Yellow teeth. Colour blindness (at red lights). Infidelity. Verbally berating Americans. Loving cheese and wine. Being arrogant. Loving a dinner party discussion.
There are a lot of offensive stereotypes associated with French people. But what about someone who isn’t French, but who has lived in France?
A recent TikTok video by travel blogger and “Australian in Paris” @lilidebois shows off perfectly one habit you tend to pick up if you live in the land of Carrefour and Croissants for long enough.
That habit? Eating the end of your baguette before you get home.
“To bite or not to bite? Personally, a whole baguette has never made it home,” Lili captioned her video. Watch Lili’s video (and controversial baguette eating technique) below.
TikTok user @stellacastets agreed, but pointed out a petite error: “Yes! But I’ve never seen someone biting into it directly. We take a piece of it and then eat it.”
Another TikTok user, who seems to be French, wrote: “That’s why buy two baguettes.”
TikTok user @parisianlights, however, called Lili’s baguette eating method “culturally insensitive” and demanded an apology for this Crime Against Pâtisserie. Though @parisianlights looks to be trolling, they were far from alone in their outrage.
Many people in the comments section pointed out that you are (apparently) supposed to break the end of the baguette off with your hand, not your teeth. Some even claimed Lili’s light-hearted video almost gave them a heart attack.
Further comments included: “WHO EATS THE BAGUETTE LIKE THAT OMG NEVER AGAIN,” as well as “Yes but rip it with your hands” and “What your doing it’s the same feeling an Italian can have when you cut spaghetti.”
Not to be outdone, further TikTok users wrote things like: “DON’T EAT IT LIKE THAT” and “yeah but you’ll never see a Frenchman eating from the baguette directly, that’s like unholy.”
RELATED: The Truth About Why Parisians Are Rude To Tourists
Another said it’s against french law [not to eat the end] but “you [must] tear it with your hand first.”
“It’s so French they will think you’re a native. But do it with your hand please.”
RELATED: Why Not Being Accepted When You Travel Is Actually A Good Thing
Another TikTok user came to Lili’s defence, writing: “Stop baguette shaming her sis.”
Food for thought.