Sacre Bleu! French Admit They Are Rude

The French have admitted that they are rude - and that it is time for a change.

The surprising admission follows a poll last month for Paris transport company RATP .

The poll revealed that 97% of bus and underground passengers had witnessed rude behaviour.

Commentators point out that this appears to be the first time the French have acknowledged what visitors to France - and particularly Paris - have long concluded.

And the French are fighting back with a campaign to improve behaviour, news channel France 24 has revealed.

Among the biggest bugbears for commuters are loud conversations on mobile phones, jumping on a metro train before passengers have a chance to get off and just general "lack of manners".

The RATP campaign features a series of ads showing "rude" animals tormenting "civilised" humans.

One shows a hen shouting into a mobile while on a bus; another depicts a buffalo fighting its way onto a busy train and a third pictures a sloth uncaring and relaxed as it takes up more than its share of space.

RATP has also put up a website showing a range of scenarios that could happen to a traveller on public transport, and suggested commuters add their own words as captions for the pictures.