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No Man's Land |
Is France really bureaucratic ?
see chapter 1 : Red tape
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Yet there are two thoughts you may consider next time you are standing impatiently in line... |
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| If you are the type of person who "thinks positive", try this one
first : Your own country is probably just as complicated, but as a
native, you have never had to deal with bureaucracy to the same extent
(you do not have to obtain a work visa or a residence permit in your own
country). Besides, if you come from Germany, North America, Britain (or
what the French endearingly call "Anglo-Saxon" countries) instructions
about procedures are likely to be more explicit than in France wher bureaucrats
tend to respond individually and non-verbal signals are important. You
want everything spelled out for you but the employee, especially if he
or she is busy, expects you to read between the lines, as any French person
would. Last but not least, you know the way the system works back home.
That is precisely what can make your French experience so difficult ; you
lack the clues to make sense of the system.
If you love paradoxes, what about this one ? France has its own tradition of paperwork.While England, for instance, has "Common Law", a system based on customs and practice, France is heir to the written code of Roman Law. There are, however, certain advantages to a system based on the written word : among the countless legal artciles you will always find a line somewhere that suits your particular case. Moreover, written laws have loopholes, too, as it is impossible (even for the French !) to predict every possible situation. There may also be several interpretations of any particular clause. That is why we sometimes say "impossible n'est pas français" ; there is always a way, it is nearly always possible to negociate. [...] |
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see chapter 3 : Moving in.
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The drawback of apartment chasing though papers is that it takes a lot of time and your French will have to be quite fluent, first to understand the coded language of the ads, then to make phone calls and deal with the landlords. Still, a number of landlords have some English, at least enough to talk "business" with you.[...] |
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see Chapter 5: Driving In France
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| A few rules about driving in France
Except when signs say otherwise, speed limits in France are 50km/h in town, 90 km/h on main roads (routes nationales) and 130 km/h on motorways (autoroutes). The French are high-pressure drivers, always accelerating and braking suddenly. Keep your eyes on the road! It is well-known that once inside the metallic shell of their car, people lose all sense of courtesy. Don't get upset if drivers are gesticulating, yelling, hooting or grimacing at you. Keep calm. Remember, there is no point in living in France unless you have a sense of humour! Respect the right of way, but don't hesitate. At a cross-roads, it is not the first car to arrive that goes first, but usually the one coming from the right or from a main road. The French invented gallantry, and while well-behaved French people will graciously stand back to let you go through a door first, drivers will never invite you to go first at a road junction. At roundabouts vehicles that are already engaged have priority. As there are usually no traffic lights approaching roundabouts you need to keep your eyes open for speed hogs racing to be first round. You will be amazed at the density of the road network in the Alps and at the accessibility of remote villages even in the heart of winter. Remember, as soon as you leave the valley, you will find yourself on steep, narrow, tortuous mountain roads. Beware of locals, who drive up and down very fast. In winter, conditions are bad. You should have snow tyres (pneus contact) and keep chains and a small shovel in the boot of the car if you take to the mountains frequently. [...] |
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see chapter 16 : Time is not money
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| If you're invited to someone's home, it's fine to arrive on the dot,
or better, slightly late (about fifteen minutes) - you give more time to
your hosts to get everything spick and span in case there's a last minute
emergency - but never arrive early! Do not expect entertainments at a "fête",
the local school, a concert, to start at the published time. Add a good
half-hour!
Time management It can be quite frustrating for some foreigners obsessed with time, to accept meetings starting late and the dragging on until all hours. But there is little you can do about it, so the best thing is to adapt. For most people official working time is roughly eight hours a day or thirty-nine hours a week, to be precise. However, managers may well put in up to sixty hours. Foreign observers might find the French laid back in their work "how can this people afford to take two hours off for lunch?" but the truth is that senior staff ("cadres") frequently stay in their office up to 7 o'clock in the evening or later. A good tip, if a gate-keeper is preventing you from getting through to some big shot in an office, try calling after 6 o'clock. The secretary will have gone home, and the boss may answer the phone himself. The French are used to doing many things at once. Cultural anthropologists say they are "polychronic" compared to the Germans or Americans who are "monochronics" (one thing at a time). Napoleon was famous for being able to dictate three or four different letters at the same time to his secretaries! The system often looks chaotic for foreigners but works relatively well. People are not confined to a single role or hamstrung by a book of procedures. They are resourceful and they can often take initiatives that would be impossible in a "closed shop" type of structure. Similarily, the French are faithful believers in the art of improvisation. They see no problem with changing at the last minute the outlines of a meeting that has been prepared months ahead; they know they will be able to adapt and to manage. Of course, this is time-consuming, and the lack of professionalism can be frustrating. [...] |
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