Talk Like A Parisian

Can it be that Paris needs more tourists to boost its economy? The Paris tourist board is waging a campaign in England to try to lure more British tourists over to its beautiful city.

The Daily Telegraph states:

Aware of the widespread perception of the French as arrogant, rude and stuffy, the board hopes that explanations of how to perform the 'Gallic shrug', 'the pout' , 'the Camembert,' and the 'say again' will make tourists feel more at home in the capital.
"You don’t need to be French to understand Parisians or to blend in with the crowd ," the guide says. "Use the gestures the next time you’re in Paris. People will start mistaking you for a native in no time."

The Parisian Tourist Board website, C'est So Paris! even has click-on "cards" demonstrating how to cop the Parisian attitude. Here are some examples:

Bof! Cop the Gallic Shrug:

Les Boules, Bad Luck, I'm pissed off...as usual:

Le Camembert, French for shut the hell up:

If you have ever seen a Bardot movie you've seen Le Moue (petulant pout) ad nauseum:

The website is sponsoring a contest encouraging participants to compete. Here's how to play :
Take a photo of you imitating a classicFrench hand gesture.
Register and then upload your photos (3 max.).
Visitors to the site will vote for their favourites.
A jury of experts will pick the prizewinning photos from among the top 10 favourites.
May the best attitude win !

My sister is a French teacher. I wonder if she uses flash cards such as these as a teaching aid?

The website also features some of the amusing ads it is running in England as well as other travel tips meant to entice potential tourists, check it out!

french body language, parisian gestures, french tourism