Visiting Paris? Funny video warns tourists about speaking French at cafes

Two Parisians shared a skit on Instagram about what can happen when a tourist tries to speak French at a cafe. Photo / @atfrenchies, Instagram

Tourists have been warned to think twice before practising their French at Parisian cafes in a cheeky social media skit.

The two Parisians, called Alex and Tom, published the light-hearted video to their shared Instagram account @atfrenchies with the headline ‘When you visit Paris as a tourist’.

In the video, which has been viewed more than 1.3 million times, the men act out what happens when a tourist with poor pronunciation tries speaking French to an impatient waiter.

Tom pretends to be a visitor ordering a coffee and breakfast for himself and a friend by saying “Bonjour je voudrais…” which means ‘good morning, I would like’. He is then interrupted by Alex, the waiter.

“Oui oui, I speak English,” he replies. “What would you like to eat?”

Undiscouraged, Tom continues to try out his French and orders “a Kwassant”. The water aggressively corrects him: “un crrrroissant” he says.

The tourist then tries to order a “jus de pomme” (apple juice,) an oeuf brouille (scrambled eggs) and an espresso. Each time, the angry waiter repeats the order back, making it clear he has mispronounced the words. At one point, he mutters “incroyable” (incredible) at Tom’s poor French.

By the end, after having been yelled at, Tom appears to turn towards his friend and says “at least we don’t have to tip in France.”

More than 36,000 people liked the video, while 1,100 weighed in on the topic by commenting.

Many viewers commented about being confused as to whether they should try and speak French while visiting France, claiming there was no winning solution.

“I’m always curious: Is it better to make an effort in the local language, even if your pronunciation isn’t perfect, or to just give up and do it in English? I feel like I can’t win sometimes,” wrote one Instagram user.

“I agree it’s rude [to just straight up speak English], which is why I try, but the second people realize I speak English, they switch,” they added. “My question is: Is it rude to continue in the local language if they switch to English? I don’t want them to feel obligated to speak English for me, nor do I want them to think I’m being entitled.”

Others agreed they had received mixed messages about giving their French a go.

“I was told they appreciate the effort! I guess not lol,” another wrote. One commenter said it was different in different countries.

“In China they will applaud every word you try to say no matter how bad it is. In France, if not perfect they treat you like an idiot,” they wrote.

While another said it more to do with whether the town or city was used to tourists.

“If it’s a high tourist area go with English. If it’s a smaller town or off the beaten path people have more time and are more chuffed to see travelers pop up in their area and find it charming (if not necessary for communication),” they offered.

Not all people were confused or upset by the issue. One person said their imperfect efforts were always respected.

“Always make an effort, I’ve always found people respect it and are more friendly even if you end up using English,” they wrote.

According to a self-described linguist also chipped in, writing: “If you know a language you should try and use it. First of all, in order to allow you to improve. If they don’t appreciate it because of some (normal) errors, it’s not you problem, it’s theirs.”

Others seemed to agree with the exaggerated depiction in Alex and Tom’s video.

“It’s true though — y’all Parisians aren’t nice at all, wrote one viewer, who suggested people visit Italy or Spain instead, where linguistic efforts were more appreciated.