Most people in France don't speak English!

Very few to none. Even in Paris. Although I found that many "boomers" spoke enough English that we could understand each other, with me butchering French. But they didn't do this until I made an earnest and truthful (I sorry my French is so poor, in French) attempt to communicate in French. Particularly in Normandy.

Tne Netherlands and Germany are two countries that have a lot of English speakers. It was interesting to hear Germans speaking English with a slight British accent.

I would kind of expect of all places, Normandy would be the part of France where a lot of people spoke English. It's close to the UK, in a lot of places close enough you could get radio and maybe even television service. I also understand that France is popular second home destination for the English and more than likely a short ferry trip for everyone else.

I think a lot of the French get a repuatation for not speaking English, but I would expect in the better educated classes of people there's decent English skills.

I have been traveling to France for years. It used to be true that very few people spoke English, especially in the provinces. But my impression is that this really isn't the case any more. At least not in Paris. If you are traveling as a tourist, nearly everyone you encounter speaks English. Some speak it very well. Small towns - less so, it's true. But there's an age factor, too. Young people speak more English, and they like to use it.

When watching this, it seems to be suggested that the the Manzoni family are all fluent in French. Consider that they had just moved to Normandy from the south of France, and that the two teenagers have no problem adjusting to school. Even when Mrs. M is shopping in the grocery store, she overhears the locals criticizing her and American food... that's what makes her decide to blow the place up. I think that for the sake of this film's audience, even though all of the dialogue with the locals is in English, it is implied that the Manzonis are actually speaking French (except when they are just with each other they speak English). Anyone familiar with the UK comedy 'Allo, Allo' may understand what I'm talking about.

I lived overseas for 3 years, most can speak English, they just pretend they can't

I have been visiting France for almost 20 years and in places where tourists frequent they do speak English.

It's that man again!!

According to wiki (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_English-speaking_population), France has 36% English-speakers in its population, for ~23M total, making it the 11th country with the largest English-speaking population. So while it's true that the majority doesn't speak English, there's still a decent proportion of French people who can.

Considering the proximity between Normandy and the U.K., chances are the proportion of English-speakers is bigger there, too, as opposed to the Cote d'Azur being more likely to have Italian-speakers or the Pyrénées being more likely to have Catalan/Castillan/Basque-speakers.

This point has been made elsewhere, but I think it's worth emphasizing... I was brought up in Brussels, and (Bruxellois) French is my first language. I now spend anything up to six months every year in France, mainly in rural areas...

Especially in Paris (and other metropolitan centres), it's important to distinguish between can't and won't speak English. There is also a marked difference in attitude between different generations. We Brits (and to a lesser extent, Yanks as well) have an abysmal reputation abroad of refusing to use or learn the local lingo, and, when met with no response to enquiries made in English, simply shout louder... If you do this in Paris, you will be met with a typically Gallic shrug of the shoulders, and then be studiously ignored-this despite the fact that the individual concerned will almost certainly have some English... But why should you assume this, and why should they respond in your language?.. You, after all, are guests in their country, not the other way around. When I travel to Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany, Scandinavia etc., I make a fist of an attempt to (at least) address them in their own language-mauling it badly in the process... Once you've made that initial attempt, invariably, their attitude completely changes, and they will bend over backwards to help, almost always lapsing into broken English to do so... The younger generation tend to be more approachable in English, partly because they enjoy showing off, but also because they have been exposed to English through the media, and don't necessarily feel the same degree of 'language nationalism' that is felt by older generations...