France Survival Guide

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Welcome!

If you have just moved to France, it's likely you are feeling somewhat overwhelmed. Apart from a new culture and language to cope with, in your first few weeks here you will have to sort out a host of practical things: somewhere to live, your finances, permits and papers, and maybe a school for your children and a job for your partner.

The Expat Survival Guide will give you a starting point: the basic information you need, plus plenty of phone numbers for companies and organisations that can help you out.

This guide is published by Expatica — news and information for expatriates and the leading voice of expatriate Europe. Expatica's website (www.expatica.com) will give you access to a whole world of information and services that will make your life in France easier and more enjoyable.

We hope you find this guide and Expatica's other products useful — and we wish you a wonderful stay in France!

Research: Clair Whitmer, Matt Gil Sales: Stephane Caen, Julie Dragt, David Davis, David McGowan, Mike de Haan.

To advertise in next year's Expat Survival Guide, please call Stephane Caen on +31 20 888 4869 / stephane.caen@expatica.com or Julie Dragt on +31 20 888 4111 / julie.dragt@expatica.com.

Published September 2006 © Expatica Communications BV Kruislaan 400, 1098 SM Amsterdam, Netherlands feedback@expatica.com

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RELOCATION PAGE 10 Your first few days; Relocation service providers; Residence permits; Social security system; Marriage and divorce HOUSING PAGE 21 Buy or rent?; Renting a home; Buying a home; Accommodation agencies; Where to live in Paris MONEY Banking, Insurance, Taxation

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EDUCATION PAGE 44 Education system; School listings; Language schools JOBS How to find a job; Work permits

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HEALTH Healthcare system; Hospitals

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SETTLING IN Electricity, gas, water, waste disposal, postal system, telephone

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TRAVEL AND TRANSPORT Transport; Driving and parking

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SHOPPING PAGE 69 Where to find what, English bookshops WINING AND DINING Food from home

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LISTINGS AND INDEX PAGE 73 Embassies; Groups and clubs; Local customs and etiquette; Phone book decoder; Weights and measures; Emergency numbers; Advertisers index All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, or transmitted, in any form by any means, electronically or mechanically, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without prior written permission from the publisher.

Requests for permission should be addressed to Expatica Communications, Kruislaan 400, 1098 SM, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Expatica makes great effort to ensure the accuracy of information contained in this guide. However, we will not be responsible for errors or omissions or any damages, howsoever caused, which result from its use, and make no warranty of claims as to the quality or competence of businesses or professionals mentioned. Company names highlighted in red have paid for advertising in the guide.

Users are advised to take care when selecting professional services, and to use common sense in adjusting to life in another country.

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Introduction France offers diverse regions of very different climates and topographies, a wide choice of leisure activities, a landscape replete with reminders of its rich culture and history and, notably, beloved traditions of culinary excellence.

Among European states, France has a relatively high level of material wealth, an excellent public and private health service, a generous welfare system, childcare and education systems with high standards at low cost to the public, an excellent transportation infrastructure and a culture that values quality of life over material affluence.

We wrote last year that France was suffering a 'coup de blues'.

After that point, it appeared to get worse, much worse. First it was disenfranchised and disenchanted youth in the suburbs who took to the streets in the autumn of 2005, burning cars and attacking police in 'riots' that had several countries issuing travel warnings for France.

Yet France is also a country struggling to mend social rifts between mainstream France and minority citizens born on French soil but who still feel excluded; a country unsure of how to successfully integrate new waves of immigrants from Africa, the Middle East and its European neighbours; a nation deeply conflicted about the future of the European Union, an institution it found-

Then in the spring of 2006, French students and their union allies brought the country to a standstill, and nearly cost the Prime Minister his job, in a dispute over both a specific labour contract, the Contrat première embauche, but more broadly over the government's responsibility to provide security

POLITICS

lished in 1958. The presidential mandate was reduced to five years in 2000; Jacques Chirac, representing the centre-right UMP party, was re-elected to a second term of office in 2002.

France is a republic, with a powerful president under whom serves a prime minister.

Presidential elections are held every five years. It is the president who chooses a prime minister, who in turn forms a government. The current government, headed

by Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, is formed around 17 separate ministries.

The French parliament is formed of two houses, the National Assembly and the Senate. Members of either house can propose new laws or amendments, which must be approved by both houses. Both houses are currently dominated by the UMP (Union pour un Mouvement Populaire). It is both legal and common for French politicians to hold more than one office at a time.

The country is currently governed by the constitution of the Fifth Republic, estab-

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ed and fostered; and home to one the world's largest economies, now trying to spark a recovery without undue sacrifice of social protections built up over decades.

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French voters will select a new president in May 2007; voting is organised into two rounds. The first round on April 22 will narrow selection to the top two vote-getters; in the absence of an absolute majority, the second round on May 6 will select the president. The likely leading candidates are Ségolène Royal, 53, for the Socialists and party-leader and Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy, 51, for the UMP. The predominant political questions of 2007 are: immigration policy; economic revival, specifically lowering the unemployment rate; law and order, particularly as regards to teenage delinquency and the threat of terrorism; and redefining a united Europe and France's role in that institution.

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Introduction and buying power to its citizens.

A political corruption scandal originating in the files of a company called Clearstream, and dubbed ''French Watergate", ultimately fizzled out but provided another embarrassing series of headlines in the international press.

And yet…France seems on the verge of a turnaround at the end of 2006, its economy surprising analysts with a growth spurt, its football team very nearly pulling off a World Championship (after having been virtually written off by sports commentators early in the competition), and the upcoming presidential election injecting both new ideas and sheer excitement in the air.

But with the presidential campaign about to officially open season, the French are ready once again to debate solutions and to choose a head of state who, no matter which candidate wins, will lead France into a new era.

Will it be Nicolas Sarkozy with his talk of "La Rupture" and his challenge to France to turn her back on the generation of May 1968? Or Ségolène Royal, who may make history by becoming the first French female president but who has pledged her loyalty to the tradition of François Mitterand?

France and the US are even back to being polite to each other after having coauthored the United Nations resolution imposing a ceasefire between Lebanese and Israeli troops.

Either way, for newcomers to France, 20062007 will be a fascinating and historic time to learn about France and the French.

ESSENTIAL STATISTICS

responsibility since 2002 under a policy known as decentralisation.

France has a population of 62.9 million as of January 2006; 61 million of these live in metropolitan France (which includes Corsica); some 4.9 million immigrants comprise 8.1 percent of the total population.

France's political administration is divided into 26 régions, including 4 overseas régions.

These are then divided into between one to eight départements. There are currently 100 départements, including four overseas.

Départements are then broken into 342 arrondissements, which are in turn broken into cantons and communes.

Each région has an elected legislative body, the Conseil Régional; this body cannot autonomously issue regulations, but the regions do levy their own taxes, have their own administrative responsibilities, and manage their own budgets. The regions have gained considerably in authority and

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The challenges remain and public opinion polls show the French are still prone to pessimism about the future and their role in it.

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Bonne chance et bon courage!

The départements also have elected representatives, Conseil Général. The capital city of each département is called the préfecture and is the seat of most administrative activity.

France has the sixth-largest economy in the world and the third largest in Europe, with an estimated annual GDP of EUR 1.71 trillion in 2005, according to the International Monetary Fund.

While high levels of unemployment remain a chronic problem of the French economy, the current government has been making headway; the unemployment rate dropped to 8.9 percent in July 2006 after lingering around 10 percent for four years.

Despite its battles with unemployment, France boasts one of the lowest poverty rates of any of the large world economies.

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The Regions of France The French are rightly very proud of the immense beauty and diversity of the country they live in. With few exceptions, industrialisation has not scarred the land beyond limited pockets, and strong agricultural traditions have helped preserve the different characters of many regions.

Despite this, France is a much centralised country, where all roads lead to Paris. The seats of power lie in the French capital, whether they be economic, those of education or public administration..

The country's impressive modern transport infrastructure, notably the high-speed train links, has created many possibilities for professional mobility and greatly increased the attraction of rural regions once inaccessible for city dwellers.

Indeed, after decades of a reverse trend, there are now more people relocating to the countryside in France than are leaving it.

THE NORTH WEST The largest regions making up north-west France are Brittany, Normandy and the Loire Valley. Smaller regions include the Orléanais, the Sologne, and the Sarthe.

The north-west region is essentially composed of agricultural land, notably turned over to dairy, pig and cereal farms, with wine production in the Loire Valley, parts of the Orléanais and Brittany. .

Brittany, a land of seafaring tradition and still a centre of the fishing industry, is the Celtic region of France.

Just as is the case for its coastal neighbour Normandy, and for the Loire Valley south and inland, tourism is a major source of revenue for this particularly popular holiday destination which yearly draws millions of French and foreigners alike, attracted by its picturesque and tidy coastline running several hundred kilometres

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from the Channel and down the Atlantic.

Outside of the industrial ports, Brittany is turned over to agriculture, notably pig rearing and vegetable crops.

Normandy is a more affluent region, with an arguably prettier countryside, and turned more towards Paris, with which it is considerably closer. Noted for its timbered and thatch-roofed houses, the countryside is dominated by dairy farms, home to many of France's best-known cheeses, notably Camembert.

Indeed, farming is large-scale, while the countryside is also dotted with the wellkept properties of Parisian owners, horsebreeding farms and horse-riding schools.

The Loire region, famous for its splendid former royal châteaux, is dominated by the river that gives it its name, and centred on the town of Tours.

It is a mix of small and large agricultural businesses, including fruit farming, wine growing and cereal production.

The larger industrial centres of the northwest region include the ports of Le Havre, Cherbourg, Brest and St. Nazaire, and to a lesser degree the towns of Nantes, Le Mans, Laval and Orléans. Administrative and academic centres include the Breton capital of Rennes, and the cities of Tours and Nantes.

Traditional industries like shipbuilding are on the decline, and many of the modest agricultural businesses are increasingly struggling.

The humid climate is largely affected by the Atlantic, with summer temperatures regularly reaching the high 20s Celsius, while winters are punctuated by sometimes fierce storms.

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The Regions of France continued from page 6 THE NORTH EAST The border regions of north-east of France, where the country meets Belgium and Germany, was once the country's manufacturing heartland, the site of the French coal and metallurgy industries.

But nowadays, from the Nord to the Lorraine, many of the industrial sites have closed, leaving high unemployment.

The region remains comparatively industrialised, retaining some traditional activities like chemical and car manufacturing and attracting new businesses like the production of electric appliances and office equipment.

Surrounding the urban pockets of Lille, Amiens, St. Quentin, Mézières, Metz, Nancy and Sochaux, are some of the most

the advent of the Channel “ With Tunnel, the town of Lille has considerably developed its commercial links with Britain.

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beautiful areas of France, notably Alsace, Picardie, the Vosges mountains, Champagne and the Ardennes — and together they make up the most contrasting of any of the four corners of France.

While Alsace is a distinctly Germanic region, the vine-coated Champagne region is as quintessentially French as one could imagine, with picture-postcard villages lining the Marne valley where sits its capital, Reims.

Both these inner regions are separated by the thickly forested hills of the vast Ardennes, which stretch out to Belgium.

Closer to Paris is Picardie, a WW1 battlefront and now a land of peaceful, rolling fields and light industry, stretching up towards the Channel coast.

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To the south east are the Vosges mountains, centre of the country's wood industry. Further south still is the FrancheComté, bordering Switzerland, famous for its production of watches and clocks.

THE CENTRE At the centre of France lies the Massif Central, a once-active volcanic region with the town of Clermont-Ferrand at its heart.

This is where most of France's mineral water sources are found, and many spa towns are dotted beneath the extinct craters of the Puy-de-Dôme.

The centre of France includes the sparsestpopulated départements in the country, notably the Creuse, the Allier and the beautiful, green and hilly Cantal.

Property here is among the cheapest in France but, with a weak and dwindling population, public services - notably medical care - are also the most inaccessible.

Stretching north from the centre-east, from close to Lyon all the way up to within 160 kilometres (100 miles) of Paris, is the huge Bourgogne, or Burgundy, a major wineproducing region containing some of France's prettiest, and oldest villages.

THE SOUTH WEST The south west region includes the Dordogne, the Gironde, the Landes, the Basque country, the Gers, the Pyrenees and the Haute-Garonne with Toulouse at its centre.

The grand, historic city of Bordeaux, like the affluent, wine-producing region which surrounds it, lies along the Gironde estuary. South from here begins the region of Les Landes, with an Atlantic coast of long, sandy beaches slapped by great rolling waves, lined by dunes and pine forests.

South and inland, from the picturesque

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The Regions of France Dordogne marking the north, down to the equally stunning countryside of the Gers, in the south, is a land of legendary gastronomic tradition, home to the truffle and foie gras.

Further south, the flat, vineyard-stitched plains lead to Toulouse, a city whose pinkbricked buildings give it the name of the ville rose, home of Airbus which is assembled close by.

THE SOUTH EAST South from Lyon, which is France's second largest city, the river Rhône runs down to the Mediterranean. On its way it reaches the ancient Papal town of Avignon, where it spills into La Provençe, a region running east all the way to the Italian border, and north from the Mediterranean shore between Marseille and Nice.

A former textile centre, Lyon is a major industrial site and is the self-styled gastronomic capital of France. It has lost weight in the power balance it once held against Paris, but it remains an important economic centre.

Provençe is one of the most attractive regions in France, blessed with hot summers and generally mild winters.

The countryside is largely turned over to vineyards and fruit farms and the production of aromatic plants. This is a region

apart from any other, where life is dominated by the strong Mediterranean climate.

The ancient port of Marseille is a city in considerable social and economic decline, but with a uniquely proud, enduring and rich character. It is the poor Mediterranean cousin of the Riviera bastions of Nice and Cannes, which attract an affluent cosmopolitan population, not least because the south-east department of the AlpesMaritime in which they lie is blessed with more sunshine than any in France.

North of the Riviera, lie the Alps, the site of Europe's highest mountain, the 4,807 metre-tall Mont Blanc.

Occupying the western Mediterranean shores, lined by the towns of Nîmes, Montpellier, Béziers and Perpignan, is the Languedoc-Roussillon, a major wine and fruit-producing region.

Montpellier has built up a vibrant economy and centres of technical and academic excellence. The city has a major airport and is now also linked with Paris by the TGV train.

Despite being a popular tourist destination, the region is less crowded in the summer than Provençe, particularly so inland where it rises to meet the scrubcovered hills of the Cévennes, an area which is arguably the least spoilt of any in southern France.

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Your first few days RELOCATION

If you've just arrived in France these are the essential things to quickly sort out, before ending up with needless hassle. This is the guide to what to do and how.

RESIDENCE PERMIT

BUYING A HOME

Most foreign nationals, including some EU citizens, who intend to stay more than three months in France must apply for a residence permit. It is best to begin the process as soon as you arrive.

If you intend buying property in France, you must consider beforehand how to go about finding a home, the time it will take to conclude a deal and what the legal costs will be.

See page 11

See page 28

SOCIAL SECURITY

UTILITIES

In almost all cases you will need to start paying into the French social security system, which manages the country's comprehensive welfare insurance, from healthcare to unemployment.

Once you've found a home, the first thing is to get the electricity, water and gas turned on. It's not a complicated task, but utilities companies are not all in the same place.

See page 61

See page 17 HEALTHCARE SCHOOLING Parents will need to swiftly organise schooling for their children, but it is important to first understand how French education works and what the choices on offer are.

Before long you may need to visit a dentist or a doctor. It is important to know how the French healthcare system works and to make sure you're properly covered.

See page 58

See page 44 TAX BANK ACCOUNT Before long it is necessary to have a bank account and cheque book, otherwise you won’t be able to pay for essential services.

See page 36

No-one likes thinking about tax, but as a resident you must pay tax on earnings from the moment you arrive. Find out what you will have to declare, how and when.

See page 38 RENT OR BUY A HOME INSURANCE Everyone wants to get quickly settled into a cosy chez moi. There are many things to know first about how the French property sales and rental markets compare.

French law requires you to be insured for your home before you move in, as well as for your car and civil liability.

See page 21

See page 40

RENTING A HOME

MEET PEOPLE

If you've decided to rent a home, you'll need to move fast in a market swamped with demand, paperwork and jargon.

Join a group or club and get to know other expats.

See page 74

See page 22

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Residence Permits A residence permit in France is called a carte de séjour. To obtain one, you must apply to your local prefecture, called la préfecture de police.

The service which delivers residence permits is called le service des étrangers.

In Paris, you must apply to the préfecture de police de Paris. In the provinces, the préfecture will be situated in the administrative capital of your département. If you live in a rural area, you can often process your application to the préfecture through the local town hall, called la mairie.

EU NATIONALS AND CITIZENS OF THE EEA AND SWITZERLAND Until recently, European Union nationals were entitled to stay in France for a period of up to three months before being required to apply for a residence permit.

But following a modification to French law in November 2003, residence permits are no longer a legal requirement for nationals from the 14 states which, with France, made up the European Union prior to 1 May, 2004, nor for just two new member states, Cyprus and Malta.

Also exempt are nationals from Switzerland and European Economic Area (EEA) member states (i.e. Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway).

The 14 EU member states whose nationals are no longer required to hold a residence permit are: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and

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Since May 1 2006 however, France has introduced what it calls a 'progressive relaxation' of working restrictions and has published a list of 62 activities in which it deems workers to be in short supply.

These sectors concerned are: construction, hospitality, agriculture, retail, machineoperating and hygiene.

RELOCATION

Each département (French administrative region, similar to a British county) has a préfecture, which is the centre responsible for local administration of policing, laws and regulations. It is also where driving licences and other national permits are delivered.

the United Kingdom. However, while citizens from the above named countries are free to live and work in France without holding a carte de séjour, it is still a legal requirement for nationals of eight of the 10 new EU member states (i.e. those which joined the EU on 1 May, 2004). These are: the Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Nationals of the eight countries must still obtain work permits, but these can no longer be refused on the grounds of the national employment situation. Those wishing to apply for a permit must get a prospective employer to file the request if they are not in France, but may do so in person at the appropriate préfecture if they are already present.

Details concerning other professional activities will be published in due course, but little change can be expected ahead of France's presidential elections, due in April 2007. For up-to-date information on conditions the government advises applicants to contact their local préfecture or subpréfecture or call the Europe Direct information line on 00 800 67 89 10 11.

Importantly, those nationals who are no longer required to hold a residence permit can, if they so desire, still apply for one.

Indeed, it can prove to be a more practical form of ID in France than a foreign passport and can be essential in order to obtain some forms of consumer credit.

The application terms remain the same

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Residence Permits RELOCATION

continued from page 11 and are: EU nationals from the 14 member states prior to May 2004 who are coming to work in France for over 12 months are issued with a carte de séjour valid for ten years and which is renewable. Family members such as partners and children under the age of 21 receive the same residence card automatically.

Students receive a card valid for their period of study, if this is less than a year and a one-year renewable card if the course lasts over 12 months.

The retired and those with their own source of income receive a five-year renewable card.

Application must be made in person and you will be required to produce the following documents: A valid identity card or passport Three passport-size photos A recent document providing proof of where you live (this can be a utilities receipt or proof of payment of rent) Proof of adequate resources (see below) or in the case of a student, proof of enrolment in an educational establishment recognised by the French Ministry of Education.

NON-EU NATIONALS For non-EU nationals the process is more complicated and may depend upon particular agreements between France and the country concerned.

A non-EU national who wishes to stay in France for more than three months to work, study or reside without employment, must already have acquired a longstay visa (visa de long séjour) before arriving in France.

Without doing this before arrival, it is not possible to later apply for a permit.

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You must make your application in person. You can ask at the préfecture or your country's embassy for precise details of what documents you must produce, but in most cases you will need the following: A valid passport with a valid long-stay visa Three passport-size photos A recent document providing proof of where you live (this can be a utilities receipt) Proof of adequate resources (see below) or in the case of a student, proof of enrolment in an educational establishment recognised by the French Ministry of Education and a French bank account.

Medical certificate issued by a French doctor or one approved by the French consulate in your country and a full translation(from a sworn translator) of medical insurance.

In all applications for a residence permit, to justify personal financial resources employees must have a certificate of employment from their employer and recent salary slips.

A self-employed person must provide evidence of their status, such as membership of a recognised professional body or inclusion on a trade register, a VAT number and/or work payment receipts.

If you are retired or unemployed, you must provide proof that you have adequate financial resources to live with and that you have comprehensive health insurance for treatment in France.

It is worth noting that the procedure has recently been simplified for certain categories including: executives working for multinationals with gross monthly earnings of at least EUR 5,000; scientists; those working in the entertainment industry; seasonal workers and those deemed to belong to regulated professions (healthcare professionals, architects, lawyers, teachers, etc).

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Service Providers RELOCATION AGENCIES

RELOCATION

a good start in France 8, rue de l'Exposition 75007 Paris 01 45 50 25 30 www.agoodstart.fr CSE Mobilité 19, rue Michel le Comte 75139 Paris Cedex 03 01 58 28 15 27 www.csemobilite.com Executive Relocations 6, rue Troyon 92316 Sevres 01 46 93 22 32 www.executive-france.com Grospiron International 30/32, avenue Albert Einstein 93155 Le Blanc-Mesnil Cedex 01 48 14 41 71 www.grospiron.com IN-Lease France 8, rue du Marechal de Lattre de Tassigny 59800 Lille

03 28 82 06 88 www.in-lease.com Interpra-Link Expat Assistance 8, rue du Dr Baudet 31170 Tournefeuille (Toulouse) 05 61 07 53 46 06 88 94 50 63 www.expatassistance.com Paris Relocation Service 15, rue Vignon 75008 Paris 01 53 30 41 19 www.prs.fr Premium Relocation 219, Boulevard St. Germain 75007 Paris 01 45 51 79 66 www.premiumrelocation.com Rightmove 12, chemin de Montjoye 78120 Clairefontaine en Yvelines 01 34 84 50 36 www.rightmove.fr

MOVERS Pelichet Rue Edouard Branly 78260 Acheres 01 30 06 80 80 www.pelichet.fr

COACHING AND TRAINING NLP School Europe 82, rue de la Vilette 75019 Paris 01 43 15 67 14 www.nlpschool.com Paris Playground 8 bis, rue Jean Nicot 75007 Paris 01 47 05 92 79 www.parisplaygroundcoactivity.com Global'Ease 253, rue Saint Honoré 75001 Paris 01 44 55 01 28 www.global-ease.com ImFusio 01 72 61 54 81 www.imfusio.com

French Holidays 2007 1 January New Year's Day (Jour de l'an) 9 April Easter Monday (Pâques) 1 May May Day (fête du Travail) 8 May Victory In Europe Day (Jour de la Victoire) 17 May Ascension Day 28 May* Pentecost (Lundi de Pentecôte) 14 July Bastille Day (Fête nationale)

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15 August Assumption (l'Assomption) 1 November All Saints Day (La Toussaint) 11 November Armistice Day (Jour d'armistice) 25 December Christmas Day (Noël) *The French parliament voted in 2005 to remove this holiday from the official list of public holidays. But there was such widespread opposition to the change a number of employees stayed home anyway and many private employers kept the holiday.

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GLOBAL MOBILITY SOLUTIONS

+33 1 48 14 42 42 relocation@grospiron.com www.grospiron.com

Member of:

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Getting Married RELOCATION

Foreigners can marry in France, either with a French spouse or between each other, or they can engage in a more limited, yet nonetheless legally recognised union open to couples of the same or different sex.

All marriages in France must first be performed by a French civil authority before any religious ceremony can take place.

The civil ceremony is held in a village, town or city hall, called la mairie, in front of the mayor. It is the completion of the civil ceremony which establishes the couple as husband and wife before the law.

The choice of mairie must be that where one or both of the couple to be married declares they have resided for at least one month. The necessary paperwork, including a medical certificate, declaration of residence, identity papers, a list of at least one witness for each party, birth certificates must be lodged with the mairie at least 20 days before the proposed date of the wedding. In certain cases, the mayor may request proof that the participants are not already married.

Under French law, marriage banns must be posted at the mairie no less than ten days before the date of the marriage ceremony. The mayor can be substituted to perform the ceremony by the deputymayor, or a city councillor.

If they so choose, the couple may then go on to celebrate a religious ceremony, and this is quite common in France. The clergyman performing the ceremony will require a certificate of civil marriage before it can take place.

Couples married in France receive a livret de famille. This is a legal booklet which records the marriage and subsequent events in the family such as births, deaths,

WHAT YOU NEED TO MARRY A valid passport or a French residence permit Declaration of a French home address (a phone or utility bill will ease this) A birth certificate (less than three months old) A medical certificate (less than three months old).

A certificate by a French solicitor stipulating if the marriage is to include a prenuptial legal contract. divorce or name changes. It is often required for official purposes, not least during a child's progress through school.

A marriage certificate can be obtained from the mairie where the marriage was performed.

THE PACS There is an alternative legal union in France for both heterosexual and same-sex couples, which is called the Pacte civil de solidaritĂŠ, commonly known as Le Pacs.

While it falls well short of conferring the legal rights which married spouses enjoy, it has a legal status which offers both official recognition of the union and a number of rights for both individuals, as well as specifying the status of joint wealth.

However, Le Pacs does not have any legal bearing over questions such as the adoption of children.

The Pacs is established before a local magistrates' court for civil cases, called a tribunal d'instance. The parties can draw up a document specific to themselves which defines their engagement concerning financial matters, such as the equal share of household finances. The Pacs can be signed between two unmarried people, regardless of nationality or sex, who are aged 18 or over.

Coming to France with a partner? Information on this and much more at www.expatica.com/france 16

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Social Security System THE BIG PICTURE The welfare system in France is the subject of vast reform, and you are strongly advised to seek expert advice on any issue of particular concern. The following is a broad overview to help you decide to which agency you should address questions.

The régime général is for salaried employees working in trade and industry, the régime autonome is for the self-employed, the régime agricole is for agricultural workers, and the régimes spéciaux are for special categories of workers like civil servants or railway workers.

The régime général, which covers some 80 percent of French citizens, divides up into four sectors: health insurance and accidents at work retirement family income support the collection of contributions

HOW IT WORKS Contributions are collected together by the URSSAF (Union de recouvrement des cotisations de sécurité sociale et d'allocations familiales), which has 105 offices around the country.

The URSSAF then passes the money on to the Agence centrale des organismes de Sécurité sociale (ACOSS), which distributes it to the various funds, called caisses, and which are responsible for paying out benefits and making reimbursements. There are different caisses for the different sectors of what the French familiarly call la Sécu.

Once you begin working for a French company your employer is required to provide you with a French social security number

You will be issued a carte vitale, which you must present at all doctor's visits and which allows them to access a central file on your administrative standing. It is intended, for the moment, to simplify the reimbursement process although there is discussion of expanding its role to carry medical information as well.

Unless you are on very low earnings, the French state reimburses only a proportion of the cost of medical treatment. However, if you are in the state system you are perfectly free, and even well-advised, to obtain complementary health cover — and many French people top up the cover they obtain under the régime obligatoire with insurance from a mutuelle (Friendly Society).

RELOCATION

The French social security system, which the French familiarly call la Sécu, is divided into four different categories, which are called régimes.

and you then become eligible for reimbursements of medical expenses under the mandatory contributions-refund system, called the régime obligatoire.

A law passed in July 1999 provides for basic and obligatory Universal Health Cover (Couverture Maladie Universelle or CMU) for all foreigners who have been resident in France for at least three months without interruption and comply with French legislation, i.e. have a residence permit, which is called a carte de séjour.

In the year to September 30 2006 the CMU was free for those earning less than EUR 6,965. People earning more pay a contribution equivalent to about eight percent of their taxable income.

EMPLOYEES If you are an employee, social security contributions are automatically deducted from your salary each month and it's likely that payments to a mutuelle with ties to your profession will also be deducted at source.

The national healthcare caisse for salaried

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Social Security System RELOCATION

continued from page 17 employees is the Caisse nationale d'assurance maladie des travailleurs salariés (CNAMTS) and reimbursements for medical treatment are paid out by the Caisses primaires d'assurance maladie (CPAM) in France. Family income support is paid out by the Caisses d'allocations familiales.

Check the CAF website to see if your family is eligible; while the basic CAF payment is for any family with more than one child, there are also a long list of additional payments eligible for special circumstances e.g. people who hire an assistante maternelle for childcare or an annual payment distributed at the start of the school year to help cover back-to-school expenses.

Your spouse, children or declared partner are also covered by your social security, whether working and making their own contributions or not. To declare a partnership, a Certificat de Concubinage can be obtained from the mairie.

THE SELF-EMPLOYED If you are self-employed (travailleur indépendant),you'll be expected to register directly with the URSSAFF to pay your charges or the contributions you pay into the system.

In your first year of self-employment, you'll be paying the URSSAF at least EUR 2,700. The exact amount depends on your profession and the amount increases in subsequent years. The URSAFF website, www.urssaf.fr, allows you to calculate roughly how much you will pay.

Contributions from the self-employed go to one of the 31 Caisses d'assurance maladie régionales (CMR) regional funds that come under the umbrella of the Caisse nationale d'assurance maladie des professions indépendantes (CANAM). The system is currently being reformed and CANAM is in the process of merging with the systems covering artisans and storekeepers to form

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the Régime Social des Indépendants (RSI), but this is not expected to change the benefits and services offered.

There are various caisses that handle retirement and invalidity benefits for the selfemployed and, in the case of independent professions like private doctors or architects, these funds come under the umbrella of the Caisse nationale d'assurance vieillesse des professions libérales (CNAVPL).

This category is expected to pay the URSSAF a cotisation personnelle d'allocations familiales, the CSG (Contribution Sociale Généralisée), the CRDS Contribution au remboursement de la dette sociale) and the CFP (Contribution à la formation professionnelle) for the training of self-employed professionals.

For the self-employed, the amount due to URSSAF is calculated on an annual basis but contributed in four payments throughout the year. For the first two years, contributions are calculated on the basis of a fixed-sum rate, called a base forfaitaire, (currently about EUR 6,500 for the first year of self-employment and about EUR 9,700 for the second year). If you earned less than about EUR 4,300 in the year before last, you are temporarily exempt from payments to the URSSAF (except for the CFP). See www.expatica.com for more information for freelancers or independent consultants.

THE RETIRED IN FRANCE If you are retired and in receipt of a state pension from a European Economic Area (EEA) member state (i.e. the EU countries plus Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein), you should obtain form E121 in your country of origin. This will entitle you to basic health cover in France and you will be exempt from paying contributions. You pay your medical expenses and are reimbursed as a French citizen would be. If you are retired from work but not yet in receipt of a state pension, you should ask for form E106.

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Social Security System RELOCATION

If you're married and your spouse is eligible for cover under form E121, your spouse's entitlement is extended to you as a right, called an ayant-droit.

There can be difficulties for people who have retired to France but have not yet reached state retirement age. These people don't fall into the categories covered by the European forms and would need to start paying into the French system straightaway.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS Following a decision in the European Court of Justice, neither the CSG nor the CRDS can be taken on salaries and pensions coming from another EU country.

If you are a salaried employee, paid by a French company, the situation is the same whether you come from within or outside of the EEA. You come under the French social security system, pay contributions and have the right to reimbursements.

If you come from within the EEA and are in France on secondment, you normally remain insured in the country in which you are usually employed. You continue paying contributions to the social security system of that country and continue acquiring new rights to benefits there. You become entitled to healthcare benefits in the country to which you have been sent and are entitled to family benefits from the country in which you remain insured.

Before leaving the EU country where you are normally employed, you should obtain form E101, which covers your first year of secondment. (your employer will need to obtain form E102 from the French authorities and send it to the Inland Revenue in the UK if you are contracted to stay for a second year.) To obtain your healthcare rights in France, you'll also need form E128, which is specifically for students and people on secondment.

You must obtain form E101 first, however.

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If you are a US citizen or resident and your employer in the US sends you to France, you are exempt from paying contributions in France and remain affiliated to your medical coverage provider in the United States.

You will have no right to reimbursement from the French social security system.

If you work for a French employer, then you can obtain a social security number, will contribute here instead of the States (you can't do both at the same time) and have the right to French healthcare outlined above.

UNUSUAL CASES There is a system which applies to those who have been employed in one country and come to work in another and have no immediate entitlement to social security benefits on arrival. The totalisation des pĂŠriodes d'assurance applies within the EEA and to countries with which France has a bilateral social security agreement.

Under this system, applicants can request a document stating how long they have been paying contributions and this is taken into consideration in France and the person is given an immediate entitlement.

Form E106 is for people who reside outside their country of affiliation, for example an Italian civil servant who lives and works in France. In this case, the person is eligible for healthcare in France and can use form E106 as long as they continue to have rights under the social security system in their country of origin. Members of their immediate family are also covered. Any reimbursements are handled by the caisse primaire.

USEFUL RESOURCE Assurance maladie en ligne www.ameli.fr/278/RUB/278/omb.html Information in English on the use of the carte vitale and the healthcare system.

This site has a chart showing how the social security system is organised.

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Buy or Rent?

Finding accommodation is one of the first tasks on arriving in France. But are you best off renting— or should you jump head first into the French property market?

Demographic trends mean certain pockets have proven more subject to price ramp-up than others. Prices in the southwest, particularly in areas close to lowcost airline terminals, have risen dramatically as foreigners buy up homes in the surrounding areas; other areas have simply become suddenly popular with French buyers. The French are also increasingly willing to commute longer distances to work, meaning more competition for houses in outlying areas.

Still, France has a relatively stable property market; buying a home in any major urban area is a relatively safe investment providing, of course, that nothing is wrong with the property.

Even if you intend staying for the longterm, however, it can take a while to settle into your new surroundings. If you are new to France, it is generally wisest to first rent a home while getting to know what's on offer and what you can really afford. And, unless you are wealthy enough to shrug off any risks, never attempt to buy a home in France if you can't speak French.

Renting is also your best option if you don't plan to stay for at least five years as

Renting is still widespread for French city-dwellers; it is not at all unusual for high-income earners to rent property, especially in Paris, and renting or owning a home is not a mark of social status in France.

The choice of renting or buying is more complicated for those who wish to settle in rural areas; here the availability of houses to rent is in shorter supply and many who move to the French countryside have done so with the specific intention of buying a home.

HOUSING

Housing prices have climbed rapidly and dramatically in the past decade across France — a trend encouraged by low interest rates — but the overall market appears to have stabilised for the time being as interest rates have begun to head back up.

legal fees and associated taxes, including potential capital gains taxes after re-sale, can make short-term home ownership expensive.

While estate agents say it's nearly impossible to find a liveable property for less than EUR 100,000 in the current market, there are still many rural regions with attractive prices — especially for renovation projects.

Still, the risks in short-term rural ownership are great.

There is no solid rule of supply and demand, as there is in urban areas, and one person's dream home is not necessarily that of another; many French families simply prefer the conveniences and comforts of a newly built house to an older home, even a charmingly renovated one.

Lastly, French tax law does grant advantages to owners of certain rental properties known, since 2003, as loi Robien properties.

The conditions are very specific; consult with an estate agent if you are interested in becoming a landlord in France.

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Renting a Home The most common way of renting property in France is through an estate agent, agent immobilier, who is commissioned to rent out a property by the owner, propriétaire.

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Agents' fees vary, but a renter, locataire, should expect to pay roughly one month's rent as a commission after locating a home.

An alternative practice is to rent directly from the owner, via ads in weekly publications like De Particulier à Particulier (meaning "from individual to individual"). The benefit of this is escaping the agents' fees but don't expect the rents to be lower. And, if you enter a rental agreement directly with the owner, you won't have the minimal legal protections that agents offer against deceptive practices or descriptions.

Some apartments rent month to month under a contrat de location. You may also be offered a renewable lease, bail, that pledges the owner to rent the property for a given period, usually three years.

During the period of the bail the tenant cannot be ousted either due to the sale of the property or because an owner wishes to re-occupy the premises.

The tenant is always free, however, to leave at any time, usually subject to three-month term of notice delivered in writing to the landlord.

continued on page 24 PROPERTY DESCRIPTIONS

Unless you are fluent in French and know your rights as a renter, you are best advised to deal only with a licensed estate agent. Agencies rarely pool their listings so you will want to contact several for an efficient search. Agencies are found through the Yellow Pages or walking into offices in the area you want to live.

The French calculate the size apartments or houses by the number of rooms, pièces, excluding the kitchen and water closets. This is often indicated in advertisements as a T1, T2, etcetera.

All local and some national newspapers carry rental ads posted by both agencies and owners; there are also now a number of websites that do the same.

The surface area is described in square metres, mètres carrés. As a rough guide, the average surface area for a threeroom city apartment (i.e. two bedrooms and a sitting-dining room) would be between 80 and 100 square metres.

An estate agent will only be involved in drawing up the rental contract — after that is signed, you're likely to deal directly with the owner. Many buildings also hire an on-site caretaker, concierge, or a maintenance company, syndic, to keep up common areas.

French law offers generous protection to tenants, including a prohibition of evictions during winter and a lengthy process of appeals. Owners are therefore cautious and the future locataire is

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A deux-pièces or T2 is a one-bedroom apartment. A T1 bis is a studio with a larger living space than a standard T1.

Kitchens and bathrooms may or may not include appliances or even cupboards. A kitchen with cabinets and counters is called a cuisine amenagée; a kitchen with appliances is a cuisine équipée.

Likewise, your landlord is not required to provide light fixtures or window coverings.

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Renting a Home

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continued from page 22 Before you move in, there will be a written evaluation of the condition of the property signed by the owner (or agency) and the renter. This is called a état des lieux. Clearly mark details such as scratches on the floor or cracks in the ceiling or you may be held responsible for their repair when you leave. It is advisable to take photos of the property.

You will be required to take out a home insurance policy and to present the owner proof that you have done so. Note that the renter, not the owner, is responsible for damage including those caused to third parties, as in the case of a water leak or a fire; the landlord is responsible to insure the common areas.

Renting an apartment will also involve paying for day-to-day upkeep, such as cleaning or gardening services. These are

called the charges communes. They are often included in the rent, in which case the rental sum will be described as charges comprises, as opposed to charges non comprises. The charges do not necessarily include utilities, although they might cover water or garbage collection, so specify which fees are included.

The charges are first calculated on a monthly average from the previous year, and can be adjusted, up or down, at the end of the first year of rental, according to the difference.

Finally, you will also be subject to a yearly tax, taxe d'habitation. This is calculated according to the size of your home and varies greatly from one region to another.

As the sum can be significant, it is advisable to find out from the mairie the amount of tax paid on your residence the previous year.

WHAT YOU WILL BE ASKED FOR Pay slips for the previous three months.

In general you will be required to prove that your monthly income is at least three times the monthly rent and that you are not currently on employment probation, nor close to retirement.

Agencies will often refuse people who work in contract fields like entertainment unless they have a co-signer, garant, on the rental agreement. If you are selfemployed, you will be asked to provide your previous year's tax returns and up to two letters from guarantors who must also prove monthly earnings of three times the rent.

If you have no French pay slips nor French tax return statements, you may be asked to open a bank account with enough cash to cover your rent for a predetermined number of months.

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Proof of identity in the form of a residence permit (occasionally a passport) A bank-account slip, relevé d'identité bancaire (RIB), that shows all account information If you have previously rented in France, you also be asked for a quittance de loyer, or document from your previous landlord showing that you left on good terms.

Finally, you will be asked for a deposit of two times the monthly rent, caution, which is repaid to you only at the end of the rental period — with no interest and less the cost of repairing any damage to the property for which you are held responsible. It is not unheard of to also be asked to pay an additional one to three months rent in advance to insure against your leaving without notice.

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Accommodation Agencies PARIS

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French Home Direct 3, rue Treilhard 75008 Paris 01 45 62 34 34 www.french-homesdirect.com French Property Insider 43, rue de Saintonge, BP 38 75003 Paris 01 40 27 97 59 www.frenchproperty insider.com Home Safari 9, rue Mollien 92100 Boulogne 01 46 03 90 16 www.home-safari.com Immostreet/Pressimmo Online 5, rue Auger 93500 Pantin 01 48 10 65 37 www.immostreet.com Neuflize Immobilier 8, avenue Hoche 75008 Paris 01 56 21 84 94 01 56 21 84 85 Paris Address 20, rue du Cotentin 75015 Paris 01 43 20 91 57 www.parisaddress.com Paris Attitude 6, rue du sentier 75002 Paris 01 42 96 31 46 www.parisattitude.com

Paris Housing Services 2, rue de l'Exposition 75007 Paris 01 45 55 21 37 www.paris-housing.com

LYON

Paris Property Finders 7, rue Malher 75004 Paris in France: 01 72 77 00 39 in the US: (917) 779-9950 in the UK: 0207 669 0108 www.parisproperty finders.com

Agence Actuelle Immobilière 91, rue Duguesclin 69006 Lyon 04 78 89 14 56

Suites Village Le Seranne, 130/140, Quai Flora Tristan cs 10007 34077 Montpellier Cedex 3 04 67 40 76 10 www.suitesvillage.com Vivre à Paris 236, rue St. Martin 75003 Paris 01 44 54 97 97 www.vivre-a-paris.eu Frasier Suites Serviced Residences Harmonie, La Défense 1 6, Boulevard de Neuilly 92400 Courbevoie 01 55 23 26 26 www.fraserhospitality.com France Apartments 97, Avenue des Champs Elysées 75008 Paris 01 56 89 31 00

French Property Report 33, rue du Valentibus 34160 Sussargues 04 99 63 09 31

AIX/MARSEILLE ABC Immo 66, rue Boulegon Aix en Provence 04 42 96 96 93 Mona Lisa Gestion Immobilière 665, rue Georges Claude 13852 Aix en Provence 04 42 97 70 30

ARIEGE Midi-Pyrenees Properties Mondounet 09130 Le Fossat, Ariege 05 61 69 36 81 www.midi-pyreneesproperties.com

BED & BREAKFAST Saint Jacques 15, Place de l'Eglise 45240 Ligny le Ribault, Sologne 06 83 18 42 31 www.TheAmericanFrog.com

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Buying a Home It can be both tempting and daunting to buy property in France — whether a sleek city apartment or a rustic rural retreat.

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You must first decide where you want to live. While housing prices have increased considerably across France in recent years, there is still wide variation in prices and availability.

You can consult thousands of ads every day in newspapers and weekly property magazines as well as a slew of online property databases. 'De Particulier à Particulier' is also very popular, can be searched online, and carries only ads from private sellers, not agencies.

Still, you'll probably want to at least consult with an estate agent, agent immobilier.

These regulated agents must carry a professional card delivered by the préfecture de police to operate legally; they provide accurate market prices — final sales prices, as opposed to asked-for prices, are private information in France — as well as generally reliable legal advice. Keep in mind, however, that agents generally represent the interests of the seller.

Agents can negotiate their commissions, but it generally falls between four and eight percent of the sale price. Always ask

if the commission is included in the price.

You don't have to pay the commission if the sale falls through, if the agent is operating illegally or if their contract with the seller has expired.

You can also try the public auctions, vente aux enchères. The lucky and experienced can find deals this way although the final sales prices often end up matching the overall market.

Another way that French buyers sometimes try to lower their investment is through a viager sale; that is, buying below the market price on the condition that the current owners, usually an elderly person or couple, can continue to occupy the house until their death(s). Buyer beware: you are betting here on the life expectancy of the current residents and there are many anecdotes about sellers outliving their buyers!

THE LEGAL STEPS Once you have found a home you want, you and the seller must sign a preliminary contract called either a promesse de vente or the increasingly common compromis de vente.

They are not quite the same; the promesse

OLD OR NEW?

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While many foreigners are seduced by the charm of a maison ancienne or, in Paris, a Haussmann-era apartment building, new constructions are generally more functional. If you're buying in a new building, it must include parking space and will come with guaranties, generally up to 10 years after purchase, covering construction faults.

tain their rustic charm by carefully controlling any changes to all houses in the vicinity.

In the countryside, older property can be less expensive upfront but familiarise yourself with the building codes, les normes, including those dictating the exterior appearance; some villages main-

While it's easy to find English-speaking artisans, don't be intimated to work with locals who know the suppliers and the neighbours even if a language gap makes it a bit more work for you.

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If you hire builders, start by asking for multiple quotes with timeframes; it is not unheard of to pay a fee for a construction quote even if you ultimately choose another builder.

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Buying a Home sets a price, a timeframe and any other conditions. Once signed and legally registered within a 10-day period, the seller is committed, whereas the buyer retains the right to walk away, albeit while sacrificing the initial down-payment, generally 10 percent. The compromis includes the same terms but does not need to be registered; it is, however, a legally binding agreement for both parties.

Before signing either a promesse or a compromis, make sure the contract specifies the exact boundaries of the property, any additional structures (dépendences), and any furniture, fixtures, appliances, etcetera to be included in the sale as well as any other conditions, conditions suspensives, on the sale such as obtaining a loan or insurance.

You or your agent are required to arrange

With houses, it's also a good idea to also consult with the local town hall, la mairie, as to any development plans for the area, the local property taxes, and the exact property delineation as listed in the property roll, cadastre.

For apartments, the law (loi Carrez) requires that the initial agreement must specify the exact living surface. The calculation excludes stairs, terraces, balconies, separating walls and floor space with a ceiling lower than 1.80 metres; this may not match the advertised square footage.

HOUSING

Once you sign a compromis, you have a seven-day buyer's remorse period during which you can change your mind for any reason; you then must also pay a downpayment of at least 10 percent.

for, at the buyer's expense, an inspection report that will determine the presence of termites, lead and asbestos. You have the right to also order any structural inspections.

The notaire is the solicitor that handles property transactions. The seller will almost certainly name a notaire; you have the right to retain your own, independent notaire, in which case the legal fees will be shared equally by the two. The buyer will pay these fees, which are based on a legally mandated fee structure, barème de frais, but figure on paying around five to seven percent. You will also pay the current year's real estate taxes, taxes foncières, prorated for the amount of time you occupy the house.

Be aware that French inheritance laws, which favour children over the spouse, will apply to this property regardless of any wills and even if your primary home is elsewhere; consult with your notaire as to how to deed the property in anticipation of an estate settlement.

When you decide to buy, your first consideration will probably be location — something your estate agent can help with WWW.EXPATICA.COM

Once the deposit is paid, the notaire will start researching if there are any legal or financial restrictions on its sale; this can take as long as 12 weeks. In the case of rural homes, this search should also determine if there are any other claims to the

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Buying a Home continued from page 29

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property, such as the neighbouring farmer's right, droit de passage, to drive his tractor across your land to his fields.

You will spend this time securing your mortgage, if need be, and insurance. The conventional mortgage term is 15 years although 20, 25 and even 30-year mortgages are available.

If you buy the land only and wish to build your own home and plan to significantly renovate an existing structure, you are also responsible for: Certificat d'urbanisme: a document that details the building codes for your construction, including exactly where you

may build and the exterior appearance.

Permis de constuire: You must provide detailed information on your building plans to your mairie.

Consult with your mairie about any additional fees and taxes to which you may be subject.

You will then sign the final acte de vente. It is customary for all parties to sign at the same time in the solicitor's office. You will all listen to the reading of the acte, sign the documents and the buyer makes out a check for the remaining amount due. You are now a home-owner in France.

It's a good idea to change the locks of your new home when you move in. A locksmith, un serrurier, can help you with that.

KEY FRENCH PROPERTY PHRASES T1/T2/T3, etcetera: for apartments, refers to the total number of rooms excluding kitchens and water closets; a T2 is a onebedroom. A T1 bis is a studio with a larger living space than a standard T1.

FAI (frais d'agence inclus): the estate agent's commission is included in the advertised price

décoration à revoir/rafraîchissement à prévoir: red-flag phrases that can indicate ugly wallpaper or major, costly repairs. dépendences: any additional structures, legally built or not, including everything from a garage to a barn dressing: any built-in closet

SH (surface habitable): total living space cuisine aménagée: a room needs only a sink to be called a kitchen. Aménagé indicates cupboards and counter space. cuisine equipée: includes appliances.

Cuisine équipée/aménagée means a fully outfitted kitchen. cuisine américaine: indicates a usually small kitchen that opens directly onto the main living space combles aménéageables: attic space that can altered for additional living space

jardin/terrain clos: a property enclosed by wall, fence or hedge plain-pied: a one-story house pierre de taille (PdT): means simply cut stones, but often used in Paris to indicate an apartment building of the Haussmann era pierres apparentes: exposed stone walls prestations: the overall appearance or esthetics. You want to see the phrase belles prestations or décoration soignée. salle d'eau: a water closet, as opposed to a salle de bain or salle de douche.

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Where to Live in Paris

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Paris has 20 arrondissements, and each is attributed with its own number. This is done according to the pattern of a spiral, beginning with the 1st arrondissement in the heart of the capital and ending with the 20th on the outer east Most Parisians, just like the inhabitants of major cities like Lyon or Marseille where the same system of arrondissements applies, describe their neighbourhood by its number instead of place names.

So, more often than not, you'll find yourself being offered a home in "le 1er" or "le 10ème".

There is also a broad description which divides Paris into two; this is a split of the capital into Rive Gauche (meaning the Left Bank, the south-side of the river Seine) and Rive Droite (meaning the Right Bank, north side of the Seine).

There are very few town-houses in Paris and they therefore sell or rent at a premium. Most inhabitable property is made up of apartments situated in the six or sevenstorey 19th century apartment buildings which make up most of the city.

hunting a home, you are “ When likely to be asked if you're looking for ancien — meaning any building more than 60 years old, and usually more expensive — or neuf, meaning modern constructions, and which are generally blocks of ten or more storeys.

”

Most Parisian apartments are made up of between one and four rooms. Smaller than an apartment is the studio, which is a bachelor-sized lodging with a sittingroom-cum-bedroom, an adjoining and usually non-separated kitchen, tiny bathroom and toilet. More than four rooms can be found, for a steep price.

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PARIS BY ARRONDISSEMENT While some arrondissements are big enough to contain several neighbourhoods very different in character —like the 13th, 17th, 10th and 20th — on the whole, the number, which also figures on Parisian postcodes, is something of a social statement!

For example, the 16th is synonymous with the old and very wealthy, the 18th with working class and ethnic populations, the 6th with the fashionable and chic.

Beginning at the city centre point, the 1st and 2nd arrondissements are essentially day-time quarters for business offices and institutions (including the Palais-Royal theatre, the stock exchange, the Louvre etc.) There are magnificent apartments on the rue de Rivoli overlooking the Tuileries or Palais-Royal gardens, and here or there a bargain flat can be had, such as close to the Bourse (stock exchange). But on the whole, there is little feeling of local community, witnessed by the lack of shops and empty streets at night.

The oldest quarters offering the most of Parisian charm, which are centrally-placed and which offer a rich street life are, in a broad sweep, the 3rd and 4th arrondissements on the Right Bank, covering the Marais, and the 5th and 6th on the opposite Left Bank, which make up the Latin Quarter.

The Marais is a young, trendy area, alive night and day, with an eclectic mix of everything from gay bars to specialist workshops, cultural venues like the Pompidou centre and the old Jewish quarter. It is graced with the oldest, some even mediaeval, buildings in Paris but it lacks any real green spaces, excepting the tiny and very-exclusive place des Vosges.

Generally high-priced, the Marais has magnificent courtyards hidden from the streets, lined by equally magnificent timbered apartments. There are also quite a

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Where to Live in Paris few renovated former rag-trade offices, offering tall ceilings and huge windows.

The area is superb for the fast public transport links to anywhere around the city and it is within walking distance from anywhere central.

Less extrovert than the Marais, its population ranges from the bourgeois to the bohemian. It is more family-friendly for those who want to be at the heart of Parisian leisure life, with a few parks, notably the Luxembourg gardens and the Jardin des Plantes. Generally expensive but not unaffordable, most of the Latin Quarter offers a picture postcard environment. It is also at the centre of the public transport network, with easy links to and from the rest of the centre.

A diluted taste of both these areas but with cheaper rents is found in the 10th, 11th and 12th arrondissements, close to the

The 10th, 11th and 12th are, with the exception of trendy pockets around the lively Bastille and RĂŠpublique squares, more populaire - or working-class. The inner limits of the 3rd and 10th house the teeming rag-trade. The meeting points of the 3rd, 10th and 11th are worth a look for those seek a large, centrally-located apartment at comparatively low cost.

Moving eastwards and north to the outer arrondissements, with their mix of modern and old residential buildings, there is a stronger local community, but some parts here are shabby.

HOUSING

The picturesque Latin Quarter, traditionally a student neighbourhood, has a charming old world attraction, along with the widest choice of restaurants and cinemas of any Paris neighbourhood. Its streets are wider and calmer than the Marais, and its universities (including the Sorbonne) make it a centre for cultural activities and especially for bookstores.

Marais, and the 13th and 14th arrondissements around the Latin Quarter.

The 12th is a comparatively large arrondissement, which offers cheaper rents and a wide choice of middle- to largesized apartments. It leads south-east to the Vincennes park, just outside the capital, which is one of the two largest green spaces around Paris (the other being the Bois de Boulogne to the west). It also houses the landmark Nation square, a regular departure or arrival point for mass demonstrations.

continued on page 34

Descriptions often split the capital into Rive Gauche (Left Bank, the southside of the river Seine) and Rive Droite (the Right Bank, north side of the Seine).

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Where to Live in Paris

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continued from page 33 The 13th covers the city's outer south-east, and contains a large Indochinese community, notable Vietnamese. It is a relatively old and quiet "suburb" of the Latin Quarter at its closest to the 5th, but rapidly becomes turned over to a huge area of modern sky-rise buildings further east which, while they have none of the charm of old Paris, do offer sensational views and - not to be sniffed at - parking spaces.

The 14th, which is joined to the Latin Quarter at Montparnasse, and which stretches down to the southern city limits, has fewer modern buildings and has a lively local community in most parts, bustling with shops, traders, cafés and quite a few small restaurants. Rents are, in the main, reasonable. It contains the large and pleasant Montsouris park and quick access onto the south-bound motorway and Orly airport.

novelty is the Canal St Martin, “ One in the 10th, where residences have been built along this pleasant waterway which runs north from the Seine.

”

Staying south and moving west is the 15th, a mostly residential arrondissement, with a range of rental rates from the relatively cheap large apartments to a minority of very expensive habitations, like those near the Eiffel Tower. It is an area with something for everyone. It lacks big green spaces, although there are both the André Citroën and Georges Brassens parks on its southern limits. The 15th is a mix of old and modern architecture, mostly bland but rarely ugly. A notable exception is the high-rise, futuristic Front de Seine complex of chic apartment blocks overlooking the river Seine.

The 7th is one of the most chic, and there is no cheap housing here. The character is very bourgeois and tame. It stretches from

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the 6th, at its east, across to the Eiffel Tower, and is also home to Unesco and most French government ministry buildings. It is a well-off, well-kept area with comparatively few shops and cinemas although it does boast a wide choice of restaurants. Quiet and safe, only its upmarket hotels and eateries shine late into the night.

Very similar, but even quieter is the 16th, lying north of the river in the west of the capital. It is something of a ghetto for the seriously rich, especially the affluent elderly. This is home to most of the Parisian entries in the Who's Who and is also where the OECD is based. It runs from the Arc de Triomphe, at the top of the Champs-Elysées, spreading west out to the huge and rambling park of the Bois de Boulogne at the city edge.

The expensive property is mostly composed of six- to eight-storey buildings of large apartments There is little street life of any sort and it is a quiet, uneventful area at night. The closest suburb to the 16th, further west and just outside the city limits, is the district of Neuilly, which is a continuation of the same.

The neighbouring 17th, also running from the Arc de Triomphe - but north and northwest - is a chic, high-rent area, although generally more accessible than the 16th. Its outer limits are more populaire. It shares the pleasant Monceau park with the 8th and many of its streets are wide and airy. Many embassies are based here. Spots like the Place des Ternes have a lively feel to them, with restaurants and bars, but in the main this is a quiet area at the end of the day when its many offices close.

Moving into the centre-north from the 17th is the 9th. This is a central arrondissement, dedicated to banks, insurance companies and lawyers as well as department stores and small businesses. It's a noisy, car-flooded area by day, suddenly quiet at night except for the through traffic on the grands boulevards. There are large apartments,

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Where to Live in Paris posing the shabby ones, and apartments are generally low-priced. The neighbourhood known as Barbès is home to a majority immigrant population, mostly African.

The 8th is the élite part of the city centre, with the presidential Elysée Palace, the Champs-Elysées, the haute couture boutiques of the rue St Honoré and the capitals grandest hotels, including the George V, the Plaza Athénée and the Crillon. This is the postcode for the top 100 company addresses and much of the area is made up of sumptuous offices. Only the very well-heeled live in the few residential properties on offer here.

Moving east, the 18th slips into the 19th, an area (like the 10th) which lies close to the international Eurostar and Thalès trains leaving the Gare du Nord. The 19th is a less lively continuation of the 18th with many modern buildings and cheap rents. It is dominated by a hill with a park, called the Buttes Chaumont, and at its extreme north-east point, where the limits of Paris reach the old industrial suburbs of Pantin, lies La Villette with its industry and science park.

The northern 18th arrondissement could not be more different. Apart from a few sites, like the privileged apartments - and houses - overlooking Paris from the south side of the Montmartre hill, most of the 18th is a lowly-but-lively, residential working-class area with a colourful ethnic mix. The building rows are mostly old, interrupted by splashes of the new. The less salubrious parts notably include Clichy and the vulgar 'sin city' Pigalle.

But there are some pleasant areas, juxta-

HOUSING

some made of converted offices, going at comparatively reasonable prices But this is one of Paris' least residential areas and consequently has little to offer kids - just like the neighbouring 1st, 2nd and 8th.

Below this, the outer east of Paris is gobbled up by the sprawling 20th. Here again, rents are cheaper, particularly for large apartments, and there is a wide choice of old and new buildings. At its heart is the legendary Père Lachaise cemetery.

The more spacious, leafier areas are just off Nation square (situated in the neighbouring 12th arrondissement) and out towards the Porte de Vincennes on the city limits.

AT A GLANCE GUIDE TO THE PARIS ARRONDISSEMENTS Trendy, lively and young at heart: the 3rd and 4th, parts of the 10th and 11th.

Lively but conservative with a wide choice of restaurants, cinemas and cultural venues: the 5th, 6th. Similar attractions with reasonable rents: parts of 13th and 14th.

More family friendly (rare green spaces, local amusements): The 5th, 6th, 12th, 13th,17th, 19th and 20th.

Old quarters, architectural charm: 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, parts of 2nd and 7th.

High-rise/modern apartment building areas: 13th, parts of 12th, 15th, 18th, 19th and 20th.

Designer-chic and expensive: The 6th and 7th, parts of 5th, 3rd and 4th.

Conservative, quiet and expensive: the 16th and parts of 8th and 17th.

Chic and ostentatious: The 8th, parts of 16th and 17th.

Least residential (few shops, little nightlife): The 1st, 2nd, parts of the 8th and 9th.

Cheaper rents: 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 18th, 19th, 20th.

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Banking The official French currency is the euro — and the former franc is no longer legal tender. While most shops still list prices in both currencies, the French have largely adapted to the euro with ease.

MONEY

On arrival in France, you should have few problems in paying with your 'home' credit card if it is one of the major operators like Visa, MasterCard or American Express, although you may soon tire of paying conversion rates.

There are 24-hour cash dispensers, or teller machines, easily accessible all over France, and in cities and towns there is a choice of several on almost every high street. They are called distributeurs automatiques de billets, and are always situated on the premises of a bank or at large post offices.

While some small shops may refuse credit cards, there are so many places that do accept them that you can survive for quite a while with credit card payment alone.

If you are an active resident in France, however, you will very soon need a French bank account, both to be paid your earnings and to gain access to many essential services which require your bank details as a guarantee of payment. Without a local account, you won't be able to rent a home on the same terms as locals or subscribe to utility services. Having a French cheque book will be a welcome practicality, especially in rural areas.

OPENING A FRENCH BANK ACCOUNT It is best to choose a major bank with a widespread national network of branches (see below) to take full advantage of whatever needs may arise during your travels in France.

To open an account with any bank, you will need to provide: personal identification (a residence permit or passport) proof of your home address in France (a phone or electricity bill or

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rental agreement) in most cases, some written proof of earnings (pay slip or other) to decide the limit of any overdraft .

A basic carte bleue (often called a carte de paiement nationale and used as a generic term for any plastic payment card) is cheaper but will not work abroad or on non-French internet sites.

French bank accounts offer either immediate debit from the account for payment by card or at the end of the month for a small additional fee.

Credit cards as understood in the UK and US are not common, but most banks offer a form of card offering an agreed 'reserve' of money, with a repayment plan and usually for a hefty annual fee.

All payment cards in France carry a chip, and whenever you use them you are required to type in a PIN. The major French banks with branches across the country are: Crédit Agricole, BNP Paribas, LCL, Société Générale, Caisse d'Epargne and La Poste.

CURRENCY EXCHANGE If you are transferring large amounts of cash between your home back account and your account in France, you should consider the method you use to transfer your money.

Some expats use a currency specialist to help then with their money transfers abroad. It is possible to benefit from better rates of exchange by doing this. Many currency brokers offer free information and guidance on the currency markets, which can help decide the best time to purchase euros.

Transfers through currency specialists can be faster and more convenient than the banks, and many brokers do not charge commission or receiving bank charges.

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Taxation

MONEY

You are subject to French income taxes, called impôts sur le revenue, if any of these conditions apply: if you arrive in France with the intention of living here permanently you hold a residence permit if you spend more than 183 days in the country during a calendar year if most of your wealth is based in France if your main professional activity is in France Income taxes are calculated yearly according to your earnings from January 1 through December 31. You will be required to declare all your earnings from the moment of your arrival in France presuming your stay thereafter is uninterrupted before officially becoming a resident.

The amount of tax is calculated from the information you must supply in a form called la déclaration des revenues. As of 2006, the government implemented a new system called la déclaration des revenues pré-remplie, or a declaration that the government has already filled in on your behalf based on information supplied by your employer.

If you were resident here for the entire year and are a salaried employee, this form should be automatically sent to you by your local tax office, centre des impôts. Once you are recorded in the system, the déclaration will be sent automatically to your home. If you move, it is your responsibility to send the next déclaration to your new local tax office. You can also file it online.

If you became a resident mid-year, then check with your human resources department or contact your local tax office to check on the 2007 deadlines. Failing to supply your yearly tax declaration by the given deadline makes you subject to a surtax of 10 percent.

The fundamental concept is calculating the difference between your Revenu à déclarer and your revenu imposable; the former is the sum total of your income including wages, pensions, interest income, and rents. The

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second is what is left after you subtract all any possible deductions and is the figure used to calculate tax owed.

You can pay your tax upfront or monthly; there are modest financial incentives if you choose to do this. Or you can pay in three instalments spread through the year, which is still the most common choice.

You should be notified by the tax office of what you should pay before each is due.

The first two instalments are estimates of the tax you owe, estimates based on your last yearly tax payment. The third and final payment, called le solde, makes up the difference between the estimate and the actual tax owed.

If you are self-employed, you must be able to produce detailed accounts of your earnings and will pay not only income tax but a raft of social security related fees known collectively as les charges. You are welladvised to seek expert advice before filling in your tax forms.

RECENT TAX REFORMS A major tax reform announced in September 2005, and intended to largely benefit middle-class wage-earners, is being implemented for 2006 income taxes.

The reform includes a reduction in the number of income bands from seven to five.

The new tax bands for 2006 taxable income are: from EUR 0 to 5,514: 0 percent from EUR 5,515 to 10,846: 5.5 percent from EUR 10,847 to 24,431: 14 percent from EUR 24,432 to 65,558: 30 percent More than EUR 68,558: 40 percent The new regulations also specify that the total amount any taxpayer could be charged in respect of income tax, wealth tax on assets, and local taxes would be limited to 60 percent of income. For information about other taxes you might be subject to, and information for American taxpayers, see www.expatica.com.

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Insurance

MONEY

The French insurance market offers a wide choice of companies and policies to choose from. All the major companies offering insurance, which is called assurance, have high street offices and are big enough to offer an umbrella policy for all your needs, as well as just a specific policy.

If you are an employee of a major firm or institution, it is well worth asking the HR department whether there is an agreement with a particular company offering lower than usual tariffs.

Insurance is a legal requirement for vehicles (assurance automobile), homes (assurance pour la maison or assurance d'habitation), for civil liability (assurance responsabilitĂŠ civile), and for schoolchildren (assurance scolaire).

HOME INSURANCE You are legally required to insure your home, whether you rent or own it and before moving in, against all risks, including risks of damage it might cause to a third party.

Most policies are comprehensive, insuring you also against theft, and are called assurance multirisques habitation.

It is strongly advisable to ensure that you understand the small print of any policy, especially regarding what weather risks are covered and for how much.

Excess payment clauses (called a franchise) can also be high.

out a policy, you will be issued with a certificate testifying to the validity of your insurance, called un certificat d'assurance, and which must be fixed clearly visible on your vehicle windscreen.

Policies are either third party (au tiers) or comprehensive (tous risques).

You are also legally required to carry a document proving you are insured, called une attestation d'assurance, which is issued by your insurer, whenever you use your vehicle.

Your insurer will also issue you with a standard form, called un constat amiable d'accident, to complete in the event of an accident.

It provides space to fill in insurance details, for a written and graphic description of the accident, and it must be completed and signed by both you and the other party involved. It is a carbon copy sheet, and both parties send their copy back to their respective insurer to establish responsibility.

SCHOOLING, CIVIL LIABILITY Under French law you must be covered by an insurance for civil liability and your child must also be specifically insured for this while at school.

In most cases civil liability is covered with a comprehensive home policy - but always make absolutely certain of this.

VEHICLES

There are insurance companies which specialise in insurance for schoolchildren, which costs around EUR 30 per year for a comprehensive policy.

All vehicles in France must be insured, even if they are not in use. When taking

Indeed, the majority of pupils have a separate specific insurance policy.

Really get to know your adopted home — find new articles about France every day at www.expatica.com 40

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Service Providers CAR DEALERS & RENTALS

MONEY

Europcar 3 avenue du Centre 78881 St-Quentin-enYvelines Cedex 08 25 35 23 52 01 30 44 93 97 www.europcar.com TT Car Transit/Key Services International 2, avenue de la Porte St. Cloud 75016 Paris 01 40 71 72 50 www.ttcar.com/uk/ Volvo Actena Automobiles SAS Concessionnaire 56, avenue de Versailles 75016 Paris 01 44 30 82 31 www.actena.fr/expats.php

FINANCE Barclays 08 10 06 06 60 UK: 0800 917 0157 contact.fr@barclays.co.uk www.barclays.fr CA Paris Direct International 8, rue Villiot 75012 Paris Tel: 08 10 000 111 01 43 40 50 00 www.ca- paris.fr CIC-Banque Transatlantique 26 avenue Franklin Roosvelt 75008 Paris 01 56 88 74 90 www.transat.tm.fr/s_home. asp?element=17&l=2 French-Mortgage.com The Pool House, Bicester Road OX27 9BS Stratton Audley, Oxfordshire +44(0)1869 278 181 www.french-mortgage.com

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HIFX PLC Morgan House, Madeira Walk, SL4 1EP Windsor, Berkshire, UK. +44(0)1753 859 159 www.hifx.co.uk

Wealden Psychology Institute Le Sarment, Grand Robert 47350 Escassefort +44(0)1892 655 195 www.wealdeninstitute.co.uk

Moneycorp 100 Brompton Road SW3 1ER Knightsbridge, London, UK +44(0)207 589 3000 www.moneycorp. com

Locksmith/Serrurerie Bleu 74, avenue du 18 juin 1940 92500 Rueil-Malmaison 01 47 51 09 06

Agence SWATON, EUROSUD ASSURANCES 432 Bd. Michelet, 13,009 Marseille.

04 88 65 00 00 www.insuranceinfrance.com

FOOD & BEVERAGES Epicerie Anglaise de Paris 5, Cite du Wauxhall 75010 Paris 01 42 00 36 20 www.epicerieanglaise.com Relais Gourmet 14, rue Burguria 64700 Hendaye 06 10 85 25 67 www.relaisgourmet.com

HEALTH & SPORTS Rasa Yoga Rive Gauche 21, rue St. Jacques 75005 Paris 01 43 54 14 59 www.rasa-yogarive gauche.com Souillac Country Club sur Dordogne Lachapelle-Auzac 46200 Souillac 05 65 27 56 00 www.souillaccountry club.com

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LOCKSMITH

SATELLITE TV CitySat 20, rue Felix Merlin 93800 Epinay-sur-Seine 01 46 31 58 26 www.citysat.net SkyDigi TV 4, avenue de la Gare 66400 Ceret 04 68 87 18 30 www.skydigi.tvi

SHOPS Pyramide de Cadeaux 1, rue de l'Echelle 75001 Paris 01 42 60 62 57

RECRUITMENT AGENCIES Euro London Appointments Paris 17, Square Edouard VII 75009 Paris 01 53 43 94 52 www.eurolondon.fr/ English/ukindex.htm

TRAVEL & TOURISM Crown Blue Line The Port House, Port Solent PO6 4TH Portsmouth, Hampshire +44(0)2392 334 681 www.crownblueline. co.uk?xptca SEAFRANCE 1 avenue de Flandre, 75019 Paris 01 53 35 11 00 www.seafrance.fr

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Education

EDUCATION

France offers state-run and private schools at all levels and the educational standards are generally high. The curriculum is dictated by the Ministry of Education and is virtually the same across the country. The teacher's unions are quite powerful.

Schooling is free and mandatory from ages six to 16, although nearly all French children begin between school by age four.

Another two years of study are required if a student is to sit the baccalauréat, 'le bac', exam, which they must pass to advance to university.

Your child's grade is determined by the calendar year of birth; that is, all children born in 1999 are assigned to the same grade Private schools are either sous contrat, meaning under contract with the state whereby the government pays the teachers' salaries and the school follows the national curriculum and schedule, or hors contrat whereby they are totally privately funded.

Private schools sous contrat demand a relatively modest tuition; tuitions at schools hors contrat are significantly higher and vary widely, although most fall in the EUR 1,500 to EUR 4,000 range.

There are public schools with bilingual programmes (See 'International Sections'), but in most cases, a bilingual education is only available in a private school. In Paris and some other large cities, there are private American and British schools where the curriculum is equivalent to the country of origin.

SCHOOL SCHEDULE The system calls for 26 hours of class per week; students preparing the baccalauréat may have as many as 40 hours per week.

There are roughly 158 school days per year.

The school-day generally runs three hours in the morning and three in the afternoon with a two-hour lunch break; children can go home for lunch or stay at school for a fee-based lunch service, la cantine.

The traditional schedule calls for attendance Monday through Friday with no classes on Wednesdays and a half-day on Saturdays but this schedule is one of the ongoing educational debates. Some of the 28 administrative districts, académies, have eliminated Saturday classes and make up the time by extending the school year.

continued on page 46

HOW TO REGISTER YOUR CHILD FOR SCHOOL If you want to send your child to a public school, contact the service des écoles at the mairie of your city or arrondissement. All foreign documents must be translated by an official translator, traducteur assermenté. You will be asked for the same documents for public and private schools. proof of birth: a birth certificate, extrait de l'acte de naissance, or a livret de famille (an official French booklet of family records issued by the mairie). proof of parents' identity: this can include copies of passports, cartes de séjour, or cartes d'identité. Divorced parents may also be asked for proof of legal guardianship.

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proof of immunisations: a carnet de santé (an official booklet with health records from all visits to a French doctor) or other official health records to show that the child is immunised against tuberculosis (BCG); diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (DTP); and polio. Note that children entering from the US often require the BCG vaccination proof of place of residence: usually a copy of a utility bill or rental agreement proof of insurance: while not absolutely required to attend class, most schools also ask that you carry an insurance policy, assurance scolaire, for your child to participate in any activities outside the classroom

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Education System continued from page 44 All public schools have four two-week breaks in October/November, December, February/March and April/May.

EDUCATION

Virtually all schools will have a fee-based childcare system, service de puériculture, available before and after school and during vacations. These services, as well as la cantine, must be signed up for separately.

Report cards are distributed three times a year, once per trimestre.

ECOLE MATERNELLE (PETITE, MOYENNE, GRANDE SECTION) While these schools are still state-funded, attendance is optional and placement is not guaranteed, especially for younger children; children as young as two can attend but must be potty-trained.

The three-year cycle is referred to as the cycle des apprentissages premiers. The main aim is to teach the child some degree of autonomy and how to live in a social situation. In grande section, activities are geared toward preparing the child for primary school including pre-reading, writing and elementary math skills.

Virtually all French children are scolarisé before starting primary school.

ECOLE PRIMAIRE (CP-CM2) This starts at age six and corresponds to American grades 1 through 5 and to British Infant 2 through to Junior 4 classes.

The first two years are CP (cours préparatoire) and CE1 (first year of cours élémentaire) and constitute the second three-year cycle, the cycle des apprentissages fondamentaux.

Children are taught to read in CP. During school year 2005, the Minister of Education mandated that CP teachers use a phonetic methodology; this decision has been resisted by some teacher who prefer the méthode

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globale, which teaches children to recognise whole words as opposed to sounding them out.

The next three years, constituting the cycle des approfondissements, are CE2 (second year of cours élémentaire), CM1 and CM2 (first and second year of cours moyen).

It is has been proposed that foreign languages, usually English, be introduced as early as CM1; many primary schools already have introduced English classes but this is not always available.

If a child needs to repeat a year, redoubler, it is most often suggested at the end of a cycle.

This decision is determined by a group of school directors and teachers, conseil de cycle, although parents may appeal their decisions.

COLLÈGE (6ÈME-3ÈME) School assignment is normally determined simply by your address but parents can request a dérogation, or transfer to another school.

The first year of secondary school, called the 6ème, is called the cycle d'adaptation; the 5ème and 4ème are the cycle central; the 3ème is the cycle d'orientation.

Secondary schools also have groups of counsellors, teachers and parents, a conseil de classe, that monitor students' progress and, ultimately, decide if they can progress to the next grade.

At the end of the 3ème, students sit for nationally administered exams to obtain a diploma called the brevet des collèges.

Likewise, the conseil de classe makes important decisions about which 'track' a student should follow at the lycée, whether regular studies leading to the baccalauréat or vocational studies at a lycée professionelle.

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Education System continued from page 46 Again, parents may appeal this decision; it can be extremely difficult to change course once a student has started down a certain path of study. Foreign-language study, again usually English, is mandatory as of the 6ème; a second foreign language is required as of the 4ème.

EDUCATION

LYCÉE (SECONDE-TERMINALE) The year of lycée, the seconde, is known as the cycle de détermination; students take the same core curriculum of some eight subjects but are offered three electives and an artistic workshop. At the end of this year, the key decision is made as to which bac the student will pursue.

There are three baccalauréat general: literature and language (L), science and math (S) and economics and social sciences (ES). The S bac is considered the toughest. There are also some eight baccalauréat technologique, or diplomas based on specific technical skills including laboratory work but also music and dance. A baccalauréat guarantees entrance to a state university, although not necessarily the school or department of choice. Nor is success a given.

The tests begin at the end of the première,

FURTHER INFORMATION AAWE 34 avenue de New York, 75016 Paris 01 47 28 45 19 www.aaweparis.org The 'Guide Le Fabert' lists all private schools in France. The website includes a searchable database: Editions Fabert 107 rue de l'Université, 75007 Paris 01 47 05 32 68 www.fabert.com For information on higher education in France, please see the Education channel at www.expatica.com.

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with two tests in French language and literature, the first written, the second oral.

For the second set of tests, at the end of the terminale, students are tested are various subjects depending on the curriculum they followed. The subjects are weighted to match. If the student scores poorly, they can sit for two additional oral exams, in any subjects, to try and make up their missing points.

INTERNATIONAL AND EUROPEAN SECTIONS There are some 30 French schools that also offer an International Section leading to an international baccalauréat (OIB); these sections offer language studies at higher levels than the normal curriculum. There are British and American sections as well as a number of others.

They are intended to integrate foreign students and make it easier for them to return to schools home, but many French students attend as well. Foreign students, however, must represent at least 25 percent of the enrolled students. The curriculum is offered on top of the normal course load and includes instruction in language, literature, geography and history; native-language teachers are usually recruited from abroad.

European sections also offer higher-level language instruction, at least two additional hours per week; but whereas the curriculum for international sections is agreed upon by administrators in France and the country of origin, the European section is intended to better integrate French students into a multi-lingual European environment.

Students who pass the additional language tests for their baccalauréat earn a diploma with a mention section européenne.

Both these programmes add significantly more work; your child's overall scholastic aptitude rather than their bilingualism should determine whether or not they enrol.

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Berlitz, your International passport INTERCULTURAL & LANGUAGE TRAINING. The quickest and most effective Method® to learn another language and understand another culture.

• • • • •

128 years of experience 25 languages 24 Language Centers in France Instruction for Adults and Kids Small groups, one-on-one classes and online programs • Intercultural training : to allow managers to work efficiently with foreign cultures Call us on :

01 72 34 29 51 berlitzinfo@berlitz.fr

www.berlitz.fr

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Education Listings UNIVERSITIES

EDUCATION

AUDENCIA Nantes Ecole de Management 8, route de la Jonelière - BP 31222 44312 Nantes cedex 3 02 40 37 34 34 www.audencia.com CERAM Master of Science Programs 60, rue Dostoievski, BP 085 06902 Sophia-Antipolis, Cote d'Azur 04 93 95 44 12 www.ceram.edu Duke Goethe Executive MBA Goethe Business School Mertonstrasse 17 60325 Frankfurt am Main Germany Admissions & Customer Relationship Manager +49(0)69 798 33500 www.duke-goethe-emba.org Groupe ESC Rouen 1, rue du Maréchal Juin BP 215 76825 Mont Saint Aignan Cedex 02 32 82 57 00 www.groupe-esc-rouen.fr Groupe Paris Graduate School of Management 25, rue St.Ambroise 75011 Paris 01 53 36 44 00 www.esg.fr

Institut d'Administration des Entreprises (Institute of Business Administration) Clos Guiot BP 33 Chemin de la Quille 13540 Puyricard 04 42 28 08 55 www.iae-aix.com Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School Campus Gent & Leuven, Belgium +32 9 210 9899 www.vlerick.com

CONTINUING EDUCATION WICE Institute of Continuing Education 20, bd du Montparnasse 75015 Paris 01 45 66 75 50 www.wice-paris.org

SCHOOLS International School of Bearn Rue des Fougères Quartier Berlanne 64160 Morlaas 06 12 56 68 67 www.isbearn.com Lennen Bilingual School 168, rue de Grenelle 75007 Paris 01 47 05 66 55 01 44 42 99 00 www.lennenbilingual.com Collège and Lycée de Sèvres 7, rue Lecocq, 92310 Sevres 01 46 23 96 35

Lycée International de St.Germain-en-Laye 36, rue du Fer à Cheval 78100 St. Germain-en-Laye 01 39 10 94 11 Collège Cheverus 10, rue de Cheverus 33000 Bordeaux 05 56 48 57 00

AMERICAN & BRITISH SCHOOLS American Section - Lycée International 2 bis, rue du Fer a Cheval, BP 5230 78104 St. Germain en Laye 01 34 51 74 85 www.lycee-intlamerican.org British School of Paris 38 Quai de l'Ecluse 78290 Croissy sur Seine 01 34 80 45 96 www.ecis.org/bsp The American School of Paris 41, rue Pasteur 92210 Saint-Cloud 01 41 12 82 82 Marymount International 72, Boulevard de la Saussaye, 92200 Neuilly-Sur-Seine 01 46 24 10 51 International School of Paris 6, rue Beethoven 75016 Paris 01 42 24 09 54

For more information about schools in France, see the Education channel at www.expatica.com/france 50

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PARIS GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT A leader group for fully IACBE accredited programs

• Bachelor of Business Administration • Master of Business Administration Full time and Part time for executives • French languages courses for foreigners • Preparation for official exams (DELF, DAFLF, TCF...)

25 rue Saint-Ambroise - 75011 Paris Tél: 01 53 36 44 00 www.pgsm.fr • esg@esg.fr

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Language Courses Alliance Française 101, Boulevard Raspail 75006 Paris 01 42 84 90 00 www.alliancefr.org

EDUCATION

Berlitz France SAS Champs Elysees, 35 Av. Franklin Roosevelt, 75008 Paris.

01 40 74 00 17 www.berlitz.fr Berlitz France 38, Avenue de l'Opera 75002 Paris 01 44 94 50 00 www.berlitz.fr Ecole Eiffel 3, rue Crocé-Spinelli 75014 Paris 01 43 20 41 19 www.ecole-eiffel.fr

French for Executives Marie Varlet 01 46 33 39 72 marie.varlet@wanadoo.fr

Alliance Française 310, rue Paradis 13008 Marseille 04 96 10 24 60

La Sorbonne Cours de Civilisation Française 47, rue des Ecoles 75005 Paris 01 40 46 22 11

American Association of Marseille 3, rue Parc Borely 13008 Marseille 04 91 77 00 15

Ecole PERL 6, rue Spinoza, 75011 Paris 01 53 36 16 96

Inlingua Formation Langues 115, rue Claude Nicolas Ledoux, Aix en Provence 04 42 39 49 46

Oise Formation 71 bis, rue de Vaugirard 75006 Paris 01 42 22 01 98 Paris Langues 30, rue Cabanis, 75014 Paris 01 45 65 05 28 www.parislangues.com

TOULOUSE Berlitz Toulouse 4, rue Jean Suau 31000 Toulouse 05 61 29 12 91

TRANSLATION Institut de Langue Française 3, avenue Bertie Albrecht 75008 Paris 01 45 63 24 00 www.inst-langue-fr.com

Quai d'Orsay Language Centre 67, Quai d'Orsay 75007 Paris 01 44 11 10 50

LYON Institut Parisien 87, boulevard de Grenelle 75015 Paris 01 40 56 09 53 www.institut-parisien.com LFA - Le Français Autrement 1, rue des Fontaines 92310 Sèvres 01 46 23 91 47 www.lfa-langues.fr

Alliance Française 11, rue Pierre Bourdan 69003 Lyon 04 78 95 24 72 Centre International d'Etudes Françaises 16, quai Claude Bernard 69007 Lyon 04 78 69 71 36

Missions Trad 29, allée Boréale 33700 Mérignac 05 56 47 60 67 www.missions-trad.com contact@missions-trad.com The Dictionary Connoisseur La Conterie 24330 St. Antoine d'Auberoche 05 53 03 95 72 www.the-dictionaryconnoisseur.com

AIX/MARSEILLE British European Centre 5, rue Chevalier de St. George, 75008 Paris 01 42 60 35 55

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American Centre 27, rue Aldebert 13006 Marseille 04 91 81 79 78

FRANCE EXPAT SURVIVAL GUIDE

To advertise in next year’s Expat Survival Guide, please call Stephane Caen or Julie Dragt on +31 20 888 4263

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How to Find a Job

JOBS

The current government is quite proud of its recent success in bringing down the French unemployment rate, although there is considerable public debate as to the explanation. Still, the jobless rate dropped below 9 percent in July 2006, its lowest reading since March 2002. With the French economy growing at a surprisingly strong clip in 2006, the prime minister has vowed even more improvement in this statistic over the next year.

Of course, the statistics don't tell the full story. The jobless rate varies from region to region and differs widely among professional categories and age groups. Your ability to land a job depends on your administrative status, your ability to speak French and your professional and academic qualifications, plus the always significant 'who you know' factor.

show a job candidate’s letter to a handwriting analyst.

Job ads appear in the national dailies and weekly news magazines; there are several print publications and websites, including Expatica, that also target native Englishspeaking job-seekers.

The ads will usually list minimum academic qualifications, niveau d'études minimum.

You'll need to research the rough French equivalent of your diplomas and training but be aware that French employers may or may not recognise your degrees, even those from accredited, widely recognized schools.

For those looking for manual, secretarial and/or relatively unskilled jobs, the best approach is through temporary employment agencies, agences d'intérim.

EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS English-language teaching in private schools, tourism and the legal industry are sectors particularly open to English-speaking candidates. The first thing to establish is whether you are entitled to legally work in France. Secondly, it is absolutely essential to have at least a basic grasp of French.

HITTING THE PAVEMENT Given that, there are three main routes for pursuing employment: contacting the HR departments of firms directly; registering with a head-hunting agency, cabinet de recrutement or informally chasseur de têtes; and by searching job ads.

If you are writing to a French firm, always make your first approach in French and reformat your CV to the French model; this often means listing your age, marital status and a picture of yourself.

Many large French firms will also expect your cover letter to be written long-hand, rather than typed. This is less common than it was and it is not unusual to approach a company via email these days, but some of the more traditional firms still expect to

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The two primary types of employment contract are: a CDD, Contrat de travail à durée déterminée, which is for a designated period, usually no more than 18 months; and a CDI, or Contrat de travail à durée indéterminée, which is for a permanent post with no end date. The controversial contrat de nouvelles embauches (CNE) is a variation of the CDI for companies with less than 20 employees and with a simplified dismissal procedure during the first two years.

A part-time contract, contrat de travail en temps partiel, exists as both a CDI and a CDD, and applies to all employees who work less then the minimum weekly requirement of 35 hours. The temporary job contract, contrat de travail temporaire or intérimaire, is used by temp-work agencies; it is used for a specific and temporary assignment, called a mission; the employee is paid job-by-job by the agency.

Salary will be presented either as brut, which is before deductions, or as net, which is after. These mostly concern mandatory contributions to the French welfare system, but do not include income tax.

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Work Permits

JOBS

Not everyone needs a work permit (called une autorisation de travail) to be allowed employment in France. While all those who are entitled to unrestricted employment are from European countries, not all European nationals enjoy this status.

Foreign nationals entitled to work in France without obtaining a permit fall into the following three categories: Citizens from the 14 European Union member states which, with France, made up the EU prior to its enlargement on 1 May 2004, but also two new member states, Cyprus and Malta.

Nationals from member states of the European Economic Area (EEA) Citizens of Switzerland Although it is also no longer legally necessary for nationals from the above-listed countries to hold a carte de séjour, it can be a practical and reassuring proof of identity and status for employers — who will often ask for one.

Foreign nationals from any country other than those listed above must hold both a valid work permit and residence permit (in the form of a long-stay visa, called un visa delong séjour ) to be allowed employment in France. Furthermore, both must be obtained before arriving in France.

As implied above, this is also applicable, for an as yet undefined temporary period, to nationals of EU member-states which joined after 1 May 2004, with the exception of citizens of Cyprus and Malta. Since May 1 2006 however, France has introduced what it calls a 'progressive relaxation' of working restrictions on the new states and has published a list of 62 activities in which it deems workers to be in short supply. These sectors concerned are: construction, hospitality, agriculture, retail, machine-operating and hygiene. Nationals of the eight new EU members concerned (the Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia) must still obtain work permits for such jobs, but these can no longer be refused on the grounds of the

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national employment situation. Those wishing to apply for such a permit must get a prospective employer to file the request if they are not in France, but may do so in person at the appropriate préfecture if they are already present. Details concerning other professional activities will be published in due course, but little change can be expected ahead of France's presidential elections, due in April 2007.

Excluding these categories above, however, the work permit rule essentially requires the applicant to have obtained an offer of employment prior to arrival. The process of applying for the work permit is initiated by the French employer, who will subsequently provide the forms to be filled by the applicant. These are processed in France, usually at a local level.

The employer will have to justify that the applicant is more appropriate for the job than a French national or a national of any of the countries (above listed) which have a free right to work in France, or that there are no other candidates for the post.

Once the application is cleared, the work permit and the accompanying long-stay visa are delivered by the French consular services in the applicant's home country.

If this may at first appear a Catch-22 situation, whereby it is impossible to find employment before first arriving in France, note that a visitor to France travelling on a tourist visa is entitled to look for a job offer. However, neither the work permit nor the long-stay visa can be applied for from within France. In all cases, the applicant must return to their home country to do so.

As always, there are exceptions to what is otherwise a rigid rule. These include measures to ease the employment of high-ranking management employees, and temporary work permits for students, au pairs and seasonal agricultural workers. In all cases, check with your local French consulate about your specific situation.

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Healthcare System France offers a vast choice of general practitioners and healthcare specialists, part of its mammoth social security system which, although heavily indebted, is one of the finest anywhere.

HEALTH

French employees see about 20 percent of their gross salary deducted at source to pay the social security system, called la Sécurité sociale. A large part of this goes into public healthcare which everyone in France has access to.

58

If you subscribe to the French social security system, whether employee or self-employed, most of your general healthcare needs are partially reimbursed, but at different rates. It is common in France to subscribe to a mutuelle, which is a medical insurance company established for the purpose of covering most medical costs that the state does not. There are dozens of mutuelles, which are often specific to types of profession.

Anyone in France can consult any doctor or specialist, regardless of whether the patient is affiliated to the French social security system and/or has private medical insurance. The fee is the same for everyone, although by how much the costs are covered depends upon your medical insurance plan.

Under new legislation aimed at cutting health service costs however, all patients are now required to register with a médecin traitant, or regular GP, in order to benefit from the refunds outlined above.

If you have a medical problem which may need specialist treatment, it is generally necessary to be referred for this by the médecin généraliste in order to be eligible for a refunding of costs, for example with physiotherapy, laboratory examinations or X-rays.

The Sécurité sociale refunds 70 percent of medical fees. So, in the case of a visit to a local practitioner, called un médecin généraliste, 70 percent of the doctor's consultation fee, which is about EUR 20, is refunded.

There is no social security coverage for consultations with psychologists and psychoanalysts, osteopaths and chiropractors. You can however directly consult a large number of specialists whose fees are refunded, including gynaecologists, dermatologists, ophthalmologists and psychiatrists and dentists.

Most mutuelles will reimburse the remaining 30 percent, just as they also cover the remainder on most common health needs, obviously including emergency hospital treatment.

In every city and large town, you will find a wide choice among these professions, and you are free to choose and change between specialists just as with your general practitioner.

Medicines and drugs are refunded by the Sécurité sociale on varying scales, from 35 percent to 65 percent. Mutuelles offer partial or total refunds, depending upon your specific contract.

There are over 3,000 hospitals in France, generally of the highest quality.

FEES

Everyone has access to emergency hospital treatment, regardless of their health insurance coverage, and for those who subscribe to the French Sécurité sociale it is partly reimbursed.

EUR 21 for consultation with a general practitioner, EUR 25 or more for consultation with a specialist. A non-refundable fee of EUR 1 is levied for each visit.

In the case of minor injuries, you can also choose which hospital accident and emergency service you consult (see hospital listings).

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WE CARE... ABOUT YOU! For a century, the American Hospital of Paris has brought French and international patients state-of-the-art technology and quality treatment in a secure environment.

• Bilingual medical specialists and staff • International programmes (English, Japanese, Chinese and Arabic spoken) • Free estimation of fees and expected insurance reimbursement: call +33 1 46 41 27 71 • International insurance plans honored Aesthetic Surgery, Cardiology, Diagnostic Imaging Services, Emergency Service 24/7, ENT, Gastroenterology, General Surgery, Gynaecology & Obstetrics, IVF/Fertility Unit, Laboratories, Maternity, Dialysis Centre, Neurology, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedics,

mi ssio

dit Accre

n

Paediatrics, Pneumonology, Rheumatology, Urology. ed by t om he Joint C

We care…about you 63, bd Victor Hugo - 92200 Neuilly sur Seine - France - Telephone: +33 1 46 41 25 25 - www.american-hospital.org Private not-for-profit hospital

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Hospital Listings PARIS American Hospital of Paris 63, boulevard Victor Hugo 92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine 01 46 41 25 25 www.american-hospital.org Bichat Claude-Bernard 46, rue Henri-Huchard 75018 Paris 01 40 25 80 80

HEALTH

Hôtel Dieu 1, place du Parvis Notre-Dame 75004 Paris 01 42 34 82 34 Broussais 96, rue Didot 75014 Paris 01 43 95 95 95 Cochin 27, rue du Faubourg Saint Jacques 75014 Paris 01 58 41 41 41 Necker-Enfants Malades (specialised in treating children) 149, rue de Sèvres 75 015 Paris 01 44 49 40 00 Pitié-Salpetrière 47-83, boulevard de l'Hôpital 75013 Paris 01 42 16 00 00 Centre Hospitalier National des Quinze-Vingts (specialised in eye medicine) 28, rue Charenton 75012 Paris 01 40 02 15 20

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Hôpital Saint-Antoine 184, rue du Fauborg SaintAntoine 75012 Paris 01 49 28 20 00

Group Hospitali er Rangueil Larrey (CHU) Avenue Prof Jean Poulhes 31403 Toulouse 05 61 32 25 33

www.aphp.fr has listings for all public hospitals in Paris and its suburbs

BORDEAUX

LYON Hôpital Edouard Herriot 5, place Arsonval 69003 Lyon 0820 0820 69, 04 72 11 78 90 Hôpital Hôtel Dieu Place de l'Hôpital 69002 Lyon 0820 0820 69, 04 72 41 30 30 Hôpital de la Croix Rousse 93, Grande Rue de la Croix Rousse, 69004 Lyon 0820 0820 69, 04 72 07 10 46

MARSEILLE Hôpital Sainte Marguerite 270, boulevard Ste Marguerite 13009 Marseille 04 91 74 40 00 Hôpital de la Timone 264 rue St Pierre 13005 Marseille 04 91 38 60 00

Centre Jean Abadie 89 rue Sablières 33800 Bordeaux 05 56 79 56 79 Hôpital Charles Perrens 146Bis rue Léo Saignat 33000 Bordeaux 05 56 56 34 34

LILLE Centre Hospitalier Regional Universitaire de Lille avenue Oscar Lambret 59037 Lille 03 20 44 59 62 Hôpital Roger Salengro (emergency) Boulevard Prof Jules Leclerq 59000 Lille 03 20 44 59 62

STRASBOURG Hôpital Civil 1, place Hôpital 67100 Strasbourg 03 88 11 67 68

RENNES Hôpital Ambroise Paré 1 rue Eylau1 3006 Marseille 04 91 83 38 38

Hôtel Dieu 2 rue Hôtel Dieu 35000 Rennes 02 99 28 43 21

TOULOUSE

MONTPELLIER

Hôpital la Grave (CHU) place Lange 31059 Toulouse 05 61 77 78 33

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) 191 avenue Doyen Gaston Giraud 34090 Montpellier 04 67 33 67 33

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Utilities To open an account for any utility, you must provide proof of your identity (passport, residence permit) and your address, justificatif de domicile. The latter can be your rental agreement, rent receipt, another utility bill or anything that demonstrates proof of home ownership.

ELECTRICITY AND GAS The French government partially privatised its utilities, Gaz de France (GDF) and ElectricitĂŠ de France (EDF), as two separate companies in 2005. The government has also said it will completely open the electricity market to competing suppliers as of summer 2007.

In anticipation, GDF and EDF have been separating themselves as much as possible and trying hard to wean customers away from thinking of them as a single entity.

As of the end of 2006, for example, French

customers are for the first time receiving two separate electrical and gas bills (although in fact many customer services are still handled behind the scenes by a single agency.) You can find your local EDF office through the phone book, or at http://particuliers.edf.fr. Call with general enquires on Tel: 08 10 12 61 26 (local rate).

Service can generally be established within 48 hours.

You can find your local Gaz de France office through the phone book at www.gaz defrance.fr. Call with general enquires on 08 10 14 01 50 (local rate). Service can generally be established within 48 hours presuming the gas line is already in place. A 24-hour repair number, dĂŠpannage, for both services is indicated on both bills.

Electricity costs less at specific overnight

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Utilities continued from page 61 hours, les heures creuses; les heures pleines means the more expensive daytime hours.

You'll see consumption broken into both categories on your bill. The French domestic electrical current is 220 volts AC. All modern sockets and plugs are three-pin. If you are arriving with appliances from the UK, you are likely to need an adaptor and, in the case of appliances from North America, a transformer.

WATER

SETTLING IN

Water is delivered by private companies who sign contracts with local authorities; call your town hall, mairie, to find the designated supplier for your area.

Your water bill is calculated by the number of cubic metres of water consumed. Rates vary enormously and can sometimes be expensive; most companies bill only once or twice a year.

French people usually opt for bottled drinking water mostly for reasons of taste.

Domestic supplies are potable.

All apartment buildings have a bin area. In large buildings it is the caretaker, gardien or concierge, who looks after the collection.

Recycling of cardboard paper waste, glass and plastic is widespread, but depends on the local authorities to provide recycling bins, which can be found in most neighbourhoods and shopping centres. Some towns also provide 'curbside' recycling for some items; ask your mairie for details.

POSTAL SERVICE France has one postal service, La Poste, a generally efficient, entirely state-run organization that, as of 2006, also offers a full array of banking services. There are post offices, bureaux de poste, in every urban neighbourhood and most rural villages.

Stamps for sending letters (up to 20 grammes) within France and the EU cost EUR 0.53 for the Rapide service, and EUR 0.48 for the slower Economique service.

In most cases, a letter posted before 5pm with a rapide stamp will be delivered to an address in France the next morning. La Poste also offers same-day deliveries, as do all the major private courier firms.

TELEPHONE SERVICE WASTE DISPOSAL Rubbish collection is organised by the mairie, which can tell you the days the rubbish collectors pass and, if necessary, how to contact the company.

Homeowners pay for service through the annual trash removal tax, taxe d'enlèvement des'ordures ménagères. Renters usually pay through the form of charges or communal upkeep fees, but occasionally pay directly as well.

In Paris, rubbish collection is daily, but in small towns it is often only a couple of times per week. In all cases, rubbish is collected from outside your residence and bins should be placed in the street the night before. The local authorities provide the plastic 'wheely' bins free of charge.

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France Télécom, officially privatized in 1997, has been losing ground steadily to the broadband companies. The availability of multiple vendors is good if you want to reduce your phone bill, but it can be confusing to pick a provider.

Another downside is that some companies are too aggressively seeking new customers; there have been many consumer complaints about operators 'stealing' customers without their consent, dégroupage sauvage. This often results in a sudden interruption of service.

The installation and maintenance of all telephone lines in France is still handled by France Télécom. In many areas, you must still go through them to get a telephone number. In areas designated as zones de dégroupage total, the phone lines themselves

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Utilities have been opened to competitors and you can obtain a phone number through another operator.

But if you live in an area only partially dégroupé — or not at all — you will still need to contact France Télécom first to establish a phone number for which you'll pay a flat fee, abonnement.

Once you establish your phone number, you will automatically be billed for local and long-distance calls by France Télécom unless you subsequently subscribe to service from one of several competing telephone operators; you will still continue paying the basic France Télécom subscription to retain your number.

France Télécom has boutiques in most urban neighbourhoods, or can be reached by calling 3000 to find an agent or 1014 for customer service (free calls from a fixed phone). France Telecom also has an Englishlanguage website: http://francetelecom.com/en/our_solutions/ To disconnect service, send a letter to the address listed on your billing statement or visit the agency directly. If you're moving within France, remember to take your most recent bill with you to re-establish service elsewhere; you may also ask for a free recording that informs callers of your new number when the old number is dialed. For a EUR 25 fee, you may be able to keep your old phone number.

Expats who call frequently abroad are Dial 12 for French directory enquiries and 32 12 for international enquiries. The phone books are the pages blanches for all numbers and the pages jaunes for trade lists (see French phone book decoder, p80).

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TELEVISION France has five public television stations that you can watch for free. If you want more than that, including English-language programming, satellite and cable television services have exploded in France in recent years in terms of the number of providers and price competition. As of 2005, there is also network of digital television, télévision numérique, called TNT; programming is free but access requires a decoder.

Satellite television is available with a shared (as in an apartment building) or individual satellite dish. The subscription packages offered by the Sky Broadcasting Network, TPS and CanalSatellite have a good variety of entertainment for adults and children.

Prices vary greatly depending on the type of equipment you want. For a non-comprehensive but useful list of pay-television services, see the Tele website: www.itele.fr/pid101.htm

SETTLING IN

To establish a number, you will need proof of identity (passport or residence permit) and proof of address (another utility bill or a rental contract or receipt) It takes about 24 hours to establish service. You will be billed every two months.

advised to shop around; you will see dozens of companies advertised that want your international service. But do your homework before you agree to anything, even over the phone, and get all rate details in writing.

Every household must pay the annual television licence, redevance audiovisuelle. The tax costs EUR 116 per year per household; you don't pay more if you own more than one television, even if you have two homes. If you buy a television in France, the store automatically declares the purchase to the authorities who will then bill you annually with the lodging tax, taxe d'habitation.

If you bring your television with you, you're supposed to declare it to your local agent of the Trésor Public; you risk a fine if you fail to register a television or pay your tax.

For information on mobile phone and internet services, please see the Relocation channel at www.expatica.com/france

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Transport National and inter-regional transport is covered by the state-run railway network, the SNCF, as well as by inter-city flights operated by the Air France group and an everdecreasing number of small regional airline companies.

The major French cities offer at the least adequate and often comprehensive public transport as a cheap alternative to the use of cars, which many urban authorities are increasingly discouraging.

TRAVEL AND TRANSPORT

PARIS The public transport system in and around Paris is probably the best of any city in Europe in terms of geographical spread, speed, upkeep and tariffs. The capital is criss-crossed with publicly-run services by bus, underground (or subway) and overhead rail and trams, which are all grouped under one authority, called the RATP. You can buy one-journey tickets or the cheaper travel passes which allow you to use any of the services as often as you please. The pass commonly used by commuters in and around the capital is called the carte orange, which covers transport across an area of up to some 50 kilometres (30 miles) around the capital.

A contactless magnetic pass allowing passengers to pass through gates smoothly is now available and if combined with a direct-debit 'Integrale' subscription provides roughly 10 months unlimited travel within the zones selected for the price of 12 with a conventional ticket. Most employers will pay 50 percent of the cost of any travel pass.

The Paris underground métro train lines serve virtually every small neighbourhood in the capital, and run from 5.30am until around 1.00am. A revamped night bus service linking central Paris to destinations all over the city and the Ile de France region will get you home during the small hours.

The average frequency of métro trains is

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around every five minutes. The métro lines are designated by number, and the direction is indicated by the name of the terminus station.

There is also an express commuter train service, called the RER, which links regions outlying Paris with the centre of the capital, where it runs underground.

Tickets for travel within the city limits cost EUR 1.40 each (un ticket) or EUR 10.90 for a set of ten, called un carnet de tickets (2006 prices). One ticket gives you access to either the bus or métro, and for the duration of one uninterrupted journey only, although in the case of the métro you can ride as many lines as necessary to get to your destination.

Plans are currently afoot however to introduce a ticket allowing unlimited travel for a period of 60-90 minutes.

Prices for the carte orange vary according to the geographical zone you choose, but start at EUR 52.50 per month for Paris only and rise to 142.70 per month for the entire Paris region. There are also weekly and inter-suburban rates.

You get find tickets, passes and information from any metro station, and carnets of tickets are also available at many Tabacs (specially licensed tobacconist shop).

The RATP has an information line in English on 0892 68 77 14 and online at www.ratp.fr The RER outside Paris and all conventional rail services to, from and around the capital are operated by the SNCF, in affiliation with the RATP. The SNCF offers information by phone on 3635 or online at www.sncf.com

OTHER FRENCH CITIES Every French town and city has a public transport service, and regional coach companies operate bus lines in rural areas. Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Rennes and Toulouse all have metro services. Tickets or passes from

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Transport the local transport service will cover all travel in your town, city or rural region.

TAXIS

TRAVEL AND TRANSPORT

French taxis are licensed by the local prefecture, which imposes strict rules on roadworthiness, passenger capacity (a minimum of three) and working hours. Private minicabs do not exist and all cabs operate in the same manner and to the same tariffs in each region. Taxis in Paris can be hailed in the street, at the numerous taxi ranks found in every district or booked by phone.

Two of the largest taxi operating companies in the capital are G7. (Tel: 01 47 39 47 39) and Taxis Bleus (Tel: 0891 70 10 10).

NATIONAL RAIL SERVICES The French railway network is run by a single authority, the state-run SNCF, and is

managed as a public service. The network includes suburban, regional and national and international lines. The SNCF operates a high speed train (TGV) service linking most French regions. The TGV is a speedy (it travels at around 250 kph) and cheaper inter-city transport alternative to the plane.

International TGV services also link Paris with London (by Eurostar) and Brussels and Amsterdam (by Thalys).

You can buy all types of rail tickets by major credit card and at any SNCF station, or by calling 3635. Internet sales have rocketed lately and many deals, only available online, allow travellers to print their own ticket directly from the www.sncf.com website.

Prems promotions offer substantial savings for those booking ahead and last minute bargains are posted on the site on Tuesdays.

For train times call 3635. Information concerning all services is available online at www.sncf.com.

AIRPORTS The biggest carrier is Air France which, with its filial Brit Air, connects Paris with the major French cities, while an everdecreasing number of smaller air companies offer provincial inter-city links.

Air travel is more expensive than rail and unexpected delays are more frequent.

However, air links are quicker for travelling from one end of the country to the other.

Air France flight reservations and information is on 0820 820 820 and online at www.airfrance.com For other companies contact the appropriate airport.

PARIS

BORDEAUX

Roissy - Charles de Gaulle Main line: 01 48 62 12 12 Flight information: 01 48 62 22 80 and 0892 68 15 15 (same-day flights)

Aéroport de BordeauxMerignac Main line: 05 56 34 50 50

MARSEILLE

LILLE

Aéroport MarseilleProvence Main line: 04 42 14 14 14

Orly Main line: 01 49 75 52 52 Flight information: 01 49 75 15 15 and 08 92 68 15 15 (same-day flights)

Aéroport Lille Lesquin Main line: 03 20 49 67 47

NICE

LYON Aéroport Lyon-Saint Exupéry Main line 04 26 00 70 07

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Aéroport Lyon Bron Main line: 04 78 26 81 09

Aéroport de Nice Côte d'Azur Main line: 04 89 88 98 28

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Driving France has strict road laws and rigorous driving instruction, even if French driving habits suggest otherwise. This is a guide to help you steer clear of trouble.

While French roads may feel like quite the opposite of 'defensive driving', France has made significant strides on improving road safety, partly through a significant increase in speed-trap radars and in the use of alcohol testing on the roads and even inside bars and nightclubs.

RULES OF THE ROAD

In rural areas, it is very important to be aware of the priorité à droite as it is not uncommon for traffic on minor roads to have the right-of-way when joining main streets and French motorists can be aggressive in protecting their right-of-way.

Although many maps pinpoint the location of fixed speed-trap radars, carrying a radardetection device in your car can be punished with a fine and confiscation.

All passengers in a car must wear safety belts, even in the rear seat. Children under the age of 10 must sit in the backseat unless this is impossible, as in a two-seater vehicle.

Children must sit in car-seats until they are physically big enough to use a regular seatbelt. Talking on a cell phone while driving, even with a hands-free headset, is illegal.

If you are driving a foreign registered vehicle, it must have a sticker showing the country of origin, even if this is indicated on the registration plate.

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DRIVING TIPS The motorways, indicated by signs with blue backgrounds, are almost exclusively toll-roads. In most cases, you'll pay by the kilometre; you pick up a ticket before getting on and pay (in cash or debit card) at the péage when you exit.

On the highway, the French are trained to stay in the right-hand lane except when passing. A turn-indicator light to French drivers is not a request but indicates an immediate manoeuvre. Drivers are supposed to use the right turn-indicator to signal leaving a roundabout (although this rule is routinely ignored).

GETTING A LICENCE You can drive with a licence issued by another European Union member state for an unlimited period.

Driving licences issued by a non-EU state are valid only for the first 12 months, and must be exchanged before the end of this period for a French licence or, depending on the country or US state of issue, you may be required to sit for the French driving test, both written and practical.

TRAVEL AND TRANSPORT

French road regulations are similar to those in the rest of Europe, with a few notable exceptions. These include the infamous priorité à droite, which gives the right of way to motorists joining your forward direction from the right (except if the intersection is restricted by a stop sign, traffic light or solid white line). The exception, of course, are the roundabouts, ronds points, where cars to your left have the right-of-way.

It is illegal to honk in a French city except in case of imminent collision.

Residents of the following American states may exchange their licence within the first 12 months of arrival: Colorado, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Florida or South Carolina.

Everyone else must take the test. Register with your préfecture to apply; although the road rules are the same throughout France, some of the conditions for taking the test may change depending on where you live.

You can study the Code de la Route (check

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Driving continued from page 67 any local bookstore) and take the written test on your own — although be warned, this is not easy, even in English — but for the driving test, most préfectures require you to sign up with a driving school where you can pay by the lesson or a forfait for a series of lessons. There are also several fee-based, online tools that can help you prepare for the written test.

TRAVEL AND TRANSPORT

Again, even experienced drivers should know that test administrators have very specific criteria. Prudent or even legal driving is not sufficient; you will be expected to drive the 'French way'.

If you live in Paris, there are several schools that cater to English speakers and you can take the test in English. Outside Paris, you can request a translator from your préfecture, although this may not be possible everywhere. You can also request an automatic transmission car, although again, availability depends on where you live.

Many insurance companies will issue you a

SPEED LIMITS In cities and built-up areas: 50 kph. This is sometimes reduced to 30 kph. If you enter a town designated by a sign with the place name bordered in red, this requires you to reduce your speed to 50 kph even if the speed limit is not signalled.

Routes nationales/départementales: Outside city or town limits, the speed limit is 90 kph unless otherwise indicated.

When raining, the posted speed limit is reduced by 10 kph. If the two directions of lanes are completely separated by an island, the limit is 110 kph (or 100 kph in the rain).

Motorways: 130 kph unless otherwise posted; when raining, this is reduced to 110 kph.

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policy with a non-EU driving licence. But beware: if you have an accident and the company verifies later that you were driving with an invalid licence, you may be liable for damages.

French driving licences now include a 12point penalty system, whereby driving offences are punished, on top of fees, by a reduction in points; if you lose all your points, your licence will be suspended. New drivers, including non-EU citizens who have passed the test, only have six points for the first three years.

CAR REGISTRATION To obtain and maintain your car registration, the carte grise, from the préfecture, you must pay for an inspection of roadworthiness on vehicles of five years old or more.

This contrôle technique is carried out in specially licensed centres and must be renewed every two years or if you sell the car.

You are at all times required to carry the car registration, your driver's licence, and the vignette assurance, proof of insurance, must be displayed on your window shield. The French police are entitled to stop you and request your identification and car papers at any time.

You are also required to keep your car papers on your person when you leave the car; if it's stolen with the registration in the glove box, you may have trouble with your insurance claim.

PARKING City street parking is almost always regulated by parking metres, horodateurs, which are increasingly (and in Paris, totally) operated by a specific credit card, available at most tabacs.

Urban residents are often able to park on meters within their neighbourhood at reduced rates. Check with your town hall, la mairie, for details.

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Shopping France still has a lively high street shopping scene in most towns and cities and, naturally enough, this includes a vast number of food stores. Every city and large town hold street markets on specific days, usually two or three times a week.

Most large villages and every neighbourhood in big towns and cities have one or more chemist's stores.

are open until 11pm. Chemists are usually open from Monday to Saturday, and on Sundays there is always a nearby chemist available to open for emergencies and urgent prescriptions, details of which are pinned up at your local store.

Paris provides exceptions to all of the above, and most items can be obtained until midnight.

Town and city department stores, supermarkets and city shops not selling food are usually open uninterrupted from 9.30am until 7.30 pm, from Monday to Saturday.

High street opening hours vary. Most local shops not selling food are closed on Sundays and Mondays, and the rest of the time are open from about 10am until 1pm, and from 3.30pm until 7.30pm.

Hypermarkets are open Monday to Saturday, usually from 8.30am until 8.30pm in the provinces, and from 8.30am to 9.30pm or even 10pm in the Paris region and some big French cities.

Food stores, from bakers to greengrocers, are closed from Sunday midday through Monday, and the rest of the time open from about 8.30am through to 1.30pm and from 4pm through to 8pm. Bakers open earlier, usually at about 7.30am. In the cities, some local neighbourhood grocers

Very few big stores are open on Sundays, with the exception of some selling furniture and DIY goods.

SHOPPING

Every city has several purpose-built shopping centres, or malls, and France is dotted with hypermarkets, usually in out-oftown locations, where just about anything can be found from every kind of food to car tyres and gardening equipment.

In very small villages, it is usually at the Tabac (tobacconist) where you can find basic shopping items.

WHERE TO FIND WHAT Mobile phones: The Phone House, France Telecom, Bouygues, SFR shops DIY stores: Bricorama, Castorama, Leroy-Merlin Home appliances: Darty, Carrefour, Auchan, Conforama Furniture, floor and wall decorations: Ikea, St. Maclou, Mondial Moquette, Conforama, Carrefour, Auchan

La Samaritaine Baby and children's clothes: Natalys, Du Pareil au Même, Petit Bateau, Kiabi Men's clothes: Célio, H&M, C&A, Armand Thierry, Burtons Women's clothes: H&M, Naf Naf, Kookai, Etam, Jacqueline Riu Shoes: André, Eram, La Chausseria

Computers, audio-visual equipment: FNAC, Darty, Carrefour, Auchan

Perfumes and beauty supplies: Sephora, Yves Rocher, Marionnaud

Department stores: Au Printemps, Galeries Lafayette, Le Bon Marché, BHV,

Most of the major chains have an online presence.

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English Bookshops PARIS Berkeley Books of Paris 8, rue Casimir Delavigne 75006 Paris 01 4634 8573 www.berkeleybooks ofparis.com

SHOPPING

San Franscisco Books 17, rue Monsieur le Prince 75006 Paris 01 43 29 15 70 www.sanfrancisco booksparis.com Abbey Bookshop/La Librairie Canadienne 29, rue de la Parcheminerie 75005, Paris 01 46 33 16 24 American University of Paris Bookstore American Church 65, quai d´Orsay 75007, Paris 01 40 62 05 92 Attica Bookshop 64, rue de la Folie Mericourt 75011, Paris 01 48 06 17 00 Australian Bookshop 33, quai des Grands Augustins 75006, Paris 01 43 29 08 65 Brentano´s 37, ave de l´Opera 75002, Paris 01 42 61 52 50 Galignani 224, rue de Rivoli 75001, Paris 01 42 60 76 07

70

Nouveau Quartier Latin 78, Bd Saint Michel 75006, Paris 01 43 26 42 70 Red Wheelbarrow Bookstore 22 rue Saint Paul 75004, Paris 01 48 04 75 08 Shakespeare & Company 37, rue de la Bucherie 75005 Paris 01 43 25 40 93 Tea and Tattered Pages 24, rue Mayet 75006, Paris 01 40 65 94 35 Village Voice Bookshop 6, rue Princesse 75006, Paris 01 46 33 36 47 W.H. Smith 248, rue de Rivoli 75001, Paris 01 44 77 88 99

AIX-EN-PROVENCE Book in Bar 1 bis, rue Joseph Cabassol 13100 Aix-en-Provence 04 42 26 60 07 Paradox 15, rue du 14 Septembre 13100 Aix-en-Provence 04 42 26 47 99

BORDEAUX Bradley’s Bookshop 8, cours d'Albret 33000 Bordeaux 05 56 52 10 57

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CANNES Cannes English Bookshop 11, rue Bivouac Napoléon 06400 Cannes 04 93 99 40 08

LILLE Books et Alia 10, rue de la Barre 59000 Lille 03 20 74 32 67

MARSEILLE Maurel 95, rue de Lodi 13006 Marseille 04 91 42 63 44 Ad Hoc Books 8, rue Pisançon 13001 Marseille 04 91 33 51 92

MONTPELLIER Book in Bar 8, rue du Bras de Fer 34000 Montpellier 04 67 66 22 90 Bookshop 6, rue de l'Université 34000 Montpellier 04 67 66 09 08

NICE The Cat’s Whiskers 30, rue Lamartine 06000 Nice 04 93 80 02 66

ROUEN ABC Bookshop 11, rue des Faulx 76000 Rouen 02 35 71 08 67

STRASBOURG The Bookworm 3, rue de Pâques 67000 Strasbourg 03 88 32 26 99

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WINING AND DINING

Food From Home ASIA

JAPAN

The largest Asian supermarket in Paris is Tang Frères, (48 ave d'Ivry, 13th arrondissement, Tel: 01 45 70 80 00).

There's everything here for whipping up things like Thai curries, Peking duck, or Vietnamese Pho. An excellent resource in the centre is Vietnemese store Thanh Binh Jeune (18 rue Lagrange 5th arrondissement, Tel: 0143546611, closed Monday). The main Chinatown in Paris is in the 13th arrondissement with avenue d'Ivry, ave de Choisy and boulevard Massena as its borders, where small Asian supermarkets abound. Other smaller Chinatowns are in the 3rd arrondissement, centred on rue au Maire and At Belleville metro at the edge of the 11th arrondissement.

Japanese supplies can be found in supermarkets in the triangle bordered by ave de l'Opera and rues 4 septembre and ste-Anne in the 2nd arrondissement. A good example is Kioko (46 rue des Petits-Champs, 2nd arrondissement, Tel: 01 42 61 33 66) which sells sushi ingredients, beer, sake and snacks and frozen delicacies.

BRITAIN Homesick Brits can find such delicacies as Marmite, HP sauce, baked beans, lime curd, treacle and piccalilli at La Grande Epicerie de Paris, a specialist foodie shop inside the department store Le Bon Marché (38 rue de Sèvres, 7th arrondissement). A far cheaper option is to explore the Pakistani area on rue du Faubourg St-Denis in the 10th arrondissement where tiny stores stock British staples alongside more exotic fare. Good sources are Wembley Foods at number 89 and the two supermarkets in passage Brady, whose entrance in at number 46.

IRELAND AND SCOTLAND If you're missing soda bread, lumpy bangers and smoked wild North Atlantic salmon, Saveurs d'Irlande et d'Ecosse is the place to go (5 cité de Wauxhall, 10th arrondissemen, entrance at 6 boulevard Magenta. Tel: 01 42 00 36 20; they have another address at The Gourmet Shoppe 139 rue Ordener, 18th arrondissement Tel: 01 42 55 10 31). More than 20 brands of Irish whiskey are available plus all you need for a morning-after fryup.

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SPAIN Paris has excellent sources for good quality Spanish food. Donostia sells tinned goods and cured meats from two tiny shops (20 rue de la Grange aux Belles 10th arrondissement Tel: 01 42 08 30 44, 2 rue Geoffroy l'Angevin, 4th) Slightly cheaper is Galicia (7, rue des Fosses St-Marcel, 5th arrondissement, Tel: 01 47 07 75 01). The Geant hypermarkets sell a good range of staples including paella rice and canned peppers (centre commercial Massena, 13 place de venetie, 13th arrondissement. Tel: 01 42 16 64 00).

US American delicacies can be found at Thanksgiving (14 rue Charles V, 4th arrondissement Tel: 01 42 77 68 29). The shop also caters for Thanksgiving meals.

An alternative is Real McCoy (194 rue de Grenelle, 7th arrondissement Tel: 01 45 56 98 82). Jewish stores centred around rue des Rosiers in the 4th arrondissement stock kosher versions of many popular American snacks. Examples are Ecouffes Alimentation (16 rue des Ecouffes 01 48 87 75 32) and Cash Cacher Naouri (1 rue des Hospitalieres St-Gervais Tel: 01 42 74 50 02).

OTHER STORES Stores like Monoprix and Galeries Lafayette Gourmet stock 'produits du monde' (world food) and the Carrefour and Auchun hypermarkets on the edge of Paris and across France.

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Embassies AUSTRALIA

INDIA

4, rue Jean Rey, 75015 Paris 01 40 59 33 00 www.france.embassy.gov.au

15, rue Alfred Dehodencq 75016 Paris 01 40 50 70 70 www.amb-inde.fr

AUSTRIA

IRELAND (REPUBLIC OF)

6, rue Faber, 75007 Paris 01 40 63 30 63 www.amb-autriche.fr

4, rue Rude, 75116 Paris 01 44 17 67 00

3, rue de Noisiel, 75116 Paris 01 47 27 35 29 www.embaixada-portugalfr.org

ISRAEL

RUSSIA (FEDERATION OF)

3, rue Rabelais, 75008 Paris 01 40 76 55 00 www.amb-israel.fr

40-50, boulevard Lannes 75116 Paris 01 45 04 05 50 paris.rusembassy.org

BELGIUM 9, rue de Tilsitt, 75017 Paris 01 44 09 39 39 www.diplomatie.be/paris

CANADA

CHINA 11, avenue George V 75008 Paris 01 47 23 34 45 www.amb-chine.fr

DENMARK 77, avenue Marceau 75116 Paris 01 44 31 21 21 www.amb-danemark.fr

FINLAND 2, rue Fabert, 75007 Paris 01 44 18 19 28 formin.finland.fi/public/

GERMANY 13-15, avenue FranklinRoosevelt, 75008 Paris 01 53 83 45 00 www.amb-allemagne.fr

GREECE 17, rue Auguste-Vacquerie 75116 Paris 01 47 23 72 28

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PORTUGAL

ITALY 51, rue de Varenne, 75007 Paris 01 49 54 03 00 www.ambparigi.esteri.it

SOUTH AFRICA 59, Quai d'Orsay 75007 Paris 01 53 59 23 23 www.afriquesud.net

JAPAN 7, avenue Hoche, 75008 Paris, 01 48 88 62 00 www.fr.emb-japan.go.jp

SPAIN 22, avenue Marceau 75008 Paris 01 44 43 18 00 www.amb-espagne.fr

MEXICO 9, rue de Longchamp 75116 Paris 01 53 70 27 70 www.sre.gob.mx/francia

SWEDEN 17, rue Barbet-de-Jouy 75007 Paris 01 44 18 88 00 www.amb-suede.fr

LISTINGS AND INDEX

35, avenue Montaigne 75008 Paris 01 44 43 29 00 www.amb-canada.fr

75007 Paris 01 43 17 34 00 www.ambassade.pologne.net

NETHERLANDS 7, rue Eblé, 75007 Paris 01 40 62 33 00 www.amb-pays-bas.fr

NEW ZEALAND 7 ter, rue Léonard-de-Vinci 75116 Paris 01 45 01 43 43 www.nzembassy.com/home

NORWAY 28, rue Bayard, 75008 Paris 01 53 67 04 00 www.amb-norvege.fr

POLAND 1, rue de Talleyrand

TURKEY 16, avenue de Lamballe 75116 Paris 01 53 92 71 11 www.tcparbsk.com

UNITED KINGDOM 35, rue du Faubourg SaintHonoré, 75008 Paris 01 44 51 31 00 www.amb-grandebretagne.fr

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 2, avenue Gabriel 75008 Paris 01 43 12 22 22 www.amb-usa.fr

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Groups and Clubs CONVERSATION Konversando 8 bis, cité Trévise 75009 Paris 01 47 70 21 64 www.konversando.fr

ParisPWN The Paris Professional Women's Network 4, rue Galvani 75838 Paris Cedex 17 01 39 21 94 11 www.parispwn.net

POLITICAL Democrats Abroad, France www.demsfrance.org Overseas Vote Foundation www.overseasvote foundation.org Republicans Abroad France www.republicansabroad. org/europe/france.php

LISTINGS AND INDEX

BUSINESS Australian Business in Europe (ABIE) 4, rue Jean Rey 75724 Paris cedex 15 01 40 59 34 91 www.abie-france.net France-Canada Chamber of Commerce 5 rue de Constantine 75008 Paris 01 43 59 32 38 www.ccfc-francecanada.com The Franco-British Chamber of Commerce and Industry 3 rue Boissy d'Anglas 75008 Paris 01 53 30 81 30 www.francobritish chambers.com

Harvard Business School Club of France (HBS) 9-11 avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt 75008 Paris 01 42 56 20 98 www.alumniconnections. com/olc/pub/HBS/ The Chartered Management Institute 35 rue Raffet 75016 Paris.

01 45 20 11 31 juknapp@club-internet.fr

MUSIC Paris Choral Society Cathédrale Américaine 23, ave George V 75008 Paris www.parischoralsociety.org The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music 4 Bis Passage du Panorama 92150 Suresnes 01 47 28 78 90 www.abrsm.org The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society 14 rue Ramey 75018 Paris 01 43 81 57 11 www.rscdsparis.org

Royal Acadamy of Dance Contact: Annette Khalifé 04 93 20 14 05 khalife.rad@wanadoo.fr

NATIONAL French Heritage Society www.frenchheritage society.org France Amériques www.france-ameriques.org France Etats-Unis www.france-etatsunis.com Franco-Américaine Cinema Theatre (FACT) www.chez.com/fact The World Federation of Americans Abroad (WFAA) BP 127 92154 Suresnes 01 42 04 05 24 AARO (Association of Americans Resident Overseas) 34 avenue de New York 75116 Paris 01 47 20 24 15 aaro@aaro.org www.aaro.org The Franco American Community Center American Church 65 quai d'Orsay 75007 Paris 01 40 62 05 00 www.acparis.org Canadians in Europe 4, avenue Marceau 75008 Paris

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Groups and Clubs 01 47 20 71 00 www.canadienseneurope.org France-Canada National Association 5, rue de Constantine 75007 Paris 01 45 55 83 65 www.france-canada.info France-New Zealand Association 18, rue Dauphine 75006 Paris english.france-nz.com/ info@france-nz.com

France-Australie (branches across France) AFA Les bateaux marnais 33 quai de Halage 94000 CRETEIL 01 48 99 20 97 www.france-australie.org British Community Committee Mr. J. Cockle 5 allée de Val 78000 Orgeval www.britishinfrance.com info@britishinfrance.com The Royal Society of Saint George Mrs Janet Goatley 28 Rue Copernic, 75116 Paris The Caledonian Society of France George P. Mutch 25 Rue Castagnary

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The Paris Welsh Society Michèle Evans, les Hautes Varennes, 31 rue des Allouettes, 94470 Boissy Saint Leger pariswelshsociety.free.fr Association France-Grande Bretagne 183, avenue Daumesnil 75012 Paris 01 55 78 71 71 Association francoécossaise c/o Ancien Collège des Ecossais, 65 rue du Cardinal Lemoine, 75005 Paris www.francoecossaise.asso.fr Southern Cross Group 6, rue de l'Eglise 25320 Grandfontaine 03 81 58 64 74 www.southerncrossgroup.org American Aid Society 2 rue Saint Florentin 75008 Paris 01 43 12 48 07 http://cesc.online.fr/ support.html Irish College Centre Culturel Irlandais 5, rue des Irlandais 75005 Paris Association Irlandaise 22, rue Delambre 75014 Paris - France 01 58 52 10 83 www.centreculturelirlandais.com

Toc H Association Contact: Mrs Doris Leck, 14 avenue de joinville, 94130 Nogent sur Marne The American Club of Paris 34 avenue de New York 75016 Paris 01 47 23 64 36 www.americanclubparis.org The Cambridge Society of Paris Contact: Jan Bell-Beattie 11, rue du 11 Novembre 1918 78300 Poissy France www.camsocparis.com The Oxford Society Rosemary Court La Cour Manade, Le Faulq, 14130 Pont l'Evèque.

02 31 64 70 36 www.oxfordinparis.com The Clan MacLeod society of France Contact: Ian Mcleod 01 41 08 84 25. www.clan-macleod.com

LISTINGS AND INDEX

The Franco-Australian Cultural Association 11, ave de Lattre de Tassigny 92100, Paris 01 46 03 01 92

SOCIAL

01 48 28 38 69 www.caledoniansocietyfrance.org

Paris Jewish Connection 5 rue Maire Davy 75014 Paris 01 45 41 60 02 sam.taub@acunet.fr The English Speaking Union France c/o Mme. B. de Montgermont-Keil 21 rue Michel Ange 75016 Paris.

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Groups and Clubs continued from page 75

LISTINGS AND INDEX

Anglophone Parents Association BP 60302 60634 Chantilly www.aparc.com

Daughters of the American Revolution www.dar.org/natsociety/ default.cfm

THEATRE

Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas (FAWCO) www.fawco.org

International Players 01 47 01 01 91 www.internationalplayers. info

Women of the American Church (WOAC) www.woac.net

Dear Conjunction Theatre Company 6 rue Arthur Rozier 75019 Paris dearconjunction@ wanadoo.fr

Association of American Wives of Europeans 34 avenue de New York 75016 Paris 01 40 70 11 80 www.AAWEparis.org

FACT French-American Association for Cinema and Theatre 65 rue de Reuilly 75012 Paris 01 43 44 76 98 http://factinfo.free.fr

American Catholic Women's Organization Saint Joseph's Church 50 avenue Hoche 75008 Paris 01 42 27 28 56 www.stjoeparis.org

WOMEN American Catholic Women's Organization www.stjoeparis.org American Women's Group in Paris www.awgparis.org Association of American Wives of Europeans (AAWE) www.aaweparis.org

01 40 62 05 00 www.woac.net/ AWG (American Women's Group in Paris) 32, rue Général Bertrand 75007 Paris 01 42 73 36 74 www.awgparis.org The British and Commonwealth Women's Association 8, rue de Belloy 75116 Paris 01 47 20 50 91 www.bcwa.org Women's International Club of Paris 3bis, villa Emile Bergerat 92522 Neuilly-sur-Seine Cedex http://pariswic.free.fr

Canadian Women's Group 5, rue de Constantine 75007 Paris 01 44 43 21 03 The MESSAGE Mother Support Group 01 58 60 00 53 messageparis@wfi.fr www.messageparis.org WOAC (Women of the American Church in Paris) The American Church 65 Quai d'Orsay 75007 Paris

For a detailed and comprehensive listing of Groups and Clubs, see www.expatica.com If you know of any clubs not listed, please email details to feedback@expatica.com

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Religious Services PARIS St. George's Anglican Church 7, rue Auguste Vacquerie 75116 Paris 01 47 20 22 51 www.stgeorgesparis.com

LISTINGS AND INDEX

American Cathedral in Paris (Episcopal) 23 avenue George V 75008 Paris 01 53 23 84 00

Liberal Synagogue 24 rue Copernic 75116 Paris 01 47 04 37 27 Russian Cathetral 12, rue Daru 70508 Paris 01 42 27 37 34

American Church in Paris (All Protestant Denominations) 65 quai d'Orsay 75007 Paris 01 40 62 05 00

St. George's Anglican Church 7, rue Auguste-Vacquerie 75116 Paris 01 47 20 22 51

Baptist Church 48 rue de Lille 75007 Paris 01 42 61 45 10

St. John's Lutheran Church 147 rue de Grenelle 75007 Paris Tel: 01 47 05 85 66

Church of Christ 4 rue Déodat-de-Sévrac 75017 Paris 01 42 27 50 86

St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church 50, avenue Hoche 75008 Paris 01 42 27 28 56

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints 12 rue Saint Merri 75004 Paris 01 44 61 90 50 First Church of Christ, Scientist 36 Bld St. Jacques 75014 Paris 01 47 07 26 60 Great Synagogue 44 rue de la Victoire 75009 Paris 01 44 22 26 26

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Greek Orthodox Church 7, rue Georges Bizet 75016 Paris 01 47 20 82 35

St. Michael's English-speaking Church 5, rue d'Aguesseau 75008 Paris 01 47 42 70 88 The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Paris 7 bis, rue du Pasteur Wagner 75011 Paris 01 48 05 00 92 Trinity International Church of Paris 58, rue Madame 75006 Paris 01 45 48 13 50

FRANCE EXPAT SURVIVAL GUIDE

The Scots Kirk Church of Scotland Presbyterian 17 rue Bayard, 75008 Paris 01 48 78 47 94

CHANTILLY St. Peter's Anglican Church Rue des Cascades, 60500 Chantilly.

03 44 58 53 22

FONTAINEBLEAU Chapelle of the Lycee SaintAspais 18 bd André Maginot Fontainebleau English on Sunday, 10.30am Warden 01 64 24 62 30

RUEIL MALMAISON Emmanuel Baptist Church 56 rue des Bons Raisins 92500 Rueil Malmaison 01 47 51 29 63

ST. GERMAIN-EN-LAYE Kehilat Gesher 10 rue de Pologne 78100 St-Germain-en-Laye 01 39 21 97 19

VERSAILLES St. Mark's Church 31 rue du Pont Colbert, 78000 Versailles.

01 39 02 79 45

If you know of any places of worship and religious services for expats not included in this list, please email feedback@expatica.com

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Customs and Etiquette MEETING PEOPLE The French shake hands almost whenever they meet, and always when meeting someone for the first time or for business.

Arriving at work in the morning, it is quite common to greet colleagues with a handshake, and to shake hands again when leaving.

Greeting anyone familiar — like a favourite restaurant waiter or a next-door neighbour — is also usually begun with a crisp handshake.

When colleagues know each other well, and in situations between friends, women will often greet each other, and male colleagues or friends, with a kiss on the cheek.

The choice of vous and tu to say "you" in French is confusing, and sometimes very subtle. But a simple rule is that the more intimate tu is only employed amongst family and friends.

It is common for work colleagues to say tu, but wait until someone else does it first.

ESSENTIAL FORMALITIES While people in France can sometimes appear to behave impolitely, the use of polite form in language is sacrosanct.

When addressing a stranger, always add Monsieur or Madame, as in Excusez-moi, madame if asking directions.

A typical gesture of politeness, which becomes the opposite if you don't apply it, is to let another person pass through a door first, and a man always gives way to a woman. If someone gives way to you, it is common to thank them or say pardon. Asking pardon is often a devalued term, and can be used in restrained anger, as when you move someone out of your way.

The French may be proud of being republicans, but they still love titles!

All sorts of people, and especially politicians, expect their position to be recognised.

SOCIALISING

When addressing the local mayor, it is usual to say Monsieur (or Madame) le maire. A policeman is Monsieur l'agent.

A common way of getting to know someone is to have a drink together. But the French are not into bar binges, and an aperitif is usually sipped and stops at two.

When writing any formal letter, even to the phone company, it is usual to end it, before signing, with a declaration of respect, a longer version of "Yours sincerely".

Wine accompanies dinner and never replaces it, and a glass is filled to threequarters, never to the brim.

Dinner guests are expected to bring a gift,

A common phrase which can be used in most situations is: Veuillez accepter, madame (or monsieur), mes salutations distinguées.

LISTINGS AND INDEX

Beware — don't take the first step if you are uncertain, but be ready to embrace!

however modest, and this is usually a bottle of wine, flowers, or a pre-agreed desert or cheese dish. The French keep their arms above the table, not in their lap.

Looking for a business or service? Please check out the Business Directory at www.expatica.com/france WWW.EXPATICA.COM

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Phone Book Decoder The Yellow Pages phone directory in France is called Les pages jaunes. The following is a list of key phrases in French to help you find the number of whatever you're searching, from a local doctor to a flower shop. You can also find a national directory of Les pages jaunes online at www.pagesjaunes.fr

CARPENTER

DRESS MATERIAL

Menuisiers

Tissus et soieries

CAR REPAIR

DRIVING SCHOOL

Garages

Auto-école

CHEMIST (PRESCRIPTIONS)

DRY CLEANER

Pharmacies

Nettoyage à sec

CHILDREN'S CLOTHING

DOMESTIC ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES

Vêtements pour enfants

Electroménager

CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL ACCOUNTANT

Hôpitaux pour enfants

Comptables

EMBASSY Ambassades-Consulats

CHIROPRACTOR AIRLINE

Chiropracticiens

EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBERS

CHURCH

Numéros d'urgence

Compagnies aériennes

LISTINGS AND INDEX

AUCTION

Eglises

CINEMA

TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES

Cinémas

Agences d'intérim

CLOTHING ALTERATIONS

EYE DOCTOR Ophtalmologues

Boulangeries

Vêtements-retouches- réparations-transformations

BARBER

CONFECTIONERS

Salons de coiffuremessieurs

Confiseurs

Salles des ventes

BABY GOODS Articles pour bébé

BAKERY

FLOWER SHOP FURNITURE DENTIST BEAUTICIAN

GARDEN CENTRE DEPARTMENT STORE

GIFTS DERMATOLOGIST

GOLF COURSES DO-IT-YOURSELF

GREENGROCER DOCTOR

Fruits et légumes

Médecins

GROCERY STORE

Boucheries

DOG KENNEL CAR DEALER

Terrains de Golf

Bricolage

Entrepreneurs-Bâtiment

BUTCHER

Cadeaux

Dermatologues

Librairies

BUILDER

Jardineries

Grands magasins

Vélos

BOOKSHOP

Meubles

Dentistes

Instituts de beauté

BICYCLE

Fleuristes

Epicerie

Pensions pour animaux

GYNAECOLOGIST

Autos-Concessionnaires

DRESSMAKER/TAILOR

Gynécologues

Tailleurs

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Phone Book Decoder HAIRDRESSER

MEN’S CLOTHING

PLUMBER

Salons de coiffure

Vêtements pour hommes

Plombier

HARDWARE STORE

MIDWIFE

POST OFFICE

Quincailleries

Sages-femmes

Bureaux de poste

HOME FURNISHINGS

MOTORCYCLE

RAILWAY STATION

Ameublement

Motos

Gares

HOSPITAL

CINEMA

REALTOR/ESTATE AGENT

Hôpitaux

Salles de cinéma

Agences immobilières

HOUSE CLEANER

REMOVAL/MOVING COMPANIES

ROOFING SERVICES

Femmes de ménage

Toitures/Charpentiers

Déménagements

INSURANCE Assurances

SECOND-HAND CARS MUSEUMS

Autos-occasions

Musées

JEWELLERY STORE Bijouteries

SHOE REPAIR NEWSAGENTS

Cordonniers

KEY CUTTING

STATIONERY

Serruriers

NURSERY (PLANTS AND FLOWERS)

Papeteries

KITCHEN

Pépinières

SUPERMARKET

Cuisines

Supermarché

OFFICE SUPPLIES WOMEN’S CLOTHING

Fournitures de bureau

Vêtements pour dames

SWIMMING POOL Piscines

OPTICIAN LANGUAGE SCHOOL

TAX CONSULTANT

Opticiens

Centres de langues

LISTINGS AND INDEX

Journaux

Conseils fiscaux

PAINTERS LAWYER

Entreprises de peinture

Avocat

TOOLS Outillage

PEDICURE LEATHER GOODS

Pédicure

Maroquinerie

TOWN HALL Mairie

PEST CONTROL LEGAL ADVICE

Désinfection

Conseils juridiques

TRAVEL AGENT Agences de voyage

PET SHOP LIBRARY

Animaleries

Bibliothèques

VETERINARY DOCTOR Vétérinaire

PHYSIOTHERAPIST LIGHTING

Kinésithérapeutes

Eclairage

WINDOW CLEANER Lavage de vitres

PIANO TUNERS MATERNITY CLOTHES Vêtements pour futures mères

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Accordeurs

WINDOW REPAIR Vitrier

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LISTINGS AND INDEX

Weights and Measures WOMEN’S CLOTHING

MEN’S SHIRTS

US 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

US 14½ 15 15½ 16 16½ 17 17½

UK 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22

FR 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50

UK 14½ 15 15½ 16 16½ 17 17½

WOMEN’S SHOES

MEN’S SHOES

US 5½ 6 6½ 7 7½ 8

US 8 8½ 9 9½ 10

UK 3½ 4 4½ 5 5½ 6

FR 36.5 37 37.5 38 38.5 39

UK 7½ 8 8½ 9 9½

FR 37 38 39 41 42 43 44

FR 40 42 43 44 45

MEN’S CLOTHING

MEN’S SWEATERS

US 36 38 40 42 44

US small medium large x-large

UK 36 38 40 42 44

FR 46 48 50 52 54

UK 34 36-38 40 42-44

FR 44 46-48 50 52-54

LINEAR MEASURES 1 centimetre 2.54 centimetres 30.05 centimetres 91.4 centimetres 1 meter 1 kilometer (1000 m) 1.609344 kilometers

LIQUID MEASURES

DRY MEASURES

0.39 inch 1 inch 1 foot 1 yard 39.37 inches 0.62137 miles 1 mile

g 30 115 170 225 450

ml

fl oz

30 60 150 240 300 450 900 1000

1 2 5 8 10 15 32 34

oz 1 4 6 8 16 (1lb)

OVEN TEMPERATURES OVEN

C

very cool cool warm moderate fairly hot hot

130 150 170 180 200 220+

THERMOMETER

F

GAS MARK

260 300 325 350 380 460

0.5-1 2 3 5 5-6 7-8

BODY TEMPERATURE

C

F

C

F

25 23 20 18 15 13 10 8 5 3 0 -5 -10 -15

77 73 68 64 59 55 50 46 41 37 32 23 14 5

36.0 36.5 37.0 37.5 38.0 38.5 39.0 39.5 40.0 40.5 41.0

96.8 97.7 98.6 99.5 100.4 101.3 102.2 103.1 104.0 104.9 105.8

Keep up to date with the French news every weekday — in English! Visit www.expatica.com 82

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Emergency Numbers It is a good idea to make sure you and the rest of your household know in advance how to give clear indications in French of your name, address and telephone number and don't forget the code to your parking lot or apartment building — there is no guarantee you will come across an operator who speaks English. Never hang up until you are invited to do so. If you have known medical problems or regularly take prescription drugs, make sure you know how to say their names in French to the operator.

NATIONAL NUMBERS FOR EMERGENCIES

SOS Help, an English-language helpline in Paris: 01 46 21 46 46 Available from 3 to 11pm daily all year long. This is not an 24/7 emergency services number.

SOS child abuse: 119 SOS Drug/Alcohol Addiction: 113 Public services hotline (toll number): 39 39 (8am-7pm weekdays, 9am-2pm Saturdays) Emergency medical treatment (SOS Médecins): 08 20 33 24 24 (national number) Rape hotline: 08 00 05 95 95

Fire brigade: 18 The French fire brigade, called les sapeurs pompiers, can also be called in cases of medical emergencies, such as traffic and domestic accidents.

Police: 17 This number puts you in contact with the appropriate emergency police services nearest you, whether that be the police nationale or the gendarmerie. For nonurgent situations, make a note of the direct eight-digit phone number for your nearest police station (commissariat de police or gendarmerie).

All emergencies from a mobile phone: 112

UTILITY SERVICE URGENCIES There is no national number for any of the utility services, which have urgency hotlines according to the region where you live.

Make a careful note of the number given to you for your area, which is marked on every gas/elecricity/water services payment receipt.

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Victims of violent crime hotline: 08 10 09 86 09 AIDS helpline: 08 00 84 08 00 Drug, alcohol, tobacco addiction helpline: 08 00 23 13 13

LISTINGS AND INDEX

Medical emergency/accidents/ambulance (SAMU): 15 The Samu is the coordinated service to call in any case of serious medical emergency.

HELPLINES

Hepatitis information helpline: 08 00 84 58 00

PARIS MEDICAL URGENCY NUMBERS Emergency doctors (SOS Médicins): 01 47 07 77 77 Psychiatric emergencies: 01 40 47 04 47 Dental emergencies: 01 43 37 51 00 Out-of-hours chemists: 01 45 62 02 41 (the local police station will also keep a list) Anti-poison centre: 01 40 05 48 48 Spousal abuse hotline: 01 40 33 80 60 Emergency cardiologist: 01 47 07 50 50

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Advertisers Index A a good start Alliance Francaise American Hospital of Paris American Section LycĂŠe Inter.

LISTINGS AND INDEX

B Barclays Berkeley Books of Paris Berlitz British School of Paris

19 53 59 47 OBC 71 49 45

C CERAM CIC-Banque Transatlantique CITYSAT Credit Agricole Crown Blue Line CSE Mobilite

51 3 61 37 65 19

E Ecole Eiffel Epicerie Anglaise de Paris Euro London EURO MBA Europcar Eurosud Executive Relocations

53 71 55 5 65 37 13

G Goethe Business School Grospiron Internationale Groupe ESC Rouen Groupe PGSM

43 15 51 51

F French Homes Direct French Mortgage French Property Insider

27 37 23

H HIFX home safari

IFC 23

I IHT Immostreet IN-Lease Institut de Langue Francaise Institut Parisien Interpra-Link Expat Assistance

41 27 7 49 53 15

NEED MORE GUIDES? The Expat Survival Guide will be distributed this year to over 20,000 expats in France through embassies, international companies and organisations, expat clubs and expat housing and relocation companies.

If you are involved in managing expats (maybe you are an international HR Manager) or through your company or organisation come in to frequent contact with expats who would find this guide

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FRANCE EXPAT SURVIVAL GUIDE

K Konversando

77

L Lennen Bilingual School LFA Le Francais Autrement Locksmith / Serrurerie Bleue

45 49 31

M Midi-Pyrenees Properties Mission Trad Moneycorp

27 7 IBC

N Neuflize Immobilier NLP School Europe

25 47

P Paraninfo Paris Address Paris Attitude Paris Housing Service Paris Playground Paris Property Finders Paris Relocation Service Pelichet Premium Relocation Pyramide de Cadeaux

57 31 23 31 47 25 13 15 13 7

R Rasa Yoga Rive Gauche Relais Gourmet Rightmove

43 71 19

S Saint George's Anglican Church Saint Jacques B&B San Francisco Bookshop Sea France SkyDigi TV Souillac Country Club Suites Village

77 7 71 65 61 43 39

T The Dictionary Connoisseur The International School of Bearn TT Car Transit/Key Service Inter.

47 45 55

V Vivre a Paris Vlerick Management School

25 5

W Wealden Institute

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useful, please contact Colleen Geske at colleen.geske@expatica.com to order the guides.

You can order as many guides you feel necessary, for free, and delivery is also free within Paris (otherwise we ask that you simply cover the postage costs).

If you run a bookshop, cafe, bar or restaurant popular with expats and would like to distribute the free Expat Survival Guide to your customers, please email colleen.geske@expatica.com for details.

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