Americanexpatinfrance's Blog

I have an article covering a wide array of subjects in this week’s Bonjour Paris. This includes the French economy, Nicolas Sarkozy at Davos, Obama and the French, fashion week, gay marriage in France…You can read it here.

Yesterday, January 12, the semiannual “soldes”, or sales, started in France (the 2nd period is in June/July, will be sure to let you know the dates beforehand). You can see more on French shopping and fashion on my page here.

The dates this time around for most departments are from January 12 to February 15, although for some departments (highlighted here), the dates are slightly different.

You can see the official site in English here. About.com also has an interesting piece.

Bonjour Paris has a nice article on them :

“…in France, by law, sales (soldes) are held only twice a year, once in January and again in July. The government decides when the sales will be held and announces the official dates soon before the sales start. The stores then flutter around getting ready and shopaholics (myself included!) wait with bated breath for the opening day of the sales. Sale prices start at about 25-30% off for the first few days, and grow bigger as the sales go on. By the end of the sales (6 weeks maximum), the reductions can be up to 75% off, but the merchandise is slim.”

There is a French guide here as well. Excerpts from Stratégies Magazine:

«Soldes by Paris», une opération de charme pour attirer les touristes
La cinquième édition de «Soldes by Paris», qui propose plus de 300 offres inédites pour se loger, dîner, acheter et se cultiver, a débuté ce 12 janvier, en même temps que la période des soldes. L’opération, organisée par l’Office de tourisme de Paris avec le soutien de la chambre de commerce et d’industrie de la capitale, la mairie de Paris et Atout France, vise à renforcer l’attractivité de la capitale face à des concurrents comme Londres ou Dubaï en attirant les touristes du monde entier au cours d’un mois traditionnellement creux. Un site Internet a été mis en ligne et une application Iphone en quatre langues est disponible gratuitement.

As President George W. Bush is rumored to have famously (and shamefully) stated, “the problem with the French is that they don’t have a word for entrepreneur.” (Of course, that is a French word).

For those who think that entrepreneurs cannot succeed in France, think again. As Marc Simoncini, founder of Meetic (a dating website) proves, it takes smarts, determination and vision, but the landscape in France is evolving and although the country is not as capitalistic and entrepreneur-driven as the US, it is improving.

The Economist profiles this remarkable entrepreneur’s rise, fall and rise again, with pertinent commentary on entrepreneurship in France. Excerpts are below.

Do you have stories of success and/or failure in starting a business in France?

Lucky in love
A serial entrepreneur shows France how to love, and how to fail
Face value: Marc Simoncini Dec 9th 2010 | PARIS | from PRINT EDITION

WILD and passionate lovers are much admired by the French establishment. Wild and passionate entrepreneurs, not so much. Marc Simoncini, the founder of Meetic, Europe’s biggest dating website, is therefore something of an outsider. His career has seen more ups and downs than the romances he helps to spark. “I have been poor, very rich, ruined and now very rich again, at least on paper,” he says…

…Apart from Meetic, he has invested several million euros in Winamax, a poker website. (His partner in the deal is Patrick Bruel, a singer and professional poker player.) Last year he set up Jaina Capital, a fund through which he plans to invest €100m in five or six French start-ups over the next two years. He already acts as an angel investor for several young online companies. And he recently launched a television show in which he introduces an entrepreneur in a few minutes every day.

After his spectacular rebound Mr Simoncini feels drawn to philanthropy. Next autumn he will launch a private internet school in Paris. His aim is to create an ecosystem for aspiring online entrepreneurs, teaching them the tricks of the trade and perhaps helping them raise capital.

Mr Simoncini frets that entrepreneurial success is frowned upon in France. But he concedes that it has become easier to create a business. There are fewer bureaucratic hurdles than before, and the bursting of the internet bubble has reduced the stigma of failure by making it commonplace. Recent reforms have re-energised France’s entrepreneurial culture, says Frédéric Iselin of HEC, a French business school, who has also been an internet entrepreneur. Yet Timothy Bovard of INSEAD, a business school near Paris, insists that anti-capitalist thinking is still pervasive. Mr Simoncini has not forgotten the lessons of his yo-yo career. “If tomorrow the French state votes a law that prohibits internet dating, I will be poor again,” he shrugs.

So after much of France was hit by significant amounts of snow (15 inches in Lyon, etc.), Paris is finally getting hit by some winter weather (very uncharacteristic for Paris in general, especially at this time of year). However it is not as bad, and total snowfall for the Paris region is predicted to be 5 to 6 inches maximum. But you can never be 100% sure. For the latest weather conditions, check out Méteo France’s map of weather warnings (you’ll see the weather warnings are not limited to Paris).

Right now the Paris RATP public transport system is experiencing significant delays, with the bus network “paralyzed” as crews clear the streets (they are not used to snow here). Metro lines 5, 6, 8, 9 and 13 are experiencing delays. RER A and B are having some technical problems as well. See their site for more information. You can also see for RER trains updated information on this site.

National railway operator SNCF has also warned of 30 minute delays or more for some TGV’s (high-speed trains). France24 reports on traffic delays due to weather and that the Eiffel Tower was shut down today.

For up-to-date air travel info, check with your airline. BBC says that Charles de Gaulle airport had temporarily stopped flights.
You can see some video here.

I know I walked to lunch today from my office, the snow was coming down quite hard and the streets had yet to be cleared. Good luck and try to enjoy the beauty of the snow!

Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden threatened France recently with repercussions for alleged offenses against Islam (fighting in Afghanistan and banning the Muslim burqa in France, etc.). French intelligence services are taking this threat seriously and are working with various western intelligence agencies to counter the threat.

You can read more about this from CNN here and their planned troop withdrawal here.

Meanwhile French resources can be found here, and at Figaro. Francois Bayrou, a center politician from the MODEM party, has asked that President Sarkozy inform French political leaders about the exact nature of the threat.

This follows threats in Europe including against France that were highlighted recently.

Environ 1 200 personnes ont convergé vers la Guillotière. Certaines en ont profité pour se défouler / Stéphane Guiochon (Le Progrès)

So “la révolution” continues. More like an increasingly violent rebellion lead by stubborn individuals who do not seem to understand the principles of economics. But la vie continue, and the government will eventually win. I certainly understand frustration with Sarkozy and his administration, as they have not been exactly stragetic in their communications, and financial corruption within undermines their image (like l’affaire Bettencourt, etc.) but the underlying truth is that retirement reform is needed, and 62 is quite a modest start. Here is a guide about how the reform will likely affect you.

President Sarkozy is still planning on facilitating the labor market to boost employment, so those concerned with unemployment are right to raise their voices, but they should not be disrupting the economic activity and well-being of the country; there are other means of communication than provocation in the street and taking the country hostage. For now, here is an update on the situation…

Violent incidents continue between protesters and police in Lyon’s downtown Presqu’île district, and you can see more coverage of this here and here by the local Lyon newspaper Le Progrès. The TCL public transport system is still shut down in the downtown area, for security measures. According to a Lyon Le Progrès poll, 65% of respondents think that the strike movement will not end soon. You can see pictures of the Lyon action here.

Meanwhile in Marseille, the airport was blocked this morning by strikers in addition to other disturbances throughout the city (public transport and ports blocked, garbage not collected…pictures from Marseille courtesy of BBC.) This action and others have disrupted daily life for many French, and even Lady Gaga has decided to postpone her Paris shows from Oct. 22-23 to Dec. 19-20. On the Paris RER suburban rail network, there were spontaneous disruptions throughout Thursday despite overall improvements on the RATP public transport system (with some disruptions, look under “traffic”) and the SNCF national railway system (though there are still delays). Fuel shortages still persist, with over 25% of gas stations empty, almost 2000 more short on products and this could disrupt Toussaint (All Saints) vacation weekend Nov. 1. But the situation is gradually improving with government forces intervening to gain access to fuel depots.

Meanwhile, national buffoon and desparately in need of a haircut, Bernard Thibault (leader of the CGT union) has called for a new day of strikes next week. They are planning to announce the 1st day for next week, either Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, and the 2nd day of strikes would be either Saturday Oct. 30 or Sat. Nov. 6. Now they’re striking on the weekends, that’s just great. If they strike on the holiday weekend, there just might be an insurrection against the SNCF.

Students, both university and high school, are becoming increasingly involved in the strikes and demonstrations (and violence), with hundreds of schools blockaded throughout the country and up to 10 universities blocked as well.

What is happening in the government?

They are trying to accelerate the reform currently being debated in the Senate, with the text to be reviewed by Friday evening, 254 amendments awaiting validation at the time of publication, and a commission of 7 National Assembly Deputies and 7 Senators, to vote on the entirety by next Thursday Oct. 28th at the latest. They have shown a willingness to discuss certain measures, notably a point system for pensions, to please unions like the CFDT, but this does not satisfy everyone.

Sarkozy remains firmly opposed to violent demonstrators, saying “they will not have the last word” and almost 2000 have been arrested since Oct. 12.

The New York Times covers this story well.

I’ll keep you updated.

This is just to share with you the latest news, courtesy of BBC News. The unions are continuing their policy of political terrorism, taking the country hostage for their own interests and to the economic detriment of the country. Let’s hope this ends soon.

Excerpts below.

France’s main airport, Charles de Gaulle, has enough fuel to last only a few days, the transport ministry has warned amid strikes against government plans to raise the retirement age.

A ministry spokesman said officials were working to restore aviation fuel supplies. Economy Minister Christine Lagarde urged people “not to panic”.

Oil refineries and fuel depots have been hit by the latest strikes. Meanwhile unions are holding fresh mass protests over the pension plan.

On Saturday thousands of students are expected to join a fifth day of demonstrations in less than six weeks. Unions have called for more than 200 marches nationwide. Trapil, the company that operates the fuel pipeline to the Paris airports, told French media on Friday that supplies had stopped and that Roissy-Charles de Gaulle could run out of fuel as early as next week.

All 12 oil refineries in France have been hit by the strikes. Ten have shut down or are in the process of closing. A number of fuel depots have been blockaded….A sixth day of nationwide strikes and protests is planned for Tuesday 19 October….”

In the wake of the second round of strikes on Sep. 23 after Sep. 7, unions are calling for continued protest against French government plans to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62, and 65 to 67 for full pension access, among other details in a large, long-overdue reform of the retirement and pension system.

Labor Minister Eric Woerth said that the strike movement was not as big on Sep. 23 and was in effect waning. Of course there was much divergence on analysis of participation, between 1 and 3 million protesting (from police estimates to union estimates). This is often the case.

As the reform text will most likely be passed in the Senate Oct. 5, after having already been approved by the Assemblée Nationale, most French people realize that these protests will not change the government’s core policy proposals. In a Figaro poll, nearly 85% of people out of more than 31,000 said that the “retirement reform would come to fruition despite the strikes and protests”.

But the left is not backing down and Socialist Party head and Lille mayor Martine Aubry has vowed that if the Socialists win the presidency in 2012, they will bring retirement back to 60. For now, the unions are speaking about October strikes possibly affecting weekend traffic. They do not want to give up just yet.

We’ll see how this plays out. In the event of continued strikes, stay tuned to American Expat in France.

Oh là là. Pas encore. Especially for striking against raising the retirement age, a necessary evil if the French government is to not go broke and be able to finance its public debt. They’ve announced raising it from the current 60 years old to 62 over the course of 8 years. If you’re in France on Tuesday September 7th, look out for heavy disruptions in public transport, among other services (post office, schools…). RATP, the Parisian region transport authority, has posted updates for tomorrow’s traffic here. SNCF, the national railway operator, has posted information as well here. You can find information for other metro areas transport below, mostly in French. Figaro gives a good breakdown too, en français.

Lyon, Grenoble, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux,Strasbourg, Lille, Nice, Nantes, Rennes, Dijon, Brest, Caen, La Rochelle, Le Havre.

Former Socialist Party Presidential candidate Ségolène Royal has stated that “if the French come out in numbers to demonstrate in the street, the government will have to take that into account.” More on this tomorrow…I know I have an important meeting on the other side of Paris tomorrow morning for work, might risk the RATP system, Vélib it or taxi…we’ll see. Bon courage à tous!

According to an article by AFP (via Expatica), a poll conducted by BVA has demonstrated racist tendencies among the French. Of course, as with all polls, there are many factors that influence – question wording, tone of voice, social pressure, time of the day asked…etc. Some may argue that these views are based on everyday realities in France, and others consider it outright racism. It’s safe to say that this exists in every country, but I just wanted to highlight an element in France, a country trying to reconcile its past and traditions with its evolving and increasingly multi-ethnic identity. Excerpts below:

More than one in 10 French people admit to being racist and many have prejudicial views of immigrants, homosexuals, blacks, Arab and Jews, according to a survey released Sunday.
A poll by the BVA institute for two anti-discrimination groups found, for example, that 30 percent of the French agree with the idea that Jews have more influence on finance and the media than other groups.
Almost as many, 28 percent, think that Arabs are more likely to commit crimes than members of other groups, a number that has more than doubled since a similar poll was conducted last year.
A significant minority of the French, 15 percent, admit to being “rather or a bit racist”, up one percent on the previous study. Almost half of respondents, 49 percent, thought that immigrants are better able to exploit the social welfare system than are the native French, and 12 percent said homosexuals were more obsessed by sex than others….