Last updated at 19:02 09 July 2007

Parisians have been told they are rude AND smelly - by their own tourism chiefs.

Tourist officials in Paris have told the city's notoriously grumpy waiters, shopkeepers and taxi drivers that their bad manners and poor personal hygiene are driving visitors away.

This week the Paris tourist office launched a major campaign urging all the city's residents to make tourists feel more welcome in the city.

Hundreds of thousands of brochures containing a "charter" of commitments to be helpful and polite are being handed out to Parisiens and tourists in English and in French.

The charter tells locals, "I will take the time to give information to visitors".

And it urges them to, "make use of my foreign-language skills to reply to visitors in their own language".

But it also tells tourists, "I will experience the Parisien lifestyle" and "I will take advantage of my stay to try French products".

As part of the drive to make visitors feel more welcome, tourist board staff will be sent to the city's most-visited sites in orange and white T-shirts bearing the slogan "Paris est vous", meaning Paris is Yours.

A recent global survey ranked Paris as the world's third most attractive city behind Sydney and London, but it came only 52nd out of 60 for friendliness.

Japanese psychologists have identified what they call "Paris Syndrome", when polite Japanese tourists suffer mental breakdown at the shock of being treated rudely by Parisian locals.

On average, up to 12 Japanese tourists a year fall victim to it, mainly women in their 30s whose high expectations of their first dream trip abraod are shattered by Parisien arrogance.

The Japanese embassy has a 24-hour hotline for those suffering from severe culture shock, and provides hospital treatment for anyone in need.

Paris tourist office chairman Jean-Claude Lesourd said: "We have been trying very hard for a number of years to improve the welcome that Parisians offer to visitors.

"And things are getting better. More and more Parisians can answer questions in English, for example. The old stereotype of people only speaking French is no longer true."

He added: "We have made particular efforts with the city's taxi drivers with workshops to teach them subjects ranging from English speaking to hygiene and how to smile.

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"We train them to try to be more friendly and I think big progress has been made. A lot of them can say a few words in English now, and they are cleaner, too."

Around 16 million people staying in the French capital's hotels every year, making it the world's most popular urban tourist destination.

Tourism in Paris is worth more than 10 billion pounds a year and employs 150,000 people, according to the Tourist Office.

The charter of committments for Parisians reads:

• I will take the time to give information to visitors.

• I will make use of my foreign-language skills to reply to them in their language.

• I will recommend to visitors things I appreciate about Paris.

• I am proud of my city, the No 1 tourist destination in the world.

• And the commitments for the visitor are: I will experience the Parisian lifestyle.

• I will take advantage of my stay to try French products.

• I will respect the city and use public transport.