5 FRENCH THINGS THAT MAKE PERFECT SENSE

Today's video is all about things that make more sense in France than they do in the U.S. These aspects of French life have a lot going for them and tie into French culture and the lifestyle here.
My top is from the Canadian ethical clothing company Encircled: bit.ly/3CQgdkE
👕 / / M E R C H: bit.ly/3wl6RZa
👜 / / SHOP MY FAVES: www.amazon.com/shop/ouiinfrance
eGuide: 75 BEGINNER FRANCE TIPS for a STANDOUT TRIP: bit.ly/3gzSWY5
💵 SUPPORT MY CHANNEL: ko-fi.com/ouiinfrance
💌 SIGN UP FOR MY NEWSLETTER (and get a FREE guide of DOs & DON'Ts for travel to France): bit.ly/3p790nK
📖 Get my BLOGGING FOR BEGINNERS eBOOK: bit.ly/2SuesFD
SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL: kzbin.info?s...
How did I end up in France? My backstory: • Why I moved from the U...
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Salut! I'm Diane, an American who has lived in France since 2012 and the creator of the blog/KZbin channel Oui In France. My channel's focus is "Everyday French life and beyond." I make videos on French culture topics, France vs. US culture comparisons, food, travel, language, and give you my thoughts about what it's like living in France as an American in the Loire Valley. Thanks for being here and if you enjoy this sort of thing, please share with friends and subscribe!
❤️ / / B L O G
Oui In France: www.ouiinfrance.com/
▶️ / / F O L L O W
👍 Facebook: / ouiinfrance
📷 Insta: / ouiinfrance
▶️ *HEALTH & FITNESS 💪
Les Mills On Demand (30-day FREE trial): lmod.go2cloud.org/SH6e
Red Light Therapy: bit.ly/32cn0Wk
▶️ TRAVEL ✈️
THE BEST vacation rentals: prf.hn/l/78alGDJ
Send My Bag ($5 OFF): bit.ly/3q5wHh1
Chrysalis Cardi (multiway garment): bit.ly/3kHh9MT
Wise (formerly TransferWise): wise.prf.hn/l/78YJB4x
▶️ FASHION 👚
Everlane: www.everlane.com/r/b8kn5j
Encircled: bit.ly/2YK0mxj
Nisolo: nisolo.uvwgb9.net/DV0Kvq ​
Disclosure: The description box contains affiliate links where I may make a small commission on purchases made through my links, at no additional cost to you.
#frenchculture #culturaldifferences #frenchlife

[@sdevouard]

If « Breaking Bad » had been a french serie, it would have lasted one season of one 10-minutes episode - M. White, you have cancer - Damn - Do you have your Carte Vitale ? - Yes, here you go THE END

[@stratonikisporcia8630]

Plot Twist: - Sadly the chimio didn't work, you're gonna die. - Oh no ! - Do you want to go to Switzerland to get euthanasia ? - Why not. THE END

[@mwasted696]

Let's be even frencher and say the episode lasts 45 minutes because both Walter and the Doctor are late AF for the appointement and THEN carte vitale and stuff

[@khervan]

@@stratonikisporcia8630 Plot twist : We had an issue with Switzerland procedure what are we gonna do ?! Ok let's go in Belgium ! THE END

[@franckleprevost6090]

@@stratonikisporcia8630 that's the spinoff

[@Spidyy]

THE END of the story? Or the patient?

[@bheuninckx]

In addition, service is included in the price of restaurants. You can leave a tip if service was very good, but you may leave nothing and the waiter will still be paid. No need to guess how much you need to leave as a tip. ;-)

[@damjuve13]

And that's the main reason why french people are seen stingy abroad. We are not used to leave tips. Also bread and water are always included in the price, so when a french has to pay for a water bottle in restaurants he think this is a scam, leading him to don't left a big tip

[@silfreed300]

@@damjuve13 it dépend, if its tap water then its free but if you ask for a bottle of water then you need to pay for it. A little tip if you are in France you need to précise that you want tap water cause sometime they will give you à bottle of water (that you will pay)

[@nathbregou27]

​@Silfreed I never paid for water in any restaurant, granted I don't go to fancy restaurants, but generally, tap water is what you will be served when asking for water. But I guess it doesn't hurt to specify.

[@61romeo]

i have seen this a lot of times and i don't understand like servers don't have a salary ? don't they receive a salary from their boss how can you work and not be paid

[@TechnoForce86]

@@61romeo In North America, waiters wages are very low and you can't expect having a decent living without tips

[@punditgi]

When I lived in France I became a huge fan of the metric system. Now back in the States I belong to the US Metric Association and the UK Metric Association. Let's join the rest of the world finally! Vive Diane! Vive la France 🇫🇷 ! 😇

[@AnneMB955]

I agree. In Australia we’ve had the metric system for decades. At school I initially learnt Imperial so can use both. Helped when visiting the US 6 times.

[@catholiccowboy8545]

@@AnneMB955 .. yeah sure ... I remember when the metric system and Celcius was introduced in England, it was a shock, a shame for the teabags because it is mainly French. A lot like the late Brexit. They did everything to keep the Imperial, fortunately for them that the English Government did not fold.

[@benjaminrocha6916]

How is Diane?

[@catholiccowboy8545]

.. lol .. What is the difference between " the US Metric Association and the UK Metric Association." ???!! What about the Irish and Scottish & Australian and also the Canadian + others .. Metric Ass. ??

[@vortismelabard4393]

Surtout que les Anglais devaient l'adopter après qu'en contrepartie nous leurs avons laissé le méridien de greenwich plutôt que celui de paris Meudon

[@mdkinfrance]

I work for a company that sends custom building materials around the world from France. All our plans are typically in millimeters or centimeters. When I get quote requests from the USA and I have to read the plans with things like 2'-11 3/16" my eyes go buggy! I have to take all those measurements and convert them to millimeters for our quotes, which is great fun (not!). 😅

[@melissas4874]

2.54 cm to inch - I had to memorize this in university in the U.S., mainly because in the science fields we use the metric system.

[@OuiInFrance]

Ohhh yea I see how tedious that can get

[@Soken50]

Do you charge more for the conversion fee ? I know I would, after generously offering they do it themselves for cheaper :D

[@mdkinfrance]

@@Soken50 Never tried that! 😂

[@ledocteur7701]

as a french industrial product designer dealing with plans using the imperial system is such a massive annoyance. especially the obsession with using fractions, why the fuck would anyone think writing everything in fraction is a good idea ?

[@AlainNaigeon]

A cool thing in metric system is the fact that prefixes are standard : kilo always means a thousand (meters, watts, etc), milli means a thousandth ; the same for mega/micro, etc...

[@philippepotiron6516]

It's why scientists use the metric system. Even US drug dealers are using metric system. Try to buy a pound (lb) of cocain in USA. The dealer will lought at you.

[@matthieub1253]

As a French, when I went in America I found it so infuriating that the price displayed isn't what I paid, I always feel deceived

[@BlairdBlaird]

Also because sales tax can be added to by pretty much any jurisdiction (state, county, city, ...) two stores facing one another can have the same sticker prices yet different till prices. And being in a city does not save you as many cities overlap multiple counties.

[@andreaphillips]

Not in all states!!! Also many states don’t have taxes for food and necessities - such as basic clothes

[@matthewjay660]

Bonjour, Diane. When I lived in France, I got sick and it was very cool that the doctor made a house call to me. I was like, "😲🤯 Whoa!"

[@OuiInFrance]

Yes, SOS Medecins is great!! 🙌

[@janiceschroeder9908]

I love France. It's a wonderful country.

[@paulhdt1677]

But French are assholes

[@synewparadigm]

😂

[@shadowshinx541]

Alas, not anymore for french themselves...

[@AnneMB955]

Me too. In a week I’ll be in France for the 5th time. 🇫🇷🇦🇺

[@Yuyu-sf3ct]

Thanks Janice. Come in France anytime you want ! Tu sera toujours la bienvenue !

[@christinebingham2879]

You are absolutely correct that the French are much better at these things. I wanted to talk about the metric system, though. I am 61. In the mid 70's the US was well on the way to converting to the metric system. I remember that we were learning it in school so that we would be able to use it when it was completely implemented. But, like he did with so many other things, Reagan ruined it when he put the kibosh on it, and cancelled plans for the conversion.

[@rich-ard-style6996]

He wasn't well liked over seas.

[@barryhaley7430]

It’s ironic that when Nixon decided to move the US to metric, Canada had to go along because the US is our largest trading partner. Then Reagan shuts it down. So now we’re also forced into a limbo. Do complete the transition and move everything to metric anyway. Well just think of just the inventory impact. Lumber, for example, would need to be in metric for Canadian consumption and imperial for shipping to the US. So we have some things in metric and others in imperial. This has caused some serious problems. We had a 767 run out of fuel at 41,000 ft. (12,486.8 meters) because of confusion with kg and lbs. The pilots managed to glide it to a safe landing.

[@davenwin1973]

We were supposed to transition again by 1996, but in 1994, the Republicans had control of both the house and senate, and stopped it from happening. Local to me, a federal courthouse was built using the metric system. The window and door makers were also forced to make their windows and doors using the metric system for the courthouse, and actually fought it, until the government threatened to pull their contract from the companies involved.

[@khaelamensha3624]

Well quite sure à lot of engineers use the metric system

[@barryhaley7430]

@@khaelamensha3624 True, most of the technical professions do. But that’s far from the general population. But again much of the general population have difficulty past their fingers and toes.

[@KAUFFMANN7]

Little reminder for the pro-imperial system over the metric one: you are already using it, as the US are members of the "Bureau International des poids et mesures", and all length and mass/weight imperial units are legally defined by the metric system. So the imperial system is just an over-complicated metric system

[@maxdona2452]

VAT in France is 20% "normal" and 5.5% "reduced" (for 1st necessity product like food, electricity, gaz.. for example) there are exceptions, (like 2.1% for medicine) but this is the general idea

[@full_moon_3ssj443]

There is also another exception with that of 10%, which is for renovations and restaurants

[@maxdona2452]

@@full_moon_3ssj443 you are right, but I didn't want to list all the exceptions because there are a lot of them ! (It's France, so exceptions are the norm xD )

[@warny1978]

It used to be 18,6% then 21% and finaly 20%. There also was a 31% tax on luxury goods that have disapeared.

[@full_moon_3ssj443]

@@warny1978Before settling on 20% the tax was 19,6% a few years back

[@warny1978]

@@full_moon_3ssj443 You are right, I forgot this one.

[@NassimPanda]

As a French guy, I should say that those are more "every western country except the US" (or at least every European) thing than a French thing. Sure 5 weeks is in the high end (though you have the same in Scandinavian countries), but the US is pretty much the only country with 0. The list of countries with less than 2 weeks is very very short. Same for metric system, only 3 countries in the world have not officially converted. Taxes were included in the prices pretty much everywhere I have travelled outside of the US. Interestingly (and unfortunately) France is one of the only remaining countries with something ressembling the electoral college, even if it's only to elect senators. Health Insurance also varies a lot between countries, that one I know less but in most EU countries the basic services will be covered for free so I'm pretty sure here also the US is the odd duck.

[@francoisjean1178]

Le sénat n'a rien à voir avec un collège électorale...il est la pour ratifier les lois que l'assemblée nationale propose....vous avez loupé des cours d'histoire ????😅

[@stratonikisporcia8630]

@@francoisjean1178 Non, il veut dire que les sénateurs sont élus par un "collège électoral" composé de maires et de députés :)

[@NassimPanda]

@@stratonikisporcia8630 je vois que ma réponse initiale n'a pas été postée mais c'est exactement ça ! Meme le site du sénat parle de collège électoral.

[@Makarya]

Metric system is still a french invention (one of the few thing that napoleon didn't throw away).

[@--973--]

Au Canada j'en connais qui sont à 6 semaines de CP. Sans compter les jours de maladies payés .

[@jonasweber9408]

“Faire le pont” comes from the fact we “jump” other the working day 😅or we link two free days to make a big weekend If Thursday is a day off and Friday is not, usually companies would let the day free for everyone to make a big weekend for everyone. It’s why we call it faire le pont

[@deniaridley]

One thing that makes more sense to me, especially since I can't remember names, was when greeting people at a dinner party, or any gathering at a friend's house for example, the person arriving greets each person already there individually with the "bise" (the 2 pecks on the cheek) and STATES their name if they're meeting for the first time!!! I love this since it gives me a chance to hear someone's name several times if I'm the person already there. Plus it takes the onus off of the host introducing everyone individually. The ice is broken once someone's kissed you on the cheek. Absolutely brilliant! The amount of pecks will depend on where in France you are and/or also on the level of friendship, but at least 2 on meeting. I've seen and been the recipient of as much as 4 by my best friend's family who were visiting Paris from the south! She said it was reserved for close friends and fam. Awwww I've very often been part of this elaborate exchange in Spain and Italy as well. By the way, sometimes men will just shake hands with each other if they haven't met before. After almost 15 years in Europe I have to remind myself not to do this in the States, since it's automatic now. LOL It WAS strange not doing it for almost 2 years though due to the pandemic. Note: I (obviously) find the "bise" fascinating and kind of nice. It may take some time to get used to it. Not common in more formal corporate environments, I HAVE however seen it in the work environment at least in the south...co-workers in post offices, banks, restaurants, even bus drivers greeting each other when they start or end their shifts, for example.

[@SomeoneInOregon]

I'm from Argentina but have lived in the US for decades, so I notice a lot of those cultural differences every time I go visit family. In Argentina all people greet each other with a single cheek kiss (sometimes "air" cheek kisses), including men greeting one another. In the US even friends might get each other with just a touch-less hi. This is unheard of in Argentina!

[@SyuSept]

Just note that in Belgium, they do just 1 "bise", generally on the left chick. But you're right, to my knowledge, there is no place in France where we do less than 2. I would say that it tends to disappear since Covid :(

[@plumebrise4801]

@@SyuSept Actually in France ,there is 2 department that only do 1 ,and they are Finistère (Britanny ,most western department) and Deux-Sèvres (Nouvelle-Aquitaine ,2nd most northern of the Region and to the East of Vendée)

[@SyuSept]

@@plumebrise4801 oh ok I didn't know that ! Thx for the clarification 👌

[@prouttralala]

nowadays in France since the pandemic the bise is not fully back you can shake and it's ok. and as for the name of people in some situations, when a new person arrive in a group of friend , we do a game of names. The idea is for you to memorize the name of the newcomer, and for the newcomer to memorize the name of everyone.

[@kimc555]

In Canada 🇨🇦 - we use both metric and imperial measurements. Both are displayed at stores, on packaged goods, etc. and to make things even better - it is customary to measure distance by car in hrs it takes to travel. USA could easily switch by adding metric into the system.

[@dougbrowning82]

In Canada, the Imperial system we use is the real Imperial system, not the American system, there is a difference. (ex: the US gallon is actually smaller than the Imperial one). But SI (metric) is the official system here.

[@numanuma20]

I had no idea. Thanks.

[@amyschmelzer6445]

@@dougbrowning82 Canadian recipes can trip American people up because you still use the word cup. Yours is a metric cup that holds a 1/4 of a liter, ie 250 ml. Our cup holds 1/4 of a quart, ie 8 oz or about 237-238 ml. In a recipe that calls for multiple cups of an ingredient that discrepancy could make a big difference in whether a cook is successful or not. Baked goods come to mind. Personally, I am a fan of recipes that use weights rather than volumes. Even better if they use grams and kilograms, but my scale toggles easily between pounds/ounces and kilograms/grams.

[@mayfielcl]

In France we usually have inches on things too

[@ArthurM0rgan63]

@@mayfielcl Huh?

[@femalism1715]

Life is so much less complicated when everyday stuff makes sense! LOL! Thanks Diane.

[@OuiInFrance]

You are so welcome!

[@fishfootface]

Amen to that.

[@iriondalcor]

Mmmhh. Don't be so sure. France is certainly a paradise in a LOT of ways. But french are on the front to make it THE safe space and for everyone ..... where nothing uncertain happens anymore: that's plenty of time left to now live a life time of administration and tax non sense: to be sure it stays this way, they're killing why it's beautiful.

[@kevino.7348]

I love your attitude that things are not necessarily better or worse in either country. If we can avoid instant judgement about the differences, we can then be more open to fully learning and understanding those differences.

[@edwardsmith1237]

Bonjour Diane, very nice video (as always)! The ironic thing about the imperial system is that when the Houses of Parliament burned down in 1834, the various standards that were kept there perished too. So inches, feet, pounds etc have since then all been defined in terms of metric units. The inch, for example, is exactly 25.4 mm. So it's just a different label for the same thing. You hear people say that if the U.S. went metric, they's have to change a lot in manufacturing. That might be. But you could also continue to sell jam in 1lb jars, and just says that it weighs 454 g. To this day, the jam we buy locally in Belgium, but which comes from England (e.g. Rose's Orange Marmelade) is in 454g jar, even though the U.K. supposedly went metric in the '70s of the last century. For the other things you mention, there is a lot of similarity between France and Belgium (where I leave).

[@AlainNaigeon]

Another ironic thing would be to ask "who is the emperor" ?

[@kevino.7348]

Belgium is beautiful!

[@chrisdale5443]

@@AlainNaigeon it used to be the empress Victoria

[@dazaiosamu9255]

Me being French loving the accuracy and how it helps me understand both perspectives, love the content!!

[@misandre]

same mais qui a déja utilisé le terme 'juilletiste'? et 'aoutien'? jamais entendu

[@N3r0shiro]

@@misandre Je ne sais pas pour toutes les régions mais c'est quelque chose que j’entends pas mal plutôt dans la moitié nord de la métropole (St Brieuc, Compiègne, Nancy...).

[@RainbowGamx]

@@N3r0shiro J'habite autours de Soissons, donc pas si loin de Compiègne et j'ai jamais entendu ces mots de ma vie x)

[@N3r0shiro]

@@RainbowGamx En faite il y a une société parallèle en France qui n'utilise pas le même vocabulaire, je ne vois que ça xD

[@christianc9894]

Changer de système de mesure n'est pas simple, c'est évident. Par contre, afficher des prix TTC (quelles que soient les taxes) c'est simple. D'autant que les commerçants US font déjà le travail de calcul et reversement des taxes collectées. Changing the measurement system is not easy, that's obvious. On the other hand, displaying prices including VAT (regardless of taxes) is simple. Especially since US merchants are already doing the work of calculating and paying back the taxes collected.

[@carollee8793]

Here in the UK we apparently started to switch to metric in 1965 but never completely got there! Petrol is sold in litres, road signs are in miles and speedometers are in mph and kph. For seamstresses fabric is still measured in inch widths but only sold in metre lengths. Many recipes are in metric and imperial but chose one and stick to it. Don't mix them up! To further confuse things, I grew up in America where a pint is 16 ounces where here it is 20 ounces - thereby changing the volume of quarts and gallons. When I tell my brothers in the USA the cost of petrol/gas here (don't even mention diesel) I convert a litre to a gallon price, change £ to $ then divide by 4/5 to account for their smaller gallon. Why do I do that? Because they have the gall to complain about their gas prices! 😂

[@shadmtmtn1603]

We also use the pint for beer and other beverage (pinte, in french, quite transparent ^^), but we made it half a liter for simplicity. My mother still used the pound (livre, in french) for meat and cheese when i was young (late 70s early 80s), but again it was half a kilogram for the same reason..

[@marcomarcon5802]

In Australia is the same, but only with older people children and youngster no longer even understand Imperial, which is good and proper

[@gstlb]

It’s worth mentioning that most of these are not just French things, they’re this way all over Europe and for some of them, most of the world.

[@IRACEMABABU]

The metric system, for instance was created by France.

[@Fleuks]

The metric system litteraly come from France.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Being from the UK, we also include tax in the price of things. The U.S. obviously like to encourage customers to work their mental maths skills (math) while shopping. :P

[@patrickchambers5999]

The problem is that the US currently has no Federal Sales Tax, but the taxes are levied at various government levels, state, county, city. Sometimes they come from all three. Since they vary all across the board there is no simple way to include the price on "the sticker" since many goods come pre-priced from the manufacturer.

[@xouxoful]

Aha british sarcasm spotted 😅

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

@@xouxoful 😛

[@richardbrinkerhoff]

It costs the US for not using the metric system. Industrial goods for example often have to be measured in metric as well for sale in the 99% of countries that use the metric system.

[@AmauryJacquot]

in fact, all units of the US customary system are now legally defined in terms of metric units by nist

[@lindab2426]

I’m moving to France 🇫🇷 😁

[@The_Bakers_Loft]

Hi Diane! I just found your channel! My husband agrees with you about the metric system. I'm a baker and I always weigh my ingredients. I love the work ethic in France as well all of Europe. I wish tax was included here in states. Don't even get me started about our health care in the U.S. Great video!

[@OuiInFrance]

Welcome Wendy, glad you're here!

[@melissas4874]

Just a nerdy note on something regarding measurements. I'm a chemist (the U.S. kind) and In your example of measuring flour? Because it is dry everyone should ideally do it by weight (gram/oz) and I think most professional bakers do, but the reality is most people in the U.S. don't own a kitchen scale. For liquids though? It is typically better to do it by volume (cups/mL). This is because many volume measuring devices account for any liquids that may stick to the wall of the container. So in your example, the liquid you add to the cake may be less if you measure it into a separate bowl before adding to the mix. It would slightly depend on what that bowl is made of. I work for a company with a division in France - they are definitely "Les Aoutiens". They will typically warn us in July and we have to make a list of things we may need before the take their time off.

[@OuiInFrance]

Super interesting, thank you! I tend to use glass bowels when I weigh my flour and sugar and try to get everything out.

[@piervail]

Bonjour Diane. As a Canadian (Québécois) I should mention you that the Imperial system is a 'British' system that in a way the Americans get rid of. For exemple it took 4 pints to fill an imperial gallon but it takes 5 pints of the US system to fill our gallon. Of course we in Canada are using the metric system now but old people like me still remembered the 'old times'. And I should say I prefer the metric system but we still using the US system just because of doing business with them. So we may say we're 'bilingual (or by-systemal?) Have a nice day : )

[@melaniezette886]

Thanks of quebecois

[@miyounova]

supposedly you use the metrtic system, but I hear Canadians talk about cups, pounds, sq ft for their homes, ft and in for people, all the time. When I find a recipe in French that measures bloody butter in cups, I know I've found a Canadian recipe.

[@chrisdale5443]

i think you'll find that the imperial gallon has 8 pints, the USA made their gallons smaller so that there stuff appeared bigger😁

[@piervail]

@@chrisdale5443 Hi Chris. No it's not 8 but 5 American pints to an Imperial gallon. As in the British Empire it's always 4 pints to a gallon. (4 Imperial pints to an Imperial gallon of course). Trust me I'm old enough to remember. I remember seeing Lee Oswald being shot live on tv!

[@athrunzala6770]

C'est le propre des Québécois de naviguer entre les deux culture ? No offense juste le regard d'un cousin français

[@cadileigh9948]

UK succeeded in changing long ago and despite grumps protesting we managed to get our heads around it. I'm fluent in both but was interested to learn recently from Polymathy that Celsius is actually the official system in the USA and has been since the beginning !

[@kevino.7348]

I’m an American… I think distance and weight would not be that hard to convert… most things you buy already show the metric equivalent, and car speedometers have metric displayed as well as imperial, etc. But temperature is the most difficult to change… it’s so ingrained in us to think of, say, 50 as cool, 70 as comfortable, 80 was warm, 90 as hot. Celsius is just hard to get my head around!

[@Sir77Hill]

​@@kevino.7348 Celsius is actually very simple, even more simple than Farenheit. 0°C is freezing (literally !) 10°C is mildly cold, 20°C is kind of the perfect température (in fact, some genuine studies were made about the subject!) 30°C is comfortably hot, 40°C is disturbingly hot for most humans and above 50°C, temperatures are simply unbearable for every living species. See? Simple!

[@dudono1744]

@@kevino.7348 probably because +1 in Celsius is more impactful than +1 in Farenheit. 0 F and 100 F are both quite tangible. while 0 C is tangible, 100 C is a bit less easy to think about. However Farenheit's definition is outright crazy while Celsius' definition is reasonable.

[@warny1978]

@@kevino.7348 Here's what you should remember to get used to metrics temperatures : 0°C : water freezes at sea level 4°C : least water volume fr a given weight at sea level. This temperature was used to define the Kilogram from 1L of water. 18°C : least energy consumption when doing an effort 21°C : least energy consumption when resting 25°C : comfort 28°C : least energy consumption in water doing an effot 30°C : hot 31°C : least energy consumption in water resting 32°C : dangerous inner body temperature (too cold) 35°C : worrying inner body temperature (too cold) 35°C : very hot 36.5°C : normal inner body temperature. If the air is 100% wet you can't stand any temperature above. 39°C : worrying inner body temperature (too hot) 41°C : dangerous inner body temperature (too hot) 100°C : water boils at sea level

[@susancampbell4062]

Moi aussi, j'étais fonctionnaire (professeur de piano au Conservatoire de Montpellier) Je suis retraitée maintenant. J'ai la double nationalité USA/France. J'aime beaucoup le contenu de vos videos! J'identifie avec vos remarques et vos commentaires quand aux differences du quotidien entre les deux pays. Bravo...continuez!

[@jd3422]

You make excellent points here, Diane. Thanks for this.

[@timourchayipov9248]

I use to work with people from UK, they said: it is 3 ways to do anything: right way, wrong way and French way.... :) well... for me French way is good...

[@quoniam426]

Metric system is based on Earth circumference approx 40 000 km. One meter is one 40th million of Earth Circumference. Other mezsurements are based on a set weight or volume and then obey multiples of 10 to be converted more easily.

[@AnneMB955]

Thx for this vid explaining some differences. So looking fwd to my 5th visit next month. Practising my French phrases. Cheers from 🇦🇺

[@leignec]

About metric system. All of ours units are related to water. Some examples: one litter of water (volume) is 1kg (weight), it’s also 1000 cm3 witch is the volume of a cube sized 10x10x10 cm. Also water freezes at 0 celcius and it’s boiling at 100.

[@georgesmartinez2301]

There is another strange difference I have noticed. In France (and probably in all Europe), people speak about how much gas they need to drive 100 km. In the US, people speak about how long they can drive with a gallon. It is rather difficult to switch from one way to the other ! Even if we replace gallons by liters, it is really another way of thinking about traveling.

[@jeremycarpentier5696]

I think its because of the difference of the size between our countries. In like 9hours you can go from west to east of france so 1 hour to drive seems more fo us

[@IRACEMABABU]

It just depends on which number is divided by the other. If you divide the amount of fuel used by the distance made, you get X liters for 100 Km. If you divide the distance made by the amount of fuel used, you get X Km for one liter. Very easy.

[@georgesmartinez2301]

@@IRACEMABABU Obviously, from a strictly mathematical point of view, you are right. But to my opinion, this difference makes sense and explains a lot about different behaviours between France and the US. It is not only a question of how you divide. When you divide the amount of fuel by the distance, you put the light on the expense, how much liters (and so, money) you have to use to make a fixed distance. This fits very well with a rather small country, with very high oil costs and very few places where it is difficult to refuel, as for France, or probably other european countries. When you divide the distance by the amount of fuel, you put the light on the maximum distance you can drive without refueling, and you don't pay attention to the cost at all. This is really adapted to huge countries with very long distances and a lot of places where refueling can be a real difficulty (especially inside the Rocky Mountains for exemple), and where the fuel cost is very low. So the difference goes far beyond just a different way of dividing. It is a different way of living the world. And both ways are okay, they reflect different realities, that's all.

[@Kriss352]

4:15 actually many people in France including me have way more than 5 weeks of paid vacation. Like your husband I'm a civil servant (working in Geomatics). 5 weeks is what a person working full time (35 hours) a week will get, but I work 39 hours not 35 and then at the end of the year I have got almost 10 weeks of paid vacation (5 weeks for the law minimum + 4.8 weeks because each week I add 4 hours of paid vacation, 188 hours a year (47 weeks*4 hours), divided by 39 hours = 4.8 weeks). 2 and a half months of paid vacation a year, which is a system I love as I'd rather work 39 hours a week than 35 hours and have more paid vacation. If you add up public holidays, if they happen on a weekday like most in 2023, I can easily exceed 11 weeks of paid vacation a year total

[@cbll1962]

Happy New Year! Definitely agree on most of what you discussed. Tax, healthcare and elections are handled really well in France. Unfortunately, the US consistently does its own thing, whether or not it makes sense 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@scpmdt]

Thank you Diane Your vlogs are so informative. It is of real help to us even though we have been to France many times before covid but only for holidays. Now from next month it will be more permanent & some things you cover are sometimes not what we needed on holidays, so please keep your vlogs coming. Thank you again & God Bless

[@frankmitchell3594]

Always interesting to hear how others do things. Thinking of baking, even years ago my grandmother in England always weighed the ingredients in pounds and ounces. She never used cup measures.

[@cyrilroux7830]

Love the fact you love my country ! Thx 😊

[@roberttradd1224]

Thank you so very much for sharing this wonderful informative video. Ive always been intrigued by French culture. .

[@OuiInFrance]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@krc5210]

Enjoyed this content. Traveling to France in May. 😃

[@candrerc25]

Great video! Love your videos and love your channel! Love France too! Best wishes from Brazil!

[@OuiInFrance]

Thanks so much!

[@nancywysemen7196]

good story.hope you do some outside footage when weather permits. sure some questions and fun facts or just different outlooks will arise looking at folks moving about. fun for me!

[@heathergrigsby1094]

Enjoy your vidéos & those ideas resonate with me as well. 👍

[@OuiInFrance]

Glad you like them!

[@nombretau5590]

This year, 2023, we got a nice month of may. Four no-work but paid days : - 1st : fête du travail, - 8th : WW2 victory - 18th : l'Ascension - 29th : lundi de Pentecôte.

[@fishfootface]

I live in New Zealand where the tax is also included in the price of whatever you're buying. I can't imagine how annoying it must be not to know the full until you get to the counter. It would drive me crazy as I live on a tight budget.

[@13c11a]

Thank you. I really enjoy your videos.

[@OuiInFrance]

I'm so glad! Merci

[@californiaglo9666]

Great video! If I could move to France, I would. California is a big mess. We have so many taxes that keep going up. Please find me a French husband lol. I am 62 years old. 😊 I always learn so many things from your videos.

[@melissas4874]

There is no place that isn't a mess. The French have lots of taxes as well and many have to pay for a supplemental insurance on top of the govt subsidized one. The people there are very capable of shutting the entire country down - if U.S. citizens don't like the strikes here? They absolutely would HATE the ones in France.

[@biobiwan8047]

Grève générale 🤤 Vazy vient on bloc le pays le 7 mars contre la réforme, on aimerais que tu sois là aussi ✊

[@shadmtmtn1603]

​@@melissas4874lol, you're so right ! Look how it goes these past weeks, and how it will go if the govt doesn't change his mindset about retirement at 64yo in the next few weeks ! All unions united for the 1st time, and union leaders pushing to block the entire country 😉

[@fbrosseau]

Alors pourquoi avant d'aller en France ne viendriez-vous pas au Québec ? Nous ne sommes ni les États-Unis ni la France. Par contre nous avons beaucoup de ressemblances avec la France, il y a tout près de 80% de la polpulation qui est francophone (et plus que 80% en dehors de Montréal) et nous sommes votre pays voisin. Alors venez explorer le Québec.

[@jostock564]

Good presenatation and you explain clearly. All those things in France we also have in Australia so make perfect sense. The metric system, annual holiday leave, taxes included in prices, medical insurance and more.

[@geekdaddy5351]

Just a précision for public holiday, and "faire le pont" "Faire le pont" is possible when you have one working day between public holiday and week end : you just make a link, a bridge between the two event. The best situation is when public holiday is on wednesday. It mean 2 day before or after for the bridge. Some call it "viaduc" : a very long bridge. And of course, the extra day off are taken in our vacation days stock (our 5 weeks, or in additive senior day stock, "jours d'ancienete", or in our RTT hours stock (the Reduction of Working Time, approximately 2,5 hours earn each month) But for 2023, we will not "faire le pont" we just will have a long week end.

[@Reivaki]

You can. Thursday 18 is a jour férié. :D

[@geekdaddy5351]

@@Reivaki yes, and I will ! In fact, I have no choice. Our employer put a vacation day on friday, without asking.

[@Jayfox2024]

You don’have to pay someone to do your taxes. French IRS already filled the document for you you just have to check if correct and click OK

[@maxbarko8717]

Many bigger companies in the US switched to the metric system decades ago (e.g. car manufacturers). It saved them millions. And the imperial systemischer defined by the metric system. So actually just a complicated layer over the metric system.

[@thedavidguy01]

Hi Diane, one of the things that I prefer in France is the train system, especially the TGVs. The trains in the US are a disaster. On the other hand I’m not so fond of all the strikes, especially by the SNCF.

[@femalism1715]

I agree 100%!!! Transportation systems in France (all over Europe) are stellar.

[@OuiInFrance]

Yes, for sure! The strikes aren't ideal but the railway system is top notch!

[@noefillon1749]

Well... it could be really better if the State invested correctly during the last decades. The secondary network (not the high speed one) is in very bad shape. May be some of the least frequented lines should be closed and replaced by buses (trains run at 60kph on them so buses will perform way better anyway) and truly invest in the remaining secondary lines and especially on the jammed railway nodes that are the main cause of the trains being late. All this to say that portraying Europe as a paradise where everything is perfect sometimes is misleading, even though some are better (and some are far better) than in the US. It's never good enough and always has room for improvement (or how to tell you are French without telling you are French).

[@thedavidguy01]

@@noefillon1749 I know, in addition, that many of the lines that serve more rural areas no longer have service. However, French trains allowed me to visit most of France at a reasonable cost. In the USA, there’s almost no train service except on the east coast and those trains are slow and ridiculously expensive.

[@sibyllevincendon2176]

Rarely on TGV...

[@paulbismut8522]

"Le système métrique" merci !

[@rufusreloaded1043]

A mile - mille - a thousand Roman steps

[@gengis737]

Thanks for the video. There is a kind of electoral college for the French Senate, who moderates the laws adopted by the Assemblée (Representatives): only persons with an electoral mandate (mayors, local councils, etc.) can elect the Senators. Making them much more conservative, and the majority much more stable, than the Representatives. And you did not mention the 35 hours work week. People usually work a full 40 hours a week (and even more for managers, who have no strict schedule), but get 12 additional days off as a compensation, on top of the 5 vacation weeks. So no need to take vacations for a medical or administrative appointment, just use these 12 days. The consequence is that work in France is on average more intensive than in USA, you have to deliver your work in time, whatever the days off, and as you are less tired you will work at faster pace.

[@b.w.9244]

Going to France in May!

[@OuiInFrance]

Have a great trip!

[@amesbancal]

Très bonne émission

[@jouffroy47]

Bonne année !

[@rhodamercado4102]

My husband got 6 weeks holiday!

[@playlistmusiquederolf7104]

as a French citizen, I really like your way of presenting things, your objectivity. your explanations are clear, factual and allow us to better understand certain cultural differences. thank you for your contribution to a better understanding of each other.

[@OuiInFrance]

Thank you very much!

[@ludovic5293]

Hello Diane. A meter, made a standard by the french after the revolution of 1789, was actually determined by a line going from the north pole to the equator that passes by the Paris observatory(1/4 of a meridian, divided by 10 000 000).The US already makes heavy use of the metric system, even though most people don't realize it. The Dollar is actually metric, optics are in mm( 35mm, 70mmfilm, 50mm lenses, ...), drugs are measured in the metric system, nutrition, bottles volume, car engine capacity has changed from ci to cc or liters, What remains really, is only about cooking measurements, distances, and temperatures.

[@shadmtmtn1603]

And all US customary units are defined by their metric counterpart since 1893 ! See "metrification in the US" on Wiki 😉

[@Thedemonlord66]

yeah even the ammunition they are so fond of is in mm.

[@IRACEMABABU]

Even distances are in metric system. The "official" mile is internationally defined in meters.

[@khaelamensha3624]

About the 5 week of vacation one thing should be said, French are in the top 5 of productivity. OK people know about our holidays our strikes but this system is not as appealing as it seems as for example extra hours for white collar are not paid generally. I am paid for a mission, if I have to do 8 hours a day to do it, good for me. If I need 10 hours well it is my problem 😁

[@shadmtmtn1603]

Many US employees are on salary, not hourly, and are expected to work 50 to 60 hours on a 40h contract ! Without paid leaves nor medical leaves...

[@khaelamensha3624]

@@shadmtmtn1603 😞

[@IRACEMABABU]

@@shadmtmtn1603 The difference is that holidays, free time, etc... are rights in France but advantages in US. French workers stood for their rights, with radical strikes, protests, etc... to make theses advantages become rights. French workers don't have slave mentality.

[@kathyg8510]

Well done😊

[@OuiInFrance]

Thanks 😊

[@walrustrent2001]

We have sort of an electoral college for the Senate, so as to counterweight the power of big cities. An electoral college does make sense.

[@conbertbenneck49]

Bon Anne for you to! Despite people in America being "against" the Metric System, they are totally unaware that they have become a metric country too. Every car is now metric; everything you buy from a metric country, from Europe or Asia - PCs, cell phones, appliances, are built to metric specs and you will need a set of metric wrenches or tools to work on it. Have you checked the fine print on your American water bottle lately? You'll find that it is 500 ml, not ounces.

[@shadmtmtn1603]

True since 1893 👍😉

[@mwasted696]

We say "making a bridge" when : It's a "bridge" when a thursday is a holiday, saturday and saturday and sunday are traditionally off days and you/your boss decides to close shop on friday to link them, you "make a bridge" between the holiday and the weekend.

[@annamaria-pv1fw]

thx

[@Ineden774]

Changing to the Metric system was tried in the 70s. There was a country-wide launch and materials were sent to schools. People just wouldn’t do it. So, it never happened. The idea was abandoned. 🤷‍♀️ I remember it well.

[@thomasrennuit2105]

Thank you for the vidéo ! Just a quick correction : France does have an elecotral college for a few elections. For example : le Sénat (2nd chamber of the frenche Parlement) is elected that way

[@GrMlvx]

Also to add (but maybe it's the same in the US) that stores have to also display the price per kilogramme or price per litre which helps compare prices between two products of different brands. And I'd like to see a reverse video.

[@dbaker3751]

Noise is a big thing. I was at a restaurant yesterday in Flagstaff Arizona and it was VERY noisy. This is very American and does not occur in France. I can't wait to return to La France.

[@melissas4874]

Mostly cheap restaurant chains are like this. If you want a more quiet dinner you have to go somewhere a bit more expensive.

[@ladysparkymartin]

I totally agree with all these! But I’m not holding my breath for changes in the US. 🤷‍♀️

[@gardengeek3041]

Diane, I am a great fan of your continuing to show us these differences .... In the same way you've been doing, without passing judgment. You'll never run out of interesting material. We are as fascinated by the French as they are by us. Their society is as diverse and undergoing as much change as ours.

Note that national health care (social security / sécurité sociale) is a base of coverage but is often supplemented by private insurance (mutuelle santé) for better coverage.

[@IRACEMABABU]

But if you suffer a heavy and long disease (like cancer, diabetis, heart disease, etc...) the Social Security (SS) is covering 100% for ALL that is related to this desease. I had an open- heart surgery 4 years ago, the total cost of all the 6 monthes process was about 70 000 Euros (75 000 $), and i paid NOTHING. I still have 3 big health checks each year, 2 of them being very expensive, and i continue paying nothing....

[@mayaklast6334]

Outside of prices for specific acts being written, you know when you make an appointment if your doctor is 'sector 1' or 'sector 2' so if their prices are regulated you'll pay the same anywhere and already know before making an appointment... a GP will be 25 euros reimboursed 16,50 euros by your basic insurance, paid or free depending on your financial situation, or completely if you have a complementary insurance. No surprise there.

[@ledganache]

4:49 Do a bridge between a thursday to the week-end, so taking a vacation on a Friday, is a bad idea. For some reason, many companies apply a strange rule, that you gain your Saturday only if you work on Friday. And so, if you use one day of vacation on a Friday to make this bridge, you lost 2 days of vacation. Also, if you do not work the day before or the day after a public hollyday, your employer can deduct this public holiday from your salary.

[@tmx6222]

Hey ! Im french and it’s funny to see what you think of our country, cause im kind of used to so yeah… it’s funny

[@davidwelch1981]

Back in the 1970s the US made a stab at converting to metric and then backed away from it and I think a lot of the reason was that they used dual measurements in a way that made it seem much more complex. I remember it on road mileage signs that would be in both measurements and it might say: 12 miles/19.31km, which just created a sense of it involving complex arithmetic. Would have been better to just shift and let people get used to what Km felt like.

[@santamanone]

The US wanted to go metric from the very beginning (1797 when the first Congress met) but we stayed on customary because our prime European trading partner used it (England)

[@ffcwatercolors5552]

All good reasons to live in France! I have many expat friends in Paris, but my time there is limited to a month at a time, due to family here (I'm widowed). My expat friends and I are always making these same comparisons. Thanks for your video!

[@OuiInFrance]

You're very welcome!

[@Luxia_K.]

"Faire le pont" is a peculiar thing. It is for example when a national holiday falls on thursday so you delibarately take a day off on friday to have a four days week-end. That's why it is a "bridge", because you connect two time periods kinda. If the holiday is on friday it's just a long week-end in the first place, and you can chose whether you'd rather "faire le pont" or not :)

[@BadMonkeyTouring]

The price plus tax thing in the USA drives my French wife crazy.

[@jacktremblay71]

Much similar to Canada (Québec) except for tips and taxes which are not included in our prices.. I still do not get why we do not include the taxes in the price here ! Your French is impeccable by the way!

[@julienduvivier3199]

Surtout le pourboire au Québec, horrible

[@feraudyh]

Les aoutiens is not to be confused with les aoutats!

[@IRACEMABABU]

But they are more prone to suffer of them....

[@maxulic]

4:13 It goes even beyond being encouraged to take your paid vacation, it is on the employer to make sure that you take them. If any incident happens to you on your workplace and we find out that you couldn't get your rest, it is very easy to put the blame for your incident on your employer with the reason being that you are overworked. And this is like winning the lottery for you.

[@olivier2553]

Because you use an image of a Thai supermarket, VAT is also included in the price here.

[@Benji_Toshi]

The TVA is 20% for general products 5% for food/ essential products and 0% for some products ( like Sanitary napkin )

[@lepoulpedelespace3635]

It is always interesting to peek about what poeple from other country thinks or noticed about where you live. Brings things you take for granted in a different perspective. I was aware of the health cover or the imperial/metric system, but I had no idea shops in the US didn't have the VAT included in their pricetags. Is it so the goods look more affordable at a glance or is there a different reason ?

[@LadyArachnea]

Bonour Diane ;) Bonne Année et plein de succès !! Je suis régulièrement tes vidéos mais je commente rarement ; désolée. En parlant du 'Système Impérial "; çà me rappelle le cas de la sonde spatiale Mars Orbiter en 1999... Ah les américains et leur ego-trip.. La NASA avait travaillé avec Lockheed Martin pour construire le vaisseau spatial et, pour une raison non identifiée, un morceau du logiciel de Lockheed Martin pour le projet faisait ses calculs en impérial. La NASA, elle, faisait ses calculs en métrique (comme la plupart des scientifiques américains qui eux ont su s'adapter). La sonde représentait un investissement total de plus de 325 millions de dollars américains, tout ça perdu parce qu’une entreprise a persisté à utiliser le système impérial alors que le reste de la planète utilise le système métrique. CHAPEAU les gars !!! well done !

[@hwkdfs]

Mars Climate Orbiter

[@mrsporty9669]

Just logic and simple

[@jicky078]

Faire le pont is not for extended weekends, it's when a holyday lands on a Thursday or Tuesday and you take a vacation day between the holyday and the weekend to make it a 4 days weekend

[@OuiInFrance]

Thus an extended weekend ;-)

[@4CardsMan]

When baking, it's much more handy to have measures of volume, not weight, so I stick with cups and tablespoons.

[@alizey1342]

5:51 in USA taxes are not included in the price because taxes change with the Law of the state in question. In France we don't have this system per region so we can include taxes in prices

[@catholiccowboy8545]

Ça n'a rien à voir. Il y a la taxe Fédérale et la taxe de l'État. Chaque État a une taxe qui est différente des autres États et certains États n'ont aucune taxe. La tx n'est pas inclue dans le prix c'est simplement pour tromper le consommateur. Quoique ça ne trompe personne.

[@adrienhb8763]

Bonne année. There is an electoral college in France when you vote for the senat or for a few cities when the mayor is elected. It is not the majority of the countries which uses the metric system. It’s all the countries but the US and one or two others. Not even sure about them. :D

[@robertjamesstove]

I believe, @Adrien HB, that the two other countries which avoid the metric system are Liberia and Myanmar. What stunning economic powerhouses they both are. Not.

[@laurentgaget3825]

The simplicity of the metric system: 1 centimeter=10 millimeters 1 decimeter=10 centimeters 1 metre = 100 centimetres 1 kilometer = 1000 meters The same goes for liters: 1 liter = 1000 milliliters = 100 centiliters etc... Same for kilos: 1 kilo = 1000 grams 1 ton = 1000 kilos etc... Liter-Centimeter link: 1 liter corresponds to the volume of a 10 cm cube Temperatures (Celsius vs Fahrenheit): water boils at 100°C (vs 212°F) and freezes at 0° (vs 32°F). So easy !

[@joe.ps5]

Thank you for metric system.. I m subscribing just for that.. Can I ask what makes you want to stay in France ?

[@OuiInFrance]

Hi, my husband is French and I've been here a decade. We've created a nice life for ourselves and enjoy the pace of life, the fact that healthcare is a human right and won't bankrupt you, and a whole bunch of other things that make sense for us. This blog post may give you more insight: www.ouiinfrance.com/best-things-about-living-in-france-as-an-american