S. can get very ugly, very fast. The political conversations I had in France many years ago were a very lively, fun exchange of ideas and opinions. Never acrimonious. And always over wonderful coffee and food.
French here. Never talk politics or religion with people I don't know.
I'm french and Yes, you're right, even in Europe the french are an exception for that, they love politics! They love it so much that most of the time they don't even réalise they can be rude because the other people don't agree. But that's the way the french are, they argue very actively about politics and then they go out together very best friends because to speak about politics is considered as part of the democracy, and we hope the other one will defend his opinions very actively with arguments!
They love politics so much that they didn't hesitate to change the regime, to do a revolution, to kill their own king, to adopt Napoléon as an emperor, to put kings back again, to put an emperor again, and finally to adopt the Republic. They even tried socialism with Mitterand. Part of the politics, strikes are in France an institution and you can't hire somebody because he went on strike. In fact you can't hire very easily at all and the french got lot's of rights thanks to their strikes, including for example the paid vacations, 35 hours of work per week and free medical care..., what they are very proud about! and they vote! , and you have all kind of parties, from the right to the left.
You're right, it makes such a contrast with the americans who are usually not very fond of politics. In fact, the french always want to change the world. For example, they helped the US to get their indépendance from England, they created the European Union, the Olympic games... This is one of their particularity, they always want to be an active part of it! Which is not the case of most European countries. For example, Germany is much more found of business and compromise, as France loves the confrontation of ideas.
And France can go very far to defend its values Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, Laïcité. We had problems of terorism because Charlie hebdo defended the values of Laïcité (meaning that religion mustn't interfere with politics). You find these values on all the townhalls. France is the oldest Allied of the US, and has always been the Allied of the US, but a turbulent allied that doesn't hesitate to say no when she doesn't agree! It can be felt as arrogance, because we are a medium country that behave like a big country. I think It is due to the fact that, like the British, we used to have lots of colonies around the world, and that, even if we don't have them anymore, we still behave as if we still had them. Contrary to the British, we accepted the situation, that's why France did every thing possible to create the EU to stay strong, as the UK still thinks she can stay alone and rely on its ex-empire the common wealth, so did the Brexit.
Even in the EU, France tends to be considered as arrogant because, as the other countries have no much vues, she tends to impose her vues, and wants to go fast because she knows what she wants, as the other countries don't all feel as European. In reality, France would like to make a political Union, as most european countries just want to confortably stay in a common market.
The french can be a bit tiring with all their politics but don't worry, they also have very good qualities!!!
@@viviannedonnelly233 Sad but true
regarding strike. Actually, there are no that much strikes. However, we are professionnal at striking. it is about communication, hit hard and strong and you will get something. what´s the point of striking if nobody heards of it, not even the guy you are trying to get on the negotiating table ?
🙋🏻♂️ Bonjour, Diane. When I taught in France from 1999-2001, my high school students went to school from 8 AM to 12 PM on Wednesdays. They did a half day. 👨🏻🏫
When I was in Catholic school in Brooklyn in the 60s, we took off from 1pm every Wednesday so public school kids could come into our school for religious education. The public schools totally accommodated this. As far as I knew, this was city-wide. From the perspective of those getting out early, we called it “released time.” I don’t know when this ended. I found it interesting that it is the same day in France. Maybe immigrants took that practice here to the US back when we had a lot of immigration from Europe?
In Belgium, at least the Flemish part, kids have no school on Wednesday afternoon. But the entire system is organized to work with that. There's day-care attached to school, there's grandparents that come forward, there's special work contracts that allow Wednesday off. It works very well.
I'm from Portugal. Shutters on the windows are awesome. I miss them. For example in warm summer nights you can open you window but leave the shutters closed for privacy and security.
If you have money, you buy. If you don't have money... you don't buy. The american style of credit is crazy because everyone is broke.
America, the greatest country in the world according to them. Oh, no paid vacation? Thank you, but no thank you. I'll remain in Europe.
It is very useful when you explain why a particular french custom exist. You did a good job with this in this video.
When I was in Germany, I also do payments with debit card, that I always aware of my money situation, yet I don't feel burdened with carrying cash or debt from credit card.
I loved the Volets when I was stationed in Germany! I would love them here back in the states!
I live in Canada,ex German, and I installed them in my house.
I'm so happy to live in France, really, lol. What is wrong with Americans and AC?? It's freezing! It's freezing in cars, in shops, everywhere! Come on! I know that there are some areas where it's so hot that the AC is not an option, but sometimes it's too much! And yes, I was very surprised to see in the movies or TV series that there are no volets at windows. It's so frightening to sleep in a room where it's open!! Vacations? Yes, I think we're mastered it! lol And you know what? I'm an independant, I'm my own boss, I can do whatever I want and I take almost all the vacations of school with my son! Maybe working a day or two. As for speedos, it's disgusting to come and swim in a short you wear all day, it's just for hygiene and thanks for that.
"... frightening to sleep in a room where it's open" -- In pre-A/C days, it was traditional in many parts of the U.S. to sleep with the windows open. Houses were often designed to encourage air flow.
The alternative to a speedo isn't wearing shorts that are street clothes in the pool. Just that a different style of swimsuits seems to be more popular in the USA
There are so many chemicals in American swimming pools. What kind of bathing suit people wear would be the least of my worries.
About the primary school week : when I entered primary school I had the whole Wednesday off and course on some Saturday mornings, but Saturday courses ended more than ten years ago. Also, now children have school on Wednesday mornings.
The US really is backward in some respects. In the U.K. we’ve had paid holidays (initially it was only a week) since 1938. I think nowadays the minimum is generally twenty days.
It all depends on where you work and for how long. After 15 years, I received 6 weeks, + 12 sick days and 11 holidays. And I prefer to split it up over the year. I can bank up to 240 hrs, which because I already maxed the bank, I have to use all 6 weeks.
When I was in France on a 3-week business trip, the students were striking against the govt decision to allow business to pay students at a lower wage. Their strikes involved burning cars, which I noticed happens a lot in France, whenever there’s a protest.
That’s because the capitalists in the US fear socialism of any kind, including social democracy!
When I retired in 2017, I had 8 week of paid vacation, with a 5 year bonus check, every 5 years I got a bonus of 70% of the 5 years pay, plus I sold my company stock back to the company at 100%, plus I have a 401k for retirement ,I got 5 check less than 2 weeks after I retired, in 2023, I will be at my full retirement age and get another check from my 401k, as my 401k was in 3 different accounts which I didn't know about, my brother gets the last 401k check to pay my final bills after I pass away
the us is a backwater shit hole compared to the rest of the developed world
@@marydavis5234 German worker: „hold my beer…“
Shutters are great at avoiding air conditioning. On hot summer you close or half close them, to protect from direct sun light, and refresh the air at night. You save 90% of the energy and noise of an AC. Same in Italy or Spain.
When I was 16 and travelled to Paris with college we stayed in an international youth hostel. We were given meal vouchers to breakfast and dinner, these vouchers included wine, even at breakfast if you wished. Also there was a bar in the hostel and nobody asking for proof of age when I was buying beer. Vive la France.
It has changed, rules are tougher now.
@@towaritch no surprise there, it was 36 years ago. Personally I think a kid/teen having a drink with their parents can teach them how to drink responsibly, that was the case for myself. But I guess some parents would be poor role models and that governments need to make rules to protect those that are vulnerable.
It was common practice in much of southern Europe (France, Spain, Italy) to close up shop from mid July through mid August as working in enclosed spaces was unhealthy (no air conditioning, poor ventilation, hot and humid air) and this became law in a lot of places. It does not apply to all industries (bakeries in France must remain open for certain hours since they had themselves declared a national necessity) such as hospitality or entertainment or tourism. Same thing as the Spanish siesta which breaks the day into two parts - the cooler morning and the cooler evening.
I spent some time in Montpellier and les volets are essential! Keep them closed during the day and voilà! Comfortable bedroom later. Vive la France!
And it's eco friendly
In France My neighbours close their shutters with loud bangs at 7.30. Curfew time 25 minutes after The Angelus bell from the village church. Some habits die hard even after 500 years! The shutters keep out the very hot weather but let air through and in winter save on fuel bills.
This isn’t selling the US to me! No holidays, no wine at lunchtime & rely on AC to keep the house cool rather than close the volets during the day (which is eco friendly)! Not to mention poor worker protection laws!
When it's 40C degrees in Florida, Texas or the rest of the South during the Summer, you need AC. The heat is so hot in the southern US you can actually die without AC.
@@ESUSAMEX those temperatures can happen in France. You just need to build houses with better insulation, and they'll stay cool inside.
@@oceanegougeon3025 Those temperatures are not that common in France compared to Florida, where it is 30C degrees or more everyday for about 10 months of the year. Our houses are build perfectly.
we have paid holidays in the US for all national and government holidays and the legal drinking age in the US is 21
@@laurie7689 yeah, that's why I said that you should build better houses. In the end, it's more ecological and cheaper in the long run.
You hit the nail on the head on all items you talked about.
Omg...poor usa people....I have 6 weeks vacantions...greetings from Montreal
The rest of Canada does not get 6weeks lol #quebec
IKR! Most Canadians get three weeks off minimum
when I retired in 2017, I have 8 weeks vacation, plus bonus checks every 5 years and the company I worked for paid 80% of my monthly healthcare premium, it cost me $8.00 a month for my healthcare premium, it depends on the company you work for in the US how much vacation time you get, it is not government mandated like some countires
@@chelseagirl278 most Canadians get 3 weeks maximum.
@@kimc555 it depends on how long you have been working for a company. I am counting two weeks plus Christmas break
Vienna, Austria, here, comparing France to Germany and Austria. A weekday without school is unheard of in Germany, unless it's a holiday. Beer replaces wine, and striking is less common: changes in work life are negotiated between trade unions and employers' associations. Strikes may happen in the negotiations as a means of pressure, but not to the level of France. And most Germans and Austrians have seen a bidet on their holiday, but don't know what to do with it.
Almost all bidet disappeared about two decades ago 😂
I’m looking forward to a big move from Berkeley, California to Amigny, Sancerre, France on the 26th of June! Our stuff and our two cars have already set sail. We purchased the house six months ago and I’m anxious to see it in person...not on Google Maps.
How much does it cost to ship a car (from Arizona) to France ? How long does it take ? What about duty ?
i am very happy for you ,i wish you the best
Bienvenue \o/
Don't do it, you'll regret it .France is deep in shit right now and the upcoming presidential election will make things even worse. " Conseil d ami".
when I was a kid in the day off school was on Thursday - later it became on wednesday - What you have to take into account is a shool day in France starts at 8:30 am a lunch break from 12:00 till 13.30 and then untill 04:30 pm - the Wednesday break is meant for kids to have a shool break but mostly to be able to practice on sports -musik - dance - or anything cultural linked to their taste, and family culture -
Most parents do work on wednesday in France, but on that day they do organise themselves withe either family ( grand parents) or relations, friends etc... and also there is on wednesday what's called " centre aéré" for children playground activities, most cities do have this offer for a litte " abonnement annuel" like if your child would go regularly to a " bibliothèque" to borow books for reading -
As you know in France no one has to " choose " the classes they want to go to, here everone has to follow the programm ( French litt - writing /grammar - math - geography, history, gym, sciences etc !) it's called " culture generale - nowadays it tends to be much more " loose" but still no choice at school while you're under 10 or 11 - then starting " le second degré" you have to chose 1 or 2 foreign languages added to the rest - and then when you reached 14 years you can even add a third foreign language or more math and sciences if that is what you're good at ! and the two last year before the " baccalaureat" you have to add phylosophie ( if you're on litterature track) and if you're on the scientific track you add more math, physics, and chemistry.
I happened to go to school in the states, and I can tell you, for me it was like " holliday" !
My first business trip to France was an eye opener for me, copious amounts of wine at lunch (in a private managers dining room) followed by mid afternoon beverages including beer. 😀. Only one Frenchman overindulged at lunch and at break and the next time I was there for a meeting he was no longer with the company. Not sure what happened to him!
Hi Julie, yes I can definitely see how that might have surprised you! I feel like certain industries in the US might be more open to midday wine, but in France I know people in all types of jobs who have wine midday. Love it!!
I learned to enjoy a glass at lunch with that group after that. They also had beer in the soft drink machines.
Gosh Dianne, you really have made an adjustment from US to France. Really challenging. Stay blessed.
Great video Diane 👍🌈 Hit the nail on the head. So ready to move back to Europe, for more reasons than you even mentioned. Thank you for all your work ❤
You're welcome, thank you for taking the time to watch!
When I was a child in the US in 1950s and 1960, I recall two sales of my family homes along with purchases of the next homes. I went to showings and was home for showings. Showings were typically over weekends and it was quite normal for families to be at home, so clearly the expectation changed at some point. In my adult life, I have not been involved in a lot of showings but the owner has never been on site that I can recall.
1) Sellers are not home due to a possible conflict with the fair housing laws! If the sellers do not see their prospective buyers they are less likely to discriminate against protected classes. I love the 3 payment option in stores for large purchases! At one of my jobs in the U.S., I was counseled for having a sangria with Mexican food at a business lunch....crazy!
My experience as a tenant of a landlord that was selling (and yes, that's uncomfortable) was that it had much more to do with the ease and comfort of the Realtor than any law. (My landlord's Realtor actually preferred that I be there, as the house was being sold "As-is" and therefore the buyers needed to be made aware of what they'd be agreeing to. I've also shown an adjacent unit to potential renters for my _previous_ landlord before.) Realtors in some jurisdictions have also been taken to court for making comments about the seller's race and for trying to convince buyers to make lower offers due to the race or ethnicity of the seller. Therefore, I strongly suspect that not all is as it appears.
Varies by country of course, however one other reason to not have the owners present is to avoid them answering questions they should not answer as the information can, and will, be relied upon by the purchasers and if it is insufficient or in error may result in liability by the vendor and/or the realtor.
Well , that doesn't sound real good if your country has to " protect classes" against discrimination . I suppose we don"t share the same history though. What do I care if the prospective buyer is a black disabled lesbian ?
@@yourfavoritefrog every culture has bias. Ethnicity, age, weight, sex, income level, education, accent, appearance. No culture is excluded.
I fell in love with the shutters in France! I wish I could have them installed for my house.
I went to France for the job for 15 months. At our 1st team lunch I just did not believe them about the wine they that the proj mgr ordered. I had to call my French boss and he assured me they weren't pulling anything over on me. My boss learned something too. He was shocked to learn the American counter culture. 😂
A fairly important element of the difference about owners not being around during home viewings for potential purchasers is American litigiousness: the realtor does not want the owner saying anything to potential viewers which may be misleading (either positively or negatively). In France, anything the seller says is not considered legally valid unless and until it's in writing in the paperwork. "The septic tank was emptied last week" (no, it was two years ago), "the neighbours are lovely people, we socialise all the time" (actually we hate each other's company and they are noisy and inconvenient to live next to), etc etc. In the USA, anything the seller says without going through the realtor is immediately actionable and the realtor will make sure that they do not make representations that would not stand up in a court of law.
I'm guessing, but I could be wrong, that you are doing this video in the US because I see wall-to-wall carpet behind you (more common in the US than in France) :)
I'm in the US, yes!
Wow! Pretty astute observation.
The small sockets on the wall, it's also a clue that you are in the United States!
Hello. I just started viewing Oui in France. I love it so much. I am learning french presently. Thank you for the journey. God bless you...sincerely Denise⚘
When we went house hunting for our first house, our only house as it turns out after 20 years, we found the house we fell in love with and eventually bought and the homeowner was at home. Now this is in the US. The homeowner loved us so much that he actually took our offer even though it was lower. This infuriated his real estate agent as she lost some commission in the process. Personally I love this house so much that when it eventually comes time for us to sell I am going to insist that I meet the buyers and I will probably do something similar rather than sell to the highest offer I will sell to somebody who I think will both appreciate and take care of the house that I loved so much. Is that being overly emotional and foolish, I can afford to let a few dollars go to indulge myself and so I will.
I imagine it's not really uncommon that homeowners want their beloved home to go to good people who will also love it. There can be a lot of emotion connected to a house (home), and I think it's entirely natural for that to be a factor in selling it.
So yes, here in France we get a lot of paid vacation, and we also go on strike a lot. I wonder if there is a cause and effect relationship between these two things ? :o)
For the public pool, the speedos are a bit outdated too. Many wear swimming boxers. But it's true that loose bathing shorts are not allowed for hygienic reasons.
Right, Speedo style (maybe older swimmers lean toward them these days) and the tight swim boxers, but same style.
So if you're a dirty person, and you slip on a banana hammock, you're good to go? I fail to see how one piece of clothing is more hygienic than another. Makes absolutely zero sense.
Ya I don’t understand the hygiene issue?!
Loose swimwears can be used as outdoor clothes, thus unhygienic, that's why it's not allowed.
@@briangpz ridiculous, like so many odd rules in my country...
So true. + I love the wood sculpture just behind the flowers.
we were told to get out of our apartment when there were viewings. that was ile de france. one thing... if you view in paris, especially the luxury end, you need to wait about a week to actually view because the owners need time to arrange thier lives, and the agents won't have the keys. they have to atrange to collect the keys every time there's a request to view. i viewed places in paris for aboit 2 years and it was really difficult.
At my last job (U.S.), there was no rule against having alcohol at lunch (off campus, of course), provided we did not come back to work intoxicated. My partner at the time worked at the local competitor company (we worked for the 2 of the biggest medical insurance companies. We actually had to report the relationship to our respective HR offices due to the potential "conflict of interest". (HR determined there was actually not much conflict, since we didn't work for closely related departments.)) But when I met my partner for lunch and I ordered a glass of wine one time, she could not believe I was not totally breaking the rules, since it was very against the rules at HER company.
On the other hand, at my company we couldn't wear jeans to work except on "casual Fridays", whereas she wore jeans every day. Both companies considered their dress codes "business casual". That can mean a HUGE range of things. I hadn't worn dresses in years and years when I started there. By the time I left, I'd adopted long skirts with knee high socks (you'd usually think I was wearing tights) as my style, because they were actually the most comfortable thing I could wear (with fibromyalgia) while meeting the dress code there. Years of disability later, and now identifying as non-binary, long skirts and dresses are still almost always what I wear when I go out, because it's the closest I can come to wearing a blanket. :)
In the Netherlands most employees have 5 weeks vacation a year. And a bunch of holidays like Christmas, Newyear, Easter, Kings Day and some other Christian days
Nice country
In the U.S., realtors will show houses while the owners are home. Owners are not required to leave the home, unless they're doing an open house.
I think I am about 15 years older than you, probably. When I was young, striking was a lot more common here in the USA, too. Unfortunately, as the labor unions were systematically weakened and , in large part, eliminated, striking has gone away, too, as you say because American workers have very little job security. Not only can we be easily replaced with other American workers, but employers, even those who claim to have high social values, are very willing to fire American workers and move jobs overseas to places like India and the Philippines. It sucks and voters, and nonvoters, here have allowed this to happen as they have been manipulated. This is also why we have less vacation, are more overworked, most no longer have retirement, and have fewer other benefits. The average American worker had it a lot better when I was young than what I now face as a single late middle aged American woman. On a more pleasant note, the working shutters on French windows are a great idea and I wish they would gain popularity here.
Again, a fascinating and extremely interesting video!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I went to a private Catholic school for grammar school and high school in California in the 1950’s. We had Wednesday off and school on Saturday. Major pain for our parents even though usually moms didn’t work then.
We had no one to play with and on Saturday missed the fun our friends who went to public school were having.
Mostly we figured it was to keep us away from boys!
Oh wow, I didn't know that's how it was in the 50s!
I never heard of this.
@@OuiInFrance They don’t do it any more. It definitely had a European history to it. But by our time, the Catholic day students didn’t have to study religion but did go to concerts and other cultural things.
On Saturdays, we didn’t have regular classes. The biggest thing I remember is that we had “Courtesy” where we were taught how to be caring and polite in all kinds of situations plus etiquette!
The thing I remember most though was we had 2 hours of penmanship every Saturday where we wrote letters to loved ones and copied poetry and other texts. Seems like the 18th century now!
@@jow.2450 It was pretty unusual. None of the other private schools around us did it. But our school was very old and I think actually founded by French sisters. So....
@@florencecousin5577 I am 25. I got school on Saturday when I was 7-9, but only one of two, that was the beginning of having school only 4 days week. The government try 5 years ago to get back to an half-day either Wednesday or Saturday, but it was really strange, as they wanted for the children to have school an half-day more, but without adding any hours of school ???? and without a national coordination ... That was anarchy ... After two years, they got back to 4days par week for children in elementary school.
In public swimming pools, for hygiene reasons, it is forbidden to bathe with clothes that may have been worn outside, such as on a public bench or a seat on a bus.
Diane-- love your videos! Informative, interesting, so well written and presented in a relaxed and straight to the point manner, no wasted time. I enjoy hearing you tell about French culture-- 'next best thing to being there.' Thanks again! ⚜️
Some of the schools in my area have half-day Wednesdays like in Amherst, MA. l belonged to a union and we could strike but trying to get ANY time off was like pulling hen's teeth, let alone anything longer or even a whole week - and even then they'd try to call you in! Now, my work was with people who weren't able to fend for themselves so it had to be staffed (residential group homes) 24/7 365 days a year hurricanes blizzards etc but the contract stated management - even the "big ones" were supposed to fill in if push came to shove but THAT never seemed to ever happen, forced to work far past legal working hour caps and hence no time off in a field that really needed downtime to make a better, happier residential counselor. If you were ever to have a glass of wine with lunch you'd get fired because there were no lunches or breaks yet nobody was underage and a glass of wine would have been nice. We're not as civilized as we think we are.
I'm French but I live in Canada now and I DREAM of real vacations: 3 weeks off in one set. I have 3 weeks off per year but am not allowed to take more then 2 at a time... :-(
You guys have vacation?!? Lol.
Your point concerning holidays in US has a major effect on us citizen and us foreign politics. I travel a lot in the world and in comparison to the 'wealthyness' of the country, American travelers are not so common. And in most cases the holidays seams like a rush! Europe in 6 days! Waouh. How are you suppose to understand people and culture like that? I think it would be a major game changer to the world to 'give' proper holidays to the US workers. We need time to understand each others.
good list and entertaining video as always! Well done! We seem so cliché sometimes but what you are listing is all very true
one huge difference is that in France vacation days are a right and nobody can stop you taking your vacation. In the USA, vacation days are given at the whim of your employer and you have to ask permission to take time off -- and your boss can refuse to allow you to take the time if he feels it is inconvenient for him or for any other random reason.
Wine at lunch is not so common anymore. In the past companies i have worked at there would be no alcohol at lunch during team meetings at restaurants
I'm 21 and my generation was the last one to have school on saturday mornings in France. I still remember how happy I was when my mom told me that I wouldn't have to go anymore
french people are so lucky they have no idea
We are! And because we actually don't realize how much, we're always on strike 🤦🏽♀️
Come live with us ☺️
@@CleopatraTelevision The thing is... I am one the few French citizen who realize how lucky we are and I love our 5 weeks of vacation, our free health care and all our social rights ;)
Btw, I traveled to USA when I was younger and I loved it! ^^
@@yemiandco9428 ☺️ je m’adressais en fait à la personne qui disait qu’on ne savait pas à quel point on était chanceux.
Il n’est jamais trop tard pour se faire du bien et venir rejoindre notre beau pays ☺️
@@CleopatraTelevision Wouah ! Tu es tellement convaincante quand tu parles anglais sur ta chaine que j'ai cru que tu étais américaine :D
Canada is the same for paid vacation time. In British Columbia, it’s 4% for the first 4 years of employment (works out to 2 weeks if you work f/t); 6% from 5yrs of employment, onward (3weeks). Anything beyond that, is not legally required.
I’d be curious what non-contract employees get in France? Contract work in Canada isn’t seen as a step up; if anything it means you have LESS benefits, not more.
That's the thing : we don't have non-contract employees. It's illegal for a company to have people working and getting paid without a contract. It's called "travail au noir" (black work) or "travail dissimulé" (hidden work). The contract obviously protects the employee but also the company, and it also ensures that the government gets all the taxes the company has to pay for each employee. If a company gets caught (or is sued by a non-contract employee hired illegally), they are fined a lot of money and in some cases, the boss goes directly to jail...
As a buyer, I prefer to visit a house without the owner. However when I had to sell my houses and was forced to leave the premises with 2 young children, and everything straightened "model home" style, I didn't like it a bit! Also as you mentioned I would have liked to answer questions or explain a few things I'm not sure my Realtor did well.
I agree, Anne, I think it can be more relaxed without the seller home but as you said, if the realtor isn't really on top of things, the seller might have good info to add.
We've sold houses both ways. But I have to say that when we returned home after a showing, we were disappointed to find doors unlocked and even windows open. The realtor should have closed returned the house to the condition they found it in.
When I was growing up Thursday was the day off school, but in school on Saturday . That was the 50’s. And yes leaving France it was a shock to adjust to reduced Canadian holidays.
Stopping for lunch from 12h to 13h30 👍😅
*Americans should also assume they are being monitored while touring homes for sale. With the ubiquity of home security systems like Nest or even Alexa Echo may be listening in on the prospective buyers while they look at the house. I used to coach my buyers that even if they don't see a security system, assume that there is one.
When I was in high school in New Orleans, our French teacher ironically named Madame Lala would play recordings of a French tv show called “Toute le Monde”. I remember there was one character named Jean Claude who always wore black turtlenecks to show he was a Communist. We thought that was hysterical that French communists had a dress code. Cant say we learned much French pronunciation but we loved the show. We all wound up with French/Southern accents when we tried to speak French.
Tout le monde
Never heard of that show and of " madam Lala" and no, 🐢 necks were not weared only by Communists.
I live in one of the most french town in North America and cloth lines/cord are very common here. Another thing is the men and women toilets/washrooms are in close proximity in public places. There is only one washroom in farmers market in the downtown area. You will see men and women at the same time in the washroom. No big deal.
I have lived in France and it is about quality of life whereas in the USA it's about the quantity of work you can give to your employer. Many businesses closing in August did catch me out the first time but you quickly adapt and work around it
The U.S. is actually closer to the equator than France which is why we have to rely on some form of air conditioning in most (not all) of the states. In southern states people do use shutters, but most people I know who have them only close them when a major storm is approaching - which is why they are more commonly called "hurricane shutters".
Part of the USA is closer to the equator... however... another part of the USA gets those Canadian Arctic winds!
As a Chicagoan I was AMAZED how mild the Parisian winters are - and
especially because of that Atlantic Gulf Stream that moderates the most Western European coastal winters....
@@rmp7400 Those "Canadian Arctic winds" came from the Arctic, hitting Canada as they hit some U.S states. We are just as much a victim of those unbearable cold Arctic winds as anyone else. 😂 Where I live in Canada, there are 27 U.S states at least partially north of me and 13 which are entirely north of me. 😊
Diane, I love your channel. The French have helped refined you and by making you aware of
how unfiltered Americans are. I long for civility. As an English professor in a prestigious private college I have watched previously polished students turn into useless wart hogs. Now, The political "cancel culture'" has canceled respect, common sense, and fundamental self-awareness and has nurtured narcissism. THANKS for hope. Suzanne Foglesong
If it sounds as if I assumed you were ever rough around the edges, I apologize. Class is a fixed personality trait which you demonstrate. Behavior is is a product of culture and responses to others.
For additional info, the chips on bank cards are a French invention and they existed on french cards way earlier than in the US or the rest of the world.