French view of American tourism:

well, if you don’t walk about proudly displaying a ‘George W. Bush – My Kind Of Guy’ t-shirt, you should be fine 🙂

CRC

I’ve never seen such a tee shirt so I think you’ll be okay. When my husband was in the military (back in the Cuban Missle Crisis!), he never wore his uniform on vacation unless we knew he could get in someplace free. At any rate, I’m assuming you won’t be running around in combat fatigues, so how would anyone know you are a soldier?

We’ve been to France and Italy since the Iraq war started and have not had any problems at all. There were peace marches in Rome while we were there, but there was a heavy police presence and the marchers were peaceful.

In France we’ve never experienced any problems. The French love to discuss things and can sometimes become quite heated, but they do it because they love to explore all the issues, not because they are upset. I think you would find people very open to your opinions (although they might not agree with you). As long as you are willing to listen to their opinion, I suspect they would be willing to listen to yours. They study logic in high school and love a good argument!!

As a typical tourist, you probably wouldn’t even be discussing politics. As long as you are well behaved and polite, they will be well behaved and polite. Remember to say hello and goodbye when you enter and leave shops and restaurants and you’ll be loved by all.

There are several good books on French/American cultural differences and you might want to read one before you visit. Simple things can be maddening if you don’t expect them. You can also surf around this web site for cultural differences and behavioural and dress suggestions. There is some pretty good information here.

Do go and I think you’ll enjoy yourself. If nothing else, the food and scenery are fantastic!!

rodomantade: Both crc95 and SalB’s comments are valid. From experiences both on vacation and on business, I can attest that the French love to discuss politics. They love the spirit of debate. You have to remember that France is the benchmark against which all things are measurered (and usually rightfully so.) Most of the French (and of Europe) seem to detest Bush. It seems a reasonable reaction given his cowboy politics. The French and most of Europe seem to genuinely love Americans. Try to babble something in French and they will love you. Now that you mention it, I can’t remember the last time that I saw a US military member in uniform over there. It would probably be more comfortable for you out of uniform. Rest assured, the French people really like us. You might read the book "Culture Shock" before leaving. Donerail

At any rate, I’m assuming you won’t be running around in combat fatigues, so how would anyone know you are a soldier?

Haircut, tats..

Thanks for the responses. I am definitely reading some literature about European culture before I go. I can’t go to Europe and only limit my trip to visiting France! I can respect their anti-Bush foreign policy sentiment, as I have some myself. Maintenant j’ai besoin d’etudier mon francais!

-Tyler

I don’t think the haircut will be a giveaway. Last November in Paris, the haircut du jour for men was totally bald. Many of the young men are shaving their heads completely. Wear a black turtleneck and slacks, shave your head and everyone will assume you are French!

It was kind of funny because we thought we kept running into the same guy everyplace we went. Walking down the street one day, we finally realized there were a lot of young bald, dressed in black young men in Paris.

"Culture Shock" is an excellent introduction. You sound like you’ve already done a lot of your homework. I think you can go and you’ll have a good time. Simply saying hello and goodbye give you an edge and you can do a lot more than that.

When are you going? Where do you plan to visit? Just curious.

Tyler,

Both SalB and Donerail statements are valid and true and I wouldn’t add anything to them. Bottom line : be modest and discreet and respectful as any foreigner should be while visiting any country.

When I was still a student I used to work in a hotel in my Lyon hometown. It was an airport hotel. Once, the elevator doors opened, and 8 US army guys, all 6 ft. tall and 3 ft. wide at least, came out, still wearing the camo fatigues. I chatted with them a little. They had been flying on a chopper, coming from a base in Italy and on their way to Holland or Germany (if I recall). They had to land and stop for the night because of some technical failure. They were very nice and pleasant to talk to.

Then, eventually, they went to the bar, got drunk, and started calling the bartender all kinds of very dirty names because he wouldn’t accept US greenbacks right away but asked them to change them first in French francs — God forbids.

But you won’t act like that, won’t you ? 🙂