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Hier, vous étiez très poli, mais aujourd'hui tu me méprises comme si tu étais un marquis !

Hier, vous étiez très poli, mais aujourd'hui tu me méprises comme si tu étais un marquis !
Yesterday, you (formal) were very polite, but today you (informal) despise me as if you were a marquis!
From Lesson 366:Unreal comparisons (comme si)·French

Questions & Answers about Hier, vous étiez très poli, mais aujourd'hui tu me méprises comme si tu étais un marquis !

Why is étais in the imparfait here after comme si instead of the subjunctive?
Even though English uses a subjunctive feel for unreal situations ('as if you were'), French uses the indicative mood after comme si. To express an unreal comparison happening right now, you always use the imparfait. That is why it is comme si tu étais.
Why does the speaker switch from vous to tu in the middle of the sentence?
This is a deliberate stylistic choice to contrast the person's behavior. Using the formal vous highlights the polite, respectful distance they showed yesterday. The sudden shift to the informal tu emphasizes the abrupt, disrespectful familiarity they are showing today.
How can we tell that the initial vous refers to just one person rather than a group?
We know this because the adjective poli is in its singular form. If vous referred to a group of people, the adjective would have to agree and become plural: polis or polies.
Could I say tu méprises moi instead of tu me méprises?
No, because in French, object pronouns like me must be placed directly before the conjugated verb. You only put stressed pronouns like moi after the verb in affirmative commands, such as Méprise-moi !

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