Americanexpatinfrance's Blog

According to this article, citing a study carried out by Aon Hewitt, salaries are increasing for French university graduates, especially those from elite engineering and business schools. This comes after economic stagnation during the crisis. In 2011, the overall increase in salaries in France was 2.6%, whereas for young graduates the increase was 3.4%. Some salaries include stock options, company savings plans, retirement accounts and other features, according to the company.

But there is still a sense of insecurity, because out 75% of companies offer young graduates fixed-term contracts (CDD) as opposed to long-term contracts (CDI).

The study surveyed more than 70 companies of all sizes and in multiple sectors, as well as more than 17,000 young graduates who are now employed.

L’Express also speaks about the study.

You can see links for French business, networking and jobs on my site here.

Semaine spéciale
publié le 25/04/2011
Rémunération des jeunes diplômés : la fin de l’austérité

Une étude menée par le cabinet Aon Hewitt montre des perspectives intéressantes pour les jeunes diplômés en matière de salaire. Une embellie qui profite surtout aux diplômés d’écoles d’ingénieur et d’écoles de commerce.

La stagnation des salaires des jeunes diplômés devrait toucher à sa fin, d’après une enquête d’Aon Hewitt. En 2011, le pourcentage d’augmentation de leurs salaires montre en effet une progression de 3,4% soit plus que les 2,6% du marché général. Près d’une entreprise sur deux a même mis en place des mesures d’augmentation salariales pour les jeunes diplômés, basées principalement sur des critères de performances individuelles.

Des rémunérations complémentaires
Pour compléter ces hausses, de nombreux salaires sont dopés par un intéressement et surtout une rémunération variable (dans plus de 8 entreprises sur 10). Certains jeunes diplômés ont même accès à des actions gratuites (10% des entreprises), voire des stock-options (4%). Une minorité de sociétés (14%) proposent des Plans épargne entreprise (PEE) ou des Plans épargne retraite.

Les plus diplômés très demandés
Dans ce contexte, ce sont les plus qualifiés qui tirent le mieux leur épingle du jeu. Les écoles d’ingénieurs seront ainsi les plus sollicitées, avec une hausse d’un tiers des recrutements de leurs diplômés. De la même manière pour les salaires d’embauche, les entreprises sont plus nombreuses à prévoir des augmentations pour les élèves issus d’écoles d’ingénieur ou d’écoles de commerce.

Une baisse des recrutements
Les recrutements seront eux moins importants, 9 entreprises sur 10 prévoyant un nombre d’embauches de jeunes diplômés égale ou inférieur à 2010. Les prévisions restent tout de même élevées, en particulier dans des secteurs comme la finance, la vente, le marketing et l’engineering. Autre point négatif : les contrats, les embauches se faisant le plus souvent sous forme de CDD, même si la politique de rémunération est la même que pour ceux en CDI.

This article by The Economist (which you all know by now is a preferred publication), talks about what Abercrombie’s arrival in France means for the country being even more globalized and the controversy that globalization often sparks in France.

I completely agree with the last paragraph, cited below (and in bold), based on my experience in France. Many French love criticizing globalization but they also regularly consume global brands. Why is that? Is France anti-globalization or a fully globalized economy? In my opinion, it’s between both. You have world-renown French brands and increasingly global minded young graduates as well as wide adoption of Twitter, Facebook and other digital media, as described in detail by another Economist article.

But you also sometimes have protest and resistance against the arrivals of foreign chains. I certainly respect the right of small shop owners to operate and enjoy French culture, but the country will have to be even more open to the forces of globalization in order to be even more successful in the world economy.

France is indeed “a riddle in a mystery inside an enigma”. But I’m enjoying the ride.

Your thoughts?

France and globalisation
We’ll always have Paris
What the new Champs-Elysées says about France
Apr 28th 2011 | PARIS | from the print edition

A GIANT naked male torso towers over the lower end of the Avenue des Champs-Elysées. Or, rather, a black-and-white photograph of a male model’s glistening muscles is draped across the four-storey façade of a soon-to-open Abercrombie & Fitch store. The unveiling next month of the first French outlet for the American retailer, renowned for improbably toned, half-dressed sales assistants and hooded sweatshirts, will delight teenagers, bemuse parents—and confirm that France’s best-known avenue has gone global.

When the first majestic lines of trees were planted in the 17th century by André Le Nôtre, Louis XIV’s landscape architect, the Champs-Elysées was a shady walk. It has long since been built up and turned over to shops, cafés and offices. But the avenue still has special meaning, both as an embodiment of French elegance and as a stage for displays of national pride and military might. Unlike London’s Bond Street or New York’s Fifth Avenue, the Champs-Elysées is where soldiers march, tanks roll and planes fly past in the annual Bastille Day parade every July 14th.

These days, though, it is getting hard to find much that is French on the Champs-Elysées, besides a few cinemas, car showrooms and luxury brands. International chains such as H&M (Swedish) and Tommy Hilfiger (American) have opened big stores, joining other foreign implants like Zara (Spanish), Virgin Megastore (British), Disney, McDonald’s and Gap (all American). Even Britain’s Marks & Spencer, which quit Paris a decade ago, is coming back soon, bravely hoping to sell women’s clothes and English sandwiches on the Champs-Elysées.

Plenty of Parisians are dismayed. Earlier this year, owing to soaring rents that make the Champs-Elysées the world’s fourth most expensive shopping street, according to Jones Lang LaSalle, a property firm, the post office closed its doors. “It will no longer be anything but a clothing street,” sniffed Lyne Cohen-Solal, a Paris councillor. A few years ago the town hall unsuccessfully appealed to the courts to block H&M’s arrival. “The Champs-Elysées is mythical,” declared François Lebel, mayor of the local borough. “The image of France is at stake.”

Like their politicians, the French always sound defiantly anti-globalisation. In polls they are far more hostile to free markets than Germans, Chinese or Russians. Yet when it comes to buying or eating foreign stuff, they are as enthusiastic. France is one of the most profitable markets for McDonald’s. Judging by the dress code of French teenagers, there will be long queues outside Abercrombie & Fitch—though whether to buy the hooded tops or to eye up the sales staff may be another question.

French financial daily La Tribune reports that the Internet sector contributed to 3.7% of French GDP last year, worth 72 billion euros. It cites a report by McKinsey which states that the sector has created a net total of 700,000 jobs in France in the past 15 years.

At 14% annual growth, the sector should reach 5.5% of GDP by 2015, or 129 billion euros, creating another 450,000 jobs in France.

Moreover, companies that invest in new technologies (web sites, intranets…) have reaped the awards: “for every euro spent, they generated 2 euros in operating margins”, according to McKinsey.

The study was presented by Eric Besson, the French Minister for Industry, Energy and Digital Economy (Ministre de l’Industrie et du numérique) and co-fnanced by Google, which has participated in similar studies in the UK.

You can read the original article here and get a free PDF of the report (in French) here.

Prices at the pump are at record levels in France, largely due to the rise in oil prices which in turn can be explained by the instability in the Middle East, especially in Libya, (when is it ever stable? I guess I should say exceptional instability). Of course it’s necessary to take into account the VAT (value-added-tax) at 19.6% (tax that goes to the French state). But there is also the TIPP (taxe intérieure sur les produits pétroliers), a tax on petrol-based products explained in detail here.

Right now the average price for unleaded 95 grade is 1.5067 euros per liter (according to report by BFM TV). You can watch the video here in French. This is the first time it’s surpassed 1.50, or about $7.92 per US gallon at today’s exchange rate. Some analysts even predict prices may continue to rise and surpass the 2 euro mark.

News sites like RTL are showing anger against these price hikes, blaming it on the State and the oil companies. You can follow energy prices here at Bloomberg.

The G20 Finance Ministers will be meeting from today until tomorrow at Bercy in Paris.
You can see more about it in French here at La Tribune.

Because of this meeting, the Paris public transport network, RATP, is foreseeing disruptions, including the complete closing of Boulevard Bercy in the 12ème arrondissement from 6am to 7pm on Feb. 19. More information is below from the RATP site. Metro is not affected, but you will see that numerous bus lines will be. Check back at RATP for updates.

A noter, samedi 19 février, trois manifestations sur la voie publique :

1 – De 06h00 à 19h00, fermeture du boulevard de Bercy à la suite de la réunion des ministres des finances du G20.
Lignes de Bus concernées : 24 et 87.

2 – A partir de 13h30, rassemblement au niveau de la station de métro Château Rouge, puis défilé par les boulevards Barbès et Magenta jusqu’à la place de la République où est prévue la dislocation du cortège.
Lignes de Bus concernées : 20, 26, 30, 31, 32, 38, 39, 42, 43, 47, 48, 54, 56, 65, 75 et 85.

3 – A partir de 14h00, rassemblement statique place de la République.
Lignes de Bus concernées : 20, 56, 65 et 75.

Perusing the Financial Times, I came across a business special on France that features articles on Lyon as a growing business center, Lille and other subjects of interest (project for Paris Silicon Valley, technology sector, etc).

You can download the PDF here. I’ve also made it available here, in case FT takes it down or there is a technical website problem.

Some excerpts below are taken from the article about the city I hold dear, Lyon.

Thriving business region that is answer to Rhineland: Good transport and skills are a draw, says Ross Tieman

A great location in the Rhône valley, where it acts as a gateway between France and central and southern Europe, has underpinned Lyon’s prosperity ever since the Romans marched in 2,000 years ago.

But in recent centuries, technology took over the relay, with hydroelectric power contributing to a regional heritage of chemicals, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing. The city preserved its charms, however. Now classified as a Unesco world heritage site, it sustains a vibrant culture that extends from a renowned opera company to contemporary music and the kitchen of chef Paul Bocuse.

Lyon’s high-speed train connections to Paris and Marseille, and location on France’s main north-south motorway make it an attractive location for both business and pleasureseekers.

Back-office operations for financial services and logistics are important contributors to France’s second-largest regional economy. Yet to think of Lyon as a city is to miss the point. With a population of 1.7m it is the heart of a business region that is France’s answer to the Rhineland, and which, with 10,000 researchers, spends as much on innovation as Finland or Denmark….

The contested pension reform has become French law, but some unions (CFDT, CGT, FSU, Solidaires, Unsacette) and other opponents to the measure are insisting that the strikes must go on. But it likely won’t have any important impact, except for annoying commuters and parents. However, traffic will not be nearly as disrupted as other days. It has been a long road of reform and protest, as France24 writes.

Le Volontaire has a list of strikes organized around France, by départment (and city).

Left-wing newspaper L’Humanité unsurprisingly calls this an “unjust reform” and supports the strikes, with a list of cities participating (similiar to the one above, with some variation). In Paris, the action will start at metro Opéra at noon, pass by la rue du Quatre Septembre, la Bourse des Valeurs, palais Brongniart and finish at place de la Bourse around 2pm.

On the other side of the political spectrum, business newspaper Les Echos (like the French Wall Street Journal) is calling this the “last-ditch stand” (baroud d’honneur) of unions.

According to the SNCF’s site, TGV, Téoz and Intercité trains will not be affected. However, certain regional TER trains could be (look by region). So far the Paris area RATP website is not updated with strike information, but will likely have delays on certain bus lines that go to métro Opéra.

THIS JUST IN: The following bus lines will be interrupted with irregular intervals between about noon and 2pm tomorrow in Paris: 20, 21, 22, 27, 29, 39, 42, 48, 52, 53, 66, 67, 68, 74, 81, 85, 95 and Roissybus. This is especially important for those planning on taking Roissybus from Opera to CDG Airport. If you think this may disrupt your plans, you can opt for RER B at about an equal cost (around 9 euros), or taxis will run you about 35-40 euros. The

For updates on RER suburban line trains, you can see this site. Lyon’s TCL transport system will not be affected. For updates on other cities’ transport systems, you can check this link from a previous strike day. You can check the status of trains in major stations at this site.

I write for Bonjour Paris and this week have this article about the French retirement reform passing. Be sure to check out Bonjour Paris.

Excerpts from my article below:

After two months that saw many days of strike action (sometimes marred by violence) by unions, schools and others opposed to the French government’s retirement reform, it has become law. President Nicolas Sarkozy had given ground on certain areas, such as easing pension requirements for working mothers and those who work in arduous, labor-intensive jobs.

But he did not give in to union demands to keep the retirement age at 60 and the age for full pension at 65, instead remaining determined to raise these to 62 and 67, respectively. Business newspapers give an in-depth look into the details of the pension law (in French).

In the end he succeeded, despite strike action, because of many factors including a special parliamentary procedure that did not allow for debate on each amendment and thus facilitated voting on the proposed bill in the Sénat and Assemblée Nationale. Another reason is that strikes in France do not have the power they used to, with a legal minimum service in schools and in transportation making life less difficult for everyday people. The Paris metro operated during the heat of the strike.

He succeeded in this reform where past French presidents attempting it had failed because of giving in to strike pressure. But what has this done for his popularity and chances of being re-elected in 2012?

The BBC reports that it has certainly undermined his approval ratings.

In the midst of this lack of popularity, Sarkozy is planning a TV address on Nov. 18 to announce a cabinet reshuffling, with Prime Minister François Fillon being kept in place (having been reappointed to the position today after resigning from it only yesterday) but other ministers to be changed, a traditional move by the presidency to regain popularity. But the unions are still calling for strike action Nov. 23. Although aware that they will likely accomplish nothing against what is already law, they are already preparing action on other measures to keep momentum going, like work insurance, complementary pensions, youth unemployment problems, etc.

For now, Sarkozy has won the battle. But will he win the war? We’ll have to see. The definitive answer will come in 2012.

The CAC 40 stock market rose above 3900 points Thursday morning, its highest point in six months. This represents nearly a 2% rise. For background on the Federal Reserve’s decision to inject a further $600 billion into the US economy in a second round of “Quantitative Easing”, you can check out BBC’s special report and their Q&A feature. The Economist also presents sound analysis of the Fed’s move.

For further analysis in French, you can read this article from Les Echos, the French equivalent of the Wall Street Journal, which itself features in-depth coverage of the Fed’s move.

This just in…after all the action these past few weeks, the government was able to get the bill passed by the Senate this evening. This note from BBC News below. Also check out this article from conservative Le Figaro and also this one from leftist Libération.

They have adopted the bill, and the reform will likely be voted on definitively by Tuesday or Wednesday next week, bringing this into law perhaps within the week. BBC gives another great article here about what the reform and strikes mean for Sarkozy and France. We will see how the planned strikes for Oct. 28 and Nov. 6 play out…

“The French Senate has passed a controversial pension reform bill, which has caused a series of strikes and protests around France. The senators approved President Nicolas Sarkozy’s plan to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62, and it could become law as early as next week.

Mr Sarkozy says the measure is necessary to reduce the deficit. But hundreds of thousands have protested against what they see as an attack on their rights.

Senators passed the motion to raise the retirement age by 177 votes to 153, after the government used a special measure known as a guillotine to cut short the debate on the bill…”