Guten tag!

SIR – You report (January 1) that a French mayor intends to greet colleagues with a handshake rather than the traditional la bise – a French greeting of two, three or four kisses.

While I was in Germany, I remember greeting friends at the pub simply by knocking on the table twice. Perhaps a cheery wave would suit the mayor better. Alastair Clark

Salisbury, Wiltshire