UK comedian online sensation in France after thrashing local greeting kiss tradition (VIDEO)

A video of a British comedian’s sarcastic rant on the French tradition of greeting kisses has become an online hit both in France and abroad.

In the clip, Paul Taylor calls greetings kisses, or La Bise, “one of the most annoying things” he encountered during his 6-year stay in France.

“Before moving to Paris, my face had never touched another man’s face... So imagine my reaction when my friend Robert tried to say hello to me one day,” the British comedian says.

The video was filmed in one take and recorded in English, but has French subtitles.

WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE

According to Taylor, the air kissing tradition is both confusing and annoying for any foreigner arriving in the country.

“If I meet a girl that I’ve never met before, I don’t know what to do... Do I shake her hand, do I give her one kiss, do I give her two kisses, do I give her three kisses, do I give her four kisses, do I give her five kisses?” he wonders.

To make matters worse, every region in the country has its own take on the number of kisses required in different situations, the comedian complains.

In addition, one has to kiss every person in the room on arriving and repeat the same lengthy procedure when leaving, which Taylor also found very tiring.

The comedian’s solution was pretending being sick, which is the only possible excuse from giving greetings kisses in France.

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In his later interview with The Local, Taylor confessed that he was “not actually so bothered about doing it (La Bise),” but added that he still prefers the British approach, which allows one to say “Hi!” to everyone in a room at the same time.