Superstitions and weird beliefs of the French

In France superstitions and odd customs are a daily way of life says Janine Marsh as she takes you down the rabbit hole of the superstitions and weird beliefs of the French…

Treading in dog poo is lucky in France

Now I must say, being superstitious is normal in most, if not all, countries. And plenty of superstitions are the same in France as they are in many countries – like not walking under a ladder and lucky black cats. But France also has some superstitions that are very peculiar like believing it’s lucky to tread in dog poo. But it’s only lucky if you tread in merde with your left foot. If you tread in it with your right foot – not so lucky.

There used to be a shop in Paris which sold “lucky dog shit from Paris”. They obviously didn’t follow their own advice because it wasn’t a best seller and the shop has now gone. Imagine someone coming to Paris for a holiday and then taking home a souvenir like that for their friends. “Here you are grandmother, I bought you a gift from Paris!” Maybe you would wrap it up nice, the French way, you know stylish paper, a ribbon, maybe some glitter. And then imagine the anticipation of the person you’re giving the gift to, they pull the ribbon, they gently peel back the paper, they lift out the tin and read those words… and then look at you as if you have gone totally bonkers!

Even French people don’t know why they say this really because it’s not very lucky at all, you have a mess to deal with whichever foot. It probably started as a joke because in Paris some people don’t clear up after their dogs and somehow the joke became a superstition that spread…

See an owl and give birth to a baby girl! What?!

One day I was in our local supermarket, queuing at the checkout with the usual kiss on the cheek and chit-chat going on at the checkout, while we all waited in line. This is normal in France. The checkout staff in rural French supermarkets pretty much know everyone that comes in and they always have a catch up and a kiss over the counter. It wouldn’t matter if a top Hollywood star was in the queue and late for an awards ceremony. If the President popped in for a bottle of milk (which maybe could happen as he has a second home in the seaside town of Le Touquet near where I live) he’d still have to wait. It doesn’t matter who is in the queue, or how long it is, we all have to wait for this important social ritual.

Anyway, I was next in line to be served and the woman in front of me who was pregnant said to the lady at the counter that she had seen a “hibou” (an owl) and therefore her bébé was going to be a girl! Now my French is ok, though it’s not perfect but I was sure that I heard that right. So when I got home I l looked it up and sure enough it’s an old French superstition. Seeing an owl when you’re pregnant foretells that you will be give birth to a female child.

Halloween in France

And it gets weirder. Some French people say that if you sing on Halloween, it will create stormy weather! It’s Halloween, and the sky is clear and you’re singing a nice little song in the kitchen as you make your pumpkin pie, all happy, feeling festive, glass of wine, maybe a nice white from the Loire Valley or a deep red Bordeaux. You pop the pie in the oven, it’s been a lovely sunny day… and then a clap of thunder, a storm arrives – that might be your fault! Literally singing up a storm! I did that!

Weird cat superstitions

One of my neighbours used to say it was bad luck to cross a stream carrying a cat! Actually in the old days they used to believe that if you did that, someone in your family would die. Yep. That’s weird.

If a cat sneezes near a bride on her wedding day – great, because that means the marriage will be happy!

Strange marriage superstitions

The French say “marriage pluvieux, marriage heureux”, meaning: if it rains at your wedding, you will have a happy life as a couple.

And when you move into a new home, you don’t carry your bride over the threshold, you carry the dining room table first if you want to be lucky! That’s so French isn’t it. The table for the food first, most important!

Very odd teeth beliefs

Now, let’s talk about the tooth mouse! In some countries when you’re a kid and your tooth falls out, the tooth fairy comes and leaves you some money. But in France they have a tooth mouse – called la petite Souris. The little mouse collects the tooth and leaves a euro!

Talking of teeth, how’s this for a really really odd French superstition. My friends who live a couple of villages along from mine, had a really old dog called Bob, and he had some bad teeth that had to be taken out. So they went to the vets to get it dealt with. When they went to collect Bob afterwards, the vet asked them if they wanted to keep the rotten teeth. “Why would we want his teeth?” my friends asked. “For the moles” said the vet and my friends said they did actually wonder if the vet had had a glass or two of pastis.

But no, it turns out that there was a waiting list for dogs teeth as it’s said that they keep the moles away. I wonder if that’s why they’re called molars?

Strange food customs in France

Ok, let’s talk about some foodie customs because when it comes to France, we cannot talk for long without talking about food.

Never place a baguette (or even bread in general) upside down on a table. This superstition comes from long ago days when executioners could take things from shops without paying – I mean who’s going to argue? Bakers would leave bread upside down for them. If you leave it upside down, it’s said that the people who were meant to eat will be cursed, and you will invite famine into your house.

One of my favourite food superstitions is when you go to a restaurant and there are 13 people in a group. As you know 13 is unlucky – so the waiter puts an egg on the table to make it 14 and ward off the bad luck!

Lucky Friday 13^th in France!

Napoleon was quite a superstitious man. He believed that Josephine, his beloved, brought him good luck and it seems she really played up on it. Once when one of his ministers suggested to her that it may be in the best interests of France to grant Napoleon a divorce as she couldn’t bear him children, she reported it to Napoleon and told him she was afraid a divorce would bring bad luck. Napoleon, who likely got the minister to talk to her in the first place, didn’t push it, at least for a while. It’s said that he really believed he was guided by a lucky star, he hated the number 13, and he didn’t like Fridays! Which is actually the opposite to the French belief, Friday 13^th is supposed to be lucky! In fact it’s the best day to buy your lottery ticket in France.

Lucky places to visit in France

Places can be lucky too! Like in the the Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris where some of the thousands of graves in there are said to bring luck… At the grave of French writer Allan Kardec, an unusual dolmen-shaped tomb known as the most floral in the cemetery, you can make a wish and by touching a certain spot on the grave, it will come true. And if it does come true, you have to come back and lay flowers – which is why it’s the most flowery grave in the cemetery.

And, near the famous Sorbonne university there is a statue of Michel de Montaigne, a French philosopher born in 1533. He is sitting with his legs crossed and there is a tradition for students to rub his right foot while saying “Salut Montaigne” and it will bring good luck during the exams!

If you go to Dijon in Burgundy, on the corner of the church of Notre Dame building is a little brass owl, it’s said that if you rub the owl with your left hand, not your right hand, that doesn’t count, and make a wish it will come true. If you stand there, you’ll see loads of people come past and rub the owl – locals and visitors. I’ve rubbed it myself a few times. My wish hasn’t come true yet, but maybe if I buy a ticket on Friday the 13th it will!

Lucky ladybirds!

The French believe that if you see a ladybird, or ladybug, fly away – it’s good luck, or it can mean good weather is on the way! If the ladybird lands on you, count the dots on its back and that’s how many happy months you will have. Or you can make a wish and the ladybird will take it to heaven for you. Or if you hold it in your hand, and it doesn’t try to fly away – it means the bad weather is coming! It’s a very old superstition and goes back more than 1000 years. King Robert the Pious (born in the year 972) was watching a prisoner being executed and as the poor man bent over to have his head lopped off, a ladybird landed on his neck. The executioner tried to wave it away but it stayed. So King Robert said it must be a sign from God that the prisoner was in fact innocent, and he pardoned him.

How to get good luck – according to the French!

If you really want some good luck to flow your way, what you have to do is find a French sailor, dressed in uniform and wearing his traditional bonnet on which is a little red bobble. And then you have to twiddle to the bobble. I don’t know about twiddle, sounds like twaddle to me!

Janine Marsh is the author of several internationally best-selling books about France. Her latest book How to be French – a celebration of the French lifestyle and art de vivre, is out now – a look at the French way of life.