France Travel Guide

Posts Tagged ‘meeting’

About France

France is the largest country in Western Europe, slightly smaller than Texas. France is between the Bay of Biscay and the Mediterranean Sea; bordering Italy and Spain. 58 million people live in France, about 4.5 million of them foreigners.

Language

French is the primary language spoken in France. If you plan to travel to France, it is strongly recommended that you learn the basics of the language. Your effort will be noticed and appreciated. If you can’t speak French, begin by saying. “Please excuse me for bothering you, but I do not speak French” – “Excusez-moi, s’il vous plait, de vous deranger, mais je ne parle pas francais.”

Business Dress

The French are very conscientious of their appearance and view dress as a reflection of social status and success. Because of this, be sure to wear well-tailored, stylish clothing. Dark, conservative clothing is most appropriate – avoid bright colors or flashy accessories.

Business Hours

Most businesses in France operate from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, with a lunch hour lasting up to two hours. Many executives or those in senior positions will stay at the office until 7:00 or 8:00 pm.

Holidays

There are 11 public holidays in France. In 2007, they are:

January 1st – New Year’s Day

April 9th – Easter Monday

May 1st – Labour Day

May 8th- 1945 Victory Day

May 17th – Ascension

May 28th – Whit Monday

July 14th – Bastile Day

August 15th – Assumption

November 1st – All Saints’ Day

November 11th – Remembrance Day

December 25th – Christmas Day

Most French employees get five weeks of vacation and many will take up to three weeks of this in July or August.

Conversations and Behavior

The most important aspect of French behavior is the emphasis on courtesy and formality. When meeting someone, it is customary to shake their hand. But, handshakes in France are light and quick – a strong handshake is considered aggressive. Good posture is important to the French – so be sure to stand up straight.

Do not address a business associate by their first name unless invited to do so. The basic courtesy title for women is ‘Madame’ and is ‘Monsieur’ for men. ‘Mademoiselle’ is considered old-fashioned and should be avoided.

Sometimes, the French will introduce themselves using the last name followed by their first name. This can be confusing if they both sound like first names. It is fine to ask for clarification if needed.

When engaging in conversation avoid topics related to individual political views or other personal matters. Stick to topics such as sports, art, music and food. Be prepared to discuss your own countries history and political system.

There are many common gestures and behaviors that are considered offensive in France. Be sure to avoid the following:

- Chewing gum in public

- Putting your hand in your pockets while in public

- Slapping an open palm over a closed fist

- Snapping fingers

- The OK symbol (forming a circle with the thumb and forefinger) actually means zero or useless in France. Use the thumbs up instead.

Amiens has a magnificent cathedral in the centre and some lovely cafes and bars down by the river. It looks like a lovely place to spend summer evenings. However, it was an early morning in March so all I was interested in was a few pictures before heading south towards Paris and meeting up with my friends for the friendly international between France and England.

The drive down to Paris gave me my first experience of a French toll road. Given that the price of petrol is more expensive than it is in the UK, I can’t really believe the French put up with it (and this is a nation that knows how to protest). Anyway, the roads were fairly clear and Garmin got me all the way to my hotel in Gard de Nor, a very un-exclusive area of Paris. I was quite thankful that the hotel had a secure underground car park.

I make no apologies for stating that I have no love of Paris. I find it incredibly expensive so as I had a couple of hours to spare, I decided to just relax in my hotel room. By about 5pm, I had arranged to meet some friends near the main station which was only 3km from my hotel. It was raining and I didn’t fancy walking so I called a taxi. I should have known better as the meter was already on 8.60 Euros when I got in and the short journey cost me 14 Euros. Thankfully, my friends had found one of the less expensive bars and a beer was ‘only’ 5 Euros.

Its always good to catch up with friends at England matches. We live in different parts of the country so its generally quite rare we all meet up apart from at the games. My hotel was on the way to the stadium so we soon jumped on the metro so I could pick up my ticket. From there, we walked to the stadium. At away matches, I don’t like arriving late. Queues can build up and you never know how the police will react, its not always as calm as it is in England. As it happened, there was the build at one of the gates at the game, tensions rose and police fired tear gas into the crowd. Now these were not rioting hooligans; it was men, women and children. I saw one of my friends in the ground who was caught up in it with his 8 year old son. A gas canister had actually landed at his feet and his son had ended up in the First Aid tent. Thankfully, when I saw him, he was alright although not surprisingly, he’d lost interest in the match.

The game itself was one of the most dull games I’ve ever seen and I won’t dwell on it. We stayed to the end and then walked back to the hotel for a final beer and then bed. I had to be at Bolougne for my ferry home by 12:20 so I wanted to be on my way by 9am. I know what traffic can like in London at that time and I didn’t want to get caught up in long queues in Paris.

As I drove past the Stade de France, the old Blondie song “Dennis Dennis, I’m so in love with you” was on the radio. She obviously wasn’t singing about the area around the stadium which is called St Denis.

Once I cleared Paris, the drive back was good. The toll road north was clear but it did cost me 15 Euros. The most difficult thing is that driving a UK car with the steering wheel on the correct side, it was quite tricky to go through the toll barriers as I had to keep reaching across to the passenger window to put my credit card in the machines.

I got home that evening and taking my car instead of flying was definitely a much better option. I was alone so it wasn’t that cheap but naturally, if there had been 2 or 3 passengers in the car with me, costs would have been split and it would have been a very cost effective way of visiting Belgium and France.