When in France........

 In France, eating out is an integral part of a holiday maker's life, so it's best to know a few rules and phrses.
This link is very good and gives you many tips:     http://french.about.com/od/vocabulary/a/restaurant.htm (it also gives you the main phrases in French and English that a waiter may ask or you may wish to ask the waiter...maybe printing this out and taking it with you may help!
It all starts of outside the place, looking at the menus and understanding them! Surely it isn't easy, without being in the trade yourelf, to understand ALL the dishes on offer, but certain things should be understood, like whether animals are allowed in, smoking is now allowed nowhere (not even on the enclosed terraces), whether reservations are required.....that 'TVA' is the equivalent of the tax 'VAT'.....that 'TTC' means 'Taxes,tous compris' (taxes - all in prices including service charges) Sevice Charges or tips are old fashioned nowadays, so unless you are particularly pleased or it is marked on the bill, you don't need to leave anything. This is another link telling the main points http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2007/04/tipping-in-fran-1/ Of course it's all up to you!
In what I call 'La France Profonde' (deepest France) the rules are different. Normally tips are smaller, if at all, and the waiters may feel it to be an insult,so really just a small amount! 

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