Originally Posted by
stut
Paris is a little different in some ways, and you do hear various stories of English speakers being treated differently to French speakers. However, a lot of the time, it's not the language, it's the behaviour: Paris is often a surprisingly formal city. If you make sure you always greet the person you are dealing with properly, whether in a hotel, restaurant or small shop (a 'Bonjour' or 'Bonsoir' with 'Monsieur/Madame/Mademoiselle') as appropriate, it will go surprisingly far.
Impossible to agree with this enough.
The French are very sensitive about their language and about "foreigners" not speaking French in France and the Anglicisation of their language (google Toubon Law as an example .....) and Paris like many French cities should be thought of as many hundreds of small villages each a few streets wide with it's own local shops. So it is load of small communities where old fashioned courtesy is highly valued. You can get by without French, but when you try a few words - more often than not it is highly rewarded.
Enjoy your trip.