La Belle Vie: Embracing mistakes in both French and English, plus France's top farm show

Local France

21-02-2025

La Belle Vie is our regular look at the real culture of France – from language to cuisine, manners to films. This newsletter is published weekly and you can receive it directly to your inbox, by going to your newsletter preferences in 'My account'.
I am very sad to say that this year I will have to miss out on one of my favourite events in the French cultural calendar: France's biggest farm show, due to a trip away.
I rave about the Salon de l'Agriculture to everyone that will listen. For my fellow city dwellers, it's a wonderful opportunity to go look at (and smell) some of the country's award-winning farm animals.
As a foreigner, the Salon de l'Agriculture is also a perfect way to get an overview of French cuisine and savoir-faire. You can taste everything from local wines to olive oil directly from the south of France, via Alsatian choucroute and of course more types of cheese than you can count. It's very worth the visit if you find yourself in the Paris area at the end of February, though be warned that it can get crowded quickly. I recommend going on a weekday if possible and booking your ticket in advance.
Trade and farm shows are an underrated way to get a taste of French gastronomy, and they can also be a nice way to practice your French with willing participants. That said, you might find yourself having to shout over the crowds, so practising French in a quieter environment might be better.
The one complaint I hear from a lot of fellow foreigners is about how challenging it is to get people to respond in French. If it's clear you're still a beginner, native French speakers might assume it is easier to speak English with you. It's hard to overcome this, but the traditional advice is true: just keep speaking French until they speak French back.
If this fails, do not consider switching to English to be a total loss. Odds are the French person you are speaking with is not completely bilingual and eventually they will make some mistakes. I've found that paying attention to the mistakes French people make in English can really improve your French, as convoluted as that may sound.
Over the years, my relationship dynamic has turned into me speaking mostly in English and my partner speaking mostly in French. It works for us, though we have both noticed that sometimes we often unintentionally use exact (though incorrect) translations of words from the other language.
For example, I recounted a story about the Covid-19 lockdowns recently and said something along the lines of "During confinement, the police were stationed next to the Monoprix to control people."
I did not even notice how strange that sentence would sound to any random English speaker (and neither did my partner). I don't know how much of this is a subconscious attempt to make my English more clear for him, or if my brain really has gone native. Either way, my English clearly has suffered a bit from the French influence.
I made another one of these mistakes a few days ago. One of my close friends from the US is planning a visit in May, and texted her some ' resto ' recommendations. Apparently 'resto' is not a common abbreviation for 'restaurant' in English.
We got to chatting about how she might spend her days while I am at work, and she expressed some concern about not speaking French. I reassured her that as a tourist (especially in a big city like Paris), as long as you make an effort to say hello in French and maybe memorise the line Je ne parle pas français, people will be generous with you.
Unsurprisingly, the Paris region is the part of the country with the best English level, but Paris is not France's #1 city in this regard.
There are some parts of France where you can reliably find English-speaking electricians and bars filled with English-speakers, thanks to the many British second-home owners.
It's more than just a rumour that Brits love south-west France - the data backs it up too. Nouvelle-Aquitaine is the top region, with Brits representing 45 percent of all non-resident buyers in 2022. It contains the popular départements of Dordogne and Charente.
These areas are a good option if it is a priority to move to an area with a high number of fellow native English speakers. That said, sometimes these parts of France are targets for 'cheap French property' ads.
If the property is being sold at a shockingly low price, usually there is a reason. It might need expensive repairs, or it might actually be a viager property (meaning it will continue belonging to its elderly inhabitant until their death).