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Should you tip your French waiter? Here’s what to know ahead of Paris Olympics.
Americans are barely clear on when and where it’s appropriate to tip stateside, let alone what customs apply in France. As they prepare to join the 15 million people around the world traveling to the City of Light for the upcoming Olympics, U.S. tourists could benefit from knowing the accepted etiquette on tipping in Paris.
While changing tipping norms at home have American consumers frustrated over how often they’re prompted to leave a gratuity, a completely different set of unspoken rules govern tipping expectations overseas — and some French restaurant operators may be eager to take advantage of foreigners’ ignorance.
At restaurants in France, bills automatically include a service fee of 15% to cover servers’ wages, and so waitstaff there are not dependent on tips to make a living like they are in the U.S. Instead, it’s up to the discretion of the patron to decide if the service was good enough to warrant extra gratuity of a couple Euros, referred to as a “pourboire,” literally meaning “for drink.”
Another cultural difference: All manner of service people, including waiters and salespeople, are typically less solicitous of customers than they are in the U.S., in part because good service doesn’t come with the kind of monetary reward that accompanies it in the U.S. In other words, don’t expect your food to arrive promptly, or with a smile.
“The expression of service is not necessarily fast and attentive like it is here in U.S.,” said Erika Rodriguez, an operations specialist at travel site Going.com, who has spent the past four summers in France. “That’s not to say it’s a bad experience, but they want to make clear they are not your servant. They are very direct.”
Are restaurants taking advantage?
It’s no secret that European establishments prefer Americans over other nationalities of tourists precisely because they’re inclined to tip so generously. And some visitors to France report that restaurants are trying to squeeze extra cash out of tourists by encouraging them to leave the kind of gratuity they would in the U.S.
The trick was so common in St. Bart’s the last time she visited, that travel guru Melissa Biggs Bradley, founder of the Indagare travel agency, referred to it as “the St. Bart’s scam.”
“All the restaurants were asking people if they would like to leave tips without acknowledging that gratuity is built in,” Bradley told CBS MoneyWatch.
Going.com’s Rodriguez noted that in Paris, it’s a more common tactic at touristy spots, versus restaurants that draw local crowds. “They bring you a credit card machine with suggested tips comparable to amounts you leave in the U.S.,” she told CBS MoneyWatch.
Bending the rules
While hardly illegal, experts say it does amount to taking advantage of generous diners who are unfamiliar with foreign customs.
Brian Warrener, who has researched tipping norms across Europe and how they differ from those in the U.S., said in France, he uncovered what he referred to as “a little bit of a bending of the rules.”
“Especially in places where lots of Americans are traveling, restaurants will include a line on the bottom in English saying tipping is not included, even though there’s a 15% service charge,” Warrener told CBS MoneyWatch. “So they are clearly trying to communicate to folks who may not know the tipping forms in France.”
He noted that some operators use tablets to accept payment that include prompts for tips of 15% to 30%, a practice he suspects is becoming more widespread in anticipation of visitors arriving in Paris for the Olympics.
“In the U.S., that would be an inflated tip, but in France, where tipping is not part of compensation, it’s taking advantage,” Warrener said.
Bradley of Indagare offered advice for avoiding the tipping ruse. “If you pay by credit card and are prompted to leave a tip, ask if service is included,” Bradley said.
Be forewarned: “They might try to fudge it, but they can’t say ‘no’ when it is. They could say it’s a question of whether or not you want to give me something for nice service. But it’s absolutely standard, so the assumption should be you’re paying the service,” he added.
How much should I leave at a restaurant?
Given that a service charge is already baked into the total cost of a meal, servers aren’t expecting a whole lot extra. It is common though, to leave a little bit of loose change if you’re getting a coffee or meal, to reward good service. Rounding up a bill from 13.50 Euros to 14 Euros, or leaving a few Euros is usually sufficient.
“What Europeans are accustomed to doing when they get good service is they’ll round up the bill to say, ‘Nice job, here’s a little something extra,'” Warrener said.
He adds that, as a general rule, it’s incumbent on tourists to familiarize themselves with other countries’ customs before jetting overseas.
“If you go to France and don’t understand the tipping culture and assume it’s like it is in the U.S., they’re making it easy for you to make a mistake to their benefit,” he said.
Legislation to expand Social Security benefits to millions of Americans passed the U.S. Senate early Saturday and is now headed to the desk of President Joe Biden, who is expected to sign the measure into law.
Senators voted 76-20 for the Social Security Fairness Act, which would eliminate two federal policies that prevent nearly 3 million people, including police officers, firefighters, postal workers, teachers and others with a public pension, from collecting their full Social Security benefits. The legislation has been decades in the making, as the Senate held its first hearings into the policies in 2003.
“The Senate finally corrects a 50-year mistake,” proclaimed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, after senators approved the legislation at 12:15 a.m. Saturday.
The bill’s passage is “a monumental victory for millions of public service workers who have been denied the full benefits they’ve rightfully earned,” said Shannon Benton, executive director for the Senior Citizens League, which advocates for retirees and which has long pushed for the expansion of Social Security benefits. “This legislation finally restores fairness to the system and ensures the hard work of teachers, first responders and countless public employees is truly recognized.”
The vote came down to the wire, as the Senate looked to wrap up its current session. Senators rejected four amendments and a budgetary point of order late Friday night that would have derailed the measure, given the small window of time left to pass it.
Vice President-elect JD Vance of Ohio was among the 24 Republican senators to join 49 Democrats to advance the measure in an initial procedural vote that took place Wednesday.
“Social Security is a bedrock of our middle class. You pay into it for 40 quarters, you earned it, it should be there when you retire,” Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat who lost his seat in the November election, told the chamber ahead of Wednesday’s vote. “All these workers are asking for is for what they earned.”
What is the Social Security Fairness Act?
The Social Security Fairness Act would repeal two federal policies — the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) — that reduce Social Security payments to nearly 3 million retirees.
That includes those who also collect pensions from state and federal jobs that aren’t covered by Social Security, including teachers, police officers and U.S. postal workers. The bill would also end a second provision that reduces Social Security benefits for those workers’ surviving spouses and family members. The WEP impacts about 2 million Social Security beneficiaries and the GPO nearly 800,000 retirees.
The measure, which passed the House in November, had 62 cosponsors when it was introduced in the Senate last year. Yet the bill’s bipartisan support eroded in recent days, with some Republican lawmakers voicing doubts due to its cost. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the proposed legislation would add a projected $195 billion to federal deficits over a decade.
Without Senate approval, the bill’s fate would have ended with the current session of Congress and would have needed to be re-introduced in the next Congress.
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Saturday is the winter solstice and 2024’s shortest day. Here’s what to know about the official start of winter.
The 2024 winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, happens on Saturday, Dec. 21, in the Northern Hemisphere. The celestial event signifies the first day of winter, astronomically.
What is the winter solstice?
The winter solstice is the day each year that has the shortest period of daylight between sunrise and sunset, and therefore the longest night. It happens when the sun is directly above the Tropic of Capricorn, a line of latitude that circles the globe south of the equator, the National Weather Service explains.
The farther north you are, the shorter the day will be, and in the Arctic Circle, the sun won’t rise at all.
How is the day of the winter solstice determined?
The winter solstice occurs because of the Earth’s tilt as it rotates around the sun.
When the Northern Hemisphere tilts away from the sun, the nights last longer. The longest night happens on the solstice because the hemisphere is in its furthest position from the sun. That occurs each year on Dec. 21 or 22.
This year, it falls on Dec. 21 at 4:21 a.m ET, to be precise.
On the summer solstice, when the northern tilt is closest to the sun, we have the longest day, usually June 20 or 21.
National Weather Service
The solstices are not always exactly on the 21st every year because the earth’s rotation around the sun is 365.25 days, instead of 365 even.
Will days start getting longer after the winter solstice?
Yes. Each day after the solstice, we get one minute more of sunlight. It doesn’t sound like much, but after just two months, or around 60 days, we’ll be seeing about an hour more of sunlight.
When will winter officially be over in 2025?
The meteorological winter ends on March 20, 2025. Then, spring will last until June 20, when the summer solstice arrives.
How is the winter solstice celebrated around the world?
Nations and cultures around the world have celebrated the solstice since ancient times with varying rituals and traditions. The influence of those solstice traditions can still be seen in our celebrations of holidays like Christmas and Hanukkah, Britannica notes.
The ancient Roman Saturnalia festival celebrated the end of the planting season and has close ties with modern-day Christmas. It honored Saturn, the god of harvest and farming. The multiple-day affair had lots of food, games and celebrations. Presents were given to children and the poor, and slaves were allowed to stop working.
Gatherings are held every year at Stonehenge, a monumental circle of massive stones in England that dates back about 5,000 years. The origins of Stonehenge are shrouded in mystery, but it was built to align with the sun on solstice days.
Andrew Matthews/PA Images via Getty Images
The Hopi, a Native American tribe in the northern Arizona area, celebrate the winter solstice with dancing, purification and sometimes gift-giving. A sacred ritual known as the Soyal Ceremony marks the annual milestone.
In Peru, people honor the return of the sun god on the winter solstice. The ancient tradition would be to hold sacrificial ceremonies, but today, people hold mock sacrifices to celebrate. Because Peru is in the Southern Hemisphere, their winter solstice happens in June, when the Northern Hemisphere is marking its summer solstice.
Scandinavia celebrates St. Lucia’s Day, a festival of lights.
The “arrival of winter,” or Dong Zhi, is a Chinese festival where family gathers to celebrate the year so far. Traditional foods include tang yuan, sweet rice balls with a black sesame filling. It’s believed to have its origins in post-harvest celebrations.
Researchers stationed in in Antarctica even have their own traditions, which may include an icy plunge into the polar waters. They celebrate “midwinter” with festive meals, movies and sometimes homemade gifts.