Salut! What other things can you do in the USA and NOT in France? Tell me below! Also, thanks again to the COUPle DE CŒUR French Advent calendar for sponsoring a portion of this video. SHOP THE CALENDAR HERE: bit.ly/3dOxpJw
In Paris I have 3 grocery stores open on Sundays, and two open until 9, and one open until 11:30 (pre covid) and a little deli shop open until 2 a.m. in each neighborhood where I have lived for 32 years...You can choose your pin on your card in some banks and also change your pin after receiving your card...I have done several professions here, mainly fashion and restaurant management, and while most people in France make a career in restauration, in America I found most people only work in restaurants as a means to get into their career...mainly in large cities, they are artists, writers, actors, students...mind you there are a few people in the food industry with other plans and ideals for their goals in life, but the vast majority had special training to get into the job...Everyone I know that went for surrogate parenthood -or- in the case of a gay man and a lesbian wanting children they either went to the USA or Belgium...The worst thing about travel in France is not the tolls, but the cost of gas(Petrol), about 4 times as expensive in general over the years...
@@youri_briand ah ah ah no way. I lived for 10 years near a police office situated at the exit of an highway in the suburbs of Paris (91). I used my car everyday and so I got randomly (or not) stopped a number of times by officers along the years. There is only one way to talk with them : very politely, period. They are all very careful to make sure who has the power. Don’t ever think about talk trash or raisong your voice to a police officer in France. Believe me!
In France we think that customers are just ... customers. You don't have to be their slave. So yes, shops are closed on sunday, for lunch and around 7 to 8 pm for people taking care of their children (or just relaxing). In major cities shops are open later or on sunday, but it is mainly students who work specifically for late hours or sundays.
I was wondering if a product which was made in lower wage country, the low-wage workers will be deemed as slave from the perspective of French people? If yes, will French people refuse to purchase the product made by any low wage countries? Or French people just care about if they are slave but care less about if other country's people are acting as slave?
@@leechien6 They would be considered as exploited. Most people only care about french people exploitation, but there is also a lot that boycott product that exploit people.
@@leechien6 It's actually a quite big question around here in France. You have to understand first that, for the food part, a lot of product are actually french made. There's a tons of seal of quality you can get only if your product is from France "produit du terroir" for exemple. It's quite controlled, and seen as higher quality. Slowly the "commerce equitable" basicly more expensive but giving more money in exchange of a product that is more giving for the country making the production. For the rest, i don't say it don't exist, but you have to remember France got a long tradition of socialism in politic, and even if it's less popular now, still enough that the condition of work in the product we consume is actually a question that can spot on the political debate. All to say, it's not something that don't exist, but often people try to avoid it. By it i mean purchasing product from countries with low wages
It's all about the spirit of pure capitalism what makes the customer king. I think it's BS to be slave of such an ideology. People who work in stores need ofc to uphold a certain level of acceptable professionalism but they are also people and deserve similar respect as the customer themself.
Cars are stolen for parts, not to drive, so they just buy a wrecker for the chop shop, and it looks like they are legitimately hauling it away to the garage. Given that many chop shops are also auto repair garages as cover, it works very well.
Correction, hardly any YOUNG people know how to drive a stick shift! Most people who grew up in the 1980s or 1990s or earlier know how to drive a stick.
In France we care more about our work condition than our conveniency to buy. However it is slighly changing. Most shops are open until 9 pm in big cities as well as open during sunday morning (it wasn't the case few decades ago).
In France, if your driver's license mentions "automatic", you're not allowed to drive a "manual" shift. By the way, the number I heard = 80% manual cars in France, 4% manual in the US.
c'est vrai , mais c'est toujours possible de conduire en manuel mais il faut faire un stage de 7 heures avec un moniteur et sans repasser devant l'examinateur
@@edimo93 alors oui il faut payer mais non tu ne repasse pas le permis tu apprends à manipuler la boîte manuelle avec le moniteur et c'est le moniteur qui de dit si après tu peux conduire une manuelle
Taught myself to drive a manual in high school. 50 yrs later, I've only owned one automatic. Today my 6 speed mini cooper is as much fun as a go cart to drive.
I love the fact that shops still close - family life is really important, and that commercial / materialistic lifestyle is still quite rare. You just need to learn to adapt to a different cultural outlook.
It used to be that way in the UK, but then shops started being open more hours as women moved into the workforce and could not shop in the morning or afternoon on M-F. As for family life, women are probably doing the majority of these errands. And working for low pay in the shops. We get hit both ways.
@@LondonEE16 yes I guess it depends on culture too. I personally do a fair amount of the food shopping as I tend to do the cooking and it's convenient for me on the way home from work, but we make the effort for it, it's so easy to put convenience first instead of quality. But it's become routine for us as a family now. I do miss the south of France though!
Fact, if you buy diapers for your baby at 1500 it is not less materialistic than if you buy them at 2100. There is no excuse for not valuing people, their time and their needs. It is in fact Europe who is materialistic because they only open the shops to take money from people not to provide a service or enhance the community.
actually all of this is very true..... I grew up in Europe and live in the US, stayed in France for several months, and yes, everything she says is true for many other European countries....NOT just France 👍
When I lived in France many years ago, I was surprised by the wide range of political opinions people had. I had thought that Anarchists were fictional until I actually met some And people could vote for the Communist Party, if they were so inclined. The healthcare system seemed to be very affordable and of good quality. Motorbikes with an engine displacement of less than 50cc did not need a license, and no driver's license was needed to drive these mopeds. I have fond memories of wonderful places, wonderful friends, wonderful food and wonderful experiences. Of course, the public utility strikes and frequent road repairs were also part of the experience. But the trains were beyond any I had experienced back home.
In the 1950s and 60s, about 25% of French voted Communist. It's now 2-3%. Passenger trains are wonderful, but few smaller towns are still served. For decades, French highways were paved, and potholes did not last long. But in most other respects, French highways were unsafe and unfit for serious traffic. France was one of the last countries in the first world to acquire a motorway system. Before 1970 or so, very few French highways had even 4 lanes.
The CPUSA was commonly on the ballot until the fall of the USSR revealed that it was just a Soviet puppet, and all the members skunked away. In the 1970s, there were sometimes three communist parties on the ballot, of various flavors.
Antifa are nominally anarchists, though in actual practice who knows what that means. In the "free zone" in Seattle (supposedly no government), many people who called themselves anarchists stood up pretty quickly to take power.
@@towaritch Yes, it is a recent trend to see more and more roundabouts on national roads. Sometimes, you have one of them every 2 km. It replaces intersections and obliges drivers to slow down. It is a pain in the ass but it improves security. On others national roads, you can drive like on highways, at 110 km, on double lanes with central separation. Very often, when driving to my summer holidays, I manage to leave early and take national roads. A little longer but you save over 30 euros...
Hi Diane, I really enjoyed your video it was fun to hear your experiences. New subscriber. I am American living in Norway working for a French company. Back in the day, BC I traveled frequently all over France and loved it. A couple things from my perspective and just for fun. You can’t / shouldn’t fill your wine glass full American style. Well you can but you will be razed over it. Slightly less than half full is more elegant. Also do not pick up your bread and take a bite out of it. Perhaps “breaking bread” was coined in France. I’m not positive but it makes sense. Break your bread into bite size bits is the French way. I won’t even start on the knife and fork thing. One last comment I thanked the my lucky stars that I learned to drive a manual transmission back in the day. Automatic Trans. Rental cars are not only rare but quite expensive.
@@marie-joserenaud7916 Stop acting like you’re so above it all. When I went to France I was grossed out by the smell of pee in the subway, but you act like eating a large piece of bread without breaking with your dirty hands is so elegant.
Well observed on all counts;-) About the wine thing, it is of course a social norm as the rest, but it also comes from a practical reason: wine needs to be oxygenated to express its full smell and flavours. To do that, you have to gently move your glass in circle so as most of the liquid come into contact with air, not just the surface. Obviously you can’t do that if your glass is full (or you need a significant budget for dry cleaning^^). That’s why it’s always better to use large glasses to taste wine, and fill them up 20-30%. It applies to every type of wine, including champagne. The more complex and delicate, the more sense it makes. If you have the opportunity to attend a real wine tasting (you should, it’s great and interesting fun), you will notice the process starts with a first smelling of the wine, before oxygenating it. You will enjoy a first series of smells. That’s called the Premier nez (literally First nose, of first smell). Then you move your glass in circle to oxygenate it and smell it again to find out new, full smells and flavours. It’s logically called the Deuxième nez (Second nose). Then you start to drink it for more flavours, substance (tannins), acidity, and so on;-)
We don't have toll roads in Tennessee, but some of the roads are absolutely terrible. I loved the roads in France and I would gladly pay a toll to get a better driving surface.
What you said about stick shifts in cars struck me as funny because I learned how to drive in a stick shift car and my first 3 cars were sticks and almost none of my friends knew how to drive sticks. Back in the ‘80s the California Highway Patrol bought Ford Mustangs that had manual transmissions but they had to send 95% of the officers to driving school to learn how to drive stick shift equipped cars.
Another thing you can do in US (and plenty of other countries) but not France: talk loudly in restaurants! :) I love that everyone tends to talk in hushed tones which means you never ever have to yell at someone to be heard by them, and also you aren't subjected to the contents of someone else's conversation against your will.
@ Well, as a half French/Italian mediterranean woman, I can asssure you it depends what part of France we are talking about. The Mediterranean french (what's known in the US as "the South of France") which is actually the Provence, the Côte d'Azur, among other regions, those french are beside the coast of Mediterranean Sea, so actually belong to the same ancient mediterrananean culture as the Italians, hence theyre more understanding of italians, since they share some of their ancestry (Keep in mind France and Italy share a border, that's the area I was born, and there you find plenty of italian and french names mixed!) The more north/east of France you go, that's when you start the culture clash with italians and french, bc theyre actually Bretons, closer to the brits, and Alsatians, in the border with Germany. Those are the sort of french who might have issues with the italian way of enjoying meals in company 😂
@ Actually, Im not Italian in the US. Im currenly living back in France, I did live in the US for some time and my parents took me an American School there (as I told you, Im French/Italian), and later I have some spent some more living in the US, but lately I havent visited for a long time. I'd love to visit again, I love that feeling of being in a different country where everything is different. The last time that happened was in Germany, where the first time we went to the grocery store I freaked out for a nanosecond when I realized EVERYTHING was labeled in german (I speak 5 languages, but no german).ONLY GERMAN. That was so incredible, bc in Italy or France, most products are labeled in two languages at least, like for example, french and italian. That's the fun things that make travelling so interesting!😂👍 Oh, and BTW, talking about The Godfather Part II (the movie) where they tell the story of how he got from Sicily to the USA, omg, Robert de Niro does an OUTSTANDING JOB speaking SICILIAN, and picking up the accent and perfect gestures to match!! Keep in mind, Sicilian is a dialect of Italian only spoken in the Island of Sicily, and its very hard to speak if youre not born and raised there. Every time I hear him my jaw drops, even though Ive already heard him, its a work of art for an actor ( true, he has help, being italian, only an italian actor would have been able to replicate that accent and speech, that is also right) Sorry, Im a language freak and Italian, so listening to that for me is a pure art form.✨
In formal restaurant, you tend to hush. But in pizzeria, brasserie (more like family food) it is mostly passionate, crowded and noisy. Except these days.
@@gengis737 Ok, I dont really agree with that statement that in formal restaurants you tend to "hush": of course you dont shout, but "hushing while speaking" is not in any italian universe, be it a formal restaurant or not. Come down to Italy to "formal restaurants" and you'll realize the volume of people's conversations. Its the most far away from the definition of "hush" you can find. Oh, unless you are talking of the Swiss Canton of Italy (those are first Swiss and then Italians, actually for people who dont know Switerland has THREE Cantons, French, Italian and German, coinciding with its borders). Then yes, there in restaurants they are probably VERY hush, as you say-
You can travel on toll-free roads everywhere in France. We here have "Autoroute", labeled A1, A2, etc, which are equivalent to interstates, I think. The speed limit is 130kph most of the times (80 ford f150 per hamburger, roughly). These are the roads submitted to tolls, exploited by private companies and therefore well maintained. But we also have "nationales" (highways) which are toll-free. In Brittany, these roads are free and as well maintained as autoroutes are, the speed limit being 110kph (70 shotguns per bald eagle) In other regions, nationales are often limited to 80 or 90 kph, plus you can cross towns. Travelling by nationales instead of autoroutes makes trip longer but damn cheaper: you don't pay any toll plus you get waaay better gas mileage. (You have no idea by how much your fuel consumption goes up once you break the 100kph barrier. On autoroute, you can save at least 1l per 100km by going 110 kph instead of 130.)
90% of American motorways do not charge tolls. When tolls are charged, they run only 2-3 cents per kilometer. Few toll roads are privately owned. The only American transportation infrastructure that is privately owned is railways.
@@lylecosmopolite Thank you for the clarifications. What I meant is that the type of road is equivalent to interstates, not the toll thing. Apart from Brittany, there are no real free motorway in France.
@@lylecosmopolite Effectivement, certaines portions d'autoroutes ne sont pas payantes mais la plupart ont des péages. En Île-de-France, les autoroutes sont gratuites aussi, généralement. Pour des grands trajets inter-régionaux, il faut généralement soit passer par des autoroutes à péage, soit passer par des nationales, ce qui ajoute une heure de route ou plus.
Thank you for your commentary. It was very professional, intelligent and covered information that certainly would be good to know if visiting France. Your speech was clear and thankfully free from profanities which seems to be somewhat of a rarity on RUclips. I will continue to check your station for informative subject matter.
I noticed that some shopping hours have changed over the years last time I was in Paris is 2017. I was surprised to see the longer opening hours and many stores and businesses open on Sunday. I also noticed changes in service. The Grand Magasins did not have the same level of personal service I had experienced on my first two trips in 1999, 2002, and even 2006. In those 11 years much has changed.
I love your videos, Diane. You're very correct on almost all issues and it's amazing how you can keep up with those in the U.S. while living in France. I'm a U.S. citizen living in France for > 40 yrs. and I watch your videos to learn what's new in the U.S. Good job on the hot subject of guns->short and sweet!
As a Frenchman there is one on the list for which I'm really jealous : determining your whole carreer based on high school results complicated my life. The rest I can live without (quite gladly actually for some of them).
4 года назад+2
That seems far too young to steer someone into their future. In the US, it's easy and common to change careers throughout life. What's bad is that now we can't depend on government or job for retirement, health insurance, etc.
Maybe that dates back to the middle or dark ages? Back then,in Europe,apprenticeship was meant for life. I loved France but couldn't live with that. People change,get bored or fed up,career options only increase.Funny thing is I have a (American born) friend with the last name Boulanger.He runs a bakery,it's specialty is macarons and baguettes.
@@kevincarlson7148 Yon don t need to get that back in the ages ! Actually, we are stick to our academical training because companies do not want to take any risk when recruiting people. Indeed, firing employees is quite tough in France due to social rules.
@@christopheripoll2580 Firing people here in the US is often too easy.In the ironically named "right to work" states,you can fire someone for no tangible reason.
The supermarket issue was one I struggled to get used to coming from the UK, we're a lot more similar to the USA in that respect. Many of our supermarkets are open either all night or at least until midnight, and on Sundays! Even in the countryside, there will always be a small shop open nearby no matter where you are to pick up things late at night in the UK! but I appreciate it must be nicer for the workers in France to know they have Sunday afternoons, evenings off etc!
Yes our shops in the UK were 7 to 11 open Sundays, or 24 hours. That’s something I miss because here in France it is usually 9 till 12 and 2 till 5 or 6. I really have to plan just to shop.
Thanks for another great video. It took us 3 appointments and 2 1/2 weeks to open our first bank account in France...and we had an account in the US branch of this bank! We were surprised. I now live in a village of 800 in SW France and my grocery store (super glad to have it!) closes from 12:45-3 Monday-Saturday. On Sunday, it closes at 12:30 and does not reopen.
Yes, it really does require a bit of patience in France sometimes but I feel like there are plenty of positives to balance it out, thankfully. Thanks for watching!
@@OuiInFrance When I got my last checking account I didn't get it in one day (U.S.). I opened it and deposited some funds which I had moved from another bank, but the debit card didn't come to me in the mail for about 10 days. New checks take a while too. I think there must be some regional differences in America or they've improved some things in just the last few years. As for highways in France, it's strange that a country which is seen (by Americans) as being much more socialist is the one with corporate toll roads. I remember the time before drive-thru windows in America and it's not a huge thing, but a nice convenience the French will enjoy as they learn to use those. Much more dangerous is the awful food which those places serve. I feel certain the French will manage to avoid that part of the "fast food culture".
@@quappelle3637 Yup, it's a Canadian bank originally but they are very popular in the USA as well and is the bank I use in the USA. They have branches all over and are fabulous. Thanks for watching!
Marijuana is also illegal nationwide in the US. The key difference is that in the US, the Federal Government is much more restricted in how it can enforce Federal laws that contradict State laws, and several states simply take advantage of that. In summary, Americans live in a Federalist Republic, the French live in a Unitary Republic.
Thank you Diane for this brief insight on what you can do inthe US but not in France. It's clear, concise, not bombastic, impartial. Last but not least: your favorite part of France appears to be Brittany?.. Good choice, dear, good choice!!! Didn't know you so far. Glad I met you. All the best, lady.
Love this video Diane! Interesting differences and a lot of good facts you pointed out. 👍 The advent calendar also looks really nice! I missed the first video about things you can do in France but not USA so I’ll go back now to watch it. Thanks for putting this video together!
Great video! You can buy cold medicine and headache medicine at the grocery store in the US. In France you need to visit the pharmacy. I was in Austria in December 2019 and had a cold. To get some NyQuil I had to go to the pharmacy and visit with the pharmacist to get the medication. Here in the US, I just go to the grocery store, grab what I need and pay.
4:56 You don't choose your credit card pin, but you can change it at the ATM machine once you received your card. (It may depend of your bank though, not sure.)
True, now some French banks let you choose your PIN, but not all. It's worth mentionning that withdrawing cash is basically always free in France wether you do it in your bank or any other.
@@corentinoger It isn't exactly free, you pay a fee each month for operations made by your bank so you don't pay one when at the ATM each time you withdrawal but if it isn't your bank's ATM they take like 2 euros charge.
Excellent video. Quite a contrast between the US and France in a surprising number of areas. Informative. I remember learning to drive on an automatic transmission and later had a VW with a stick. Loved it! The toughest part is when you are on an incline. Timing the clutch and throttle is tricky at first. I saw your driving video and that was excellent as well. Merci!
We had a three week driving holiday in Canada/US a few years back. The automatic transmission in the hire car seemed odd at first, but after the first week I was wondering why us Europeans persist with those gear-stick thingies.
@@iananderson3799 Occasionally I have driven automatic cars. The lack of finesse and fine control bothers me a lot. I am lucky in that I live in a rural area and gear changing is infrequent. Which means that I have zero reason for changing to a different system.
Regarding the roads, there are several types of roads in France. Only the highways have a toll. All the other roads, which names are linked to the area they cover ("routes nationales" for country wide roads, "routes départmentales" for department wide roads, "chemins communaux" for commune wide roads) are free. For example if you go the south you have the highway A6 or the national road RN6. The point is that the highways are maintained by private companies whereas the other roads are maintained by public funds (the country, the department or the commune). And the speed limit is not the same. 130km/h for highways, 90/60/50 usually for others.
In America on the other hand, toll roads are quite rare. There are a few bridges and express lanes in major metro areas that require tolls, but 90% of us rarely or ever pay tolls.
not totaly true: in Alsace is the highway (A35) at 130km/h free ) , and some "route nationale" are in reality free highways at 110km/h speed limit, and for example ALL highways in Bretagne are free ( speed limit 110km/h)
Actually guillotine is one of the less painful ways to kill someone (that's the reason why it was invented in the first place). Unpleasant to see but definitely less painful than electrocution
too bad there's no firing squads any more-i am for the death penalty or life in prison but only if it is handled like russian black dolphin prison...i'm european and i love our freedoms(for now) and rights but capital punishment is something i d'like to see come back.it is pure pragmatism.why would we feed,keep warm and healthy for 40-50 years someone who raped and sold children,cut of heads,murder,etc.?imagine all the money we could save and give it to children in need for medical operations,housing,etc.please don't think it is cruel.think how many people you saved this way and how many of these creatures won't be walking this earth among us.
Cool! You're great! You're about 99% right-on about France. I'm American but have lived in France for about 4 decades now. Keep those videos! They're really good and amusing!
For what it's worth... I've gone grocery shopping at 10 pm in Arizona, Idaho, and Tennessee, but in my area of Massachusetts, grocery stores close at 8 pm. Bummer!
I love the USA, I spent several months there as an exchange student but the fact that people can carry guns freaks me out. It's scary. I love France too, been there on vacation once. The food is delicious, the language is lovely, the people are beautiful. I'm simply in love with France.
@@AndreaAvila78 oh I don't know, maybe mass shootings like the one that happened in Paris at the Bataclan or Charlie Hebdo could have been prevented if a good guy had one. Why can only the bad guys have guns?
@@laflammrlol I am sure it is all peace and love in Europe, especially with bombings , beheading, knife attacks, prevalent sexual assaults and let's not forget the trucks driving into the Christmas markets..and I live in a violent country? 🤣🙄
Landscaping is a broad field (no pun intended) that includes areas for which advanced training or a degree program are appropriate or perhaps effectively required, such as landscape architecture or design or jobs in management.
In the U.K. you can take a driving test in an automatic car but you are then only allowed to drive automatics, which are relatively rare. If you take your test in a manual you are qualified to drive automatics too.
When I was young in Massachusetts, if you took the driving test with an automatic transmission it was noted on your license and you could only drive an automatic. I took my test with a manual transmission so I could drive both.
Just for fun, when applying for my License to Carry in Texas (handgun), if you tested with a revolver you were not permitted to carry a semi-auto. ;) It is nicer to not have to carry, btw.
I'm originally from NJ (live in Utah now), and as soon as you mentioned Wawa, I knew it was a good idea to subscribe!! Someone who would understand my love for that place haha
In France and Europe you do not have to pay a toll to go on a bridge and in France highways with a toll are restricted to areas were there is no good alternative - usully a 'route nationale' parallel to the paying highway.
In NJ, its required to drive an automatic, because if both hands are not on the wheel at all times, the tester will fail you. I learned on a stick shift and almost failed because i was used to having my hand on the shift handle.
Toll roads usually parallel rail lines. Making it cost more to drive, than to take the train, encourages people to take the train. Keeping rail ridership up helps to pay for the rail infrastructure. In other words, places where trains are common, have practices in place to make driving more expensive.
I am not sure about that. Highway toll belongs to private companies that know that they are in concurrence with train. They won't rise they price up for that. It looks more like a coincidence. Trail and highway both cost less to built on long and flat places and they both follow the main traffic lines.
Oklahoma, known for "Turnpikes"( cost $11.00 to go 100 miles), but, they raised the speed limit to 80mph and people drive 90mph most of the time...it is also a mile wide and is devoid of, trees, rocks, ditches etc.!!! Lol. It saves about 4 hours off the old hiway that was curved around the state, this one is limited access and strait and level, So, I will pay the money.
Kentucky has recently become what's refereed to as a Constitutional carry State. Meaning as long as we stay in Kentucky and are not on a Prohibited list us KY residents can legally carry open or concealed without a permit. We are still allowed to take the classes/test and get a concealed carry permit for when traveling to States that will honor a KY Permit though. As for our roads not being as well maintained, If that's a trade off I have to take for no tolls I'll take it.
@ That's a plus in my book. From what little bit of research I've done it seems like Georgia would be a nice place. If this crainess ever goes away it might be a worthwhile Winter Vacation place.I'm guessing a decent place to live as well.
Hello, just to point out that you are speaking about at minimum 2x2 lane highways... outside of urban highways which are generally free. The standard roads (2x1 lane) are all tall free (except maybe one or to big bridges leading to one or two islands). The most you have to drive, in France, to reach a medium sized city, is a 1h to 1h30 trip... If you go from where I do live (near Chateauroux, Indre), you can go to Paris in 3h15 using urban (free) highways and other countryside roads. I would point out either that, using countryside road, and driving at 80 or 90km/h rather than 130, you cut 20% out of you fuel consumption. Using the paying highways will allow you to cut half an hour from this journey, but not much more. On very long trip like going from Marseille to Paris, I would save much more time (about 4 hours) using toll highways, but it would be be costly (64€ in toll fee). Toll fee on highways is common in Europe, and from my experience, these road are far better maintained here than in US, at least when I did go there about 15 years ago and by all my readings, I don't think it improved much... The last important point there is... you can get a train ticket as cheap as 10€ to go from Marseille to Paris... in 3h15... This is the TGV and this is something you don't have (another of your video spoke about it I think)... And we do know that its what the government here in Europe want us to do : use train or buses rather than personal cars. Finally, just for your information, Britanny do not have toll fees because it's illegal by the very terms the treaty, signed between Britanny Duchy and France Kingdom in 1532 which made the Duchy part of France. I find that funny, wanted to say it ;)
Oh, one more. You pointed out shop opening times but I was equally baffled by restaurants and cafés. In some small towns they operate at extremely restricted hours! You may be able to visit a particular creperie only between 9am and 11 am and then between 7pm and 10pm. And that is it.
It is still the case that in France eating is usually restricted to traditional meal times (breakfast before 9am, lunch at 12, dinner at 19.30 - youngsters may have a light snack at 16.30) whereas the Anglo nations are more relaxed and flexible. Eating between meals is still uncommon in France and meals tend to be longer and more formal - though eating "al desko" is starting to creep into some Parisian businesses.
When I was young you couldn't buy anything on Sundays or late in the evenings. They hadn't yet invented 24/7 stores or drive-thrus. So, it isn't necessarily a permanent state for any nation to do something one way. Technology changes for one thing, habits are another.
I was an International truck driver , tramping all over Europe, and it is quite feasable to drive to most destinations on "Route National ". I used to go from Calais to the Spanish border at Irun, almost entirely on the Natioinals, mostly N10.
@@fredgrove4220 By law ALL interstates in usa are free...tens of millions of miles of 4 lane concrete with rest areas. Federal gov decreed this in 1955 under Eisenhower as a national defense act ...if you look at a usa map they are marked in blue.Speed limit 75 mph.Very safe but when a accident happens they are bad.
@@davidcooley275 75mph is for 4 or more lanes road with a separator between the two direction or is it for all roads including those with only 2 lanes ?
Here in Sweden: Supermarkets (very small one as much larger one) are open 365 days and fron 06:00 AM to 10:00 PM, You open a bank account online in a matter of seconds.
Yes . Axa Bank offers Drive thru service. In some cities. And pharmacies Drive thru Also exist in France here and There. And with COVID crisis there are more and more
I can go into many, many stores and buy any jeans that I want. I used to have European customers that talked of the quantity and quality of jeans available in the USA.
@@donaldharris3037 By one tax called the Redevance for the public service televisions and radios. It is 160 € per year roughly, it is mandatory to pay it if you have a TV set at your home. Public TV also have grants from the government. For private channels, same as US : ad cuts or a fee to pay.
Bonjour, Pour le 1er point j'ai un ami gérant d'un bar qui a mis une pancarte au dessus du comptoir qui résume bien ce point: "Le client est roi mais le barman est dieu donc le barman a toujours raison". Et pour la peine de mort sans rentrer dans le débat je suis bien content et fier de vivre dans pays qui refuse cette pratique. Merci pour cette vidéo.
If I'm not mistaken, church weddings or weddings presided over by clergymen are not recognized as legal in France, as they are un the USA. French law requires that the couple get married by a government official before the religious ceremony. Also: in Vietnam (which used to be part of French Indochina), many businesses close for an hour or two at midday so the staff can lunch and nap.
About the toll roads: in France, when there is a toll, there is *always* another way to do the journey, by road. You will not get the motorway, it will be slower (but often shorter), but always doable.
I'm very surprised that store hours in France appear not to have changed in the past 50 years! I'll bet they also do not have the crazy Christmas-time hours that store employees must staff in so many US stores.
Here’s what I really think… I think you are really beautiful, personable, and very informative… I’ve learned a LOT from watching your videos and really appreciate the work and knowlege you put into them♥️ They’re super fun and I love to see what’s coming up next! One request please? What about dog grooming shops? Veterinarians? Pets in general? Kennels… let’s see…🤔I’m a groomer here in the USA ( for tons of years) and wonder what the market is like in France… my breed of choice are Bouvier des Flandres, and know that , yes, they are Belgian, but France has contributed many wonderful herding and pasteral( sp?) breeds to the world, that have become known… thank you dear! I appreciate it♥️‼️🤗☮️
Hi Sue, thanks very much for your kind words. No videos on French vet care yet, but I've done a bunch of content on veterinary care in France on the blog so if you search there, you'll see all the posts. Thank you for the idea!
Correct. China executes more people in ONE YEAR than ALL THE COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD COMBINED. Stop using the USA as the 'bad guy'. I wonder how many people in America over the past 50 years went to prison for murder, got an early release, only to murder again? Actually we are soft on crime.
@@jakefromstatefarm1100 And how many were executed and were innocent! An idea? Because I don't know for the Usa but in France we did have some very famous " erreur judiciaire " and thanks the person condamned were still alive....
well, for the weapons law in france, it's weirdly easy enough to get a weapon LEGALLY: -apply at a shooting range -have your application accepted -pass tests to prove you're not a mentally unstable person -go into a gun store -you can buy any gun that's not semi automatic and that's not a handgun then to get semi-autos and handguns: -be active at the shooting range for 6 months-1 year -have the autorisation from your shooting range president to pass tests -pass more tests -now you can mail the police prefect to ask for an autorisation for 1 handgun/semi-auto -buy it -repeat the mail process -be active 1 a year in your shooting range or have your semi-auto/handguns become illegal or just go in ghetos and buy a full-auto AKM and a rocket launcher for 500-1000€.
When I decided to buy a gun, I went to the store and picked a semi-auto hand gun. Did a background check in about 30 minutes, paid and went home with my new pistol.
It's not as easy as you said to get legal weapons even illegal in France. There is four different categories of weapons : old weapons must be declared, non automatic weapons are allowed for only hunters and for sport or really special case but you must have a license with different papers to give and control. All the other weapons are forbidden so it is almost impossible to buy automatic weapon legally, it is strictly controlled. Most of french people as other european people doesn't want to have weapon at home and doesn't see no interest to have one. Death by guns are quite rare.
@@annouchka63 This is simply not true, and anybody can confirm the inaccuracy of your statements with a simple web search, including the fact that firearms deaths are not as "rare" as you think.
toll free highways did exist in some regions in France like Alsace and Bretagne, and you don't have to take a highway to cross France in any direction, but it will take much longer
In France we banned death penalty, have healtcare, a good system of support for poor people with money state and a retirement system. That says a lot about how France culturally value life itself. So our guns law is in line with all this, if not for hunting you won't be allowed to carry a gun, only to possess one in your house with a licence and registration of course. And I'd be lying by saying we don't have an illegal weapon issue developing lately. I'm 45 and last year I heard my first street guns shot and it has happened a couple of times since. So France would be blind to also say that all is good. Here for the little tour de la question ^^
We take the villages roads trips not the toll roads, we do that often actually visiting north/south,west/east but since its costly we take detours visiting villages and small towns,France is very beautiful,enchanting is the word, and u may think it cost less making those detours,reality is u end up spending more😅 u tend to stop often,visiting castles and museums,drinking coffee or eating delicious meals, it's more longer and more expensive than the toll road but that exactly the purpose of touring France, we did that often with my parents but since growing up I tend to travel on train straight to the destination with almost no expenses (less fun but still worth it😅)
It's not as easy to get a gun in the U.S. as some might think. I am legally able to own a gun, yet I was turned down by one store. That's something people don't think about: The store itself can turn you down.
The MSM in America has been spreading alot of nonsense about gun purchasing for many yesrs , and the uneducated masses have been believing their lies . Fortunately some of this has changed lately , as people that have never owned a gun are buying them now . I'm sorry you were turned away from purchasing a firearm , but there are certain do's and dont's at a gun shop . Last week I was concluding a gun purchase when a guy interupted the sale , pulled a loaded pisto from his pocket , flagged ( waved the gun across our bodies ) myself and the salesman , and demanded a pawn on his weapon . The salesman grabbed the pistol and ran the jerk out the door . There are a myriad of reasons why a gun sale is halted or denied . The purchaer may have a name similar to someone not allowed to own a gun , an unresolved legal matter , or the authorising authority is simply overwhelmed. As a long time gun buyer , I hope you can resolve the issue and legally obtain the fireams you desire .
@@victorwaddell6530 Thank you. I need to get about $1,400 together for what I want. I know it's expensive, but $200 of it has to go to the ATF. I did own a pistol once, but sold it as I wanted the cash.
1- you can in Paris, but outside of major city, it's annoying 2- the law has evolved a lot recently about automatic transmission driving license. They're now common and it only take a 1 day formation to convert it into a full license 3- there's online banks now, a lot easier :) Choosing your PIN is possible on special request. 4- yep 5- it's actually possible and easy, but french are afraid of it, mentalities are changing though 6- true in all of Europe 7- it might be changing, it's a hot topic currently in France 8- guns are legal in France, not hard to get by French bureaucracy standard, but carrying is illegal 9- only the "autoroute" have tolls, you can avoid them and it's better if you want to enjoy the countryside ;)
Thanks for the interesting video and comments. - another important factor that determines how easy it is to get promoted based on your diplomas is the job market. In the 60's and 70's, French banks, for example, couldn't get enough people and would hire them at 16 and train them. Some of them would end up, maybe not CEO, but managing an agency or having some other real responsibility. And I've heard other such examples in different fields. Economic growth and unemployment may not be the only factor to explain why this changed, but it is certainly one of them. - "free speech" and related laws are quite different. In France, you may end up in courts for "incitement to racial hatred", for example. My understanding is that would be an infringment to the first amendment in the US. True? Still, I've never heard anybody complaining about a lack of free speech in France. I've heard a lot of complaining about just almost everything else though.
In the US there is a limitation to free speech if it can reasonably lead to harm. So hate speech that's general is allowed, like "all people of a specific group are bad". But saying that you are going to look for a specific racial group to harm them will land you in court.
To summarize it all, just think that anything cheap in the US (gas, car, food, clothes, taxes, lodging in small towns , restaurants...) is expensive in France and vice-versa : anything cheap or affordable in France (job security, health, education, security, retirement pensions...) is expensive in the US. And the reason for that, is that the tax system is very different (VAT= 20% in France, income tax = roughly 2 salary months for a single person, very high taxes for your home or appartment, notwithstanding the incredible taxes on any shop or business...). We have a VERY large protection parachute, but it costs you a kidney and half the liver.... some examples : monthly rent for a small studio : 500€ (Bordeaux) 750€ (Paris) interstate road toll : Bordeaux-Paris (500 km = 60 €) Hi speed train : Bordeaux-Paris : 100 € (single trip, in 2 hr !) gas : 1,5€/liter (unleaded) = $6/US gallon general doctor : 25€ (only 10% at your charge, with the social security) major surgery in hospital : 80000 € (almost 100% free, with social security) university tuition : 500€ (1st year) master in public university 1000€/yr
In American: monthly rent for a small studio : $590 (Bordeaux) $884 (Paris) interstate road toll : Bordeaux-Paris (311 mi = $71) Hi speed train : Bordeaux-Paris : $118 (single trip, in 2 hr !) gas : 1,5€/liter (unleaded) = $6/US gallon general doctor : $29 (only 10% at your charge, with the social security) major surgery in hospital : $94,245 (almost 100% free, with social security) university tuition : $589 (1st year) master in public university $1,178/yr
But at the end, the french system is way cheaper than the american one. An american study (not a french one !) proved that the french system is more efficient, the French being less payed but getting much more results and rewards at the end of the year, without to consider the 5 weeks french vacations vs the 2weeks american ones... One exemple : i had a by-pass heart surgery 2years ago. The total costs with whole reeducation : about 70 000 Euros. I paid NOTHING ! While i was in hospital i read a rewiew explaining that most of american of my age and social class couldn't afford to pay such a bill, and only a minority go for this surgery. I never heard someone in France not being operated because money. HUGE difference.
there's 2 regions in France, without toll on highspeed road... on the west part, Brittany as you said, and on the east part, in Alsace. For different historical and economic reasons. In Brittany, it's a remaining of the ancient regime (before revolution), there was taxes specificites, that stayed after the revolution. In Alsace, the proximity of Germany were the "autobahn" are tax free, prevented any attempt to tax, as traffic would cross the border to go north or south without paying.
To my experience it takes exactly the same small time to open an account, get a few cheques (in one hour) in France and in the US, and around 10 days to get a visa and cheque book in both countries. Also, if appropriately sponsored, a French bank can open an account remotely.
One thing I remember clearly about being driven in a car in France (never did it myself) was that when stopped on even the slightest uphill, upon starting up again the car in front of you would always roll back toward your car before taking off forward. It was scary at first! It was those manual transmissions, and drivers seemed casual about engaging them when starting from a stop on a hill.
I’ve driven manual for decades and never roll back doing a hill start, I’m aware the person in front might do it but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen this in the UK or France.
I refused to drive our twin turbo Dodge Stealth in the 1990s on the hills in downtown Seattle because of drivers behind me who didn't know about the slight roll backward some of the time even though I used the emergency brake to coordinate with the clutch to try to prevent that which interestingly was something my husband (who was the one who really wanted that car) never learned how to do and I had to tell him to never use the clutch to prevent rolling back as it could burn out. And I also learned how to drive on a stick in driver training in high school many years ago and think everyone should do the same but you can only find them on high-end cars anymore!
I I wonder what the price of gas is in France? I heard once, several years ago, it was something like, $8. per gallon ! So one other thing you could do it the U.S, is afford to drive.
The price is around 1,1€ to 1,5€/liter of gas or gasoline. First of all, France must import her gas because we don't have petrol on our ground so it's a little more expensive plus taxes. Our country is smaller and we have a very develop public transportation in the big cities and between cities so we need less to use car. Our cars are small, so we use less gas. It's easier to drive and park in our old cities with their narrow streets and much than enough for daily transpotation.
Almost no cars are offered with stick shift anymore. Most that are are either very powerful spots or muscle cars, or heavy duty pickups. I am a paraplegic now, but I really miss my mustang 6 spd
I used to love my stick shifts. They were cheaper, more reliable, faster and more efficient. So long as you could drive one they were better in almost every way. These days, an automatic is just as good, if not better, in every category.
Brittany has no toll roads because of an ancient treaty - (at one time, Brittany and Normandy were independent of France and I believe that was agreed when France United. )
it's much of some other reason i bet. Brittany and Normandy were independent only when France as we know wasn't united a nation : meaning different languages(heard about langue d'Oc(also occitan speaked in south) and langue d'Oïl), diffferent ways of life and a king ruling different regions and with different political and rulers in each part in some kind of way. The fact is France is a mix of different culture(also knows as regionalism) as the melting pot could be. The unification of the french regions coming far before motors cars have been spread widely and surely before highways have been needed to be built. The toll is only for motorways(higway i think it's autoroute in french who don't had a real equivalent i'm sure). It's have been a catch from corporate and abuse of state. Highways have been sold to private societies with the right to use toll to pay what they had invest and the cost to maintain. The catch was that when the private owner of higways will had get all that they invest in the buying and maintenance toll with be no more. But it's not been suppressed. Brittany and Normandy have been considered long time as a downgrade place(like ploucs expression history can told you) and have way less cars traffic. So highways hasn't spread like in south of France where money and prices have been higher. So corporate bought and invest mostly in the places where the most cars are passing by, where money and corruption are most a way to do things. And that's south of France knows also as the higher Motorways toll(cal péage litteraly meaning "pay to pass"). Also the ancient treatie you're speaking about is not only related to Bretagne(who is not Brittany as history describe it) but it's related to place like cities who willed to be separate of the nation rule and laws. It's about place where people flying for convinction or other political reason(been not held in prison is some i think good enough, pratice his own cult or not agreed with a set f rule is another too) and widely for taxes in trade. Most of this place have names like Villefranche(meaning free town or free city ) and toll for passing weren't as high or doesnt exist to attract the merchants and lead them to go by their way preferably. Treaties you speak about were common in a way that each regions have to bargain with state and centralized politics in exchange of bowing to their rules or ally against another wannabee ruler. Although you're not so far by your guess: Brittany and Normandy who where donwgrade places when compare to south of France and local mayors and such authorities less to bow to payrol and high benefits from ground incomes, less to sell the roads to a private society and private society less to want to bought them when incomes they can get much higher where a lot more cars and rich folks where. *if my english writing suxx excuse my french ;) *
La Bretagne n'a pas d'autoroutes pour une seule raison et ce n'est pas à cause d'Anne de Bretagne. La loi française stipule que pour qu'il y ait une autoroute payante il faut avoir la possibilité d'avoir un itinéraire parallèle gratuit. Hors, la Bretagne étant une péninsule, aucun itinéraire bis n'est possible. Il existe bien une autoroute entre Rennes et Caen mais elle est gratuite car il n'existe pas d'autre route.... L'histoire du péage gratuit pour les bretons est une légende urbaine......
@@philippem5695 ça reste de la 4 voies traditionnelle..... Pas d'autoroute en Bretagne.... Tu as juste à regarder réseau autoroutier de la France sur Wikipedia....
@@yvodubzh De Rennes à Quimper: 2x2 voies avec tous les services de l'autoroute : aires de repos et stations services équipées. Peu d'endroits en France avec un tel réseau de 2x2 voies sur une telle distance avec contournement de toutes les agglomérations
I've heard we in America can and do file lawsuits against each other and companies and governments and their agencies much more than do people and other legal entities in other countries. I assume this is a contrast between the US and France.
French law is derived from latine legal system, based on rules. By now they are proposed by government and adopted by national assembly. Lawyers are here to make sure that the relevant evidence and laws are used. Jury is used only for the most serious case, otherwise three judges agree on the trial. For the same reason, major contracts (employment, real estate) have to fit a norm defined by laws. US laws are based on legal precedent and jury. So lawyers have to know tons of similar cases and convince the jury, not the judges. Much more work and hasardous result. And contracts are more diverse. So going through lawyers to make one's point by related legal precedent or creative interpretation of law is more frequent and more expensive in USA.
@ I was stunned when I learned in law school that the US has 95% of all the world's lawyers. Similarly, Chicago has 90% of all the lawyers in Illinois.
Many grocery stores in major urban areas here in the USA are even open 24/7/365...well, maybe except christmas... Stickshift? I learned on one back in the 1960s when my dad taught me to drive. ;-) Haven't driven one in a while; probably rusty, but still know how.
Super interesting points, Diane! Having just graduated in France, and having also done so 4 years ago in the States, I definitely agree with your point about the reconversion professionnelle - it can be tough in France! Also, the surrogacy ban has always been something that makes me scratch my head about France. I personally don't agree with it, and furthermore I was shocked such a socially liberal country would have such laws. Thanks for the great video!
Thanks for watching, Alyssa! Congrats on graduation. I know you've been working hard. When I see someone in France changing careers or starting a business, I have even more respect for them because I know it goes against the grain more than it would in the USA. P.S. anyone reading this, check out Alyssa's channel Transatlantic Living. She has some fun videos!!
@@natsunohoshi7952 That's your point of view, but women have such a great experience when getting a child, and that makes them feel as "their child". If you think it would be a gift, why pay for it ? There are baby sitters, now there are baby makers...
@@AlainNaigeon Surrogacy is for women that can't have children naturally due to fertility problems or menopause. (This is like what Phoebe did for her brother and his wife in Friends.) I'm not really sure how this concept is difficult for you.
Only about 5 percent of us vehicles are even offered with a manual transmission.. Most of the ones that offer manuals are sports cars or such or the lowest econoboxes.
Hi. Diane, your smile is awesome. Your enthusiasm is infectious. I loved France and hitched a lot of it.difficult as the roads are narrow. My children are french,one a doctor,the other spent 10 years in and about Tahiti after graduation with a degree in languages.With that ,maybe you can touch a bit upon the lack of visitation issues concerning separation or divorce. All those Frenchmen you see lined up gripping the fence outside of schools? Know why? That's because they are awaiting recess to get a glimpse of their children. The French don't like to talk about this. It's an embarrassment. This is why in alot of bars, particularly in smaller towns,women are not welcome inside. Inside are the same fence- hangers drinking their sorrows away. Very few people know what I just told you....
But what are you talking about? I am French, I am 64 years old, I have never seen parents hanging on school fences to see their children! Shared custody exists in France, I know many families who do it! Where did you get this nonsense? Custody can be refused to a parent if he is violent, alcoholic, drug addict, pedophile, still happy !! As far as bars are concerned, I believe that they have always constituted a "refuge" for single men, divorced or others, who willingly frequent them in the evening, and this in almost all countries of the world, not only in France! Some women go there, but they are not in the majority. Entry is not forbidden to them, you are talking nonsense! But by the way, when did your trip to France go back to the 19th century?
@@rhinehardt1 If you are in Cleveland, why do you think that we will let you come to Pittsburgh? Anyway, there are direct flights to Pittsburgh from a number of European cities, so you CAN indeed go to Pittsburgh from France.
Salut! What other things can you do in the USA and NOT in France? Tell me below! Also, thanks again to the COUPle DE CŒUR French Advent calendar for sponsoring a portion of this video. SHOP THE CALENDAR HERE: bit.ly/3dOxpJw
In Paris I have 3 grocery stores open on Sundays, and two open until 9, and one open until 11:30 (pre covid) and a little deli shop open until 2 a.m. in each neighborhood where I have lived for 32 years...You can choose your pin on your card in some banks and also change your pin after receiving your card...I have done several professions here, mainly fashion and restaurant management, and while most people in France make a career in restauration, in America I found most people only work in restaurants as a means to get into their career...mainly in large cities, they are artists, writers, actors, students...mind you there are a few people in the food industry with other plans and ideals for their goals in life, but the vast majority had special training to get into the job...Everyone I know that went for surrogate parenthood -or- in the case of a gay man and a lesbian wanting children they either went to the USA or Belgium...The worst thing about travel in France is not the tolls, but the cost of gas(Petrol), about 4 times as expensive in general over the years...
In U.S you have to speak to police like they where the law but in France you speak to police like they was a trash (believe me, i'm french)
Coucou! When you live outside of big cities in France, most shops are closed on Mondays because the French do love their two day weekend ;)
At least in Arizona, you can carry a fully functional sword on public property. Probably not in France, but please tell me if there are exceptions!
@@youri_briand ah ah ah no way. I lived for 10 years near a police office situated at the exit of an highway in the suburbs of Paris (91). I used my car everyday and so I got randomly (or not) stopped a number of times by officers along the years. There is only one way to talk with them : very politely, period. They are all very careful to make sure who has the power. Don’t ever think about talk trash or raisong your voice to a police officer in France. Believe me!
In France we think that customers are just ... customers. You don't have to be their slave. So yes, shops are closed on sunday, for lunch and around 7 to 8 pm for people taking care of their children (or just relaxing).
In major cities shops are open later or on sunday, but it is mainly students who work specifically for late hours or sundays.
I was wondering if a product which was made in lower wage country, the low-wage workers will be deemed as slave from the perspective of French people? If yes, will French people refuse to purchase the product made by any low wage countries? Or French people just care about if they are slave but care less about if other country's people are acting as slave?
@@leechien6 They would be considered as exploited. Most people only care about french people exploitation, but there is also a lot that boycott product that exploit people.
@@leechien6 It's actually a quite big question around here in France. You have to understand first that, for the food part, a lot of product are actually french made. There's a tons of seal of quality you can get only if your product is from France "produit du terroir" for exemple. It's quite controlled, and seen as higher quality.
Slowly the "commerce equitable" basicly more expensive but giving more money in exchange of a product that is more giving for the country making the production.
For the rest, i don't say it don't exist, but you have to remember France got a long tradition of socialism in politic, and even if it's less popular now, still enough that the condition of work in the product we consume is actually a question that can spot on the political debate.
All to say, it's not something that don't exist, but often people try to avoid it. By it i mean purchasing product from countries with low wages
It's all about the spirit of pure capitalism what makes the customer king. I think it's BS to be slave of such an ideology. People who work in stores need ofc to uphold a certain level of acceptable professionalism but they are also people and deserve similar respect as the customer themself.
You CAN drive through france without having to pay a cent. Just stay in the Route National. Sure, it's slow, but no toll.
Although, big chunks of some « autoroutes » are free.
Highways in Brittany are free.
Not only free, but more enjoyable, IMHO.
@@lamelomane1656 there is no highways in Brittany.... That's the reason why we have free roads 😉😉
@@yvodubzh c'est ce que j'ai justelemt dit haha j'habite aussi en Bretagne
The great thing about having a manual in the US is that you’re less likely to have it stolen because hardly anyone knows how to drive shift.
Unless it's a majorly expensive sports car, nobody's stealing your manual 😂😂😂😂
Cars are stolen for parts, not to drive, so they just buy a wrecker for the chop shop, and it looks like they are legitimately hauling it away to the garage. Given that many chop shops are also auto repair garages as cover, it works very well.
That's a sad statistic !
@@Egilhelmson They still need to first drive it away to the chop shop. If the thief can’t drive shift, it’s not gonna happen.
Correction, hardly any YOUNG people know how to drive a stick shift! Most people who grew up in the 1980s or 1990s or earlier know how to drive a stick.
In France we care more about our work condition than our conveniency to buy.
However it is slighly changing. Most shops are open until 9 pm in big cities as well as open during sunday morning (it wasn't the case few decades ago).
Hélas !
In France, if your driver's license mentions "automatic", you're not allowed to drive a "manual" shift.
By the way, the number I heard = 80% manual cars in France, 4% manual in the US.
c'est vrai , mais c'est toujours possible de conduire en manuel mais il faut faire un stage de 7 heures avec un moniteur et sans repasser devant l'examinateur
@@electronic-blizzard-heart2784 oui en gros repasse la partie conduite du permis. Et faut aussi payer
@@edimo93 alors oui il faut payer mais non tu ne repasse pas le permis tu apprends à manipuler la boîte manuelle avec le moniteur et c'est le moniteur qui de dit si après tu peux conduire une manuelle
It's more 98% manual in France. In 68 + years I only met one French driving an automatic.
@@IRACEMABABU you leaved France in the 70's? Now I would say there are as many manual as automatic and the manual part is decreasing quickly.
Taught myself to drive a manual in high school. 50 yrs later, I've only owned one automatic. Today my 6 speed mini cooper is as much fun as a go cart to drive.
She does her research. Reliable information. Very good attitude, while remaining realistic. Thank you for being there, Diane.
I love the fact that shops still close - family life is really important, and that commercial / materialistic lifestyle is still quite rare. You just need to learn to adapt to a different cultural outlook.
Nowadays, shops are all closed because our incompetent gov't is paying people not to work, so we know what the outcome is there...
@@jimbarrofficial in which country? If this is relating to overreaction to covid? Or in general regardless of it?
It used to be that way in the UK, but then shops started being open more hours as women moved into the workforce and could not shop in the morning or afternoon on M-F. As for family life, women are probably doing the majority of these errands. And working for low pay in the shops. We get hit both ways.
@@LondonEE16 yes I guess it depends on culture too. I personally do a fair amount of the food shopping as I tend to do the cooking and it's convenient for me on the way home from work, but we make the effort for it, it's so easy to put convenience first instead of quality. But it's become routine for us as a family now. I do miss the south of France though!
Fact, if you buy diapers for your baby at 1500 it is not less materialistic than if you buy them at 2100. There is no excuse for not valuing people, their time and their needs. It is in fact Europe who is materialistic because they only open the shops to take money from people not to provide a service or enhance the community.
actually all of this is very true..... I grew up in Europe and live in the US, stayed in France for several months, and yes, everything she says is true for many other European countries....NOT just France 👍
Thank you for mentioning Robert Badinter regarding the abolition of the death penalty in France.
When I lived in France many years ago, I was surprised by the wide range of political opinions people had. I had thought that Anarchists were fictional until I actually met some And people could vote for the Communist Party, if they were so inclined. The healthcare system seemed to be very affordable and of good quality. Motorbikes with an engine displacement of less than 50cc did not need a license, and no driver's license was needed to drive these mopeds. I have fond memories of wonderful places, wonderful friends, wonderful food and wonderful experiences. Of course, the public utility strikes and frequent road repairs were also part of the experience. But the trains were beyond any I had experienced back home.
That is true ! I can't remember the politics talks for hours during meals, usually your opinion gets louder as you drink more.
In the 1950s and 60s, about 25% of French voted Communist. It's now 2-3%.
Passenger trains are wonderful, but few smaller towns are still served. For decades, French highways were paved, and potholes did not last long. But in most other respects, French highways were unsafe and unfit for serious traffic. France was one of the last countries in the first world to acquire a motorway system. Before 1970 or so, very few French highways had even 4 lanes.
The CPUSA was commonly on the ballot until the fall of the USSR revealed that it was just a Soviet puppet, and all the members skunked away. In the 1970s, there were sometimes three communist parties on the ballot, of various flavors.
Yes unforgettable night trains with 6 bunks in a roommette (feet/fart odors for free). Even in poor countries they are max 4 berths.
Antifa are nominally anarchists, though in actual practice who knows what that means. In the "free zone" in Seattle (supposedly no government), many people who called themselves anarchists stood up pretty quickly to take power.
If you take "route national" in France, it is also free from tolls. They are better than the highway you had in the picture ;)
a lot of roundabouts that are a pain in the ass on those roads. You get motion sickness for free.
@@towaritch Yes, it is a recent trend to see more and more roundabouts on national roads. Sometimes, you have one of them every 2 km. It replaces intersections and obliges drivers to slow down. It is a pain in the ass but it improves security. On others national roads, you can drive like on highways, at 110 km, on double lanes with central separation. Very often, when driving to my summer holidays, I manage to leave early and take national roads. A little longer but you save over 30 euros...
Very informative, thanks for your awesome videos. The wife and I can't wait for this travel band to be done.
I know. I don't think I've ever wanted to travel more!
Hi Diane, I really enjoyed your video it was fun to hear your experiences. New subscriber.
I am American living in Norway working for a French company. Back in the day, BC I traveled frequently all over France and loved it. A couple things from my perspective and just for fun. You can’t / shouldn’t fill your wine glass full American style. Well you can but you will be razed over it. Slightly less than half full is more elegant. Also do not pick up your bread and take a bite out of it. Perhaps “breaking bread” was coined in France. I’m not positive but it makes sense. Break your bread into bite size bits is the French way. I won’t even start on the knife and fork thing. One last comment I thanked the my lucky stars that I learned to drive a manual transmission back in the day. Automatic Trans. Rental cars are not only rare but quite expensive.
Are Americans chewing off parts directly off the bread with their mouth?! In public?! Eww!
@@marie-joserenaud7916 Stop acting like you’re so above it all. When I went to France I was grossed out by the smell of pee in the subway, but you act like eating a large piece of bread without breaking with your dirty hands is so elegant.
Well observed on all counts;-) About the wine thing, it is of course a social norm as the rest, but it also comes from a practical reason: wine needs to be oxygenated to express its full smell and flavours. To do that, you have to gently move your glass in circle so as most of the liquid come into contact with air, not just the surface. Obviously you can’t do that if your glass is full (or you need a significant budget for dry cleaning^^). That’s why it’s always better to use large glasses to taste wine, and fill them up 20-30%. It applies to every type of wine, including champagne. The more complex and delicate, the more sense it makes.
If you have the opportunity to attend a real wine tasting (you should, it’s great and interesting fun), you will notice the process starts with a first smelling of the wine, before oxygenating it. You will enjoy a first series of smells. That’s called the Premier nez (literally First nose, of first smell). Then you move your glass in circle to oxygenate it and smell it again to find out new, full smells and flavours. It’s logically called the Deuxième nez (Second nose). Then you start to drink it for more flavours, substance (tannins), acidity, and so on;-)
We don't have toll roads in Tennessee, but some of the roads are absolutely terrible. I loved the roads in France and I would gladly pay a toll to get a better driving surface.
We don't have toll roads in California (except bridges), and the roads are pretty good. I think our gas taxes are higher though.
Yes but French drivers go too fast because of the smooth surfaces and many don't heed speed limits which cause a lot of accidents.
What you said about stick shifts in cars struck me as funny because I learned how to drive in a stick shift car and my first 3 cars were sticks and almost none of my friends knew how to drive sticks. Back in the ‘80s the California Highway Patrol bought Ford Mustangs that had manual transmissions but they had to send 95% of the officers to driving school to learn how to drive stick shift equipped cars.
Interesting! I’m glad I found your channel (and subscribed).
Another thing you can do in US (and plenty of other countries) but not France: talk loudly in restaurants! :) I love that everyone tends to talk in hushed tones which means you never ever have to yell at someone to be heard by them, and also you aren't subjected to the contents of someone else's conversation against your will.
@ Well, as a half French/Italian mediterranean woman, I can asssure you it depends what part of France we are talking about. The Mediterranean french (what's known in the US as "the South of France") which is actually the Provence, the Côte d'Azur, among other regions, those french are beside the coast of Mediterranean Sea, so actually belong to the same ancient mediterrananean culture as the Italians, hence theyre more understanding of italians, since they share some of their ancestry (Keep in mind France and Italy share a border, that's the area I was born, and there you find plenty of italian and french names mixed!)
The more north/east of France you go, that's when you start the culture clash with italians and french, bc theyre actually Bretons, closer to the brits, and Alsatians, in the border with Germany. Those are the sort of french who might have issues with the italian way of enjoying meals in company 😂
@ Actually, Im not Italian in the US. Im currenly living back in France, I did live in the US for some time and my parents took me an American School there (as I told you, Im French/Italian), and later I have some spent some more living in the US, but lately I havent visited for a long time. I'd love to visit again, I love that feeling of being in a different country where everything is different. The last time that happened was in Germany, where the first time we went to the grocery store I freaked out for a nanosecond when I realized EVERYTHING was labeled in german (I speak 5 languages, but no german).ONLY GERMAN. That was so incredible, bc in Italy or France, most products are labeled in two languages at least, like for example, french and italian. That's the fun things that make travelling so interesting!😂👍
Oh, and BTW, talking about The Godfather Part II (the movie) where they tell the story of how he got from Sicily to the USA, omg, Robert de Niro does an OUTSTANDING JOB speaking SICILIAN, and picking up the accent and perfect gestures to match!! Keep in mind, Sicilian is a dialect of Italian only spoken in the Island of Sicily, and its very hard to speak if youre not born and raised there. Every time I hear him my jaw drops, even though Ive already heard him, its a work of art for an actor ( true, he has help, being italian, only an italian actor would have been able to replicate that accent and speech, that is also right) Sorry, Im a language freak and Italian, so listening to that for me is a pure art form.✨
In formal restaurant, you tend to hush. But in pizzeria, brasserie (more like family food) it is mostly passionate, crowded and noisy. Except these days.
@@gengis737 Ok, I dont really agree with that statement that in formal restaurants you tend to "hush": of course you dont shout, but "hushing while speaking" is not in any italian universe, be it a formal restaurant or not. Come down to Italy to "formal restaurants" and you'll realize the volume of people's conversations. Its the most far away from the definition of "hush" you can find. Oh, unless you are talking of the Swiss Canton of Italy (those are first Swiss and then Italians, actually for people who dont know Switerland has THREE Cantons, French, Italian and German, coinciding with its borders). Then yes, there in restaurants they are probably VERY hush, as you say-
@@vulturebitch Thank you for that bit of movie trivia/info! I can't wait to tell my partner!
You can travel on toll-free roads everywhere in France. We here have "Autoroute", labeled A1, A2, etc, which are equivalent to interstates, I think. The speed limit is 130kph most of the times (80 ford f150 per hamburger, roughly). These are the roads submitted to tolls, exploited by private companies and therefore well maintained.
But we also have "nationales" (highways) which are toll-free. In Brittany, these roads are free and as well maintained as autoroutes are, the speed limit being 110kph (70 shotguns per bald eagle)
In other regions, nationales are often limited to 80 or 90 kph, plus you can cross towns. Travelling by nationales instead of autoroutes makes trip longer but damn cheaper: you don't pay any toll plus you get waaay better gas mileage. (You have no idea by how much your fuel consumption goes up once you break the 100kph barrier. On autoroute, you can save at least 1l per 100km by going 110 kph instead of 130.)
90% of American motorways do not charge tolls. When tolls are charged, they run only 2-3 cents per kilometer. Few toll roads are privately owned. The only American transportation infrastructure that is privately owned is railways.
@@lylecosmopolite Thank you for the clarifications. What I meant is that the type of road is equivalent to interstates, not the toll thing. Apart from Brittany, there are no real free motorway in France.
@@malolavoue4717 L'autoroute de Toul a Luxembourg ville, en passant par Nancy et Metz, n'a aucun payage.
@@lylecosmopolite Effectivement, certaines portions d'autoroutes ne sont pas payantes mais la plupart ont des péages. En Île-de-France, les autoroutes sont gratuites aussi, généralement. Pour des grands trajets inter-régionaux, il faut généralement soit passer par des autoroutes à péage, soit passer par des nationales, ce qui ajoute une heure de route ou plus.
Thanks for the conversion
Thank you for your commentary. It was very professional, intelligent and covered information that certainly would be good to know if visiting France. Your speech was clear and thankfully free from profanities which seems to be somewhat of a rarity on RUclips. I will continue to check your station for informative subject matter.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Yes, you are very articulate. You had many interesting facts.
I noticed that some shopping hours have changed over the years last time I was in Paris is 2017. I was surprised to see the longer opening hours and many stores and businesses open on Sunday. I also noticed changes in service. The Grand Magasins did not have the same level of personal service I had experienced on my first two trips in 1999, 2002, and even 2006. In those 11 years much has changed.
I love your videos, Diane. You're very correct on almost all issues and it's amazing how you can keep up with those in the U.S. while living in France. I'm a U.S. citizen living in France for > 40 yrs. and I watch your videos to learn what's new in the U.S. Good job on the hot subject of guns->short and sweet!
As a Frenchman there is one on the list for which I'm really jealous : determining your whole carreer based on high school results complicated my life. The rest I can live without (quite gladly actually for some of them).
That seems far too young to steer someone into their future. In the US, it's easy and common to change careers throughout life. What's bad is that now we can't depend on government or job for retirement, health insurance, etc.
Maybe that dates back to the middle or dark ages? Back then,in Europe,apprenticeship was meant for life. I loved France but couldn't live with that. People change,get bored or fed up,career options only increase.Funny thing is I have a (American born) friend with the last name Boulanger.He runs a bakery,it's specialty is macarons and baguettes.
@@kevincarlson7148 Yon don t need to get that back in the ages ! Actually, we are stick to our academical training because companies do not want to take any risk when recruiting people. Indeed, firing employees is quite tough in France due to social rules.
@@christopheripoll2580 Firing people here in the US is often too easy.In the ironically named "right to work" states,you can fire someone for no tangible reason.
@@kevincarlson7148 But if you own the company, you wouldn't want to be stuck with a poor employee that you can't get rid of.
You look beautiful! Your makeup and hair color are fabulous. Thank you for the video.
The supermarket issue was one I struggled to get used to coming from the UK, we're a lot more similar to the USA in that respect. Many of our supermarkets are open either all night or at least until midnight, and on Sundays! Even in the countryside, there will always be a small shop open nearby no matter where you are to pick up things late at night in the UK! but I appreciate it must be nicer for the workers in France to know they have Sunday afternoons, evenings off etc!
Also the same for the banking: all completed within an hour to open a brand new account in the UK... in France I wanted to cry opening an account! :)
Yes our shops in the UK were 7 to 11 open Sundays, or 24 hours. That’s something I miss because here in France it is usually 9 till 12 and 2 till 5 or 6. I really have to plan just to shop.
Thanks for another great video. It took us 3 appointments and 2 1/2 weeks to open our first bank account in France...and we had an account in the US branch of this bank! We were surprised. I now live in a village of 800 in SW France and my grocery store (super glad to have it!) closes from 12:45-3 Monday-Saturday. On Sunday, it closes at 12:30 and does not reopen.
Yes, it really does require a bit of patience in France sometimes but I feel like there are plenty of positives to balance it out, thankfully. Thanks for watching!
It’s called civilised...
@@OuiInFrance When I got my last checking account I didn't get it in one day (U.S.). I opened it and deposited some funds which I had moved from another bank, but the debit card didn't come to me in the mail for about 10 days. New checks take a while too. I think there must be some regional differences in America or they've improved some things in just the last few years.
As for highways in France, it's strange that a country which is seen (by Americans) as being much more socialist is the one with corporate toll roads.
I remember the time before drive-thru windows in America and it's not a huge thing, but a nice convenience the French will enjoy as they learn to use those. Much more dangerous is the awful food which those places serve. I feel certain the French will manage to avoid that part of the "fast food culture".
By the way, the Bank shown at 5:06 is a Toronto - Dominion Bank. Sounds Canadian, doesn't it?
@@quappelle3637 Yup, it's a Canadian bank originally but they are very popular in the USA as well and is the bank I use in the USA. They have branches all over and are fabulous. Thanks for watching!
Marijuana is also illegal nationwide in the US. The key difference is that in the US, the Federal Government is much more restricted in how it can enforce Federal laws that contradict State laws, and several states simply take advantage of that.
In summary, Americans live in a Federalist Republic, the French live in a Unitary Republic.
Thank you Diane for this brief insight on what you can do inthe US but not in France. It's clear, concise, not bombastic, impartial. Last but not least: your favorite part of France appears to be Brittany?.. Good choice, dear, good choice!!!
Didn't know you so far. Glad I met you. All the best, lady.
Moi aussi. J’adore vos vidéos. Je les trouve intéressantes et amusantes à regarder, surtout lesquelles où vous nous amenez avec vous. Merci.
Love this video Diane! Interesting differences and a lot of good facts you pointed out. 👍 The advent calendar also looks really nice! I missed the first video about things you can do in France but not USA so I’ll go back now to watch it. Thanks for putting this video together!
Great video! You can buy cold medicine and headache medicine at the grocery store in the US. In France you need to visit the pharmacy. I was in Austria in December 2019 and had a cold. To get some NyQuil I had to go to the pharmacy and visit with the pharmacist to get the medication. Here in the US, I just go to the grocery store, grab what I need and pay.
In some states, you can only buy pseudoephedrine at the pharmacist, but pharmacies are everywhere, like at Target and Walmart.
You can get it in a parapharmacy, like all the useless unefficient drugs.
4:56 You don't choose your credit card pin, but you can change it at the ATM machine once you received your card. (It may depend of your bank though, not sure.)
True, now some French banks let you choose your PIN, but not all. It's worth mentionning that withdrawing cash is basically always free in France wether you do it in your bank or any other.
@@corentinoger It isn't exactly free, you pay a fee each month for operations made by your bank so you don't pay one when at the ATM each time you withdrawal but if it isn't your bank's ATM they take like 2 euros charge.
May be some don't want the customers to choose their code as they are going to choose their birth date for example, which is not very safe
BP said we can’t change the pin, what you’re given is the one you have to use. I can’t remember the numbers ever.
Excellent video. Quite a contrast between the US and France in a surprising number of areas. Informative. I remember learning to drive on an automatic transmission and later had a VW with a stick. Loved it! The toughest part is when you are on an incline. Timing the clutch and throttle is tricky at first. I saw your driving video and that was excellent as well. Merci!
We had a three week driving holiday in Canada/US a few years back. The automatic transmission in the hire car seemed odd at first, but after the first week I was wondering why us Europeans persist with those gear-stick thingies.
@@iananderson3799 Occasionally I have driven automatic cars. The lack of finesse and fine control bothers me a lot. I am lucky in that I live in a rural area and gear changing is infrequent. Which means that I have zero reason for changing to a different system.
@@smitajky Finesse and Control tend not to be aspects of my driving.
Regarding the roads, there are several types of roads in France. Only the highways have a toll. All the other roads, which names are linked to the area they cover ("routes nationales" for country wide roads, "routes départmentales" for department wide roads, "chemins communaux" for commune wide roads) are free. For example if you go the south you have the highway A6 or the national road RN6. The point is that the highways are maintained by private companies whereas the other roads are maintained by public funds (the country, the department or the commune). And the speed limit is not the same. 130km/h for highways, 90/60/50 usually for others.
In America on the other hand, toll roads are quite rare. There are a few bridges and express lanes in major metro areas that require tolls, but 90% of us rarely or ever pay tolls.
@@GR-cf4qh It was supposed to be temporary for a few years after their construction...
not totaly true: in Alsace is the highway (A35) at 130km/h free ) , and some "route nationale" are in reality free highways at 110km/h speed limit, and for example ALL highways in Bretagne are free ( speed limit 110km/h)
Last man guillotined was 1977. The fact they were still chopping heads off in the 70s blows me away.
The first Star Wars came out before they guillotined the last guy in France.
Apparently there’s a firing squad movement here in the US. Unreal backwardsism. The death penalty is barbaric.
Wayne T as opposed to being electrcructued
Actually guillotine is one of the less painful ways to kill someone (that's the reason why it was invented in the first place). Unpleasant to see but definitely less painful than electrocution
too bad there's no firing squads any more-i am for the death penalty or life in prison but only if it is handled like russian black dolphin prison...i'm european and i love our freedoms(for now) and rights but capital punishment is something i d'like to see come back.it is pure pragmatism.why would we feed,keep warm and healthy for 40-50 years someone who raped and sold children,cut of heads,murder,etc.?imagine all the money we could save and give it to children in need for medical operations,housing,etc.please don't think it is cruel.think how many people you saved this way and how many of these creatures won't be walking this earth among us.
Cool! You're great! You're about 99% right-on about France. I'm American but have lived in France for about 4 decades now. Keep those videos! They're really good and amusing!
In the western states you can drive all day and not leave the state.
I could drive all day in my small town without leaving it, but it would be very boring : the bus drivers do it, though :-)
@Vanya C 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂
No traffic jams!! Good one!!
🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣
I used to have a car like that.
TRY DRIVING IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA, YOU CAN DRIVE FOR 3 DAYS, 12 HRS A DAY AND STILL NOT LEAVE THE STATE..
@@hakimcameldriver Here too you could drive during 3 days without leaving... Europe
For what it's worth... I've gone grocery shopping at 10 pm in Arizona, Idaho, and Tennessee, but in my area of Massachusetts, grocery stores close at 8 pm. Bummer!
I love the USA, I spent several months there as an exchange student but the fact that people can carry guns freaks me out. It's scary. I love France too, been there on vacation once. The food is delicious, the language is lovely, the people are beautiful. I'm simply in love with France.
hi dear, I always carry a gun here in the states.
when I lived in Europe it scared me that I couldn't.
@@MrAnarchris Why do you need a gun? I've needed one, that's why I ask
@@AndreaAvila78 oh I don't know, maybe mass shootings like the one that happened in Paris at the Bataclan or Charlie Hebdo could have been prevented if a good guy had one. Why can only the bad guys have guns?
@@martinasandoval5326 well those are mass shootings in decades. In the USA 6 mass shooting in 7 weeks. Yes you need a gun in such a violent country.
@@laflammrlol I am sure it is all peace and love in Europe, especially with bombings , beheading, knife attacks, prevalent sexual assaults and let's not forget the trucks driving into the Christmas markets..and I live in a violent country? 🤣🙄
In the US you don't have to go to school for landscaping. But there is a self study certification you can obtain to use landscaping chemicals
Landscaping is a broad field (no pun intended) that includes areas for which advanced training or a degree program are appropriate or perhaps effectively required, such as landscape architecture or design or jobs in management.
Great Explanation . Waiting for next videos
In the U.K. you can take a driving test in an automatic car but you are then only allowed to drive automatics, which are relatively rare. If you take your test in a manual you are qualified to drive automatics too.
Same in France
When I was young in Massachusetts, if you took the driving test with an automatic transmission it was noted on your license and you could only drive an automatic. I took my test with a manual transmission so I could drive both.
same in UK.
@@fredgrove4220 They no longer differentiate in Massachusetts.
Just for fun, when applying for my License to Carry in Texas (handgun), if you tested with a revolver you were not permitted to carry a semi-auto. ;) It is nicer to not have to carry, btw.
I don't think there is the option to take the test with an automatic car in Spain. It definitely wasn't possible when I got my license.
I'm originally from NJ (live in Utah now), and as soon as you mentioned Wawa, I knew it was a good idea to subscribe!! Someone who would understand my love for that place haha
Welcome aboard! Thanks for the sub ;-)
In France and Europe you do not have to pay a toll to go on a bridge and in France highways with a toll are restricted to areas were there is no good alternative - usully a 'route nationale' parallel to the paying highway.
Well... we do have a good bunch of toll highways in Spain.
In NJ, its required to drive an automatic, because if both hands are not on the wheel at all times, the tester will fail you. I learned on a stick shift and almost failed because i was used to having my hand on the shift handle.
Toll roads usually parallel rail lines. Making it cost more to drive, than to take the train, encourages people to take the train. Keeping rail ridership up helps to pay for the rail infrastructure.
In other words, places where trains are common, have practices in place to make driving more expensive.
I am not sure about that. Highway toll belongs to private companies that know that they are in concurrence with train. They won't rise they price up for that.
It looks more like a coincidence.
Trail and highway both cost less to built on long and flat places and they both follow the main traffic lines.
Oklahoma, known for "Turnpikes"( cost $11.00 to go 100 miles), but, they raised the speed limit to 80mph and people drive 90mph most of the time...it is also a mile wide and is devoid of, trees, rocks, ditches etc.!!! Lol. It saves about 4 hours off the old hiway that was curved around the state, this one is limited access and strait and level, So, I will pay the money.
Kentucky has recently become what's refereed to as a Constitutional carry State. Meaning as long as we stay in Kentucky and are not on a Prohibited list us KY residents can legally carry open or concealed without a permit. We are still allowed to take the classes/test and get a concealed carry permit for when traveling to States that will honor a KY Permit though. As for our roads not being as well maintained, If that's a trade off I have to take for no tolls I'll take it.
@ That's a plus in my book. From what little bit of research I've done it seems like Georgia would be a nice place. If this crainess ever goes away it might be a worthwhile Winter Vacation place.I'm guessing a decent place to live as well.
Open carry is legal in WA too, but you don't see a lot of it.
Hello, just to point out that you are speaking about at minimum 2x2 lane highways... outside of urban highways which are generally free. The standard roads (2x1 lane) are all tall free (except maybe one or to big bridges leading to one or two islands). The most you have to drive, in France, to reach a medium sized city, is a 1h to 1h30 trip... If you go from where I do live (near Chateauroux, Indre), you can go to Paris in 3h15 using urban (free) highways and other countryside roads. I would point out either that, using countryside road, and driving at 80 or 90km/h rather than 130, you cut 20% out of you fuel consumption.
Using the paying highways will allow you to cut half an hour from this journey, but not much more. On very long trip like going from Marseille to Paris, I would save much more time (about 4 hours) using toll highways, but it would be be costly (64€ in toll fee). Toll fee on highways is common in Europe, and from my experience, these road are far better maintained here than in US, at least when I did go there about 15 years ago and by all my readings, I don't think it improved much...
The last important point there is... you can get a train ticket as cheap as 10€ to go from Marseille to Paris... in 3h15... This is the TGV and this is something you don't have (another of your video spoke about it I think)... And we do know that its what the government here in Europe want us to do : use train or buses rather than personal cars.
Finally, just for your information, Britanny do not have toll fees because it's illegal by the very terms the treaty, signed between Britanny Duchy and France Kingdom in 1532 which made the Duchy part of France. I find that funny, wanted to say it ;)
Oh, one more. You pointed out shop opening times but I was equally baffled by restaurants and cafés. In some small towns they operate at extremely restricted hours! You may be able to visit a particular creperie only between 9am and 11 am and then between 7pm and 10pm. And that is it.
It is still the case that in France eating is usually restricted to traditional meal times (breakfast before 9am, lunch at 12, dinner at 19.30 - youngsters may have a light snack at 16.30) whereas the Anglo nations are more relaxed and flexible. Eating between meals is still uncommon in France and meals tend to be longer and more formal - though eating "al desko" is starting to creep into some Parisian businesses.
When I was young you couldn't buy anything on Sundays or late in the evenings. They hadn't yet invented 24/7 stores or drive-thrus. So, it isn't necessarily a permanent state for any nation to do something one way. Technology changes for one thing, habits are another.
Wow! Just found your channel. Love it! Your clear and concise information is well-presented and interesting. Will stay tuned. Merci, tres bien!
we only have to pay for the motorways, it is possible to cross France without paying anything
I was an International truck driver , tramping all over Europe, and it is quite feasable to drive to most destinations on "Route National ". I used to go from Calais to the Spanish border at Irun, almost entirely on the Natioinals, mostly N10.
@@fredgrove4220 By law ALL interstates in usa are free...tens of millions of miles of 4 lane concrete with rest areas. Federal gov decreed this in 1955 under Eisenhower as a national defense act ...if you look at a usa map they are marked in blue.Speed limit 75 mph.Very safe but when a accident happens they are bad.
@@davidcooley275 75mph is for 4 or more lanes road with a separator between the two direction or is it for all roads including those with only 2 lanes ?
There are many states with no toll roads.
Here in Sweden:
Supermarkets (very small one as much larger one) are open 365 days and fron 06:00 AM to 10:00 PM,
You open a bank account online in a matter of seconds.
Also I don’t think there are drive through banks, food and coffee shops or pharmacies. shops
No there’s not, it’s considered a bit shocking here lol
actually there are drive through coffee places now. and loads of drive through burger places (McD, BK, Quick, KFC etc.)
Yes . Axa Bank offers Drive thru service. In some cities. And pharmacies Drive thru Also exist in France here and There. And with COVID crisis there are more and more
I can go into many, many stores and buy any jeans that I want. I used to have European customers that talked of the quantity and quality of jeans available in the USA.
There is also something that the french don't like very much, its a program being interrupted by adverts...
Thank God!
How do they pay for shows in France if you don't have ads
You must be new to RUclips, sir!
@@donaldharris3037
Very long ago we had only one TV channel in France, and it was without any adverts !
Of course it was paid through our taxes...
@@donaldharris3037 By one tax called the Redevance for the public service televisions and radios. It is 160 € per year roughly, it is mandatory to pay it if you have a TV set at your home. Public TV also have grants from the government. For private channels, same as US : ad cuts or a fee to pay.
Once upon a time, our stores closed on Sundays and by 5 or 5:30 during the week. One night a week they stayed open till 9pm.
Bonjour,
Pour le 1er point j'ai un ami gérant d'un bar qui a mis une pancarte au dessus du comptoir qui résume bien ce point: "Le client est roi mais le barman est dieu donc le barman a toujours raison".
Et pour la peine de mort sans rentrer dans le débat je suis bien content et fier de vivre dans pays qui refuse cette pratique.
Merci pour cette vidéo.
If I'm not mistaken, church weddings or weddings presided over by clergymen are not recognized as legal in France, as they are un the USA. French law requires that the couple get married by a government official before the religious ceremony.
Also: in Vietnam (which used to be part of French Indochina), many businesses close for an hour or two at midday so the staff can lunch and nap.
You are right. Religious weddings have no legal value in France.
I love watching your videos🥰
Thank you so much!!
About the toll roads: in France, when there is a toll, there is *always* another way to do the journey, by road. You will not get the motorway, it will be slower (but often shorter), but always doable.
I'm very surprised that store hours in France appear not to have changed in the past 50 years! I'll bet they also do not have the crazy Christmas-time hours that store employees must staff in so many US stores.
No, they don't. In France, you better make your Christmas shopping on opening hours, anot not on Sunday.
It have.
It is now common for stores to be open on sunday morning and up to 9 pm dunring the week.
It was not the case only two decades ago.
Here’s what I really think… I think you are really beautiful, personable, and very informative… I’ve learned a LOT from watching your videos and really appreciate the work and knowlege you put into them♥️ They’re super fun and I love to see what’s coming up next! One request please? What about dog grooming shops? Veterinarians? Pets in general? Kennels… let’s see…🤔I’m a groomer here in the USA ( for tons of years) and wonder what the market is like in France… my breed of choice are Bouvier des Flandres, and know that , yes, they are Belgian, but France has contributed many wonderful herding and pasteral( sp?) breeds to the world, that have become known… thank you dear! I appreciate it♥️‼️🤗☮️
Hi Sue, thanks very much for your kind words. No videos on French vet care yet, but I've done a bunch of content on veterinary care in France on the blog so if you search there, you'll see all the posts. Thank you for the idea!
In France, you can but would be frowned upon if you ask for take-way coffee.
Not at specialty coffee shops
Enjoyed this, very educational.
Opening a bank account is a positively Kafaesque process.
Actually, most things are.
Les 12 travaux d'Astérix sont une réalité en France.
French administration is a 2000 years old lady who knows his job very well, but is slow. Once you get accustomed, no problem, it works well.
Hi!! Thinking of a move to Paris, love your channel and thank you for all the information ❣️
Twenty two Federal sentences in 2019? That is just a hot summer weekend in Chicago!
Correct. China executes more people in ONE YEAR than ALL THE COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD COMBINED. Stop using the USA as the 'bad guy'. I wonder how many people in America over the past 50 years went to prison for murder, got an early release, only to murder again? Actually we are soft on crime.
Diversity is our Strength!
@@jakefromstatefarm1100 And how many were executed and were innocent! An idea? Because I don't know for the Usa but in France we did have some very famous " erreur judiciaire " and thanks the person condamned were still alive....
"Twenty two Federal sentences in 2019? That is just a hot summer weekend in Chicago!"
Or black friday in the precincts. The police precincts.
@@jakefromstatefarm1100 utter nonsense. Your murder rates are sky high compared to any country in Europe where there is no death penalty
In the US you can do the plane spotting in some states without problem but in France you need a permit to do that.
well, for the weapons law in france, it's weirdly easy enough to get a weapon LEGALLY:
-apply at a shooting range
-have your application accepted
-pass tests to prove you're not a mentally unstable person
-go into a gun store
-you can buy any gun that's not semi automatic and that's not a handgun
then to get semi-autos and handguns:
-be active at the shooting range for 6 months-1 year
-have the autorisation from your shooting range president to pass tests
-pass more tests
-now you can mail the police prefect to ask for an autorisation for 1 handgun/semi-auto
-buy it
-repeat the mail process
-be active 1 a year in your shooting range or have your semi-auto/handguns become illegal
or just go in ghetos and buy a full-auto AKM and a rocket launcher for 500-1000€.
That is not easy
When I decided to buy a gun, I went to the store and picked a semi-auto hand gun. Did a background check in about 30 minutes, paid and went home with my new pistol.
@@Pyron27 yeah american laws are way better!
And also you guys can carry it to pump a mugger's ass full of lead!
It's not as easy as you said to get legal weapons even illegal in France. There is four different categories of weapons : old weapons must be declared, non automatic weapons are allowed for only hunters and for sport or really special case but you must have a license with different papers to give and control. All the other weapons are forbidden so it is almost impossible to buy automatic weapon legally, it is strictly controlled.
Most of french people as other european people doesn't want to have weapon at home and doesn't see no interest to have one. Death by guns are quite rare.
@@annouchka63 This is simply not true, and anybody can confirm the inaccuracy of your statements with a simple web search, including the fact that firearms deaths are not as "rare" as you think.
My training in stick shift was drive it around the block and done. Luckily I only stalled out once at the toll booth bringing the car home.
Such a refreshing change to listen to a young American woman who doesn't talk through her nose.
And no vocal fry.
Yes!
The chipmunk with a machine gun.
toll free highways did exist in some regions in France like Alsace and Bretagne, and you don't have to take a highway to cross France in any direction, but it will take much longer
You do don’t mention anything about acquiring firearms in France.
In France we banned death penalty, have healtcare, a good system of support for poor people with money state and a retirement system. That says a lot about how France culturally value life itself. So our guns law is in line with all this, if not for hunting you won't be allowed to carry a gun, only to possess one in your house with a licence and registration of course. And I'd be lying by saying we don't have an illegal weapon issue developing lately. I'm 45 and last year I heard my first street guns shot and it has happened a couple of times since. So France would be blind to also say that all is good.
Here for the little tour de la question ^^
We take the villages roads trips not the toll roads, we do that often actually visiting north/south,west/east but since its costly we take detours visiting villages and small towns,France is very beautiful,enchanting is the word, and u may think it cost less making those detours,reality is u end up spending more😅 u tend to stop often,visiting castles and museums,drinking coffee or eating delicious meals, it's more longer and more expensive than the toll road but that exactly the purpose of touring France, we did that often with my parents but since growing up I tend to travel on train straight to the destination with almost no expenses (less fun but still worth it😅)
It's not as easy to get a gun in the U.S. as some might think. I am legally able to own a gun, yet I was turned down by one store. That's something people don't think about: The store itself can turn you down.
The MSM in America has been spreading alot of nonsense about gun purchasing for many yesrs , and the uneducated masses have been believing their lies . Fortunately some of this has changed lately , as people that have never owned a gun are buying them now . I'm sorry you were turned away from purchasing a firearm , but there are certain do's and dont's at a gun shop . Last week I was concluding a gun purchase when a guy interupted the sale , pulled a loaded pisto from his pocket , flagged ( waved the gun across our bodies ) myself and the salesman , and demanded a pawn on his weapon . The salesman grabbed the pistol and ran the jerk out the door . There are a myriad of reasons why a gun sale is halted or denied . The purchaer may have a name similar to someone not allowed to own a gun , an unresolved legal matter , or the authorising authority is simply overwhelmed. As a long time gun buyer , I hope you can resolve the issue and legally obtain the fireams you desire .
@@victorwaddell6530 Thank you. I need to get about $1,400 together for what I want. I know it's expensive, but $200 of it has to go to the ATF. I did own a pistol once, but sold it as I wanted the cash.
@@Jemalacane0 what's the atf stamp for? an automatic weapon? an sbr?
a fucking hand grenade?
@@killgaet6253 Bureau of *A* lcohol *T* obacco *F* irearms and Explosives
Well said anti-gun people don’t have a clue the process you must go through to buy a gun.
1- you can in Paris, but outside of major city, it's annoying
2- the law has evolved a lot recently about automatic transmission driving license. They're now common and it only take a 1 day formation to convert it into a full license
3- there's online banks now, a lot easier :) Choosing your PIN is possible on special request.
4- yep
5- it's actually possible and easy, but french are afraid of it, mentalities are changing though
6- true in all of Europe
7- it might be changing, it's a hot topic currently in France
8- guns are legal in France, not hard to get by French bureaucracy standard, but carrying is illegal
9- only the "autoroute" have tolls, you can avoid them and it's better if you want to enjoy the countryside ;)
Checking my [poor] French vocabulary. Faux amis??? In English I wouldn't use "formation" when I mean "instruction."
Thanks for the interesting video and comments.
- another important factor that determines how easy it is to get promoted based on your diplomas is the job market. In the 60's and 70's, French banks, for example, couldn't get enough people and would hire them at 16 and train them. Some of them would end up, maybe not CEO, but managing an agency or having some other real responsibility. And I've heard other such examples in different fields. Economic growth and unemployment may not be the only factor to explain why this changed, but it is certainly one of them.
- "free speech" and related laws are quite different. In France, you may end up in courts for "incitement to racial hatred", for example. My understanding is that would be an infringment to the first amendment in the US. True? Still, I've never heard anybody complaining about a lack of free speech in France. I've heard a lot of complaining about just almost everything else though.
In the US there is a limitation to free speech if it can reasonably lead to harm. So hate speech that's general is allowed, like "all people of a specific group are bad". But saying that you are going to look for a specific racial group to harm them will land you in court.
To summarize it all, just think that anything cheap in the US (gas, car, food, clothes, taxes, lodging in small towns , restaurants...) is expensive in France and vice-versa : anything cheap or affordable in France (job security, health, education, security, retirement pensions...) is expensive in the US. And the reason for that, is that the tax system is very different (VAT= 20% in France, income tax = roughly 2 salary months for a single person, very high taxes for your home or appartment, notwithstanding the incredible taxes on any shop or business...).
We have a VERY large protection parachute, but it costs you a kidney and half the liver....
some examples :
monthly rent for a small studio : 500€ (Bordeaux) 750€ (Paris)
interstate road toll : Bordeaux-Paris (500 km = 60 €)
Hi speed train : Bordeaux-Paris : 100 € (single trip, in 2 hr !)
gas : 1,5€/liter (unleaded) = $6/US gallon
general doctor : 25€ (only 10% at your charge, with the social security)
major surgery in hospital : 80000 € (almost 100% free, with social security)
university tuition : 500€ (1st year) master in public university 1000€/yr
In American:
monthly rent for a small studio : $590 (Bordeaux) $884 (Paris)
interstate road toll : Bordeaux-Paris (311 mi = $71)
Hi speed train : Bordeaux-Paris : $118 (single trip, in 2 hr !)
gas : 1,5€/liter (unleaded) = $6/US gallon
general doctor : $29 (only 10% at your charge, with the social security)
major surgery in hospital : $94,245 (almost 100% free, with social security)
university tuition : $589 (1st year) master in public university $1,178/yr
But at the end, the french system is way cheaper than the american one. An american study (not a french one !) proved that the french system is more efficient, the French being less payed but getting much more results and rewards at the end of the year, without to consider the 5 weeks french vacations vs the 2weeks american ones...
One exemple : i had a by-pass heart surgery 2years ago. The total costs with whole reeducation : about 70 000 Euros. I paid NOTHING ! While i was in hospital i read a rewiew explaining that most of american of my age and social class couldn't afford to pay such a bill, and only a minority go for this surgery. I never heard someone in France not being operated because money. HUGE difference.
there's 2 regions in France, without toll on highspeed road... on the west part, Brittany as you said, and on the east part, in Alsace. For different historical and economic reasons. In Brittany, it's a remaining of the ancient regime (before revolution), there was taxes specificites, that stayed after the revolution. In Alsace, the proximity of Germany were the "autobahn" are tax free, prevented any attempt to tax, as traffic would cross the border to go north or south without paying.
Girl I love your page!
To my experience it takes exactly the same small time to open an account, get a few cheques (in one hour) in France and in the US, and around 10 days to get a visa and cheque book in both countries. Also, if appropriately sponsored, a French bank can open an account remotely.
One thing I remember clearly about being driven in a car in France (never did it myself) was that when stopped on even the slightest uphill, upon starting up again the car in front of you would always roll back toward your car before taking off forward. It was scary at first! It was those manual transmissions, and drivers seemed casual about engaging them when starting from a stop on a hill.
Ah le fameux démarrage en côte. You have to manage it to have your driving licence
@@tinkeratlecta8620 Ah oui, c'est ça l'expression! Merci!
I’m glad to hear about that problem in France. I thought that it was just me, in the USA, having learned to drive a stick in my late 20s.
I’ve driven manual for decades and never roll back doing a hill start, I’m aware the person in front might do it but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen this in the UK or France.
I refused to drive our twin turbo Dodge Stealth in the 1990s on the hills in downtown Seattle because of drivers behind me who didn't know about the slight roll backward some of the time even though I used the emergency brake to coordinate with the clutch to try to prevent that which interestingly was something my husband (who was the one who really wanted that car) never learned how to do and I had to tell him to never use the clutch to prevent rolling back as it could burn out. And I also learned how to drive on a stick in driver training in high school many years ago and think everyone should do the same but you can only find them on high-end cars anymore!
I
I wonder what the price of gas is in France? I heard once, several years ago, it was something like, $8. per gallon ! So one other thing you could do it the U.S, is afford to drive.
The price is around 1,1€ to 1,5€/liter of gas or gasoline.
First of all, France must import her gas because we don't have petrol on our ground so it's a little more expensive plus taxes.
Our country is smaller and we have a very develop public transportation in the big cities and between cities so we need less to use car.
Our cars are small, so we use less gas. It's easier to drive and park in our old cities with their narrow streets and much than enough for daily transpotation.
Almost no cars are offered with stick shift anymore. Most that are are either very powerful spots or muscle cars, or heavy duty pickups. I am a paraplegic now, but I really miss my mustang 6 spd
Less than 8% of cars sold in US have manual transmissions.
I used to love my stick shifts. They were cheaper, more reliable, faster and more efficient. So long as you could drive one they were better in almost every way. These days, an automatic is just as good, if not better, in every category.
Stroll in to Walgreens at 11PM, buy a box of Aleve, and go about your business. I love European pharmacies but I miss Aleve liquid gels!
Brittany has no toll roads because of an ancient treaty - (at one time, Brittany and Normandy were independent of France and I believe that was agreed when France United. )
it's much of some other reason i bet. Brittany and Normandy were independent only when France as we know wasn't united a nation : meaning different languages(heard about langue d'Oc(also occitan speaked in south) and langue d'Oïl), diffferent ways of life and a king ruling different regions and with different political and rulers in each part in some kind of way. The fact is France is a mix of different culture(also knows as regionalism) as the melting pot could be. The unification of the french regions coming far before motors cars have been spread widely and surely before highways have been needed to be built.
The toll is only for motorways(higway i think it's autoroute in french who don't had a real equivalent i'm sure). It's have been a catch from corporate and abuse of state. Highways have been sold to private societies with the right to use toll to pay what they had invest and the cost to maintain. The catch was that when the private owner of higways will had get all that they invest in the buying and maintenance toll with be no more. But it's not been suppressed.
Brittany and Normandy have been considered long time as a downgrade place(like ploucs expression history can told you) and have way less cars traffic. So highways hasn't spread like in south of France where money and prices have been higher. So corporate bought and invest mostly in the places where the most cars are passing by, where money and corruption are most a way to do things. And that's south of France knows also as the higher Motorways toll(cal péage litteraly meaning "pay to pass").
Also the ancient treatie you're speaking about is not only related to Bretagne(who is not Brittany as history describe it) but it's related to place like cities who willed to be separate of the nation rule and laws. It's about place where people flying for convinction or other political reason(been not held in prison is some i think good enough, pratice his own cult or not agreed with a set f rule is another too) and widely for taxes in trade. Most of this place have names like Villefranche(meaning free town or free city ) and toll for passing weren't as high or doesnt exist to attract the merchants and lead them to go by their way preferably.
Treaties you speak about were common in a way that each regions have to bargain with state and centralized politics in exchange of bowing to their rules or ally against another wannabee ruler.
Although you're not so far by your guess:
Brittany and Normandy who where donwgrade places when compare to south of France and local mayors and such authorities less to bow to payrol and high benefits from ground incomes, less to sell the roads to a private society and private society less to want to bought them when incomes they can get much higher where a lot more cars and rich folks where.
*if my english writing suxx excuse my french ;) *
La Bretagne n'a pas d'autoroutes pour une seule raison et ce n'est pas à cause d'Anne de Bretagne. La loi française stipule que pour qu'il y ait une autoroute payante il faut avoir la possibilité d'avoir un itinéraire parallèle gratuit. Hors, la Bretagne étant une péninsule, aucun itinéraire bis n'est possible. Il existe bien une autoroute entre Rennes et Caen mais elle est gratuite car il n'existe pas d'autre route.... L'histoire du péage gratuit pour les bretons est une légende urbaine......
@@yvodubzh et, à part la vitesse et l'absence de péages, les routes nationales bretonnes ressemblent furieusement à des autoroutes
@@philippem5695 ça reste de la 4 voies traditionnelle..... Pas d'autoroute en Bretagne.... Tu as juste à regarder réseau autoroutier de la France sur Wikipedia....
@@yvodubzh De Rennes à Quimper: 2x2 voies avec tous les services de l'autoroute : aires de repos et stations services équipées. Peu d'endroits en France avec un tel réseau de 2x2 voies sur une telle distance avec contournement de toutes les agglomérations
Thanks for this video
I've heard we in America can and do file lawsuits against each other and companies and governments and their agencies much more than do people and other legal entities in other countries. I assume this is a contrast between the US and France.
French law is derived from latine legal system, based on rules. By now they are proposed by government and adopted by national assembly. Lawyers are here to make sure that the relevant evidence and laws are used. Jury is used only for the most serious case, otherwise three judges agree on the trial.
For the same reason, major contracts (employment, real estate) have to fit a norm defined by laws.
US laws are based on legal precedent and jury. So lawyers have to know tons of similar cases and convince the jury, not the judges. Much more work and hasardous result. And contracts are more diverse. So going through lawyers to make one's point by related legal precedent or creative interpretation of law is more frequent and more expensive in USA.
@ I was stunned when I learned in law school that the US has 95% of all the world's lawyers. Similarly, Chicago has 90% of all the lawyers in Illinois.
Many grocery stores in major urban areas here in the USA are even open 24/7/365...well, maybe except christmas...
Stickshift? I learned on one back in the 1960s when my dad taught me to drive. ;-) Haven't driven one in a while; probably rusty, but still know how.
Super interesting points, Diane! Having just graduated in France, and having also done so 4 years ago in the States, I definitely agree with your point about the reconversion professionnelle - it can be tough in France! Also, the surrogacy ban has always been something that makes me scratch my head about France. I personally don't agree with it, and furthermore I was shocked such a socially liberal country would have such laws. Thanks for the great video!
Thanks for watching, Alyssa! Congrats on graduation. I know you've been working hard. When I see someone in France changing careers or starting a business, I have even more respect for them because I know it goes against the grain more than it would in the USA.
P.S. anyone reading this, check out Alyssa's channel Transatlantic Living. She has some fun videos!!
Liberal, IMO, doesn't mean you might buy a child !!
@@AlainNaigeon Surrogacy isn't buying a child. It's paying someone to carry YOUR child. 🤦♀️
@@natsunohoshi7952 That's your point of view, but women have such a great experience when getting a child, and that makes them feel as "their child".
If you think it would be a gift, why pay for it ?
There are baby sitters, now there are baby makers...
@@AlainNaigeon Surrogacy is for women that can't have children naturally due to fertility problems or menopause. (This is like what Phoebe did for her brother and his wife in Friends.) I'm not really sure how this concept is difficult for you.
Only about 5 percent of us vehicles are even offered with a manual transmission.. Most of the ones that offer manuals are sports cars or such or the lowest econoboxes.
You can reply back to me in French too, parce que je parle Français aussi, but I can write better than speak it
Vos vidéos sont très utiles !
Hi. Diane, your smile is awesome. Your enthusiasm is infectious. I loved France and hitched a lot of it.difficult as the roads are narrow. My children are french,one a doctor,the other spent 10 years in and about Tahiti after graduation with a degree in languages.With that ,maybe you can touch a bit upon the lack of visitation issues concerning separation or divorce. All those Frenchmen you see lined up gripping the fence outside of schools? Know why? That's because they are awaiting recess to get a glimpse of their children. The French don't like to talk about this. It's an embarrassment. This is why in alot of bars, particularly in smaller towns,women are not welcome inside. Inside are the same fence- hangers drinking their sorrows away. Very few people know what I just told you....
But what are you talking about? I am French, I am 64 years old, I have never seen parents hanging on school fences to see their children! Shared custody exists in France, I know many families who do it! Where did you get this nonsense? Custody can be refused to a parent if he is violent, alcoholic, drug addict, pedophile, still happy !! As far as bars are concerned, I believe that they have always constituted a "refuge" for single men, divorced or others, who willingly frequent them in the evening, and this in almost all countries of the world, not only in France! Some women go there, but they are not in the majority. Entry is not forbidden to them, you are talking nonsense! But by the way, when did your trip to France go back to the 19th century?
Very interesting! You are really making me want to visit France! My main interest is the Slavic countries, but we will see.
One thing that I can do in the USA that I can't do in France is go to Pittsburgh.
True, but then you're in Pittsburgh. (Truly meaning no disparagement.)
@@nancylindsay4255 No, actually, I'm in Cleveland.
@@rhinehardt1 If you are in Cleveland, why do you think that we will let you come to Pittsburgh?
Anyway, there are direct flights to Pittsburgh from a number of European cities, so you CAN indeed go to Pittsburgh from France.