Americans in Paris

We just returned from a magical weekend in Paris. It was our first time and we absolutely loved it from start to finish.
What astounded me was the amount of Americans in Paris. Everywhere we went, we heard American accents. Now, normally this would not surprise me but all we read about is how Americans are struggling due to the weak dollar (and the strength of other currencies) and cannot afford to take European holidays. Now, the people I saw could have been French residents but I saw loads of groups and families so surely, there must have been a healthy number of visitors, tons of them.
Also, another thing that surprised me was that 3 things I have always been told about the French are completely false. They hate Americans, they are rude and they won't speak English to visitors. All 3 points not true. Even when I tried speaking French to people they would answer me in English. Are they being gracious or is it that they cannot bear to hear foreigners mangle the French language? Overall, everyone in the shops, restaurants and what not were totally lovely and helpful.
Finally couldnt help but notice all the American-themed street names: Rue du New York, Avénue du Président Kennedy, Franklin D Roosevelt and Rue Lincoln but to name a few. And the replica Statue of Liberty on one of the bridges close to the Eiffel Tower.
Any thoughts on this?

What astounded me was the amount of Americans in Paris. Everywhere we went, we heard American accents.

....
 
Any thoughts on this?

Well, someone is going to have to be the first to say it, so I will. 

Ahem, we Americans can often be heard, wherever we go.

Signed, a still-too-loud-sometimes American (8 years in the UK but yes, still too loud sometimes)

ETA:   

Well, someone is going to have to be the first to say it, so I will. 

Ahem, we Americans can often be heard, wherever we go.

Signed, a still-too-loud-sometimes American (8 years in the UK but yes, still too loud sometimes)

ETA:   

Well I heard other accents as well, and what I heard could have been Canadian but was pretty sure they were from the good ole USA..
DH complains that I am too loud as well  clearly living here for almost 6 years has not lowered my voice.

Considering the French gave the US the Statue of Liberty, that one isn't very surprising.  As far as stereotypes go, I am glad that you had a good experience and saw that they were not true.

Well I heard other accents as well, and what I heard could have been Canadian but was pretty sure they were from the good ole USA..
DH complains that I am too loud as well  clearly living here for almost 6 years has not lowered my voice.

Heehee - my experience with Canadians has been that they seem milder mannered, so I would have to agree with your observation.  In fact, when I made a business trip to Canada in 1996, I was given some cultural lessons about how *different* they were (back then, they did seem a lot more different than they do now that I've lived in the UK for so long and they seem more like kindred spirits to me).  I was told back then they were more friendly and laid back, which I did observe (this was a week long business trip to Calgary).

I second Sara Smile's comment that I'm also glad you had a good experience.

DH and I went to Paris last year and noted many of the same observations that you did.  It's a great weekend destination, especially when you can go Eurostar and avoid the aggro of airline travel.  The first time we went, we took a "train picnic" and had a great journey, as well as enjoying the destination!   

Also, another thing that surprised me was that 3 things I have always been told about the French are completely false. They hate Americans, they are rude and they won't speak English to visitors. All 3 points not true. Even when I tried speaking French to people they would answer me in English. Are they being gracious or is it that they cannot bear to hear foreigners mangle the French language? Overall, everyone in the shops, restaurants and what not were totally lovely and helpful.

This is just a guess, but they could have been more receptive to you than you were expecting (in terms of speaking English to you) because it was Paris and Paris gets a lot of tourists. It may have been a different story had you been staying in a smaller town or village outside of Paris or elsewhere in the country where the locals are not used to catering for British/American/foreign tourists.

Plus, there could also be a bit of the 'not wanting to here foreigners mangling their language' in there too .

I have not really experienced those things in France either, although I can't speak for the 'hating Americans' stereotype because I am English (although, perhaps there's a similar stereotype towards the British too). I don't remember experiencing rudeness at all (but it's been a while since I visited France) and they would sometimes reply to us in English. My Dad was actually complimented on his good French by a waiter in a town in the Dordogne once (my Dad took A-level French, so he's fairly proficient) .

However, having said that, my best friend and her husband went to Paris for a weekend last year and apparently had a very bad experience in a restaurant, whereby the waiter tried rip them off with their wine (because they obviously didn't speak very good French, so they presumably wouldn't notice the difference in the cost) and the staff were openly rude to them (apparently they were being obvious about talking about them behind their backs, in terms of a 'these stupid English'-type attitude)!

 

I was in Florence this weekend and had the same thoughts. Americans were crawling all over the city with their blue Rick Steves guidebooks.

Yes, we have a weak dollar but we work hard and if we want to tour Europe we will just work that much harder and do it!

Other destinations that have made me  feel like I am back in the US are Ireland in the summer and Israel.

We had nothing but good experiences in Paris - from friendly, gracious Parisians.  Then again, DH speaks French pretty fluently (and did) and I can manage some.   Still they knew we weren't French.

We saw/heard people there from all over the world - including many Americans.  It's one of the most visited international tourist destinations in the world, so it only stands to reason.

I met my sister in Paris about 18 months ago and we were both pleasantly surprised at how nice everybody was and how they all wanted to speak English to us even though we spoke, or tried to speak, French to them.  We lived in France in the early 70's and back then our general observations were that the French were rude and pushy and refused to speak English.  Things have changed a lot over the years perhaps the old stereotypes will vanish in the not too distant future.

I love Paris and Parisians! I've never ever had an issue there with people being rude (and don't even think I know anyone who has), so I'm really not sure where that stereotype comes from. A couple of years ago I flew over to meet two American friends in Paris for a couple of days. We were standing in a metro station obviously looking like tourists, even reading our Paris for Dummies book, and a French woman came over to ask us if we needed help! 

We lived in France in the early 70's and back then our general observations were that the French ... refused to speak English.

This one always winds me up.  If a French person was in the UK or the US and tried speaking French to shopkeepers and bus drivers etc. they wouldn't get much joy would they?  Is this because people are 'refusing' to speak French to them?

This is just a guess, but they could have been more receptive to you than you were expecting (in terms of speaking English to you) because it was Paris and Paris gets a lot of tourists. It may have been a different story had you been staying in a smaller town or village outside of Paris or elsewhere in the country where the locals are not used to catering for British/American/foreign tourists.
 

I've had quite a few holidays in the smaller towns and villages of France and they are wonderful people! So friendly and interested in what you're doing in the backroads...

I think Paris has changed alot with regards to tourists. I know lots of folk who had unfortunate experiences in Paris in the 80's with the rude waiter/concierge stereotype.. and I had a few in the 90's (a snooty salesclerk in Printermps that snatched a hat out of my hand springs to mind) but I go once a year now and they're always very friendly and always a great time.

I've had quite a few holidays in the smaller towns and villages of France and they are wonderful people! So friendly and interested in what you're doing in the backroads...

Yeah, I've spent more time down in the southwest of France (mostly the gorgeous Dordogne region - one of my favourite places to visit) than in Paris - I've spent a total of 3 days in Paris in my life compared to 5 weeks in the Dordogne and 1 week in St. Jean de Luz, but I haven't been down there since I was 16 (so almost 10 years) and back then my dad did most of the talking so I didn't notice whether there was any rudeness at all (I don't think so though).

I was just hypothesising that if British tourists who spoke no/little French visited a small town where people rarely encountered English tourists, the locals might be less willing/able to speak in English to them compared to somewhere like Paris - I could understand if that happened and then was interpreted as the French being rude because they wouldn't speak English.

This one always winds me up.  If a French person was in the UK or the US and tried speaking French to shopkeepers and bus drivers etc. they wouldn't get much joy would they?  Is this because people are 'refusing' to speak French to them?

That is not what I meant.  Back in the 70's we encountered many a French person who knew more English than we did French but refused to help us with the language.  This happened more to my mother than myself as she knew no French when we moved and there were several times we were out and about and she would try and ask for assistance and get blank looks, then whoever she was speaking to would turn around and in French say something to their friend, not knowing that I understood pretty much what they were saying, and yes they did speak english.

That is not what I meant.  Back in the 70's we encountered many a French person who knew more English than we did French but refused to help us with the language.  This happened more to my mother than myself as she knew no French when we moved and there were several times we were out and about and she would try and ask for assistance and get blank looks, then whoever she was speaking to would turn around and in French say something to their friend, not knowing that I understood pretty much what they were saying, and yes they did speak english.

I think there's a difference between knowing some English and being able to talk to someone in English.  In this scenario I guess you knew enough French to understand what they were saying but not enough to ask them in French?  Maybe they were in the same situation, having enough English to get the jist of what you wanted but not enough to actually help you?

A 'modern foreign language' has been (on and off) a compulsory GCSE subject for 20-odd years in this country so I'd guess that most people fall into the above category.  Take me for example, I know enough Spanish to order a couple of beers and a ham sandwich so if a Spaniard over heard me, they wouldn't be to far off the mark to assume I spoke some Spanish... but if he were to come over to me and ask for my help the chances of me knowing what he wanted would be slim (maybe I could pick out the odd word) and the chances of me knowing enough Spanish to construct an answer would be slimmer.