Files d'attente or Waiting in line.

I hate waiting in line. There are instances where I manage to stay relaxed and patient, but usually I'm thinking of all the better things I could be doing if I were not having to wait.

And the problem in France? French people do not know how to wait in lines because they never really FORM any LINE. Their idea of queuing is more like crowding and then pushing past everyone else to get to the front first. It doesn't matter what the line is for--the ATM, the lunch counter, the metro ticket window, the checkout desk at the library--I encounter this crowding problem everywhere. Most times I'm not even sure where to stand because it's absolutely impossible to tell where the line begins and ends. Just so you have an idea, this is a random picture of a French "line." No beginning or end in sight.


To make matters worse, there's always the little crowd of people who are just standing around next to the line and who seem oblivious to the fact that some people are trying to actually get something.

In the US, I would have fewer problems with this, even if "queuing" and "crowding" were synonymous there as well. If someone tried to cut in front of me, I would not hesitate to tell them that they need to wait their turn like everyone else. But saying something to the same effect in French seems rather...daunting. The last thing I need is some snotty French girl (it's always been snotty girls who have cut in front of me) bitching me out in the kind of rapid slangy French that I don't understand very well.

So what to do? At this point, I'm considering playing the foreign card. Yes, after having lost my place more than half a dozen times, I would do it. I'll go wherever I want in the crowd..er...line, and if someone complains that I've cut in front of them, I'll just say, "Uh...Daysolay...Jay nay paRlay paw fransay" and feign ignorance over any signs they might make about going to the end of the line, wherever that might be. And they can think I'm a stupid American as much as they want. I'll still be getting my sandwich first.