THESE 7 THINGS ARE SMALLER IN FRANCE (than the US)

Americans are surprised by the size of hotel rooms. They are used to tennis court-sized rooms. My room in Paris last month was small and two people with luggage couldn't fit in the elevator, but it was in perfect order. I even had a tiny balcony in the Mansard roof with a chair and a view of the Pantheon and the Eiffel Tower. Parfait!

The movie Eat Pray Love was pretty right about Latin relation to food… on this topic, French, Italy and Spain are very much alike

I appreciate all ur info/videos. When I lived in Germany my GF worked for a Jewish account firm. She got all German & Jewish holidays. Also, 3 days a week, paid 1.5 hours to go to the gym.

Hehehe, I did think that this video might be: "Things that are smaller in France... everything"!
An unusual one, but toilet paper is smaller 🧻 (that's from someone living across the Channel in the UK)!
Also, it's interesting to hear your different perspective...to me, France is a large country (the biggest in Europe, in fact), but on the other hand I once was told that it's the size of Texas!

Je n'ai jamais compris le principe de l'apéro. Quand tu as faim, ça ne fait que repousser l'heure du repas. Et ça donne de mauvaises habitudes, notamment avec l'alcool. Bref, c'est pas mon truc.

The sad part is it’s the US food that makes so many people overweight. Most convenience and processed foods in the US are less expensive than healthier high-quality foods and they’re packed with fillers like corn sugar emulsifiers and other chemicals that disrupt your body and your metabolism Among other things. I actually have a medical condition that interferes with my digestion and it’s well known among patient groups of this condition that moving to other countries actually improves your condition because the food has less chemicals and fillers in it. 🙁

Hi Diane, my wife Corinne and I have subscribed and have been enjoying your videos for months now… every time I see one I have the urge to write to you… you are a blessing… your attitude about France and the US is so honest genuine and respectful… to say that you are refreshing is an understatement… I just wanted you to know that you are appreciated and the internet needs more people like yourself. We love France and go there every year..

Portion sizes in restaurants and supermarkets are one driver of the obesity problem in the US.

Yogurts are smaller.

Mais tout est petit en France considering how much the French use this to describe everything 🙃

Very accurate. You can add, smaller houses, cars, debts, hotel rooms, fridge…. Many things are smaller in France and for us visiting USA is also a surprise because everything is bigger. Food, drinks and car looked intimidating to me. These cultural differences are very interesting and explain a lot who we are and what matters to us from both side of the ocean

France's small size...
Only an American would say that ! 😂
Love from Norway 🇳🇴

Hello Diane. My family originated from La Rochelle, Perche, Lorraine, Normandy, Paris and extending to Quebec.
Absolutely adore this channel.

Metric please

The ego of the people is also smaller in France than in the USA, even if the French think they invented warm water.

How about paper towels, small roll and sheets are half as big. Four to five sheets later, I've cleaned up the mess. And the final one that ticks me off is...drum roll....the toilet seats are too small. Take it from a 5'5" male who weighs 150 lbs, they are uncomfortably small and practically too small to get the job done. No visual required.

Correction; American cities are destroyed for cars...

Ha I'm American. I'm 5' 10" and weigh 130 pounds. Just to say I'm fairly tall and thin. Yes, US restaurant portions are often pretty big. A to go box is always my best friend upon leaving a restaurant. I can't eat it all in one sitting.

HIGHER QUALITY OF LIFE.

American large portions are a stupid “substitute“ for a genuinely better life in France… but Americans are like allergic to realizing that.

It’s SAD.

I’m American by birth.

Great feedback. Taxes are also much smaller in the us. Government footprint is obese in France. We drink wine to forget!

Interesting what may look quirky facts for Americans, but its a cultural difference that anyone traveling to France experiences first hand. Big houses, big cars, big salary, and long hours..where does it lead to. Old America is fading away, small towns are hemmed by and encroached by industries and big shopping malls, outlets.

Idk for other French people, but I grew up with the mentality that any debt = poor. If you owe money, you own nothing. Debt must be erased as fast as possible, and you should always live within your means whenever possible. I think we don't have this "debt culture" in France, in general. Don't spend money you don't have yet.

A venti is supposed to be 20 ounces. "Venti" literally means 20...

Portion sizes have gone down in US restaurants in past ten years, perhaps because of high decibel campaign by crusaders. But cost of servings has gone up substantially! Possibly, the crusaders were employed by restaurant industry to boost profits.

I think you could do the opposite, what is bigger in france. One thing I noticed is that regular chocolate bars in french grocery stores tend to come in 200g bars whereas in canada it is 100g or even less.

Bonjour. I'll add hotel rooms, bathrooms, shower stalls, stairs, hallways and elevators. And that's just in lodging. The RER and SCNF have smaller and fewer seats but the TGV is luxurious! We did not drive in Paris or Aix en Provence, St Remy de Provence or Villefranche sur Mer and never felt the need. We did rent a car for travel along the Cotê D'Azure from Toulon to Menton but for some reason they gave us a huge SUV-like thing that made small roads and parking difficult. Ask for the smaller car for a much easier trip.

Error : la superficie de la France est de 551 000 km2 environ . It's rather easy to find this information ! You should compare what can be compared and compare USA and Europe . Or compare France to some state in US (I'm French and am living in France) .

Excellent video as usual. But, BEST THUMBNAIL EVER! 😅. Bravo pour ton travail!

Why to eat more that what you need ?

It's not that things are smaller in France. It's that things are bigger in the US than anywhere in the world, for good or bad.

Let me guess...

Doggie bags do not belong to our culture, USA is the country of plenty! I bet Americans have an impression they are ripped off 😅

I have just had a rotten tooth removed and was only charged €40, I bet an American dentist would have charged €400. Salaries as you pointed out, cannot compare with US.

Diane, I enjoy your observations. I am currently on a 2 month tour of France. In the US I drive pretty much everywhere as I live in surburban California. I am really enjoying the freedom of the public transportation. So much less stressful and in general pretty much reliable/on time.

Strawberries and that is a very good thing: I hate the Frankenfruit we have here in our grocery stores (farmers’ markets are closer to what I bought at a Franprix in Paris—which is not the best place to buy fruit, I know!).

ayo the thumbnail

Something you will never hear in France is the vocal fry. We all have a small voice with tiny intonations😂😂

Not my French d**censored 😂

lol! We live in La Rochelle so great you gave them a shout out. Didn’t realise you were so close by

Regarding Salaries. All over Europe Salaries are negotiated NET, while in USA they’re negotiated GROSS. To be able to make a correct comparison of the two, you need to consider what you’re getting in America, deduct your taxes, deduct your healtcare insurance, your pension, your student loans or school/college tuition costs. At that point you have quite a different number to compare with a french NET Salary. PERCEPTION is the word here. You “think” you’re making 6,500$ per month per family (average monthly income per family in USA, average). In reality you make 3,350$ per month per family. Still, all markets look at the 6500$ figure to establish prices and that’s how you get a cost of life double in the USA than in Europe, with similar salaries

Over half of new cars sold in France are SUVs and the new parking spaces are being made to accomodate that. I just hope it never gets like in the US. (the car culture, obesity (but that's increasing too) etc.) Electricity rates are some of the highest in Europe (since Feb 2024) The middle class is really shrinking , like in the US. But life is wonderful here...we're lucky.

The Frenchman’s appendage is smaller too!

Yes France is about the size of Texas but its the second biggest output agriculture producer in the world, size sometimes don't matter its performance. Salut

Small is beautiful and precious things come in small packages ... ;o)

Les gros, la connerie, la débilité, l'ignorance (et c'est pas peu dire), la corruption, l'agressivité,la volonté de dominer le monde et tant d'autres choses négatives.

France is in a dire state. Talk about unemployment, homelessness, etc. Some people wd live to have your "problems" The government is a disaster. Like most other european countries. Frexit now..

I have always stayed in Paris. The elevators there, whether in an apartment or hotel, are extremely small.

The French don't carry as much debt as Americans because they haven''t had to pay student loans for schools like MIT, Caltech, Stanford, Yale, Harvard, Princeton and many more schools. Whaat is the French equivalent of those schools?

I was in Cognac in August 2023