Madame, your obedient servant am I

In America, the French are often mocked for being old-fashioned, ensconced in useless formalities and lacking that warmth which makes Americans so straightforward in their personal relationships. Every American tourist guide that I happen to look at never misses to insist on the importance of being polite and respectful of a certain set of social rules when addressing the French.

One of the French’s strange habits is hand-kissing. Not that it is practiced on a daily level by every Frenchman to every woman he meets but yet, as a regular offender myself, I can attest it is always welcomed with a certain shy delight by ladies, particularly the ones from over the pond…

Now, here’s another Frenchman who often indulges in hand-kissing. Yes, Jacques Chirac, the former French President, was an enthusiastic adept of hand-kissing and everyone concedes he was a master at it. Whether with Laura Bush or Angela Merkel, the man knew how to behave. Speaking of Angela Merkel, the lady has had another opportunity to be greeted in a more modern version by another head of State…

One must concede Americans are right, the French often are too formal and waste too much time in meaningless niceties but then again, doesn’t it have a charm of its own?

Note 1: It goes without saying that this post doesn’t address all Americans but rather one in particular…

Note 2: The picture is the Arnolfini portrait by Jan van Eyck (1434), in London, National Gallery.