We Love the French, but…. Part I

Every American who spends a lot of time in France has a kind of love-hate, or more precisely and kindly, affection-annoyance, relationship with the country and its denizens. The French have been good to us — generally polite and sometimes generous. But they can drive you crazy.   Let’s start with the banks:  We have an account at the local branch of one of the largest French banks. But it is advantageous, rate-wise, to get Euros from an ATM which usually spits out 50€ notes. When we are going on a long driving trip or to an antique show, we prefer to get some larger denomination bills to make the wad less bulky. Easy? Think again.  When I have asked at the caisse (the teller’s window) for larger bills, the teller occasionally has one or two 100€ bills and rarely a 200€ bill but usually nothing but 50’s. Once I asked for six 500€ bills and was told I could order them but that it would take a couple of days. When I returned the teller suggested we go downstairs to the vault to have more privacy. There she handed over the six large bills.   I have also tried going to the other banks in town (there are quite a few). Once I got some 100’s at Credit Lyonnais, but the next time the teller, a different one, said they could only do that for clients. Mostly I get turned down and often because they say they have no larger bills.  One afternoon a few days ago I went into the bank to withdraw some cash and saw a sign saying the caisse was closed. I asked a man in a nearby office, thinking it was some special situation, and he said the window is now closed every afternoon. When I asked why, he said people did not use cash much anymore. They use bank cards and cheques. Although many people do use bank cards and cheques, I see a lot of cash transactions around town and throughout France.  When I told the man that in the local bank in New England where I live most of the year there are three to five tellers waiting to help every time I enter, he gave me that look which translates politely as “peculiar people, those Americans.”  Another bank in our town in France has closed its caisse completely. Out of curiosity I asked a manager about that, saying it must be inconvenient for their customers. He replied, “It is convenient for us.”   At that bank, if you want to put cash into your account, you must put it in a special envelope with a deposit slip and slip it into a special box. I wonder what you do if the bank’s count does not tally with yours.  Next, the toll roads:  When we started coming to France for long stays about 12 years ago, we always paid our tolls on the auto routes with our American credit cards.  After we arrive in CDG airport in Paris and pick up our leased vehicle, we head south for about five hours on the A10. Last year our card was rejected at the Tours péage (toll booth). But it was accepted at the exit near our house in the Southwest.  We drive to Nice and Italy at least once each year. Last year our card was accepted at all the tolls until we got to the last four tolls in France. Rejected!  What we figured out was that the cards are accepted by ASF (Autoroutes du Sud de la France) but not by Cofiroute (Compagnie Financiere et Industrielle des Autoroutes), which operates the Paris-Tour segment and ESCOTA (Estérel, Côte d’Azur, Provence et Alpes) which operations the sections just before Italy.   Convenient, n’est-ce pas? Accommodating to visitors — no comment.  One final note:  On the way back from Italy early in March we stopped for the night in Montpellier, too tired to make the final 600 kilometers to our house that night.  On the Novotel room service menu was listed: “Tartare de boeuf, (Cru ou cuit)”. This was carefully translated for the benefit of us ignorant anglophones as “Beef tartare, raw or cooked.”  How can we say the French are not flexible? Mosaico World Mosaico World is a customer-friendly international ticketing service that enables you to book tickets for upcoming events in the City of Light and all around the world.