Quel horreur! C'etait horrible!

I have been travelling in France for over 35 years now and have always been a staunch defender of the French when anyone says they are rude and arrogant. I have rarely been treated disrespectfully and mostly everyone I have encountered has been friendly. Well, that was until yesterday!  Perhaps, the nastiest people on planet earth are the bus drivers here, followed closely by anyone working for Air France! It all started when Sue and Keith's flight home Sunday was cancelled.  Air France won't let you rebook online so we needed to go to Nice to the airline's office there. However, that office had a "fermature exceptionelle" Saturday - basically meaning they were not interested in aiding anyone!  Unfortunately, the only other option was the airport and, to go there, short of spending €60, we had to take a bus.  Now, we had previously seen bus drivers yelling at passengers who got on at the back door or who tried to leave by the front one. This particular day, however, we were the recipients of their wrath and witness to more of it directed at others several times.  In Nice, the airport bus arrived late. It was empty but when we tried to board the woman bus driver yelled at us to wait as she had to use the toilet - aka "I need a smoke break"!  When we got on the bus, she continued to smoke under the "pas de fumer" sign and scrunched up her face like an apple doll when we spoke to her in French. She then screamed QUOI? at us.  Next, she drove like a mad woman racing through the streets of Nice honking her horn at anyone, pedestrian or motorized, who got in her way!  And, this was not an isolated incident!  At the airport, there is a "navette" (shuttle) between T1 and T2.  It was was at the designated stop but, when Sue and I tried to board it, the driver screamed at us, non, non!  He then pulled forward about 10' and then it was okay for us to get on.  Really?  Later, the three of us were on the shuttle again. This time, when it stopped, the driver didn't open what we thought were the back doors.  Sue and I got off at the front door but, when Keith tried to do the same, the driver yelled at him and made him walk all the way to the back to get off.  Our mistake was that we'd tried to get off at the middle door!  All this in spite of there being no one on the bus.  No control issues there!!!  A little later, a guy tried to board the shuttle and, even though he actually almost had his hand on the door, the driver just pulled away.  No question the driver saw the man and just left him standing there. Hope that didn't cause him to miss a flight. After  their flights were changed (more about that later), we took a bus to Saint Paul de Vence from the airport. At least that was easy!  Sue and Keith had seats behind the driver. In front of them was a sign listing the rules for the bus. The first one clearly stated the use of seat belts was mandatory. Just one problem:  there were no seat belts!  They told me the driver was giving "the finger" to every oncoming bus. Now, I get that the driving conditions here are very challenging - lots of traffic, steep hills and crazy drivers - but I don't think that gives them an excuse to be rude!  Sue, ever being the Libra that she is, said she could understand their anger given the very challenging driving conditions. She is a much nicer person than I!  We've heard the drivers are going on strike tomorrow. Quelle surprise!  Sorry, no photos for this blog. They wouldn't have been pretty!