The french have a very stylized communication ritual--they always say 'bonjour' or "bonsoir" before beginning any other business. When we remembered that, which was 90% of the time, we were greeted with a smile, (and we don't speak french, at all), when we forgot it at the airport on the way home and we were in a big hurry, the information clerk we were talking to was grim--Instead of saying, "Bonjour--we're trying to find..." My husband walked up and said, "Hey! we are trying to find.." Picture yourself on a streetcorner and someone jus walks up to you and starts speaking Spanish--it would be a little disconcerting, to say the least. My routine was, "Bonjour, do you speak English?" and they were wonderful. All of that to say, Clemenza, that's my travel advice for France.
Hablo español, no hay problema aqui. ;-)
Thanks for the advice.