I think that's heard in Paris every summer. If you work in Paris in a tourist area, English is pretty much a prerequisite, even if the Parisians don't like it.
I remember when I visited Paris and Germany I tried really hard to use the rudimentary language skills I had. The French always seemed too frustrated to slow down to the speed I could manage, and the Germans were just excited to have a chance to practice their English, and chide me (in English) about our invasion of Iraq. (admittedly this was almost 20 years ago, so things might be different now.)
Yeah now we/Americans catch shit for trump and guns when abroad lol
Wear a maple leaf pin.
Ugh I've heard this hack before, don't ruin Canadians' reputation too!! We deservedly get enough flack as it is lol
People in Europe know all the big American cities and are well aware of the political differences. If someone asks where you are from, don't tell them you are from the US, tell them you are from NY/Chicago/LA/SF/whatever. There is a pretty decent chance that it will lead to a nice friendly conversation that you'll never get with an "I'm from the US" answer.
At this point, if they bring up the Iraq war, you can bring up WWII.
Especially since English is the tourist language for all tourists. Paris is full of Germans, Japanese, Russians, and many others. The wait staff and clerks aren't expected to speak every language, and the tourists aren't expected to speak conversational French. English is the fallback for everybody.
I think this was more of a joke on those tourists since the English is so similar to the French in that case...
A bit like "the French have no word for entrepreneur" (-- George w. Bush, alledgedly)