Something that is often heard from Australians is that the French are arrogant. This is quite unfair and is mainly based the average person’s very short ‘raid’ on Paris where they probably experience the occasional Gallic cold shoulder. This is probably more to do with it being a huge city than its Frenchness.

It is only one part of France, but unfortunately not enough visitors get past the ‘city of light’ and into the heartland. Paris wouldn’t be Paris if you didn’t get a certain whiff of haughtiness. It is the urban equivalent of a super model, all pout and sashay and lacking a little substance. Definitely visit Paris. It is one of the most stunning cities on earth but do not judge a whole country on its ‘show off’ capital.

Put things in perspective. France is the most visited country on earth receiving 78 million international tourists a year (more than its population). So ask yourself, how good natured you would be if international tourism to Australia were to increase from 5 million to 20 million visitors annually? What’s more they would expect you to speak to them in their language!

Once you break the ice with some dodgy French and establish that you are Australian, things should go swimmingly. Australia and New Zealand are held in fairly high regard in France, but it only takes a couple of bogan acts and its all down the pissoir.

Due to France being at a geographical crossroads of Europe its people are highly diverse. Broadly speaking the Germanic influence is quite evident in the North while in the South there is a distinctly Latin feel. This dual personality is supported by the history of the French language which came down to a choice between adopting the Langue (tongue) d’Oïl (pronounced wee) which was the dialect of northern France and Lange d’oc (short for Occitan) spoken in the south. There are a number of areas in France where the locals still speak their original languages or dialects before French. Places like Corsica, Catalonia, Bretagne and Pays Basque can be like foreign countries within France. There are also a range of different accents that you may or may not register. The Parisian accent is fairly nasal whilst the Provencal accent is quite sing-song with lots of rolling r’s.