Termie, you've really hit on something here. As far a waiting staff go, I treat everyone the same regardless of which country they are from or indeed which country I am in. When I tip I always pay it cash, I never pay the service charge on the bill as this is so often used by unscrupulous proprietors to subsidise minumum wage rates and is a disgrace. Waiting staff deserve nothing but respect. I know, I did it myself once. So I always try to be polite, diffident even, I smile and even try to talk the lingo.
Having said that, you must be the only person in the world who's never had a French waiter who is either rude or treats you as an unreconstructed philistine because you are English. Maybe your being fluent in French helps here but it's not my experience.
The last meal I had in France is a case in point, in Deauville last year. The waiter forgot the whole main course of our 5 course "price compris". When I very quietly pointed out that it was usual to eat pudding after the main, he became incandescent. Puce in the face with anger, he went into a screaming paddy fit, flecks of spittle landing on the table. I understand enough French to know that he was railing against the English and what he was saying really wasn't terribly complimentary. The restaurant owner was charm personified by the way and had us eating out of his hand in no time, the complementary Calvados helped no end.
I have to say, being called a xenophobe by a Francophile is the equivalent of being accused of racism by Hitler. I have friends in and from all around the world. Most of my family live abroad, yes including in France, and it is one of the delights of life to enjoy other cultures and their wonderful people regardless of race or skin colour. You only have to read my recent comments on India to understand that and as such I'm really a bit miffed by your unfounded comment. The French on the other hand are to my mind the exact opposite and this is the reason they have riots; they cannot assimilate with other cultures. The British are forty years ahead of them on this score. The French have to be the most closed-minded people in Europe. They never try anything new or "foreign" and the "sans culottes" have an inbred belief that French and France is always best. Well let me tell you it isn't. The rest of the world, believe it or not, does actually have something else to offer.
I note that you have not even begun to address my valid on the moribund state of French cuisine. So maybe we can continue this debate over a glass of vin rouge, or heaven forbid, a pint of foaming English ale.
