Like all countries France has so many unstated rules. When we moved to Australia, I wish someone had told us (among many other things) that when they said bring a plate, we should have put something on it!
So here are a few quirky rules for rural France.
Politeness is SO important.
You MUST say bonjour to everyone. The guy who is fixing the road, the person serving you in the shop, the passerby on the street. BUT it’s not that simple. Just saying a bare "Bonjour" or "Au revoir" can feel blunt or clipped to a local. For politeness you have to attach a title. You must say "Bonjour, Madame" or "Bonjour, Monsieur."
If you walk into a bakery, a post office, or the local café and there are a handful of locals standing around, you don't have to greet them individually. You address the room with a cheerful, rolling "Bonjour, messieurs-dames!" (Hello, ladies and gentlemen). It instantly shows respect.
The "Re-Bonjour"
This is a quirky trap that trips me up every time. In France, Bonjour literally means "Good Day," and it can only be said once per person, per day.
If you see the village pharmacist at 9:00 AM and say Bonjour, and then run into them again at 2:00 PM at the market, saying Bonjour a second time implies you forgot meeting them earlier, which is considered a mild social slight.
On the second encounter, you must smile and say "Re-bonjour!" (Hello again) or simply nod and pivot straight to "Ça va?".
In Australia once a transaction is finished, a quick "Thanks, bye!" as you walk out the door is standard. In a rural French shop, the exit is a three-part ceremonial dance. You never just leave, you must wish them well, based on the clock.
Before 6:00 PM: "Merci, au revoir, bonne journée!" (Thank you, goodbye, have a good day!)
After 6:00 PM: The vocabulary shifts instantly. Bonjour becomes Bonsoir, and your exit line becomes "Merci, au revoir, bonne soirée!" (Have a good evening!)
Politeness Encore. Even the sat Nav is polite when giving you directions. It says s'il te plaît, prends à droite. Please turn to the right. Really !!!
Opening Hours are a "Personal Suggestion” Ha! Don’t we know it!
Look working out when the shops are open is an absolute conundrum. Milton told us that Icher and Fils were absolutely the best boucherie and we should buy our meat there… we eventually found it but every time it was closed. We eventually found them at Le Camion-Boucherie in Azille!
So this is how it works
The Sacred Midday Shut-Down: Between 12:00 PM and 3:00 PM, everything except for restaurants vanishes. The pharmacy, the bakery, and local businesses shut tight. If you forgot to buy your lunch ingredients by 11:55 AM, you are simply going hungry until mid-afternoon.
The whim of the merchant: It is totally normal to walk up to a local shop on a Tuesday afternoon to find a handwritten piece of cardboard taped to the glass reading: "Exceptionnellement fermé cet après-midi—parti aux vignes" (Closed this afternoon—gone to the vineyards) or "Fermé pour cause de canicule" (Closed due to the heatwave). The community completely respects this, after all life comes before commerce.
Traditionally, French restaurants have incredibly strict, rigid kitchen hours. The kitchen opens for lunch from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM and then it completely shuts down. If you walk into a standard French restaurant at 2:15 PM looking for a meal, they will politely but firmly turn you away and tell you to come back at 7:30 PM or 8:00 PM when the kitchen reopens for dinner. Between 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM, a traditional restaurant is a food desert.
When a restaurant or brasserie proudly displays a sign that says "Service Non-Stop" or "Service Continu," it means the kitchen never closes: They serve hot, full meals straight through the dead zone of the afternoon (from noon all the way until 10:00 PM or midnight).
In rural areas like the Minervois, finding a place that does Service Non-Stop is quite rare, it’s mostly a feature of larger brasseries in towns like Narbonne or Carcassonne, or busy tourist hubs along the Canal du Midi. In the small villages, the traditional 12:00–2:00 rule still rules supreme.
Always Ask Permission to Speak English
Walking up to someone in rural France and starting a sentence in English, even with a polite "Excuse me, do you know where the abbey is?" is often perceived as aggressive, as it forces the local into your linguistic territory without warning.
You must start with: "Bonjour, Madame. Excusez-moi... parlez vous anglais ?" Even if your French accent is completely terrible, the mere act of asking permission to switch languages is considered the height of good breeding. Once you ask, they will usually do absolutely everything they can to help you.
Oh gosh I love it. It's frustrating but I think they absolutely have their priorities right,
Vivre la France!
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