Sir, – David Powell (Letters, August 20th) is naturally entitled to draw on his own observations, however my experience of casual interactions in France is the exact opposite.
As both a teacher of French and an Anglophone of whom cultural insensitivity might be suspected, I have come to realise that it is seen as the height of rudeness to enter any small shop or cafe and not utter a general "bonjour" in the direction of those present.
That is generally not what we do in Ireland, in my experience, and the transposition of our norms into the French context leads to a degree of Gallic frostiness which is entirely avoidable.
Mr Powell writes from Arcachon which is all the more interesting since I’m sure many readers will share my experience that the warmth of the response to a casual greeting tends to increase the further one gets from Paris.
– Yours, etc,
BARRY HENNESSY
Donabate,
Co Dublin.