Do They Speak English in France? Paris, Small Towns, and the Words You'll Need

“Can I just do this in English?”

“I’ve heard the French won’t speak English to you. Is that true?”

If you’ve booked a trip to France and don’t speak a word of French, you’ve probably asked yourself both.

Here’s my answer. English won’t always work in France, and you’ll rarely be stuck on a vacation anyway. That’s truest in Paris.

I went with little more than a few greetings, and I was rarely stuck.

Once you leave Paris, and especially in small towns and villages, you’ll meet more people who don’t speak English. For those moments, Bonjour, a few words, and pointing will get you through.

Will English get you through a trip to France?

Not everywhere, but you’ll rarely be stuck on a vacation, and in Paris least of all.

In the shops and hotels around the sights in Paris, English did the job for me. The people who sell to tourists and work with them all day speak enough English to do their jobs. When someone doesn’t, a few words and a pointed finger usually close the gap.

I pointed at menus and shelves plenty of times. It works better than you’d think, because a vacation is mostly short errands: where you want to go, what you want, how much it costs.

Not everyone in France speaks English, though. In the European Commission’s language survey, about 4 in 10 people in France say they can hold a conversation in English. That’s under half.

So in Paris you’ll still meet people without English now and then, more often away from the sights. Cab drivers are one example. Show them the address on your phone.

What changes once you leave Paris?

In small towns and villages, more people won’t speak English, and a phrase book or translation app in your pocket starts doing real work.

I ran into it myself in a small town in the Provence countryside, where English didn’t always get me through. Paris is its own place in France. Away from it, you can’t count on English in the bakery or the corner shop.

So if your trip leaves Paris for smaller places, bring a phrase book or a translation app. Look up the word, then show it.

In the middle of a conversation, though, pulling out a translator isn’t practical. That’s why a few words you can say out loud still matter.

Is it rude to start in English?

Not if you say Bonjour first. Starting in English with no greeting is what goes wrong, and after a Bonjour, asking in English is fine.

In France, a visit to a shop starts with Bonjour. Walk in and launch straight into “Excuse me, do you have…”, and to the person behind the counter it sounds like you skipped hello.

I felt the difference on my own trip. When I started with Bonjour, people’s manner softened.

So walk in and say Bonjour, madame or Bonjour, monsieur. Wait for the Bonjour back. Then ask Vous parlez anglais?

Use madame for any woman, whatever her age. You can leave mademoiselle out of your trip entirely.

Often you’ll get English back right away. Sometimes the reply comes in French.

That happened to me, and I was left not understanding. That’s what the next few lines are for.

What do you say when they answer in French?

Tell them, in French, that you didn’t understand, and ask them to say it again or slow down.

• Je ne comprends pas. (I don’t understand.)
• Vous pouvez répéter, s’il vous plaît? (Could you say that again, please?)
• Vous pouvez parler plus lentement? (Could you speak more slowly?)
• Je ne parle pas bien français. (I don’t speak French well.)

You can use these without understanding a single word of what they said. All you have to notice is that you didn’t understand.

Say the cashier asks you something long and quick, and none of it lands. Je ne comprends pas tells them where you are.

Je ne parle pas bien français tells them why. From there, they can say it again more slowly, try English, or point. You can point too.

The two questions that start with Vous pouvez work the same way as Vous parlez anglais? Keep the order of a plain sentence and let your voice rise at the end.

These are the lines I’d want ready before the trip, along with Vous parlez anglais? They’re all in one short lesson in Learn French - Travel & Speak. You see the English, say the French out loud, then hear it, until it comes out in a few seconds.

What should you be able to say before you go?

One full exchange in a shop, from walking in to walking out, in five steps. The two ends are short French. The middle can be English.

1. Walking in: Bonjour, madame (or monsieur).
2. If someone offers to help and you’re only looking: Je regarde, merci. If you need help: Vous parlez anglais?
3. The middle, in English. If an answer comes back in French: Je ne comprends pas, or Vous pouvez répéter, s’il vous plaît?
4. Paying: Je voudrais payer, s’il vous plaît.
5. Leaving: Merci, au revoir. If they say Bonne journée, say it back.

At the registers I went through in France, every exchange began with Bonjour and ended with Bonne journée.

In shops, I asked to pay with Je voudrais payer. L’addition, s’il vous plaît is for restaurants and cafés, where it asks for the check.

Say the five steps out loud tonight, in order, until you can get from walking in to walking out without looking.

Sources

• European Commission, Special Eurobarometer 540, Europeans and their languages: https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/surveys/detail/2979