Alright if you are travelling to France you are bound to see people giving each other kisses on the cheek.  In French it’s called “faire la bise”.  When you great someone you or are meeting someone new for the first time you will “faire la bise”.  This sounds rather simple but it’s rather complex and the French don’t always know what’s standard practice so don’t feel embarrassed if you get it wrong.  So let’s cover the basics.

Faire la bise 101

Who:

Technique:  When you faire la bise you do not actually kiss the other persons cheek but simply touch cheeks lightly and kiss the air.  It is usually done very fast.  Depending on the region you are in determines the # of times you will touch cheeks.  The most common is 2 times but can reach as many as 5.  See the image below
 

Men: only faire la bise with women or close male family members like your father or brother.   There are exceptions for this like when having reunion with very close friends or emotional situations like a marriage or funeral.

Women:  faire la bise with male and female acquaintances.

Cultural Notes:  Although for non Europeans it may seem odd to be kissing cheeks with another persons spouse or significant other but it is a perfectly normal and harmless greeting in France and other European countries.  However, make sure you don’t linger too long or it may taken the wrong way.

The best thing you can do is just watch what the others are doing and go along.  You’ll catch on quickly and don’t feel bad if you mess it up.
Let me know your experiences.