If you are visiting the mairie in the small town of Lhéraule in the Picardie area of northern France you had better watch your Ps and Qs. You can legally be ejected from the premises if you fail to greet staff politely with a bonjour and say please and thank you during your exchange. This ruling was apparently introduced in 2012 after a member of the public was curt and disrespectful to an employee of the town hall. "Users of the town hall of Lhéraule are required to comply with social norms of politeness and courtesy (...), in particular to greet those present when entering the premises", according to article 1 of the decree. The exceptions to the rules of polite greetings are during cases of civil emergency, election days or during a wedding.

Source: The Local December 23, 2019 07:07 UTC