French foreign minister encourages countrymen to be more polite to foreigners, as France tries to boost tourism
'When we come up against a foreign tourist, we are all ambassadors for France'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The French foreign minister has urged his countrymen to be nicer to tourists, as the French government announced plans to boost the already high levels of tourism to the country.
Laurent Fabius announced plans to launch a tourism investment fund in the coming months, intended to attract even more tourists to areas across the country.
However, he also said a humorous advertising campaign would accompany the launch, which would encourage the stereotypically brusque French to be a little nicer to visiting foreigners.
He said: "Tourism is a national treasure that needs to be protected, nurtured and developed - that's the aim of all these measures."
But, he added, putting it "diplomatically", "We have room for improvement here... When we come up against a foreign tourist, we are all ambassadors for France."
The fund will be used to improve existing tourist hotspots across the country - the incongruously shabby Gare du Nord will be spruced up, offering a nicer welcome to visitors from the UK and across Europe
The funds will also be used to provide additional facilities to make tourists' vists more pleasant across the country, especially in wine producing regions that attract a high number of tourists.
It will also pay for an international campaign aimed at encouraging tourism which will include encouraging French TV channels abroad to broadcast documentaries about the country.
France is the world's most-visited country by a long way - in 2013, a staggering 84.7 million tourists went there, compared to 70 million in the USA, which took the second place. Fabius said he hopes to increase this number to 100 million by 2020.
These tourists spent around $66 billion in France in 2013 according to data from the World Bank, meaning the sector plays an important role in France's economic success.
With any luck, the drive to make the French more polite will help those who are at risk of coming down with Paris syndrome - a short-lived psychological disorder which may cause anxiety, depersonalisation and even hallucination, and is often experienced by visitors to the city.
It was first noted in French psychiatric journal Nervure in 2004, and appears to effect Japanese tourists the most. It is apparently the result of severe culture shock caused by their idealised image of Paris not matching up to the reality.
The Japanese embassy in Paris runs a hotline for tourists experiencing this syndrome or other difficulties, and they say around 12 tourists every year succumb to its effects.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments