dougc, i hope that hasn’t actually happened to you, because i found the french to be very friendly. but then again, i didn’t much like american tourists either (i’m american myself) - the tend to sometimes be loud and belligerent and demanding. i think it’s only a select few americans who are, but they take up a lot of room.
as for passports, i don’t recall ever having a problem with it, and i’ve been in almost all countries in western europe. i stayed mostly at youth hostels and sometimes they asked to see it, but mostly they didn’t, just had me write down the passport number on the form, even in france and britain.
and as for registering with the local police, i didn’t have to do that in france, but i did have to apply for a working visa, which i received about three weeks before i left the country (after having been there six months).
Most hotels (outside of the USA) ask for Passport number on the registration form. I’ve travelled abroad often enough to have my passport number committed to memory, so I just fill that part in. They have seldom subsequently asked for it, although I seem to recall in Spain they made a photocopy, and this was at a very nice hotel (I was there on business).