Practical Paris

Finding jobs in Paris: The CV The first step to finding jobs in Paris is to Frenchify your CV. Some readers may not even know what a CV is given that the term used in the United States is, ironically, the French word résumé (generally written without the accents). In the long run resume means the same thing: to sum up. CV stands for Curriculum Vitae which is a Latin expression which can be loosely translated as [the] course of [my] life. In that sense a French CV or an English one is the same and they tend to be longer than the North American resume which does not exceed one page and does not necessarily  include the entire work history. So how does one construct a French CV, because in fact it needs to be constructed from the ground up and not just translated especially when your working document is a resume. There is no strict style or order to respect although most of the time they are organized chronologically or sometimes by theme or career path. You can personalized i…

Theft in Paris?! Break in?! Pickpocketed? Emergency?! Bike stolen?!

Were you the victim of Theft in Paris? Was your apartment or vehicle broken into? Your bag or car stolen? Your home tagged with grafitti? We certainly hope not, but sometimes it is necessary to make a police declaration for theft or damage. The good news is that you can do a pre-declaration online and avoid waiting at the commissariat. Not only will you save time by not having to personally go to the station and wait in line, you can also fill out the form calmly in your own home with a dctionary handy and without pressure to speak French. Once the pre-declaration is transmitted you will be contacted within 24 hours by a police agent who will process the complaint then ask you to stop by to sign (within a month) and finalize the complaint. www.pre-plainte-en-ligne.gouv.fr I can personally vouch for the efficacity of this system. I used it when my bike was stolen. It makes making a complaint quite si…

Banking Glossary French-English terms What is the origin of the word "bank"? It goes back to Italian. In Medieval Italy a moneylander set up a bench in the town square and sat down behind it to do business. The word for "bench" in Italian is banca. When the banker ran out of money he smashed his bench, it was then a broken bench or banca rotta. Doesn't that sound like bankrupt? (makes one think of "rupture", interestingly in French the word is banqueroute) Here is a set of the most commons terms used in banking/finance in France along with their English equivalents to form a banking glossary French English. Actions : Shares ADI (Assurance Décès Invalidité) : Death and invalidity insurance Agios : Interest paid on loan or overdraft Annuité : Annual payment Apport :  Down payment or deposit you bring for loan or mortgage Approvisionner : To credit funds to your account Argent liquide/espèces : Cash Avis d’opération : Transaction receipt Avis à Tiers Détenteur : Not…