Paris, April 1 (IANS) Cafes and bistros across the French capital have launched a crack-down on loud-mouthed foreign tourists, claiming they’re ruining “the sophistication of the Paris dining experience”, a media report said on Wednesday.
Cafés and brasseries across the city are signing up to the MEP! campaign, which stands for Manger en Paix (Eat in Peace), The Local news portal reported.
The crusade was launched in March by the Union of Paris Restaurants, Cafés, Brasseries and Small and Medium-sized Bistros — a mouthful of UPRCBSMB — and was the brainchild of one restaurant owner in the 1st Arrondissement who said the city’s famed refined dining culture was under threat from “foreign foghorns”.
“It’s about respect for the city of Paris, for its history, its gastronomy, and its waiters,” owner of the renowned La Bibliotheque restaurant, Alain Gueulard said.
“These people — and yes I am mainly talking about Americans, British, Irish, Australians, New Zealanders and Spanish — show no respect for other diners, particularly French ones,” he said.
“They talk like they’re at a heavy metal festival whereas any Parisian who has been brought up how to eat with etiquette knows that dining out is more like listening to a classical music concert. You just can’t shout.”
Restaurants that signed the campaign are given posters to display in windows and placemats for tables that warn diners they are in an “Eat in Peace” environment.
The logos show what appears to be camera-wearing tourists speaking loudly with a red cross through them. Beneath the images are warnings, in English, encouraging patrons to keep their voice down.
“Tourists must understand we are in Paris, not London, New York or Glasgow. If they want to scream in each other’s ears, then they should go to a swingers’ club, not a bistro,” said Femi Labouche, owner of the famed Michelin star diner “Quoi Quoi” on Rue des Rêves, in the 3rd Arrondissement.
The dining cultures on either side of the English Channel are marked by sharp contrast: The usually tacitern Britons open up at the dining table. Their luncheon and dinner lectures are famous. The normally garrulous French falls silent as if at prayer at his dining table.