I know I read this somewhere....

I remember reading somewhere that Chirac told the French people to be nicer to tourists in order to win the Olympic bid. Can anyone tell me if this is true, and if so where can I find, for example, an article on it?

(Please- no comments on whether the French are/are not rude...this is simply curiousity and has nothing to do with that subject)

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I don%26#39;t remember hearing this (doesn%26#39;t mean that it wasn%26#39;t the case though).

Chirac didn%26#39;t really say much in ther same way that Bush didn%26#39;t say a lot as regards New York I guess.

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%26quot;Can anyone tell me if this is true%26quot;

Not it is not.

Another urban myth I guess..

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I think there%26#39;s a difference between urban myth and just plain old BS :-)

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I do not think it is true.

What I read in the French press however is that by rejecting the European constitution, the French had made a mistake that was probably going to cost them the games... for what it is worth.

BTW French people tend to be very nice to the very nice tourists.

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I have a vague recollection of a marketing effort a while back asking Parisians to smile more often..?? Maybe it was more a result of the drop in American tourism following 9/11.... and it came after the marketing ploy of %26#39;Let%26#39;s Fall in Love again%26#39; or whatever that was.. :)

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There was a marketing thing issued by the Tourism Minister to every tourist office in France for people to smile, but that started in the early 1990%26#39;s so maybe after the Iraq-Kuwait war most likely...I don%26#39;t recall Chirac saying this recently, and i don%26#39;t think he would place himself in a bad position as it would mean he is criticising the French not being nice enough...

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Here%26#39;s a link to the French Government%26#39;s %26#39;Bonjour Paris%26#39; campaign.

diplomatie.gouv.fr/label_france/56/gb/14.html

Interesting reading.

PS - I had a great time in Paris and everyone was very polite!