Tutoyons !

Tutoyons ! It's a southern thing!**

French has a "formal you" (vous) and an "informal you" (tu). Every rulebook says that the French only use tu with their families and their one or two very best, life-long friends. It can be insulting to use the wrong form, and stories abound about people doing verbal gymnastics to avoid the choice and possibly giving offence. At some point, we're told, someone we've become close to will ask to use the informal tu - "nous tutoyons ?" or even "Tutoyons !"

Somewhat relevant sign from the Internet

So, I was very surprised when both on my hikes and at my "welcome" club events, everyone used tu! Even with me! Even before knowing my name! Well, no, I wasn't insulted, but very curious. And a tiny bit anxious that I was insulting them by still using vous... :-\

I was just on the verge of asking my new best friends if this was particular to Sète, when I also noticed that my Montpellier hostess tu'd me as well! So, I asked her, using my best I-don't-mean-to-offend English, is tu'ing a southern thing? Yes, it is!** She explained that the closer you are to Paris, the more rigid (she said cold) communication rules are. "Tu" is just faster and easier. She uses it with all her colleagues at work (nurses, doctors, receptionists, etc). Staff members and the boss use vous, and all staff use vous with patients and clients. But tu/vous use changes under different circumstances. She felt that using vous with patients imparted a sense of confidence, and so made them less anxious. In fact, she was shocked when a friend came to the hospital as a patient, and she heard her colleagues tu'ing him (even though at home they would tu, as a patient, they should vous).

She of course knew that English*** doesn't have different "you" forms, but she still wondered if, when speaking to others, did I think in terms of formal or informal "you." My immediate response was no, because there's no such animal. But certainly we do have more and less formal situations, so...

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The verb tutoyer = to speak in the "informal you," and "Tutoyons !" is "Let's use tu!"
And no, it's not automatic for me to use tu instead of vous when someone I'm talking to uses tu. I have some practicing to do...

~~~ Updated ~~~

** Nope, not just in the South! I took an informal poll (very informal), and people from all over France (at least as far as I could tell; possibly not in the East, possibly not in Paris) follow similar "rules" - when in doubt, use vous; use tu with colleagues, same age groups, neighbors, club members; use vous with authority figures and other situations where showing respect is important (certainly where it's more than being friendly).
Interestingly, more than one person was told that is was a southern thing (by a Southerner!).

*** American English, that is - I can't count any "thee" or "thou" you might encounter in Yorkshire (thank you, Mr. Smith), or the King James bible, or in a Quaker community...