Sample Dissertation 1

Introduction
Every year, some 17,000 American students travel to France to spend a
semester or an academic year abroad, hundreds more participate in the
Teaching Assistant Program in France, and still others go to France to work
or to study independently of an American university program. In a world
where language skills and understanding of foreign cultures is becoming
increasingly important, that number is growing every year.
Even though French is hardly considered one of the State Department’s
«critical languages» and is studied less and less in American public schools,
it remains, in many places, the language of diplomacy. In 2005, officials estimated that over 500 million people spoke French as their first language or
second language. Other than the sixty or so million speakers from France, the
vast majority of those speakers come from fast-growing developing countries
in Africa and Southeast Asia. French is one of the six official languages of the
United Nations, the European Union, is an official language in 30 countries
and an administrative language in 7 others, and is the only language other
than English to be spoken on all six continents.
If you’re reading this book, though, you probably don’t need to be convinced that learning French is important. In fact, you probably don’t need
to be convinced that going to France is important. What you may not know,
though, is no matter how much you prepare yourself for going to a foreign
country, actually going is hard.
It’s hard because there’s no guidebook. Unless you’re paying thousands of
dollars for an administrator of an American program to hold your hand,
nobody is going to tell you what to do or how to do it. Even if you are paying for aforementioned administrator, there’s no guarantee she’ll be able to
tell you what paperwork you need when you want to get a part time job,
or how to find an apartment without a garant, or how to transfer money
from your US account to your French one. Even if your university provides
guides to doing exposés and instructs you to sign up for a card to the Bibliothèque Nationale, you’re not the only student the school has to take care
of, and at some point, she’s going to say, «débrouille-toi!»
That’s where this book comes in.
Unlike traditional guidebooks on France, this book isn’t going to tell you
where to go to dinner in Montmartre, or the hidden gems of the Loire Valley. Unlike books on French culture, this book won’t tell you that French
women don’t get fat because even though they eat more fat and cholesterol than their American counterparts, they eat small quantities and drink
red wine and smoke with every meal. It won’t tell you, as one generalizing
«cultural studies» textbook told me, that the French like to keep the doors
in their houses closed and that it represents the compartmentalization of
every aspect of their lives. You’ll certainly read these types of books, and you
should. They’ll help you to make the most of France’s rich history and culture, and to understand some of the more annoying and frustrating aspects
of living in France. But that isn’t the point of this book.
I first had the idea for this book in the spring of 2010. I was nearing the
end of my second year in France, and I was trying to simultaneously apply
to school for the following year at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences
Sociales and renew my carte de séjour. I rushed to get paperwork to renew
my visa, yet couldn’t make my appointment on the préfecture’s website.
Turns out, the site was down for several weeks, and by the time I got to the
préfecture to plead for an appointment, there were none available before my
departure. I would have to go back to the US and get a new visa in order to
stay in France.
Like any French person would do, I refused to accept that answer. «C’est pas
possible!» I said. Rules are for other people. I begged. I pleaded. Immigration officials are tough in any country. They held their ground.
I went to the other préfecture office. The woman at the information desk
was sympathetic, and told me to check with the regular carte de séjour
office. Normally they don’t process students, but they might make an exception. They couldn’t. Again, the woman listened kindly, and sent me to the
Service des Amériques. «N’importe quoi!» said the man behind the counter.
«I mean, I understand that they have regulations, but they shouldn’t screw
with your studies.» He sent me to the secret, hidden Service Etudiants on
the fourth floor in a hallway under construction. Clearly, nobody was supposed to know of its existence. After some crying and begging, the secretary
made a few phone calls and got me an appointment.
I told my mother the story on the phone that night. «I don’t know how you
do it,» she said. «I would never be persistent enough to live there.» How
many other students gave up and went home, I wondered, when they faced
the obstructionist French administration? And how many never came at all,
because the prospect of going to another country was so overwhelming they
didn’t know where to start?
This book is not only a step-by-step guide to moving to France, getting
established, and taking advantage of the many opportunities Paris has to
offer, it is also a guide to the guides. In other words, this book will tell you
where to get advice about job hunting, or cheap tickets to the ballet, or a list
of museums that are free for students.
Because everything from immigration laws to the price of movie tickets is
constantly changing, I decided to publish this guide as an e-book in order to
be able to provide periodic free updates. I also wanted to create an English
language forum where students can share their experiences and guide each
other to the best of Paris. In this format, you can access your book from any
computer with your personal code, and I can use the site’s blog to guide you
to events and deals for students announced throughout the year. If you have
any questions or suggestions, or just want to touch base, please feel free to
contact me by email at [email protected].
I hope you enjoy your time in France unraveling the mysteries of Paris.
Allison Grant
January, 2011
Chapter 1
Preparing to Study in France
American Programs versus Direct Enrollment
If you’re reading this book, you’re probably one of the almost 20,000 American college students that decide to study in France each year. Maybe you’re
enrolled in an American college and looking for an opportunity to study
abroad, or maybe you’ve already studied abroad and want to return to
France. In any case, your two options for studying in France are either to go
with one of the many American programs that offer semester or year abroad
in France, or to enroll directly in a French university for the year. Here are
some of the advantages and disadvantages of each option to help you make
your decision.
As an American student, the advantages for going to France with an American program are numerous:
- You can get college credit through agreements between your
program and your university.
- You’ll have administrators who speak English and are familiar
with American culture, and who can help you to speak better
French and to understand aspects of French society.
- You’ll have French language classes and other American-style
classes with other students in your program, so your French will
get better and you’ll be with other students and professors who
are used to the same standards as you are.
- You’ll have the opportunity to take classes in at least one, or
maybe more, French universities.
- You may have tutors to guide you and help you write assignments for French university classes.
- Your program may organize trips and cultural exchanges during your stay, provide a stipend for cultural activities, and host
events with French students.
- Your program may provide or help you find housing, set up your
bank account, provide support for the visa process, find a job or
internship, or help you with other problems you may encounter.
- Your program may help you communicate with professors,
reschedule exams, and get you the right to use a dictionary during exams.
Aside from the many benefits American programs offer, consider also the
following disadvantages:
- You’ll pay the American tuition rates of your home university,
plus a program fee for the program you choose.
- You may get credit but not grades.
- You’ll meet many American students, but probably not many
French students.
- You won’t necessarily get lots of opportunities to practice your
French, and you may end up speaking English most of the time.
- Your program may have strict attendance and travel requirements that the French universities don’t have.
- Your program will probably have classes two or three times per
week, or every day for language classes.
- Many programs require you to complete extra coursework for
French university classes.
Advantages of direct enrollment in a French university:
- You’ll pay the same rate as any other French student (about
237€) and have a year of health insurance for 200€.
- You’ll meet other French students, get information on student
groups, and get to practice your French a lot.
- You’ll take the same number of classes and do the same work as
French students (which is either an advantage or a disadvantage:
this means more classes if you’re an undergraduate, and fewer if
you’re a master’s student).
- Your professors will probably be somewhat indulgent if they
know you’re an American student enrolled on your own.
Disadvantages of direct enrollment:
- You won’t have administrative support for finding housing, getting your carte de séjour, doing other administrative tasks.
- Your home university may not award credit, so you should check
in advance.
- It can be hard to make friends with French students in a university setting.
- Nobody will help you communicate with professors, and you
probably won’t get special advantages like the use of a dictionary if you’re directly enrolled. Your professors will assume you
speak French sufficiently well to complete all regular class work.
Since you have this book, you already have support to guide you through
the administrative and academic requirements of living in France, and if you
are enthusiastic and persistent, you will certainly be able to te débrouiller
tout(e) seul(e). When considering American programs and their fit, ask
yourself whether the benefits they provide are worth the thousands of extra
dollars you’ll have to pay for them, and read the sections of this book geared
towards directly-enrolled students to decide what is right for you.
Applying to French Universities
If you ultimately decide to enroll in a French university, you’ll need to follow the procedures and timeline for applying and enrolling from abroad in
order to get your paperwork and student visa before the fall semester begins.
Because French high school students don’t apply to school until they’ve
passed the bac in May or June, applications for French universities generally
become available in mid-April, and admissions run until mid-October, a
few weeks into the fall term. Schools are closed from July 14 to September
1, so you’ll want to apply in the spring, so you’ll get your paperwork during
the summer.
To get accepted to a public university in any department, all you have to
do is prove that you’ve successfully completed the level below the year for
which you are applying. In other words, if yo want to do a master’s degree,
you have to show that you’ve completed your bachelor’s. If you want to
enter L1, you must provide your high school diploma. And if you want to
spend spend your junior year abroad as a directly enrolled French student,
and you’ve verified that your college will accept your course credits, you’ll
have to provide a transcript showing your grades for the first two years. You
must get a certified translation by a translator listed on the French consulate’s website to accompany your English-language transcript. For some of
the grandes écoles that require a high level of English, this is unnecessary,
so check with the school you’re applying to before dishing out $50 or $60
per page.
In addition to proving this level equivalence, foreign students who did not
attend French high school or pass the bac in French must prove that their
level of French is sufficient for succeeding in a French-only higher education
system. To do this, you’ll have to take one of the French language exams
sponsored by the French government and administered in France and in
major US cities a few times throughout the year, and get an attestation of
your French level, valid for 2 years.
Finally, you’ll have to fill out the very brief application on the university’s
website, stating your personal information and the department in which
you’d like to enroll. Depending on the school, you may have to provide a
copy of your birth certificate with its certified translation, something you’ll
need to get anyway for your visa and carte de séjour applications.
Applying to Grandes Ecoles
While there is no definitive list of “grandes écoles,” the schools that are most
often recognized as such are engineering or technical schools (School of
Mines) or schools that lead to careers in politics. As American students, the
two schools that you are most likely to apply to are Sciences Po (for undergraduates or master’s students) or the Ecole Nationale Supérieure (graduate
students only), the more generalized schools with social science and literature classes. Ecole Polytecnique, a science school, is also an excellent choice
for those who wish to pursue medicine or graduate careers in the sciences.
There are many other engineering grandes écoles open to international graduate students and exchange students, but since the vast majority of American students coming to France are in the social sciences, we’re not going to
discuss those schools here.
Note that the procedures outlined in these pages have to do with students
who want to apply directly and who plan on spending the entire undergraduate or graduate career at these schools; the application procedures
for studying abroad at Sciences Po, for example, are vastly different from
the direct application procedures, which are far more demanding. While
Sciences Po requires its third-year students to study abroad and thus has a
complete third year filled with international students, the ENS has far fewer
temporary study-abroad students, and the procedures are not as standardized.
If you plan on applying to one of the Grandes Ecoles, keep in mind that
you’re not accepted until you’ve passed the exams, and it’s impossible for you
to have your visa paperwork before you go to take them. If you don’t want
to make two trips and prefer to spend the summer in Europe, however, you
can get a “visa provisoire” – a visa contingent upon your acceptance at the
school to which you are applying. In this case, you’ll need to submit your
application online and contact the school’s international office. They will
sign you up for the exams and send you a certificate proving your candidacy.
You can get a visa based on this candidacy, which is only valid and renewable
if you are accepted to the school. Once you are accepted, the international
office should be able to provide you with the paperwork and instructions
you’ll need to convert your temporary visa into a full-time student visa.
Since there are not a lot of international students who apply directly to these
schools, this procedure is not very publicized. Of course, you can also go to
take the exams on a regular “vacation,” then return to the US and await your
paperwork before applying for a visa.
Sciences Po (Institut d’Études Politiques)
Sciences Po, an undergraduate and graduate “grande école,” is unusual in
that it accepts students who have just passed their baccalaureat, instead of
taking primarily students who have taken “cours préparatoires.” Ranking
203rd in the international ranking of universities, it is the 6th French university to place, after the ENS-Paris, Ecole Polytecnique, Université Pierre
et Marie Curie (public), the ENS-Lyon, and the Sorbonne (Université Paris
IV, also public). As its name suggests, its primary focus is political science
and economics, and many of the French students plan on applying to the
famous Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA) after graduation. It also
offers courses in social sciences, like literature, sociology, and history.
French students who apply to Sciences Po are accepted through their master’s degree (M2), and study there for five years, completing their third year
abroad. They must have an excellent level of English, and must usually speak
the language of the country in which they plan to spend their third year,
although English-speaking American universities are highly sought-after.
Thus, Sciences Po has exchange programs with many American schools,
inviting third-year American students to spend a year on its campus (sorry,
no semester-only students) while its students go in exchange. Some American schools also offer a dual-degree program with Sciences Po, allowing students to leave after their third year to complete a master’s degree in Paris.
Those who want to apply directly will have to choose which Sciences Po
campus they wish to study at.
There are several Sciences Po campuses, and the ones outside of Paris are the
easier to get into than the Paris campus. To be admitted to the regional Sciences Po schools, you need only to complete an application on the website.
If you are a candidate for acceptance, Sciences Po will contact you for an
interview, which they do all over the world.
Applying to Sciences Po Paris for the full term of studies, though, is a more
intense process, and you’ll be required to take the exams, or concours, along
with the French students. The exams take place over four days at the end
of June, around the same time as the French baccalauréat, and students
are often taking both at the same time. In fact, students may only apply
between July 6 and 8, right after the results of the baccalaureat are released.
Those who receive “Mention très bien” on their bac do not have to take the
Sciences Po exams, but of course that only applies if they submit their applications the following year, after receiving the results.
In any event, students must receive an average grade of 12/20 on the four
exams: 20th century history, a dissertation or commentaire de texte, and an
exam of the student’s choice in literature, mathematics, or social sciences.
All students must also take a foreign language exam and score at least 7/20.
Those who receive grades higher than 14/20 are exempt from the interview and admitted automatically; those who pass the exams with a 12 or
13/20 are invited to an interview, and the acceptance list for those students
is determined after interviews have been completed and their applications
have been examined. Students with strong academic records who received
a grade just under 12 on the exams can be considered and admitted by the
jury as well.
Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS)
In 2010, the École Normale Supérieur ranked 33 on the list of Top Universities in the World as determined by international scholars, and it was one
of only two French universities to break the top 100. (The other was Ecole
Polytecnique at number 36,) which we’ll discuss next). The ENS is one of
the most sought-after French schools, and not only because their students
receive housing and a stipend. It’s also a very prestigious line on a résumé,
and proof of being among France’s best and brightest. “Nomaliens” are held
in high esteem, obtain top jobs, and often go on to pass the difficult “aggregation” exams to become the top professors in France.
The Ecole Normale Supérieure is the only “Grande école” to offer studies in
both social sciences and hard sciences, and their entrance exams and procedures are designed to attract the best students from around the world in
these domains. Students usually apply to the ENS after their second or third
year of university (L2 or L3), although, as an American student in a fouryear system, one could make the case for applying after graduation. Keep in
mind that while the ENS doesn’t require a specific level of French, and won’t
ask for the results of a French language test for admission, the coursework
and lectures are generally in French. Intensive language classes in the fall
before the start of courses and during winter break are generally offered to
those who need them. There are four different ways to apply to the ENS,
which we will outline here.
By passing the “concours”
The most obvious way to get into the ENS is to take the exams held every
spring for French and international students who wish to apply for the status of “fonctonnaire-stageaire,” or “intern-employee of the state.” These students are housed near the ENS (in the posh 6th arrondissement, nonetheless!) and given a stipend of 1250€ per month after taxes for four years. It’s a
good deal. Non-European students are awarded a scholarship.
There are two sets of exams: one in “letters,” and one in “hard sciences,” and
they are both extremely competitive. Taking the “letters” exam leads to studies in language, literature, or an area of the social sciences, while taking the
science exam leads to the biology, physics, medicine, and computer science
departments. Each year, only 100 students pass the literature exams, while
94 are accepted from the science exams. Students can take the exams twice,
in two different years, but no more than that.
By submitting an application
Students can also apply for the « Diplôme de l’ENS » after completing L2 or
L3 by submitting an application to be evaluated by a jury. First, the student
must declare his or her intent to apply online, and print the application
from the website. After selecting the course of study, the student sends his
or her application, including passport-sized photos, grade reports, and a
cover letter directly to the department in which he or she wishes to enroll.
The juries of each department meet in the beginning of July and the beginning of September to select their students. These students do not receive a
scholarship from the ENS, but if they have outside scholarships, they can
sometimes get housing from the school.
By competing for the international program
Students who wish to apply to the ENS as international students must first
submit an application online between January and March for the following
fall. Those who are selected are invited to Paris in July to take exams and
pass an interview, and the final admissions decisions are released at the end
of July. Anyone accepted to this program is awarded a stipend of 1000€ per
month for the duration of the three year program.
Through university exchange
Several universities have exchange programs with the ENS, usually at the
graduate level, and the Fulbright program offers between 20-25 scholarships
annually to study at the ENS.
Applying for Master’s Programs
While admission to undergraduate programs in France is automatic upon
receipt of a high school diploma, master’s programs admit students based on
applications, and can be more competitive. To choose a master’s program,
you’ll first have to decide what you’d like to study, find a professor who
specializes in your topic, and have that professor agree to direct your thesis
project. You’ll probably have to do some research.
Project Proposal
The project proposal is the most important part of your application, because
it shows your ability to come up with an interesting research idea and to formulate research questions on your own. Since the professor’s job in France is
more to evaluate the quality of your work rather than to guide you in creating it, it is important that you be able to organize your thoughts on your
own and figure out what’s important without your professor’s help.
If you don’t have an obvious project that you’d like to undertake, the first
thing to do is to write down a list of all of the topics you’re interested in. Try
to be as specific as possible. Don’t say “French history,” or even “World War
Two,” say “women’s history” and “the French resistance” to come up with
“women’s contributions to the formation of the French Resistance in 1941.”
And even that is more of a dissertation topic than a Master 1 forty-page thesis. Write down some authors you’ve enjoyed reading, and then read a little
bit about their time period and politics contemporary to that time.
Once you have a list of maybe 10 broad topics or authors, pick a few of
your favorites, and try to link them. I had “folklore,” “Algerian immigration in France,” “bilingualism,” “Algerian women,” and “education in Algeria/education of immigrants in France.” I ended up proposing the topic of
“Transmission of folklore in Algerian immigrant families in France,” and
the topic I ended up working on for my Master 2 thesis in Comparative
Literature was “Initiation and Emancipation of Women in Nora Aceval’s
Algerian Libertine Folklore.” The topic I proposed was too complicated for
one year, according to my professor, and we ended up modifying it to a
more text-centric project that could be completed in one year. But I was able
to combine several items from my list and come up with a few good project
possibilities.
If you’re struggling with combining the topics, come up with a few ideas,
and then discuss them with your departmental advisor at your school. He
or she might be able to guide you to some questions that haven’t been fully
developed yet by academics, which will make your topic seem all the more
intriguing to your future professor. Try to avoid developing topics that have
very little research, though, because French professors are generally not great
believers in their students having original thoughts. In master’s programs,
students are learning how to research, organize their thoughts, and argue,
and most French professors prefer that students do so within established
research domains. In their eyes, masters’ students are in training, whereas
doctoral students can try to find out something new.
After choosing your favorite topic, you’re going to have to justify it. Make
some notes on a piece of paper to answer these questions: (It goes without
saying that writing your notes in French will make transferring them into a
coherent proposal much easier)
· How did you come up with your topic? (I don’t mean the process
above; I mean, what questions were you asking yourself that led you
to thinking up this topic?)
· Has the question you’re asking been asked before? By whom?
· What were their answers?
· How are you asking the question in a different way, or looking at it
from a different angle?
· What have you already found out about your topic?
· What conclusions do you expect to get from your research?
· Why is your topic important?
When you’ve answered all of these questions, you’re going to have to synthesize the answers and develop your topic in a 2-3 page paper that will serve
as your project proposal.
Don’t write your proposal without going to the library. Find a few books on
your topic, flip through them, and see if they mention people or sources that
would be particularly helpful to you. If so, write down their bibliographical
information. Since you’ll also need books in French for your bibliography,
search on the site of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, find a library or
two in Québec, and even search on Amazon.fr. Your bibliography doesn’t
necessarily have to be as broad as it would be for a paper you’ve already written, but it should show that you know where to look for information related
to your topic and that you know how to do some research. Be sure to model
your bibliography on the French bibliography in Chapter 4 instead of using
the MLA style.
When you send your project proposal, you’ll have to include your curriculum vitae in French as well. A model French CV is included in Chapter 3 in
the section on Working in France.
Sample Project Proposal
Transmission des contes algériens en situation décontextualisée:
Vecteurs et formes de cette transmission
Je propose une étude de la transmission de la tradition orale dans
des familles d’origine algérienne ayant immigré en France, afin de mieux
comprendre la place du savoir traditionnel et de la transmission de ce savoir
dans des familles qui ont été déplacées d’une culture à une autre. J’aimerais
étudier les circonstances et les modalités de cette transmission : pourquoi
les mères partagent (ou ne partagent pas) cette tradition avec leurs enfants,
quelles traditions ou rituels accompagnent cette transmission.
Ayant enseigné l’anglais en écoles primaire à Drancy cette année,
j’ai pu nouer des relations professionnelles avec trois enseignants de CM2
qui travaillent sur les contes en cours d’année. J’ai proposé à ces collègues
et au directeur de l’école Romain Rolland de mettre en place un projet sur
les contes algériens des recueils Contes du Djebel Amour de Nora Aceval et
Traditions Algériennes de Jeanne Scelles-Millie avec ces élèves pour compléter
leur formation littéraire avec un projet culturel. Ensemble, nous demande-
rons aux parents d’élèves d’intervenir en classe s’ils détiennent des contes de
tradition orale qu’ils aimeraient partager, et nous demanderons également
aux élèves de raconter un conte de leurs parents et d’en écrire leur propre
version.
M’appuyant à la fois sur ces textes et sur des interviews faits auprès
des élèves, je poserai des questions sur la culture d’origine de leurs parents et
leurs voyages « au pays » pour mieux comprendre leurs histoires. Une analyse des interviews des interprétations des contes faits par les enfants révélera
l›importance de la tradition orale et la culture d›origine pour ces familles, et
les idées que se forment les enfants de la culture de leurs parents. Il sera intéressent en même temps de voir quels ateliers et activités sont proposés par
les écoles et les centres culturels de Drancy, de Bobigny, et du Bourget pour
mettre en valeur la culture maghrébine. Si les enfants assistent à des cours de
langue, des évènements littéraires, ou des concerts de musique maghrébine
en dehors de l’école pour connaître la culture de leurs parents, nous pourrons apprendre ce qu’ils pensent de leur double culture. Évidemment, tous
les élèves dans les classes seront invités à participer à ce projet dont j’espère
faire une sorte de spectacle à l’école, mais mon mémoire portera uniquement sur les contes des élèves maghrébins.
Mon étude se concentrera en particulier sur la place des femmes
dans ces contes – dans le récit comme dans la transmission – et les interprétations des rôles familiaux que les enfants se font de ces histoires. Ce
thème est particulièrement intéressant parce que mon mémoire sur cinq
contes merveilleux algériens collectés par Jeanne Scelles-Millie a montré que
ces contes sont très riches en personnages divers à analyser et que les possibilités pour les personnages femmes sont distinctes des possibilités pour
les personnages hommes. Si les femmes ont une certaine liberté d›action
dans ces contes lorsqu’elles quittent la maison, elles n›ont aucun pouvoir
sur les hommes, et les sexes ne sont pas égaux. Par contre, mon mémoire
sur les contes libertins de Nora Aceval a révélé que dans ces contes, ce sont
les femmes qui détiennent le véritable pouvoir, et elles arrivent souvent à
faire ce qu’elles veulent. Recueillis à l’époque contemporaine, ces contes (de
Nora Aceval) reflètent-ils des changements dans la société algérienne depuis
les années 1970 ? Comment les élèves conçoivent-ils la masculinité et la
féminité dans les contes de leurs parents ?
Puisque une polémique qui se trouve au cœur de la politique française de l›immigration est justement l›égalité des sexes et la soumission des
femmes dans certaines traditions musulmanes, cette étude est importante
parce qu›elle montrera jusqu›à quel point les enfants biculturels s›identifient
avec la culture de leurs parents et acceptent ou rejettent les rôles familiaux
dépeignés dans ces contes. N›ayant pas grandi dans la même société que leurs
parents, il se peut que les enfants issus des familles immigrées n›arrivent pas
à comprendre ces contes de la même manière que leurs parents. Élèves dans
l›école française républicaine et laïque, ces enfants ont peut-être une conception de l›égalité des sexes et des rôles familiaux bien différente que celle de
leurs parents. Leur interprétation de ces contes serait donc influencée par
leur héritage biculturel: étudier ces interprétations des contes traditionnels
et les comprendre montrera comment ils négocient ce biculturalisme, et illuminera la valeur que le conte peut avoir comme modalité de transmission
des valeurs traditionnelles en dehors de son contexte d›origine.
Choosing a Professor
Choosing a professor to direct your master’s research is the next step in
applying to a French university for graduate school, and you shouldn’t even
begin to think about professors until you have a good idea about what your
project is going to be. After you’ve written a project proposal, think not
only about where in France you’d like to go, but more importantly about
what department and/or specialty your project falls under. Most topics can
be in several categories, depending on the research approach you want to
take. The topic on folklore in Algerian immigration, for example, could be
literary if it’s the text of the transmission that’s important, or anthropological if the recording of oral traditions is a priority. A literature professor may
reject the idea of doing interviews, while an anthropology professor will
guard against focusing too much on the text and not enough on the human
context. Figuring out how you want to frame your work from the beginning
will prevent you from having to change your topic or adapt your work to
your professor’s research mode.
After you’ve decided what you want to study and how you want to study it,
you’ll have to figure out who is qualified to direct your research by looking
up professors in your area of study.
If you studied abroad in France as an undergraduate and took a class with a
professor who inspired you, this might be a good place to start. When you
write your cover letter, be sure to indicate how you know the professor and
what class you took with him or her, since they have many students and may
not remember you without help.
If your university has a study-abroad program, you may also want to check
out their course offerings and see if any of their professors also work in
French universities. Abroad programs will usually have their professors’
information on their website. You can also check with the French department at your university to see if there have been any visiting professors from
France who have worked on your topic. If a professor has worked at your
school, it means that she is used to working with American students and
is familiar with your school’s curriculum, which can help her to direct you
better.
If you don’t already know someone you’d like to work with, you can try
searching for professors in the city you’re most interested in going to. Most
universities have an online directory of professors who can direct master’s
theses or doctoral dissertations, along with their areas of specialization. Consulting those lists and finding several professors at different schools in your
area is a good place to start. If the professor doesn’t know you, he or she may
not make much of an effort with your application, since most professors
take applications from students who took their classes as undergraduates at
the same school.
If you are accepted with multiple professors at different schools, you’ll have
to choose without really knowing what you’re getting into. There’s no such
thing as rating one’s professors in France, and the idea of students being able
to have opinions about someone’s teaching ability is all but nonexistent. The
rentrée is too busy a period to consider meeting a few professors beforehand
and choosing between them; they would also be very put off by the idea of
having to be selected by a student on the basis of something other than their
area of specialty.
If you realize after a few weeks or months that you don’t see eye to eye with
your thesis director, try changing your subject slightly so it falls into the
expertise of another professor you know and like better, and then ask the
new professor if you could switch to his direction. If you’re in Master 1,
your thesis is only about forty pages, and you can try putting up with your
professor until the end of the year, and then switching to someone new for
Master 2.
Cover Letter
Like a cover letter for a job, the cover letter for your application is a onepage explanation of who you are, what you’re applying for, and how this
particular research project fits into your career goals. It’s designed to show
that you’re a serious student and that you’ve thought carefully about what
you want to do and why you want to study in France.
The goal of the letter is to introduce yourself, explain what your course of
study is going to be, and to show how this course of study will help you
advance your professional and educational goals. It also provides some back-
ground information for the professor, who needs to know that you’re going
to be able to complete the coursework in French and work independently
as a researcher.
A word of caution: It goes without saying that you should make sure that
the letter and the Project Proposal are written in the best French of your
life. In situations where language proficiency is important, I’m generally not
a fan of having someone edit work that could mask potential problems for
completing the degree. Having someone correct your letter and proposal to
the point of rewriting it is only going to hurt you in the long run, since not
all professors will be sympathetic to second language learners, and you could
be at a disadvantage for completing the work successfully and getting a good
grade. That being said, if you are applying to French schools, you probably
feel that your French is good enough for you to succeed in France. In that
case, you may want to ask someone to look at your work to correct grammar, but not style. That way, if there are any of the cringe-worthiest errors,
your reader will catch them, but the paper will still show your overall style
of writing in French, even if there are some Anglicisms.
Begin your page with the place and date you are writing the letter, and then
open with the professor’s name and a colon. Do NOT write « Cher Professeur » or « Cher Monsieur. » It’s very familiar, and will make it look like your
French is not very good. More traditional professors, especially those from
old schools like the Sorbonne, may be offended.
The first paragraph of your letter should be very short, and should state
clearly what program and degree you’re applying for as well as the name of
the school. Some professors have appointments at several universities, so you
don’t want him or her to lose track of where you’re planning on enrolling.
In the second paragraph, give some information about your educational
background and explain why you’re choosing to pursue this diplôma.
In the third paragraph, explain your research interests and identify the questions you’d like to study. Introduce the subject of the thesis you want to
write specifically with this professor.
In the fourth paragraph, explain the resources you have at your disposal to
complete the project, especially if it requires fieldwork, like this one does.
State what courses you’d like to take with the professor or in the department
to complement your research, basically stating how the professor and program is a «fit» for you. You can also discuss how this diplôma advances your
career goals, and what you are going to use it for, or you can address this in
a separate paragraph
Before closing, identify any attachments (your project, cv, and your academic transcripts). Close with the standard French formula that expresses
respect and thanks, and sign your name, omitting any equivalent of sincerely, cordially, etc. In an email, you can sign, «Cordialement,» but in a
letter, there is no formal equivalent.
Sample Cover Letter
à Paris, le 13 juin, 2010
Professeur Lefébure:
C’est avec grand plaisir que je vous écris pour poser ma candidature pour un
M2 en Anthropologie à l’École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales pour
l’année prochaine.
Diplômée de Columbia University et de Middlebury College, je termine
actuellement mon M2 en arts, esthétiques, et littératures comparées à l’Université de Paris VII – Denis Diderot, où j’écris mon mémoire intitulé « Pour
votre sérénité, laissez-leur la liberté !: L’initiation et l’émancipation des
femmes dans les contes libertins de Nora Aceval » sous la direction de Bernadette Bricout. Ayant suivi une formation plutôt littéraire avec quelques
cours de base en histoire, je souhaite désormais m’orienter vers l’anthropologie pour compléter mes connaissances de la littérature et des contes maghrébins par des connaissances des peuples et des cultures maghrébins.
Je m’intéresse particulièrement à l’interculturel : les points d’intersection des
cultures maghrébines et de la culture française. Dans un cours d’histoire,
j’ai étudié le processus d’arabisation de l’enseignement dans les trois pays du
Maghreb après la décolonisation, et j’aimerais aussi étudier le biculturalisme
chez les enfants issus de l’immigration maghrébine en France. J’aimerais
savoir si leurs parents partagent un patrimoine oral avec leurs enfants, et
comment ces enfants interprètent les contes et la culture de leurs parents. Le
mémoire que je souhaite écrire sous votre direction portera sur ses questions
et sera intitulé « Transmission des contes algériens en situation décontextualisée : vecteurs et formes de cette transmission. » Il examinera les circonstances de la transmission de la tradition orale algérienne dans des familles
immigrées, et l’interprétation de ces contes par les enfants.
De par mes connaissances de la tradition orale et mes relations professionnelles dans des classes de CM2 à Drancy et au Bourget, je pense avoir les
qualités et les contacts nécessaires pour réussir un projet de Master 2 original
qui alliera une recherche nuancée à de multiples entretiens avec des élèves et
des parents. Les cours en anthropologie à l’EHESS tels que « Anthropologie
du monde arabe » et « Anthropologie entre primitivisme et postcolonialisme » fourniront des réflexions sur les sociétés arabes dont j’étudierai les
ressortissants. Je continuerai en parallèle ma formation de langue arabe, cet
été à l’Institut Bourguiba à Tunis, et l’année prochaine en Diplôme Universitaire à la Sorbonne.
Ce cursus correspond parfaitement à mes objectifs de carrière, puisque je
souhaite faire mon doctorat par la suite dans une université américaine afin
de continuer mes recherches dans les domaines du folklore, de l’histoire
postcoloniale, du bilinguisme, et de la littérature maghrébine.
Je mets en fichier joint le projet de recherche que j’aimerais proposer pour
l’année prochaine avec sa bibliographie, mon cv, et mes relevés de notes des
universités américaines.
En vous remerciant de votre aide, je vous prie de croire, Monsieur, à mes
sentiments les plus distingués.
French Language Tests
The CIEP, or Centre International d’Etudes Pédagogiques, is the national
institute in France that administers French language testing according to the
European Union language standards. The tests are administered all over the
world, and are graded according to a seven hundred-point scale, similar to
the SATs. After the tests are graded, the numerical score converts into one of
six grades: A1, the lowest, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2, the highest grade. Most
universities require a level of at least B1 or B2 for students who wish to take
a full course load alongside French students. Students who score below that
level are probably not capable of understanding course content well enough
to succeed, and those students should probably enroll in language classes at
the Sorbonne or an American study-abroad program that offers speaking
and grammar-intensive coursework.
As always, check on the website of the program in which you wish to enroll
to make sure that the test you plan on taking will be accepted. While they
are mostly interchangeable, some programs, such as Sciences Po, have specific requirements and like to have the scores directly reported to them.
Score reports are usually available by mail within six to eight weeks of the
test date.
Test des Connaissances du Français – Demande
d’Admission Préalable (TCF-DAP)
If you want to enroll in L1, L2, or architecture school, you must take the
TCF-DAP, a test specifically for foreign students wishing to enter the French
university system. The test takes three hours to complete, and is taken in
two parts. The first part is a multiple choice section with thirty questions
of listening comprehension, twenty questions on grammar and syntax, and
thirty questions on reading comprehension. For the listening part, a brief
conversation is played twice and the test-taker must select the correct reply
from a series of possibilities. For the other two parts, the student has the full
time allotted (1.5 hours) to complete the test in any order he or she likes.
The second part of the test is a written part, with two exercises. Both parts
must be completed to receive a score, and there is a minimum number
of required words that the response must contain. The test will also not
be graded if the essay does not answer the question. Words joined with a
hyphen (c’est-à-dire) or an apostrophe (s’il) count as one word.
In 2010, the TCF-DAP cost 63€ in France, so expect to pay at least $100 if
you take it in the US.
The CIEP site has a sample test, guide for completing the test, and a few
sample essay topics for those who would like to practice:
·
<http://www.ciep.fr/tcfdap/index.php>
Test des Connaissances du Francais (TCF)
Like the TCF-DAP, the TCF evaluates a student’s level of French and readiness to take university classes. The TCF is for students who want to enroll in
L3 or above, or who want to study at Sciences Po.
Also similar to the TCF-DAP is the exam layout. The obligatory section of
the exam consists of three parts: oral comprehension, grammar and syntax,
and written comprehension, and is made up of multiple-choice questions.
This part of the test lasts about 1.5 hours, and is in common with the TCFDAP. In fact, the two exams are usually administered at the same time and
at the same test sites.
The TCF also has two optional components: the oral and the written exams.
Test-takers can choose to sign up for one or both of these exercises upon
enrolling for the test. The written exam takes place right after the multiplechoice exam, usually with a ten-minute break. There are a variety of written
exercises demonstrating the ability to write in different types of situations:
an informal postcard, an informational essay, a formal letter of introduction
to a professor, etc. This part of the exam takes 1.5 hours, and the student
completing the written section must complete all of the exercises in order.
If a student skips an exercise, the ones that follow will not be evaluated, so
if, for example, a student were to skip the second question but complete the
rest of the test, he would still only receive a score on the first question, probably failing. The questions get progressively more difficult, and the exam is
graded by two professors on a scale of 20. The average score from the two
graders is the score that is awarded.
The oral exam is also optional, and takes place individually with the test
administrator after the written section has been completed. The test proctor has a several questions at each of six varying levels of difficulty, and asks
one question from each section at random. The student is recorded by a
tape player and graded once by the test administrator and once by another
professor, who listens to the tape and assigns another score. Like the written
exam, the questions elicit a variety of speaking styles, from informal and
friendly to polite and academic. The test is designed to evaluate not only
whether you can understand French and produce thoughts in the languages,
but also if you can use language and grammar structures appropriate for
different situations. For both the written and oral exams, if the two independent scores are very different, a third grader will evaluate the test.
The TCF usually costs the same as the TCF-DAP (about $100), but the
supplemental sections may cost extra. Practice exercises and sample written
and oral exam questions are posted on the CIEP website.
DILF/DELF/DALF
These three tests are the DILF, Diplôme Initial de Langue Française, the
DELF, Diplôme d’Etudes de Langue Française, and the DALF, Diplôme
Approfondi de Langue Française. While they test the same skills, the DILF
presumes only a low level of French language, while the DALF assumes an
Advanced level.
Students who take the DILF are generally people who have recently arrived
in France and begun their study of French. They often want to take the exam
to become employed. This test will not really concern university students
wishing to study in France.
The DELF is for students who have taken a few years of French classes
and who have an intermediate level. This test has several different variants,
including for children and teens who are going to spend a few months in
France in a public school. University students can take the “DELF tous
publics” or the “DELF Pro,” designed for those who want to live and work
in France.
The DALF is for those with an advanced level of French, but is a similar test.
The DELF and the DALF are independent, so you can take both. The cost
of taking the exam is set by the exam center and the consulate in the United
States, and by the rectorat, or regional education office, in France. To know
the dates and cost of the exam, contact the nearest consulate (see the next
section) in the fall before you wish to enroll.
Chapter 2
Setting Up a Life in France
Pre-Departure Administrative procedures
Any stay in France or Europe for longer than 3 months requires a significant
amount of paperwork, because you’ll need a visa to study and (possibly)
work. There are many steps to each process, and you’ll need lots of different
documents in order for your visa and residency permit to be approved, and
this section will guide you through each step of the visa and carte de séjour
process, identifying the documents you’ll need to get, the fees you’ll need to
pay, and the appointments you’ll need to make. This section will be updated
regularly, since French immigration and extended-stay laws are constantly
changing, but you should also double-check information on official French
government sites before going to any official appointments.
Securing Your Visa
Since 2007, France has eliminated short-stay visas for students who wish to
stay in France for fewer than 90 days. If you’re completing a summer studyabroad program, you will not have to go through the CampusFrance procedure or obtain a visa, provided that you have the right to enter the Schengen
Space without one. Students planning to stay in France longer than 90 days
still need to follow all of the administrative steps outlined in this section.
CampusFrance
Every student going to France must register with CampusFrance before
applying for a visa. This online process takes two to three weeks from start
to finish, and once you have the email receipt, you can go to your visa
appointment.
In order to register, you must first create an account on the CampusFrance
website and fill out the online form. After completing this step, you must
send a copy of your acceptance letter from your French or American university, along with a money order for $70. The letter must have your name on
it, and only money orders are accepted. Once you send these documents,
you should receive an email confirmation within three weeks. You must
print this document for your visa appointment.
If you are studying in France independently, you must apply to a university
and receive a letter from them before creating your CampusFrance profile.
You can also apply to certain French universities through the CampusFrance
system; in that case, you are required to submit your university application
through the CampusFrance site, and complete a telephone interview with
a CampusFrance agent before your file will be considered complete. If you
are accepted by a French university and have a letter before beginning the
CampusFrance process, you are not required to complete an interview. The
fee for independent students is $140, which must be paid by money order.
·
CampusFrance, 4101 Reservoir Rd., Washington D.C., 20007.
<www.usa.campusfrance.org>
French Consulates in the US
There are ten French consulates in the US, and you must obtain your visa
at the consulate designated for your state of residence. If you attend school
in a different consular zone, bring proof of your student resident status
when you go to your appointment to show that you are eligible to get
your visa in that consulate.
The consulates are:
· Atlanta (AL, GA, MS, NC, SC, TN): The Lenox Building, 3399
Peachtree Rd. NE, Suite 500, Atlanta, GA, 30326. <www.consulfrance-atlanta.org>
· Boston (MA, ME, NH, RI, VT): Park Street Building, 31 St. James
Ave., Suite 750, 02116. <www.consulfrance-boston.org>
· Chicago (IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MI, MN, MO, OH, ND, NE, SD):
Michigan Plaza, 205 North Michigan Avenue, 37th Floor, Chicago,
IL, 60601. <www.consulfrance-chicago.org>
· Houston (AK, LA, OK, TX): 777 Post Oak Boulevard, Suite 600,
Houston, TX 77056. <www.consulfrance-houston.org>
· Los Angeles (AZ, CA, CO, NM, NV): 10390 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 410, Los Angeles, CA, 90025. <www.consulfrancelosangeles.org>
· Miami (FL): Espirito Santo Plaza, Suite 1050, 1395 Brickell Avenue, Miami, FL, 33131. <www.consulfrance-miami.org>
· New Orleans: The French consulate in New Orleans does not issue
visas. Residents of Louisiana must go to the Houston, TX consulate.
· New York (CT, NJ, NY, Bermuda): 934 Fifth Avenue, New York,
NY, 10021. <www.consulfrance-newyork.org>
· San Francisco (AK, CA, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY,
American Samoa, Guam): 540 Bush St., San Francisco, CA, 94108.
<www.consulfrance-sanfrancisco.org>
·
Washington, D.C. (DE, MD, PA, VA, WV): 4101 Reservoir Rd,
NW, Washington, D.C., 20007-2185. <www.consulfrance-washington.org>
Your Appointment
Visa appointments at all consulates must be made online several weeks in
advance. All consulates require personal presence to issue a visa, and most
take your passport and mail it back to you in a prepaid (by you) USPS
envelope.
To obtain your visa, you’ll need the following documents, with at least one
photocopy of each:
· Passport with at least 2 blank pages, valid for at least 3 months
beyond the end of your trip.
· 2 passport-size photos.
· Fee of 50€. (about $63)
· Receipt from CampusFrance.
· Acceptance letter from university with dates of attendance.
· Financial Guarantee from your parents stating that they will provide you with at least $800 per month for the duration of your stay
in France. They may ask for proof of your parents’ ability to pay, in
the form of a bank statement or pay slips, so it’s a good idea to bring
along some financial document. If you take out a student loan to
cover your year in France, you can bring that along as well.
· Flight reservation.
· Proof of accommodation for the first month.
· If you’re not a US citizen, copies of your visa or green card.
The last two on the list are new since I last applied for a visa, and they seem
a bit odd to me, especially since the consulate site reminds you elsewhere
NOT to make travel arrangements until you have received your visa. Is this
a way of encouraging students to purchase way-more-expensive refundable
plane tickets on, say, AirFrance? Call me cynical. In general, as long as you
have all of your paperwork in order at the time of your appointment, you
shouldn’t worry about getting your visa refused. I’ve made non-refundable
reservations before scheduling a visa appointment, and never had any problems.
If you’re going with an American program, your school will usually find
you housing and should be able to provide the necessary documentation.
If, however, you’re going on your own, it’s pretty near impossible to find a
good, honest deal on an apartment from far away unless you have friends or
family who can look for you.
We’ll get to this in the next section, but for the purposes of visa acquisition,
the best thing is probably to reserve a bed in a hostel for a month online, so
you have a printed receipt of your reservation. You can usually get a bed for
about 10€ per night, which is less than what you would pay for one month’s
rent in most studios. Once you arrive in France, you can look for an apartment during the first few weeks, and then cancel your hostel reservation
once you find a place to stay. You may have to pay for an extra night or two,
but it will save you a lot of worrying about being homeless in France.
OFII Paperwork
Once you’re in France, you’ll need to declare your presence and your address
within three months of your arrival to the OFII, or the Office Français de
l’Immigration et de l’Intégration. This process is very simple. Once you have
a place to live, you must fill out a form with your address and send it, along
with a photocopy of your passport, visa, and the stamp of your entry into
France, to the OFII office.
The paperwork should be sent recommandé avec avis de reception (we’ll
discuss this in the section on the post office) as soon as you’re able to fill out
the entire form. The OFII will then enter you into their system and send you
a letter, requesting your presence at the medical visit.
For more information:
· Office Français de l’Immigration et de l’Intégration. 48, rue de la
Roquette, 75011 Paris. Phone 01 55 28 19 40. <www.ofii.fr>
The Medical Visit
Once you receive a letter with a date and time for your OFII medical visit,
clear your calendar for that day. Sometimes they’ll send you an appointment
notice after the appointment has already passed (or with only a few days’
notice), but it’s hard to get one, so you should do everything in your power
to make it to the first one.
The day of the appointment, you’ll need to bring the following documents:
· The letter they sent you with the appointment date and time.
· Your passport, with visa and entry stamp.
· A “justificatif de domicile” less than three months old. Must be
either an electricity or gas bill for your apartment in your name, or
one of those in your landlord’s name, accompanied by a copy of his
national ID card (front and back) and a note explaining that you live
in his apartment.
· Passport-size photo.
· OMI 55€ stamp. Available in most Tabacs.
The medical visit is very simple, and once you’ve presented your documents
at the welcome desk and been admitted to the waiting room, the process
should take less than two hours, depending on how busy the office is. The
OFII processes about three hundred people per day, so they’re very efficient.
When you arrive, you’ll be given a file with your name and information,
and you’ll be asked to answer some questions about your medical history in
the waiting room. Once you’ve gone into the exam room, your file will be
placed in order, and a doctor will call you for each part of the exam, always
in line.
In the first room, you’ll be weighed, measured, and have your vision checked.
Next, you’ll be called into a hallway with three doors. This is where they’ll
x-ray your lungs to check for tuberculosis. When someone exits the door in
front of you, you go into a dressing room, lock the door behind you, and
remove all jewelry and clothing from the waist up and put up your hair.
When it’s your turn, a doctor (of the same gender) will open the door and
escort you to the x-ray machine. It takes about 30 seconds for the x-ray to be
complete, and then you can get dressed and wait for the next step.
In the final step of the process, a doctor will call you into an office and ask
you questions about your medical history, vaccinations, and health insurance while in France, according to the questions you answered on the form.
If you have a complicated medical history or a chronic illness, you may
want to bring additional documentation from your primary care physician
to avoid problems at this step. In general, French doctors realize that Americans have good health care and have low risk for communicable diseases,
and this step doesn’t last very long.
At the end of the interview, the doctor will sign your file, saying that you
“fill the sanitary requirements necessary to remain in France,” and your
medical visit is complete. When you present the signed file to the front desk,
the receptionist will attach the 55€ to the file and place a yellow sticker in
your passport to validate your visa. This sticker serves as your first “titre de
séjour,” and you are considered a legal resident in France.
Renewing Your Carte de Séjour
Since June 2009, France no longer requires students to obtain a Carte de
Séjour for their first year in France. After completing the medical visit, the
OFII puts a yellow sticker in your passport, which has the same dates of
validity as your visa and serves as your first “titre de séjour.” If you want to
stay in France and must apply for a CDS, what you’ll actually be doing is a
“renouvellement.”
Renewing Your Student CDS
Two months before your visa’s expiration date, make an appointment to
renew your CDS online, on the Prefecture’s website, to go to the Service
Etudiants at their Boulevard Ney location. They’re pretty merciless if you
have trouble making an appointment, and they’ll send you away without
seeing you if you don’t have all your documents, so make sure you’ll have
everything you need before going.
You’ll need to bring the following documents, with at least one photocopy
of everything (I always bring three copies, just to be sure.)
· Appointment confirmation sheet. Print this out when you make
your appointment online.
· Your passport with visa, titre de séjour étudiant, and the stamp
of your first entry into France or the EU. No explanation necessary, I believe?
· Three passport photos.
·
·
·
·
·
·
Your birth certificate with official translation into French.
Medical Exam certificate from the OFII office. The OFII provides
a document at the end of the medical visit certifying that you “meet
the sanitary conditions necessary for remaining in France.” You’ll
need it to show you completed the medical visit.
Proof of residence. You’ll need to bring either an EDF (Eléctricité
de France) or GDF (Gaz de France) bill in your name, less than
three months old, to prove that you live where you say you do. If
the electricity or gas is in your landlord’s name, he or she will need
to write a note saying that you live in their apartment, and provide
a copy (front and back) of his or her national ID card and electricity or gas bill, again less than three months old. No other bills are
acceptable.
Certificate of enrollment and proof of completion of your schooling from the current academic year. They want to make sure that
you were actually a student somewhere, and that you took your
exams and passed your classes. If you can’t get an actual grade report
from your school, try to get an “attestation d’inscription” from your
department or program. If you haven’t yet taken your exams, you
have to prove that you’re scheduled to take them.
Pre-enrollment for the following academic year. If you want to
stay with a student visa, you’ll need to prove that you’re still going
to be a student. An “attestation de pré-inscription” or a letter from a
professor who has accepted you for the following year should suffice.
Proof of resources in France. Bring your three most recent pay
slips if you work, and recent French bank statements. I highlighted
recent deposits from working under the table, and deposits I made
after withdrawing money from my American bank account. You’ll
also need to bring copies of any other money transfers to you from
other sources
·
·
Proof of resources in the US. Print out copies of your online
US bank statements and highlight withdrawals that you made in
France. If your parents transfer money regularly into your account,
highlight those as well.
Parental Guarantee. You need to prove that your parents (or some
other relative) will bail you out if you’re in financial trouble, and
that you won’t become dependant on the French state. Have one of
your parents sign a note saying that they’ll give you a certain amount
of money each month, and attach one of their bank statements or
a few recent pay slips to prove they have the means to support you.
Parents must provide (or claim to provide) a minimum of 450€ for
undergraduates, and 536€ for graduate students.
Of course, if you have additional documentation, it’s best to err on the side
of caution. Bringing more documents and photocopies than you need is
better than being sent away to find them!
The day of your appointment, arrive at the center early, at least half an hour
before your appointment. People begin lining up outside by 7:30 AM, even
though the offices don’t open until after 8:30. First, your documents will
be checked by someone at the front desk, who will give you a copy of the
“Demande de Titre de Séjour,” which you can fill out while you wait, and
a number.
At the end of your appointment, you should leave with a Récipissé de
Demande de Carte de Séjour, a document proving that your CDS application is being processed. If your visa expires, this document gives you the
right to re-enter France for three months.
If you are renewing your visa in the spring or summer before you’re officially
enrolled for the following year, you’ll also be given a new appointment,
about three months later, to bring more paperwork confirming your enrollment in school. You’ll need to bring your passport, récipissé, and a certificate
of enrollment and student ID card for the new school year to prove your
student status and to pick up your card. During this appointment, the agent
will take your document, review your file, and submit it to the head of the
center for “approval,” and you’ll have to wait while someone supposedly
decides whether or not you’re allowed to stay in France.
In most cases, this is just a formality, but if you did poorly on your exams
and coursework in the previous year, your application could theoretically
be rejected. In this case, you should try to enroll in make-up exams at your
university and bring documentation showing that you are signed-up or that
you are awaiting exam grades. Your application may be put on hold pending your exam results. If your application is approved, you will leave with
another récipissé, also valid for three months, and a convocation to pick up
your carte de séjour within five or six weeks. You are not required to go on
that day; you can go any time after the date on your convocation, and picking up your card is a very quick process. You’ll need to bring two 15€ OMI
stamps, your passport, and the récipissé to pick up your card. If there is a
long wait at the student center, don’t go to the back of the line, since they
occasionally call “Any card pickups?” and give you a number right away.
Your card will be valid for on year from the date of your second appointment.
If you live in a different department, the procedure will be the same, but
you’ll have to go to the capital of your department rather than Paris, and call
your center to make an appointment.
For more information:
· Prefecture’s web site: <http://www.prefecturedepolice.interieur.
gouv.fr/Vos-demarches/Ressortissants-etrangers>
· To make an appointment to renew: <http://www.ppoletrangers.
interieur.gouv.fr/ ?motif=renetu>
·
Préfecture de Police, Centre de réception des étudiants étrangers, 92
boulevard Ney, 75018 Paris, Metro Porte de Clignancourt. Phone
08 91 01 22 22.
Changing from a Student to a Work Carte de Séjour
In theory, any student with a master’s degree or higher can apply for jobs in
France and change their status from “student” to “salarié.” In practice, this
procedure can be difficult and take up to six months, especially in the busy
Paris and Ile-de-France préfectures.
Those wishing to change their status must first be hired by a company; the
bigger the company, and the more specialized the position, the better. There
is no law prohibiting companies from hiring foreign students directly, but it
helps your case if the job is tailored to your skills (like being a native English
speaker) and the company can claim that they couldn’t find qualified French
candidates.
Your future employer will have to file a «promesse d’embauche» with your
dossier for the préfecture, outlining your contract, pay, and benefits. Your
file will also have to include information about the completion date of your
studies, your birth certificate, and other information you needed for your
student carte de séjour. Once you file your paperwork, processing can take
anywhere from two to six months, and you may get a récipissé without an
«autorisation temporaire à travailler,» prohibiting you from working while
they process your documents. When you request the status change, you’re
also no longer able to work the hours you were authorized under your student visa, since it no longer applies? It’s best to be financially prepared for
this situation, and if your boss can file the paperwork for you, the process
generally goes more smoothly.
Travel Insurance
Despite all of the strikes, which are often blown out of proportion in the
media, France is a fairly civilized country with very little violence. Unless
you have a medical condition, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll have to be
urgently repatriated. Some American programs provide their students with a
travel insurance card as a matter of procedure, or they may recommend that
you purchase insurance for yourself with a particular company. Compare
the insurance company’s offerings with your personal situation (Do they
pay for your ticket in case of the death of an immediate family member, and
your aunt has cancer? Do you have a medical condition that could require
expensive treatment, and your health insurance won’t reimburse you for several months if you’re abroad?) and question your current insurers about their
medical expense policy. In some cases, if you were to get in an accident in
France, you would have to pay expenses out of pocket and be reimbursed.
Some travel insurance companies will pay medical costs up-front, waiting to
be reimbused by your insurance, and saving you from big bills you can’t pay.
If you’re healthy and not so risk-adverse, you may want to forego the extra
expense of travel insurance, since the risk of something bad happening to
you are about the same in France as they are in the US. If you decide to
travel to a less modern or less stable country while you’re staying in France,
you can purchase short-term travel insurance for the length of your trip for
a relatively low fee through student insurers SMEREP an LMDE, or from
your bank in Paris.
Packing
France is a modern, industrialized country that imports and sells many
American products. If you brought just clothes and your laptop, you could
certainly find everything else you’d need. In some cases, though, the things
you would buy in the US are qualitatively different from the products sold
in France, and in these cases, I’d recommend you bring a six-month or year’s
supply of your favorite brands. Here’s a quick guide.
What to Bring
-
Plug adaptors. These can also be bought in France, but are
cheaper in the US. Basically, they allow your electronics to run
on Europe’s system, which is 220v rather than 120v.
-
Your laptop, external hard drive, and any software disks. All
computers (and most electronic devices) can run on 220v electricity with just an adaptor rather than a converter. To make sure,
check the small box on your laptop’s power cord to verify that it
lists both currents. Bring any backup copies of software you may
need if your computer crashes, and a copy of your warrenty. If
you have a Mac, for example, you’ll be able to bring your computer to the Apple store in the Louvre for repairs.
-
Deodorant. Anyone who’s taken the Paris métro in July can attest
to the fact that French deodorant just isn’t up to snuff. Bring a
stick or two of your favorite brand.
-
Shampoo and conditioner. Most brands, from Herbal Essences
to Fructus, are available in France, but if you use a special kind,
like sulfate-free or organic, you may want to bring a bottle or
two. Organic shampoo has recently become available in supermarkets, but bottles are generally much smaller and more expensive than regular brands. I’d recommend Trader Joe’s 16 oz. mint
shampoo and conditioner, which lasts a good three months.
-
Face wash and toothpaste. Again, I bring these things because I
use a particular brand. The most common brands - Neutrogena,
Clearasil, Colgate, Sensodyne - are all available in France, but
again, the containers are smaller and more expensive. Bringing
a tube of American toothpaste will last twice as long as its more
expensive European counterpart, but obviously, if you don’t have
room, don’t fret.
-
Over-the-counter medications. France has a powerful pharmaceutical lobby, and all medications are sold in pharmacies, even
the over-the-counter ones, and they are sold much more expensively in very small quantities. I always bring generic bottles of
asprin or acetomenaphen, ibprofen, a topical antibiotic like Neosporin, a topical antihistamine like Benadryl, some Tums, and
Halls cough drops (cough drops are available, but more expensive and weaker than their American equivalents).
-
Prescription medications and copies of your prescriptions.
If you’re on prescreption medications, including the pill, try to
bring enough to last the length of your stay, with some to spare
just in case. For all medications, make sure you bring the original
bottle with your name on it, as well as a copy of your prescription
signed by your doctor. If your insurance company won’t cover
enough for your entire stay, have the doctor write the drug’s scientific name on the prescription so a French pharmacist or clinician can refill it for you.
-
Your favorite (junk) foods. After traveling to other European
countries that happily import American delicacies like Jelly Bellys and peanut butter, I remain convinced that France willfully
imports only the most undesirable American produts so the
French can maintain their superiority complex. I always bring
some peanut butter, buttered popcorn, mini marshmallows, and
fun-sized Milky Ways and Baby Ruths in my checked luggage. If
you’re a New Englander like me, and want to bring some marsh-
mallow Fluff, poke a couple pinholes in the plastic top, tape down
the top, and wrap it in a plastic bag to prevent it from exploding.
Remember that cheeses, meats, fruits, vegetables, and plants
won’t make it through customs.
What NOT to Bring
-
Hair dryer, electic razor, electric toothbrush. Unless you have a
current converter, these devices won’t work when plugged into a
French outlet, and will probably be fried. Depending on the quality of the device, it may not even work correctly with a converter.
You can probably live without these items for a few months; if
you’re staying longer, you can buy them in France for about the
same price you’d pay in the US.
-
Heavy novels, French dictionaries, grammars, phrasebooks,
and guidebooks. I’m certainly not one to discourage you from
bringing books to France, and I’ve lugged dozens of research
books back and forth across the Atlantic in my carry-on luggage.
But with the plethora of French language resources available for
free online, don’t waste precious space and weight bringing dictionaries or grammar books. Most of the information found in
guidebooks - and let’s face it, this is the best one you’ll get - can
also be found online. If you really need books, there are several
English language bookstores where you can get your fix.
Housing Options
Finding housing in Paris, or anywhere in France, isn’t easy, and it’s especially
hard to do if you’re far away. Here’s a quick guide to the different places you
can look for housing, and what you’ll need to secure an apartment.
With Your American Program
Most American study-abroad programs will find housing for their students,
either in apartments, in host families, or in one of the few dorms or “foyers”
in Paris. Programs that offer housing usually offer the same accommodations from year to year with the same landlords and families, and the relationships between the renters and the schools allow for lower rents, in many
cases, and contracts built on trust and “bonne foi.”
The trade-off is often that these families do not declare the extra rent income
on their French taxes, which makes the rent not eligible for the Allocations
familiales, which we will discuss in a later section. The advantages of having
housing established upon arrival in Paris and of having the school to mediate conflicts between you and your landlord are invaluable tools, however,
when faced with a real estate market that is otherwise very competitive for
renters. The other advantage is that the schools often pay agency fees for
finding the housing (if they use an agency), and the security deposit is only
one month’s rent instead of the usual two or three months. Landlords renting through American programs often speak English (many are Americans
living abroad with a relationship to the school), and understand that as a
student, you may leave at the end of May or June, without necessarily staying through the summer.
Apartments
Apartments are often the preferred choice for students, who want privacy
and are done living in a family. The three types of apartment rentals are
“chambre de bonne,” studio apartments, and regular, multi-room apartments. If your school is providing the housing, they will surely only offer
furnished rentals, so the prices I’ve given below correspond to reasonable
prices for furnished apartments.
A chambre de bonne is a former maid’s quarters, and is a small room, usually 10-15 square meters (90-135 square feet), often on the last floor of an
apartment building. As its name implies, it used to be the maid’s room, connected to the apartment in which she worked. Equipped with a bed, a table,
a small fridge, a few hot plates, and a sink, it usually doesn’t have its own private bathroom. Some have showers inside, and the bathroom is in the hall
and shared with other apartments. A (very) few require the occupant to use
the bathroom in the landlord’s apartment. A (reasonable) month’s rent for a
chambre de bonne is between 350-450€, although prices can go up to 600€.
Studio apartments differ from chambre de bonne in that they are usually
bigger (20-30 square meters, or 180-270 square feet) and have their own
bathroom. They usually still have a very small kitchenette in the corner, and
many have loft beds to make more room for other furniture. Some have
separate kitchens. Most are big enough that they could feasibly be shared,
but it’s best to make sure that you REALLY like the person you’ll be living
with, and even better if you can share a bed to save space. Prices for studios
vary widely depending on size and location, but most are between 600-800€
per month.
Regular, multi-room apartments don’t really need an introduction, except
that few are in the price range of students. Some schools rent one-bedroom
apartments to two people, especially if there’s a pull-out couch in the living
room, but some landlords refuse to rent these apartments to non-couples
because the risk of problems is too great. If you’re studying with several
friends, it may be cheaper to get a two, three, or four bedroom apartment
to share between you, as bigger apartments are slightly cheaper per square
meter than smaller ones, and there is far less demand. The one disadvantage
of larger apartments is that many of them are luxury apartments designed
for rental to tourists, so finding them can be difficult if you’re on your own.
Count on spending 800-1000€ per month for a one-bedroom, 1500-1800€
for a two-bedroom, and 2000€ or more for a three-bedroom.
Host Families
Many American programs require their students, especially college juniors,
to live with host families during their time abroad. Most schools continually
offer the same host families from year to year, which means that the relationship between the parties is good, but a bad year can ruin this relationship
and make your time in France miserable.
Most host family arrangements require the family to give you your own
room and workspace, access to the kitchen and bathroom, and a small cabinet and space in the refrigerator for your food. While you have access to the
whole apartment in theory, you usually need to negotiate phone and kitchen
use when the family isn’t using them. Overnight guests are usually out of
the question (depends on the situation), and you must ask for permission
before inviting friends over for the afternoon. For independent people used
to being on their own, it can be a tough readjustment to family life and
rules.
The other thing to know about host families is that they aren’t necessarily
families: people who decide to host students often do so because they have
an extra room in their house and would like to make a little money from it.
Young families with children often don’t fit the bill, or, if they have an extra
room, they use it for a full-time babysitter. Host families can be a middleaged or old couple, or an old person, or a single person as well as families in
the traditional sense. Not to discourage those of you who want to immerse
yourselves in the cultural experience of living with French people, but don’t
count on having company if you choose this route. I personally think you
give up a lot of freedom for what can be only marginal cultural benefit. But
that’s me.
Depending on your school’s protocol, the host family will usually provide
you with a few meals per week (outlined in your rental agreement), and the
price will be included in your rent. Extra meals may be charged at the rate
the family sets in advance. The advantage, of course, is that sometimes, you
don’t have to cook, but when you need to cook, you have to use the kitchen
around your host’s schedule.
Rent in a room in someone’s apartment (10-12 square meters, or 90-110
square feet) is usually 550-700€, including 2-3 meals per week, but this can
vary greatly depending on the family and the school’s agreement.
Fondation des Etats-Unis (Cité Universitaire)
The Fondation des Etats-Unis is a dorm in the Cité Universitaire, located
by the Parc Montsouris in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. It welcomes
American students during the school year (September or October 1 through
June) and international students during the summer.
Rooms can be reserved online beginning in April, but you must meet eligibility criteria and be selected to live there by the admissions committee. To
be eligible, you must have completed an undergraduate degree, be enrolled
in a university program for the coming academic year, and be an American under 29 years old. Some university programs reserve rooms for their
students in advance, or reserve other rooms in the Cité Universitaire for
students who have not yet completed their undergraduate degrees. To apply,
you must email the admissions committee with the following information:
· Full name
· Birthday, birthplace
· Nationality
· Full contact information (address, phone number, email)
· Requested dates for residency
· Project for the academic year
Rooms in the Fondation are about 10 square meters, and are furnished with
a bed, desk, chair, closet, and sink. Sheets, pillows, and blankets are provided, and sheets are changed every two weeks. Each room also has a telephone, which can be used with credits purchased from the Fondation. There
are a number of practice rooms and artists studios within the Fondation
for resident use, as well as common rooms, a library, and a computer room
equipped with Wifi. Each floor has communal bathrooms and a kitchen
with an oven, sink, and microwave, and there is a laundry room in the basement.
Because the room is your own, guests are not a problem, although some of
the common spaces like practice rooms may not be open to non-residents
of the Fondation. The Cité Universitaire campus also has a gym with a pool,
student restaurant (Crous), post office, and other amenities available to all
residents. The stop on the RER B, Cité Universitaire, is at the Paris city
limit, but is only 10 minutes from Chatelet-Les Halles in the center of Paris.
The Fondation is one of many nationality-based dorms in the Cité Universitaire, so the common spaces are full of international students from all over
the world, and it’s a great place to meet people from other countries. There
are also lots of cultural activities throughout the year, in the Fondation des
Etats-Unis as well as the other cultural centers on campus, making it an
enriching and interesting place to live.
Rent for 2011-2012 is 500€/month.
For more information:
· <www.feusa.org>
· To apply by email: [email protected]
Foyer
Foyers, or dorm-like residences similar to the Fondation des Etats-Unis, are
also available to some students through American programs or independent
study-abroad students. Usually comprised of single or double rooms, they
are most often affiliated with the public University of Paris system and only
available to students enrolling in public university or the Sorbonne’s civilization and French language courses. For this reason, we won’t spend much
time on them here, especially since there are many throughout Paris and it
is impossible to list and evaluate them all.
Foyers may be similar to dorms, but they often have a religious affiliation
in addition to the public university requirement; thus, they are usually allmale or all-female, and rarely do they allow guests (especially overnight visitors). Those that I’ve seen online had rooms available for monthly rent only
between October 1 and June 30, with the summer open only for short stays.
Rooms are usually about 10 square meters, with a single bed, desk, chair,
and refrigerator. Sheets, towels, and blankets are often provided by the foyer,
although it depends on the place. There is usually a small kitchen on each
floor, but cooking utensils are not generally provided.
Average rent for a single room is 550-600€/month. For a double room,
count 350-400€ monthly.
On Your Own
Finding housing on your own can be quite a challenge, as I learned this year
when I apartment-hunted for the first time in Paris. Since renting for under
a year is illegal (supposedly to relieve the housing crunch), there aren’t nearly
enough possibilities for student renters, and those who do rent short-term
prefer to illegally rent to tourists, who will pay a month’s rent for a weeklong stay. If you’re new to France, have never worked there, and don’t have
family, it will be very difficult to rent a place without an agency or a connection of some kind. Individual rental requires some serious paperwork, and
many landlords are unwilling to rent to foreign students who may decide
to leave mid-year or who have foreign guarantors, who are more difficult to
pursue in court if you don’t pay your rent.
The pre-rentrée rush begins in mid-August, so if you need to find your own
housing, your best bet is to arrive early and reserve a room in a hostel or a
foyer until September 1 while searching. You can try contacting your university’s international student center, or looking on campus for signs from
landlords or other students seeking roommates. I would caution strongly,
though, against rooming with people you don’t know. When you’re looking
for apartments online, look for the description “good for students,” because
these apartments are often cheaper and come with more flexible landlords
than most places.
When you visit apartments, you’ll need to bring all of the paperwork for
your application; if you don’t leave it right away, you can forget about the
apartment. You’ll need the following documents:
· Copy of your passport and visa
· Last three months’ pay slips
· Written guarantee from a parent, with pay slips
·
Work contract, if you have one
If you’ve taken out a loan to study abroad, you can try using a bank statement with the loan funds as proof of sufficient funds to pay for the year’s
rent. Unfortunately, any landlord is going to prefer French students with
French guarantor parents to an American student, for the simple reason that
it will be easier for him to collect his money if you default on your rent.
Otherwise, finding the right apartment and landlord is a combination of
luck and chemistry, and if you’re persistent enough, you will find someone
somewhere to take you in. The earlier you start, though, the better.
The following websites can be useful for your apartment search:
· <www.pap.fr>: Particulier à particulier puts landlords and potential
renters in direct contact. Rents can be 10% more expensive than
average, since there’s nobody telling landlords that their prices are
too high, but there can also be some good deals. You can search on
the site by location, price, size, and furnishings, and have emails
sent to you when apartments are posted that fit your criteria. During the busy season, reply immediately to postings. Leave messages
and emails at your own peril: it’s better to talk to a person to set up
a visit.
· <www.seloger.fr>: Similar to Particulier à particulier.
· <www.craigslist.org>: This site mostly has scams and expensive
apartments for tourists. Whatever you do, don’t send money to
someone to reserve an apartment without seeing it. Use caution;
there probably are some legitimate postings, but many of them seem
like scams. Remember, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Guide to Arrondissements and Suburbs
If you’ve been to Paris before, you probably have a good idea of the city’s
layout, and you may even know some of the arrondissements. Finding an
apartment is different from finding a hotel, though, and the neighborhood you choose to live in can make a significant difference in your living
expenses and budgeting. You’ll want to think carefully about where you
want to live for the most convenient access to your university or program,
the best rent, and the most culturally and financially interesting food and
restaurant choices.
If your program is selecting housing for you, you may not have much of a
choice in where you live, but you may be able to list your preferences on
a housing survey. If you’re apartment hunting on your own, you can be
selective, but apartments are so scarce that you probably don’t want to rule
out any areas entirely. In that case, the best thing to do is to visit all apartments in your price range and check out the neighborhood, since there can
be reasonable neighborhoods even in expensive (and boring) areas. When
I did my own apartment search, I looked everywhere except the 16th (too
expensive and few amenities) and the 20th (good neighborhoods but inconveniently located).
As you can see in the map, Paris is laid out almost like a snail shell, with
the smaller-numbered arrondissements in the middle. The other arrondissements wrap around the middle ones in a spiral. Here’s a quick guide to the
arrondissements of Paris to get you started.
1 through 4
The 1st through 4th arrondissements are the smallest, the most centrally
located, and possibly the most expensive. In the exact center of Paris on the
Right Bank, they include the Louvre museum, the Bourse (stock exchange),
the shopping centers on Rue de Rivoli, and the Notre Dame Cathedral.
Because this area is popular with tourists, there are lots of hotels, touristappropriate restaurants, and souvenir shops, but few affordable boulangeries,
supermarkets, and small apartments. Many short-term rental apartments are
also located in this area and are leased to visitors for anywhere from a week
to a month for exhorbitant rates, so it’s difficult to find a one-year furnished
rental here. If you do choose to live here, you’ll have convenient access to all
of the major tourist sites, including many of the museums, and great shopping, but it won’t be so great for your budget. A good place to visit, but not
an ideal place to live.
5 and 6
The 5th and 6th arrondissements are located in the Left Bank, right across the
Seine from Notre Dame, and since many Parisian universities and Grandes
Ecoles are in the area, it’s a popular student hangout. If you live in this area,
you’ll be near the Jardin des Plantes Museum of Natural History, the Institut
du Monde Arabe, with its impressive library and museum, the Mosquee de
Paris with its delicious mint tea and pasteries, and the famous Latin Quarter
with its many low-end restaurants and bookstores. Apartments in this area
can be hard to come by, since it’s a popular student and tourist destination,
but when they are available, they are usually affordable.
7 and 16
The 7th arrondissement on the Left Bank, like its neighbor the 16th from
across the Seine, is the neighborhood of choice for many American and British expatriates, who love its old architecture, good schools, and abundant
parking. But other than these arrondissements’ proximity to the Eiffel Tower,
they don’t have many qualities or amenities that would appeal to students.
In most neighborhoods, there are few choices of bakeries and supermarkets,
and the only restaurant options - geared towards tourists or wealthy residents - are prohibitively expensive. When I lived in the 7th during my first
year in Paris, I had only one supermarket, one boulangerie, and one epicerie
within a three-minute walk. If I walked another three minutes, I could go to
another supermarket and maybe two other boulangeries. While that doesn’t
seem like much of a difference, consider that in my current neighborhood
in the 14th, I have four different supermarkets, four different banks, five
boulangeries, and a dozen restaurants within five minutes walking distance
of my apartment.
Apartments in these neighborhoods aren’t necessarily hard to find. While the
buildings mostly have larger, multiroom family apartments, they are usually
older, Hausmannian structures with maids’ quarters or chambres de bonne.
American and British families that spend part of the year in their home
countries often rent to students through the FUSAC magazine or American
university programs, and they make good landlords because there’s less of a
cultural and linguistic barrier. If the best housing you can find is in the 7th
or 16th, don’t dispair - if anything, find out when the city organizes bulkyobject pickup days. You can find some treasures in your neighbors’ trash.
8 and 9
The 8th and 9th arrondissements border the 3rd and 4th arrondissements to
the north. Because they are slightly farther from the center and major tourist
attractions, rents are slightly lower than their southern neighbors, and rents
get cheaper the farther north you go. Pockets around Opéra, Madeleine,
and the Champs Elysées have more expensive amenities, if not significantly
higher rent, as the presence of the Theater District and lots of boutiques et
famous Paris brands (think Fauchon) make this area a chic place to live.
10, 11, and 12
The 10th, 11th, and 12th are the Right Bank’s answer to the 5th and 6th,
and have a good combination of residential areas, shops, and bars and nightclubs. République, Bastille, and the Cimetière Père Lachaise aren’t so much
tourist destinations as fun places for students and young people to go out,
and there are plenty of reasonably-priced restaurants in this are. Bordering the 3rd and 4th arrondissements to the northeast, these areas are sufficiently far from the center of town to be cheaper than their neighbors, yet
sufficiently well-connected that transportation to any other part of Paris is
surprisingly fast and easy. Place de la Nation between the 11th and 12th
arrondissments, for example, has connections to the 1, which goes from
East to West through the major tourist areas, the 6, which loops through
the Left Bank, and the 2, which loops around the north of Paris. The 10th
arrondissement is home to one of Paris’s major train stations, Gare de l’Est,
and the area is not only relatively inexpensive, but it is also a vibrant neighborhood close to Montmartre, and it boasts immigrants from many different
countries and thus a large variety of ethnic restaurants and grocery stores.
13, 14, and 15
The 13th, 14th, and 15th arrondissements are Paris’s southernmost areas,
and they have been becoming increasingly popular places to live. A bit more
pricy to their counterparts to the north, they are well-connected and generally combine residential areas with shops and restaurants. While the 14th is
home to the Catacombs, parts of the Montparnasse district, and a shopping
area near Avenue du Maine and Alésia, there can be some areas of the 15th
and 13th that are more deserted and far from restaurants and even basic
amenities like grocery stores. While some parts of the 13th are near Chinatown and the lively rue Tolbiac, there are other neighborhoods in which you
have to walk for 10 minutes to get to a bakery. Be sure to check out the area
in person and on Google Street View, and make sure you feel safe walking
home from the subway at night if you plan on living in a less-lively area.
17 and 18
The 17th and 18th are the northernmost arrondissements, and because they
include Montmartre, Clignancourt, and Place de Clichy, they are among the
liveliest and most culturally diverse areas in Paris. Because they are far from
the city center, they are also among the least expensive. On the streets, counterfeit goods and youth selling cigarettes are common, and Boulevard Barbès, which follows the line 2 from east to west, counts numerous sex shops.
On the other hand, produce is significantly cheaper in this area’s outdoor
markets, and the presence of so many people from all different cultures in
the streets (and the police deterring undocumented immigrants and sellers
of counterfeit objects) makes it feel safe at night.
19 and 20
The 19th and the 20th are in the northeast of Paris, and they are more outof-the-way and have fewer amenities than most other parts of Paris. In the
19th, the sprawling Parc Buttes Chaumont drives up prices in the neighborhoods closest too it, but otherwise, these areas are also relatively inexpensive. The northern 19th, for example, near Crimée on line 7, is primarily a
business area, and while it is lively during the day, it is rather deserted after
business hours. When I was apartment hunting in the summer, the 20th is
one of two arrondissements I never considered living in, because it is not
well served by the subway lines I use most to go to work and school.
Housing Insurance and Responsabilité Civile
For any apartment you rent, you must subscribe to an insurance policy
within ten days of moving, which will cover any damages to the apartment,
theft, and even late night or weekend locksmith visits if you lock yourself out. If you’re new to France, your policy will also need to cover your
“responsabilité civile,” or the general national insurance policy that prevents
the French from suing each other like crazy like we Americans. It covers any
accidental harm that you may cause to others. If, for example, you throw a
cigarette out of behind you and a woman’s skirt catches on fire, her injuries
would be covered under your policy. If, on the other hand, you punch someone in a bar fight, those damages would not be covered since your actions
were intentional (no matter how drunk you were).
Policies that include both can be purchased at most banks, and also with
independent insurance companies, which are sometimes a bit cheaper and
more comprehensive. If your American program organizes housing, they’ll
probably propose an insurer for you; in this case, the school has usually
researched the best plan for its students and possibly gotten a deal for buy-
ing a certain number of policies, in which case, you should probably go with
your school’s insurer. If you ever have any problems, your school’s administrator should be able to help you negotiate with the insurer, using the leverage of the school’s relationship with the company.
Policies can also be purchased with the student sécurité sociale suppliers,
notably, SMEREP. Located on the Boulevard Saint Michel by the Sorbonne,
it is one of two major student insurers, and has reasonably priced policies
that can be purchased on its website. LMDE, the other student mutuelle,
also offers assurance d’habitation plans that are relatively inexpensive. Proof
of insurance, dated less than 3 months old, can also serve as a “justificatif de
domicile,” and you can go back to your insurance company to ask for a new
copy of the contract every time you need one.
For more information:
· <www.lmde.com>
· <www.smerep.fr>
Housing Assistance: Caisse des Allocations Familiales
(CAF)
Allocations familiales are housing aid given to any person in France who
qualifies, and, since most students have low incomes and high rent in Paris,
most do. In order to apply, you’ll need to enter information about your
situation (student, whether you live alone or with roommates) and print off
the form on the CAF website. To fill out the form, you’ll need information
about your income from the fiscal year two years’ prior (i.e. I needed 2008
information to fill out the CAF in 2010; for 2011, you’ll need 2009 information, etc.) If you live with roommates, you’ll need to include all of their
information on the form, and they may need to apply directly for their own
aid as well.
Aside from the normal personal information, you’ll need to include your
global net revenue for the tax year in question (2009 for 2011, like I said
previously). If you had a job in the US, this means your net wages (after
taxes) will go on the top line, and the second line, “frais réels,” will be 10%
of that number. The rest of the lines are mostly about social security and
disability benefits received, so they will all be 0 unless you have a medical
condition or dependents.
After you’ve completed your section, you’ll need to have your landlord fill
out the “attestation de loyer,” with his personal information and information about the rental: whether it’s furnished or unfurnished, the length of
the lease, how many square meters it is, what the rent and utility payments
are, etc. Note that if your landlord signs this document, it opens him up to
inspections by tax authorities, who want to ensure that he is declaring all of
his “revenues fonciers” on his taxes. If he is not declaring the income, as is
the case with some host families and people who rent directly to American
programs, he may refuse to sign it. If you’re in a no-CAF situation, though,
the rent has usually already been lowered to what you would have paid after
receiving the CAF.
When you apply for the CAF, you’ll also need to include a copy of your
carte de séjour, which you won’t have at the beginning of the year. You can
either include a copy of your visa, which will set the process in motion, and
follow up with a copy of the yellow OFII sticker serving as the “premier titre
de séjour” once your receive it, or just wait to send the whole file once you
have all of the paperwork complete. In either case, you won’t be reimbursed
for the first month you lived in your apartment: if you move in on August
30, you’ll receive a stipend for September, but if you move in on September
1, your first month of eligibility will be October. In any case, you will not
receive any funds until your file has been completed and reviewed, so you
may not see any money until after Christmas, but it can be worth applying
to get about a month or even two months of free rent after the holidays.
If you live as a couple (married, PACSed, or just cohabitation), and your
partner makes significantly more than you do, you probably won’t be eligible for very much CAF aide. In all cases, you can do a CAF simulation
to see approximately how much money you’ll be reimbursed on the CAF
website, although the actual figure may vary.
·
For more information: <www.caf.fr>
Tenant Rights and Responsibilities
As in the United States, landlords are prohibited from discriminating against
potential renters based on race, national origin, religion, affiliation, and a
host of other obvious qualities, but a recent study published in Le Parisien
found that almost all student apartment leases had at least one illegal or
abusive clause. If you’re renting on your own, it’s important to understand
your rights. On the other hand, the housing market is tight in the fall and
it’s a seller’s market, so insisting too much can prevent you from finding a
place to live.
· The right to a decent lodging: closed, covered, and in good repair.
· The right to use your lodging as you see fit: a landlord may not
prevent you from (or charge you extra rent for) hosting a friend, for
example.
· The right to pay only the agreed-upon rent and utilities. The landlord is required to pay for repairs and agency fees related to the rental
(this does not include the finder’s fee, usually one month’s rent).
· The right to have the security deposit reimbursed no more than two
months after returning the keys. The landlord may deduct outstanding utilities bills, fees for necessary repairs, and taxe d’habitation
(renter’s tax) from the deposit. The landlord may not include the
taxes foncières (property owner’s tax) in the fees.
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
The right to a receipt, a ‘quittance de loyer,’ for all rents paid, which
cannot be billed to you.
The landlord cannot require you to allow him to hold a visit (for
renting or selling the lodging) on holidays, or for more than two
hours on workdays.
The landlord may not require you to pay the rent by automatic withdrawal on your account, and the renter may not authorize it.
The landlord may not require the renter to make advanced payments
for repairs before the cost is assessed by both parties.
The landlord cannot cancel the lease for reasons other than non-payment of rent, a security deposit, or the non-adherence to a renter’s
insurance plan.
The landlord cannot automatically assume the renter is responsible
for any degradation of the lodging, or automatically assess fees to
renters collectively for the degradation of something in a common
area.
The landlord cannot require you to pay for the état des lieux, unless
it is carried out by a bailiff.
The lease may not contain a clause absolving the landlord from
responsibility and preventing the renter from bringing him to court
if necessary.
The landlord may not ask for more money than what is in the contract.
House Parties
Under French law, noise disturbances are taken seriously, but you still have
the right to entertain in your own home, at night, up to once a month. If
you’re hosting a party, you must first alert your neighbors and post a notice
in the entrance of your building. Specify a beginning and end time to your
party (no later than 1 AM), and include a clause at the bottom in small print
inviting the neighbors. They can’t complain, since they’ve been invited, and
none of them would ever show up (they would find it presumptuous to go
to a party in the home of someone they don’t know). Make sure the party
ends when you say it will, and you should have no problems with your
neighbors or gardien (superintendent).
Chapter 3
Living in France
Working in France
French social protections and job security that make it difficult to lay off
employees during recessions are great for French people with jobs, but they
also mean that it’s very difficult for companies to hire young workers, and
that job openings are hard to come by. As a native English speaker, the
easiest jobs to get in France are teaching English, babysitting, and tutoring;
there’s also the occasional freelance translation job posted. Other jobs are
available, but they are best obtained through connections, and internships,
which we’ll discuss later in this section, differ significantly from their American counterparts.
When you begin working in France, your employer has to register your
contract with the French Préfecture. Your boss needs to send the following
information:
•
Company name (or individual’s full name, if your employer
is a person), address, and business ID or social security number
(used for paying social taxes).
•
Your full name, nationality, date and place of birth, and the
number of your carte de séjour. You must also include a photocopy
of your CDS.
•
Job description, complete with length of the contract, number of hours to be worked annually, and start date.
This information, with the relevant documents attached in .jpg or .pdf format, can be sent by email to the following address, at least 48 hours before
the beginning of the contract:
•
[email protected]
Declared/Undeclared
The first thing you should know about looking for any kind of job in France
is whether you’re looking for a declared or an undeclared job. Since a 2008
law eliminating the requirement that foreign students request an “autorisation de travail,” a student visa grants the right to work up to about 964
hours per year in France, which is about 20 hours per week for 48 weeks,
or 27 weeks of full time (35 hours/week). It should say on your visa that
you have 60% “Autorisation de travail à titre accessoire,” but the amount is
calculated on the year, which means you’re free to take on a short-term fulltime job with no problems. Your employer just has to declare your employment and the terms of your contract to the local Préfecture, but shouldn’t
have to pay any of the fees usually associated with sponsoring a work visa.
Of course, if you’re lucky enough to have a European Union passport, this
limitation doesn’t apply to you.
Fortunately, this 964-hour limit is high enough for most students not to
worry about exceeding it, which is good, because of the clear advantages to
having a declared job. The French get tax breaks for everything from housecleaning to tutoring for the kids, so even working in a private home is likely
to be declared. If you plan on extending your visa and staying in France for
any length of time, pay slips will help you to justify your resources to the
authorities and to prospective landlords. As I learned recently, you even have
to show a pay slip to adopt a cat.
Aside from the advantages of declaring your income, there can be some
drawbacks. While you won’t have to file or pay income tax if you make less
than 10.000€ per year, French social taxes are much higher than American
ones, and you’ll wind up paying social security through your paycheck even
if you have American insurance or already paid the student enrollment rate
during registration at your university (about 200€). Even working French
students end up paying twice.
French students usually live at home and have a bigger course load than
American students, and fewer of them work; therefore, there are lots
of resources available for students on a limited income. Having declared
income also means that your application for the Caisse d’Allocations Familiales (or CAF), which we discussed earlier in this chapter, will be based on
that income rather than being a poor student. If you don’t make much, you
might not have a problem, but you could compromise your eligibility for
housing subsidies with a higher income.
Finally, the IRS requires that American citizens report all income earned
while abroad, though there are tax exemptions and exclusions for those
who make less than a certain amount. Depending on your salary, you may
be required to declare income earned in France on your American federal
income tax return. Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide what kind of job to
look for, and how you will report your income to tax authorities if necessary.
Types of Contracts
If you decide to seek a declared job, there are two types of contracts that
you’ll come across in job postings, CDI and CDD. CDI means “Contrat de
Durée Indéterminée,” and, like its name suggests, it is generally a long-term,
full-time contract for people who intend to remain in a particular job for
several years. Outside of government jobs, full-time is 35 hours a week, and
that’s what you would be expected to work in most cases, although part-time
CDI contracts do exist. The contract should also indicate “salaire brut,” or
salary before taxes, and “salaire net,” after taxes, as well as any vacation time
and holidays earned. Also note that French business hours are later than
American business hours, generally from 10-6, with hardly anyone in the
office before 9 AM.
Students who are in France temporarily will be more interested in jobs with
a CDD contract. CDD means “Contrat de Durée Déterminée,” and, like its
name indicates, it is a short-term job for a specific time frame. These types of
contracts can be used to replace parents on maternity or paternity leave, but
they are mostly for filling a company’s need for a project. Most teaching and
babysitting jobs are CDD for the period of the nine or ten month school
year. Similarly, the contract should indicate the hours, vacation periods, and
salaire ‘brut’ et ‘net,’ as well as whether you or the company has the possibility of renewing the contract or converting it to a CDI at the end of the
contract’s term.
Common Jobs for Americans
Strict laws in France regulating hirings and firings mean that there are few
positions open for the French, and unemployment has been around 8 or 9%
since even before the financial crisis. Americans with student visas, which
only give the right to work part-time, imperfect French, and a busy schedule
will often have trouble finding jobs, especially jobs outside of the fields of
teaching or tutoring English. Fortunately, such jobs are usually part-time,
since they are designed for foreigners and students, and abundant, since
most students stay for a short period of time and there is constant turnover.
Unfortunately, these jobs are usually low-paid and unpredictable. In this
section, we’ll discuss some of the jobs that Americans typically find in Paris,
their advantages and disadvantages, and a few options for making money
without binding yourself to a teaching contract.
Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF)
Having worked for two years as an elementary-level English assistant in Paris
and in neighboring Drancy to fund my life as a student in Paris, I could
dedicate an entire chapter to the ins and outs of applying for and working
as an English teacher in French public schools. I won’t. I’d like to mention
just a few things about the program that may be useful for those considering
teaching in order to pay for being a student in a French city.
The English Assistant program places a few thousand Americans between
the ages of 20 and 30 in positions teaching English in the French school
system every year, for seven or nine months, working twelve hours per week,
for about 793€ after taxes (961€ brut). They can be placed in elementary,
middle, or high schools, and course load and responsibility depends largely
on the school itself, varying greatly between regions and individual establishments. Applications for the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF)
are online, and are due on or around January 15 of each year. Notification
of acceptance occurs in April, and school assignment is during the summer.
The most important thing to know about the assistant program is that when
you apply, you have no control over what city or town you’ll be working
with. Though Paris is one of the biggest “academies” with many job openings, it is also one of the most highly requested, meaning that there’s absolutely no guarantee you’ll get placed there, even if you put it as your first
and only choice. You’re more likely to get placed in one of the surrounding
departments than in Paris proper. While there’s nothing wrong with most
of these schools (note: you probably don’t want to work in a collège or a
lycée in Seine-Saint-Denis), it does make for quite a long commute, and
you often have no options if you have lots of time between classes. If you’re
studying in another French city, it’s probably not worth applying, since most
other departments have assistant jobs in small country towns rather than
metropolitan areas near universities.
There are two ways to get around the placement issue. The first is to include
a letter from your American program when you apply stating that you’ll be
studying and living in Paris. This is, of course, impossible if you’re directly
enrolling in a French university, since teaching applications are due in February and you won’t have a letter from the university until July. If you have
family or friends in Paris, they can also write a letter saying that you are
staying with them for the duration of your time in France (even if that’s
not exactly true). When I applied in 2007, such a letter meant that if they
accepted you, they would automatically place you in that region and would
not consider any alternative placement.
When I reapplied in 2009, however, they seemed to have backed off of that
guarantee, saying that you would be considered a priority for the region you
requested but that they reserved the right to place you elsewhere. Though
technically they ask you to guarantee that you’ll accept whatever placement
they give you when you apply, you can always reject their offer when you
receive your school assignment in the summer. You cannot ask for a transfer
or switch assignments with another assistant.
Because there are so many applicants who don’t necessarily intend on going,
and many more who drop out of the program after receiving their school
assignment, every school district in France struggles with vacancies at the
beginning of the school year. This brings me to the second way to get around
the placement issue: applying in September. Each Rectorat hires a certain
number of “local recruits” towards the end of September to replace the
teachers who don’t show up. Going to the Rectorat of Paris (or another
major city) towards the beginning of September to fill out an application
will get you towards the top of their list. You’ll still have to accept whatever
assignment they give you, and it may not be the level you want to teach,
but they can only assign a school in their own district. It also allows you to
explore all of your job options for a few weeks while in Paris before making
a commitment.
For more information on the Teaching Assistant Program in France, you can
check out the following resources:
· Official site of the program at the French Embassy in Washington:
<http://www.frenchculture.org/spip.php?rubrique424&tout=ok>
· Official site of the CIEP program: <http://www.ciep.fr/en/assistantetr/>
· English Assistants in France Forum: <www.assistantsinfrance.com>
· Teaching Assistants in France Survival Guide: <http://en.wikibooks.
org/wiki/ Teaching_Assistant_in_France_Survival_Guide>
· How to Teach English Abroad as an Assistant in France, by Allison
Grant, Matador Travel Network: <http://matadorabroad.com/howto-teach-abroad-as-an-assistant-in-france/>
· The Rectorat de Paris, where you can apply directly as a local recruit,
is located at 94, avenue Gambetta, 75984 Paris Cedex 20. Phone:
01 44 62 40 40. Metro Gambetta.
English Teaching
Many Paris-based companies recruit native English speakers to teach English to children or adults in private centers, homes, or businesses. These
companies, like Wall Street Institute, Les Petits Bilingues, and Berlitz, just
to name a few, recruit in magazines like the FUSAC and on the metro.
Sometimes, they want classroom teachers, and other times, they seek to be
intermediaries between tutors and students, taking a significant percentage
of the fee paid by the student, and still requiring the tutor to travel to the
student’s home. Since it’s quite easy to find private tutoring clients without
one of these companies, I would tend to steer clear of them.
Other companies are notorious for requiring long training programs, usually unpaid, and then requiring teachers to somehow pay back the cost of
the training, usually by working. This practice seems to be particularly frequent for those who decide mid-training that they don’t actually want to
teach English at said company, and quit before the training period is up. I
applied for a job at one company that wanted me to pay several hundred
euros to train on their particular method before being interviewed for the
job. I guess they didn’t understand the concept of working to make money.
Not all companies are bad, though, and if you have a TESOL or TEFL
certificate, you’re more likely to come across lucrative jobs and be able to
better market your skills. If you don’t have any qualifications, but would
still like to try teaching English in France, try to talk to other teachers from
the company before signing a contract. You can check out Dave’s ESL Café
website, which has testimonials from former ESL teachers, and warnings
about places that don’t treat employees well.
For more information:
· Dave’s ESL Café: <www.eslcafe.com>
Babysitting
Babysitting jobs are very easy to come by in France, since most children
end their school day at around 4:30 in the afternoon, and business hours
extend until 6 or 7 PM. Many middle- and upper-class families like to hire
English native speakers, either to reinforce already-acquired English skills or
to provide some basic English lessons to complement the school curriculum.
In general, babysitting jobs are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from
4:30 to 7:30, plus Wednesdays from early morning until 7:30 (Most French
elementary schools are closed on Wednesdays). The jobs consist primarily
of picking the children up from school (usually in their neighborhood) and
helping them with their homework until the parents return from work.
Wednesday is the day that most children are enrolled in extra-curricular
activities, such as sports or music lessons, and they may need to be accompanied to these activities, brought to the park or a museum, or otherwise
entertained.
The going rate for babysitters in Paris is 8-10€, and can be declared or undeclared, but if you have lots of experience or good references you might be
able to request more. Other things to consider are whether or not the family
is able to offer housing as part of your salary, whether they plan to go away
during vacation periods or whether you will be responsible for the children
full time whenever schools are closed. Most families expect a commitment
through the end of the school year on June 30, although there are some
families that also like to bring their babysitters on summer vacation.
Finally, babysitting jobs begin in September with the rentrée, and it’s impossible to know French university class schedules until classes actually begin
at the beginning of October. American programs will generally be more
organized about releasing their class schedules on their websites during the
summer, so you might find that you can organize your classes in advance in
order to take on a babysitting job.
Tutoring
Finding an English tutoring job in Paris isn’t difficult, but keeping it is, for
the simple reason that most people who hire English tutors want miracles.
The rivalry between the English and the French dates back to before the Hundred Years’ War, and speaking English poorly is almost a point of national
pride. France consistently ranks among the worst countries for learning foreign languages, and even though English is obligatory for students at every
level of education – from second grade through PhD – few French people
can speak fluently. But because France is so close to England, and desperately wants to be competitive in the English-speaking market, English is
a valuable skill that companies want their employees to have, and many
French workers seek out English tutors to improve their language skills.
Languages are difficult to learn if one wants to learn them, and they are
even harder to learn for those who lack a profound desire to learn. When
I’ve tutored English, I’ve had no trouble finding clients, but after a session
or two, the start to get antsy. One didn’t want to do the grammar exercises
I’d brought him, but wanted to watch a football game and have me give
him the vocabulary. Another tried the exercises, found them too hard, and
decided he was looking for more of a conversation class. Neither wanted
to study the lists of vocabulary I’d prepared on different topics so we could
have conversations about politics or sports, nor read the short newspaper
articles I’d found to enrich discussion and provide vocabulary. They wanted
me to take out my magic wand and impart my English speaking ability
through osmosis.
Tutoring clients are generally – though not always – people who don’t want
to make much of an effort on their own. They may pay you 20€ an hour,
but they’ll also expect you to go to them at their convenience, losing an hour
of time on the subway, plus an hour for the lesson, plus the preparation
time. In some cases, it can work out to barely minimum wage (8,42€). One
option is to have an hour and a half or two hour minimum for lessons, but
that can be exhausting for clients whose English is very poor, and it means
you’ll have to do a lot of prep work to fill those two hours.
Another option, then, is to pick a café near your apartment, set up times
that you want to teach, distribute flyers in your neighborhood, and try to fit
clients one after the other. You’ll have to have a strict lateness and cancellation policy, since English classes are usually something that can be canceled
at the last minute if the client is a bit tired, got on the wrong subway line,
or wants to go to the beach.
You CAN find good clients who truly do want to learn English. You’ll just
have to decide how much time and effort to put into finding them, traveling to them, and preparing for them. Once you figure out your business
strategy, you can post free ads online on Craigslist and annonces.ebay.fr,
or pay about $25 to post an ad at the American Church or in the FUSAC
magazine.
Internships in France
Internships in American companies can be extremely varied, and can
include paid and unpaid opportunities anywhere from a few hours a week
to full-time during the summer. In the US, companies that offer internship
programs must adhere to a certain number of guidelines, making the internship an opportunity for job training. Conditions can vary, and don’t always
lead to full-time employment, but they are usually premised on the idea of
exchange and training.
In France, a high minimum wage and strict hiring and firing laws make the
internship less about exchange and more about the employer taking advantage of a poorly paid worker. Students in French universities generally have
to hold one or two internships for course credit or professional training during the course of their studies, especially if they continue through master 2.
Companies aware of this fact, and of the fact that most students live at home
with their parents and can opt to take courses in «contrôle terminal» (more
on that later) hire interns, or stageaires.
Unlike flexible American internships, a stage is typically a full-time position for a predetermined amount of time. New laws require stageaires to be
paid about 400€ per month, plus half of transportation costs, for the privilege of working for the company. While some internships provide learning
opportunities, most are a way for a company to replace workers who have
taken maternity leave or gone on summer vacation, and stageaires are often
expected to discharge the duties of the person on leave for less than 20% of
that worker’s salary.
Often, companies will claim that the internship can lead to a full-time,
permanent position, but anecdotal evidence suggests that’s rarely the case.
French students know that most internships are dead-end, but they do them
anyway because they’re either required to for their degree, or because they
would otherwise be unemployed. The vast number of students and recent
graduates working in internships not only helps companies avoid hiring
workers (they know they can just find another intern), it also hides a significant number of unemployed and under-employed youth, skewing unemployment figures, and contributes to social problems in France.
Because so many internships are full-time, it’s probably not a good idea to
try to complete one during the academic year; you can always look for parttime paid opportunities or do some volunteer work. If you have the financial means to work basically for free during the summer though, an internship in France can look good on your résumé and show international work
experience and language skills. Since you’ll be doing real work and not just
making coffee and photocopying, you can get good experience and probably get a good letter of recommendation. Just be aware that it won’t be easy,
you’ll probably be taken advantage of, and no matter how many promises
they make you, you probably won’t get a full-time position from the deal.
Finding a job or Internship
Jobs can be tough to find, but here are a few leads on the best places to look
for jobs geared towards native English speakers.
Your American Program
The French know that American study abroad programs are a good place
to find American students looking for jobs, so most programs have bulletin
boards for job postings or forward requests to student listservs. If you’re
in an American program and would like to find a job, talk to the administrator of your program, who will probably be able to point you in the
right direction. Lots of programs have relationships with schools or families,
and consistently recommend students for certain jobs, which can increase
your chances of being hired if your program administrator knows the right
people.
Craigslist
Craigslist in France is a lot less popular than Craigslist in the US, and the job
posting section hasn’t really caught on yet. On the bright side, this means
that the jobs that are posted on the site are usually posted by American companies seeking Anglophone employees, or by a few French companies who
want to hire native English speakers. There are several postings daily in most
categories, especially in Education and Childcare. Unfortunately, this isn’t a
good place to look for nonprofit work. You can also post your own ads for
free to offer your services, and the French do seem to know that Craigslist is
a good place to look for EMT (English Mother Tongue) childcare, tutoring,
and translating services. <www.craigslist.org>
FUSAC
The French – USA Contacts magazine was founded to give Anglophones
resources in Paris, back in the days before everyone could connect through
the internet, and it’s still a great resource because it’s geared specifically
towards English speakers. While the FUSAC does have a website with housing, job offerings, and cultural events in Paris, its magazine, which comes
out every month, is much more useful. The job postings generally focus
on English training companies looking to hire business English teachers,
but most of them don’t have requirements beyond being a native English
speaker, although teaching experience helps. There are also administrative
job postings for people with a wide range of ability in French, and ads from
shops and restaurants in tourist areas seeking staff. The magazine can be
found at many locations in Paris where Anglophones are known to gather,
like the American Church, Shakespeare and Co., and Indiana Café locations, just to name a few. <www.fusac.com>
American Church in Paris
65 Quai d’Orsay, 75007 Paris, metro Invalides or Pont d’Alma. The American Church in Paris has several bulletin boards and makes daily postings of
job and housing offerings in Paris, and also posts notices from people offering services or seeking housing. Most of the job postings are for bilingual
families seeking after-school babysitters, sometimes in exchange for a studio
apartment, but there can be other types of jobs as well. Call early after you
see the job postings, because there’s always a crowd.
Ebay Annonces
Formerly kijiji.fr, the French equivalent of Craigslist, annonces.ebay.fr
allows you to post free ads under “Services.” It used to have a job postings
component, but it seems to have disappeared. This site seems more wellknown among the French than Craigslist, so advertising your services here
– babysitting, tutoring, teaching language or an instrument, or any other
service you may be able to provide – may bring you responses. Delete and
repost your ads frequently, because only ten or fifteen show up on the first
page, and you’ll want to have yours there. <www.annonces.ebay.fr>
Applying for Jobs and Internships
For most jobs, you’ll need to send a lettre de motivation and curriculum
vitae, or cv, both of which should be in French. Here’s a guide to writing
them, and don’t forget to have someone read them before sending them out!
Lettre de Motivation
A lettre de motivation in France is the equivalent of an American cover letter,
and its goal is to match your skills with the job description as best you can.
For any letter you write, you should always start with a generic “Monsieur,
Madame,” if you don’t know whether the recruiter is male or female. Remeber, “cher” and “chère” are familiar, and you shouldn’t use them while writing to someone you don’t know. If you prefer, “à qui de droit” is the equivalent to “to whom it may concern,” and can also be appropriate.
In the first paragraph, you want to state what job you’re applying for and
why, in a few words, you’re the perfect candidate for the job. Keep the first
paragraph short and to the point.
In the second paragraph, you want to elaborate on the experience you have
that relates to the job posting, in this case, teaching experience. Highlight
some of the projects you’ve completed at your previous jobs to show your
capabilities.
Next, outline your education and your career objectives to show how this
job is a good match for you and contributes to your professional development. While it’s true that you should try to line up your professional
objectives to the job posting’s language, this is the place to explain anything
bizarre about why you’re applying for a teaching job when your experience
is in, say, zoo animal care.
Finally, you should identify any attachments (fichier joint) or documents
you’ve included (pièce joint if it’s a real letter).
Sign off with a polite conclusion, and sign your name.
Sample Lettre de Motivation
à Paris, le 13 août, 2010
Monsieur, Madame:
En réponse à votre annonce dans le magazine FUSAC le 20 juillet 2010,
je vous écris pour poser ma candidature pour le poste de enseignante remplaçant d’anglais dans votre école. Puisque je m’intéresse beaucoup à l’en-
seignement des langues, ce poste correspond parfaitement à mes objectifs
professionnels.
Assistante d’anglais dans des écoles primaires en France pendant deux ans
(Académie de Paris en 2007-2008 et Académie de Créteil en 2009-2010),
j’ai également créé un cours intensif de langue française pour des enfants
âgés de 4 à 9 ans dans le Massachusetts en 2008. Puisque j’emploie beaucoup de méthodologies diverses dans l’organisation de mes cours, ces élèves
ont appris par cœur des poèmes tels que « Sonnet 116 » de Shakespeare et
« Dreams » de Langston Hughes, et ils ont chanté « Imagine » des Beatles
lors de leur spectacle de fin d’année. Dans les petites classes, l’usage de la
chanson et du jeu ont été d’une importance capitale pour engager les élèves
et leur donner envie d’apprendre.
Diplômée de Columbia University et de Middlebury College, j’ai terminé
mon M2 en arts, esthétiques, et littératures comparées à l’Université de Paris
VII – Denis Diderot, où j’ai écrit mon mémoire sur des contes libertins du
Maghreb, pour lequel j’au eu Mention Bien. Cette année, je poursuivrai mes
études en anthropologie à l’École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales,
pour compléter mes recherches sur la tradition orale, et pour travailler sur
le bilinguisme et biculturalisme des enfants issus de l’immigration maghrébine et sur leurs connaissances de la tradition orale du pays d’origine de
leurs parents. Je souhaite devenir écrivaine et faire mon doctorat dans une
université américaine afin de continuer mes recherches dans les domaines
du folklore, de l’histoire postcoloniale, du bilinguisme, et de la littérature.
Je mets en fichier joint mon cv, et je me tiens à votre disposition pour un
éventuel rendez-vous, au cours duquel je pourrai vous montrer mon portfolio des leçons et de projets.
En vous remerciant de votre aide, je vous prie de croire, Monsieur, Madame,
à mes sentiments les plus distingués.
Allison Grant
Writing Your Curriculum Vitae in French
If you apply for jobs or internships in France, you’ll need to translate your
résumé into French and create a French curriculum vitae, which differs
slightly from its American equivalent.
In the header, you’ll have to include your name, address in France, phone
number, and professional email address, and provide personal details about
yourself and your right to work. Employers generally ask for your age (which
is perfectly legal in France) and nationality, which should be listed right
under your name. If you’re anything other than «célibataire,» you should
note that as well: pacsé(e), marié(e), divorcé(e), and how many children you
have, if any. You should also include a passport-sized photo in the top-right
corner of your cv. Though it’s not required, I typically put an asterisk next
to my nationality, and then write, underneath, «*visa étudiant avec autorisation de travail 964h/an.» That way, if the person reading your résumé
is unaware of the current regulations on hiring foreigners, he or she won’t
automatically disregard your letter.
Under your personal information, you’ll have to include a career objective,
or a «projet professionnel.» This can include your current status, like «Student of literature and anthropology,» as well as your future goals, such as
«researcher in folklore and oral tradition.» It should be short, and it doesn’t
necessarily have to be a whole sentence.
Next comes the body of your cv, which includes your work experience.
Unlike a chronological résumé, your work experience should be organized
into categories: teaching, research, administrative, writing, etc. Within each
category, your most recent jobs should appear at the top, with older ref-
erences appearing below. Each job listing should include the dates and a
brief, one or two-line job description. If you have several categories of work
experience, you can either start with the most recent or the one that is most
applicable to the job you’re applying for.
After you’ve included all of your work experience, the next section is education, or Formation. Here, you’ll want to list the degree, from most recent
to least recent, the department, school, city, country, and graduation or
expected graduation date. If you complete a thesis or significant research
project, you can list that as a bullet point with the title, advisor, and year.
In the next section, you’ll want to list the languages you speak. If English is
your first language, it should go first, with «langue maternelle» followed by
any other languages you speak fluently, listed as «bilingue.» If your French
isn’t perfect, don’t list it as «bilingue,» since the recruiters will be able to tell
from your cv, lettre de motivation, and phone conversations how fluent you
actually are. If you can read, write, and speak without too much difficulty,
you can list it as «lu, écrit, parlé.» The next level down is «bonnes connaissances,» which can describe a language you’ve studied and have an intermediate level in. The lowest is «notions,» which shows a very basic level.
Below your languages, you should include an «informatique» section listing
all of the computer programs you can use proficiently.
Finally, if you choose, you can include a «centres d’intérêt» section, which
lists your extracurricular activities and hobbies. These are mostly relevant if
they can be used in the context of the job you’re applying for.
In all, your curriculum vitae should be a bit longer than a résumé, about a
page and a half or two pages long.
Sample Curriculum Vitae
Due to the limits of e-readers, please consult parisunraveled.com for a
sample CV.
Money & Banking
Moving to a new country entails a lot of preparation, a lot of administrative work, and, unfortunately, a lot of paying too much because you have
no idea what things are supposed to cost. For students on a budget, money
is a valuable resource, and spending too much on groceries can mean the
difference between a weekend in Prague and a day trip to the Louvre. In
this section, I’ve tried to provide an idea of what things cost, as well as what
you can expect to spend during your time in Paris. I’ve also tried to give you
ideas on ways to manage your money and how to find the best exchange
rates, so you can maximize your available cash even when the exchange rate
is unfavorable.
Budgeting
Budgeting can be a difficult task, especially before you go abroad, since it’s
hard to know what exactly things cost and how much you’ll be cooking for
yourself as opposed to eating out. Like any personal finance advice article
will tell you, making your own tea and coffee is cheaper than going to Starbucks or your neighborhood café, but in France, cafés are part of the cultural experience, and you’ll definitely want to meet friends there. Similarly,
French food is at least part of the reason you came to France - you’re going to
want to eat out! In this section, I’ve tried to give an overall view of the cost of
some basic items, and tried to give an idea of the best places to buy different
goods, from the necessities to some more frivolous items.
What Things Cost
If you’re used to living in a big city like New York or Boston, Paris won’t
seem that expensive. The prices of goods – groceries, clothes, restaurants
– are on-par with or slightly cheaper than their big-city counterparts in
America in terms of raw numbers. By that, I mean that what costs about
$2 in New York also costs between 1,50€ - 2€ in Paris. The problem, of
course, is that the value of the dollar fluctuates daily. In 2008, the average
rate for the euro was $1.47, and it got up over $1.56 for days at a time. In
2010, in the wake of the Greek and Spanish economic collapses and the
great recession, the euro has dropped to between $1.25 and $1.33, making
goods more affordable for those of us who have US savings and checking
accounts. If you’re not from a big city, though, almost everything will seem
more expensive in Paris.
Complicating the price comparison is the difference in measurement systems: a liter is slightly larger than a quart (a gallon is 3.78 liters), a kilogram is 2.2 pounds, and don’t even get me started on the equivalence from
grams to ounces. So the best I can do is to give you a list of the prices at
my neighborhood grocery store (full disclosure: it’s Monoprix on Avenue
Général Leclerc) in October 2010. Prices can, of course, vary from one store
to another (even, ironically, among Monoprixs), and are slightly cheaper
outside of Paris. In any given week, I spend about 40-50€ on groceries, less
than I spent when I lived in New York.
Milk: 2L, = ½ gallon
Sugar, 1 kg (2.2 lb)
Eggs, 12
box of Frosted Flakes or Cheerios cereal
4 Monoprix brand vanilla yogurt
2 pieces of chicken (1/2 lb)
1 kg bananas (about 7-8)
1.50€
1.39€
2.61€
2.37€
0.99€
3.45€
0.99€
1 kg apples (5-6)
3.95€
1 box pasta
1.19€
1 kg carrots (8-10)
0.95€
Clothing companies, on the other hand, often set their prices so the amounts
will be equivalent in several different currencies, meaning the prices in Euros
will definitely be lower than the price in dollars. Something that costs $10
at H&M in the US will almost certainly cost around 7€ in France, although
the styles might be slightly different. When shopping for clothes, you can be
pretty sure that you’re not paying (that much) more than you would otherwise pay at home, which can be a relief for those who want to adopt a more
European look while abroad.
Shopping for shoes in France is the one area in which the prices can be
quite different. There’s no equivalent of Payless or DSW, and shoes tend to
be either really cheap (and don’t last very long) or relatively expensive. A
few stores by Chatelet-Les Halles and all around Paris are primarily Asianowned boutiques that sell shoes, handbags, and accessories less expensively
than other places, between 13€ and 20€ for a pair of flats or simple heals.
While the shoes look nice, they are not necessarily good quality, and when
I’ve bought shoes from those stores, they usually haven’t lasted more than
a few months. Definitely don’t wear them out in the rain! In many other
French chains – Etam, San Marina, André – the shoes are nice and of good
quality, but expensive. A pair of flats is minimum 39€, and a pair of stylish
boots like all the French girls wear will run in the 150€ range.
Unless you’re a biblioholic like me, the one place you’ll really save money is
in the bookstore. Writing is more of a calling than a profession in France,
and writers make a pittance in royalties; as a result, most books, even the
recently published ones, can be purchased at any bookstore for less than
8€. Works in the public domain – basically, anything you’d be reading in a
French literature class – are available for 2€ in a high-school edition. As a
French major, I once spent $25 in a bookstore in New York for a Pocket clas-
sic that goes for 4,50€ in France. When you move back to the US, the post
office also has special rates for sending used books, so you can send up to 12
pounds (5 kg) of books for about 14€. They’ll take about a month to arrive,
and you must package them at the post office to prove that you’re only sending books, but it’s a lot cheaper than buying French books in the U.S.
Sample One Month Budget
Rent
Gas/Electricity (if not included in rent)
Internet
Cell phone
Carte ImagineR
Groceries
Dinner in restaurant, 3 times per week @
15€/meal
Café, 3 times per week @ 4€/drink
Sandwich and soda for lunch, 3x/week @ 5€/
lunch
Movies, 1x/week @ 7€/ticket
Total
500€
40€
30€
30€ prepaid / 50€ plan
33€
250€
180€
48€
60€
28€
1199€
Where to Shop on a Budget
For groceries: Monoprix and Franprix are the two major chains, and neither is particularly expensive, especially for the store-brand products. The
best prices, though, are at Ed. The only disadvantage of Ed is that their
stores have far fewer products than the other chains, so the selection is not
as great; you’ll have to decide whether the savings you get from visiting
multiple grocery stores is worth the effort. Picard is a frozen-food store that
also has great prices if you have a freezer – you can spend a couple euros for
a kilogram of frozen soup or vegetables that will last all week.
For household items: Bazaar stores in almost every neighborhood have
everything from Tupperware to tools are usually the cheapest places to get
whatever knickknacks you need for your apartment, whether it be a new
showerhead or curtain or a few extra coffee cups. There’s no particular chain,
so just look for stores with displays of random objects outside. Tati, a department store chain that sells mostly children’s clothes, also has things like
towels and sheets for relatively inexpensive prices.
For clothes: Because of the exchange rate, clothing usually seems cheaper
than in the US, but the best places I’ve found to shop are Camaieu, Mim
(girls only) and Côte à Côte. Camaieu is basically the French Old Navy,
with lots of basic styles in lots of colors, all for a pretty good deal. Like
Mim, Camaieu often has special offers on these basic styles, discounting
them when you buy two or three of the a similar product. While Mim and
Camaieu are more mainstream and basic chains, Côte à Côte, a store on the
Boulevard Saint Michel, is a bit more eccentric. It’s not only a place to buy
inexpensive shoes (see previous warning), but it also has some more fashionable styles. H&M also has many stores in France.
Bank Accounts
Opening a bank account in France is not particularly difficult; like everything here, it just takes a bit of energy and a lot of paperwork. Banks are
generally open Tuesday through Saturday, and if you go at lunchtime, you’re
bound to find a long line and a reduced staff. So when you’re ready to open
an account, go early in the morning, have all of your paperwork, and the
whole process should take about 45 minutes.
As for everything in France, you’ll need a justificatif de domicile and a
copy of your passport and visa. Be sure to ask for a student account, since
those come with special offers, a savings account linked to your checking
account that earns interest, and a lower monthly fee (about 2€ instead of
5€). You’ll need to choose whether you want a card with overdraft protection or one that blocks purchases once your account is empty. There’s no
price difference, and no outrageous fees like in the US; as long as you have
a positive balance at the end of the month, it doesn’t matter if you occasionally drift into the red. The “starter” debit card that most banks propose has
a weekly withdrawal limit of 500€ and a monthly swiping limit of 1000€.
If you withdraw 500€ (say, to pay your rent), you’ll need to wait until the
8th day before withdrawing more cash. There’s no such limit for checks or
automatic withdrawals, so you can always pay your rent by check, but if you
think you’re going to need more cash than that, ask to see the other debit
card options with higher limits. At BNP, the next option up is for 1500€/
week and 2500€/month, and the monthly fee actually went down to 1,85€.
There’ll be a bunch of paperwork to fill out, after which the banker will give
you your RIB.
A RIB, or Relevé d’Identité Bancaire, is the most important document your
bank will give you, and you’ll need many of them while in France. This
document is required for almost any type of service contract: a cell phone
plan, a Carte ImagineR, an internet plan, an unlimited movie pass. Any type
of contract that requires a monthly payment will require a RIB so that the
company in question can withdraw money from your account. It’s the document that gives them permission to do so. To get more RIBs, you’ll need to
use your online banking account to print some off; you can also photocopy
the one you have or go to your bank to get more.
After your account has been opened, the bank will send you your online
banking ID and password in two separate letters, and it will take about a
week for your debit card and checkbook to be prepared (be sure to ask for
both when you open your account). When they are ready, your bank will
first send you a slip with your PIN code (learn it – you can’t choose your
own or change it) and two separate notices in the mail. You’ll have to bring
that notices to the bank where you opened your account, sign it in front of
the teller, and she will give you your card or checkbook in exchange. Before
using your card to make purchases, you must make a withdrawal in an ATM
in the bank, which will activate the card.
Your Branch
Unlike in the US, where you can complete any banking transaction at any
branch of your bank, you must use your own branch in France, the branch
where you opened your account. Any time you would like to update your
account information, you must go in-person and speak with your banker.
Withdrawing cash or cashing a check at the counter is not usually an option,
as most bank branches do not have access to cash, so you’ll have to use the
ATMs. If you would like to try to withdraw cash or make a deposit with a
RIB (before you have your checkbook and debit card, for example), ask your
banker how to do so when you open your account. Otherwise, keep plenty
of cash on hand until you have access to your card.
Closing Your Account
When you’re preparing to leave France, you must close your bank account,
as you cannot legally put a non-French address on the account. Go to the
bank a few weeks before you plan to leave to ask what you need to do; if
you have to withdraw the remaining cash, it’s better to have a few weeks to
do so in case there’s a possibility of exceeding your weekly withdrawal limit.
Before you close your account, you’ll want to cancel any internet and cell
phone plans that may automatically withdraw money each month. To do
so, you’ll have to send a letter recommandé (we’ll discuss this next) to the
company explaining your departure abroad, including a copy of your plane
ticket and carte de séjour. You’ll also want to stop payment to these accounts
at the bank itself, so you won’t come back to France to find that you owe
money. After putting the necessary blocks on your account, you’ll have to
turn over your debit card and checkbook to be destroyed before your departure.
If you leave France without closing your account, the bank will send notices
to your last known address in France for a few months, notifying you that
there was no activity in your account and asking if you’d like them to keep
it open. If you don’t reply, the account will automatically close after three
months. If there was still money in the account, you’ll have to return to
France and do a reclamation, which takes several weeks, in order to claim it.
Even if you have the original account documents, the bank branch will have
to look in its archives for your information.
Transferring money from the US
There are very few easy ways to transfer money from the US to France, but
being able to access your American funds is important, especially for the
first few months when you have a lot of expenses. The H-France academic
listserv asked its members in June 2010 to identify the easiest and least
expensive ways they’ve transferred money between the countries. Some of
the responses are included here; others are from my own experience.
Western Union
Western Union allows its customers to transfer up to 7600€ per day and per
person for a withdrawal in a Western Union center or at the Banque Postal
in France. This service is very expensive, and fees can vary. It’s not a recommended way to send money.
Paypal
If you have a US Paypal account and a French bank account, you can set up
a French paypal account and transfer money between the two. You’ll have to
send French Paypal a RIB, and this will take a few days to set up, but after
that, fees are relatively low.
XE
XE and other currency trading sites are good for people who need to frequently transfer money from the US. If your parents are going to give you
money every month, this may be the way to go. Initially, there’s a lot of
paperwork involved, but after the account has been set up, you pay only the
current exchange rate.
Wire Transfer
Wire transfers from American accounts to French accounts normally take
several days, and fees can range from $30-50 on the American end, and 30€
on the French end. It’s an expensive way to do business, but in a pinch, it’s
relatively fast.
Check Cashing
Check cashing can be an inexpensive way to transfer money, usually costing around 10€, but it can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks,
depending on the bank. When you open an account, ask about fees and
how long it would take, and name the American bank that the check will
be drawn on. The timeframe may depend on whether the two banks have a
business relationship.
HSBC
HSBC has branches in the US and all over Europe, and they offer their
clients accounts in U.S. dollars and Euros, among other currencies. If you
bank with HSBC in the US, ask about opening a Euro account before you
leave, because transferring between your two accounts within the same bank
will undoubtedly be the easiest option.
Bank of America
Bank of America and BNP Paribas have an agreement by which Bank of
America customers can withdraw money in any BNP location for no fees.
Use your Bank of America debit card to withdraw money at a BNP ATM,
and you’ll only pay the Interbank exchange rate, by far the best deal you can
get. I raised my daily withdrawal limit significantly before leaving the US,
and had no problem transferring all of my funds within a few days. You’ll
have to call Bank of America Credit Protection every few months to remind
them that you’re living abroad, but this is a very easy way to go.
Tax Filing Obligations
During your time in France, you are considered a fiscal resident for tax purposes, and if you work, you may need to file a French tax return in addition
to your US tax return. In this section, we’ll discuss the filing requirements
for tax returns in France and in the US.
In France
If you live in France for more than 183 days during the tax year (between
January 1 and December 31) and earn more than 6.000€, you may be
required to pay income taxes in France. If you were paid on French payroll,
the taxable amount is the “net imposable” that shows on your last payslip
for the year, or on an official letter that your employer will send you in the
beginning of the new year showing how much you made in the previous
year. In France, the amount you paid in social taxes taken out of your payslip
is non-taxable.
If you are required to file French income taxes, you’ll probably receive a
déclaration préremplie in the mail with the amount you earned already filled
out. If you earned interest from a French bank account, or had any income
from US sources, you’ll need to fill that out on a special «déclaration complémentaire.»
The tax return filing deadline is in mid-May for French residents, and the
end of June for non-residents. You’ll have to file your taxes by this date,
after which the French government will process your return and send you
a tax bill in the mail. You’ll pay your 2011 French taxes in the fall of 2012.
Because there is no payroll withholding, you’ll have to have funds available
at that time.
French tax returns are much simpler than American ones, but if you’ve never
done one, you may need some help. There are several accountant offices in
Paris that offer such services for Americans, and a listing can be found on the
American Embassy’s website.
In the United States
US citizens are required to file tax returns regardless of where they live, and
they are taxable on all income they earn worldwide. The IRS has a far reach,
and tax treaties between the US, France, and most countries in Europe allow
tax authorities and share information. While the IRS generally doesn’t target
poor students with pithy incomes, it could obtain information about your
activities in France and decide to audit you. The best thing to do is to declare
your French income on your US tax return.
If you’re in France for an extended period of time, or move there permanently, you won’t be liable for US taxes, as the Foreign Earned Income exclusion prevents the IRS from taxing you on the first $91,400 of income (this
is the 2009 exclusion figure, which increases every year). One way to be
eligible for this exclusion is reside abroad for a full year (not necessarily
January 1 - December 31, but 365 consecutive days), and spend fewer than
30 days total in the US during that period. This is known as the Physical
Presence Test, and can be claimed using tax form 2555, which requires you
to identify all of your travel dates to the US as well as time spent in foreign
countries.
The other way to claim this exclusion is to become a Bone Fide Resident,
but to do so, you must live in France for more than one full tax year. If you
moved to France on September 1, 2010, for example, you would be able
to claim Bona Fide Residence for the 2011 tax year, but you would have to
wait to file your tax return until after January 1, 2012. This exclusion is also
claimed on tax form 2555, and you are required to declare all days spent in
the US.
If you’re a student, however, you will probably not be earning $91,400 during the year, and you will probably not be in France long enough to qualify for Bona Fide Residence or the Physical Presence Test. This means that
your income is technically taxable in the US. To determine whether you are
required to file a US tax return, answer the following questions:
- Are you single and a dependant? You must file a tax return if you
make more than ~$5,000.
- Are you single and not a dependant? You must file a tax return if you
make more than ~$9,000.
- Do you have an investment account that sold stocks during the tax
year? You must file a tax return.
To determine your taxable income, you must take your BRUT SALAIRE
from your last payslip of the year (NOT your «salaire net imposable,» which
is used for French tax returns) and multiply it by the year’s exchange rate.
Each January, the Federal Reserve publishes the average exchange rate for
the previous tax year (in 2009, the Euro was worth, on average, $1.3935, in
2008, this figure was $1.4726). This will give you the salary that you must
declare as wages on your return. Check this figure against updated IRS filing
requirements on the IRS website to determine whether you’re required to
file a tax return.
Even if you’re required to file a return and you make more than $91,400,
your French taxes will be credited against your American taxes, so you won’t
necessarily owe any money, unless you have significant income in the US.
Because the forms required to claim the exclusions and credits are complicated and can be manipulated to decrease your overall tax burden, you may
wish to contact an accountant to complete your US tax return for your time
abroad.
There are many accountants in Paris who complete US tax returns for American clients, and a list can be found on the US Embassy’s website. (Full disclosure: I currently work for Horton Tax Services preparing US tax returns).
Communication
During your stay, however brief, you will probably need phone and internet
access, you will definitely need to send important documents to the OFII
immigration office, and you may even receive or send packages to the US.
In this section, we’ll discuss the different ways to get a cell phone, a landline,
and internet access, and the most important aspects of using the post office.
Post Office
Like for most Western countries, the French post office is relatively reliable, and mail sent anywhere in France will arrive at its destination within
a day or two. Mail sent to other countries in Europe can be sent with the
same stamps (currently ,57€) as mail sent within France, while mail sent to
the US can take up to 7 days to reach its destination, and costs ,87€ for a
simple letter of up to 10 grams. Stamps can be purchased in a tabac or in
machines at Post Office branches, and prestamped envelopes for up to 20
grams (a page or two) are sold in most grocery stores in packs of 10. If you
are sending important documentation (anything official) or objects through
the mail, read the following sections on sending a letter Recommandé and
sending and receiving packages.
Recommandé avec avis de reception
Any time you send a letter to a company, or especially to the French government, you want to send it “recommandé avec avis de reception,” without
exception. This service sends you a written confirmation that your letter has
been received, a proof that you’ll need to keep if there’s ever any doubt that
you sent the document in question.
To send a letter ‘recommandé’ in France, you’ll need to go to your local post
office to pick up a yellow form. Fill it out with your own name and address
and the recipient’s address, and stick it on the back of the letter. Use one
of the extra lines in the recipient address box to write specifically what it is
that you’re sending (i.e. OFII paperwork and passport copy). Take it to the
counter, and the agent will tear out a receipt and stamp it with the date.
Keep the receipt at least until you receive the proof of receipt in your mailbox two-three days later (although I would recommend stapling the two
together and keeping both).
Once you’ve stuck the recommandé slip on the back of your envelope
(addressed normally), you’ll have to weigh it on the machine, specifying that
you are sending the letter ‘recommandé avec avis de reception.’ There’s also
an option for sending it ‘recommandé’ without proof of receipt, but I would
never recommend using that option. If you’re sending a regular-sized envelope, the stamp should cost around 4,70€. If you’re sending an international
recommandé, it should cost about 5,30€ more than the price of the stamp.
I’ve learned the importance of recommandé the hard way: in 2008, when I
left France, I sent a letter canceling my internet service, but I did not send
it recommandé. This basically gave the company permission to ignore my
letter, and they continued to charge me for service for several months after
my departure. Even though I had never given them my US address until I
sent them the cancellation letter, they began sending me bills at my parents’
house, and I couldn’t stop the bills from accumulating until I returned to
France and went into a boutique. They couldn’t refund the money they had
taken from my account without the proof of receipt. Moral of the story:
send your letters recommandé, and save the receipts forever.
When I arrived back in Paris in 2009, I sent my OFII paperwork within a
week of arriving, and I waited. Months passed, and I never got a letter with
my appointment for the medical visit. Finally, I went to the OFII office,
only to find that I wasn’t in the system, and that they had lost my paperwork. Showing them the recommandé receipt from September proved that
I had sent my documents in a timely fashion, and could have been used in
my defense if I had ever been accused of not sending them in within three
months of my arrival in France. I also got an appointment more quickly
than I otherwise would have.
Sending mail and packages
A stamp in France costs about ,57€ for a letter sent in Europe, and about
,85€ for a letter or postcard sent to the US. Stamps can be purchased either
individually or in books of 10 in all post office locations using automated
yellow machines.
If you’re sending packages, you’ll have to use the yellow machines to weigh
them, and if they’re going to the US, you’ll have to fill out a customs form
to stick on the package, available from any teller. On the form, you’ll need
to be sure to mark that it’s a gift, and that the value is under 35€. Note that
the US will reject any packages containing food, including chocolate and
candy. You can mark something like “personal effects,” “small toys and gifts”
or something equally generic so your recipient doesn’t know what they’re
getting before opening the package! Letters and packages take about a week
to arrive at their destination in the US.
Receiving Gifts
If you’re receiving gifts in France, you need to make sure that senders know
to mark a value of less than 35€ on the package, and to be sure to label the
package “unsolicited gifts.” If the value exceeds that amount, or if it’s not
labeled “gift,” French customs is going to assume that they are commercial
goods to be taxed, and you’ll have to pay any fees before picking up your
package. You should get a notice in the mail if this happens, but I personally
have had two packages lost because they were not marked ‘gifts,’ and I never
received a notice or knew how to figure out where they went. One of the
packages was insured, but could still not be traced after it entered France.
Internet and Land Lines
Internet, phone service, and cable TV are always bundled in France, and are
a lot cheaper than their counterparts in the US. There are four main providers: France Telecom/Orange (formerly the national public phone service
with a legal monopoly), Neuf Télécom, Bouygues Télécom, and Free. All
four are available in all but the most secluded villages in France, which may
still be open only to France Telecom lines.
Setting up an internet account takes about ten days, although the process
can take less time if your apartment has previously had a phone line, and
more time if it has never had one. To start the process, you’ll need to get the
phone number of the previous occupant from your landlord. If you don’t
have access to this information, usually you’ll have to call one of the operators and pay-per-minute to get the number.
If you’re setting up your account with Orange, Neuf, or Bouyges, you can go
into any store (Neuf is owned by SFR) to set up your account. You’ll need a
RIB and a justificatif de domicile, and for Orange, you’ll need to sign a con-
tract for 12 months or risk paying cancellation fees. Neuf, Bouygues, and
Free don’t have cancellation fees or minimum contract durations. Note that
they are legally obligated to cancel your contract without penalty if you are
leaving the country; in this case, you’ll have to notify them by lettre recommandée, as I previously mentioned. Setting up the account is fairly simple.
If your apartment has never had a phone line before, a technician may need
to come out to set one up, and the process will take a little longer. The store
will give you the router right away, usually in exchange for a deposit, and as
soon as they activate your account, you can set it up.
If you’re setting up a Free account, you’ll have to do so online, as Free has
no stores. Free will activate your account and set up your phone line once
you put in your personal information, and then send you the router by
UPS. They’ll email you once they’ve sent it, and you’ll have to stay at home
between 9 and 7 PM on the day of delivery, as they can’t give you a more
precise delivery time.
As of October 2010, the prices for internet service is as follows:
Orange
19,90€ (Internet only)
32,90€ (Internet, TV, phone with international calls)
37,90€ (Internet, TV, phone with international calls, 3G
USB internet key)
Neuf
17,90€ (Internet only)
29,90€ (Internet, TV, phone with international calls)
Bouygues: 19,90€ (Internet only)
29,90€ (Internet, TV, phone with international calls)
Free
29,99€ (TV, internet, phone with unlimited international
calling)
Cell phones
Cell phone service is expensive in France, but if you’re here for a few
months, there’s no way to avoid purchasing a phone. On the bright side,
you pay only for calls and texts you make, not the ones you receive, so
there are no unexpected charges if telemarketers call you. From the US,
it costs about $.20 per minute to call a French cell phone from a landline
or through Skype, and even calling from French landlines is not free.
Using Your US Phone
For a year or even a few months, using your US cell phone and plan is too
expensive to be worth it. While you may want to have your phone unlocked
to be used abroad in case of emergency during the first few weeks while
you’re getting settled in, you’ll probably want to buy a French phone.
Before leaving for France, you can also put your contract on hold, paying a
fee of $5-10 per month instead of your usual monthly rate, and your contract will resume once you return to the US. If you choose this option, the
end of your contract will usually be extended by the length of time you had
your account on hold. I was unable to cancel my Verizon contract despite
proving that I was leaving the country, but other operators may be different.
If you have a US operator that sometimes uses SIM cards, you should have
your phone unlocked by that operator before leaving. You’ll be able to get
a French SIM card and keep the phone you already have. If not, you can
purchase a phone in France for anywhere from 1€ when you sign a 12- or
24-month contract, to 30-40€ for a low-range phone with a prepaid card
purchase. Prices go from 1€ all the way up to the 739€ unlocked iPhone.
Contracts
Cell phone contracts are for either 12 or 24 months, although like internet
services, they can be canceled by recommandé if you prove you’re leaving
the country. Contracts are for minimum 1 hour of talking, and if you have
a smartphone, they usually include unlimited texting and internet access
from your phone. Minutes roll over, and the operator notifies you by text if
you’ve gone over or about to go over your monthly usage. Using the phone
to connect your computer will cost extra, though.
There are so many different phones and plans that it’s silly to try to list some
examples here. The monthly minimum is generally between 40-50€, or a bit
more if you have a smartphone. Some operators, like SFR, have a discount
for students under 26 (with SFR, it’s 10% off). If you’re only in France for
a year and would like to sign a 12-month contract, the price per month is
usually about 5-6€ more than for the 24-month plan, depending on the
operator.
If you can avoid it, don’t go to the store on a Saturday. You’ll need a justificatif de domicile and a RIB in order to open your account, and the rest is not
very complicated. As always, if you have to cancel your contract before the
end of the 12 months, send a letter recommandée to the company explaining
why you are canceling your contract (for leaving the country) and remind
them that they cannot charge you cancelation fees for that reason.
Prepaid Phone Cards
Prepaid credits are available on any phone and operator. You’ll have to buy
a French SIM card for about 15€ to get a French phone number, and then
recharge the card according to how much you use it. Texts cost about ,10€
each to send, and calls can be about ,35€/minute, again depending on the
time of day, the operator, and the amount you charged the card with. There
is a number you can call or text to check your balance.
To purchase a phone and the cards, you can either go directly to the operator’s store, or you can go to the Phone Store, which has many locations in
Paris and throughout France, and which sells prepaid cards for all of the carriers and lets you compare plans. Once you have your phone, you can buy
credits to recharge your account at Monoprix, the Phone Store, and other
grocery store locations.
Unlocking Your Phone
When Apple released the iPhone with only France Telecom, the other cell
phone operators sued to be able to cell it. The French court system found
that Apple was breaching anti-trust laws, and that it could not restrict availability to only one operator. In France, the iPhone and all cell phones are
available on all cell phone plans.
When you buy a phone from a particular operator, though, the phone is still
locked to that one company, making it difficult to switch the phone from
one company to another. But French cell phone companies are required by
law to unlock ALL phones after 6 months, for free, without hassle. Even
iPhones. If you’re in France on a 7-month teaching contract and buy any
phone, you can return to the US with it and use it with any carrier.
Transportation Within Ile-de-France
The Paris public transportation is fast, clean, and relatively reliable, especially compared to its American counterparts in New York and Boston (I
can’t speak for Washington, D.C. or Chicago since I haven’t lived there).
Using a combination of subway, bus, and tramlines, you can get most places
in Paris in about 30-40 minutes, and regional rail lines in the RER system
can take you to most suburbs in Ile-de-France in less than an hour.
The RATP
The RATP is the metro, bus, tramway, and regional train system of the Paris
region, and it is a very efficient way of getting around Paris. In fact, you can
get almost anywhere in the city within about a half hour. During the day,
and especially during rush hour, you should only have to wait 3-5 minutes
for a train, or 5-8 minutes for a bus or tram, depending on the line.
The RATP has an iPhone application for ,79€ that can give you the quickest
route to your destination in real time, which I would highly recommend to
anyone with an iPhone. Otherwise, the RATP website can also map out the
best routes for you.
For more information on transportation passes, including up-to-date rates:
· <http://www.ratp.info/>
Metro Tickets / Carnet
Individual métro tickets can be purchased in machines at the most entrances
to train stations, or at the ticket window at some entrances. They cost 1,70€
for zones 1-2, and they can be used in the subway, the bus, or the RER
within the two zones for 1.5 hours after they are first validated, including
transfers. A « carnet » of 10 tickets can be purchased for 12€.
Tickets purchased on the bus are 1,80€ and cannot be used for transfer to
other buses or the subway.
If you have a Carte ImagineR or Orange, but need to travel outside of the
zones programmed on your card, you’ll have to purchase an extra ticket. The
cost of individual tickets and carnets of 10 tickets are listed below. I’ve listed
the average price for stations in the zones, but please note that you need to
indicate your destination on the machine when you purchase your tickets.
Charles de Gaulle Airport, for example, is in Zone 5, but RER tickets there
cost more than regular zone 5 stations. Similarly, if you use other means of
public transportation (the Opera buses or the AirFrance buses, for example),
the ticket prices can also vary.
You are required to keep your ticket with you at all times while on public
transportation ; « contrôleurs » can ask you to show your ticket or make you
pay a hefty fine.
Ticket prices as of October 1, 2010:
Zone 3
Zone 4
Zone 5
1 ticket
3,05€
3,80€
4,40€
carnet
24,40€
30,40€
35,20€
Airport CDG 8,70€
69,60€
Carte ImagineR
The Carte ImagineR is by far the best deal for students living in Paris for
more than a few months. It is an unlimited metro and bus pass for students
under 26 that gives you access to Ile-de-France for about half the cost of a
Carte Orange.
To order a pass, you’ll need to pick up the form at any metro station, attach
a passport photo, a photocopy of your student ID or certificate of enrollment, and send it to the center with your RIB (for a monthly automatic
withdrawal) or a check for the yearly fee. About ten days later, you’ll receive
a pass in the mail with your picture on it, all ready to use.
The starting date for the pass can be September 1, October 1, November
1, December 1, or January 1, so you’re still eligible if you arrive in mid- to
late- September. When you order your pass, you’ll need to check off which
“zones” you’d like to use. If you live, go to school, and/or work in Paris, your
best bet is zones 1-2, which cover all of Paris proper and the suburbs that
touch the Périphique (the highway that goes around the city). If you have a
job as a language assistant outside of Paris, you’ll need to check to see what
zone your school is in before ordering your card. The rates for the different
zones are as follows for 2010-2011
Zones 1-2
Zones 1-3
Zones 1-4
Zones 1-5
Zones 1-6
32,30€
45,13€
58,00€
70,90€
79,50€
Annually
298,70€
414,20€
530,00€
646,10€
723,50€
The Carte ImagineR is personal and nontransferable, and you must have
it with you at all times and validate it when entering public transportation. RATP agents, or “controleurs,” can stop you in the train or the station
and ask for your ticket. If you have a Carte ImagineR, they wave it on a
small machine to check if it was validated, and then you’re on your way. I’ve
always kept my card in my wallet, and I have never been asked to show the
card with my picture when I’ve been “controlé.”
The best part about the Carte ImagineR is that on weekends, holidays, and
during school vacation periods, you can go to any zone you want without
paying extra. Traveling during the Toussaint break? Use your card to go to
the airport on the RATP buses or in the RER at no extra cost. Want to go
to Disneyland or Vincent van Gogh’s apartment on a Saturday? The train
ride is free.
The Carte ImagineR also provides proof of being a student, and comes
with a lot of discounts for young people. It can be used in movie theaters,
McDonald’s, and many venues throughout Paris and Ile-de-France to get
reduced ticket and meal prices. Some places only require showing the card
itself, while others require you to show the “Carte Bons Plans” (Discount
card) that will accompany it in the mail. The card also comes with a pamphlet outlining the discounts for the year, which can vary.
The Carte ImagineR is valid for one year from its start date, but if you’re
staying in Paris for more than one year, you can renew your card easily by
mail. You’ll receive a renewal form in the mail in May or June, or you can
pick one up at the agent’s window at any subway station. If you use the
form that’s been sent to you, it should already be filled out with your name,
address, and bank information, in which case you only need to fill in what’s
changed. Attach a RIB or check, and a certificate of enrollment for the next
school year, and send it in at least two weeks before your card expires to
ensure that your service is not interrupted.
Carte Orange (or Pass Navigo)
The Carte Orange is similar to the Carte ImagineR, but without the requirement of being a student under 26. It’s the metro pass for “les grands.”
A Carte Orange does not have to be ordered by mail, but can be obtained
at the ticket window of any subway station. Pay for the first month, plus
a 5€ fee to purchase the card, and have a passport-sized photo on hand to
attach to the card, and it will be ready to go tout de suite. On the first of
each month, you’ll have to renew your card by paying the monthly fee at the
ticket window or a machine.
This card does not have any of the benefits of the Carte ImagineR.
Rates for as of October 1, 2010 are as follows:
Zones 1-2
Zones 1-3
Zones 1-4
Zones 1-5
Zones 1-6
Weekly
18,35€
73,85€
29,05€
35,40€
37,60€
Monthly
60,40€
78,20€
95,50€
109,90€
123,60€
Medical Care & Emergencies
Even if you don’t have an illness or medical condition before leaving for
France, it is important to be famililar with France’s medical system in case
of an accident or sudden illness. For all of the scare tactics certain politicians use to scare Americans away from a French-style social security system,
France’s healthcare is consistently ranked among the top programs in the
world. Healthcare in France is paid out of everyone’s payroll at a certain
percentage of salary, and it is safe, effective, and most importantly, inexpensive, covering a vast majority of French people and other Europeans living
in France.
Socialized Medicine
While European governments have largely agreed to cover each other’s citizens, no such agreement exists between private American companies and
France. As an American student planning on living in France for a few
months or a year, you may be exempt from buying coverage if your American university program requires you to purchase health insurance and can
obtain an exemption for students in its program.
If you enroll directly in a French university, you’ll be required to pay for a
year of basic social security through one of these centers, and currently, the
fee is 200€ for the year. Unfortunately, there is no way to get out of paying
the 200€ fee. Once you enroll, you are free to enroll in a mutuelle at any
time by agreeing to pay a monthly fee for the level of services you require. If
you’re a US citizen under 26, you can also choose to remain on your parents’
health insurance and forego supplemental coverage, but you’ll have to make
sure your insurer will pay foreign hospitals directly so you won’t have to pay
large sums of money out-of-pocket in case of illness or an accident.
This 200€ fee doesn’t cover everything, and only pays for the most important medical procedures and primary care visits, so if you need more than
the most basic coverage, you may want to consider enrolling in a mutuelle, a
form of supplementary health insurance. Basically, everyone who is enrolled
in state-run social security must be enrolled through a payment center,
which processes the adherant’s payments, ensures coverage, and reimbuses
for out-of-pocket expenses. Employers generally choose the center that will
cover their employees, and employees can purchase supplemental insurance
through the payment center, which offers a certain number of «mutuelles,»
either through the company convering their employer or through an independent provider.
Any given mutuelle will have several different rates for different prices and
levels of coverage, expressed in percentages, and can offer special deals for
employees of the companies it covers, or for certain types of public service
workers. The cheaper, and more basic mutuelles will generally cover 80-90%
of prescription medications (some of which are not reimbursed by social
security, including newer drugs and more modern versions of birth control),
dental and eye coverage. More comprehensive plans cover 100% of prescriptions, glasses and contacts, and offer payments in case of serious illness.
SMEREP and LDME
SMEREP and LDME are the two student «mutuelles,» and they also serve
as supplementary insurance plans that complement regular coverage, paying
for glasses and contacts, brand-name prescription medications, and certain
procedures not otherwise covered by social security.
If you plan on purchasing mutuelle coverage while in France, by all means
compare the pricing and coverage for both companies, but if you don’t
anticipate needing a mutuelle, both centers have comparable pricing and
plans, are good deals for students, and offer other types of insurance such
as short-term travel insurance and housing insurance. Choose the one that’s
closest to your apartment or school, in case you need to bring receipts for
reimbursement.
Carte Vitale and Mutuelle Reimbursements
Once you sign up for sécurité sociale through your university, your coverage
begins immediately. You should receive a temporary card in the mail within
a few weeks, along with a letter instructing you to send other documentation (usually your birth certificate with official translation) in order to
receive your carte vitale.
Before you receive your carte vitale, you’ll have to pay any medical expenses
out of pocket, but you should ask for a «feuille de soins» from the doctor in
order to get reimbursed for the cost of the visit. One of the advantages of
France’s social security system is that you won’t pay more because you pay
in cash; everyone pays the same amount. Once you receive your carte vitale,
you can use it to pay at the doctor’s office and the pharmacy.
For any expenses not covered by your carte vitale, you can ask for a facture,
either to get reimbursed by your American insurer or by your French mutuelle. Even if you have mutuelle covereage and your expenses are covered,
you’ll probably need to pay out of pocket and submit the receipts, but you
can check with your provider for the procedure, since it may vary.
Clinics and Primary Care
If you have a non-urgent health concern and need to see a doctor while in
France, there are many inexpensive clinics in every neighborhood that are
open daily. Clinic visits are generally quick and cost between 20-30€, and
the doctor will be able to provide any prescriptions you may need. The
French generally see their doctors frequently and get at least one or two
presciptions when they go to the doctor, so you may get an antibiotic if you
go with a headcold. On the other hand, many medications that are available
over-the-counter in the US must be prescribed in France (like Ibprofen), so
that explains some of the excess prescriptions.
Most clinics are walk-in, but you may want to call in advance to confirm the
hours, and to see if a doctor on staff speaks English if you’re uncomfortable
being examined in French. A list of clinics in France can be found on the
website listed below:
- <http://www.annuairesante.com/as_13_75_Centres-de-sante_
Paris.html#>
SOS Médecins
SOS Médecins is a home-care service serving all of France, and its doctors
are on-call 24 hours a day. SOS Médecins typically serves anyone who can’t
leave the house to seek medical care, either because the patients are elderly
and have limited mobility, or because they potentially have contageous illnesses such as the flu.
If you’re too ill to leave your apartment, you can call SOS Médecins for a
consultation, and they’ll evaluate your case over the phone to assign a priority rating and send a doctor, usually within a few hours. You’ll have to pay
a fee, around 60€ if you call during a weekday, or around 80€ if you call at
night or on a Sunday. You can get reimbursed for this visit by sécurité sociale
or your American insurer.
For more information:
- Call 3624 from any phone. The call will cost ,12€/minute.
- Call 01 47 07 77 77
Emergency Care
There are good hospitals in virtually every neighborhood in Paris, and in
case of an emergency, the ambulance will bring you to the nearest emergency room. Since English is a widely spoken second language among medical personnel, you should never have a problem finding an interpreter, no
matter where you go.
The American Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine is just outside of Paris, and
while not all of the staff is American, they are mostly bilingual. The hospital
is the only one in Europe to be accredited by the Joint Commission, which
accredits the best hospitals in the United States, as well as France’s health
commission.
If you are treated at the American Hospital, you should know that it is a private hospital and does not accept direct payments by third parties, meaning
that you will get a bill upon leaving, pay for services up front, and be reimbursed by sécurité sociale and your mutuelle or by your American insurer.
For more information:
- <www.american-hospital.org>
- Patient Services: 01 46 41 27 71
Food
The intricacies of French cuisine with all of its delicacies are largely outside
the scope of this book, and there are many travel guides and restaurant
guides (listed in Chapter 7) that will guide you to the best of Paris and
France. But while French cuisine may have an international reputation, the
many opportunities to get cheap, healthy food in Paris don’t, so here’s a
guide to getting a good meal for a better price anywhere in Paris.
CROUS
Crous, a chain of government-subsidized student cafeterias, is the by far
the cheapest way for a student to eat in France. In Paris alone, 14 Crous
restaurants serve thousands of students a full meal daily, all for the ridiculously low price of 3€. For less than the cost of a cup of coffee, you can get
a full, balanced meal: bread, entrée, plat, and fruit or dessert by showing
your student ID. The food, though low-priced, is generally good quality,
and some locations have grill, pizza, and salad bar options in addition to
the entrée and main dish of the day. Most locations are only open for lunch
from 11:30-2:00, but some locations, like Cité Universitaire, are also open
for dinner. I’ve included this information below when available. Although
there are Crous throughout Paris and France, they are concentrated around
university areas, with many in the 5th, 6th, and 13th arrondissements.
Some locations allow students to pay for meals with cash, while others take
«Moneo» cards that can be recharged, usually with a machine near the cafeteria’s entrance. Many student ID cards have a Moneo chip, so you can put
a certain amount of money on your card using the machines with a debit
card; otherwise, you can purchase a Moneo card at any Crous restaurant
for 2€, and it will be valid all year. At a few Crous locations, tickets can be
purchased at the entrance and then exchanged for meals.
Since most students take advantage of the Crous offerings, plan to get to a
Crous restaurant on the early side. You may wait a while in line, but bring a
book, and the wait will be well worth it. Crous restaurants are generally only
open during the school year, from September to June, and closed during the
summer. One usually remains open during the summer, and the location is
disclosed towards the end of the year.
The following Crous restaurants are located in Paris:
- Bichat, 16 rue Henri Huchard, 75018, Metro line 13, Porte Saint
Ouen. Open 11:30-14:15 Monday through Friday. Offers the normal CROUS menu, plus sandwiches and pizza. Accepts Moneo or
cash.
- Boulogne, 71 avenue Edouard Vaillant, 92100 Boulogne, Metro
line 9, Marcel Sambat. Open 11:30-14:00 Monday through Friday.
Traditional restaurant menu. Accepts Moneo or cash.
- Bullier, 39 avenue Georges Beranos, 75005, RER B, Port-Royal.
Open Monday through Sunday, 11:30-14:00 and 18:15-20:00. Traditional restuarant menu, with pizza on Saturday at lunch, and Sunday brunch beginning at 10:30. Accepts Moneo and cash.
- Censier, 31 rue Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, 75005, Metro line 7, Censier Daubenton. Open Monday through Friday, 11:00-14:30. Pizza
stand, exotic food stand, and grill. Accepts Moneo and cash.
- Châtelet, 10 rue Jean Calvin, 75005, Metro line 7, Censier Daubenton. Open Monday through Friday, 11:00-14:30. Pizza, grill, and
salad bar offered in addition to or as part of traditional menu.
Accepts Moneo and cash.
- Citeaux, 45 boulevard Diderot, 75012, Metro 1 and 14, RER A
and D, Gare de Lyon. Open Monday through Friday, 11:00-14:30.
Pizza, grill, and traditional menu. Accepts Moneo and tickets.
- Cuvier, 8 bis rue Cuvier, 75005, Metro lines 7 and 10, Jussieu. Enter
through Paris 6 or Quai Saint Bernud. Open Monday through Friday, 11:00-14:30. Jussieu space: fish, pasta, pizza, salad bar offered
in addition to or as part of traditional menu (main courses and desserts). Garden area: grill, rotisserie, soup or dessert. Accepts Moneo
and cash.
- Dauphine, 2 boulevard Lannes, 75016, Metro line 2, Porte Dauphine. Open Monday through Friday, 11:20-14:15. Traditional
menu and Tex-Mex. Accepts Moneo or cash.
- Halle aux Farines, 3 voie piétonne F6, 75013, Metro line 14 or RER
C, Bibliothèque François Mitterand. Enter through Paris 7. Pizza,
grill, soup and salad bar offered in addition to traditional menu.
Accepts Moneo and cash.
- IUT Descartes, 143 avenue de Versailles, 75016, Metro line 10,
Chardon Lagache. Open Monday through Friday 11:30-14:00. Traditional restaurant menu. Accepts Moneo and cash.
- Mabillon, 3 rue Mabillon, 75006, Metro line 10, Mabillon. Open
Monday through Friday 11:30-14:00 and 18:00-20:00. Traditional
restaurant menu on 3 floors, pizza on ground floor. Accepts Moneo
and cash. Closed for renovations until September, 2011.
- Mazet, 5 rue Mazet, 75006, Metro lines 4 and 10, Odéon. Open
Monday through Friday 11:30-14:00. Traditional menu, pizza, grill.
Accepts Moneo and cash. Open from Monday to Friday 18:1520:00 until Mabillon reopens.
- Rabelais, 2 avenue de la Porte de Clignancourt, 75018, Metro line 4,
Porte de Clignancourt. Open Monday through Friday 11:15-14:00.
Traditional restaurant menu. Accepts Moneo and cash.
- Tolbiac, 17 rue de Tolbiac, 75013, Metro line 14 and RER C, Bibliothèque François Mitterand. Open Monday through Friday, 11:0014:00. Traditional restaurant menu. Accepts Moneo and cash.
A brouchure listing Crous locations and their hours is published annually
and made available in every university at the beginning of the academic year.
For more information:
- <www.crous-paris.fr>
American Food in Paris
Americans don’t generally come to France to eat American food, but if you’re
living abroad for an extended period of time, it’s only natural to get homesick. Luckily, there are a few stores that sell American grocery products,
including everything from Reese’s peanut butter cups to Betty Crocker cake
mixes and Stoffer’s stuffing. Prices are several times what they are in the US,
but for the occasional treat or the authentic Thanksgiving dinner, it can be
worth it.
The Thanksgiving Store
The Thanksgiving Store is an grocery store located in the 4th arrondissement that carries many different American products year-round. Around
Thanksgiving, the Thanksgiving Store takes orders for cooked and uncooked
turkeys, and sells other pre-made dishes like apple, cherry, pumpkin, and
pecan pies, cranberry sauce, and stuffing. The Thanksgiving Store also has a
restaurant, which closes for about a month around Thanksgiving.
- 20, rue Saint-Paul, 75004 Paris, Metro Saint-Paul
- For more information: <www.thanksgivingparis.com>
The Real McCoy
Like the Thanksgiving Store, The Real McCoy is an American grocery store
with an adjacent restaurant serving American meals.
- 194 rue de Grenelle, 75007 Paris, Metro Ecole Militaire
- The store has no website.
Breakfast in America
Breakfast in America is a restaurant serving authentic American meals, from
bacon and eggs to cheeseburgers, and they are open daily. They have two
locations:
- 17, rue des Écoles, 75005 Paris, Metro Cardinal Lemoine
- 4, rue Malher, 75004 Paris, Metro Saint-Paul
- For more information: <www.breakfast-in-america.com>
Other American Specialties
Items like peanut butter can generally be found in the international food
aisle of any supermarket, and some chains stock a few random products on
a rotating basis. I once found root beer in the G-20 near my apartment, but
it didn’t last very long. Grocery stores in the 7th and 16th arrondissements
are more likely to have a bigger variety of American products, since many
Americans live in these areas.
If you’re spending Thanksgiving in Paris and want to make an authentic
meal, consider ordering a turkey from your local butcher rather than purchasing one from an American grocery store. The one I ordered this year
was half the price (at 6,42/kg) that the Thanksgiving Store would have
charged. If you don’t have an oven, though, you’ll have to pay the premium
for a cooked turkey, and order at least four to six weeks in advance. Other
American delicacies like butternut squash and sweet potatoes have begun to
make appearances in fruit and vegetable markets and even in some chains
like Monoprix. Check with a few different vendors starting a few weeks in
advance to avoid paying the American stores’ expensive prices.
Worship
Mosques, synagogues, and Catholic churces are abundant in Paris, and they
generally conduct worship in French or their sacred language; there isn’t
necessarily one place to go for services in English. Since tourist maps show
places of worship, you can go to the one nearest you and ask someone at
the information desk if they offer services in English or know of a nearby
mosque/temple/church that does. The three churches listed below are not
listed for ideaological reasons, but because they are affiliated with American
institutions, have services conducted primarily in English, and offer other
services and activities for American expatriats.
American Cathedral (Anglican-Episcopalian)
The American Cathedral is an Anglican/Episcopalian church with worship
services at 9 AM and 11 AM on Sundays. The Cathedral also offers a Sunday
evening Bible study and prayer group, and has a choir.
For more information:
- 23, avenue Georges V, 75008 Paris
- <www.americancathedral.org>
American Church in Paris (Protestant)
The American Church in Paris is a multidenominational Protestant church,
with traditional services at 9 AM and 11 AM and a contemporary service
at 1 PM on Sundays. In addition to worship, the ACP has an active youth
group, Bible study, women’s groups, youth music, young adult, and adult
choirs, and classrooms for various English-language activities from Alcoholics Anonymous to Yoga.
For more information:
- 65, Quai d’Orsay, 75007 Paris
- <www.acparis.org>
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Paris
The UUFP holds Unitarian Universalist worship services once a month, on
Sunday at 3 PM, near the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. Because it has no permanent office, the only other service it offers is childcare during the service, and
occasional Saturday workshops.
For more information, including worship schedule:
- Temple de Pentemont, 106 rue de Grenelle, 75006 Paris, Metro
Solférino
- <www.info.uufp.info>
Exercise and Working Out
Gyms
Paris has many municipal gyms with gymanasiums for sports teams and
rooms with standard exercise equipment, but the amenities at each gym vary
widely. Unfortuantely, this means that there’s no comprehensive information available on equipment and pricing.
A full list of gyms can be found online, but you’ll have to check out the one
nearest to you to see if it suits your needs:
- <www.equipement.paris.fr>
Activities and Club Sports
In every arrondissement of Paris, there are dozens of non-profit associations and clubs organizing activities from Acrosport to Yoga in the municipal gyms. Schedules, membership, and pricing varies widely since all of the
groups are privately run, but a complete listing of registered groups can be
found online or in your arrondissement’s mairie. Most groups will allow you
to attend once or twice to test it out before paying the membership fee, so
you should ask if you’re unsure.
For a complete list of groups:
- <www.associations-sportives.paris.fr>
Swimming
The City of Paris has 38 Olympic sized municipal pools open daily from 7
AM to 8 PM, and most pools have a «nocturne,» one night per week that
they are open late. In addition to being open to the public, most pools offer
swimming lessons and «aquatic activities» for a low rate.
Students living in Paris (showing a Paris university ID, an American program ID, or another justificatif de domicile) can pay the reduced rate of
1,70€ for a single entry, 14€ for a card worth ten entries, or 19€ for a trimester (September-December, January-April, or May-August).
“Aquatic activities” such as water aerobics are held according to the individual pool’s schedule and cost 6€ for a single activity or 53€ for ten activities.
A schedule is published at the beginning of each trimester and can be picked
up at your neighborhood pool.
Pool patrons are required to shower, wear sandals in designated areas, and
wear a swimming cap.
For pool locations and hours:
- <www.piscines.paris.fr>
Chapter 4
Taking Advantage of Living in France
Pariscope & l’Officiel des spectacles
These two magazines can be found in any newspaper stand, and they are
indispensible guides to living in Paris. Both guides are released on Wednesday and outline all of the events and goings-on in Paris from Wednesday
to Tuesday. The sections in these magazines list current movies, organized
by film and by movie theater location, conferences, museums, expositions,
concerts, plays, tourist sites, and even restaurant specials with dates, hours,
and ticket prices. Pariscope costs ,40€ and l’Officiel des Spectacles is ,35€.
For students, the site www.parisetudiant.fr is also a good resource for events
in Paris.
Museums in Paris
All museums in Paris and the suburbs are listed in the Officiel des Spectacles along with location, hours, and rates (if not free). In the Officiel des
Spectacles, the student rate will be designated with TR (Tarif Réduit) or -26
(under 26).
A note on the International Student ID Card sold by the STA travel agency:
unless the card comes with offers specific to French museums, it’s unlikely
that this card will help you get a discount anywhere. Since the expansion of
the Shengen space, the European Union has decided to offer free entry to
students under 26 who are residents of the European Union, and in some cases,
citizens. You’re far more likely to get the discount showing your French student ID, your Carte de Séjour, or an ID from an American program located
in Paris than you are to get a discount with such a card.
Free for Everyone
Certain museums are free daily for everyone, and some are free from October 1 to May 1, during the off-season. A list can be found online, with a link
at the bottom to the winter freebies:
- <http://www.parisinfo.com/paris-guide/argent/gratuite-et-bonsplans/>
Many museums are open after hours one night per week for free, and on
the first Sunday of every month. It’s often very crowded, but for some of the
more expensive museums, it can be worth it. Here’s a link to an online list:
- <http://www.parisinfo.com/paris-guide/argent/gratuite-et-bonsplans/dossier/gratuite-et-bons-plans-dans-les-musees-et-monuments_gratuits-le-1erdimanche-de-chaque-mois-toute-l-annee>
Free with American Program in Paris ID
Many museums have recently changed their policies, and now give the
reduced rate or free admission only to students who are residents of the
EU. Although this is technically your case, they enforce that requirement by
accepting only student ID cards from French or other European universities. If you don’t have a French university ID (or before yours is issued), your
American program should be able to provide you with a list of museums that
are free with their ID card. If you take an art history class in your program,
your school might be able to give you an ‘Art History Student’ card, which
will get you in to some museums for free that otherwise have a reduced rate
for students. And if you have such a card, it never hurts to try to use it.
Free <26 years old
Most national museums, as well as some private ones, are free for students
under 26. A list can be found online:
- <http://www.tout-paris.org/musees-monuments-gratuits-moins26-ans-1478>
Movie Theaters
There are many movie theaters in Paris, and compared to movie theaters
in the US, French movie theaters actually have discounted rates for students. Though this listing contains pricing for the three major chains, prices
can vary slightly between the chain’s theaters. Concessions such as popcorn,
candy, and soft drinks are sold at most theaters for movie theater prices.
Complete movie listings, including listings for independent movie theaters
and ticket prices, can be found in the Pariscope or the Officiel des Spectacles
weekly.
Gaumont
Gaumont Cinemas offer student tickets for 8€ for students, 6€ with the
Carte ImagineR Monday through Thursday, and 7€ with the Carte ImagineR Friday through Sunday. Anyone can subscribe to Le Pass and see an
unlimited number of movies for 19,80€/month. To subscribe to this program, go to any Gaumont theater from opening until 9 PM with an ID and
a RIB.
For more information:
- <www.cinemasgaumontpathe.com>
MK2
MK2 Cinemas are artsy and sophisticated, show primarily foreign films, and
are located in student areas like the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and
the Latin Quarter. Student tickets are about 7€.
For more information:
- <www.mk2.com>
UGC
UGC Cinemas is another mainstream movie theater company, but sadly,
it offers no special rates for students. It does, however, have an unlimited
movie card called UGC Illimité, which costs 19,80€/month for one person
or 35€/month for two people, plus a 30€ registration fee. The card can only
be used in UGC theaters that accept it, and the list of these movie theaters
is posted on the UGC website. You can also purchase the card UGC 5 for
30€, which is 5 movie tickets valid from 7 PM on Sunday through 5 PM
on Friday, or the UGC 7 card for 40€, which is 7 movie tickets valid at any
time. You can sign up for any of these cards online or in certain UGC theaters, which are also listed on the website.
For more information:
- <www.ugc.fr>
Live Performance Tickets
Students who want to see ballets or operas at the National Opera generally need to purchase tickets months in advance, beginning in June for the
following year. Student rush tickets become available one hour before the
scheduled performance time and can be purchased for 5€.
For more information:
- Opéra Bastille, 130 rue de Lyon, 75012 Paris, Metro Bastille
- <www.operadeparis.fr>
School Vacation Periods
Because many French families actually go on vacation during the school
vacation periods, France is divided into three zones, which each have separate (if slightly overlapping) vacation periods. Paris is located in Zone C,
along with Bordeaux, and its vacations are listed here.
If you’re an English teacher, these are your school vacations; however, most
universities begin in late September or early October, and thus don’t have
Toussaint or Winter vacation periods. While Christmas, spring, and sum-
mer vacations are universal, you’ll have to check with your particular school
or program to see if you’ll get a few days off in the fall or winter. Some programs and universities hold a “reading week” at this time, during which, as
one of my professors put it, “students and faculty read – very far away from
Paris.”
In 2011-2012:
·
·
·
·
·
Toussaint Vacation: October 22 – November 2, 2011. Classes begin
again on Thursday, November 3.
Christmas Vacation: December 17, 2011 – January 2, 2012. Classes
begin again on Tuesday, January 3.
Winter Vacation: February 18 – March 4, 2012.
Spring Vacation: April 14 – 29, 2012. (Sometimes called “Easter
Vacation” whether it’s around Easter or not).
Summer Vacation: July 5 – September 4, 2012.
In 2012-2013:
·
·
·
·
·
Toussaint Vacation: October 27 – November 7, 2012. Classes begin
again on Thursday, November 8.
Christmas Vacation: December 22, 2012 – January 6, 2013. Classes
begin again on Monday, January 7.
Winter Vacation: March 2 – March 17, 2013.
Spring Vacation: April 27 – May 13, 2013.
Summer Vacation: July 4 – September 3, 2013.
For more information, the national school calendar can be found on the
Ministry of Education’s website:
· <http://www.education.gouv.fr/>
National Holidays (Jours fériés)
In addition to its generous vacation periods, France also has a national holiday about once a month. Everything is closed, classes are canceled, and
transportation runs on a Sunday schedule on the days listed below:
· All Saints’ Day: November 1 (Tuesday in 2011, Thursday in 2012)
· Armistice: November 11 (Friday in 2011, Sunday in 2012)
· Christmas: December 25 (Sunday in 2011, Tuesday in 2012)
· New Year’s Day: January 1 (Sunday in 2012, Tuesday in 2013)
· Easter Monday: April 9 in 2012, April 1 in 2013
· Labor Day: May 1 (Tuesday in 2012, Wednesday in 2013)
· Victory in Europe Day: May 8 (Tuesday in 2012, Wednesday in
2013)
· Ascension: Thursday, May 17 in 2012, Thursday, May 9 in 2013
· Pentecost Monday: May 28 in 2012, May 20 in 2013
· Bastille Day: July 14 (Saturday in 2012, Sunday in 2013)
· Assumption: August 15 (Wednesday in 2012, Thursday in 2013)
For more information, a list of bank holidays can be found online:
· <http://www.joursferies.fr/>
Special Events
Journées du Patrimoine (September)
The Journées du Patrimoine are a national event held on a weekend in September during which a number of national buildings and monuments not
usually open to the public hold visits and guided tours. Some of the buildings opened up during this weekend are private residences of historical significance and government buildings like the Sénat, so this is not an event to
miss. Most visits are free, although privately owned buildings can charge a
small fee. All of France, as well as other European Union member countries,
participate in the Journées du Patrimoine and hold public events.
In 2011, the Journées du Patrimoine will be held on September 17 and 18.
For more information:
- <www.journeesdupartrimoine.culture.fr>
Nuit Blanche (October)
Nuit Blanche, like the Journées du Patriomoine, is an international event
with free activities throughout France and Europe. Held on a Saturday in
October, Nuit Blanche is an outdoor festival, with large-scale modern art
expositions in Paris’s many parks and gardens, and some musical and performing arts performances in the streets. It begins around 8 PM, once the
sun starts to set, and lasts until the wee hours of the morning. Several lines
of the subway stay open late to accomodate those who participate in the
festivities.
In 2011, Nuit Blanche will be held on Saturday, October 1.
For more information:
- <www.nuitblanche2011.paris.fr
Nuit des Musées (May)
Like its name suggests, Nuit des Musées is an evening in May during which
all museums throughout France and Europe are free and open to the public
from closing time (about 6 PM) to midnight. Many museums hold special
conferences, performances, and exhibitions during this time.
In 2012, the Nuit des Musées will be held on May 12.
For more information:
- <www.nuitdesmusees.culture.fr>
Fête de la Musique (June)
The Fête de la Musique is an annual nation-wide concert held on the summer solstice. Throughout Paris, bands, choral groups, and other musical
ensembles perform in parks, gardens, and concert halls, and all of the events
are free and open to the public.
The Fête de la Musique is always held on June 21.
For more information:
- <www.fetedelamusique.culture.fr
Paris Plage (July and August)
After Bastille Day, when most Parisians flee the city for a month of vacation,
land-locked Paris becomes a beach. City officials truck in sand, close down
part of the highway running along the Seine by the Louvre, and turn it
into a beach, complete with volleyball, tents, chairs, and concessions. Beginning in 2007, the city also started turning a portion of the Bassin de la Villette into a beach as well, with kayaks, rowboats, and beachside restaurants.
While there’s no swimming in the river, there are also several pools installed
that offer water aerobics classes. Access to the beach is free, but equipment
can be used on rental basis.
Paris Plage opens around July 20 each year and lasts for four weeks.
For more information:
- <www.paris-plages.fr>
Transportation and Travel
If you’re spending anywhere between four months and a year in Paris, and
especially if it’s your first extended stay in Europe, traveling is practically
obligatory. In my first year in Paris, I traveled to five other countries (Ireland, the UK, Belgium, Germany, and Italy), and I traveled less than many
of my peers in my program, who were jet setting practically every weekend.
While I wouldn’t recommend leaving Paris every weekend - you’ll miss out
on many cultural events in your own neighborhood - living in Europe makes
traveling to other countries much more affordable and accessible. And since
getting away from home and schoolwork can be a much-needed break, I
wouldn’t recommend only staying in Paris during your whole stay, either.
Before you leave, set a budget for travel and make a list of the places you
most want to visit; once you’ve been in Paris for a while and know your
actual budget, you can start pursuing airline and train ticket sites for good
deals for weekend getaways. France also has abundant and frequent vacation periods to take advantage of, which we’ll discuss in Chapter 5, «Taking
Advantage of Life in Paris,» which will give you opportunities to travel for
extended periods. Be warned, though, that some French professors consider
vacations to be a «reading week» or «week for working - away from Paris»
and assign work to be completed, you may want to stay in Paris at least a few
days during your breaks.
Of course, there are many exciting tourist sites in Paris and the Ile-de-France
area, and public transportation serves all attractions well. The RER, for
example, or regional train line of Ile-de-France, can bring you to the Chateau de Vaux le Vicomte (line D), Auvers-sur-Oise, where Van Gogh lived,
painted the church, and committed suicide (line B), and the Chateau de
Versailles (line C), all within thirty minutes.
Travel Outside of Ile-de-France
Travel within France and even within Europe has become cheaper and easier
with the expansion of low-cost airlines to compete with the state subsidized
train systems. While train travel can be as expensive in France as it is in the
US, it is usually still your best bet for travel within France, since the time it
takes you to get to an airport and to go through security reduces any flight
time and price advantage flying may have. A train trip from Paris to another
European city, however, can take a minimum of 2 hours (to London or
Brussels) and more than 12 to Spain, Italy, or Germany, while even Eastern
European cities can be visited in a long weekend by plane. The SNCF often
has sales to rival growing airline competition, though, so check both sites for
travel time and price comparaisons for any destination in Western Europe
before purchasing.
SNCF
The national train system in France is the SNCF, and it links major French
cities as well as most small towns to Paris. Even though Paris is in the northern third of France, the easiest and quickest way to get to other cities – Bordeaux to Marseille, or Rennes to Lille – is to go through Paris.
Though the SNCF is partially funded by the state, ticket prices are relatively
expensive, and you can count on spending 50-60€ for a one-way ticket from
Paris to any major city. On the bright side, the trains that run on most
routes are TGV, so you can get to any other city in under four hours. Bus
routes connect the smallest towns to towns with train stations, and taking
the regional train to a major hub is the best way to get around.
Ticket prices vary, of course, depending on the day and time of travel, how
far in advance you buy your ticket, and whether it’s a vacation period or long
weekend. If you’re under 25, be sure to search for tickets in the “12-25 sans
carte” option to get a 25% discount on some fares. If you sign up for emails
on the website, you’ll receive special offers and advance notice of low fares
for vacation periods.
Like in the subway and buses, you must be sure to validate your train ticket
by having in punched in a small yellow machine before getting on the train,
or risk paying a fine. Sometimes, if you forget, you can present your ticket to
a conductor on board and pay a smaller fee than you otherwise would have,
but it’s best not to forget. While the ticket “controleurs” are on most major
routes out of Paris, they are not always on the trains.
Sometimes, when taking the TGV, two trains will be attached at the quay
that will detach sometime during the route, often in completely different
directions. The two trains will have different names when you buy your
ticket on the website, and both trains will be marked on the screen above
the departing trains. In this case, it is especially important to check your car
and seat number, to ensure that you are in the correct train with the correct
destination. Once you are in your train, it is impossible to switch, as the two
are not connected by a car with doors.
Carte 12-25
The Carte 12-25 is the SNCF’s discount card for young people. It costs 49€
and can be purchased with your first train ticket through the SNCF website
or at any station ticket window or machine. With the card, you can get a
50% discount on all fares, but you must affix a passport-sized photo to it
and carry the card with you at all times while on the train. When ordering
your tickets, select the “carte 12-25” option to get the best rates.
Low-Cost Airlines
Europe’s two low-cost airlines are EasyJet and RyanAir, both of which fly out
of Paris. While both are cheap, they are also no-frills: no checked luggage,
no snack, and no customer service without paying for it.
The reason why these airlines can offer such cheap service is because they
often fly out of airports farther away from big cities (Ryan Air), thus paying
less in fees, and they also have a faster turn-around time for the airplane,
making an extra flight or two per day. This means that the first flight in the
morning is very early, the last flight is very late, and if there are any problems at any time during the day, you can expect long delays and not much
information or help from the staff. And if your flight is canceled at the last
minute, they’re required to help you get on another flight, but it can be quite
a while before seats are available on another plane.
If you plan on taking a low-cost airline, you won’t necessarily have a bad
experience – I have personally had some good and bad experiences on both
EasyJet and Ryan Air. You can, however, expect to spend a little more time
traveling, and possibly encounter more inconveniences than with major airlines (not that you can’t have problems with Air France, either!). If you’re
traveling on one of these companies, try to get a flight early in the day (less
of a chance for delays), and don’t have too many expectations for your arrival
time.
EasyJet flys out of Biarritz, Bordeaux, Brest, Corsica, Grenoble, Marseille,
Nice, and Paris, and has the distinct advantage of flying out of both Charles
de Gaulle and Orly airports, depending on your destination. It flys to 49
destinations out of Paris alone.
Ryan Air flys out of Biarritz, Bordeaux, Brest, Corsica, Grenoble, Marseille,
Montpelier, Nice, Paris, and Tours, but does not fly out of Charles de Gaulle
or Orly. Instead, it flys out of Beauvais airport, near Amiens, about an hour’s
bus ride from Paris. It also flys out of a small airport, Paris Vatry, near Disneyland, but only offers flights to Stockholm and Oslo from that airport.
Getting to Beauvais can be complicated, especially for an early morning
flight, so buses leave every 15 minutes from Porte Maillot, in the west of
Paris (lines 1 and RER C). You must take the bus 3 hours and 15 minutes
before your scheduled departure time, and bus tickets are available for 15€
at the station. When comparing prices between airlines, add 15€ each way
plus an additional hour of travel time to the cost of your ticket.
For more information:
· <www.easyjet.com>
· <www.ryanair.com>
· For the Beauvais Bus schedule and information: <www.aeroportbeauvais.com>
Club International des Jeunes de Paris
The Club International des Jeunes de Paris is a non-profit organization
founded for students in Paris, and the group organizes several trips in France
and Europe yearly. Some past and recurring excursions have been to the
Loire Valley, the Mont Saint Michel, and Brussels, and prices are low for the
trips, which include transportation, lodging, breakfast, and sometimes one
other meal. The trips can be one or two days, depending on the location.
The group also organizes outings and excursions within Paris, many of which
are free for club members. You can join by sending in a membership form,
along with 12€, to the club’s office, and you’ll receive an email newsletter
with updates and upcoming activities.
For more information:
- <www.club-international.org>
Chapter 5
Being a Successful University Student
Explaining the French school system
Ecole maternelle – Lycée
To understand the French university system, it is also necessary to know a
little bit about the French public education system, how it raises students,
and the relationships between students and teachers in France. Since the
Jules Ferry laws of the 1890s, French education has been free, compulsory,
and secular, and today, education in France is available for all children starting at age 3. There are very few private schools in France (most are religious),
and homeschooling is illegal, so the vast majority of French people have
gone to an école publique. From preschool through high school, the official
school year is from September 1 or 2 through the first Friday in July.
French education begins in the école maternelle, a preschool-kindergarden
school, which, like American schools, is more focused on playing than on
counting and reading. The classes are called “Petite section,” “moyenne section,” and “grande section,” with children of the same age grouped together
and graduating to elementary school at the same time.
Elementary schools have five grades: CP (Cours préparatoire), CE1 (cours
élémentaire 1) CE2 (cours élementaire 2), CM1 (cours moyen 1) and CM2
(cours moyen 2), and they are equivalent to American grades 1 through 5.
Students in CP are about 6 years old, while students in CM2 turn 11 sometime during the year. For maternelle and elementary schools, the school day
runs from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, with a 15 minute recess at 10:00 AM and
3:00 PM, and a two hour lunch from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM. Students have
about 5 ½ hours of classes per day, on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and
Fridays, and most elementary schools are closed on Wednesdays.
Starting from a very early age, French schools are very serious, focusing
mostly on math and French grammar (small French children have to do
hundreds of hours of conjugation exercises to learn their language too!),
and the educational model is very far from the hands-on learning and group
project model that many American classroom teachers implement. Desks
are usually arranged in rows beginning in CP, and there’s no rug for storytelling or class meetings, and no big colorful bulletin boards for displaying
student work. Classrooms are austere, with some posters for verb tenses and
spelling hints, and a teacher’s desk and a chalkboard at the front. Grading is
from 0 to 10, with a red pen. I’ve never heard of a French teacher having a
“Star Student” or recording “random acts of kindness” as we did in a classroom where I worked in New York. Punishment and public humiliation,
not reward and recognition, are common motivators in the French system.
While the maternelle teachers, like American preschool teachers, are among
the sweetest and kindest of the French school system, neither they nor elementary teachers have any desire to appear affectionate towards the children. Kids can be yelled at in a way that would shock American parents, and
the society’s need to raise self-deprecating children appears to outweigh any
concept of self-esteem. (Full disclosure: as an English assistant, I’ve worked
in four different elementary schools with dozens of colleagues. As an American future parent, I would willingly send my child to a class with maybe a
quarter of the teachers from these schools).
This is not to say that all teachers are horrible and mean people. There isn’t
a Matilda model for the French school system, but there is no coddling of
students. Students are “tutoyé,” but must “vouvoyer” their teachers, showing
a degree of respect unknown in American schools. They also have upwards
of 25 students in a class, few materials, and a strict photocopy limit. For
all of the rhetoric about the importance of education, and discussions in
American textbooks about how education is more valued in socialist France,
with excellent salaries and benefits for teachers, one needs only to step into
a French classroom to see the difference.
Crowded classes, outdated computers (with Windows 98 in 2010, nonetheless!), elementary education in France is in a tough spot. Some (though
certainly not all) teachers are in it for the benefits and the job security rather
than the warm, fuzzy feeling they get from helping children understand the
imperfect subjunctive or long division. If you teach in an elementary school
as an English assistant, be prepared to have ideas about education that are
very different from those of your colleagues, who for me, were stuck in the
1960s at best.
Middle school, or collège, in France lasts four years: 6ème, 5ème, 4ème, and
3ème, and at the end of 3ème, students must take a national exam known
as the brevet to be placed into a high school track. As early as 6ème, students have a homeroom teacher, but have most classes two or three times a
week, in a college-style schedule. School no longer has a fixed schedule, like
elementary school, so students can be done with class and go home at 2:00
on Mondays, but stay until 5:00 on Thursdays. The schedule can differ from
year to year, and depend on an individual student’s classes rather than the
school itself. While there are general requirements in all subjects, students
start taking specialized classes for the baccalaureat track they want to complete during middle school, taking up a second and even a third language or
extra chemistry and physics classes depending on their career goals. Students
who do not succeed in elementary schools are generally directed towards
vocational middle schools and high schools, where they complete special
degrees to become secretaries or mechanics’ assistants.
High school, or lycée, is three years: 2nde, 1ère, and Terminale, and students take only core courses and courses required for their bac. Like middle
school, the students’ schedule varies depending on their courseload, and
students are often free to leave campus when they are not in class. Classes are
generally big lectures with 40 or more students, and teachers may not know
everyone’s name. If you don’t do well on a paper, a teacher won’t ask to see
you after class to ask you privately what happened. Instead, when he hands
back the papers, “4 out of 20 again, Grant? Your paper was completely offtopic and riddled with spelling and grammar errors. If you want to pass my
class, you’ll have to do much better next time.”
Since the schedule of French schools varies so much, after-school activities with faculty sponsors are rare, and most activities take place outside of
school grounds. Centres de loisirs (activity clubs) and private groups are
abundant, and students who wish to pursue music or art lessons do so on
their own time. Of course, French high school students get in to college
based only on their exam results, not on their extracurricular activities.
At the end of high school, all students must take the Baccalaureat, a very
difficult exam at the end of Terminale that determines the student’s fate.
Students must get an average score of 10/20 on all of the sections in order to
pass, and they can achieve “mention assez bien,” “mention bien,” and “mention très bien” if they get higher scores. It is very common for students to fail
the bac the first time and to retake it once, or even several times before passing. On the other hand, advanced students in high school have the opportunity to take the bac early, continuing their education with “prépa,” or
college-level courses to prepare them for entry to the grandes écoles.
Licence / Master / Doctorat
Entry into the French university system is predicated only on passing the
bac, and students can attend any public university they like if they have
their diploma. A lack of control over how many students enter university
means that the number of students can vary greatly from year to year, while
university budgets don’t. Since public universities, which charge about 300€
maximum for a year of tuition, cannot control the number of students they
take, they control instead the number of students that can advance to the
next level.
Since the university reform in the early 2000s, the LMD system, or LicenceMaster-Doctorat progression has been implemented in all public universities. A licence is a normally 3-year degree, with a set number of courses
and curriculum for each department (known as a UFR). Students take an
average of 8 courses per term, with challenging exams at the end of each
semester, and grades, on a scale of 1-20, are posted on bulletin boards in the
department’s hallway. Students who fail the first exam can take it a second
time, either in a few weeks for the fall semester, or in September for the
spring semester exams. Students who fail both times, or who fail to achieve a
10 average in all of their courses, must repeat the year. Some schools require
a minimum grade of 10 in each class to pass. In 2010, Jean Sarkozy, the son
of the Président de la République, made the news when he finally passed
his L2 in Law on the third try, and he had attended some of the best public
schools in France.
Once a student “validates” a particular year in school, he or she can pass
to the next year. Since students often try multiple times to pass, every class
can have students of varying ages, and many of them work jobs on the side.
France even has a special system for working students, called “dispensation
du contrôle continu,” which allows students to take an oral exam at the end
of the course without completing other coursework or attending class. It is
notoriously difficult to pass exams in this way, as students have to get the
precise notes from others and know several of the works from the syllabus
by heart to pass.
A student who drops out of school after failing a year is not considered a
failure, and there are job opening specifying “bac+1, bac+2,” indicating that
they accept applications from students who have completed some university
coursework. Students who pass L3 are awarded a License diploma and may
apply for masters’ programs, which are a bit more competitive and which
require a professor to accept a student’s research project proposal before the
student can enroll. Students who successfully complete their M1 year may
apply for M2, usually with the same professor and project, although they
must write a significantly longer thesis. Students who complete M2 are eligible to take exams required for teaching jobs or to apply to do a 3-year doctoral program with the same professor or another professor in any university.
From the outside, French universities seem really competitive, and in some
programs (Literature at the Sorbonne, for example) fewer than half of the
students complete an L3. Of course, take this with a grain of salt. Because
universities admit everyone, the level of work required isn’t comparable to
a seminar at a small, private college in the US with a US News and World
Report ranking. I was shocked when one of my professors – in a relatively
intense L3 class at Paris VII – distributed a list of corrections to our papers,
and warned us not to confound “est,” “et,” and “ait,” or “se” and “ce.” “Foreign students,” she said, looking at me and some of the other Americans in
the class, “often take more time to correct their work and write better papers
than the French students.” If your level of French is relatively good, and your
schoolwork has been reasonably challenging, there’s no reason to think you
wouldn’t succeed in a French college class.
Students enrolled in American programs are usually not as restricted as
French students in their choice of courses or level, and can often take classes
in multiple departments in L1, L2, or L3. Program advisors can often steer
you to good classes and professors who particularly like American students
or who have a good relationship with program coordinators, increasing the
likelihood that you’ll enjoy the class and succeed. Advisors can also steer you
away from professors who don’t tolerate language mistakes, or those who
are anti-American or impossibly demanding. Pay at least as much attention
to the quality and character of the professor as you do to the subject of the
course.
Grandes Ecoles
The Grandes Ecoles are the highly competitive first-tier education track of the
French university system, and students who want to enter these schools often
take private classes and take the exams several times before being accepted.
Ranging from Sciences Po to the Ecole Nationale d’Administration, which
trains almost all of France’s government officials, these schools are both
highly selective and highly expensive. Unlike the universities, which accept
all students with a bac and charge only a few hundred euros for tuition, the
Grandes Ecoles can cost upwards of thousands of euros per year, though
they almost guarantee good jobs for life.
Understanding the Different Types of Classes
In American universities, the two main types of classes are large lectures
and smaller, discussion-based seminars, and most universities advertise the
nature and size of the class before enrollment. In France, the educational
system is much more focused on students learning from experts, and far less
concerned with students having an interactive experience or contributing to
a class discussion.
To that end, no French universities have viable programs in place to obtain
and review student feedback, and course evaluations are unheard of in
French schools. Similarly, most French professors believe that students are
incapable of having original thoughts before they begin working on their
doctoral dissertation - and many believe that students should not try to think
for themselves. Much of the work that is done in French universities, then,
is preparing students for eventually thinking critically, rather than teaching
students how to think, and the course structures in different universities
show how this is the case.
Most coursework is designed to get students to understand one text or
one limited question, with the expectation that students will accumulate
a knowledge base about the authors they’ve studied. Unlike American curriculums, which are often flexible and require students to take 4 or 5 courses
per semester, French curriculums, especially during Licence, are intense and
demanding, usually requiring 8 courses per semester with little choice. Most
American programs only require their students to take one or two classes in
a French university, and Master’s programs have lighter courseloads since
students have to write a 40 or 100 page thesis.
Here’s a brief guide to the types of classes you can expect to see in a French
university’s course bulletin.
Cours Magistral vs. Travaux Dirigés
At first glance, a cours magistral (CM) with its five or six corresponding
travaux dirigés (TD) seems to be the equivalent of the American lecture and
discussion section setup. However, the CM/TD organisation is quite different from its American counterpart because the CM and TD are actually
both lectures.
In this type of class, both the CM and the TD are obligatory, and students
scramble at the beginning of each semester to sign up for the TD that fits
best into their schedules. Typically, the CM is a large lecture of several hundred students, taught by a senior professor who is an expert in the course
subject. During the CM, the professor will cover the historical and philosophical context of the topic, refering to many different authors and scholars
who wrote about the time period or idea that the class is studying. On the
other hand, the TD can be taught and run by a junior faculty member,
usually a professor who has just passed the teaching exams or received her
doctorate. The TD will be a lecture on the readings specifically assigned for
the course. An introductory course on Anthropology, for example, will have
a CM that discusses the major themes in anthropological research and the
history of the field, while the TD will cover some important texts written by
the most prominent anthropologists. TDs are typically lecture-sized classes
with fifty or sixty students, so discussion is generally not a possibility.
Most CM/TD courses are introductory level classes, sometimes required
classes, and they require a significant amount of reading and outside work.
In most cases, there will be a final exam scheduled during the CM, and
students will also complete either an exposé or a written paper for the TD
professor. Like a graduate teaching assistant, the TD professors complete all
of the grading.
Also, unlike American classes, a CM or TD does not usually have a defined
syllabus with the coursework and grading expectations outlined at the beginning of the class. Professors will discuss assignments during class time, and
it will be your responsibility to pay attention, take notes, and know when
assignments are due. Most will, however, distribute bibliographies with the
most important works for the semester, and you should pay close attention to the lectures and your classmates to figure out what you’re supposed
to read. In some schools, like the Sorbonne, students are expected to have
done all of the reading for a class before it even starts, and then to reread
the books several times during the semester so they know the material well
enough - complete with memorized quotes - to pass the exams. Other professors will distribute long bibliographies with the expectation that students
will read a few of the most important texts and consult some of the other
texts for their papers.
The senior French professors that teach CMs don’t have office hours, and
many don’t give out their email addresses, and you shouldn’t try to contact
them for information about assignments, due dates, “how many pages,” etc.
If you’re unsure about something, ask a few French students for clarification
first; if you can’t get a satisfactory answer, you can ask your TD professor
very politely after class, using the excuse that you must have misunderstood
something because of the language barrier. French students are expected to
be very independent and to complete their work without being reminded,
so don’t expect reminders about assignments or strict guidelines either. If
you do decide to ask questions, most professors are understanding of the fact
that you come from a different system and country, but it gives the impression that either you haven’t been paying attention or that your French isn’t
good enough to keep up with the work.
A note on attendance: most schools don’t have an attendance policy, and
students can attend or not attend CM and TD at their own peril. But,
because most professors will only explain assignments in class without giving written instructions, it’s not a good idea to miss class. Some professors
and schools have policies stating that if you miss a certain number of classes,
you won’t be allowed to take the final exam, so you should also check that
policy before missing class.
Some universities, like the Université de Paris VII - Denis Diderot, which I
attended, have eliminated the CM/TD setup. In these schools, departments
will offer one three-hour “cours,” taught by one professor, who will combine
the philosophical topic overview with some key points about the readings.
Séminaire
Séminaires are classes usually held at the master’s level, and they are somewhat of a hybrid between a CM, a TD, and an atelier. Most séminaires are
two hours long, and the professor spends the first half (or slightly longer)
presenting a lecture on the topic’s theme before opening up to questions
and class dicussion. Since the classes can be quite large, the dicussion doesn’t
exactly take the same form as an American-style class discussion, but it’s
a slight improvement over a regular cours magistral. In this type of class,
professors will occasionally invite guest lecturers who have non-academic
careers in the field, providing a sort of professional development for students.
For most séminaires, students will «valider,» or obtain course credit, through
«contrôle continu,» attending class regularly and completing one assignment, either an exposé or a paper (usually a dossier). Regular attendance is
required, and student who work can opt out, but this is rare and difficult.
More on this later.
If you’d like to do an exposé, or if you’re required to do one, you’ll have
to sign up for a text and a date during one of the first two class periods.
Students who don’t want to do exposés complete a written assignment. At
this level, most professors are very flexible about the type of paper and the
topic you choose, and will expect students to develop a paper topic and
complete their own assignment thouroughly without any help. Students
select a work, an author, a theme, an idea - anything related to the course
- and do a written presentation of it. Most professors ask students to check
their paper topic with them before beginning work, but almost all topics are
approved. Minimum guidelines are given as to length and organization, and
students are left largely to themselves, receiving few if any reminders about
the assignment.
Atelier
An atelier is very similar to a séminaire in terms of organization, the primary
difference being that most ateliers are student-run in the presence of the professors. While the professor may conduct the first few classes, students are
typically expected to do one or more exposés, to decide amongst themselves
the works they will study, chosen from a long bibliography provided by the
department, and generate class discussion themselves. Most French professors, especially the older ones, are too old-school and gregarious to make it
through the whole class without intervening, and they frequently contribute
to discussion by explaining concepts and answering questions. Classes like
this are more common at places like Sciences Po and the grandes écoles,
where students are expected to be more advanced and to do the required
work ahead of time.
Communicating with French professors
While professors in American universities are generally held accountable to
students through course evaluations, office hours requirements, and email,
French professors are less well paid, teach many more hours, and have more
outside obligations than their American counterparts. Not only are French
professors not evaluated by students, they consider that students’ individual
concerns are among the least of their worries. Remember how we discussed
the fact that French primary school teachers don’t have the same affectionate outlook on their students? French professors also expect students to be
independent, and they aren’t interested in getting to know you or your situation. They’re not cold, they’re just over-worked: most have several hundred
students in lectures, master’s seminars, or as thesis and dissertation advisees
during any given semester. Many also have professional appointments in
research committees, magazines, and museums, in addition to completing
their own research and articles on the side. Aside from their other profes-
sional obligations, French professors, and French adults in general, were
raised with the idea that there’s a certain degree of separation between people in the public and professional spheres, a barrier that cannot - and should
not - be crossed. Interactions between people of different statuses should be
as brief and polite as possible.
I say this because you, as the American student, are going to be annoying
and rude. I don’t think you’ll mean to, but your status as a foreign student in
an American program creates extra work for your professors. Some American programs require students to complete tutoring sessions with the professor, and others arrange for their students to take exams at a different time,
or do an extra written assignment. At Columbia, we had a rule that students
had to complete 3 assignments per class, ostensibly so a low grade could be
weighted less and so students got to practice their French doing several different types of assignments. This type of policy helps you, as the student, but
it also creates more work for your very busy professor. And in every university class I’ve taken, I’ve seen overly enthusiastic American students offend
the professor without meaning to because of the way they approached him:
as a friendly, approachable person.
(NB: The extent to which professors are actually distant and cold varies
greatly depending on the atmosphere of the school and department you
attend, the professor’s age, the course level, and the professor herself. Older
professors in more prestegious universities are more likely to be crochety
than younger professors in modern departments. A science or literature professor is more likely to be cold than a social sciences professor, whose work
depends on interacting with people. And generally, the higher the class level
and the smaller the class, the more open and kind the professor. Most professors are not actually like this! However, for the purposes of interacting
with professors one-to-one, I always assume that they’re going to be somewhat annoyed, and I try to be as polite as possible.)
So, when you have to interact with your professor, what should you do? First
of all, don’t make the mistake - no matter how open the professor seems
during class - of thinking that he cares about your personal life. He doesn’t
care why you miss class, why you’re in France, what problems you’re having
understanding the course material - none of that. You should only approach
your professor about something directly related (intellectually) to the course
material, and requests/questions about assignments. When you have these
discussions, here are some tips to make the encounter go as smoothly as
possible:
- Excusez-moi, Madame (or Monsieur). If you’re waiting to talk to
the professor during a pause or after class, wait up by wherever
she’s standing, and wait for her to make eye contact with you
and say, “Oui?” before speaking. Never interrupt another student, or especially another professor.
- VOUS: Always, always, always use “vous.” Never, ever make the
mistake of using “tu.” Most professors will hear your accent,
know French is your second language, and forgive you if you slip
up, but they’ll also get a bad impression about you (and about
American students in general). The meaner ones will correct you
icily. So don’t slip up. Practice using “vous” and conjugating with
your friends, if you must, but never, ever, ever “tutoie” a professor. You’d be surprised at how many American students do this,
and it just looks bad. Don’t.
- Je voulais savoir s’il serait possible de travailler sur La Belle au
bois dormant pour le dossier. Always make requests or ask questions using the imperfect “je voulais savoir” and the conditional
“s’il serait possible,” “si je pourrais,” “si vous auriez reçu mon
mail,” etc. These are the most polite forms of spoken French. If
you want to be extra-special polite, use the past conditional construction: “J’aurais voulu savoir s’il serait possible de...”
- D’accord, merci beaucoup: Don’t forget to agree with the professor and thank him before returning to your seat or leaving.
And what if you’re interacting with your professor by email? Obviously, you
should follow the same rules outlined above, plus these:
- Begin the email with “Madame:” or “Monsieur.” In French,
“cher” or the feminine “chère” are familiar, and should never
begin emails to professors or to anyone who is not a friend. If
your professor replies with “Chère Allison,” you can then write
“Chère Madame,” but let the professor take the lead on the
introductions.
- J’espère que vous allez bien. Begin the email with a sentence or
two of polite small talk before going directly to your question.
- En vous remerciant par avance de votre aide. Always thank the
professor for his help before you end the email.
- Bien cordialement or Bien à vous. These two phrases are the
professional equivalent of “sincerely,” and you should use one of
them to sign emails.
- Patience. Wait several days before expecting a reply, if you get
one at all. Most French professors (and French in general) are
not constantly connected to their email, and they get dozens of
messages a day. If you don’t get a reply right away, don’t send a
follow-up unless it’s extremely urgent. (And it’s never extremely
urgent.) If you don’t get an answer, ask your question in person
during the next class.
Understanding Grading
From middle school on, French students are graded on a scale of 1-20, but
this system does not correspond at all to the American system of percentages. Because few professors give feedback or comments, or even return
papers and quizzes, it’s often difficult to know where you stand compared to
your classmates and what you have to do to get a good grade. Here’s a quick
guide to the factors that affect grading and how to understand the grades
you receive.
Contrôle Continu vs. Contrôle Terminal
Contrôle Continu is the term used to describe the set of assignments that
students complete in order to get a grade for a course, and it usually includes
attendance, an exposé or paper, and sometimes a final exam. Most students
are evaluated in this way.
Another type of grading, known as «Contrôle Terminal» is offered to students who are also full-time employees or handicapped, and who are unable
to regularly attend class. In this arrangement, students complete a written
assignment or the final exam with the rest of the class, and are required to
prepare for an oral exam on the course material, usually covering the topics
that were discussed in the cours magistral as well as the reading assignments.
Students who wish to exercise this option can have their employer fill out
the paperwork, or provide proof of full-time employment.
Since most American students on visas can’t work full-time, this would only
be an option for someone on a work visa who wishes to enroll in university
classes held during the day. Those who want to take higher-level classes in
«contrôle terminal» will have their efforts complicated by the fact that most
master’s level courses are held during the late afternoon or early evening so
most students can attend.
In general, taking classes as «contrôle continu» is a really, really bad idea.
Even if you’re at a university that doesn’t have a «notation éliminative» policy
(more on that later), the oral exams that students must pass are notoriously
difficult, as professors ask questions on course material discussed in class,
and expect students to know the ins and outs of most of the works on the
bibliography. Getting a grade in this way is significantly more work than for
contrôle continu, and the vast majority of students who take one or more
classes as contrôle terminal fail the class, with many failing out of the school
at the end of the year.
Notation Éliminative
Aside from the Grandes Écoles that admit students based on exam results,
the vast majority of French public universities do not screen applicants and
accept or reject students as American universities do. In theory, any student
who passes his baccalauréat at the end of high school can attend any university he wants just by signing up, whether it be the prestegious Sorbonne or
a more modern university like Paris VII.
Since anyone can enter any university, schools had to come up with a way
to keep their degrees meaningful, and the most prestegious schools came up
with a solution called «la notation éliminative.» In all schools, students must
obtain a minimum grade of 10 out of 20 to pass a class, and the student’s
weighted average for all classes must also be above 10. Grading isn’t necessarily easier in schools without a notation éliminative policy, but it’s less
comparative. In more modern schools, you won’t fail because you were on
the wrong part of the curve.
Essentially, this very strict grading policy means that only a small percentage of enrolled students pass their classes and receive the minimum grade
required to advance to the next level. In schools like the Sorbonne, only
about 20% of students in the most competitive departments - literature and
history, for example - will be able to complete the three years required to get
their license.
In recent years, this practice has fallen out of favor in some schools, and it’s
far from being the norm it once was. It also explains, though, why there are
so many older French people who have completed one or two years of their
degree (Bac+1 or Bac+2) without completing it. It’s generally not a reflection of a student’s lack of motivation, but shows instead that the student
wasn’t quite as intellectually inclined as his classmates.
To compensate for the «notation éliminative» system, all universities afford
all students who fail their first set of exams the opportunity to complete
makeup exams a semester later. Those who fail exams for fall semester can
review the course material and retake the exam in June, while those who
fail in the spring can retake exams in September. If students fail one class or
two, but otherwise have high enough grades, they can sometimes get out of
taking makeup exams and enroll directly in the next year. The final option
for those who don’t pass is to repeat the year, and there isn’t much stigma
associated with the necessity to «doubler.» Jean Sarkozy, like I mentioned
before, repeated his second year of Licence several times. With many French
students still living at home, not working, and having parents to support
them, repeating a year is hardly a financial burden. This phenomenon also
partly explains the age difference between students in upper-level classes.
French Grading Scale
An old French proverb about the grading system says that 20 is for God, and
19 is for the King. The Président de la République gets an 18. So realistically,
the highest grade that the most brillant student can hope to get is a 17.
Most American programs have a standard system for converting French university grades to American transcript grades, although some programs will
consider the range of grades and the professor’s grading policy before assigning a final grade. If you get a 13, for example, but there were only one 15,
three 14s, and five 13s in a class of 50 or 60 students, your program might
convert that to an A or an A-. All grades are posted publicly, with students’
names, on bulletin boards outside of department offices at the end of the
term. If you’re still in France when that happens (it’s usually at the end of
January and June) you should find your name on the list and try to get an
idea of how you ranked compared to other students. While some professors give preferential treatment to American students and assign them much
higher grades than their French conterparts, it’s relatively rare.
Even if you don’t do particularly well in a class, there’s not necessarily any
reason to panic. French universities are loathe to actually fail foreign students, as it can negatively affect the exchange program. In most cases, unless
you never go to class and turn in assignments way below acceptable minimums, the lowest grade you’re likely to get is a 10. And depending on your
university’s conversion scale, some programs consider an 8 or a 9 to be technically «passing,» which it isn’t in the French system. If you end up in over
your head mid-way through the semester, and it’s too late to drop the class
or change to «pass-fail,» you can also talk to your program advisor about
making up work with a tutor. Everybody wants American students to have
a positive experience so they’ll keep coming, and most programs will make
some minimal adjustments to help you. (Caveat: if your advisor knows
you’ve been skipping town every weekend and neglecting your schoolwork,
she may not be so inclined. So discretion and the aura of seriousness are the
rules!)
17-18
15-16
14
13
12
11
10
8-9
1-8
A+
A
AB+
B
BC
D
F
Doing Research
Municipal Libraries
Each arrondissement has, on average, 3 municipal libraries open to the public from 10 AM to 7 PM from Monday through Saturday, and all municipal
libraries are equipped with wifi. Accessing individual libraries is free and
easy, but if you want borrowing privileges, you can sign up for a free library
card, valid in all libraries in Paris, by bringing a copy of your ID (passport
and visa or carte de séjour). Your library card will give you the right to borrow up to 20 items for 3 weeks, and to renew and reserve items online.
If you’d like to be able to borrow CDs and Region 2 DVDs, you can pay 61€
to borrow up to three CDs or DVDs at a time for one year.
For a list of library locations and hours and access to the online catalogue:
- <www.bibliotheques.paris.fr>
The Bibliothèque François Mitterand
As France’s equivalent of the Library of Congress, the Bibliothèque François
Mitterand holds a copy of every book ever published in France, as well as
other books, publications, and manuscripts protected by legal copyright.
The BNF is an excellent place to do research, especially since it only has wifi
in certain areas, leaving you free from distractions.
To access the BNF, you’ll have to apply for an access card, which costs 20€
per year for students under 30. The first day you go to the BNF, you’ll need
to fill out the application, which may ask you what library resources specifically you need to use (you can look in the catalogue to get some ideas) and
show a copy of your French student ID or American program ID card to
get the reduced rate. You should bring your passport with visa and carte de
séjour just in case.
If you would prefer not to buy the BNF access card, you can buy a one-day
pass for 3,50€. There are no borrowing privileges at the BNF.
The BNF is open from Tuesday through Saturday from 9 AM to 7 PM, and
on Sunday and Monday afternoons. It is closed on holidays.
For more information, including hours, and access to online catalogue:
- Quai François Mauriac, 75013 Paris, Metro Quai de la Gare (line
6), Bibliothèque François Mitterand (14 or RER C)
- <www.bnf.fr>
Other Research Libraries
Centre Pompidou: Bibliothèque Publique d’Information
The Centre Pompidou has a large, free public research library open daily
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 10 AM to 10 PM, and Saturdays and Sundays from 12 PM to 10 PM. The library opens with reduced
hours on holidays, closing only on Tuesdays and May 1.
The BPI offers a significant collection of books and reading materials that
can be consulted in the library, but offers no borrowing privileges. It has
computer terminals and wifi access, in addition to a café in the Centre Pompidou entrance, and is surrounded by many cafés, restaurants, and shops.
For more information, including the online catalogue:
- rue Beaubourg, 75004 Paris, Metro Rambuteau (11), Chatelet (1,
4, 7, 11, RER A, B and D), Hôtel de Ville (1)
- <www.bpi.fr>
Institut du Monde Arabe
The Institut du Monde Arabe’s library has a large collection of French, English, and Arabic language books and journals pertaining to the Arab world.
Located on the Quai de la Tournelle across from Notre Dame, the IMA
offers impressive modern architecture, as well as a rooftop café overlooking
the Seine in the summer. Other amenities include vending machines and
restrooms in the basement, a museum, a book and music shop, and numerous events and activities.
The IMA library is open from Tuesday through Saturday from 1 PM to 8
PM, and is closed on Sundays, Mondays, and holidays. It does not offer borrowing privileges, but photocopiers are available on each floor. The library
is equipped with wifi.
For more information, including online catalogue:
- 1, rue Fossés Saint Bernard, 75005 Paris, Metro Jussieu (7, 10),
Cardinal Lemoine (10), Sully-Morland (7)
- <www.imarabe.fr/bibliotheque>
American Library
The American Library is a privately owned library with works in French and
English. It offers wifi and borrowing privileges to its members.
To join the American library, you must bring your passport, a current bill,
and your student ID card to the circulation desk. A one-year student membership costs 75€, and a student library card allows you to check out up to
6 books, 4 magazines, and 3 audiovisual items at a time. Most items are
checked out for two weeks and can be renewed online. A regular individual
membership costs 100€ and can be used to check out 20 books, 10 magazines, and 5 audio-visual items.
Short-term memberships can also be purchased for four months (47€) or
six months (65€), but they require an additional 60€ cash deposit for borrowing privileges. Daily and weekly passes can also be purchased for 12€
or 25€, and their cost can be deducted from the cost of a full membership
within one month. The librarians recommend that patrons check to see if
the materials they need are available before purchasing the pass, as passes
and memberships are nonrefundable.
The American Library is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 10 AM to 7
PM, and Sundays from 1 PM to 7 PM. It is closed on Mondays and holidays.
For more information:
- 10, rue Général Camou, 75007 Paris, Metro École Militaire (8),
Alma Marceau (9) or Pont de l’Alma (RER C)
- <www.americanlibraryinparis.org>
University Libraries
All French universities have student libraries that are generally open from
10 AM to 7 PM from Monday to Saturday, although exact hours depend
on the individual library. Students with university IDs for the current academic year have borrowing privileges, although the number of items you
are allowed to borrow at any given time depends on your level. Masters and
PhD students can borrow more materials, and for longer, than students
working on their licence. Many American programs will enroll you in one
of their partner French universities even if you’re not taking classes there so
you can use the libraries and borrow materials. Check with your American
program our on your university’s website for more information.
Chapter 6
>Writing Papers in the French System
Types of French Assignments
French university assignments are significantly different from Americanstyle papers, and all of them follow specific formats and have rules that
need to be followed in order for them to earn good grades. In the French
system, students have been trained to do these types of assignments since
they were in middle school, and it is expected that students will know how
to organize and write these types of papers. Unfortunately, France is not a
country in which professors generally award points for creativity, and failing
to conform to the standards will earn you a failing grade, no matter how
brilliant your analysis. Since nothing in the American system even remotely
resembles most of these assignment types, this is a guide to the most commonly assigned papers in the French university.
The examples given in this chapter are mostly literary in nature, but that
doesn’t mean that these assignments are only given to students in literature
departments. While students in the hard sciences, math, and economics can
expect problem sets, students in the social sciences - anthropology, sociology, history - as well as students of literature can expect to complete these
types of assignments. The conclusions about the text and its importance
may be different for an anthropological or historical text than for a literary
text, but the methods of analysis, based heavily on literary devices and style,
will be essentially the same.
The papers presented as examples in this chapter were written by American
students studying abroad with the Columbia University Programs in Paris
(junior year abroad) or with the Middlebury French School (Master’s students having completed one intensive summer at Middlebury’s Vermont
campus). They have not been corrected for grammar, style, or Anglicisms,
and I chose to leave them in their original form in order to give you an idea
of the level of French many students have when they begin the French segment of their academic careers. There are also many resources for each type
of assignment available in French, either online or in bookstores, and those
resources can give you an idea of French students’ level of sophistication in
their writing. Some of the best resources are listed in Chapter 7.
Some important tips for writing papers in France:
- Always follow the structure for the type of paper you are trying
to write. Never deviate from it, no matter how brilliant you are.
- When writing in French, try to use more nouns and fewer verbs
to make a more «French-sounding» sentence. «L’extrême fatigue
des chats ayant consacré la journée à la chasse des souris» is a
much French-er sentence than «Les chats ont chassé des souris
toute la journée et ils sont fatigués,» even if both are grammatically correct. Which brings me to my next point:
- Vary your use of sentence structure and vocabulary. Nothing is
more boring than reading a paper that says, «L’empire Ottomane
a conquis l’Afrique du Nord au dix-neuvième siècle. Ensuite,
ils ont déclaré que toutes les mosquées devaient désormais
s’orienter vers la mecque, et non pas vers le sud comme la tradition maghrébine voulait. Les Musulmans de l’Afrique du Nord
n’étaient pas content parce qu’ils pensaient que le changement
de direction nierait les prières de leurs ancêtres.» Spice it up a little: «Après la conquête ottomane de l’Afrique du Nord au 19ème
siècle, les imams déclarèrent que les mosquées devraient désor-
mais s’orienter vers la Mecque, ce qui fâcha les Maghrébins, qui
craignaient les conséquences pour les prières de leurs ancêtres.»
- Have somebody else read your paper. Even if you have an excellent command of French, it probably still needs work if you’ve
never lived and gone to school in France before. Get your work
done ahead of time, proofread your own work, and have a native
French speaker reread it.
The Problématique
The problématique is probably the single-most spoken word in French universities, and it is also the most important key to getting a good grade on a
written assignment in France. Every assignment, no matter how short and
basic, needs to have a problématique.
A problématique is basically the French equivalent of a thesis statement,
except that it’s not exactly the same thing. It can be a set of questions, or
problems, that you are trying to answer in your assignment, or that the
text poses in itself. Your job, while doing your assignment, is to draw out
those questions or problems and to show some sort of conflict. In all French
assignments, you are NOT supposed to argue for one viewpoint or another,
but instead to explain and illustrate the different aspects of the problématique. Your analysis of any text, then, should always include a discussion of
any shift that occurs.
Your problématique can be one to three sentences about the main ideas in
the work (and in your paper). In every paper you write, your problématique
should be very clearly stated at the end of the introduction, in its own paragraph, and be followed by an outline of how your paper is going to develop.
Explication de texte
Goal of an Explication de texte
Like its name implies, an explication de texte is designed to thoroughly
explain a brief passage of text and its primary themes and ideas. Unlike
other types of university assignments - the commentaire composé or the
dissertation - students writing an explication de texte are not expected to
handpick their ideas according to the themes they want to draw out, but to
analyze as many features of the text as they can before making some decisions about the passage’s importance. In that sense, an explication de texte is
training for the more difficult types of assignments, which require all of the
analysis of an explication de texte, which must then be ranked according to
its significance and ordered according to theme. We’ll talk more about that
once we get to the commentaire composé, but for the explication de texte, a
line-by-line explanation of the author’s word and verb tense choices, literary
and rhetorical devices, and stylistic nuances will suffice.
For the explication de texte like the commentaire composé, professors usually choose a passage that represents some of the important ideas in the
larger work, and your analysis will have to link back to the rest of the text.
The principle focus of this type of paper, however, should be the literary and
rhetrorical devices the author uses to make his point and how the text functions as part of a whole.
Don’t be fooled by the passage’s brevity. During my junior year at Paris VII, I
had a professor - M. Chartier - who would come into class with nothing but
his book (a translation of Shakespeare’s King Lear), open to the first page of
a scene, and hold a two-hour course analyzing the first few lines of dialogue.
Other professors regularly expect students to write eight to ten pages on a
single sonnet. The standard seems to be one page per line, but your professor
will usually give guidelines for the assignment. As with any good university
level paper, the best rule of thumb is that it’s not done until it’s done. In the
three-page essay below, written for a methodology class at Middlebury College, the assignment was to outline the paper and provide all of the details
Sample Explication de texte
Explication de texte sur Des Coches de Montaigne
Dans son essai intitulé « Des Coches, » Montaigne commente la « découverte » de l’Amérique et la première rencontre entre les conquistadors Espagnols et une tribu indienne. Il s’agit, effectivement, d’un essai sur des voyages
lointains, une coche étant un type de transport à l’époque de Montaigne.
Cette partie, placée vers le milieu de l’essai, est une diversion sur ce voyage
en Amérique et sur la première interaction de ces deux groupes. Montaigne
se concentre particulièrement sur les exigences des Espagnols concernant
la religion, la souveraineté de leur roi, et leur préoccupation avec l’or, et les
réponses qu’ont donné les Indiens à leurs propositions.
L’extrait peut être divisé en trois parties. Dans une première partie, de la
ligne 1 jusqu’à la fin de la phrase dans la ligne 13, Montaigne raconte l’épisode historique de l’arrivée des Espagnols en Amérique et leur première rencontre avec des Indiens ; il expose également l’attitude des Espagnols envers
les Indiens et leur pays, qu’ils traitent de pays conquis. Dans une deuxième
partie, de la ligne 14 jusqu’à la ligne 32, il reprend les demandes des Espagnols dans le même ordre et donne les réponses des Indiens aux demandes.
Dans une troisième partie, de la ligne 32 à la fin de l’extrait, il revient au discours des Espagnols et à leur ordre de quitter les lieux, concluant pourquoi
les Indiens ont quitté leur terre. C’est un texte qui expose l’argumentation
des deux groupes et qui met en opposition les exigences, les préjugés, et les
menaces des Espagnols avec la générosité, la naïveté, et surtout la raison des
Indiens.
Première partie
La première partie de ce texte décrit le débarquement des Espagnols en
Amérique ainsi que les demandes que les Espagnols auraient faites lorsqu’ils
rencontraient les Indiens.
A la quête de leurs mines : l’assomption est que ce qu’ils trouveront leur
appartiendra, ils cherchaient leurs richesses aux quatre coins du monde
Quand ils arrivent, ils traitent le pays comme conquis et les Indiens comme
objets, qui devraient être soumis
L’usage du mot « mine » dans la première phrase de la première partie pour
désigner les richesses du nouveau monde, c’est-à-dire, l’or
La succession d’adjectifs positifs pour décrire le pays : une contrée fertile et
plaisante, fort habitée
Leurs remontrances accoutumées : périphrase innocente pour signaler, selon
la note de bas de page l’imposition violente (de force) de la religion catholique et la domination du roi d’Espagne
L’explication qui s’ensuit semble beaucoup plus poli – la réalité de la violence masquée par le langage doux, qui devient après de plus en plus violent
Progression douceur à recommandations à menaces
Qu’ils étaient gens paisibles : qualité paisible des Espagnols mise en question
par l’opposition entre cet adjectif et l’imposition du pouvoir qui suit
« le plus grand prince de la terre habitable / représentant Dieu en terre » :
Met l’accent sur les qualités et le pouvoir du prince et du pape, sert aussi à
justifier la prise en charge de la terre des Indiens
« que s’ils voulaient lui être tributaire, ils seraient bénignement traités » - le
garanti du bon traitement repose sur l’acceptation de la religion et sur la
soumission
Ordre de demandes : les Espagnols imposent leur roi d’abord, et demande
les choses les plus nécessaires à la fin
La priorité donnée à l’imposition du pouvoir (celui du roi et celui du pape,
qui croyait avoir le droit de donner le pays des Indes aux Espagnols, et à qui
il fallait donner de l’argent)
Demandes banales qui assurent la survie des Espagnols (des vivres, de l’or
pour de la médecine)
Imposition de la religion catholique
Au demeurant – synonyme de « par ailleurs » qui insiste sur ce qui suit, c’està-dire, un seul Dieu et la vérité de la religion catholique
« Vérité de notre religion »
création d’un ‘nous’ qui rapproche Montaigne et le lecteur
redoublement de l’insistance sur la vérité de la religion catholique, qui
semble excessive et donc ironique
laquelle ils leur conseillaient d’accepter, y ajoutant quelques menaces : Montaigne minimalise le rôle de la violence avec l’ambiguïté du mot « menaces »
et favorise une interprétation qui prendrait en compte le mot conseil, ce qui
crée l’effet d’une antiphrase
Deuxième partie
La deuxième partie de l’extrait reprend toutes les demandes des Espagnols
et donne les réponses dans le même ordre ; cette construction linéaire et
directe met en valeur la raison des Indiens, qui ne se laissent pas duper par
l’argumentation et les menaces des Espagnols.
La réponse est précédée par un deux-points, ce qui présente une citation
directe des Indiens
Dire que l’on est paisible crée un doute ! Pourquoi le dire sauf si on ne l’est
pas ?
La répétition de « quant à » en début des réponses des Indiens crée évoque
une manière de répondre direct, avec les réponses dans le même ordre que
les questions
« ils n’en portaient pas la mine (d’être paisibles) – Les Indiens ne se laissent
pas tromper
Mine dans la première phrase de la deuxième partie pour désigner la tromperie des Espagnols
Assomptions des Indiens qui contrastent avec la vérité (ou avec ce que
veulent croire les Espagnols)
Que le roi est nécessiteux – montre la naïveté des Indiens, qui semblent ne
pas comprendre la cupidité des Espagnols, ou que quelqu’un aurait besoin
d’un pays
Le pape, homme aimant dissension – cette phrase montre à la fois la conception de justice et d’injustice des Indiens, et l’ignorance du fait qu’ils ne sont
pas considérés humains aux yeux du pape que s’ils lui donnent de l’argent
et lui sont soumis
Mise-en-valeur de l’hospitalité, de la générosité des Indiens et de leur concept
de l’utilité
Ils acceptent volontiers de donner à manger aux Espagnols, qui sont dans
le besoin
Générosité spontanée malgré leurs menaces et demandes
puisque l’or n’est pas utile, il ne leur est pas cher – ils donnent l’autorisation
aux Espagnols de prendre autant qu’ils veulent, sauf ce qu’ils utilisent pour
servir leurs dieux
montre l’ancienneté de leur religion et le pragmatisme – ils ne vont pas
changer de religion parce que la leur marche très bien
le fait de menacer est un signe de faute de jugement – ils reprochent aux
Espagnols les menaces
Troisième partie
La troisième partie revient au discours des Espagnols, leurs ordres et leurs
menaces, et explique pourquoi les Indiens ont dû quitter leur terre. Elle finit
par un commentaire de Montaigne qui met en question la désignation des
Indiens comme des « enfants ».
Ainsi – connecteur argumentatif qui sert ici à revenir sur le discours des
Espagnols et leur réponse au refus des Indiens d’accepter les conditions
offertes de la colonisation
- « qu’ils se dépêchassent » - subjonctif qui indique un ordre de partir
- « car ils n’étaient pas accoutumés de prendre en bonne part les
honnêtetés et remontrances de gens armés et étrangers »
o
Les Espagnols projettent leurs propres défauts sur les Indiens
– c’est eux qui arrivent armés et étrangers et qui envahissent,
les Indiens acceptent de les aider
- Autrement – si les Indiens ne partent pas
- Qu’on ferait d »eux comme de ces autres – retour aux menaces ;
cette fois c’est un menace plus spécifique - celui de la mort
- La tête d’aucuns justifiés – les Espagnols auraient coupé la tête à ce
qui avaient refusé de partir, et auraient monté les têtes en ville pour
menacer
- La dernière phrase de l’extrait est une antiphrase qui met en
contraste la pensée raisonnable des Indiens telle qu’elle est démontrée dans le texte, avec les mots « balbutie » qui renvoie à une façon
enfantine de parler, et la désignation de la tribu des Indiens par
« cette enfance, » un préjugé répandu à l’époque
o
C’est le seul moment qu’intervient Montaigne pour donner
son opinion – et il implique qu’il n’a pas les mêmes préjugés
contre les Indiens et suggère au moins qu’il a un doute sur la
justesse des actes des Espagnols
Dans ce texte, Montaigne représente la rencontre entre les Espagnols
conquérants et les Indiens conquis du nouveau monde. Présentés en tant
que citation directe par l’usage du deux-points, ces deux discours servent à
contraster l’hypocrisie et la cupidité des occidentaux avec la générosité, l’utilitarisme, et la raison des Indiens. Le texte met l’accent sur la progression des
menaces des Espagnols, de la suggestion de la soumission jusqu’au menace
de la mort, et conclut que les Indiens ne sont pas si enfantins que l’on croit,
mettant en question les croyances des Européens.
Recommended Methodology
Introduction: Situate the passage in the context of the larger work. Identify
the author, year of publication, genre, and then identify the passage’s placement. Is it the beginning of a novel (incipit) or midway through a chapter?
Is it more towards the beginning, middle, or end? Who is speaking (first
or third person narrator?) and what happens in the passage? Is there a shift
or a revelation? Does the character learn something or make a decision?
Identify anything important that describes the passage and what it does.
End with the problématique, a statement about the passage’s function and
importance, and by identifying the outline of your paper (the two or three
major parts).
After you’ve stated the important facts about the passage, begin to analyze
the text line by line. If there are any words you don’t know, look them up in
a French language dictionary (NOT a French-English one!) A good one to
use is the Trésor de la Langue Française, which can be found online. If the
text you’re analyzing is not contemporary, the TLF will give you historical
meanings of words and when they appeared, so you can determine what
they meant when Montaigne or Voltaire was using them. What is the connotation of the key words in the passage? Are there other words that the
author could have used, and didn’t? This will help you to determine whether
the language is familiar or «soutenu» - formal.
Then, circle the verbs. What verb tenses are used, and are there any changes?
Is it written in the imparfait, which is used to describe, or the passé simple,
the literary past? If it is written in the passé composé, a primarily spoken
tense, there is surely a reason. Comment on it.
Next, identify the literary and rhetorical devices in the text. A great and thorough list can be found on French-language Wikipedia. If there are any that
are used several times, they are particularly noteworthy. Are there groups of
words that set a particular tone, or obvious symbols?
Finally, take a look at the style. Are the sentences short with small words,
or long and flowery? Is the tone more like someone is speaking or more like
someone is writing a political speech or a eulogy? Is the style familiar, formal, or somewhere in between?
Once you’ve identified all of these qualities, you should begin to write your
analysis. The hardest part is writing it so it doesn’t sound like a laundry list
of all of the things you noticed about the text. Depending on how long the
passage is - this will work better if it’s shorter - you may want to organize
your paper around diction (word choice and verb tenses), literary/rhetorical devices, and style, rather than doing line-by-line. If there’s a significant
shift in the passage, you could also dicuss the part before the shift and the
part after the shift, explaining your choice by identifying how the two parts
of the passage are different. In this way, the explication de texte is less strict
than other types of assignments, but you’ll still want to pay attention to
what your professor advises if he mentions the assignment in class.
Conclusion: Once you’ve outlined all of your analysis, this is the place to
make statements about how the text functions as part of the whole and
what the author’s purpose was in writing it this way. State what happens
after the passage, and how the ideas or thoughts in your passage influence
or foreshadow what happens next. If the passage is representative of the
text’s themes, identify how they are showcased in this passage compared to
the rest of the text. Think about what was accomplished in this passage that
was not accomplished elsewhere in the book. The conclusion can be just a
few sentences long, but it should show that you understand not only the
text you analyzed, how it relates to the larger work and why your professor
thinks it’s important.
Commentaire Composé
Goal of a Commentaire Composé
Like an explication de texte, a commentaire composé’s main purpose is to
explain a brief passage in a text; however, it uses textual analysis to illustrate
ideas about the whole work and its major themes. A commentaire composé
should be organized thematically in two or three parts, each with two or
three subparts, and the analysis should be selected support the structure and
argument of your paper. You still have to do all of the analysis of an explication de texte - diction, style, and literary devices - and then decide what
everything means. Unlike an explication de texte, you’ll have to pick and
choose the most important aspects of the text in order to develop the theme.
Sample Commentaire Composé
« Tirade de Raison de Madame Jourdain envers son mari quichotte »
Molière, né Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, est l’un des grands dramaturges
e
du 17 siècle. Il est d’autant plus renommé pour ses comédies, traitant une
variété des sujets. Ses comédies ciblent la prétention des bourgeois, les médecins ignorants, même le pédantisme des savants, parmi d’autres. Son œuvre
comprend plusieurs pièces reconnues : L’Ecole des Femmes, traitant l’éducation des filles, Tartuffe, montrant l’hypocrisie religieuse, et Le Misanthrope,
ciblant l’hypocrisie et la prétention aristocrate. Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme,
a été écrite en 1670, suit le snobisme des gens qui veulent devenir nobles à
la Cour. Étiquetée comédie ballet, invention de Molière, Le Bourgeois Gen-
tilhomme est un festin de la musique, de la danse, et de la comédie. Son
personnage principal, Monsieur Jourdain aspire à devenir noble. Bientôt,
cette aspiration mène à la fierté, au snobisme, et au dédain envers les autres
personnages. Un jour, un jeune homme, Cléonte, demande la main de sa
fille Lucile. M. Jourdain refuse violemment puisque Cléonte ne vient pas
d’une famille noble, et il veut que Lucile devienne marquise, statut fort dans
la société. Cependant, Mme. Jourdain interrompt et questionne la rationalité de cette réponse dans sa tirade de l’Acte III, scène xii.
La tirade de Mme. Jourdain se dit avec conviction : c’est la voix de
la raison. L’argument, bien construit dans une forme organisée, est consacré
à M. Jourdain, pour qu’il puisse comprendre malgré sa folie. Elle dévoile les
défauts de son plan, peu à peu afin de convaincre son mari que son plan de
faire Lucile marquise est fou et irrationnel. La question supposée à travers ce
texte est de comment Mme. Jourdain identifie les défauts des raisonnements
de son mari d’une façon claire et raisonnable. Dans le commentaire composé suivant, il s’agira donc dans un premier temps de cerner la structure de
l’argument raisonnable. Ensuite, il faudra examiner par quels moyens cette
argumentation est efficace. Enfin, il sera possible d’évaluer les implications
sociales et morales dans la tirade de Mme. Jourdain.
Le texte du discours peut se diviser en deux grandes parties. Dans la
première, il y a un refus de la proposition de M. Jourdain, clair et évident.
Elle dit qu’elle « ne consentira point » à ce que son mari veut pour sa fille.
La seconde partie révèle l’hypothèse des situations possibles pour faire Lucile
marquise dont Mme. Jourdain n’est pas du tout contente. A la fin, elle dit
son désir, sa proposition pour l’époux de Lucile.
On peut remarquer tout de suite que la tirade a été rédigée en prose
pour faciliter une conversation directe avec l’autre personne. Sans les fleurissements et la poésie, ce discours, écrit en prose, représente les mots réels du
personnage dans une forme libre. L’argument direct est tout à fait efficace.
En ce qui concerne les moyens employés par l’argument, on peut
détecter la colère et la frustration de Madame Jourdain. Une urgence marque
cette tirade quand elle se fait de souci pour sa fille. « Je ne veux point qu’un
gendre puisse ma fille reprocher ses parents. » Elle ne voudrait pas courir le
risque de l’humiliation publique. Les Jourdain seraient humiliés en rendant
visite à la famille de l’aristocratique époux de Lucile. On dirait : « c’est la
fille de Monsieur Jourdain qui était trop heureuse, étant petite, de jouer à la
Madame avec nous. »
Dans cette frustration, Madame Jourdain désire que Lucile prenne
la main de quelqu’un qui est un vrai homme, honnête et responsable. Elle
dit qu’on « ne devient guère si riches à être honnêtes hommes. » A son
avis, les riches ne sont point honnêtes et Madame Jourdain pense que des
peuples, surtout les travailleurs (marchands, etc.) sont les plus responsables.
Logiquement, elle préfère ces hommes aux hommes puissants et riches dans
la société, et choisirait un artisan pour l’époux de sa fille.
De cette structure logique et de cette forme de la tirade, on peut tirer
que Madame Jourdain n’aime point l’aristocratie. Elle perçoit l’hypocrisie
et l’ostentation de cette classe sociale. En décrivant la « mégarde à saluer
quelqu’un du quartier, » elle s’enrage contre la condescendance qui existe
entre les aristocrates et les bourgeois, et la classe laborieuse. Elle ne veut pas
du système hiérarchique et préfère s’associer avec sa propre classe. Pour elle,
l’ascension de classe sociale n’est pas une priorité, tandis que son mari désire
un statut plus élevé. Madame Jourdain désire donc que sa fille reste dans sa
propre classe sociale pour être plus heureuse.
Pour conclure, la tirade de Madame Jourdain est évidemment un
effort qui va contre le système hiérarchique de la société. Madame Jourdain, consciente des problèmes avec le mariage entre deux classes, perçoit les
problèmes de l’honnêteté des gens riches. Elle voudrait que sa fille épouse
quelqu’un qui est responsable-- le mariage pour l’amour. Son argument
très clair et raisonnable va contre celui de Monsieur Jourdain qui préfère le
mariage pour l’ascension sociale. Forme solide et structurée, l’argument de
Madame Jourdain reste un moment puissant et convaincant.
Recommended Methodology
Introduction: Situate the passage in the context of the larger work. Identify
the author, year of publication, genre, and then identify the passage’s placement. Is it the beginning of a novel (incipit) or midway through a chapter?
Is it more towards the beginning, middle, or end? Who is speaking (first
or third person narrator?) and what happens in the passage? Is there a shift
or a revelation? Does the character learn something or make a decision?
Identify anything important that describes the passage and what it does.
End with the problématique, a statement about the passage’s function and
importance, and by identifying the outline of your paper (the two or three
major parts). (This is the same as for the explication de texte, however, the
problématique and the plan should link the ideas and themes of the passage
to the ideas and themes of the larger work and the course’s problématique).
After the introduction, you should have two or three «parties,» each with
two or three «sousparties.» The parties should each be roughly the same
length, and the sousparties should also be the same length. Don’t have two
sousparties under on theme and five under another. If the sousparties or the
parties don’t look balanced, consider reorganizing your outline to or reformulating them to make them balanced. It takes practice, but your professor
will definitely comment if your paper is uneven.
Inside of each souspartie and partie, you can develop your theme however
you choose, either chronologically or thematically, basing your analysis on
the passages you quote and the observations you make about the passage.
Obviously, if you’re writing about conflicting ideas, you’ll want to develop
one side of the conflict and then switch to the other side, even if the ideas
are intermingled in the passage. It’s up to you to organize all aspects of your
analysis so that the each souspartie, partie, and the entire paper make sense.
Some tips for organizing your commentaire composé:
- Sousparties and parties should be roughly the same length
- You should have a problématique, or argument, for each section, and these should all tie into a larger, overarching problématique about the whole work. Even better if it relates to the main
themes of the course
- The order of the parties should follow a logical order, and generally appear from most basic to most complex. Within each partie, the sousparties should develop in the same way.
Conclusion: Once you’ve outlined all of your analysis, this is the place to
make statements about how the text functions as part of the whole and
what the author’s purpose was in writing it this way. Think about what
was accomplished in this passage and how it asks essential questions about
the rest of the book, and how it reflects or represents the book’s topic, the
author’s philosophy or ideas, and the time period. Your conclusion should
situate the passage and the work in the context of the class’s themes and
demonstrate how this particular work develops your understanding (or has
enhanced historical understanding) of the topic at hand. Finally, you can
use the conclusion to ask questions about the author’s motivations, the text’s
influence, and its current relevance. In this case, your conclusion should be
at least a two paragraphs.
Dossier
Goal of a Dossier
A dossier is the most free-form of all of the French assignment types, and
it varies so much that professors often give their own guidelines. A dossier
can cover any topic or any work or set of works, and professors will often
guide you to the type of dossier they want. In some cases, you may write a
thematic dossier, like «the baby doll in 19th century French children’s literature, a dossier on one work, «national identity in Amin Maalouf ’s Identités
Meutrières,” a dossier on a set of works, like the one below on different
versions of “Sleeping Beauty,” or a theme within an author’s works, “Arab
marriages in Pierre Bourdieu.” Most professors require you to get your topic
approved before you begin working.
The purposes of a dossier can be as varied as professors and courses, but the
general idea is to choose a theme or themes and to develop them as you see
fit. As long as your work is relevant to your topic and to the class and your
topic is defined and well developed, you’ll probably get a good grade. The
trick is to define the limits of your topic narrowly and to develop it completely within your own limits. In any case, you should be sure to get your
topic approved by the middle of the term for a paper due at the end of the
semester.
Sample Dossier
Dossier: La Belle au Bois Dormant
Introduction
Une jeune princesse est condamnée à mourir en se piquant le doigt
par une mauvaise fée. Heureusement, une bonne fée peut contourner la
malédiction, et la changer en cent ans de sommeil. Après de gros efforts
d’éviter les fuseaux, le malheur se produit, et la princesse tombe endormie
avec son entourage, protégée par de grands buissons, jusqu’à ce qu’un prince
vienne et elle se réveille. Ils se marient et vivent très heureux. La Belle au bois
dormant est, avant tout, l’histoire d’une princesse réveillée par un prince.
Mais la princesse, qui semble être l’héroïne, est endormie durant presque
toute l’histoire ; pourrait-elle l’être véritablement?
Cette étude portera sur trois versions de La belle au bois dormant :
celle de Grimm, traduite de l’allemand par Armel Guerne, celle de Perrault,
et une version modernisée qui s’appelle La belle au doigt bruyant, écrite
par Philippe Dumas et Boris Moissard, qui fait parti d’un recueil intitulé
Contes à l’envers. Dans un premier temps, nous examinerons brièvement le
contexte des versions de Grimm, de Perrault, et de Dumas et Moissard, ce
qui nous permettra d’établir comment nous pouvons analyser les versions
différentes. Dans un deuxième temps, nous toucherons à l’intrigue à partir
des actions des personnages. Une étude des personnages à partir de leurs
fonctions et de leurs déplacements nous permettra d’établir les différents
messages du conte et nous mènera enfin à une interprétation globale du
conte, et à l’identification du vrai héros de l’histoire.
Tout d’abord, établissons quelques principes de base pour guider
notre étude de ce conte. Nous pouvons examiner la version de Grimm et
celle de Dumas et de Moissard dans leur ensemble, parce qu’ils ne traitent
que le sommeil et le réveil de la princesse. Mais afin de mieux analyser le
conte de Perrault et de pouvoir le comparer avec les autres versions, nous
allons nous focaliser uniquement sur la première séquence de l’intrigue,
dans laquelle la princesse s’endort et le prince vient l’épouser. Nous pouvons considérer que dans cette version, le conte La belle au bois dormant
se termine juste après le mariage du prince et de la princesse et l’introduction de l’histoire de la mère-ogresse qui veut manger les enfants est en fait
l’introduction d’un autre conte, et ne constitue pas une partie intégrante
du premier conte.1 L’apparition de la famille du prince après quelques ans
de mariage avec la princesse déclenche une nouvelle séquence de l’intrigue,
puisque aucune action ni caractéristique particulière ne relie la princesse de
la première partie avec celle de la deuxième partie.
Le projet des auteurs
1
Il s’agit de la première catégorie des séquences reliées (Propp,
113). Pour établir le nombre des contes, Propp nous propose 8
Grimm, Perrault, et Dumas ont écrit leurs versions du conte dans
des époques et dans des circonstances très diverses. Une brève présentation
de leurs projets servira à illuminer certaines différences entre les versions, et
les limites de notre étude.
Les frères Grimm, qui se sont chargés de ramasser les différents
contes populaires en Allemagne et en Europe, n’avaient pas de projet politique particulier. Préserver les contes répandus et racontés par les villageois
est surtout un travail anthropologique : il s’agissait d’enregistrer les croyances
et la culture populaire du peuple. Ce projet, très peu susceptible aux changements effectués par les Grimm, ne vise pas à influencer un peuple ni à mettre
en valeur une politique particulière ; même si les Grimm ont effectué des
changements, nous ne pourrions pas savoir lesquels et pour quelles raisons
les Grimm ont changé les contes. De plus, cette version n’est qu’une parmi
des centaines de versions possibles existant à l’époque, et de surcroît, c’est
une traduction. Ayant précisé que c’est une version d’une version parmi
des centaines de versions, nous pouvons ensuite établir les limites de notre
analyse. Il est évident que nous ne pouvons pas analyser, d’une manière très
précise, les détails du récit, comme le choix de mots, qui est forcément le
choix du traducteur ou du conteur et qui n’est pas inscrit dans le conte luimême. Il vaut mieux donc l’analyser à partir de l’intrigue et des actions et
motivations des personnages.
En revanche, Perrault ne visait pas à collectionner les contes ; il les a
écrits pour plaire à la cour au 17ème siècle. Il n’est pas nécessaire de savoir
pour qui il a écrit dans la mesure où cela ne nous aiderait pas à déterminer
comment analyser ce conte ; il est simplement intéressant de noter que certains détails pourraient être des changements effectués par Perrault, et que
les choix du style et de l’expression sont des choix actifs de sa part. Sachant
que cette version ne représente pas forcément toutes les versions répandues
en Europe (puisque l’on ne sait pas quels sont les modifications de Perrault),
nous pouvons étudier ce conte avec beaucoup plus de précision et examiner
non seulement les actions des personnages mais aussi le langage du conte.
Le projet de Dumas et de Moissard est intéressant parce qu’il s’agit
d’écrire des « contes à l’envers » : inversant certains détails du conte afin de
nous en présenter une version moderne. Bien que cette version soit écrite au
vingtième siècle pour amuser les enfants et ne soit pas une version dite « traditionnelle » du conte, elle peut nous aider à comprendre les détails les plus
intéressants des versions originales parce qu’elle nous aide à réduire le conte
à ses éléments de bases. Cela nous permet aussi de nous poser d’autres questions sur la méthode de Dumas et Moissard et sur les morales originales du
conte. À quoi sert, par exemple, leur présentation de l’histoire « à l’envers, »
et à quoi s’attend-on sachant que l’histoire est censée être inversée ? Quels
éléments du conte a-t-il inversés ? Comment ces changements peuvent-ils
guider notre lecture du conte original ? Dumas et Moissard, en quoi ont-ils
réussi, et en quoi ont-ils échoué ? Une étude des choix de ces auteurs nous
permettra ainsi de commenter les valeurs des versions originales et celles de
cette version plus moderne.
Une étude des personnages qui influencent beaucoup les évènements majeurs dans la vie de la princesse (les parents, les fées, et le prince)
nous permettra de voir comment la fille est perçue par les autres et de mieux
définir son rôle.
Le Roi et La Reine
Dans le conte de Grimm, le roi et la reine ne remplissent pas la fonction traditionnelle des parents ; au lieu d’élever leur fille et de la protéger, ils
sont importants parce que c’est eux qui sont responsables de son malheur.
Tout d’abord, le fait de vouloir donner naissance à un enfant est présenté
comme un vœu exaucé par la grenouille et non pas comme un choix actif,
la seule action de la part des parents étant de répéter chaque jour qu’ils voulaient avoir un enfant. Cette action passive et la grossesse de la reine après la
visite de la grenouille impliquent l’impuissance du père le roi, qui n’est pas
présent lors de la conception de sa femme.2
2
Bettelheim dit qu’une grenouille signale assez souvent la conception dans les contes, p. 346.
Les parents se montrent inutiles dès la naissance de leur fille parce que
ce sont les fées qui sont responsables de toutes ses vertus. Les fées prennent
la place des parents en ce qui concerne la charge de la fille, puisque leurs
dons– la beauté, la vertu, et la richesse – font partie de l’héritage et viennent
normalement des parents. Si la beauté d’une jeune fille est censée refléter la
beauté de la mère, dans ce cas les deux ne sont pas liées l’une à l’autre. Cette
rupture entre les qualités des parents et les vertus de la fille s’achève également (en triple) avec les autres dons : la vertu, qui devrait être enseignée à la
fille par la mère, et la richesse, qui devrait passer à l’enfant lors de leur mort
des parents.
Si le roi et la reine ne peuvent pas s’attribuer le mérite des vertus de
leur fille, ils sont, par contre, responsables de son malheur. C’est le roi qui
organise la grande fête pour l’enfant, qui invite toutes ses connaissances et
les fées, et qui décide d’en « laisser une chez elle » faute d’une assiette d’or.
Le fait qu’il avait eu quelques mois pour préparer la fête (et pour se rendre
compte qu’il lui fallait une autre assiette d’or pour la treizième fée) est hors
sujet, mais le fait qu’il s’agit d’un choix actif d’exclure une des fées ne l’est
pas ; ayant pris le soin d’inviter les fées pour qu’elles soient « favorables et
bienveillantes » à sa fille, il aurait pu s’attendre à ce que cette treizième fée
soit malfaisante et vindicative. Par contre, la mère est notamment absente de
l’organisation de la fête et est donc dispensée de la culpabilité du malheur de
sa fille.
La question qui peut donc se poser est la suivante : le père, est-il
responsable de ne pas avoir prévu la vengeance de la mauvaise fée, voire de
ne pas avoir évité le malheur à sa fille ? Il peut en être responsable, mais une
fois la malédiction prononcée il ne peut plus rien y faire. Le conte nous dit
très clairement que les parents ne sont pas censés de protéger leurs enfants
des conséquences de leurs propres actions : la tentative du roi d’empêcher
le malheur à se produire échoue. Après la malédiction, c’est lui qui interdit
inutilement les fuseaux « dans le royaume tout entier, » pour essayer en
vain de protéger sa fille. Mais aucun parent ne peut être là pour protéger
son enfant tout le temps : l’absence du roi et de la reine le jour où la fille se
pique le doigt montre l’impossibilité et l’absurdité de protéger un enfant des
malheurs. En prétendant que sa volonté en tant que roi est plus forte que la
malédiction et la magie de la fée, il affirme son impuissance face au destin.
Il y a donc une fatalité du conte plus forte que la volonté des parents, parce
que la jeune fille doit surmonter des épreuves, et les parents ne peuvent pas
la garder à l’état de petite fille indéfiniment. Avoir une fille, c’est être exposé
à la voir partir un jour.
Dans le conte de Perrault, le roi et la reine sont, eux aussi, des victimes innocentes de la malédiction de la mauvaise fée. Au début du conte,
les parents sont « fâchés de n’avoir point d’enfants, » mais au moins ils
essayent de faire quelque chose. Les pèlerinages et les dévotions que font le
roi et la reine pour concevoir exigent de véritables efforts de leur part ; ils
soutiennent la volonté d’avoir un enfant avec leurs actions. Ayant fait tant
pour avoir un enfant, ils sont encore plus désespérés de considérer la possibilité de sa mort ; ces dévotions religieuses mettent en valeur la tragédie de la
perte de la fille. En outre, les parents ne sont pas du tout responsables, dans
ce cas, de ne pas avoir invité la vieille fée ; il s’agit d’une troisième personne
anonyme (« on ») qui ne l’avait pas invitée parce que « l’on » ne savait pas
qu’elle fût encore vivante. La vengeance de la fée et la malédiction – la princesse est punie non pas pour la « péché » de la génération précédente mais
pour l’erreur de quelqu’un qui n’a rien à voir avec elle.
Pourtant, le roi fait tout pour gérer la vie de la fille et pour la « protéger ; » malgré ses meilleurs essais, le château dans lequel ils habitent devient
le lieu « dangereux, » puisque c’est à la maison qu’elle se pique. Même pas
capables de garder la fille en sécurité chez eux, le roi et la reine nous montre
qu’après tout, leurs tentatives de protection échouent et le malheur se produit en dépit de leurs efforts. Ils finissent par perdre leur fille quand même,
et la revoient seulement parce que la bonne fée revient les endormir ; le fait
d’avoir essayé de la protéger ne lui évite pas les cent ans de sommeil. Les
parents dans le conte de Dumas et de Moissard sont plus sages qu’eux ; ils
éloignent les aiguilles de la fille mais ne lui empêchent pas de vivre, et lui
permettent d’aller chez ses amis. Dans la version modernisée, les parents
donnent beaucoup plus de liberté à leur fille en n’en souffrent pas plus : don-
ner un peu de liberté aux filles n’est pas forcément plus dangereux qu’essayer
de les protéger.
Les Fées
Comme nous avons vu ci-dessus, ce sont les fées et non pas les parents
qui attribuent toutes les vertus à la jeune princesse dans les deux versions traditionnelles du conte. En outre, dans le conte de Perrault, elles donnent à la
princesse non seulement ses vertus, mais aussi des talents : En lui accordant
la capacité de danser parfaitement bien, de chanter comme un rossignol, et
de jouer toutes sortes d’instruments,3 elles remplissent la fonction de parents
(qui devraient lui donner de bonnes qualités) et de tuteurs (responsables
de son apprentissage). Cependant, elles ne sont pas très significatives dans
la mesure où elles ne remplacent pas complètement les parents ; malgré
l’importance de leurs dons et leur rôle en tant que marraines et tuteurs de
la fille, elles disparaissent après la fête et ne reviennent jamais. Le fait de ne
pas avoir une présence très importante dans la vie de la princesse permet
de réduire les fées à leur fonction, ce qui est de fournir l’histoire avec une
princesse vertueuse et bien-aimée, une victime compatible. Leur gentillesse
et bienfaisance servent également à mettre en valeur la méchanceté de la
mauvaise fée.4
Leur présence limitée permet aussi à Dumas et Moissard de les éliminer complètement, et les fées sont donc absentes dans cette version « à
l’envers. » Bien que les auteurs affirment l’existence des fées dans leur recueil,
ils choisissent de ne pas les incorporer dans cette version.5 Ce qui est encore
plus intéressant, c’est qu’ils ne remplacent pas les fées avec autre chose : ce
n’est pas la magie qui accorde les vertus et les talents à Louise. Les autres
membres de la famille « lui prophétisent une vie sensationnelle,6 » mais cela
3
Perrault, p. 186.
4
Bettelheim, p.348.
5
La première phrase du conte Le don de la fée Mirabola, du même
recueil, est, « Il y a, de nos jours, quelques fées en exercice. » Dumas,
Philippe et Boris Moissard. Contes à l’envers. Paris : Neuf, 1980, p. 27.
6
Dumas et Moissard, p. 45.
ne donne pas l’impression qu’ils ont le pouvoir de la lui assurer. Dans ce cas,
l’absence de la magie bienfaisante avant que la Tante Élisabeth ne vienne
rend la malédiction encore plus incroyable. Puisque la malédiction n’est pas
sous une forme de formule magique, et les auteurs n’avertissent pas les lecteurs de sa potentialité, la Tante Élisabeth semble folle et méchante, mais
les autres ne croient pas forcément que le malheur se produise. C’est-à-dire,
ce qui est « à l’envers » dans cette version est le fait que ce que dit Élisabeth
arrive malgré le fait qu’elle n’a pas la magie d’une mauvaise fée.
La bonne fée dans le conte de Grimm ne fait que contourner le
don, et elle peut le faire seulement parce que la mauvaise fée intervient juste
avant son don pour condamner la princesse à mort. C’est la chance seule qui
lui permet de sauver la princesse, parce Mais dans la version de Perrault, la
bonne fée est un personnage à multiples rôles ; elle sait que la vieille fée va
maudire la jeune princesse, et se cache exprès pour pouvoir contourner la
malédiction. Quand elle contourne la malédiction, elle rend à la princesse sa
vie, mais elle lui accorde aussi un don d’amour, parce qu’elle inclut l’arrivée
du prince. Puis, quand la malédiction se produit et la princesse s’endort, elle
revient pour faire endormir tous les autres membres de la cour, assurant que
la princesse ne sera pas toute seule quand elle se réveillera dans cent ans. La
multiplication de fonctions de cette bonne fée crée une sorte de marraine
qui la protège même quand les parents ne savent pas trop bien quoi faire.
Dumas et Moissard remplace la bonne fée avec le cousin Bertrand
du Havre, habillé en sorts et métamorphoses, qui soulage l’assistance avec
un contre-charme composé « d’un verre d’huile d’arachide, une pièce de dix
centimes, et un cheveu de la cousine Marie-Hélène,7 » ce qui ne pas fait penser à une magie très forte. Cette incantation, qui finit par être encore plus
forte que la malédiction de la Tante Élisabeth, est complètement absurde et
construit pour faire rigoler les enfants ; cependant, elle est dangereuse parce
qu’elle ne précise pas la fin de la malédiction comme le contournement du
mauvais don dans les autres versions. Le charme qui est censé sauver la vie de
la fille devient un autre charme qui aurait pu la tuer : en essayant de lui sauver la vie ainsi, les parents de la fille ont failli tuer une centaine de personnes.
7
Dumas et Moissard, p. 46.
Ce que l’on pourrait tirer de cette histoire est qu’il vaut mieux ne pas essayer
d’éviter les malheurs afin d’en parvenir à d’autres qui sont encore plus tragiques. Et même les sorts bienfaisants peuvent avoir des conséquences inattendues.
Le Prince Charmant
Personne n’a prédit son arrivée et personne ne l’a choisi, mais c’est
le prince charmant que doit épouser la princesse quand il arrive juste au
moment où elle se réveille. Bien que la bonne fée dans le conte de Grimm
ne prédise pas l’arrivée d’un prince charmant dans le contournement de la
malédiction (et donc qu’il ne soit pas nécessaire pour réveiller la princesse),
on pourrait dire que sa fonction proppienne est d’épouser la princesse et
d’assurer la fin heureuse de l’histoire. Son rôle en tant que futur époux est
important pour commenter le destin de la princesse et l’élément du hasard
dans les relations amoureuses.
Quand le prince arrive au bout de ses cent ans de sommeil, il s’agit
d’une coïncidence ; ayant entendu plusieurs fois l’histoire de la belle, il est
peut-être sûr que le château existe, mais la chronologie est imprécise. C’était
le grand-père du prince et un autre vieillard (qui avaient, sûrement, moins
de 100 ans) qui lui avaient raconté l’histoire, la malédiction se serait déjà
produite avant leur époque. Personne ne peut donc savoir que les cent ans se
sont déroulés, et le prince doit prendre la décision d’aller chercher la princesse sachant que ceux qui lui avaient précédés sont tous morts. Le prince,
prêt à mourir « la plus misérable des morts » à la recherche de la belle princesse, montre une détermination singulière et admirable face à une tâche qui
semble impossible.
En tout cas, le narrateur de cette version explique, « Mais en vérité,
les cent années se trouvaient justement révolues et le jour était arrivé, que
la princesse devait se réveiller.8 » Si le prince n’est pas certain de réussir, les
auditeurs, eux, le sont ; l’ironie créée par ce fait précise que c’est la fin des
cent ans, et non pas l’arrivée du prince, qui fait réveiller la princesse. Bien
que le futur mariage de la princesse ne soit pas explicite dès le don de la
8
Grimm, p. 286-7.
bonne fée, il est clair que le prince lui est destiné : le prince réussit à entrer
dans le palais où tous les autres avant lui ont échoué, justement parce que
la roncière change en fleurs et lui laisse passer. C’est lui seul qui doit être là
quand elle se réveille, et lui le seul époux possible.
Dans la version de Perrault, la fée qui contourne le mauvais don
précise qu’un « fils de roi9 » viendra au moment où la princesse se réveillera ; c’est à la fois un don de la vie et de l’amour. Contrairement au prince,
qui n’est conscient dans aucune de ces versions qu’il est destiné à épouser
une princesse endormie, la princesse l’attend depuis cent ans, et peut rêver
à celui qui viendra l’épouser, ce qu’explique Perrault. Cela est important
pour montrer que celui que doit aimer la princesse avait été choisi sans que
personne ne puisse rien y faire et avant que personne ne sache quel prince
viendra, mais ils se reconnaissent. Le prince décide très facilement d’aimer
et de délivrer la princesse, et la princesse le reconnaît immédiatement quand
elle se réveille comme celui qui avait été choisi pour elle. De plus, le seul
moment où la princesse parle, elle exprime son attente : « Vous vous êtes
bien fait d’attendre ; » cette phrase affirme la signification de ce prince en
particulier comme le seul qui est destiné à la princesse.
Le prince dans la version de Perrault, comme celui de la version
de Grimm, part à la recherche d’une princesse qu’il n’a jamais vue. Ayant
entendu de différentes histoires concernant le château, le prince de Perrault
est motivé à aller chercher la princesse dont il pourrait se douter l’existence
« par l’amour et par la gloire. » Pour le prince, il suffit d’entendre l’histoire
de la princesse pour savoir qu’il l’aime : c’est l’amour qui est privilégié. C’est
surtout une épreuve psychologique, parce qu’il doit examiner les corps des
autres pour vérifier qu’ils ne sont qu’endormis, et se décider à risquer sa vie à
la recherche de cette princesse. Enfin, la tâche de traverser la forêt n’est pas si
difficile que ça, puisque la forêt laisse passer ce prince vaillant : une fois qu’il
peut dire qu’il mourrait pour trouver la princesse, les obstacles disparaissent.
Dans le « conte à l’envers » de Dumas, le prince est indispensable :
Louise est condamnée à mourir s’il ne vient pas, et de plus, personne ne sait
qu’il vient. Dans ce cas, l’histoire de la Belle au doigt bruyant est l’histoire
9
Perrault, p. 188.
du Prince Charmant, il est le seul personnage dont l’histoire et les motivations sont connues, et il est sans doute le héros que suit la narration. Ce qui
est censé être « à l’envers » est donc le fait qu’une histoire intitulée La belle au
doigt bruyant suit effectivement les aventures du garçon (dans une version
moderne et assez feministe!). Dumas commence l’histoire avec un prince
qui cherche une princesse à sauver : c’est un quêteur qui part à la recherche
de l’objet de sa quête (une princesse), et trois fois il échoue quand il pense
avoir trouvé une belle princesse qui ne l’est pas. Son épreuve glorifiant est
de la trouver et de l’embrasser pour rompre le charme et lui sauver la vie ; sa
récompense est la princesse elle-même.
La Belle
La belle princesse ne fait rien et elle reçoit tout ; aussi devient-elle
l’objet de la quête du prince et non pas l’héroïne de l’histoire. Bébé quand la
malédiction est prononcée, elle semble ignorer ce à quoi elle est condamnée
parce qu’elle ne cherche pas à éviter les aiguilles. La seule fois qu’elle
se déplace est le jour de ses quinze ans, quand elle erre partout dans le château et finit par se faire piquer le doigt. Ce jour-là, ses parents sont absents,
et elle quitte les chambres qu’elle connaît (les lieux où elle avait passé son
enfance) pour explorer les chambres inconnues du château.10 Cette liberté
éphémère est le seul moment où elle agit : son déplacement et le sommeil
qui suit la rendent l’objet que doit chercher le prince, et sa volonté d’explorer le château la rend la victime à sauver. C’est-à-dire, même si les parents ne
sont pas censés trop protéger leur fille, elle non plus n’est pas censée exercer
trop sa propre volonté.
Après avoir été sa propre victime, la princesse doit épouser le prince
qui vient la trouver : elle ne peut pas éviter son destin de l’épouser. Si, dans
le conte de Perrault, elle parle pour accueillir le prince et est contente de le
recevoir, elle ne choisit pas son prince charmant et il n’est dans aucun sens la
récompense des cents ans de sommeil subis. Ce n’est pas elle qui le mérite,
c’est lui qui a gagné dans toutes les trois versions.
10
Bettelheim, p. 348.
Conclusion
Dans le recueil de Dumas et de Moissard, la seule façon dont ce conte se
déroule véritablement « à l’envers » est la façon dont Louise est maudite ; au
lieu de s’endormir pour cent ans, elle commence à danser sans qu’il y ait une
fin de la malédiction prévue. Les autres éléments de l’intrigue se déroulent
normalement : un garçon, dit prince charmant, entend l’histoire de la princesse et va la sauver. Ce que fait Dumas n’est donc pas d’écrire un « conte à
l’envers » : il réussit simplement à nous montrer que l’histoire de la Belle au
bois dormant n’est pas l’histoire de la princesse, mais celle du prince. Quand
le prince entend l’histoire d’une princesse endormie/dansant (qui doit être
sauvée), elle lui manque, et elle est aussi la récompense de son courage, et
rien de plus. Dans toutes les versions, ce n’est pas elle qui le choisit, mais elle
est censée accepter d’être protégée par ses parents et puis épousée par lui.
Recommended Methodology
A dossier is usually between 10 and 15 pages long, and it can include copies
of relevent articles, images, original artwork, etc. in addition to an original
written text. Suprisingly, most professors actually specify that you need to
do a certain amount of the dossier yourself (usually a minimum of 10 pages)
because apparently some French students were making folders with Wikipedia articles, adding some Google Images, and calling it a paper. It definitely
helps your dossier to have supporting documents and images if the quality
of your own work is high, but slacking off on the written part of your dossier will make professors think you were trying to pass off mediocre work by
adding a lot of extras.
Types of dossiers vary greatly, so it’s difficult to advise on the best way to do
one. A method that seems to work well, though, is to pick one of the main
themes and develop it in several different ways. In the sample dossier above,
the writer chose to compare three versions of Sleeping Beauty by compar-
ing and contrasting the characters’ Proppian functions and showing how
the relationships between the characters revealed different moralities and
ideaologies. Another approach could have been to analyze different illustrations of that story to see what the differences were. A third person, maybe
someone who spoke German, could have compared the original Perrault
version to the original Grimm text in German. Someone else could have
compared the Disney film to the texts, or to versions of the film in other
languages, or to other directors’ versions of the story, or to the ballet. In a
dossier, you have a lot of freedom to be imaginative and to figure out what
interests you the most.
If you have to choose your own topic for a dossier, the best way is to choose
a work on the bibliography that interests you, or an author, and to read the
work with the objective of finding a few questions that intrigue you. Once
you have some questions, try to figure out how the author answers them in
the work. You can extend your research to the author’s other books, to current events, to other books on the syllabus, and even to personal experience.
When you write the introduction to your dossier, you’ll need to justify all
of the choices you made, how you came up with the idea for the topic, and
what the limits of your topic are. You should also give an idea of your outline and how you’ll develop your argument. This means, of course, that you
should organize your thoughts into a few main themes like you would for
a commentaire composé, but again, the form can be much more free. In a
dossier, you don’t necessarily have to have parties and sousparties, or, if you
choose to have them, they don’t have to be equal in number and length. You
don’t have to have 3 sousparties under every partie, you can have two oneparagraph sousparties in one section and five three-paragraph sousparties in
another section. As long as what you’re saying makes sense and is relevant to
the argument you’re making, your professor won’t care.
While you should very specifically define your topic in the introduction
(mostly so your professor can’t say, “Well, it was good, but you didn’t mention x, y, and z!”), you should also open the conclusion up and discuss some
of the questions you didn’t address. The conclusion of a dossier should not
only summarize the points you made and their importance, but it should
also show that it was only the beginning of what could become a more
sophisticated, in-depth research project. (This is also why you want your
topic to be broad enough that you still have some questions at the end of
researching it.)
Of course, it goes without saying that you should follow all of the rules for
good analysis that we outlined in the section on the explication de texte:
not citing quotes out of context or without analysis, always explaining the
significance of something, and having a ratio of one sentence of fact to two
sentences of analysis. The opportunity for being creative doesn’t mean you’re
exempt from following the rules of academic writing. In fact, part of the goal
of a dossier is to separate the students who can develop a topic on their own
and treat it academically from those who can’t - and who subsequently fail
the class. A good dossier will be a combination of interesting, relevant, and
well-developed arguments and a few other interesting but less-important
“pistes” that you recognize and identify but choose not to develop, leaving
open the possibility for further work.
Dissertation
Goal of a Dissertation
A dissertation is roughly the French equivalent of an essay, although its form
and structure are much more demanding. It is the most difficult university
exercise to master.
Dissertations are assigned in all social sciences disciplines, from literature
and history to philosophy, and while the content and methodology may
change, the approach doesn’t. Unlike the commentaire composé, which
relies primarily on stylistic and linguistic analysis, the dissertation combines
your knowledge of a text, set of texts, idea, or historical event with rhetorical and organizational skills. You need to know how to identify and organize arguments, and support them with linguistic and contextual analysis in
order to write a successful dissertation.
There are several types of dissertations that are commonly assigned. The first
is the «quotation» topic, in which the professor chooses a quote - any quote,
from a work on the syllabus or a famous person - and asks you to comment on it using either a particular work or set of works from the course,
or using your general knowledge about an event. In both cases, the professor has a certain set of works in mind that he expects you to reference. A
variation on the «quotation» dissertation is the «statement» dissertation, in
which the professor will make a statement and ask you to affirm or refute
the statement. An example of such a topic, which is not one of the sample
dissertations below, could be, «World War Two would have lasted two more
years if the Americans hadn’t dropped the atomic bombs,» or «The French
language allows authors in former colonies a literary space for permissivity
and self-critique.»
The other common type of dissertation is the topical dissertation, which is
probably the most difficult type. For this type, the professor assigns a topic,
like «Renaissance Princes and their Power» (Sample 2) and expects students
to come up with the confines of the topic and the arguments presented in
the course. It requires an indepth knowledge of the topics covered in class
and the assigned reading.
Unlike an American essay, the goal of a dissertation is not to get you to argue
effectively. Rather, it is designed to force you to identify the arguments for
each side of a particular topic and to draw conclusions about which are the
most powerful or influential. Your opinion doesn’t matter, per say, but the
way you analyze the arguments and present them does.
Sample Dissertation 1
Dans la scène IV de l’Impromptu de Versailles, Molière met dans la
bouche de Brécourt, acteur qui représente à peu près son point de vue, les formules : « l’affaire de la comédie est de représenter, en général, tous les défauts
des hommes, et principalement des hommes de notre siècle. » Commentez cette
réflexion à partir du Bourgeois Gentilhomme, et des pièces de Marivaux, mises
au programme. Et aussi à partir de toute autre comédie que vous connaîtriez.
Selon Molière, la matière de la comédie se trouve dans les actions
des hommes en société et ensuite dans la représentation des personnages
dans chaque pièce. Comment est-ce que la comédie exprime les défauts des
personnages ? Pour Molière, il s’agit de trouver des points communs dans
toute comédie en montrant une critique véritable des hommes. Il cherche à
exposer les défauts des personnages de la comédie dans une caricature. Dans
l’analyse qui suit, on va examiner comment le théâtre manifeste une intention de critique des hommes, surtout en ciblant le système hiérarchique de
la société. Deuxièmement, on va illustrer cela par des exemples à partir du
Bourgeois Gentilhomme et de Dom Juan de Molière, et de l’Ile des esclaves de
Marivaux. Enfin, nous essaierons une synthèse du point de vue exposé dans
l’Impromptu de Versailles et de la critique sociale exprimée dans les pièces de
Molière et de Marivaux.
D’abord, comment déchiffrer le contenu de la réplique de Brécourt
dans l’Impromptu ? La première partie est plutôt évidente et montre une
critique générale des hommes. « L’affaire de la comédie est de représenter, en
général, tous les défauts des hommes… » La comédie chez Molière critique
les vices et les défauts des hommes. Au fond, Molière exprime dans ses pièces
des thèmes universels, qui s’appliquent au passé, au présent, et à l’avenir. La
comédie sert à exposer et à critiquer les valeurs et les comportements de la
société. La deuxième partie de la réplique précise le thème des pièces. « Principalement des hommes de notre siècle » indique que Molière s’adresse à sa
propre époque pour que la critique soit reçue dans la société dans laquelle
il vit.
Pour illustrer le point de vue de Molière, il est nécessaire de regarder
des textes de quelques comédies. Molière et Marivaux ont abordé le thème
de la critique des hommes liée aux structures hiérarchiques de la société au
17e et au 19e siècle. Dans Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, Molière exprime une
critique sociale du rêve du bourgeois de devenir noble et de sa prétention à
se comporter comme un aristocrate. Monsieur Jourdain, personnage principal, renforce l’idée populaire du bourgeois prétentieux qui considère comme
inférieurs tous ceux qui ne sont pas nobles. Les autres aspects du rôle comprennent l’idée de l’ostentation et de la richesse. Cette comédie ridiculise, en
particulier, les membres de la classe bourgeoise qui aspirent au titre de noble.
On peut cibler trois scènes dans lesquelles le bourgeois incarne ce type dans
la société.
Dans l’Acte III, scène iii, Madame Jourdain et Monsieur Jourdain
se parlent à propos de l’argent (plusieurs milliers de livres) prêté au comte
Dorante. Monsieur Jourdain semble convaincu que le comte a « des bontés
qu’on ne devinerait jamais. » Madame Jourdain, voix de la raison, dit, « il
vous emprunte votre argent. » Il est évident que Monsieur Jourdain ne vit
que pour le monde des apparences, et il ne voit pas l’artificialité de son rap-
port avec Dorante. L’Acte III, xvi, approfondit cette situation d’artificialité.
Monsieur Jourdain déclare à Dorimène, « Madame ce m’est une gloire bien
grande de me voir assez fortuné pour être si heureux que d’avoir le bonheur
que vous ayez eu la bonté de m’accorder la grâce. » Plus tard dans la scène,
Dorante juge le comportement du bourgeois-- « assez ridicule ». La naïveté ridicule et l’extravagance du bourgeois sont trop visibles et critiquables.
Dans l’Acte V, scène i, le bourgeois montre une vraie foi de son titre « Mamamouchi. », et il est convaincu de son statut de noblesse. Cependant Madame
Jourdain éprouve des soupçons à propos de ce qui se déroule. Très vite, elle
découvre le secret du jeu qui dupe son mari. Le bourgeois gentilhomme,
aveugle à la réalité, s’attache à son titre avec bonheur et avec prétention.
Une autre pièce avec des implications morales, Dom Juan, exprime
une critique sociale plutôt différente de celle du Bourgeois Gentilhomme. En
rajoutant l’élément de l’infidélité et de la séduction, Dom Juan critique les
abus du privilège, de l’éducation, et de la richesse. Dom Juan implique le
thème de la richesse par rapport à la pauvreté, distinction sociale et hiérarchique. Dans l’Acte II, iv, Dom Juan, infidèle à toutes les femmes qu’il
séduit, a promis de se marier avec deux paysannes. Il y a conflit entre les
trois. On peut remarquer immédiatement la différence entre Dom Juan et
les deux femmes au niveau de la langue. Dom Juan peut prendre la parole
avec force, vivacité, et habileté rhétorique, alors que les deux paysanne
restent inférieures, en parlant une langue vulgaire. Etant donné cet écart de
langage, Dom Juan prend un avantage sur les deux femmes.
Le passage de l’Acte II, iv, exprime la critique de Molière, en montrant l’exploitation des pauvres par les riches. Dom Juan dit « que voulezvous que je vous dise ? Vous soutenez également toutes deux que je vous ai
promis de vous prendre pour femmes. » Dom Juan est au centre du conflit
entre les deux femmes. « Celle à qui j’ai promis effectivement n’a-t-elle pas en
elle-même de quoi se moquer des discours de l’autre, et doit-elle se mettre en
peine, pourvu que j’accomplisse ma promesse ? Tous les discours n’avancent
point les choses ; il faut faire et non pas dire, et les effets décident mieux que
les paroles. » Dom Juan nie sa promesse et démontre son infidélité. «Tous les
discours n’avancent point les choses ; il faut faire et non pas dire et les effets
décident mieux que les paroles. » Pour Dom Juan, les mots sont sans signification. Il peut promettre le mariage à une fille et annule sa promesse tout de
suite, marquant de plus son infidélité. D’ailleurs, ces répliques de Dom Juan
expriment l’avantage pris sur les deux femmes du fait qu’elles sont dans une
situation financière et culturelle inférieure à celle de Dom Juan.
L’Ile des esclaves de Marivaux présente une critique du statut social.
En effet, on sait que le pouvoir des nobles n’est pas acquis par le travail et le
mérite mais transmis de façon héréditaire. Le maître est né comme maître,
et le valet de la même façon. Cela renforce les systèmes sociaux au 18e siècle.
Dans cette comédie, Iphicrate est un noble, possédant tous les privilèges
d’un aristocrate. Entre Iphicrate et Arlequin, il existe un rapport violent
aussi bien physique que moral. Arlequin n’hésite pas à le dénoncer dès la
première scène, lorsqu’il dit « les marques de votre amitié tombent toujours
sur mes épaules. » La tension et la violence entre le maître et son valet suggèrent les tensions sociales de la domesticité au 18e siècle. Arlequin déclare
à son maître :
« Tu as raison, mon ami, tu rencontres bien mon devoir ici pour
toi ; mais tu n’as jamais su le tien pour moi, quand nous étions dans
Athènes. Tu veux que je partage ton affliction, et jamais tu n’as partagé la mienne. Eh bien ! va, je dois avoir le cœur meilleur que toi ;
car il y a plus longtemps que je souffre, et que je souffre, et que je
sais ce que c’est de la peine. Tu m’as battu par amitié : puisque tu le
dis, je te le pardonne ; je t’ai raillé par bonne humeur, prends-le en
bonne part, et fais-en ton profit. »
Dans cette réplique, on peut sentir l’humiliation et la douleur éprouvée par
Arlequin dans son état de domesticité. On peut également en quoi Molière
s’emploie à humaniser ce rapport entre le maître et son domestique.
•
En regardant de nouveau la réplique de L’Impromptu de Versailles, nous pouvons remarquer à quel point
les trois pièces s’accordent aux idées de Molière. Ces exemples
servent à montrer les systèmes hiérarchiques dans la société du
17e et du 18e siècle. Les deux siècles sont différents dans l’écriture
et dans la critique. Chez Molière, la critique est plutôt ouverte,
montrant le ridicule du bourgeois gentilhomme, qui vit une vie
extravagante, tandis que chez Marivaux la critique est subtile
et implicite montrant les rapports entre maître et domestique.
Evidemment ces exemples montrent le niveau de caricature des
structures sociales chez Molière et chez Marivaux. En montrant
les inégalités et les aspects inhumains de la société, les deux dramaturges divergent. Tandis que Molière offre une critique grotesque et souvent très réaliste, Marivaux veut humaniser des
aspects des structures sociales. Alors que Molière montre les
vices et des défauts de Dom Juan et de Monsieur Jourdain, Marivaux humanise les rapports entre maître et domestique. Dans
ces deux contextes historiques et sociaux, les spectateurs rient
de la présentation, et la comédie réussit dans sa tâche.
•
Pour conclure, Molière rédige un plaidoyer pour la
comédie dans la réplique de l’Impromptu de Versailles. La comédie est une forme d’art qui exprime les critiques de la société
dans laquelle le dramaturge vit. Comme nous l’avons déjà montré dans les exemples, tirés des pièces de Molière et de Marivaux, le contexte socio-historique crée des aspects comiques
qui font rire les spectateurs. C’est là où l’on trouve l’origine de
la comédie.
•
Sample Dissertation 2
« Les Princes de la Renaissance et leur pouvoir »
La Renaissance en Europe était une période de découvertes intellectuelles, artistiques, une réformation religieuse et surtout une épreuve de
pouvoir parmi les princes des royaumes et territoires différents. En examinant l’histoire des souverains qui y régnaient, il est évident que ces princes
gouvernaient avec une puissance exceptionnelle pendant l’époque. Même
de nos jours, presque cinq siècles plus tard, l’image de ces princes, tels que
François 1er, Charles Quint et Henri VIII, occupe encore une place principale dans les chroniques historiques de notre société. De plus, ils sont
encore connus pour leurs contributions à l’époque, dont quelques-unes sont
encore pertinentes aujourd’hui. Pourquoi ces rois et empereurs ont eu tant
de succès en créant une image puissante d’eux-mêmes et comment ils l’ont
réalisée ? On peut dire qu’il y avait des manières spécifiques employées par
le Prince de la Renaissance pour fabriquer son image surnaturelle. Le Prince
a utilisé plusieurs stratégies pour construire un pouvoir extraordinaire. On
voit d’abord que sa façon de se comporter à travers ses interactions avec
les autres était la fondation de son image. Grâce à la place importante du
Prince de la Renaissance dans la vie religieuse de son royaume, il a pu agrandir sa puissance par son influence sur l’Église Catholique. Enfin, le moyen
par lequel le Prince se montrait visuellement, soit pendant les événements
importants dans la cour, soit dans les interprétations des artistes, jouait un
rôle important dans son pouvoir.
I. Paraître puissant : Le prince, maître de son comportement.
Le comportement du Prince était essentiel pour démontrer ses qualités princières aux autres. Comme le Prince était le représentant de son
peuple et de son pays, la manière dans laquelle il se comporter était fondamentale pour ajouter à son image et signaler comment il était aperçu par les
autres. Pour ses sujets et les gens du royaume, cette image indiquait tout à
propos du Prince, parce qu’ils n’avaient pas d’interactions personnelles avec
lui. Toutes les idées des gens du royaume à propos du Prince venaient de
leurs perceptions visuelles de lui et des occasions où ils le voyaient en public,
mais toujours à distance. Il fallait que le Prince se maîtrise devant son public
et même devant ses amis et sa famille, pour montrer qu’il était vraiment
quelqu’un au-dessus de l’homme commun.
A. L’éducation du Prince comme enfant lui permet d’établir un bon comportement comme adulte.
Pendant la Renaissance, on croyait que, dès l’enfance, le prince
devrait avoir une éducation équilibrée pour montrer qu’il était bien en soi
et en bonne santé dans tous les sens. Selon l’humaniste Erasme, connu pour
ses contributions à l’importance de l’instruction scolaire, il existait trois
aspect de l’éducation « pour façonner un homme qui mérite vraiment ce
nom…la nature (de bonne dispositions innées), l’éducation, et enfin, l’exercice (l’effort personnel persévérant). »11 Il fallait qu’il développe ses connaissances intellectuelles et sociales, ce qui contribuait à son image d’un Prince
bien éduqué et capable de gouverner son peuple. Cela permettrait au Prince
de bien maîtriser son comportement dès l’enfance et puis de continuer à
apprendre comment se tenir comme adulte. L’éducation du Prince dans la
Renaissance se déroulait généralement dans deux étapes.
Pendant son enfance, vers l’âge de trois ans, sa mère et des femmes
de la cour s’occupaient du Prince, et elles l’ont élevé d’une manière particulière. Les femmes étaient responsables pour son comportement de base ;
c’est-à-dire enseigner au Prince la différence entre ce qui était correct ou
pas. Il a été également emmené à l’église pour apprendre « à s’agenouiller et
à joindre ses mains. »12 Il devait savoir comment prier, manger, se conduire
et à socialiser proprement avec d’autres enfants de son âge. Cette éducation d’enfance prenait une place signifiante dans l’élèvement du Prince. Sans
apprendre comment bien se comporter d’un petit âge, il serait impossible
pour lui de construire et présenter une image nette et correcte lorsqu’il était
responsable pour le bien être de tout un pays.
Ensuite, la deuxième étape qui formait l’éducation du Prince était
prise en charge par les précepteurs, généralement les humanistes. Ces philosophes, des hommes intellectuels de l’époque qui croyaient que les hommes
pouvaient réaliser leur humanité par leurs études, ont également vu l’importance de l’éducation des enfants. Sous l’instruction d’un précepteur, le
Prince apprenait des leçons scolaires qui pouvaient l’aider à gouverner son
pays. Par exemple, le Prince était obligé savoir comment parler devant un
11
Jouanna, Arlette. La France de la Renaissance: Histoire et Dictionnaire [1495-1559], Paris, Robert Laffont, 2001; p.780: « Éducation ».
12
Jouanna, 780.
public, comment parler de diverses langues étrangères, et aussi des matières
aujourd’hui considérées comme matières de bases dans les écoles. Les précepteurs, comme Guillaume Budé et Erasme, ont publié des œuvres sur
l’éducation des aspects d’un bon comportement. Ses apprentissages contribuaient à son image à travers un comportement bien construit, fondé sur
des connaissances constitutives qui montraient sa puissance à tout le monde.
B. L’apparence d’un bon comportement vers d’autres souverains est essentiel
pour la diplomatie.
D’un point de vue politique, l’image du Prince était extrêmement
utile pour les alliances avec d’autres pays. Pendant la Renaissance, comme
aujourd’hui, la France avait des alliés et des ennemies. Les souverains rendraient les alliances plus fortes avec la négociation car leurs rapports étaient
essentiels pour achever la paix entre des nations. Donc, l’image que projetaient ces Princes dépendait de leur comportement. L’image visuelle était la
première impression pour un ambassadeur ou pour un autre souverain. On
voit à tel point le bon comportement du roi François 1er a laissé une impression sur l’ambassadeur d’Angleterre Sir Henry Wallop pendant sa première
visite au châteaux de Fontainebleau. « Lui, en bon et gracieux prince, m’aida
en me poussant en avant…sans quoi…je n’aurais pas pu monter. »13 Le roi
a évidemment fait une grande première impression sur cet ambassadeur, ce
qui veut dire que l’image du roi François 1er à travers son comportement a
été une réussite.
Les manifestations du comportement du Prince se prenaient plusieurs formes. Ce même texte historique démontre également la générosité
du Prince avec ses visiteurs. Le roi devrait traiter un ambassadeur étranger
de la même manière du roi que cet ambassadeur représentait, pour montrer
son respect au souverain. À la fin de ce même texte écrit par Sir Henry Wallop, l’ambassadeur indique que le roi lui a offert son gobelet pour utiliser
pendant le dîner, comme le roi sortirait pour la soirée. Cette geste illustre
13
« Doc. 4: François 1er maître de Fontainebleau. Dépêche de Sir
Henry Wallop au roi d’Angleterre (1540). » Calendar of State Papers,
Reign of Henry VIII, t. VIII, p. 479-486. Le Person, Xavier. Le Prince dans
l’Europe de la Renaissance: histoire et héritages, p. 11.
la générosité du roi avec ses visiteurs ; on peut dire que sa générosité a joué
un grand rôle dans à la construction son image. De plus sa générosité était
essentielle dans ses rapports diplomatiques.
Ensuite, le Prince représentait sa propre société ; alors, son comportement envers ses visiteurs de l’étranger et de son royaume devait être
impeccable. Il était le citoyen modèle de son pays. Le prince ne pouvait rien
faire sans penser à l’image qu’il projetait aux autres pays et à ses collègues.
Toutes ses actions, ses habitudes et ses réactions en public étaient aperçues
comme les actions, les habitudes et les réactions des Français et de la France.
Il fallait se comporter d’une manière idéale pour montrer ou faire semblant
de montrer son pouvoir à tout le monde.
II. L’omniscience et l’apparence divine : Le rôle du Prince dans l’Église et
dans la religion.
Le rapport entre le Prince et l’Église catholique pendant la Renaissance indiquait l’influence du Prince sur la religion à l’époque. Il faisait partie de l’Église et de ses cérémonies religieuses ; il avait un rôle qui semblait
être presque omniscient, comme le Prince était toujours présent dans les
messes et les cérémonies du clergé. On voit aussi sa façon d’imiter Dieu et
son influence sur le peuple, ce qui amenait à la création d’une image puissance du souverain dans les yeux d’autrui.
A. Le rapport entre le Prince et l’Église lui donne des privilèges spécifiques.
Premièrement, le Prince avait des privilèges spécifiques dans l’Église.
Il participait à la cérémonie du sacre, dans laquelle il était obligé de faire
des actes pour lui rendre plus proche de Dieu. Il devait jurer de faire de son
mieux comme roi pour travailler pour la paix et la justice. Ensuite, les prêtres
bénissaient son corps avec des baumes et des huiles sacrés de l’Église. Nous
voyons que la « symbolique du sacre suggère que le roi reçoive une charge
qui dépasse sa personne individuelle »14 et que ces rites sacrés lui donnaient
l’air d’être plus puissant que les prêtres, même s’il était en réalité un homme
politique.
B. Le Prince comme une image de Christ.
14
Jouanna, 242.
Avec son rapport avec l’Église et son importance religieuse, le Prince
était souvent comparé avec le Christ. À part du pape, il était vu comme une
sorte d’intermédiaire entre les croyants et Dieu. Donc, il n’était pas complètement humain avec ses hauts privilèges et son apparence surnaturelle. De
plus, nous trouvons que les actions et les évènements dans la vie du Prince
étaient similaires à ceux du Christ ou d’autres figures religieuses.
D’abord, le Prince tenait le privilège de communier avec les prêtres.
À la Renaissance, les prêtres prenaient le pain, qui représente le corps du
Christ, et le vin, qui représente son sang. Uniquement le clergé et le roi
pouvaient prendre les deux éléments de la communion ; les croyants qui participaient dans la messe avaient droit seulement au pain. Même si le Prince
était simplement un homme, mais un homme glorifié, sa statue dans l’Église
lui permettait de faire beaucoup plus qu’un homme normal. De plus, on
croyait que le Prince était capable de guérir les malades, comme Jésus dans
le Nouveau Testament. De ces manières, il était vu vraiment comme un être
surnaturel dans l’Église.
On faisait également des parallèles entre les actes du roi et les actes
divins. Souvent, on voyait les éléments qui se ressemblaient entre des événements historiques du passé et les événements qui étaient en train de passé.
Pendant la bataille de Marignan, François 1er s’est comparé avec l’empereur
Constantin, qui a prétendu voir des signes de Dieu après avoir gagné une
grande bataille pendant la période de l’Empire romaine. François 1er a basculé dans la gloire qu’il avait gagné à Marignan avec l’aide des Vénitiens, particulièrement parce qu’il a eu si peu de soldats qui ont lutté contre la Suisse
pendant toute une nuit. Dans une lettre à sa mère, François 1er a mentionné
Dieu et il a répété fréquemment le fait que cette bataille était si miraculeuse.
On peut constater qu’il y avait des liens entre le Prince et Dieu, de même
sorte que le lien entre Jésus et Dieu. Ces comparaisons du roi avec le Christ
créaient l’image d’un homme vraiment puissant.
C. L’influence religieuse du Prince sur les pratiquants du son royaume.
Sous l’influence religieuse du Prince, les fidèles devraient l’imiter ;
le Prince servait comme un Chrétien « modèle » pour tout le pays. Comme
le Prince représentait souvent le Christ à cause de son rôle et ses privilèges
dans l’Église, les fidèles voulaient l’imiter, parce qu’il imitait le Christ. Ils
devraient prier comme lui ; aller à l’Église souvent et participer à la messe
et demander pardon à la confession. Le Prince fabriquait l’image d’un bon
Chrétien, et par conséquent, ses sujets devraient imiter ses actions, surtout
dans l’Église.
Les croyants devraient aussi prier pour le bien être du Prince sans
cesse, pour qu’il gouverne dans une façon qui pourrait bénéficier tout le
monde. Comme le Prince assistait régulièrement à la messe et les fidèles l’ont
vu en train de prier, c’était naturel qu’ils aient essayé de prier souvent aussi.
Le Prince était une figure publique, et l’on dirait qu’il priait devant toute la
messe, ou qu’il priait là où il était visible à tout le monde dans l’église. Le
fait d’être vu en train de prier était pour le Prince un moyen d’influencer son
pays. S’ils savaient qu’il priait pour la paix dans son royaume, ils prieraient
que leur souverain gouvernerait d’une manière juste et sage.
III. La manifestation visuelle de la magnificence princière : Les mécènes
présentent la gloire du Prince.
A. L’emploi des artistes dans la cour crée une image de grandeur du roi.
La visualisation du pouvoir du Prince était prise en charge par les artistes et
mercenaires, employés par le Prince pour agrandir son image à travers les
arts. Les mercenaires passaient souvent d’un souverain à l’autre et ils travaillaient sur toutes formes d’art et d’ architecture.
Les souverains de la Renaissance sont entrés en compétition pour
montrer leur pouvoir entre eux, et aussi montrer le pouvoir de leurs pays au
monde. Les Italiens, qui avaient à l’époque les plus beaux palais, la plus belle
architecture et les plus beaux tableaux, ont lancé cette compétition. Tous les
autres pays les ont suivis ; chaque fois que les souverains sont allés en Italie
pour visiter au pape et le siège de l’Église catholique, ils ont ramené des
artistes ou des idées pour rendre leurs palais ou tableaux plus beaux.
On voit un exemple d’une réussite dans cette compétition à travers le château de Fontainebleau. François 1er avait déjà construit le château
de Chambord qui était considéré le plus beau des palais, lorsqu’il a décidé
de refaire Fontainebleau, originalement un château de chasse. Il voulait
construire le plus beau château de la Renaissance. En revenant au commen-
taire de l’ambassadeur anglais sur sa visite à Fontainebleau, il a remarqué
que c’était le plus beau château qu’il ait jamais vu.15 Donc, la fabrication
du pouvoir du Prince s’est manifestée dans l’architecture et sa visualisation
contribuait fortement à l’image du Prince.
B. Les images de l’Antiquité produisent une forte comparaison visuelle entre
le pouvoir du Prince et le pouvoir des souverains gréco-romains.
La redécouverte de l’Antiquité pendant la Renaissance se manifestait
surtout dans la peinture et l’art visuels. En regardant les images des empereurs gréco-romains, il est évident que ces hommes puissants d’autrefois ont
laissé une marque forte sur l’art , pas seulement la gloire de leurs grandes
empires, mais aussi l’image qu’ils ont créée comme souverains. En particulier, les artistes de l’Antiquité ont vu le corps avec un regard idéal. Les
hommes et les dieux gréco-romains qui ont été présentés avec un corps bien
formé, bien défini ; alors, les empereurs et les hommes politiques n’étaient
pas toujours représentés dans une façon réaliste. Pourtant, c’était un aspect
de l’Antiquité qui se trouve très souvent dans les peintures de la Renaissance dans la représentation du Prince. Le Prince est souvent imaginé par les artistes de la Renaissance en tant que des dieux et des déesses
gréco-romains. Le tableau intitulé « François 1er en déité », qui présente
François 1er habillé du style des dieux gréco-romain, démontre le Prince en
tant qu’une figure puissante. Il porte un mélange des costumes différents :
le casque de Minèrve, la trompe de chasse de Diane et les sandales avec des
ailes de Mercure. Ces aspects des dieux choisis par l’artiste, est vraiment une
« glorification du roi – surhomme aux attributs des dieux de l’Olympe. »16
Le Prince s’est glorifié comme ces figures puissantes de l’Antiquité pour que
tout le monde le voie comme un homme surnaturel, quelqu’un qui avait des
15
« Doc. 4: François 1er maître de Fontainebleau. Dépêche de Sir
Henry Wallop au roi d’Angleterre (1540). » Calendar of State Papers,
Reign of Henry VIII, t. VIII, p. 479-486. Le Person, Xavier. Le Prince dans
l’Europe de la Renaissance: histoire et héritages, p. 11.
16
« François 1er en Diété », La Naissance de la culture française
– La Renaissance et le premier XVIIe siècle. http://www.bnf.fr/loc/
bnf0004.htm.
pouvoirs égaux à ces dieux gréco-romains. C’était encore une autre manière
dans laquelle le Prince fabriquait son pouvoir à travers des images visuelles.
On a vu que le bon comportement était essentiel pour que le Prince
de la Renaissance fabrique son pouvoir, ainsi qu’il a construit une image
fortement liée à la religion et l’Église catholique. On a également abordé la
question de la manifestation du pouvoir du Prince dans les arts visuels. Mais
ne peut-on ajouter que le Prince de la Renaissance seule n’était pas capable
de créer une image de pouvoir ? N’était-il pas dépendant du savoir et des
habilités d’autres pour achever son image de grandeur ?
Recommended Methodology
Before you even think about starting your dissertation, you need to do a
lot of preparation. As a very first step, you should analyze every aspect of
the topic. For the first sample dissertation we saw, that means analyzing
the quote and situating it in the original text like you would do for a commentaire composé. Look up any words you don’t know in a French-English
AND a French-French dictionary. Do any words have multiple meanings?
In the second topic, «Renaissance Princes and their Power,» you would have
to figure out what kind of power you were going to write about - political or
economic power, for example? Is there ever a difference, and when?
Once you’ve completed a thorough analysis of the question, you can start
finding supporting examples. For the first topic, you’d be inclined to find
passages in which Molière hints at making fun of other men of his time.
But wait! A dissertation needs to present both sides, so you should also find
examples that suggest that he is pointing out the faults of men in history which he did, like Shakespeare, to avoid being imprisoned for mocking the
king. Remember to look for examples in all of the assigned readings, as well
as historical examples to support each idea. If the examples are quotes from
historical or literary texts, they should also be thoroughly analyzed using the
same methods as for an explication de texte.
After you’ve begun to accumulate a certain number of examples, you’ll be
ready to formulate your problématique. If you’re lucky, the quote or opinion
in the topic provoked a number of questions that will serve as your problématique. If you’re less lucky, and you ended up with the second, more
free-form topic, you’ll have to come up with your own. Remember, a problématique is not so much a thesis as it is a question or set of questions around
which you’ll organize your paper. Your analysis of the topic, as well as a good
idea of where the examples weigh in, should give you some good ideas. You
should have a problématique before you begin to write, to avoid writing
without one, but you can revise it and «problématiser» even more as you go.
If you’ve analyzed your topic and collected as many examples as you can
think of and have ideas for your problématique, it’s time to begin working
on the plan de dissertation, or the outline. Like a commentaire composé,
you’ll want to have two or three «parties,» each with two or three «sousparties,» and make your paper evenly distributed and increasingly complexe.
There are three main ways to organize a dissertation. The first, and most
straightforward way, is the «thèse-antithèse-synthèse» approach called the
«plan dialectique,» and it works best when there’s a clear argument in the
question or that presents itself during your research. For this method, you
first present one side of the argument, the «thèse,» and develop that as if you
were writing an essay American-style. In the second partie, the «antithèse,»
you would present and develop the opposite side. In the third partie, the
«synthèse,» you present the middle ground, or attempt to reconcile the thèse
and the synthèse. Sample dissertation 1 on Molière and Marivaux roughly
follows this outline.
The second type of dissertation is called the «plan thématique,» because it is
organized thematically. In this case, two or three main themes will generally
present themselves during the course of your research. Sample Dissertation
2 follows this organization, as the writer develops three themes surrounding princely power: how princes are raised, the Church’s role in the prince’s
development, and the imagery that reinforces princely power. The writer
could have taken a different approach, and analyzed expressions of royal
power in policitcs (local, regional, and international), economics, and religion, or looked at how Renaissance princes gained and preserved power, for
example. But the thematic approach that was chosen works well.
The third way to organize a dissertation is the «plan analytique,» which is
generally used when a specific problem is the dissertation topic. Because of
its limited use, it is less common than the other types. In this situation, the
most typical approach is to analyze the causes of the problem in the first
partie, the consequences in the second partie, and the possible solutions in
the third partie.
No matter what outline type you choose - and you can combine them if you
dare - you’ll need to develop a detailed outline with your examples before
beginning to write. This part basically consists of organizing your examples
first into three groups according to the type of outline you choose, and
then organizing the examples in each section into three smaller groups, your
«sousparties.» Like for the commentaire composé, your sousparties should
go from simplest and least important to most complex and most important,
and each should contribute logically to the development of a coherent argument contained within your «partie.»
After you’ve organized your examples into an outline and thoroughly analyzed them, you can begin writing your introduction. In the introduction,
you should analyze the assigned topic thoroughly, state the problématique,
and identify the outline you will follow. For each part of your dissertation,
you should not necessarily put a title at the top of each «partie» and «sous-
partie,» but instead you should hit enter three times between the «parties»
and once between the «sousparties» to show that you’ve moved on to a new
section or subsection.
The conclusion of your dissertation is where you have the right to make a
stand, first by summarizing the arguments you made throughout the paper,
and then by making a case for the most powerful side. Answer the questions
posed in the introduction and the problématique of each section to end the
debate, and then open up to other questions or areas of research like you
would for a commentaire composé. Don’t forget to include a bibliography.
Exposé
Goal of an Exposé
The goal of an exposé is to present the main points of a text to your classmates, who have not necessarily read the text you are presenting. It shows
your ability to discern the main ideas and themes of a work, either fiction or
non-fiction. When you do an exposé, you become the teacher, and you are
supposed to know the text well.
French professors often assign exposés on works that relate to the theme of
the course, but are nonessential to the subject matter. Courses will therefore
have a common bibliography, which every student is expected to master,
and a certain number of books or articles for suggested exposé topics. In
smaller classes, professors rely on the exposé to cover material and to spark
class discussions. In larger classes, not every student will have the opportunity to do an exposé, so it sometimes takes the place of a written assignment
or exam.
Doing an exposé early in the semester, especially a good exposé, will get you
in the good graces of your teacher, who will grade you more favorably on
other assignments, and earn you the respect of your classmates, who will be
impressed that a foreign student can master their language and assignment
type so easily. While you should make an effort to speak the best French
you can - having someone look over your outline, for example - don’t let
your complex about speaking French prevent you from doing an exposé.
Most teachers are very understanding of foreign students, and take that into
account when they assign a grade. Of course, you should still practice your
presentation beforehand and make sure you’re comfortable with what you
have to say. If you’re not sure how to pronounce a word, ask someone, or
find a synonym you do know how to pronounce.
Most exposés are individual exercises approximately 20 minutes in length,
although some seminar professors assign group exposés that can run longer.
Since an exposé is designed in part to make you figure out the most important aspects of a text, you should not go over the time you are given; instead,
you should choose the topics that are the most significant to the overall
theme of the work and the course. In your conclusion, you can mention
ideas you would have talked more about if you had had the time. Unlike
presentations in the US, which often require speaking from notecards, exposés are often entirely written out in advance, and reading does not negatively
impact your grade. Make eye contact, pause at appropriate places, and finish
on time, and you should do well.
Sample Exposé
Exposé: Le désert à l’aube
Introduction
Le désert à l’aube est une œuvre autobiographique de Noël Favrelière. Ce Français, né à La Rochelle en 1934, a été mobilisé en Algérie avant
le déclenchement de la guerre en 1954, et a été rappelé en 1956. Après
avoir passé quelques mois dans l’armée française en tant que parachutiste,
et remarqué les injustices de la guerre, il a déserté en libérant un Algérien
qui aurait dû être tué le lendemain. Il s’est ensuite battu avec l’Armée de
Libération Nationale pour la cause algérienne pendant dix mois, après quoi
il est allé à Tunis et a émigré aux États-Unis. Condamné à mort deux fois,
en 1956 et en 1961, il ne peut rentrer légalement en France qu’en 1966 à
la suite du passage de la loi d’amnistie. Publiée dans un premier temps en
1960 en pleine guerre d’Algérie, son œuvre Le désert à l’aube a été aussitôt
interdite, et ne réapparaît qu’en 2000, quand elle est republiée dans les Éditions de Minuit. Ce livre raconte ces expériences afin d’amener le lecteur à
comprendre en quoi il avait raison de ne pas supporter la guerre et pourquoi
il a décidé de déserter.
Le livre est divisé en trois parties, dont la première s’appelle Pacification, la deuxième Les rebelles et la troisième, Tunis. Je vais faire un résumé de
chaque partie du livre tout en m’interrogeant sur la signification de chacun
de ces titres et sur la structure de la partie et de l’œuvre, et en m’appuyant
sur les thèmes principaux du livre, sur le rôle des personnages principaux, et
sur les regards différents que le narrateur porte sur la guerre.
Au début de la première partie, La pacification, le narrateur se situe
dans un ravin avec un Algérien, dans le désert à cinq heures et demie, ayant
« déserté, libéré un prisonnier de guerre et emporté des armes.17 » Avec un
avion et deux hélicoptères français à sa recherche, le point de départ de
son récit le met déjà dans l’opposition à la France. C’est dans ce contexte
d’ennemi de l’état qu’il commence à raconter sa réinscription dans l’armée
française, son premier tour de service militaire en Algérie, et les évènements
qui l’ont amené à déserter. Dans cette partie, il montre à travers ses expériences avec d’autres rappelés, des colons français, et des civils algériens les
attitudes odieuses et les tactiques injustes et parfois effroyables des Français
vivant en Algérie et rappelés pour faire leur service militaire. Tout d’abord,
17
p. 9
on verra comment il met en question le projet de pacification et montre la
complexité de la guerre. Dans cette première partie, la pacification veut dire
la guerre, la provocation, et le pacifisme du héros.
PACIFICATION = GUERRE
Pour Noël, la pacification de l’armée française est un euphémisme
pour dire la guerre. On apprend tout de suite que le sergent parachutiste
Noël Favrelière avait fait un premier tour de service militaire en Algérie, et
est parti juste avant le déclenchement de la guerre en novembre 1954. En
tant que « Rappelé d’Algérie» il dit qu’il n’y croyait pas, puisque ses expériences en Algérie et ses rencontres avec des Algériens, des colons, et des
pieds-noirs lui avaient montré l’injustice de la guerre. Tout au long de son
service, il porte un regard critique et provocateur sur les actions des Français
et sur le traitement des Algériens. En décrivant des actes qui sont censés
êtres des actes de guerre légitimes mais qui sont, effectivement, des meurtres
injustifiés, il montre jusqu’à quel point le projet de la pacification est un
projet de la violence.
Un événement qui montre les conditions de la guerre du côté des
Français est la mort des premiers soldats français, qui ont été tués par un
garde fatigué qui ne les avait pas vu approcher et qui a tiré sur eux, endormis. Le fait que le garde tire sur des corps allongés et qui ne le menacent pas
montre l’extrême peur des rappelés face à la guerre dans des conditions très
difficiles. Cette réponse très violente, qui est automatique, n’est pas de la
pacification, c’est la guerre.
Pour contraster cette histoire, Noël raconte aussi la souffrance des
Algériens qui ont le malheur de se retrouver dans le camp français quand il
raconte l’histoire des premiers prisonniers, ce qui valorise la barbarie de la
guerre et l’indifférence des Français qui devraient distinguer entre des « terroristes » et des civils. Il s’agit de l’emprisonnement de trois infirmières algériennes, de la torture d’un Algérien « à la gégène », c’est-à-dire, à l’électricité,
et de la mort d’un Algérien qui essaye de battre un officier français. Encore
plus horrible, Noël raconte la mort d’une petite fille algérienne qui se cachait
derrière un buisson et qui s’est enfuite. Elle a été tuée par un rappelé parce
qu’un officier français a offert 500 francs à celui qui pouvait la descendre.
Ces anecdotes montrent efficacement la dévalorisation de la vie des Algériens, qui sont tous, aux yeux des Français, des terroristes. Après avoir lu
tout ce que les Français ont fait aux Algériens innocents, il est évident que la
pacification est la guerre, et on se demande qui sont les vrais terroristes.
PACIFICATION = PROVOCATION
Pour compléter sa présentation de l’attitude des Français envers les Algériens, Noël montre aussi ce que font les colons et les Français d’Algérie pour
provoquer la violence contre les Algériens. On verra à travers deux dialogues
comment la pacification est en réalité la provocation.
Noël parle d’abord avec un autre rappelé, qui est de l’opinion qu’ils sont tous
des fellaghas. Je vous lis un passage à la page…
LIRE EXTRAIT 50-51
Ce dialogue expose bien comment la pacification est ce qui provoque la
violence des Algériens, qui luttent contre la présence française. Ce sont les
attitudes des Français et leurs actes de guerre qui empirent la situation et qui
font que beaucoup plus d’Algériens deviennent fellaghas.
Il raconte aussi un rencontre avec l’Européen qui essayait d’impliquer des Algériens dans un complot nationaliste et meurtrier, ce qui est un
acte de provocation fait exprès pour faciliter le meurtre des Algériens.
LIRE PASSAGE 55-56
Cet épisode montre le regard des colons et des Français d’Algérie qui veulent
faire la guerre, et qui sont prêts à tout faire pour la provoquer.
PACIFICATION = PACIFISME
Pour le héros, la pacification serait plutôt son propre pacifisme, ce
qu’il met en évidence dans la première partie pour contraster l’attitude violente des autres avec la sienne. Noël contraste aussi les tragédies de la guerre
et les actions épouvantables des Français avec sa propre façon de traiter les
Algériens ; il se montre gentil et humain envers eux, il donne du pain aux
enfants, pendant que les autres ferment les yeux à leur souffrance et qui
transforment l’acte de torturer et de tuer en un jeu.
À la page 12, il explique qu’il disait aux autres, « Si j’étais Algérien, je
serais fellagha, » parce qu’il avait vu les conditions dans lesquelles ils vivaient,
et car, étant pacifiste, il ne pouvait pas classifier la guerre d’Algérie dans une
des deux catégories des guerres légitimes ; c’est-à-dire, celles qui sont faites
pour défendre son propre pays ou celui d’un allié.18 Selon lui, c’est dans ce
premier cas que se trouve la guerre d’Algérie du côté des Algériens, et c’est
pour cela qu’il ne veut pas se battre pour la France. Cette présentation du
processus mental de Noël est importante pour montrer en quoi il est différent des autres rappelés, qui sont plus violents que lui, et pour se rapprocher
des Algériens dans la deuxième partie, qui lui ressemblent beaucoup plus.
Le dernier épisode que raconte Noël avant de déserter est celui des
prisonniers qui transportaient les pierres d’un côté du camp à l’autre, les poignets liés avec du fil téléphonique qui coupait la chair. Quand Noël essaye
de refaire les lieus pour leur faire moins de mal, il est réprimandé par le capitaine qui ne veut pas que les prisonniers s’échappent. Après avoir porté des
pierres pendant quelques heures, le capitaine décide qu’ils peuvent s’arrêter
mais il n’est pas nécessaire de les nourrir parce « qu’on va les lâcher le lendemain. » Il dit aussi que les prisonniers soient bons pour le « corvée de bois, »
c’est-à-dire qu’on leur dit d’aller trouver du bois, et dès qu’ils partent, on
tire dessus à cause d’une « tentative de fuite » entre guillemets. C’est à ce
moment-là que Favrelière décide que son attitude pacifiste est incompatible
avec le projet de pacification des Français et se décide à déserter la nuit en
libérant Mohammad, un jeune prisonnier Algérien dont le pied est blessé.
Cette première partie du récit met en valeur:
Le sens ironique du projet de pacification et la violence des Français à travers
quelques conversations avec des rappelés et des officiers français.
Les efforts de certains Français qui veulent provoquer la guerre, à travers
quelques actes et récits provocateurs.
18
P. 25
Le pacifisme du héros, et surtout son éloignement idéologique des rappelés
et des officiers français, et ses opinions pacifistes et humanistes, à travers son
traitement des Algériens. Il voit des êtres humains qui se battent pour une
cause juste et qui sont mal traités par les Français, et non pas simplement un
ennemi qu’il faut supprimer.
La deuxième partie, Les rebelles, ne met pas l’accent sur le combat avec
l’armée algérienne, mais valorise plutôt les conversations entre Noël et les
combattants. Rebelles pour Noël veut dire à la fois les Algériens, qui luttent
contre la colonisation française, et son propre statut de déserteur ; dans cette
partie, il se rapproche des Algériens et devient un membre de leur groupe.
REBELLES = RAISON
Dans cette partie, Noël raconte les combats et les mouvements des
Algériens et les différents groupes des Algériens qui se battent tous pour la
liberté, mais il donne la parole aux combattants raisonnables, et il minimalise les représentations des attentats et de la violence. Ceci affirme l’idée que
les Algériens se battent quand les Français provoquent la violence, et met
en valeur l’ironie de la pacification et celle du terme rebelles, qui devraient
être normalement les plus violents. Si la première partie du roman a montré
l’injustice de la guerre menée par les Français et les attitudes racistes et paternalistes des rappelés et des colons, la deuxième partie est censée montrer non
seulement la justice du combat des Algériens, mais aussi leur fraternité, leur
raison, et leur conservatisme par rapport à la violence et à la guerre.
Dans cette partie, il y a assez peu d’action, et on va donc traiter cette
partie à partir des personnages principaux et ce qu’ils apportent au texte. Il
y a beaucoup de personnages mineurs qui expriment leurs idées de la guerre
et des Français. Le personnage principal est Abd el Kader, appelé Kadou
par Noël, et les personnages Medeb et Salem participe au même genre de
conversation, qui porte sur l’idéologie de la guerre. Ils sont tous des personnages bien réfléchis qui peuvent expliquer pourquoi ils se battent ; en leur
donnant la parole, Noël leur accorde le pouvoir de faire entendre la cause
algérienne en France et de montrer la justice de leur cause.
Mohammad, l’homme avec qui Noël a échappé, joue un rôle assez mineur
dans cette partie. Une fois qu’ils sont arrivés chez lui, Noël apprend qu’il a
été fait prisonnier quand les Français ont entouré la maison de ses parents
et il voulait les défendre avec un pistolet. Cet épisode met en valeur l’innocence de Mohammad, et par extension, met en question l’arrestation d’autres
Algériens qui ont été faits prisonniers pour presque rien. Dans ce sens, les
rebelles sont tous ceux qui ont été pris par les Français, et pas nécessairement
des véritables ennemis.
Abd el Kader, ou Kadou est le personnage le plus important de cette
partie, parce qu’il aide Noël à se sentir à l’aise, il lui explique ce qui se passe
dans la guerre chez les Algériens, et il lui pose des questions pour voir ce qu’il
pense de la guerre. C’est à la fois la porte-parole de la cause algérienne et
celui qui fait ressortir les réflexions de Noël sur la France et sur la guerre. Je
vais vous lire un passage qui montre les discussions de Kadou et de Noël, et
montre comment Noël présente un regard très précis sur l’Algérie pour lui
donner la raison.
LIRE PASSAGE 163-164
Dans ce passage, Noël explique très clairement comment son regard sur les
Algériens a évolué afin d’influencer l’opinion de ses lecteurs. On voit dans
cette partie que l’auteur est conscient de l’effet que son livre pourrait avoir
sur ses lecteurs, et le fait qu’il se sert de cette forme d’écriture pour expliquer
son opposition à la guerre. Il essaye de présenter les Algériens qui ont des
avis modérés et justifiés pour influencer la réception de son livre par les lecteurs francophones.
La troisième partie, qui s’appelle Tunis, est très courte, et raconte
comment Noël a obtenu un visa pour aller aux États-Unis et quitté la Tunisie. Tunisie, ancien protectorat de l’état français, est à la fois un pays qui
vient de gagner son indépendance de la France et le lieu où Noël gagne sa
propre indépendance ; les deux prennent très longtemps et sont des processus compliqués. C’est aussi un lieu où l’on comprend la cause algérienne et
on apprécie le geste de Noël.
À Tunis, il rencontre d’autres Français ainsi que des Américains qui
soutiennent la cause des Algériens, il lit ce qu’ils écrivent et il commence à
écrire lui-même des articles pour expliquer ce qui se passe en Algérie.
Il raconte un dernier épisode de torture par les Français, et un Américain fait la remarque que personne ne croirait que les Français l’ont fait.
Cette remarque montre que les Français ont raison dans l’opinion publique,
et qu’il sera difficile de faire croire que leur pacification n’est pas justifiée.
Conclusion
Dans ce livre, Noël Favrelière explique les conditions de la guerre et
pourquoi il a décidé de déserter, en quoi il avait raison de soutenir la cause
algérienne, et comment il a gagné sa propre liberté après avoir combattu
plusieurs mois avec l’ALN. Ses trois parties montrent tous les paradoxes de
la guerre d’Algérie du côté des Français et donnent la parole aux combattants algériens les plus modérés et les mieux réfléchis. Paru en 1960, ce livre
est important parce qu’il a pu influencer l’opinion des Français pendant la
guerre, et le fait qu’il a été saisi et interdit montre la peur de l’état français à
confronter les complexités et la violence de la pacification, et le fait que les
événements étaient, en réalité, une guerre.
Recommended Methodology
Introduction: Regardless of whether your work is fiction or nonfiction,
you must first introduce the text. Use the 5 W’s you learned in elementary school: Who wrote it? What type of work is it, fiction or nonfiction?
History, anthropology, literature, sociology? What time period, culture, or
intellectual tradition is it situated in? When was it written? Where/in what
context was it written? Why did the author choose to write it, or, in other
words, what was the author’s goal in writing this book? You need to end your
introduction with a statement of exactly what you’re going to say in yoru
exposé: «In the first part, we will discuss how blah leads to blahbadiblah, in
the second part, we will study how he uses bloop to prove bloopidybloop,
and in the third section, we will analyze how abracadabra leads to bippity
boppity boo.»
After you’ve answered the five W’s, the rest of the exposé is going to focus
on the What and the How. While reading the book, choose the two or three
most important themes or main ideas. Analyze how the author develops
them and what his point is. These will become your two or three sections. In
each main section, you should have two subparts. The first subpart should
identify the theme or idea and how the author makes it, and the second
subpart should analyze why it’s important. The order of your presentation
should go from most basic to most complex, showing a logical development
among your ideas. Remember, you don’t have to include anything, although
you can identify some problems or contradictions the author encounters. A
good rule to follow is one-two sentences of analysis for each sentence of fact.
DO:
- Identify a few important passages in the text and analyze them in
function of your exposé’s focus.
- Pick and choose the most important aspects of the text and discuss
them in detail.
- Focus on the text and situate it in its historical and intellectual context, possibly by stating similarities or differences with contemporary works.
- Ask questions to advance your point and propose an answer or several possible answers that stem from the text.
- Organize your ideas into two or three sections with an equal number
of subsections (two or three), clearly state your outline before your
presentation, and inform your classmates when you progress to a
new idea.
- Introduce ideas with the literary «We can see» or «the author suggests.»
DON’T:
- Quote everything, nothing, or quote without analyzing the quote’s
meaning and significance.
- Try to talk about every interesting part of the text without analysis.
- Try to show how much you know about the topic by quoting other
authors, citing random historical facts, and addressing other problems or controversies from the time period that the text doesn’t identify as problematic.
- Ask questions so other students will do the work for you or questions that don’t have answers in the text.
- Organize your exposé without labeling the different sections and
without helping your classmates listen to you more easily.
- Introduce ideas with «I think.»
Conclusion: Because an exposé is mostly focus on detailing the main points
of a text and its relevance to the course content, the conclusion doesn’t have
to be a sophisticated analysis of the text’s importance to the development of
literary or historical theory. Instead, it should focus specifically on reiterating your main ideas to link cause and effect within the work, tying the main
points of your exposé into the course’s themes, and asking a few thoughtprovoking questions about the work’s conclusions or weaknesses to stimulate class discussion. It can be as short as a few sentences, since the bulk of
the analysis has already been explained, and it can also include a few questions for further study in the subject or further analysis of the work that you
weren’t able to discuss in the time allotted.
Assignment Deadlines
Professors of advanced-level courses are generally very flexible about deadlines, and the final deadline for a written assignment will often be several
weeks after the end of the course. A course that ends in December, for
example, will often allow you to turn in your paper until mid-January, and
courses ending in mid-May give you until mid-June. Professors can turn in
grades whenever they like, and grades don’t have to be submitted all at the
same time. If you happen to discover, like I did once, that your professor has
submitted the grades for a class and you haven’t turned in the paper yet, do
the paper as soon as possible, turn it into her box in the department, and
write the professor a quick note or email to tell her it’s there. Usually they’ll
be very understanding.
That being said, in all of the classes I’ve taken, I’ve never known French students to procrastinate. (Even though procrastinate is a latinate word, there’s
really not a good way to say it in French!) If students have to choose their
own paper topics and get them approved, most look over the bibliography
within the first month of the class, even if it’s just looking the authors up on
Wikipedia and figuring out what topic seems the most interesting.
Since the French students obviously have an advantage when it comes to
writing in French - if not when it comes to the actual analysis in the assignments - you should probably start early, too. Writing in a second language
always takes more time than it should, and you should also plan to finish
your assignments a few days in advance so you can reread them for grammar mistakes and Anglicisms before handing them in. Some programs even
require that you show your assignments to a tutor, who will help you to
correct them.
Formatting Assignments
Typical French paper is size A4, which is slightly longer and narrower than
American 8 1/2” by 11”. It’s about 21 cm by 29 cm, which is roughly 8
1/4” by 11 1/2” Since all of your assignments are going to be printed on A4
paper, it’s important to change your document settings to size A4 under page
setup in your word processor. You can choose to change your default for the
amount of time you stay in France, or just change the settings for individual
assignments during your stay. You can also choose to have the rulers appear
in centimeters. If you forget to change your page setup settings, your printer
will normally shrink the pages to fit in the center of the A4 pages, leaving
a lot of white space at the top and bottom of the document as well as small
text, about 93% of its original size. Your professors will definately notice,
and while they might not comment on all of the white space, they’ll think it
looks odd and they won’t understand the reason. Nobody else in the world
uses 8 1/2 by 11” paper. It goes without saying that your professor’s specifications supercede the recommendations listed here.
Another French standard unpopular with American students is the fact that
the French don’t double-space. They use 1.5 spacing, which can be done by
going into Format, then Paragraphs and Spacing in your word processor,
and then by selecting Line Spacing: 1.5 lines. With this format, one page
should hold 400-450 words.
Now for the good news. The French usually use relatively big margins so
professors can write comments (even if they usually don’t) and standard
margins are 3cm on each side, or about 1.2 inches. On the first page, the
title of the paper should be a third of the way down, and you should hit
enter twice after the title, leaving 3 lines’ worth of empty space. Instead of
indenting every paragraph, hit enter twice to leave a blank line between the
two paragraphs. When you start a new section, it should be clearly labeled
with a title, and there should be two enters before and after the section title,
which can be in a slightly larger font and in bold. As with American papers,
you should use Times New Roman size 12 or Ariel size 11 for most papers.
Bibliographies
The French system does not use MLA or other American-style bibliography
formats, and while some manuals on writing a master’s thesis or doctoral
dissertation include chapters on formatting bibliographies, there is no comprehensive guide available. Here are some sample bibliographical entries.
Note that in French, there is one space before and one space after the colon.
Again, due to the limitations of e-book formatting, please check out the
sample French bibliographies on parisunraveled.com.
(Because e-readers inject their own formatting into the text, please go to the
Bibliographies page on parisunraveled.com to see the proper formatting).
Book with one author:
Last, first. Title of work. City, Publisher, Date, # pages p.
Aceval, Nora. Contes et tradition d’Algérie. Paris, FliesFrance, 2005, 216
p.
Book in Foreign Language:
Last, first. Title of work in French = Title of work in original language. City,
Publisher, Date, # pages p.
Jawad, Haifaa A. Les droits de la femme en Islam : une approche authentique = The Rights of Women in Islam: An Authentic Approach. New York,
St. Martin’s Press, 1998.
Translation:
Last, first of original author. Title of work. Trad. First Last of translator.
City, Publisher, coll. «Collection name», Date, # pages p.
Coran, Le : Essai de Traduction. Trad. Jacques Berque. Paris, Albin Michel,
coll. « Spiritualités vivantes », 2002, 842 p.
Article or Book Chapter:
Last, first. «Title of Article or Chapter.» Title of book or journal, n°Journal
number, date of publication. City, Publisher, Year. Page range.
Zemmour, Zine-Eddine. « Jeune fille, famille, et virginité: approche anthropologique de la tradition. » Confluences Méditerranée : sexualité et sociétés
arabes, n° 41 , printemps 2002. Paris, L’Harmattan, 2002. 65-76.
Article or Book Chapter in a Foreign Language:
Last, first. «Translation of article title in French = Title of work in original
language.» Title of book or journal in French = Title of book in original language. Ed. First Last of Editor. City, Publisher, Date, p. page range.
Clancy-Smith, Julia. « La femme arabe: Les femmes et la sexualité dans
l’empire français en Afrique du Nord = La femme arabe : Women and sexuality in France’s North African Empire. » Les femmes, la famille, et les lois
de divorce = Women, the Family, and Divorce Laws in Islamic History,.
Ed. Amira El Azhary Sonbol. Syracuse, Syracuse University Press, 1996, p.
52-63.
Lecture or presentation:
Last, first of presenter. Title of presentation. Location, city. Date.
Aceval, Nora. Présentation du livre La science des femmes et de l’amour. La
lucarne des écrivains, Paris. 18 novembre 2009.
Email:
Last, first of sender. «Subject.» Message électronique envoyé à Name of Recipient. Date.
Aceval, Nora. « Re : sources. » Message électronique envoyé à Allison Grant.
26 mai 2010.
Unpublished Dissertation:
Last, first. «Title of Dissertation», thèse de doctorat nouveau régime, City,
University, Date.
Fdida, Jean-Jacques. « La femme dans l’initiation des garçons à travers La
Fille du diable (t. 313) et d’autres contes de la tradition orale française »,
thèse de doctorat nouveau régime, Paris, université Paris 7-Denis Diderot,
1994.
Acknowledgements
Special Thanks to:
Clarice Hammett and Jared McKee, who provided some of the sample
papers included in Chapter 5, and who provided feedback on sections of
this book.
Christine Valero, Academic Advisor at Columbia University Programs in
Paris, who taught me everything I know about French universities.
Bonnie Woolley, who provided significant feedback and created the website
and online community for this book.
About the Author
Allison Grant is a graduate of Columbia University (B.A., French and
Romance Philology, 2009) and the Middlebury College French School
(M.A., French, 2009). After studying abroad with Columbia University
Programs in Paris during the 2007-2008 academic year, she returned to
France in September 2009 to complete a Master 2 degree in Comparative
Literature at the Université de Paris VII - Denis Diderot, where she studied
Algerian libertine folktales. She is currently completing a second Master
2 in Ethnology and Social Anthropology at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes
en Sciences Sociales studying the transmission of oral tradition in Algerian
immigrant families.
She has worked twice as an English Assistant in four elementary schools in
Paris (2007-2008) and Seine-Saint Denis (2009-2010), has worked as an
English tutor, translator, and, most recently, began working at Horton Tax
Services as an administrative assistant and then as a tax preparer. She currently lives in Aubervilliers, France with her husband, Hamid, and her cat,
Artemis.