How To Date Like The French

If you’re looking for love in the City of Light, you need to know how to date like the French

- Mitch Moxley

Paris is renowned for being the most romantic city on earth, so what better place to find a soul mate? But to find l’amour here, you’ll need to know the rules of dating. Because courtship in the French capital is slightly different than it is in the States—it’s less a tiresome transaction and more a cherished ritual.

“For Parisians, there is no real dating protocol,” says David Vermeulen, CEO of the Inner Circle, a dating app that is bringing European dating sensibilities to the U.S. “There is no moving through ‘bases,’ no expectation of sex just because you both intimated it all evening, and no guarantee of a relationship past a certain, given number of dates. Many Parisians have never had a one-night stand, and the notion of dating multiple people until you decide to be exclusive is entirely alien to Parisians—kissing marks out exclusivity.”

Flirting is in Parisians’ genes, Vermeulen says, “and giving good chase is seen as the height of good manners.” Still, he notes, Parisians aren’t particularly overwrought about dating. “Wining and dining comes naturally to them, and so when it comes to a date, no matter how casual the plan and quite unlike Americans, Parisians focus on creating an intellectual and sensuous connection over food and drink.”