Some of you may be wondering how I ended up in France. I've been here for 6 years already. I must admit, I have a love-hate relationship with France. When I was younger, I have always dreamed of France, I was a francophile. I even got married with a French guy. But the more I got to know the country, the less I was enthusiastic about it. Their administration, the way of doing business, are unproductive. French people have the tendency to complexify everything. Everything takes a long time : opening a bank account, going to the Post Office, renting an appartment, etc. If I had started my blog 6 years ago, I would probably have a lot to say about what I have endured. After all theses years, I've become accustomed with the way things work here. My husband has started a business 5 years ago, so we have to stick around here for a little while. We have dealt with demanding employees. They are protected by the French Employment laws, so it was really hard for hiring and laying them off. In my opinion, this is part of the reasons why France unemployment is so high. Besides the rough paths encountered, being in France brought us a lot of professional experience. We got to work with Germans, Belgians and Dutch.
This is a sneak peek of what we do:
I'm a Canadian living in Paris and I couldn't agree with you more! You should read the book (Tchao La France by Corinne Maier).
ReplyDeleteI have lived in Toulouse and the problem is all the same!! I'm here because of my French Girl friend but I miss the phrase "Not a Problem"
Joseph Cardeira
jccanadian1@yahoo.ca
Hello fellow Canadian, thank you for your comment. I think the first 5 years are the hardest, then you get over the absurdities (or not). Still miss Canada...Are you an Anglophone or Francophone?
Delete