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The four rules that matter from day one
- ✓Always say Bonjour entering a shop, a waiting room or a lift — silence reads as rude;
- ✓Default to vous with anyone you don't know, and let the French person switch first;
- ✓La bise (cheek kisses) varies regionally — 2, 3 or 4 — let the local lead;
- ✓Tipping is appreciated but not expected — service is included in restaurant prices.
Explore French culture
Eight detailed guides cover the cultural side of moving to France. Pick the one that matches what you're looking for.
French Customs
The cultural reflexes that surprise newcomers — punctuality, dress codes, August closures, August holidays.
Read guide →Learning French
Best methods, free options, certifications and what level you actually need for daily life.
Read guide →French Food
Iconic dishes, regional specialities and how meals are structured at home and in restaurants.
Read guide →School & Bank Holidays
Public holidays, school holiday zones (A, B, C) and how they shape French life and travel.
Read guide →Landmarks to Visit
Beyond the Eiffel Tower — the must-see places that locals actually recommend.
Read guide →French Facts
Numbers and trivia about France that come up in conversation more often than you'd expect.
Read guide →PACS Civil Partnership
The French civil partnership — eligibility, how to apply, residence rights for non-EU partners.
Read guide →Expats in France
Where English-speaking expats live, what they earn and how their experience compares to other countries.
Read guide →Greetings: la bise and the handshake
The greeting that most surprises newcomers is la bise — a light kiss on each cheek, exchanged between friends, family and many colleagues regardless of gender. In a professional first meeting a brief handshake is the safer default; when in doubt, let the French person take the lead and match what they do.
The number of kisses varies by region — two in Paris and most of France, three in parts of the south, four around Nantes, even one in some Mediterranean areas. A French site maps it region by region: combiendebises.free.fr.
Vous or tu?
French has two ways to say "you": tu for informal, familiar relationships and vous for distance, politeness and respect. If unsure, default to vous — being too polite is socially safe, being too familiar is not. When a French person says "on peut se tutoyer", that's the explicit invitation to switch.
Tu — informal
Vous — formal
French manners and politeness
Politeness in France is structural — it's about acknowledging that the other person exists. Skip these basics and you'll be perceived as rude without knowing why:
- ✓Say Bonjour the moment you walk into a shop, a waiting room or a lift — even before asking your question;
- ✓Use Pardon or Excusez-moi if you bump into someone or need to pass through;
- ✓Say Merci systematically, then au revoir on the way out;
- ✓Frame requests in the conditional: "je voudrais" rather than "je veux";
- ✓Avoid asking someone's age, especially women, or detailed questions about salary and money;
- ✓Don't show up empty-handed when invited to dinner — wine, flowers or a small dessert is the minimum.
Not yet fluent? Our guide to learning French covers what level you actually need for everyday life and how to get there fastest.
See also French social customs: the full guide to greetings, etiquette and the faux-pas to avoidFood and meals
How French meals are structured
A typical French day has three meals — petit-déjeuner (breakfast), déjeuner (lunch) and dîner (dinner) — plus an optional goûter for children around 4-5 pm.
Breakfast
Lunch · 12–2 pm
Dinner · from 8 pm
When invited to a French home, expect a multi-course evening: an apéritif (drinks and savoury snacks), a starter (entrée), a main (plat), cheese, then dessert and coffee. Plan to be there for two to three hours minimum.
Eating out and tipping
Restaurants treat a meal as a multi-hour social event, not a transaction. Service is brisk in cafés and busy bistros but unhurried elsewhere — asking for the bill is on you ("l'addition, s'il vous plaît"), it won't come automatically.
On tipping, France is the opposite of the United States. Service is included in the menu price by law (service compris), so tipping is not expected. Leaving a few euros for great service is appreciated but never obligatory, and you won't be judged for not tipping at all. For a fuller breakdown of must-try dishes, see our guide to French food.
Public holidays and celebrations
France observes 11 national public holidays a year, most rooted in Christian or historic events. Shops, banks and most offices close — plan groceries and admin around them. Two regions (Alsace and Moselle) observe two extra days (Good Friday and Boxing Day).
| Date | Holiday | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January | New Year's Day (Jour de l'An) | — |
| March / April | Easter Monday (Lundi de Pâques) | Variable date |
| 1 May | Labour Day (Fête du Travail) | Almost everything closes |
| 8 May | Victory Day (Victoire 1945) | — |
| May (variable) | Ascension Day (Ascension) | 39 days after Easter |
| May / June (variable) | Whit Monday (Lundi de Pentecôte) | Worked as solidarity day in some firms |
| 14 July | Bastille Day (Fête Nationale) | Parade on the Champs-Élysées, fireworks nationwide |
| 15 August | Assumption Day (Assomption) | Mid-summer break peak |
| 1 November | All Saints' Day (Toussaint) | — |
| 11 November | Armistice Day (Armistice) | WWI ceremonies |
| 25 December | Christmas Day (Noël) | — |
| 26 December | St Stephen's Day (2e Jour de Noël) | Alsace and Moselle only |
Source: service-public.fr. Updated May 2026.
When a public holiday falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, many French employees "font le pont" — take the Monday or Friday off too for a four-day weekend. Schools and offices may follow suit. For school holiday zones (A, B, C) and the full annual calendar, see our guide to French school and bank holidays.