Practical Paris

Paris Churches of Expat Communities - Paris and the region Joining the social fabric in your new home is part of settling in. Of course you want to integrate into France and meet French people, but it is always pleasant, and some would say important, to join fellow expats or folks from your own country to pursue your favorite activities as well. Just like sometimes you need comfort food you also need comfort time in your own language, activities and customs. Churches and synagogues in Paris and the region are great resources providing community, study and discussions, lunches, youth groups, fairs, choirs and volunteer opportunities just like at home. Many schools and universities have alumni clubs in Paris. Here below is a non-exhaustive list of Paris churches of the expat community in the area. For a list of clubs associations see this article  Other ideas and activities for meeting people in this article Worship in your own language: St. George's Anglican Churc…

Work papers France Finding a job in France most often requires a work permit if you are from an non-EU country. There are several ways to go about this task and none of them are easy or straight forward (rest assured France isn’t picking on you, it is just as difficult for a French person to go to a non-EU country). But here are a few suggestions for the persistent to obtain work papers for France. See our Glossary of French-English Employment terminology For Americans Founded in 1896, the French-American Chamber of Commerce (FACC) is the country’s premier organization for promoting trade and investment between the United States and France. In the spirit of reciprocity and international understanding, the FACC training program for Americans in France brings together qualified young Americans aspiring to work in France, and companies interested in hosting them. The FACC has a visa program for 18-35 year olds who are currently in university studies or have just graduated. …

First of all who the à#@H!! is Marianne? She is one of the symbols, one of the incarnations of France! If you take a minute to look around you'll find her everywhere. On coins, stamps, a bust in every town hall, in sculpture such as in the Pantheon, on official stationery and tax documents as part of the logo of the Republic. There is even a magazine called Marianne, which is independent from the government. She is a version of Lady Liberty and wears a phyrgian cap and sort of Grecian robes usually over one shoulder. The capped female allegory was first used in France at the time of the Revolution to symbolize Liberty. How she got to be called Marianne is uncertain. We do know though that Marie and Anne were very common first names during the 18th century and the contraction often referred to “the people”. Under the Third Republic (1870 and forward) statues and busts of Marianne popped up in nearly every town hall. Sometimes she was sculpted with a diadem or crown rather tha…

Paris Clubs Associations of Expats Joining the social fabric in your new home is part of settling in. Of course you want to integrate into France and meet French people, but it is always pleasant, and some would say important, to join fellow expats or folks from your own country to pursue your favorite activities as well. Just like sometimes you need comfort food you also need comfort time in your own language, activities and customs. Churches and synagogues in Paris are great resources providing community, study and discussions, lunches, youth groups, fairs, choirs and volunteer opportunities just like at home. Many schools and universities have alumni clubs in Paris. Here below is a non-exhaustive list of clubs associations of all types in the expat community in the Paris area. Index :  British Scottish Welsh Norwegian Finnish Swedish Polish Danish German Irish Canadian Australian American Worship in your own language  Paris Churches Other ideas and act…

How to get to the Paris airports? Going away is always fun ! However, going to the Paris airports can be a lot less fun … It’s always difficult to choose how to get there since there are so many options : bus, metro/RER, taxi…Here are all your best options so that you can easily choose according to your budget, how much time you have, etc. There are 2 main Paris airports – Orly and CDG (Charles De Gaulle) / Roissy so first make sure you know which one you’re going to ! Be careful if you ask someone for directions to get to Charles De Gaulle as you'll have to be a bit more specific... indeed if you ask for Charles de Gaulle some people may send you to Les Champs Elysées thinking you want to go "Charles de Gaulle Etoile metro station" which is on line 1 / RER C by the Arc de Triomphe!! Most Parisians refer to the Paris airport as "Roissy" which is the name of the town is in, so ask them how to get to "Roissy Charles de Gaulle". Confusing! For general Paris airports informa…