French quandaries

[rabbit]

I have lived here for 20 years but there are still some French habits I don’t understand.
1. No seats on public toilets
2. Priorité à droite
3. Breton passion for crêpes and galettes
4. Supermarkets charging more for buying in bulk eg 6 bottles of beer 1.5 ea 24 1.7ea
5. Leroy Merlin charging for a loyalty card(and getting away with it)

[suein56]

Leroy Merlin have stopped charging for their store card

[MAD87]

I agree with you on 2 and 4.
N° 1: I think loo seats are either nicked (there are a lot of vandals around) or of poor quality and they're not replaced when they fall apart. What I object to (strongly) is new facilities on motorways with...only Turkish loos. I've had to use a handicapped loo before now to get round this cheapskatery.

[Wilbro]

@MAD87
Turkish loos in Services! I've found them in Aires but never in proper services. Which services are those?

[Blaze]

1. Too many loo seats damaged or vandalised - some public loos have stainless steel pots.
2. Agreed, but I've seen it used more and more today to try to slow traffic down (on a main road through a village, for example)
3. I like crêpes and galettes in moderation but can't stand the inevitable galette-saucisse at every event. But then every region has it's own "peculiarity" - I disliked the porc rillettes in the Pays de la Loire ! It doesn't help that I don't like meat - but Brittany does wonderful fish rillettes
4. Not only that, but you have to look very carefully at pricing for a bigger item : sometimes a bigger packet of, say, rice, will cost you more per kilo than a smaller one. This is quite frequent !
5. I haven't come across that before.

I agree with you, Rabbit, about some French habits. The French consider it rude not to say "Bonjour" before launching into what you want to say. But they have no hesitation in interrupting you when you are in mid conversation with someone else to say "Bonjour" or just to talk. I find it intensely irritating at times.
As for some of the table manners I see ...... and that hasn't changed in the 25+ years we've lived here.
Roundabout drill .... but that's another story.
Bureaucracy ... but even the French have a horror of it.
Men's stand-ups that have to be passed to get to the loo, even today. I've seen them here in Super U Cancale, even in some restaurants - the one at the Hippodrome in Saint Malo for instance.
The squat and runs in Aires are always disgusting but when needs must ...

I give a Gallic shrug and put it down to cultural differences.

[rabbit]

I agree with you on 2 and 4.
N° 1: I think loo seats are either nicked (there are a lot of vandals around) or of poor quality and they're not replaced when they fall apart. What I object to (strongly) is new facilities on motorways with...only Turkish loos. I've had to use a handicapped loo before now to get round this cheapskatery.

I have travelled extensively all over the world and in no other civilised country are loo seats stolen or vandalised. I am surprised French ladies have not rebelled

[Hotrodder]

Careful people.......
If you mention dislikes on some other forums you get told to go back to UK.

[Blaze]

Careful people.......
If you mention dislikes on some other forums you get told to go back to UK.

Nowhere's perfect, not even France

[MAD87]

@MAD87
Turkish loos in Services! I've found them in Aires but never in proper services. Which services are those?

There's certainly one near Lyon where I was directed to the handicapped 'suite' by the gardien. Itr was an aire de repos - no other services.

[MAD87]

I have travelled extensively all over the world and in no other civilised country are loo seats stolen or vandalised. I am surprised French ladies have not rebelled

When we came to view houses one day in Oradour, I had use the public loo (it's c. 100m from our present house). The loos were OKish but their doors had been kicked in and graffitied. Shrug, as one does, although I was mortified.