Is there anything that comes up a lot in fics that just screams, "This was not written by a French person"? I always feel like I'm butchering French culture in the most subtle of ways but it's hard for me to know exactly how
Hii!
Yes and no - mostly, there's a lot of fics that tells me "this has been written by an American person" rather than "not by a French person" haha
Sometimes you don't even have to hammer French culture in your fics (pretty sure I don't do it so much in mine?) but there are subtleties that tell me "ah this is not how it's here".
Though some fics are pretty blatant, amongst what I've encountered you can find:
Fics in which the money is US$ instead of € (euros) (yes, I saw that, with the "US"; an author in the notes also said in one fic "Idk what the French money is and I'm too lazy to look it up")
4th of July celebration fics
Thanksgiving celebration fics
So like these are directly things that tell me "okay you didn't bother" hahaha
Then there's some that as I said aren't blatant switch of culture but it's just little things then and there that tell me it's written by someone from the US, or at least yeah, someone who isn't French. It's not too much of a big deal because it's hard to really know another culture, so what I'm about to list isn't a callout to anyone, just things I noticed that are technically either not correct or a bit 'americanised':
Switching classmates depending on the subject: I've seen fics that are like "Adrien walked Marinette to her maths class before going to his history class" or "since they had French class together this afternoon...": no, here, in high school and before, you stick with the same classmates for all the classes - the only exception might be options, like if you picked latin or not, or if you chose to learn "German" or "Spanish" as a secondary language, otherwise you have the same classmates all year, all classes.
Over-doing some celebrations or americanising them: for instance, with Christmas lots of fics are hellbent over the mistletoe & kissing under it and while we vaguely know about this tradition, it's not really something here that much; same, Halloween isn't much of a big deal and while I'm a sucker for a good Halloween fic, sometimes the settings are overdone compared to what we have cause it's def not a big thing compared to how it is in the US. For April's fool, prank are kind of a thing but we mostly stick fishes on each other's back - we do pranks too but not as much as in America I feel like! Etc.
The approach to money: some fics seem... Idk, obsessed (?) with money and being a celebrity and hammer a lot about it. Like they insist that every single thing Adrien owns is expensive, that he's rich, a rich apartment, I even remember a fic saying "Marinette could smell Adrien's expensive cologne", like cool who cares and how can you tell it's expensive by the smell, most perfumes are expensive anyway. While yes we all know he's rich, I feel like we're not as hellbent on hammering about it or making a big deal out of how much who owns & stuffs, or all the "glamour" aspect of the celebrity life - in some fics it's made out as something super desirable or a Goal to Reach in Life while... we're not as obsessed over glitters and sparkles if that makes sense? Idk how to explain. This is starting to get long but okay, to take an example from discussions I had on discord with other people: some were shocked that the class would buy gifts for Miss Bustier's birthday in Zombizou and that she would open them in front of everyone because "now they'll know someone got a more expensive gift that them, that's terrible for their self-esteem, they'll feel so bad blabla they'll compare each other's gifts and the amount of money they put in it". And honestly?? Maybe it's just me but I really don't think that we do that or obsess over it? Idk it never shocked me that scene is Zombizou but these people really were shocked haha
When they have the characters learn about history or geography, I saw some having them learn about America's history or every states of the USA and I'm like how about... learning, Idk, French history and Countries in Europe instead haha
Sometimes it's in the games they play or they activities outside of school they have that tells me "ah yes this might not be quite happening in France", but well it could be worse haha
Anyway, I don't have everything in mind but that's these little things I see around that aren't always too disturbing or won't exactly hinder your enjoyment of a fic, but that make me go "oh yeah this isn't exactly how it is here"!
→ HOWEVER don't let yourself get discourage or feel bad by what I'm saying here or feel like it's terrible if you did one of these things; if I had to write a fic happening in another country I sure as heck would make mistakes too because it's hard to really know how things are elsewhere, and again we're writing for our own enjoyment first and foremost and we're not professional authors who take trips in the country they want to write their story in! 😄
Thanks as always for your great help, @emsylcatac !
Sorry to barge in but I’d like to add a few things.
I’m not French but Portuguese and I have some pet peeves:
Baseball. Nope. There may be a few niche teams in some places but most Europeans don’t even get what the hell is going on there. No cheerleaders either (some pro soccer clubs tried it here, but it didn’t stick).
Sophomores and whatevers. Here there are ranking names once you get to university for freshmen and finalists, but not in school. Just the year. I believe it’s the same in France, right Emsy?
Eggs and bacon for breakfast. No. Emsy has talked about meals in her French culture posts.
People automatically moving out from home after entering university. Especially in Paris, I believe most people would stay home if they go to a uni in the same city. Apartments in Paris are super expensive, too. Hey, if moving out is essential to your story, go ahead, but be aware that the rent for an apartment can be more expensive than the monthly full-time minimum wage. And in the central arrondissements canon takes place in, it’s even worse.
Inches and feet, obviously. Also, Euro notes start at 5. For 1 and 2 Euros (and lower) we have coins. So, making it rain is a lot more expensive 😅.
All ostentatious religious symbols are strictly (and controversially) forbidden in public schools and state-run facilities. I’m not commenting whether it’s right or wrong, it’s a fact. (Also TF1 backs the show and is state-run, that’s why they can’t have them on the show. Notre Dame is shown not so much as a church but as a landmark like the Eiffel Tower).
Proper restaurants in Paris are super expensive. Eating out as teenagers would be more like at a fast food place, a pâtisserie, a proper pizzeria or a small bistrot. Also don’t believe your spell checker. If it’s in France it’s a bistrot, not bistro. 😁
Paris is extremely diverse. Last time I was there, I saw lots of mixed couples and families. Nobody would look twice at a mixed race couple. I imagine it’s probably more so by now.
As Emsy says, write however you feel like and do whatever serves your story, but if you also want to be accurate, be aware of those differences.
Again, @emsylcatac , pls let me know if I got anything wrong. Last time I went to Paris was like 13 years ago!
Thank you both for this very complete list!
Just expanding on @maggies-scribblings uni and moving out point real quick: the thing with uni in France is that we don't have campuses like the US or even the UK - what they call a campus here is literally a block of teaching buildings (sometimes there might be several buildings facing each other, but sometimes it's just the one). Dorms are super rare in Paris; there are some, but they're not central, and the "public" ones I'm pretty sure are saved for people with limited income. Most students will either stay at home or rent a studio/chambre de bonne (small room under the rooftops which looks nothing like Emily's in Emily in Paris since it's generally under 10m², and rarely has its own bathroom). There are governmental helps to entice people to rent out their flats to students, and students to rent out a place si it's not as expensive as the prices might be online haha (but having an apartment that gives out on the Tuileries or the Champ de Mars/Eiffel Tower? That would still be insanely expensive)
Note for lunches: Maggie's right, restaurants are expensive. If you need a place for them to go out for lunch on a school day, or even at uni, it doesn't need to be super French! There are lots of international foodplaces in Paris which can be quite friendly for a student budget; Sushi or Chinese restaurants are pretty good because you can get a solid meal for 5-10€, boulangeries are even cheaper (they're generally not eat-in though), you can find make your own dish "bars"... And of course if you're at loss, MacDonald's, Subway, KFC, etc. are also a thing here 😉
Oh and also for sports! To be fair I haven't actually seen a lot of fics where people got it wrong, but people would play Football=Soccer (and rugby if you want something with more contact and potential injuries for hurt/comfort haha)
Thank youuuu @maggies-scribblings and @2manyfandoms2count for your on point additions 😄
And yeah agree for the apartments, it's super expensive. If you have the characters moving out of Paris for their studies to another city, then yes they wouldn't have a choice but to rent something.
I'll also add to the thread @happycupcaketimemachine's addition to the post about coffee that is also very true:
One more thing I might add that I haven't necessarily seen much in fics (but probably because not the kind I read) but that I've seen around on Tumblr, it's that living on a boat (in the Couffaine's case) means that they're poor or poorer than the rest: eeehhh not at all, living on a barge is far from being more affordable than an apartment the same surface or even a bit bigger in Paris 😅 you also have to add to all of that the price to pay per year to have your boat stay in the "harbour" (or whatever the equivalent word is), so yeah it can climb quite high too!
Again, don't berate yourself if it's mistakes you've made. However if you're not sure about something, you can also always ask a French person for their opinion or advice! 😊
Just gonna add one more thing for anyone taking notes on this post:
Students owning cars / driving everywhere in Paris.
When I was a student in Grenoble, which is a lot smaller than Paris, I went everywhere by tram or bus, or occasionally by rented bike. I went home every weekend by train. It took me 2hrs but it cost less and was more comfortable than driving back, especially by motorway, where you have to pay a toll. I only starting driving / owning cars because my parents moved to the middle of nowhere, and I used it mostly just to visit them, or drive to work in the pretty little mountain villages outside the city.
I've never lived in Paris, but I've been to visit friends while they were studying or working there, and almost none of them had cars. The only parisian I've ever met with a car was a friend's dad. Everyone else gets around by subway, tram, bus, train, or rented bikes (vélibs, I think they're called). The main reason for this is that driving in Paris is a nightmare from which you'd be lucky to escape untraumatized.
Basically what I'm saying is that if one of your characters has a car, they're probably a) rich, b) the only one in their friend group who does, and c) shamelessly exploited by said friend group every time a car is needed for a Big Outing outside the city (beach day anyone?) or when someone is moving out. Also, chances are the car is small. Parking in a French city can take longer than actually getting from A to B, and you need every advantage you can get (although, Adrien or Kagami or Chloe would probably have their own parking space or even a garage).
That said! I'm going to reiterate what Emsy and everyone else has said, that is, that your text doesn't have to be perfect, the important thing is that you enjoy writing it. One of my wips has like half the class all living together in a big flat in Paris in a sort of Auberge Espagnole situation vaguely based on my own experience, because for the purposes of that fic I wanted to do that even though that would probably never happen irl because any Parisian student lucky enough to have parents living in Paris is going to save that rent money, because living in Paris is expensive. So, yeah, live your dreams vicariously through cartoon characters.
