Double Nationalité

The other night, as I was walking hand in hand with my Frenchy husband, we happened to be behind a group of three young Frenchmen.  As we walked past the legislative house of France, we heard the following conversation:

Frenchy 1: "What's that building there?"

Frenchy 2: "It looks like the Madeleine [a church bearing similar architectural characteristics on the other side of the Seine].  Yea, I think it is the Madeleine."

Frenchy 3: "Yes, it is the Madeleine."

Ceci n'est pas la Madeleine...

Hubby and I cracked up, but we were also crying inside.  Here are 3 young French people walking past a building, that even if it were not marked "Assemblée Nationale" in big gold letters across the front, they should have been able to recognize it as the heart of their government's lawmaking function.  I commented that it is sad that these three people have French nationality, when they don't even know certain things about their own government, yet I, and other immigrants, have to fight every day to prove that I am worthy of one day having French citizenship.  I won't even go into the rocky relationship that Socialist Presidential candidate, François Hollande, has with the subjunctive.  All I can say is someone needs to send him a copy of Les chevaliers du subjonctif stat.

Interning in France

I returned to France about 3 weeks ago, and I hit the ground running.  Work is *insane*.  I hear all this grumbling and panic about the European crisis, and while it is legitimate, people apparently didn't get the memo at my place of employment.  I'm not complaining at all, but this would explain my relative radio silence.

I've never really delved into it here on my blog, but I've been a recruiter in France for 2 years now.  I've worked on missions in Africa and in Europe.  It has had its ups and downs (especially when I worked on the agency side...pure madness) but overall it has been a fantastic learning experience.  But before I became a recruiter, I did several internships in France.  I didn't get them through networking or my school.  I had to roll up my sleeves and get them on my own.  And eventually one of them turned into a full-time, permanent contract complete with work papers.  Ka-CHING!

Now, I figure since I am working almost non-stop, I might as well put my professional expertise to work and write something for those of you who are looking to intern in France or know someone that is.  I can't guarantee results, and everyone's experience is different.  But, if you know how to navigate the system and what to expect, it could make things a whole heck of a lot easier for you. (Disclaimer: I am writing this from an American perspective, as this is where I am more experienced.)

Getting an internship in France...what, like it's hard?

Let's get started, shall we?

Bureaucracy is Fun!

Almost six months after getting married, I am finally going to my appointment at the Préfecture de Police.  Fab and I have been racing to get all of my/our documents ready since if even just one little document is missing or not up to their standards, they will cut off my head and feed me to the sharks in the Seine make me come back in two or three months.  Which isn't kosher for numerous reasons that I shan't renumerate here.

I look forward to my annual Immigration visit about as much as I look forward to a root canal.

I have been really dreading this year's immigration process because Claude Guéant's Interior Ministry is tightening up on immgration.  I know that this has yet to apply to me, but it is still disconcerting.  He (Guéant) hopes to reduce professional immigration by 10%, given the current economic conditions in France and its high unemployment rate.  It has caused quite the scandal among the nation's student population and university administrations, since it mostly concerns those who come to France to do their studies and then try to apply for jobs afterwards.  It's a xenophobic and racist policy, meant to play to those voters who might go for Marine Le Pen (France's borderline Facist political party leader) in the 2012 Presidential election.  She's got a softer discourse than her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, which means she has been appealing to more people (but not by wide margins...)  The Euro crisis ain't helping things either (who do people blame when unemployment is high?  Immigrants).  Basically, she has made Sarkozy's UMP party nervous about her performance in 2012.  Few people wish to repeat the election run-off between Jacques Chirac and Jean-Marie Le Pen of 2002.

Anyhow, I'm really glad that Forest of 52 Martinis put up this video on her Twitter feed.  It made me smile as well as shiver in anticipation of tomorrow.  I'll share it with you for a giggle.  We've all been through bureaucracy, no?

Erin v. l'Administration française

People often ask me what I like and dislike about France.  The like part is pretty simple : food, wine, amazing cheese, public transportation, health care that is worth a darn.  The list could go on and on.  The dislike part makes all my French friends laugh because I imagine they feel my pain : French administration.  French bureaucracy has a horrible reputation.  It is known to be inefficient, incredibly bloated with personnel that are considered to be pretty lazy.  The statistic that is often cited is 1 in 5 French people are "fonctionnaires" or government workers.  They get 10 weeks of vacation, they work from 9 AM to 4 PM, while the rest of us poor souls get less vacation and work from about 9 AM to 6 or 7 PM.  I cannot really describe how they treat the French people, but as of late, I have had my fair share of "war stories."