Expat reveals five things that will get you ‘dirty looks’ in Paris

An expat has revealed the typical “American things” she does while living in Paris that attract dirty looks from the locals.

An American woman who lives in Paris has shared five things that will get you dirty looks in Paris – but wouldn’t be thought about twice in her home country.

Amanda Rollins, who goes by the username @americanfille on TikTok, said the first no-no on her list was eating while walking, New York Post reports.

“The French don’t really snack,” Ms Rollins said. “The one thing that you’re allowed to eat while you’re walking, only one thing, it’s a baguette, obviously. That’s the only thing that is acceptable to eat while walking.”

She said that eating anything else on the street is just “not super common”.

She also explained that most people don’t really eat on the metro, and that eating just happens mostly at meal times.

The US woman gave pointers about things not to do in Paris. Picture: TikTok/@americanfille

She advised not to ask for a to-go box for restaurant leftovers. Picture: TikTok/@americanfille

She explained to The Post that the video, which has already had over 1.3 million views, is a “generalisation,” and that the tips are just from what she’s noticed while living abroad.

“The things I mention are from my observations of life in Paris, my personal experiences, and what I’ve heard from French people. My word is not gospel (and if you believe it is, thank you but I haven’t started my cult yet). These are simply observations,” she said.

“Life in France is different from the US in many ways, and these are just some of the quintessential American things that could raise some eyebrows over here in Paris.”

The next tip Ms Rollins shared was not to speak in English loudly while out and about.

“When I say loudly, I mean the volume that you normally speak at,” she said.

“Listen, I love you guys, I am you guys, I’m one of you – this is some tough love here. You f***ing scream.”

Ms Rollins then continued into the next piece of advice, which was that asking for a to-go box at a restaurant is pretty unusual among Parisians.

“That’s really uncommon, and it’s super not French,” she said. “You’re allowed to do it, I’ve done it before, it’s literally fine. I’m not saying you can’t do it, but because the portion sizes here are normal size … it’s not very common to not finish your meal.”

She admitted that if you do ask for a box, you might get some “looks” from others.

Amanda Rollins has lived in Paris for years. Picture: Instagram/@americanfille

Her final two tips involved clothes – that wearing athletic clothing is not commonplace, and neither is being overly dressed up to go out to a nightclub.

“Athleisure is for the gym, or your home, your bedroom, actually,” she said. “If you leave the house in like leggings or sweatpants or even joggers, depending on how they’re styled, you’re gonna get looks. It’s just not how people dress here.”

She also said wearing jeans and a top when going out on a Friday night is recommended over heels and dresses.

“You are not gonna see the full attire, the full mini skirts, heels, make-up,” Ms Rollins said. “That said, you can do whatever you want, literally who cares if you get looks.”

In the comments section of her video, many users seemed to agree with her takeaways about the proper Parisian behaviour.

“So what you’re saying is people in Paris have better etiquette. I’m impresse️d,” one person wrote.

Another said: “100 per cent on point! Especially the eating while walking.”

Others, however, didn’t agree with Ms Rollins.

“We don’t eat baguette EVER in the street,” one wrote.

Meanwhile another said: “Being in France sounds exhausting.”

This article originally appeared on New York Post and was reproduced with permission