Serving up a friendlier holiday
France — the centre of world gastronomy — wants to make its reputation for rude waiters a thing of the past.
More tourists visit France than any country in the world, but the country is battling a reputation of giving them less than a warm welcome, especially in restaurants.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who is also in charge of tourism planning, on Monday introduced this year’s Michelin guide to the country’s best restaurants.
The gala celebration of French cuisine underlined the message that France aims to cater to visitors who come for the food.
France’s Socialist government has promised other changes in hopes that tourists will forget the country’s decades-long reputation for hauteur.
Here’s a guide to some of them:
Riding the rails, speak
ing: The Paris Metro is adding other languages, especially on the most travelled lines. And visitors can now get multi-day passes that work on subways, buses and suburban train lines.
The Paris regional transit is also putting an emphasis on multilingual agents.
Sunday shopping: France traditionally shuts down on Sunday afternoons, which are considered sacred family time.
But legislation is under debate that could potentially expand tourist shopping zones, including the renowned Galeries Lafayette and Printemps, to allow hours more like those already in place on the Champs Elysees.
Fait maison: The phrase means “homemade” — and it’s at the heart of what food tourists seek when they arrive to taste France’s artisanal cheeses, pastries and other delicacies.
With many high-traffic restaurants quietly turning to frozen, prepackaged food, the government passed a measure asking restaurants to highlight their homemade food with the label “fait maison.”