5 French stereotypes I believed before moving to France

Before moving to France, I had SO many ideas about what French people were like. Some were based on movies, also my high school trip to France as a teen where our group was actually spit on by a drunk guy. Other ideas I’d had were from what I’d read online and from people who had visited France already.

Because I didn’t know better at the time, I believed what I was told. Maybe you can relate? I see all kinds of stereotypes about France and French life in my YouTube and blog comments and a lot of time, the people writing the comments haven’t even been to France and don’t know any French people.

I’m the first to admit that blindly believing this stuff can be really damaging and create more distance and hate, as if that’s what the world needs more of right now. Anyway, now that I actually live in France, I can tell you that some of the stereotypes I believed are totally false. Others, well, there’s a little bit of truth, but it’s way more nuanced than I expected. So let’s get into it.

Stereotypes about French people and France I used to believe before moving here

Here are 5 stereotypes I believed about the French and France before I moved here. You can’t truly understand a place until you experience it for yourself, so let’s go!

1. Everyone eats fancy French food every day

France is known for its food and there’s no shortage of drool-worthy creations. You see gorgeous desserts in the bakery and delicious food everywhere you turn, so I had this idea that every meal in France would be some elaborate, high-end Michelin-star-worthy creation.

Well, I was verrry wrong. It turns out that people here eat simply too and even indulge in frozen pizza and McDonald’s. In fact, France is McDonald’s second largest global market, after the US.

Yes, food culture is super important, and the quality of even simple ingredients is amazing. But on a day-to-day basis, people eat normal meals just like anywhere else. They’re not all cooking 5-course meals from scratch and spending hours in the kitchen or dining out at 5-star restaurants every night and getting daily pastries from the bakery.

While most French folks aren’t grabbing a daily pain au chocolate, many DO pick up fresh bread, though, at least a couple of times a week. That’s not a stereotype. Bread is a must!

But back to casual meals. Yes, French people will grab a quick sandwich from the bakery for lunch or have some soup or reheat a quiche from the supermarket. They keep it easy and simple too sometimes like people anywhere else.

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2. French people are arrogant

Okay, this one gets thrown around all the time and is probably the biggest stereotype we hear about the French. They’re all SO rude and arrogan, right?

Before moving, I had this image of the French as super snobby, arrogant, judgy people, not only about your fashion choices but about YOU in general. I had an older friend who was a flight attendant who regularly interacted with a certain type of French traveler and a lot of her opinions seemingly confirmed this arrogance. I’m embarrassed to admit I believed her.

But the reality? It’s just a tired stereotype that’s not true.

Of course you will find arrogant people in France — I’ve met some — but you’ll find people like that in every country. What I’ve found is that French culture values directness, which can sometimes come across as arrogance to outsiders—especially if you’re used to cultures where people sugarcoat everything. On top of that, the French are very proud of their culture, especially their food and wine.

On top of that, there’s a language aspect I want to point out too. The French language can sound kind of formal and the specific word choices might sound snobby to our English -speaking ears, or like the French person is trying to one-up someone with fancy vocabulary in English, whereas in French, the words are normal.

It’s when the French speaker literally translates the word from French to English and tries to use it the same way in English that the tone gets lost in translation. In my experience, this happens the most when a French person has a lower level of English and doesn’t know that a more natural or casual word choice exists to say the same thing.

But the truth is, these formal-sounding words are not formal at all in French! It’s very common in French to use the verb améliorer. For anything. Your computer skills at work. Your level of fitness. Whatever. Améliorer is a normal verb in French, just as normal as “improve” would be in English.

Now most English-speaking adults know the word ameliorate exists in English and means “to make better or improve,” but it’s not our top word choice to express that sentiment. We don’t use ameliorate in English as frequently as the French do in French. We’d just say we’d like to improve something or get better at something.

So when a French person says in French that they want to “ameliorate their level of English” in a casual conversation with friends, it’s perfectly understood and doesn’t sound formal. But if they were to say the same thing in English, it sounds a bit unnecessarily sophisticated.

You see how seemingly normal French word choices can come off in an unintended way in English and maybe seem unnecessarily fancy or even arrogant? There are a lot of words like that (and when English speakers do THIS). So just something to be aware of.

To wrap this point up, in my experience living here since 2012 and meeting all kinds of people all over France, I don’t find the French to be any more or less arrogant than any other nationality. So this stereotype has NOT held true for me.

3. The French hate Americans

On my first trip to France as a teen, our tour group was spit on by a drunk unhoused guy at a Nanterre park, and we also encountered some rude waiters on that trip. Culture shock hit me hard, so my first impression of France wasn’t a great one. It made me think that French people hated Americans and it’s hard to see nuance or even have perspective at age 16.

That early experience and negative stories from other tourists all shaped my impression of French people, so much so that before visiting a second time a decade later, I was bracing myself for the hate I’d get once people learned I was from the US.

But guess what? That never happened.

Sure, politics can sometimes make things complicated, and French people may not support the current administration and policy decisions – like a lot of Americans as well – but on a person-to-person level, the French do not hate Americans just for the sake of it, which I hope is reassuring to you. I want to repeat that, the vast majority of French people don’t blindly hate Americans on an individual level.

I honestly believed I’d be hated so it was a relief once I moved here to know that’s not the case. I mean sure, you can meet some idiots who are hateful people in general and if you act like an entitled tourist or are rude, you might not be treated well and I think that’s the case anywhere.

But French people are not hateful toward Americans. In fact, a lot of French people are curious about American culture, love talking about movies, music, and food, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve met someone who tells me about their great trip to California or New York or wherever. My being American has opened some doors and led to a bunch of great conversations.

Now all that said, there *is* a stereotype about Americans being bad tourists, you know what I mean, being loud or expecting everyone to speak English, so if you show a little effort and basic respect—like saying ‘Bonjour’ instead of just jumping into English—you’ll be just fine.

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4. French people dress like they’re in a fashion magazine

Honestly, before visiting, I thought I’d be walking among Parisians dressed like runway models every day. The truth? While style is important here, not everyone looks like a Vogue cover, especially not out in small towns and villages where people’s style choices are surprisingly relaxed.

Yes, people tend to dress more put-together than maybe the average American—you won’t see many people in pajamas at the grocery store—but the idea that every French person is effortlessly chic all the time? Not quite.

People wear shorts and t-shirts and not everyone is stylish. I have a blog post HERE on how French women dress and some fashion tips that I think you’ll like for more on this topic.

5. Paris = France

Before moving, I kind of assumed that what I saw in Paris was *THE* French experience. But France is so much more than just Paris. Just like the US is much more than just NYC or LA.

The culture, food, architecture, landscapes, prices, and even the way people speak varies wildly depending on where you are. A small town in la Bretagne? Totally different vibe from Marseille. Living in the Loire Valley out where I am is a world away from Paris.

If there’s one takeaway from this post, it’s this: Keep an open mind and don’t put an entire nation into one box like I did as a teen. Also, don’t assume 100% of everything you’ve heard is true, even what I’m saying here and also don’t expect to know a country just from the outside looking in or from just a short trip there.

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Anyway, those were 5 stereotypes I believed about the French and I’d love to know if you believe or used to believe any of them. Maybe you’ve changed your mind like I have after moving to France or spending more time here. I’d love to hear from you down in the comments. Thanks for reading!

P.S. Oui In France was named one of Feedspot’s “Top 100 French Blogs” on the web, so thank you to them, and check out the full list here!