Rude, arrogant, mean and moaning. Who? The French on holiday

Guess which nationality figures yet again amongst the most unwelcome when on holiday abroad - the French

For the third consecutive year they rate poorly in a survey of hoteliers carried out on behalf of the Internet travel agency Expedia.fr

Overall they're second from bottom, and are generally seen as rude, mean, complaining and arrogant.

So no clichés there.

Time maybe for the French to take a lesson from the Japanese, British and Canadians, those nationalities that filled the top three slots.

Bastille day (July 14) might have been an excuse for the French to show off their military might with the traditional parade down the Champs Elysées; this year's guest of honour was India.

And there was blanket morning television coverage, exhorting the wonders of the French defence capability and generally revelling in national pride.

All of course in memory of the storming of the Bastille 220 years ago and part of the country's celebration of...well...being France.

But there's perhaps a characteristic the French would like not to dwell on which has nothing to do with fierce nationalism and everything to do with how they're apparently perceived when abroad.

French tourists are pretty much the worst in the world, according to a recent study conducted amongst 4,500 hoteliers by TNS Infratest on behalf of Expedia.fr

They ranked 27th (out of 28 countries) well behind those that headed the list and the worst-placed Europeans.

Only one nationality ranked lower than the French - the Chinese.

The survey questioned hoteliers worldwide about how they found the behaviour of guests from different countries in a number of categories including , general attitude, politeness, discretion, tendency to complain and elegance.

The result doesn't make for pleasant reading as far as the French are concerned.

For a country which likes to think of itself as having a legendary "savoir-vivre" and gallantry, simple manners and good behaviour seem to be more myth than reality, if the survey is to be believed.

The French are the least generous - leaving smaller tips - top the class in complaining and are generally perceived as "impolite (read "rude").

A simple "hello, thank you and goodbye" would not go amiss from the French, and that of course in the local language, which is seen as part of the problem when they decide to venture abroad.

"On the whole we don't speak English or at the best very little," says Timothée de Roux, Expedia's marketing director, adding with remarkable perspicacity, "We speak French which not a great deal of the rest of the world does."

Evidently the French are not quite as willing (or able) to make the effort of the top-ranking Japanese.

Apart from that perennial language problem though, there's also the claim that the French are "mean". But de Roux says the "lack of generosity" might just be a cultural thing, especially when it comes to tipping, as it's simply not a tradition among the French.

In France, "service" is usually included in the bill, whereas in the United States it's common practice to leave (at least) 15 per cent.

"In comparison with other nationalities, the French tend not to travel abroad (90 per cent of them holiday in France) and when they do hoteliers find that they're not very generous and spend less," he said.

"And there's no longer a habit of leaving a tip in France."

One bright note perhaps as far as the French are concerned is that when it comes to "discretion" they rank fourth. Apparently they make less noise than their Italian and Spanish neighbours.

But on the whole they still have a long, long way to go to match the Japanese, and for the moment at least have yet again earned the tag of being among the world's worst tourists.