What is Paris Syndrome?

Let’s start with the good news, it’s not infectious and there are no recorded fatalities.

Paris Syndrome is generally described as a culture shock experienced when foreigners arrive in Paris – it mostly affects tourists but can also be a problem for people who have moved here to live. It’s generally described as the shock experienced by people who have an idealised notion of Paris once they arrive and realise that it is just a city like any other – with crime, traffic, litter and other problems (along with a lot of good stuff, we should point out).

For most people this would simply be disappointing, but for some the shock is so severe that they can suffer from serious psychiatric symptoms.

Paris-based clinical psychologist Olivia Goto-Gréget told Le Parisien: “We can’t really speak of a pathology, but there are a number of well-documented symptoms, ranging from anxiety to malaise, which can sometimes lead to hallucinations or paranoid ideas.”

Other psychiatrists have reported panic attacks and delusional behaviour in people suffering from the syndrome.

The syndrome was first described in the 1980s by Hiroaki Ota, a Japanese psychiatrist based at the Hôpital Sainte-Anne in Paris’ 14th arrondissement.

He described seeing patients suffering from anxiety, depression, panic attacks and delusions, saying: “The disappointment linked to contact with the everyday reality [of Paris] is a factor in symptoms of incomprehension and anxiety, but also of disillusionment and depression.”

Although Paris Syndrome is the most widely reported, psychiatrists in countries including Italy and India have reported similar phenomena.

What causes it?

Most experts agree that it’s caused by a gulf between expectations and reality – it’s not that Paris is any worse than any other big city, it’s that people often have a highly romanticised view of it.

The city of Paris itself is definitely guilty of leaning in to this unreal vision, with its marketing suggesting that the entire city is clean, calm, well ordered and very romantic (a lot of marketing to tourists either implicitly or explicitly implies that you’re highly likely to have a love affair with a hot local on your visit).

TV shows and films are also often guilty of this, with Netflix hit Emily in Paris providing a highly idealised view of the life of a typical Paris-dweller.

However, there’s also a more general culture shock that can be difficult for visitors, especially non-Europeans.

“Waiting to be served on a café terrace, doing la bise [the French double-cheek kiss] shouting and crowds in the Metro – these are common in Paris, but are not always understood by some foreigners. They equate it with aggressive behaviour. Some visitors, particularly Japanese, still find it difficult to adapt to the French environment,” Goto-Gréget.

It’s also possible that someone might simply be being rude and aggressive towards you – that does happen in Paris despite progress in improving the city’s famously unhelpful service.

Are certain nationalities more vulnerable?

Paris Syndrome was initially thought to disproportionately affect Japanese tourists, but it’s now thought to be more widespread.

Hiroaki Ota, who first documented it, reported that most of his patients were Japanese, but Stéphane Quilichini, a French psychiatrist who has written about this syndrome, suggests that it’s likely that was simply because the psychiatrist was Japanese himself, spoke Japanese and was therefore a logical point of contact for suffering Japanese tourists.

Quilichini told Le Parisien that in his experience “we are all equal when it comes to pathology” but notes that non-French speakers are more likely to be affected.

He believes that the most likely indicator is having a history of psychiatric illness.

His colleague Goto-Gréget agrees, saying: “If there is a vulnerability, that can be reawakened abroad. Where people no longer benefit from the protection of their country or language.”

How to avoid it

They key to Paris syndrome appears to be a culture shock or disappointed expectations, so the more realistic the picture you have of Paris, the better.

This applies both to tourists and people who come to Paris to live – if you’re crippling shy you won’t suddenly become confident and outgoing in Paris; if you’ve been struggling to write your novel for 10 years it won’t magically come together just because you move cities; and a lifelong passionate romance with a sexy Frenchman/Frenchwoman is not guaranteed to everyone who spends more than a fortnight in the city.

Also, eating pain au chocolat and drinking wine will not magically make you slim – the slim Parisians are usually that way because they eat healthily and exercise.

Sorry. But it’s to be prepared.

READ ALSO How Parisians really stay in shape

There are a few things that you can do to prepare you for the real Paris – reading news sites about France (The Local, for example) will give you a good idea of the issues of the day, as will listening to podcasts made by people based here (The Local has the Talking France podcast, but there are lots of other options in English).

Romantic films about Paris are fun to watch, but don’t use them as research – we’ve put together a list of 9 TV series that will give you a more realistic view of modern France.

If you know anyone living in Paris, talk to them in advance about what the city is really like – not only will they give you helpful tips (bring comfortable shoes, avoid the Champs-Elysées) they will help prepare you for the real Paris. If you don’t have contacts here, you could try joining a couple of ‘expat’ groups on Facebook or other social media to see what people are talking about.

But don’t be put off visiting – here at The Local we all live in Paris and we love it, we also think the real city is a lot more exciting and interesting than the reheated romantic clichés . . .

READ ALSO The 10 best things about Paris that the movies never show