English as a Second Language
The majority of English speakers coming to France are a little nervous about speaking French as a second language and one finds a similar reaction amongst French students who are learning to speak English. But some 18 to 25 years old French students are paying up to $6,000 annually to master a second language they all studied for six years in high school before earning their Baccalauréat degrees and entering the job market.
Categories: Education Tags: Baccalauréat, cultural products, Education, Education in France, English as a foreign or second language, English-language education, even advertising, Foreign language, France, French immersion, French language, Julien Petitpas, Language acquisition, Language education, Language schools, Languages of the United States, Modern language, Multilingualism, Nicolas Sarkozy, Paris, president, Sociolinguistics, USD, wider tool
Biscuit Research in France
Kraft Foods, sells food in more than 125 countries around the world and is opening a facility in France that will research biscuits. The facility, called Biscuit Research & Development Centre, is to be built in a suburb of Paris at a cost of around $20 million.
Categories: News Tags: Biscuit Research & Development Centre, Business/Finance, Cheesemakers, delicious new products, Europe, food, France, Groupe Danone, Health/Medical/Pharmaceuticals, Kraft Foods, Kraft Foods Europe, Kraft Foods Inc., Nabisco, Northfield Illinois, Paris, Prince TUC and Mikado, TUC, USD
Moving to France?
If the idea of a move to France attracts you and you like the idea of buying a house, which perhaps needs renovation, then before you even consider the financial implications you must ask yourself some much more important and deeply searching questions. Print this article, go and lie in a nice warm bath, take a glass and a bottle of Beaujolais with you, relax and be totally honest with yourself. When you’ve finished the wine, open another bottle and see if your partner will join you in the bath (bring another glass)… and then be brutally honest with each other.
Now, imagine you’ve sold up, kissed your family and friends goodbye and followed the removal van to your new French home. This is not a two week holiday, this is for keeps…so, seriously ask yourself and your partner these questions:
Can I and my partner really cope with leaving our home-country?
Categories: Living in France Tags: Britain, Christopher Chan, Europe, France, move, sports interests, United Kingdom, USD
French Bank Crisis
French bank Societe Generale has seen net profits crash by 84% for the third quarter, hit by the credit crisis.
Net profits in the 3 months to the end of September fell to €183m ($235m; £145m) from €1.12bn in the same period last year.
The bank has been hit hard by the chaos in the finance sector with the collapse of Lehman Brothers alone prompting a €447m write down.
Despite the results the bank said it was positioned to deal with the downturn.
Categories: Financial Tags: bank, credit, EUR, finance sector, France, French Bank, GBP, Île-de-France, investment banking division, Lehman Brothers, Meritz Investment Bank, money, Paris, Societe Generale, USD