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     If you are invited to a formal dinner party in Paris, remember that the French have their own way of 
doing things, and that even your finest manners may not be “correct” by the French custom. For example,
if you think showing up promptly at the time given on the invitation, armed with gifts of wine and roses,
praising your hostess on her cooking，laughing heartily at the host’s jokes and then doing something to
help the hostess will make you the perfect guest, you are wrong.
     Here Madame Nora Chabal，the marketing director of the Ritz Hotel in Paris, explained how it works.
     The first duty of the guest is to respond to the invitation within 48 hours.And, the guest may not ask to
bring a guest because the hostess has chosen her own.
     Flowers sent in advance are the preferred gift.They may also be sent afterwards with a thankyou note.It is considered a very bad form to arrive with a gift of flowers in hand, thereby forcing the hostess to deal
with finding a vase when she is so busy. The type of flowers sent has a code of its own, too. One must      never send chrysanthemums because they are considered too humble(卑微的)a flower for the occasion.  Carnations are considered bad luck, and calla lilies are too reminiscent(缅怀往事的)of funerals. A
bouquet of red roses is a declaration of romantic purpose. Don’t send those unless you mean it, and never to a  married hostess. And though the French love wine, you must never bring a bottle to a dinner party.
You may  offer a box of chocolates which the hostess will pass after dinner with coffee.
     If an invitation is for eight o’clock, the thoughtful guest arrives at 8∶15. Guests who arrive exactly on
time or early are thoughtless ones who are not giving the hostess those last few minutes she needs to deal   with details and crisis. The “correct” guest arrives between 15 to 20 minutes after the hour because dinner will be served exactly 30 minutes past the time on the invitation.