5 Things that are NOT FREE in France (but ARE in the U.S!)

Let's talk about things that are free in the United States but are not in France. This is an interesting cultural difference between the two countries and how we talk about money. What we pay for at home in the US doesn't always correspond to what we pay for abroad in France.

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Salut! I'm Diane, an American who has lived in France since 2012 and the creator of the blog/YouTube channel Oui In France. My channel's focus is "Everyday French life and beyond." I make videos on French culture topics, France vs. US culture comparisons, food, travel, language, and give you my thoughts about what it's like living in France as an American in the Loire Valley. Thanks for being here and if you enjoy this sort of thing, please share with friends and subscribe!

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[fabgg_]

If you ask for free water in a restaurant where you ordered something, they HAVE to give it to you, it's a law. But you're right, it's important to ask for the "carafe" and not a bottle

[HDC_XiaoWan]

water is always free in France, it's even forbidden to a restaurant to seel the public water, after if it's special water in bottle yes it's not free, but "l'eau du robinet" is always free

[lasuisseamericaine]

I actually liked the paid toilets. When they were nice, I was happy to see my money was going to keep the restroom nice and clean.

[juliefarrar]

I learned quickly to ask for a carafe d’eau. However, I recently visited the Netherlands and all restaurants, hotels, river cruiser, etc. made known to all tourists that tap water was the default for environmental reasons. They were proud of the fact that their tap water tasted so good (it did).

[marthawilson]

Thank you for this. I just wanted to add that I spent two months in Paris (March, April 2023) and used the free restrooms in all of the museums I visited. Like in restaurants, you’re paying to be there, so they probably have to offer restrooms as a part of the fee. Bonus: the restrooms are usually clean and attractive.

[sharonmclaughlin]

Grocery stores in the US are changing plastic and paper bag policies,
to comply with municipal rules. Some communities in New England are banning plastic bags. You either bring your own bags or buy paper bags @ 10 cents each.

[Impozalla]

When I visited France a couple months ago. I was shocked at how surprisingly cheap, affordable France is compared to my home city in California.

[santamanone]

They had all those amenities n the restrooms of the high end Las Vegas casinos as well. Ans also a shoe shine stand. But the only cost was whatever tip you left.

[hufflepuffjoh]

In France, we diffrentiate between eating a meal or "débit de boissons". In restaurants ir cafes and bars and stuff, if you're eating a meal, both water and bread are to be served free. You shouldn't have to ask, they HAVE to give it. It literally is in the law. If you're just out for a drink or a little goûter and not having a meal, then they can charge tap water IF they have written the price both inside and outside. And it's actually really rare

[wiindigoat]

The code thing in restaurants for restrooms is not really a thing in most places, funny enough it's mostly to be seen in US street food outlets (McDonalds, Starbucks, etc). Most french restaurants and pubs don't have the code lock for the restroom, but yes it's still usually a customer only service (which as a french don't feel like it's fair at all but we roll with it). The common courtesy is to ask first if you can use the restroom while not a customer, and if your told it's for customer only I ask for a espresso that I'll take on my way out of the restroom.

[sophiemac]

In USA refill on coffee, cola, iced tea lemonade are free you pay once for it . Water is always free.

[New_Wave_Nancy]

In New York State it's been mandatory to bring your own bags for a few years now. You can usually buy a bag if needed but they're not given out free now. So when I visit France I'm already in the habit. 🙂

[haleywhitney]

I just ❤your videos. We moved from Denver to Bordeaux two years ago and I had a good amount of problems getting used to France. However, the goodness and quality of our life and community are superb compared to the USA. I love my neighborhood, my children’s school and the food that is such high quality. Everyday I’m so impressed with the kindness and curiosity that I am shown by the French. ❤❤❤❤

[jm-kyii]

4:12 to clarify this point, there was so many complain in France about the "paying while waiting" that there is a law about that now, you are no more charged until someones pick up the phone. That's still not free but there is no more abuse like there used to be...

[deuxpiecesSaintLouis]

carafe d'eau (tap water) is mandatory to be offered at no cost in France, unless you are at the top of a mountain, or very remote place where they have no city water.

[ajej]

I'm an American who has lived in Germany for over 60 years. I've had a german bank account since 1989 (Deutsche Bank). This year I switched banks, because they would provide even less services than before (not cashing Treasury checks and American checks in general, not allowing money to be set aside for a certain time to make more interest, and the like). Now I opened an account with Santander, the Spanish international banking conglomerate, and not only is my online banking account free, but I have access to all the services a European would have, be it enhanced interest rates, international check cashing or stocks and bonds trading. So far I'm happy.

[leisureblank]

I think alot of American banks charge Maintenace fees if you don’t carry a high enough balance.

[thafff]

5:15 My humble opinion with banking fees in France is they exist due to the different business practices than in the US:
- EU Regulation 2015/751 placed a cap on debit/credit card interchange fee of 0.2% and 0.3% of the transaction, respectively. To put this in perspective, in the US, typical interchange rate span from 1.5% to 3.5%. I guess the yearly/monthly fee scheme enables the card networks to compensate for the loss of profit. Even before that regulation was passed, the national interchange network (GIE Carte Bancaires, a merger from a variety of smaller networks) was mainly used to process banking card transactions.
- Similarly, credit and debt are approached in a very different way in France: banking cards with built-in revolving credits are heavily regulated to protect consumers from getting to excessive debt and banks from consumer insolvency. Positive credit reporting and credit bureau don't exist over there, so assessing risk is harder from the banks perspective and usually requires sharing income slips with your bank to demonstrate your solvency.
- Privacy protection laws prohibits the share certain personal data (including before GDPR was enforced), so banks can't turn a profit on that point.

[donnamurphy]

I am currently on vacation in London and will be visiting Paris Thursday (so excited)! Thanks for your tips!

[stfan]

Having worked for the customer service of software editor, I can tell you: the phone calls not being free isn't so much about making money, but to reduce the number of calls and discourage frivolous ones. We offered mail and e-mail services at no extra cost, and most often it was simpler to resolve problems this way.