History Main / GratuitousFrench

* ''Film/TheNutcrackerAndTheFourReals'' has the villain, the Sugar Plum fairy.

* In ''VideoGame/UnleashTheLight'', Amethyst sometimes says ''"Excusez-moi!"'' when switching places with another party member.

* In the instruction manual for ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend'', the description for a GrimReaper unit lists a number of synonyms for death, including "petite mort", which is literally French for "little death". Unfortunately (or [[RatedMForManly possibly intentionally]]), it's also an idiom for "orgasm", which is [[{{Squick}} hopefully not related]] [[NightmareFetishist to the monster in question]].

* Mid-Boss from ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness'' is fond of using "moi" in place of "me" during his [[LargeHam dramatic speeches]], simply because it sounds exotic.
** The original script had him using GratuitousEnglish as well, which obviously wouldn't work if translated literally.
** He uses Gratuitous French in the original script as well, saying "Mademoiselle".
* Mitsuru Kirijo of ''VideoGame/Persona3'' is prone to dropping a phrase or two at times, at least in the English dub. Then again, considering that she's [[TheSmartGuy the girl with the highest marks in school]], she might actually know a fair bit of French.
** "'Tray ben?' What does that mean? That's not English is it?"
** The French exchange student, on the other hand, spouts GratuitousJapanese. Go figure.
** Akihiko gets in on the action in the PSP remake.
* ''VideoGame/Persona5'' uses tarot cards motifs throughout based on the French [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarot_of_Marseilles Tarot of Marseilles]], despite being a Japanese game made by a Japanese Company and set in the Japanese city of UsefulNotes/{{Tokyo}}.
%%* Kindle from ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars''.

* Waka in ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'' uses French cliché phrases from time to time in the American translation. In the original Japanese version, he used GratuitousEnglish, but that wouldn't have translated well.
* Ruby Heart in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom2''. Or at least it's supposed to be French. You can barely tell.
* The Belgian Jeanette "Angel" Devereaux of the ''VideoGame/WingCommander'' series often inserts French words and phrases into her speech, (for example, "Oui, mon colonel") and commonly refers to people as "monsieur" or ("mademoiselle" for Spirit).
* The Spy in ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' uses a heavy French...[[WhatTheHellIsThatAccent ish]] accent and numerous gratuitous French lines (and one or two GratuitousSpanish[=/=][[GratuitousItalian Italian]] lines as well). As part of a running development theme, his lines have numerous grammar errors ("ma petit chou-fleur" should use the male article, even when referring to a woman), and his voice actor isn't French. In the French ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', the Spy has some GratuitousEnglish in his lines instead.
* One of the preps in ''VideoGame/{{Bully}}'' refers to himself as ''nouveau riche'' because he's ashamed to admit that his father is a self-made man.

%%* [[VideoGame/BackyardSports "Bonjour! My name's Billy Jean Blackwood!"]]
* The Coin Block people in ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story]]'' speak in a French accent. Broque Monsieur might count as a FrenchJerk in that he hates Mario for "lowering the value" of Blocks and will tell him to scram if he comes by his shop.
** Although when generic NPC versions of their species appear in ''Dream Team'', they speak normally; Broques Monsieur and Madame retain their accents.
* Mostly justified in the ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' series:
** The "Les Enfants Terribles" project, named after Creator/JeanCocteau's novel of the same name.
** "Militaires Sans Frontières" is a [[{{Pun}} Médecins sans Frontières pun]].
** Pieuvre Armement's name and motto "Les tentacules de la pieuvre pour votre guerre!"[[note]]Arms of the octopus, arms for your war![[/note]] is because it's based in France.

* Innes Lorenz from ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'' deserves an honorable mention, since all of her artes contain french words.
* ''VideoGame/TwistedWonderland'': [[LargeHam Rook Hunt]] is prone to this; he often peppers words like ''beauté'' and ''très bien'' into his sentences and refers to other students as ''rois'' (kings, in case of dorm heads) and ''messieurs''.
* A few items in ''VideoGame/RadiantHistoria'' have French names, as does the continent on which it takes place, Vainqueur ("conqueror").

* ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' has the spell ''Eclair de L'armes'' (Flash of Tears, though due to apostrophe turns it into Flash of the Weapon) and its [=FoF=] Change, ''Flamme Rouge''.
* Almost every line from Harle in ''VideoGame/ChronoCross''. The foppish FakeUltimateHero Pierre peppers his speech with French as well.

* ''Everywhere'' in ''VideoGame/RhythmThiefAndTheEmperorsTreasure''. Even the characters without French accents speak French from time to time. Then again, the game IS set in France.
* Fantina speaks gratuitous French in every language version of ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' except Japanese and French. In the original Japanese version and the French localization, she spoke GratuitousEnglish and her name was Melissa/Kiméra.
* This is all over the place in ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'', due to the region of Kalos being based on France. For instance:
** Almost all the routes in Kalos[[note]]Such as the early Route 22 and its egregiously grammatically wrong "Détourner Way"[[/note]] and streets in Lumiose City bear French names.
** In the cafes, the items on the menu are known by their French names.
** Quite a few characters also pepper their speech with French words, such as Professor Sycamore.
** The Pokémon Furfrou is based on a poodle, a French breed of dog. Interestingly, it says the French onomatopoeia for barking "ouaf-ouaf" rather than the English "woof", or [[PokemonSpeak its name]].

* In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'', Mission 2 is titled "Le Porte De L'Enfer", French for "The HellGate" (literally "The Door of Hell") only with the wrong article.
* In the Japanese version of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', Lightning's real name is [[spoiler:Éclair Farron. Éclair means "lightning" in French. The English release changed it to Claire, likely because English speakers equate the word "éclair" with a type of pastry rather than a lightning strike]].
* In ''VideoGame/TheMatrixPathOfNeo'' the Merovingian is prone to this when he get's angry, also see ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded'' example above.
* Magnolia Arch in ''VideoGame/BravelySecond'' peppers her dialogue with this in the English localization. In the Japanese version, she speaks GratuitousEnglish instead.
* Passepartout in [[VideoGame/EightyDays 80 Days]] curses in French (merde!) and sticks to 'monsieur' and 'madame' when referring to people, mainly just because he can be a tad patriotic.
* ''VideoGame/UminekoGoldenFantasia'' (A FightingGame based off ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'') has a French translation beneath just about every piece of on-screen text during battles, [[RuleOfCool just because]]. A lot of them are grammatically dubious or translate into the wrong word, such as "Guard Touch" being translated as "Garder le toucher"[[note]]"Keep the touch", "Garder" can mean either "Keep" or "Guard"[[/note]], "Counter hit" being "En sens inverse coup"[[note]]Which should be "Coup en sens inverse"[[/note]], and "Dash Cancel" becoming "Tiret annulé"[[note]]"Canceled dash", with the "dash" referring to the punctuation sign[[/note]]
* ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' and ''VideoGame/MegaManZX'' series uses a ''lot'' of French words for names of characters, and they even throw in a few ThemeNaming here and there: Characters from ''Zero'''s LaResistance are named after birds (their leader, Ciel, is French for sky), refugees in Area Zero are named after weathers (including their unofficial leader, Neige, snow), the Guardians are named after terrains (such as their leader, Prairie). Even their OST also gets on on the fun, with a few tracks such as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EilBhhRCfrw Grand Nuage]] (great cloud).
* Parodied in ''VideoGame/BreathOfDeathVII'' with the supposedly French zombie Erik, who every now and then blurts out "LE BRAINS!" (by the way, it should be "Les cerveaux").
* The ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'' GameMod ''Courier 11'' has two levels with gratuitous French names: "Le plein de super"(Fill it up with super, said to gas/petrol station attendants), and "Deja vu, s'il vous plait"(Already seen, if you please).

* There is a Japan-only PlatformGame for the [[UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16 PC Engine CD]] known as ''VideoGame/FausseteAmour'' ("False Love").
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'': Rarely, Haitian gang members will say "Attention!" during fights, using the French pronunciation ("attention" means "Beware" or "Watch out" in French). Cortez's French courier and the French commandos sent to kill him also [[PoirotSpeak pepper their dialogue with stock French words]].

->'''Applebloom:''' Sacre bleu! Plus de Marques de Cutie! ''[{{gasp}}s]'' Qu'est-ce c'est? Je parle Français!?[[note]]Darn it! More Cutie Marks! ''[{{gasp}}s]'' What's this? I'm speaking French!?[[/note]]\\

** Sherry Leblanc from ''Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's''. Her name is bad enough, but her cae monster's name is "Fleur de Chevalier", which (because it is grammatically incorrect) literally means "Flower of Knight" "Fleur du Chevalier" is the corrent name. The English game translates it as "Chevalier de Fleur", or (again, due to grammar) "Knight of Flower".

** In the same token, US border states with Quebec will have road signs that contain both French and English names, and imperial (miles) and metric (kilometers) measurements. In particular, Vermont and New Hampshire's "you're now entering" signs will often include both "welcome" and "bienvenue." Vermont is notable for having this greeting also on the signs for its state capital, which is nowhere near the Canadian border.

* Commonly seen in Quebec due to the province's language laws, leading to, for instance, Italian or Asian restaurants advertising their French names and signage in English-language ads running on Plattsburgh/Burlington or Ottawa ([[TakeAThirdOption or English Quebec]]) TV stations, since Anglophones have to ''find'' the place in French.

* PlayedForLaughs on ''Series/GilmoreGirls.'' Lorelai's father is entertaining important guests, one of whom speaks only French. Unfortunately, the only French Lorelai knows is from [[Film/MoulinRouge "Lady Marmalade,"]] which she [[IntercourseWithYou quotes]] without knowing what it means. Much to the [[FeeFiFauxPas horror of ''everyone'' in the room]].

* PlayedForLaughs on ''Series/GilmoreGirls.'' Lorelai's father is entertaining important guests, one of whom speaks only French. Unfortunately, the only French Lorelai knows is from [[Film/Film/MoulinRouge "Lady Marmalade,"]] which she [[IntercourseWithYou quotes]] without knowing what it means. Much to the [[FeeFiFauxPas horror of ''everyone'' in the room]].

* Music/{{Enigma}}'s "Sadness" and "Mea Culpa" combine this with GratuitousLatin.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays'': The speech of V.V. Argost, [[BigBad the big bad]], is often peppered with French. Case and point, his [[{{Catchphrase}} catchphrase]], "greetings and bienvenue!" Which is said a ''lot''.

* ''{{Literature/Suspicion}}'' by Swiss author Friedrich Dürrenmatt has a character named Edith Marlok whose CatchPhrase is ''C'est ça''.

-->-- ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': In the episode [[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE25TheClockKing "The Clock King"]]: The Clock King loves it: ''Adieu'', ''En garde!'', ''Au contraire''...

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': In the episode "The Golf War", one of the {{Lilliput|ians}}tians living in the Eiffel Tower hole at Ye Royal Discount Putt Hutt randomly shouts "Je ne sais quoi, sacre bleu, au revoir!"[[note]]I don't know, holy crap, goodbye![[/note]] This is even subtitled as [[LampshadeHanging "I don't actually know French."]]

** Fluttershy's rant about Rarity's dress in "Suited For Success" has her use the phrases ''prêt-à-porter'' and ''haute couture''.
** The voice Pinkie Pie gives [[CompanionCube Madame LeFlour]] ("her" name itself an example) in "Party of One". "Oui! Zat eez correct, madame."
** Happens again in "The Cutie Pox" when Apple Bloom suddenly gets a FleurDeLis cutie mark, causing her to speak French.
** Apple Bloom still speaks French in the French dub, just French from about 300 years ago.
--->'''Applejack:''' My sister's speakin' in Fancy!
** "The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000" has the Flim Flam Brothers refer to themselves as traveling salesponies ''nonpareils''.
** More on the side of sophisticated but non-pretentious: In season 1 episode one Rarity exclaims:

** In "Magic Duel", The Great and Powerful Trixie show off her boastfullness:

* ''VideoGame/StoryOfSeasonsPioneersOfOliveTown'': Karina, the FashionDesigner staying in town who runs the clothing shop after it's built, sometimes greets the PlayerCharacter with a "Bonjour".

* In the WebOriginal/{{Protectors of the Plot Continuum}}'s base in New Caledonia, all the street names and place names are in French (e.g. the Rue Jay Thorntree[[note]]Jay Thorntree Street[[/note]], Musée des Univers Perdus[[note]]Museum of Lost Universes[[/note]], Parc Creator/JRRTolkien[[note]]J. R. R. Tolkien Park[[/note]], etc.)

* ''Animation/TheIllusionauts'' (''Freedom Force'' in the US) does a lot to remind you where the setting is. 'Tis annoying after a while, non?

* ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'': If you pause the player at the beginning of the fourth episode, you can read the letter to the principal. While it's not exactly bad French, the grammar is a bit off sometimes.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' is prone to this, though we never find out why. Also, the narrator of the show speaks not only in the same voice, but with a thick French accent as a ShoutOut to Jacques Cousteau.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' loves to go about Frenchifying the characters' dialogue:
** In "Cape Feare," Sideshow Bob utters "Ah, ''le mot juste''!" upon finding the perfect word for a death note to Bart.
** In "Lisa's Rival," Bart describes his mischief as being "Bartesque".
** When taking the family to see an artsy-fartsy French-Canadian circus in "Skinner's Sense of Snow," Lisa mentions that "We've had tickets since ''septembre''!" (which, if you're curious, is pronounced something like "sep't-OM-brrr").
** In "I Am Furious (Yellow)," Nelson lets loose an "Ah, ''le mot juste''!" as well when lauding ''Danger Dog'''s witty dialogue.
** Marge once said "''Tres bien''" after hearing a menu item described to her by a waiter - somewhat justified since she's in a fancy restaurant, and ''really'' justified when you remember that Marge's family (the Bouviers) are of French ancestry.

* Emily from ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' loves to randomly sprinkle her sentences with French words, due to having a French nanny and the implication that she may have some French heritage herself. Most of the time, it's unnecessary.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode [[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE25TheClockKing "The Clock King"]]: The Clock King loves it: ''Adieu'', ''En garde!'', ''Au contraire''...
* Napoleon Jones often speaks French in ''WesternAnimation/MagicAdventuresOfMumfie''. There was even a whole episode about it.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' episode "The Golf War", one of the {{Lilliput|ians}}tians living in the Eiffel Tower hole at Ye Royal Discount Putt Hutt randomly shouts "Je ne sais quoi, sacre bleu, au revoir!"[[note]]I don't know, holy crap, goodbye![[/note]] This is even subtitled as [[LampshadeHanging "I don't actually know French."]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLingoShow'' has a character named Jargonaise who teaches children French the same way WesternAnimation/DoraTheExplorer tries to teach children Spanish.
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}'' has Nathan thanking Dethklok's French chef with "Merci. Bon cafe".
* In ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'', the French supervillain The Brain constantly inserts French words in the middle of comically accented English sentences, presumably because the producers couldn't figure out how to dress a BrainInAJar in a beret and a black-and-white striped shirt. And where would he carry the loaf of French bread?
* The Latin-American Spanish dub of ''WesternAnimation/WackyRaces'' occasionally has "Pierre Nodoyuna" (Dick Dastardly) doing this.
* The speech of V.V. Argost, [[BigBad the big bad]] of ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays'' is often peppered with French. Case and point, his [[{{Catchphrase}} catchphrase]], "greetings and bienvenue!" Which is said a ''lot''.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'' episode “[[Recap/ReadyJetGoS2E16SunspotsSunspotOurSunIsAStar Sunspot’s Sunspot]]", Celery says "Bon appetit, as the French Earthies say".
* A ''WesternAnimation/PixieDixieAndMrJinks'' cartoon had a runaway lion seeking Pixie and Dixie's help in hiding out from the zoo ''and'' from Mr. Jinks, who finds out a big reward is offered for the recapture of the lion. The two "meeces" disguise the lion as a French poodle whose French speaking consists of "coup de grace!" (which he mispronounces as "coop de grass" as opposed to the regular "coo de grah").
-->'''Jinks:''' (''after the lion secretly ambushes him a second time'') Okay, I reiterates...what clobbered me? And don't give me any of that "cut the grass" stuff!

* Tomo in ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'' speaks French on occasion, such as when she described Osaka's yawn as "très bien".

* Much of the music Yoko Kanno provided for ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' is in a weird French-ish language of her own design. Notable tunes in that language include "Cats on Mars".

* Taki from ''Manga/Eyeshield21'' calls people "monsieur" for some reason.
* If you pause the player at the beginning of the fourth episode of ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'', you can read the letter to the principal. While it's not exactly bad French, the grammar is a bit off sometimes.

* In the English dub of the ''Manga/FruitsBasket'' anime, there is a line shouted by either Shigure or Ayame that sounds suspiciously like the French equivalent of "THE AIRPLANE! WHERE IS THE BATHTUB?" In the original Japanese, they shout "Je t'aime, mon amour! Bon voyage!" -- "I love you, my love! have a nice trip!"

* Early on in a case arc of ''Manga/TheKindaichiCaseFiles'', Akechi greets a native French speaker (a French model) with fluent French before the latter clarifies that she has stayed in Japan long enough to be able to communicate well in Japanese.
* Arumi's father from ''Anime/MagicalShoppingArcadeAbenobashi'' quite often uses this trope as he's a chief who specializes in French cuisine.
* The insert song that plays in the first episode of ''Manga/MarchComesInLikeALion'' while Rei is heading to the Sendagaya Shogi Hall for his match against his adoptive father is completely in French. Why Shaft chose a French song to play while the protagonist is walking through one of Tokyo's wards is not entirely clear, especially when the series as a whole is dedicated to a game whose popularity is almost entirely restricted within Japan.

* An example from ''Manga/MonsterMusume'': one of Rachnera Arachnera's {{Image Song}}s is titled ''Belle Sadique'', meaning "Beautiful Sadist", a fitting description for the sexy [[SpiderPeople arachne]]. It also counts for EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench.

* Tamaki from ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'' is half-French, half-Japanese, and loves to say how Kyouya is "[son] ami!!!!" With the tonic accent on "a" instead of "mi". Creator/CaitlinGlass lampshaded in the commentary that the French speakers wouldn't have been very happy had the English dub kept that.
* Fantina from the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' anime peppers her speech with French phrases in the English dub. In the original Japanese she peppers her speech with [[GratuitousEnglish English]] instead.

* In the English-dubbed version of the ''Anime/PrettySammy'' OAV, Pixy Misa would speak French words and phrases.
* Most of the track titles on the ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'' soundtracks are in French. Either that or they're a mess of numbers, letters, and underscores.

* In the ''VideoGame/SakuraWars'' OVA ''École de Paris'', the characters speak in French at least for the first few minutes, which doubles as BilingualBonus.

* Kuroi Tatsuki in ''Anime/SuperGALS! Kotobuki Ran'' uses a few French words.
* In an English-dubbed episode of ''Anime/TenchiInTokyo'', Ayeka spoke French upon meeting BadassBiker Masayo.

* The song "Valse de la Lune" from the ''Anime/WolfsRain'' soundtrack is also completely in French.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'': Robin Hood, who despite being a British folklore character aligned ''against'' French speaking Normans, uses some French words and speaks with a French accent for no particular reason (though some incarnations do have Robin as a lord of the Norman aristocracy).

* Doubling as a BilingualBonus: In one issue of ''[[ComicBook/JusticeLeague Justice League Europe]]'', as ComicBook/{{Superman}} flies over Paris, various people point at him and shout, "Est un oiseau! Est un avion! Non, est Super-Homme!" Superman admits to himself, [[PhraseCatcher "I never get tired of hearing that."]] However, it’s a rather odd BilingualBonus, since poor grammar causes said shouts to be the French equivalent of "Is a Bird! Is a Plane! No, is Superman!". Which makes no sense.

* [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] with Valentin "Val" Trémaux in ''Cradle of Gods'', who hails from a FantasyCounterpartCulture of France. He usually uses English, but tends to revert to (surprisingly accurate) French in times of high emotion or stress.

->'''Applebloom''': Sacre bleu! Plus de Marques de Cutie! *{{Gasp}}* Qu'est-ce c'est? Je parle Français!?[[note]]Darn it! More Cutie Marks! *Gasp!* What's this? I'm speaking French!?[[/note]]
->'''Applejack''': My sister's speakin' in fancy!

%%* ''Anime/TokyoGhoul'': Shuu Tsukiyama. That is all.

->''"Pretentious? ''Moi''?"''
-->-- "Two word joke" of unknown origin, but popularized by [[Franchise/TheMuppets Miss Piggy]].

%%Image chosen via crowner in the Image Suggestion thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php/ImagePickin/ImageSuggestions120
%%https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1452266899092104700
%%Please don't change or remove without starting a new thread.

** When taking the family to see an artsy-fartsy French-Canadian circus in "Skinner's Sense of Snow," Lisa mentions that "We've had tickets since ''septembre''!" (which, if you're curious, is pronounced something like "set-OM-brrr").

** In "Sweet and Elite", a slender, top-model-like mare is shown along with Fancy Pants. [[EveryoneLooksSexierIfFrench She has a Fleur de Lys]] for cutie-mark.

--->'''TGAPT:''' Cheated? ''Moi?''

--->'''TGAPT:''' Voilà!