# Handshake in France



## jonasw19 (Jun 11, 2010)

I have recently come across a new, to me, style of hand shake.
The female dentist proffered her hand flat .
Naturally I shook it but converted it to the more conventional vertical type.
There was no unseemly arm wrestling, but I wonder what the correct form is.

Jon


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## eurajohn (May 9, 2005)

Handshaking here is very common, what a lot of workers do (usually if they have dirty / soiled hands) will be to offer you a wrist, which will normally be clasped and used as the handshake.
I wonder if this what what you were actually offered?

.


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## EJB (Aug 25, 2007)

You were supposed to kiss the back of her hand and bow.....she was a Dentist after all!:wink2::grin2:


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## caulkhead (Jul 25, 2007)

jonasw19 said:


> I have recently come across a new, to me, style of hand shake.
> The female dentist proffered her hand flat .
> Naturally I shook it but converted it to the more conventional vertical type.
> There was no unseemly arm wrestling, but I wonder what the correct form is.
> ...


Are you sure she wasn't holding her hand out "gimee the money" style? :wink2:


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Try a bit of tongue next time messing about shaking hands :roll: Mwah Mwah :kiss: :kiss:


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## Drew (May 30, 2005)

A straightforward question.

One straightforward answer.

Three irrelevant answers??? Why bother to reply with drivel if you cannot answer the question?


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Drew said:


> A straightforward question.
> 
> One straightforward answer.
> 
> Three irrelevant answers??? Why bother to reply with drivel if you cannot answer the question?


Pedant Alert, you didn't ask a question, you wondered, we being jovial chaps volunteered a few silly answers to keep it up page til someone of your calibre came along.

I'll not bother you again


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## caulkhead (Jul 25, 2007)

Drew said:


> A straightforward question.
> 
> One straightforward answer.
> 
> Three irrelevant answers??? Why bother to reply with drivel if you cannot answer the question?


It's called banter! It's what 'friends' do, even virtual ones. :kiss:


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Drew didn't ask the question. He just popped in to tell you three off. Quite rightly in my opinion.

Frivolity has no place here. Far too much frivoling goes on and it should be stamped out with a firm hand.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

erneboy said:


> Drew didn't ask the question. He just popped in to tell you three off. Quite rightly in my opinion.
> 
> Frivolity has no place here. Far too much frivoling goes on and it should be stamped out with a firm hand.


pee off >:0


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## baldlygo (Sep 19, 2006)

I suspect *eurojohn's* answer is spot-on. The ramonage (chimney sweep) always offers his wrist arriving and leaving which always generates a smile with me.


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## caulkhead (Jul 25, 2007)

erneboy said:


> Drew didn't ask the question. He just popped in to tell you three off. Quite rightly in my opinion.
> 
> Frivolity has no place here. Far too much frivoling goes on and it should be stamped out with a firm hand.


Fair point Alan! This is MH *FACTS*!!!! after all. Maybe I should resign my commission and toddle off to the Funsters:crying: I hear they allow all sorts of japes and frivolity:grin2:


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

baldlygo said:


> I suspect *eurojohn's* answer is spot-on. The* ramonage* (chimney sweep) always offers his wrist arriving and leaving which always generates a smile with me.


Paul

Please excuse this naughty thought, but that word made me wonder whether he had come for the fireplaace chimney, or for a 'personal service':surprise::laugh:

[Drew will not approve of this post:frown2:]

Geoff


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## siggie (Oct 2, 2010)

I had a very brief thought of posting a funny reply on this thread, but thought I may get jumped on again, so didn't bother. As someone in this thread said elsewhere, "Unfortunately it's the way things seem to be on here recently:frown2:"


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

siggie said:


> I had a very brief thought of posting a funny reply on this thread, but thought I may get jumped on again, so didn't bother. As someone in this thread said elsewhere, "Unfortunately it's the way things seem to be on here recently:frown2:"


Whoever said that is quite right. There never used to be any kind of discord on here, threads never became tense and there was never any kind of disagreement. It was all sweetness and light till very recently.

Threads were rather short though, typically just a few posts. Post 1. Are Hymers worth paying a premium for? Post 2. Yes. Post 3. Thank you very much.

Post 1. Did you read about those poor people being gassed in their Hymer at a motorway aire in France? They had a lot of nice jewels and Apple computers and phones stolen each of them had €2,000 in cash. Post 2. I'm afraid that's a load of old tosh my boy. Post 3. Thank you very much for putting me right I see exactly what you mean.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

I think almost all conversations can benefit from a bit of humour, lifes bad enough what with all the brexit doom and gloom being broadcast on here.


I welcome humour on any thread I start, except if it's a sad subject of course, but then you wouldn't would you.


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## Drew (May 30, 2005)

"Threads were rather short though, typically just a few posts. Post 1. Are Hymers worth paying a premium for? Post 2. Yes. Post 3. Thank you very much.

Post 1. Did you read about those poor people being gassed in their Hymer at a motorway aire in France? They had a lot of nice jewels and Apple computers and phones stolen each of them had €2,000 in cash. Post 2. I'm afraid that's a load of old tosh my boy. Post 3. Thank you very much for putting me right I see exactly what you mean."

I must have missed these Alan, can you provide me with a link please????? (No Emoticons, I don't use them)


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Links to obviously fictional threads? There are no links, they never existed. Just like all this peace and harmony or whatever it is that's being claimed existed before the discord which we've apparently been told is a recent thing.


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## TeamRienza (Sep 21, 2010)

Sometimes the threads drift in a quite humorous way and can be enjoyable and witty, however when you are researching an answer on a previous thread it can be a bit exasperating having to wade through loads of irrelevant posts.

I sometimes wish that the posts that provide information could be edited by the motorhome fairy after about 30 days to remove all the irrelevant stuff.

Davy


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

jonasw19 said:


> I have recently come across a new, to me, style of hand shake.
> The female dentist proffered her hand flat .
> Naturally I shook it but converted it to the more conventional vertical type.
> There was no unseemly arm wrestling, but I wonder what the correct form is.
> ...


Shaking hands in this part of the world is a must to the locals, I don´t contribute all the time (mostly coz I forget).
However as eurojohn said, those with dirty or wet hands will offer you their wrist or forarm.

Also if flu or other contagious illnesses are about there is a notice in surgeries telling you the medic will not shake hands.
Jan


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

TeamRienza said:


> Sometimes the threads drift in a quite humorous way and can be enjoyable and witty, however when you are researching an answer on a previous thread it can be a bit exasperating having to wade through loads of irrelevant posts.
> 
> I sometimes wish that the posts that provide information could be edited by *the motorhome fairy* after about 30 days to remove all the irrelevant stuff.
> 
> Davy


Anyone you want to nominate?:wink2:


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

I thought Europeans just kissed.
I did learn, when over-wintering in Portugal that different European countries do it in different ways.
Brits give just one light peck on the cheek. The French a smacker on both cheeks. The Dutch go left cheek, right cheek and a second kiss on the first cheek. 
Can't tell you what the Portuguese do as I passed out halfway through!>


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Shaking hands and the air kissing by the cheeks is an incredibly important part of French life, every morning when you meet someone for the first time on that day the handshake routine is carried out with males and the air kissing with females. That is the accepted practice with people you know - even if they are "only" builders working on your house.

It does vary depending on where in France you are apparently - around here it is 2 kisses, in Paris 3, not sure why or whether anywhere is just 1, but if "trapped" simply go along with what they do......

In that way I find French society very polite and well mannered, there are other ways perhaps where things are no so easy to pick up (you rarely are invited for a meal to a French family house - that is for their relatives, although apero's are quite common).

I also welcome lightness in threads - a touch of humour is the banter that holds things together IMO and allows you to learn a great deal about the sense of humour that others have, I rarely disapprove of such things......

The editing of threads used to happen after 30 days when the Lounge, Off Topic and Jokes and Trivia would ve deleted by the system (well at least hidden from view), but I am not sure this still happens. Editing a thread to remove some posts opens a can of worms as regards legal responsibility for the owners - or so we were told many years ago since it is a "censoring" activity which may be regarded as a breach of some law......

My dentist shakes hands, my Doctor does not so it is an individual thing....

Dave


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

TeamRienza said:


> Sometimes the threads drift in a quite humorous way and can be enjoyable and witty, however when you are researching an answer on a previous thread it can be a bit exasperating having to wade through loads of irrelevant posts.
> 
> I sometimes wish that the posts that provide information could be edited by the motorhome fairy after about 30 days to remove all the irrelevant stuff.
> 
> Davy


Good point and well made Davy, I shall try to keep my more exasperating bit to a minimumumum.

That fairy would be very busy though, as we all seem to do it if someone is daft enough to give a feeder line, it's almost expected even.


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## siggie (Oct 2, 2010)

Penquin said:


> It does vary depending on where in France you are apparently - around here it is 2 kisses, in Paris 3, not sure why or whether anywhere is just 1, but if "trapped" simply go alonng with what they do......


In Brittany they prefer a single kiss but for much of northern France it's 4. In Corsica it can be as many as 5!! :kiss:


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

FIVE!!!!! that's foreplay.


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## peribro (Sep 6, 2009)

Some threads such as urgent technical problems are by their nature serious and I don't recall seeing flippant or lighthearted responses in those sort of threads. Other threads are by their nature less serious and so can lend themselves to banter.

I would suggest that those members who want to engage only in serious threads with no banter and flippancy should ensure that the thread topics they open appear to be those that lend themselves to that sort of serious discussion.


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Penquin said:


> p
> It does vary depending on where in France you are apparently - around here it is 2 kisses, in Paris 3, not sure why or whether anywhere is just 1, but if "trapped" simply go along with what they do......


We were having this discussion - in a Chateau not far from you, I think on the 3rd bottle - because here in Poland it is left, right, left. As you say normally in France 2 kisses, but I was informed that down in Montpelier region it is 3.

I can never remember which side to start in which countries, so usually wait for the lady to present her cheek:grin2:

Unlike France I think the kissing of 'Office staff' is not customary in Poland - I certainly have never done it with Basia's office staff - not even at the Christmas party:kiss::kiss:

Geoff

[Oh! The Flippancy of my last remark:surprise:]


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## GEMMY (Jun 19, 2006)

The sheer MWAH! of it all.:wink2:


tony


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

GEMMY said:


> The sheer MWAH! of it all.:wink2:
> 
> tony


How else would I get away with kissing lots of ladies of all ages (except children!) in public with my wife looking on and NOT incur a slap on the face... 0 >

You're only jealous...... >

The interesting thought is as to why (or how) this situation has come about......

and that is yet another topic that I have absolutely no clue about....... 

Dave


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

I have to ask, if the French do not invite you into their house, reserved for family/relations, how do you socialise with your neighbours, at a local bar, or only in the palace grounds.>> invite only.

cabby


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## jonasw19 (Jun 11, 2010)

Oi!

Can no one answer the question?
I am not sure about the chimney sweep proposition, as she was meeting a prospective client (moi) and standing in her reception area. Unless of course she thought my hands could have been too dirty to touch.
How is the wrist offered?
No smutty remarks, or even off the cuff witticisms. 
Still in the dark 

Jon


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

cabby said:


> I have to ask, if the French do not invite you into their house, reserved for family/relations, how do you socialise with your neighbours, at a local bar, or only in the palace grounds.>> invite only.
> 
> cabby


In our case we speak to them often when they are working around their grounds, the farmer will usually stop what he doing and come over as soon as he sees us - would that happen in the UK?

Mme often invites us round to have fresh milk or their fresh prunes after they have dried, we always wave when we pass them in the car, as do they. We also often speak at length to friends in the local patisserie over croissants and coffee or in the "bar" over more coffee - France has a different way of doing things (they even drive on the wrong side :surprise but as a society IMO it is more civil than the UK......

There is also much less litter (if any), such a thing is just unthinkable to the locals.....:smile2:

Oh sorry,



jonasw19 said:


> I have recently come across a new, to me, style of hand shake.
> The female dentist proffered her hand flat .
> Naturally I shook it but converted it to the more conventional vertical type.
> There was no unseemly arm wrestling, but I wonder what the correct form is.
> ...


I had not realised there WAS a question as I cannot spot a ? anywhere, so I thought it was rhetorical,is the flat hand not a reflection of what happens amongst the young people in the USA?

there is NO correct form - there are many variations depending on where you are, others have already commented on some of the variations within France and Europe, in exactly the same way as in the UK people used to greet ladies by raising their hats, proferring a hand and saying "Good Morning".

Now IMO in the UK you MIGHT get a "Wotcha" or "Hi" but not a lot more, when did you last see a gentleman (OK that might be one problem) lifting their hat? Or when did you see gentlemen crossing behind their lady to walk on the outside along the pavement?

I am sure that most gentlemen on here would correctly say that is what they ALWAYS do - but it seems unusual from what I have seen in places like London or Southampton or Exeter - cities where we most frequently find ourselves.....

Dave


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

I detest this meaningless kissing, when I meet old friends or even new Motorhome friends I give em a good hug, don´t I John, Ian, Carol & my Kapetän (he´s very shy you know)
Jan


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

jonasw19 said:


> Oi!
> 
> Can no one answer the question?
> I am not sure about the chimney sweep proposition, as she was meeting a prospective client (moi) and standing in her reception area. Unless of course she thought my hands could have been too dirty to touch.
> ...


Huh! I saw what you did there!:wink2:


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Penquin said:


> In our case we speak to them often when they are working around their grounds, the farmer will usually stop what he doing and come over as soon as he sees us - would that happen in the UK?
> 
> Mme often invites us round to have fresh milk or their fresh prunes after they have dried, we always wave when we pass them in the car, as do they. We also often speak at length to friends in the local patisserie over croissants and coffee or in the "bar" over more coffee - France has a different way of doing things (they even drive on the wrong side :surprise but as a society IMO it is more civil than the UK......
> 
> ...


I do the pavement thing, I learned thick ear style from my "doting" parents.

I think a lot of this kissing Mwah style is a bit pretentious, and don't like the high 5 or fist bump thing either, I will happily shake hands with anyone, not too sure about hugs for blokes, but fine with those of the girl persuasion >


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## Devonboy (Nov 19, 2009)

JanHank said:


> Shaking hands in this part of the world is a must to the locals, I don´t contribute all the time (mostly coz I forget).
> However as eurojohn said, those with dirty or wet hands will offer you their wrist or forarm.
> 
> Also if flu or other contagious illnesses are about there is a notice in surgeries telling you the medic will not shake hands.
> Jan


Yes I well remember meeting a friend as he was exiting the Gents toilet. As I shook his hand I noticed it was wet. No towels I remarked! No water was his response.........................................:laugh:


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Well we dont shake hands that much 

At least I rarely do

Instead we stop and say how are you love ?

If we know each other we exchange a hug 

And then ask how are you love?

It's ok to call a stranger love, it's ok for them to call you love 

And it's ok to chat to a perfect stranger as you go on your way

Sandra


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Relevant here

What does a man stand up to do?
What does a lady site down to do?
What does a dog stand on three legs to do?


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## icer (Dec 11, 2006)

Yes you do Jan

Ian


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## Drew (May 30, 2005)

What does a man stand up to do?
What does a lady site down to do?
What does a dog stand on three legs to do?


Not quite true.


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

icer said:


> Yes you do Jan
> 
> Ian


Nice to see you again Ian, have a big hug.
Jan


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Drew said:


> What does a man stand up to do?
> What does a lady site down to do?
> What does a dog stand on three legs to do?
> 
> Not quite true.


Not nowadays, well not down here with the plebs anyway.


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## HurricaneSmith (Jul 13, 2007)

JanHank said:


> I detest this meaningless kissing, when I meet old friends or even new Motorhome friends I give em a good hug, don´t I John, Ian, Carol & my Kapetän (he´s very shy you know)
> Jan


In our case I had to bang on your window to get you to even look at me. :crying:

The cuddle was nice afterwards, mind. 0

We weren't in France, so I guess this interlude is also {offtopic} .

.


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## salomon (Apr 20, 2011)

nicholsong said:


> We were having this discussion - in a Chateau not far from you, I think on the 3rd bottle - because here in Poland it is left, right, left. As you say normally in France 2 kisses, but I was informed that down in Montpelier region it is 3.
> 
> I can never remember which side to start in which countries, so usually wait for the lady to present her cheek:grin2:
> 
> ...


Odd that. We were having a very similar discussion just last night at the very same Chateau :wink2:
The Montpelier lot were here, as were some others from the Auvergne....and a load of other locals ( Lot et Garonne ). The kissing confusion was evident.
Its particularly difficult for teenage boys, who are expected to kiss everyone. At some stage this becomes a handshake for men but its never clear quite when. Then, once fully grown and with close male friends it becomes kissing again.

The offering of a wrist is normal from anyone who thinks they are dirty. And you should always offer the ramoneur a glass of water once he has finished the ramonage...

Like most countries, there are all sorts of traditions. But I dont agree with Dave regarding meals and families. Not a week goes by without an invitation to someones house for lunch or dinner.


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