I can only recall one genuinely rude person. He was your complete stereotypical French waiter from Central Casting. He literally had his nose in the air when he talked and would never look at us.

Never really hit me until now, but I'm curious if it was because that's how he was, because I was obviously American, or because the coworker I was with was Jordanian.

Never really did encounter people being overtly rude (other than him) or shunning us because we didn't speak French. Communicating was tricky at times, but it was never a full-blown hindrance.

Weirdest thing about the trip to me was that over the full week I was in France, both in Paris and up near the northern coast, I never once had what I would call a good meal. Everything I ordered from every restaurant was virtually flavorless. Never have figured that out. Clearly there is good food in that country somewhere. But it eluded me at every single attempt.