France Tourist Traps

I have already written a Local custom tip about la bise, the typical French cheek-kiss.
However, I think that a better explanation is needed for some aspects of this gesture, so I thought I'd write a Tourist trap tip because la bise can be something hard to understand and to accept for peoples who don't know the cheek-kissing custom.
1) People do la bise mainly to greet each other. It hasn't got any affective meaning.
2) The bise is not a real kiss. People don't plant their lips on the other's cheek and often the cheeks don't even touch. Also, while doing so, they never hug (unlike other Latin peoples); at most, they lightly touch each other's shoulder.
3) You don't need to know someone well to get la bise. If you are going to meet a French friend or acquaintance, s/he will kiss you and so will all his/her relatives, friends, acquaintances do, who may be so polite as to ask you "On se fait la bise?" ("Shall we kiss on the cheeks?").
4) Once you have kissed someone on the cheeks, you will probably have to do it every time you meet them, even if you meet the same people every day. When I was in France for a school exchange, some of my class mates were shocked to see that our French mates spent several minutes every day to kiss each other good-morning.
5) If you forget to kiss someone (imagine you meet a lot of people), you will be reminded that: the person in question will tend his/her cheek and explicitly ask for la bise. I've seen people beg one's pardon for forgetting to kiss them!
6) The number of kisses varies in an inexplicable way and this is a great problem for the French themselves. There are many forums in the internet where French people debate about how many bises they do in their respective regions, départements or town. (Yes, because the number can vary even in the same village or town!)

The only real solution to avoid la bise is not to make any French friends! I have been several time to France, but unfortunately, apart from the month I spent in Angers, I've never had the chance to socialize with locals, since I was always with my parents. So, apart from the school exchange, I've never had to kiss any "strangers" on the cheeks.
If you are not sure, I'd suggest you'd not start kissing people you have never met before, but let them do the first move. When you meet someone for the first time, you can still shake hands, especially if there is a considerable age gap between the two of you. However, the handshake will not be appropriate if both of you are young people and at least one of you is a lady. A lady shaking another lady's hand is something almost impossible to see in France.
About the number of kisses: since it is often difficult to know how many one has to give, you should watch how many other people give or ask, for example "C'est combien de bises ici?" ("How much kisses here?")

Considering that la bise is an important custom of the French culture, I think you shouldn't find an alternative to it, as this may offend your acquaintances.
However, if you cannot bear this repetitive and sometimes annoying gesture, you can say it and they will accept your decision.

France Tourist Traps

Visiting France?

Visiting France?