Culture Smart! France : A Quick Guide to Customs and Etiquette

by Tomalin, Barry

• ISBN13: 9781558687035
• ISBN10: 1558687033
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-03-01
• Publisher: Ingram Pub Services

Summary

Whether your customers are traveling in luxury or with just a pack on their back, it's important that they have a safe, fun, and easy-going trip. Bad etiquette and a misunderstanding about customs can put an otherwise very exciting trip on hold faster than a bad case of food poisoning. Readers are going to want to know about the Culture Smart! customs and etiquette series and will find them as indispensable as their passports. The Culture Smart! titles are not your basic travel guides: they are consistently updated customs and etiquette references for more than twenty-five countries, with six new titles available this fall. Now more than ever, travelers are more than just sightseers and tourists; they're ambassadors making impressions of the United States wherever they go. Readers will find these to be invaluable for pointing them on their way to a safe and fun trip abroad.

Table of Contents

Map of France	7	(1)
Introduction	8	(2)
Key Facts	10	(2)
Land and People	12	(30)
Geographical Snapshot	12	(6)
The French: A Brief History	18	(19)
Government	37	(2)
The Eurozone	39	(1)
France and the U.S.	39	(3)
Values and Attitudes	42	(12)
Changing the Rules of the Game---a ``Why'' Culture	42	(1)
The Ideas Society	43	(1)
French Style	44	(1)
Being French	45	(4)
Family First	49	(2)
Behaving Correctly	51	(3)
Custom and Tradition	54	(12)
Church and State	55	(3)
Holidays	58	(1)
The Festive Year	59	(7)
Making Friends	66	(20)
Getting to Meet Expatriates	67	(1)
Getting to Meet the French	68	(2)
Invitations Home	70	(5)
Social Customs	75	(5)
Language	80	(3)
The Art of Conversation	83	(3)
The French at Home	86	(14)
The Home	86	(4)
The Family	90	(3)
Education	93	(4)
Military Service	97	(1)
Daily Life	98	(2)
Time Out	100	(20)
Shopping	100	(2)
Les Grandes Spectacles	102	(1)
Le Cinema	103	(1)
Cafe Society	103	(3)
Food	106	(2)
Wine	108	(2)
Which Restaurant?	110	(2)
Lunch and Dinner	112	(4)
La Vie Culturelle: Museums and Entertainments	116	(2)
The Art Scene	118	(1)
La Vie Sportive: Leisure and Sport	118	(1)
Le Piquenique and Le Camping	119	(1)
Traveling	120	(12)
Driving	120	(5)
SNCF	125	(1)
Getting Around in Paris	126	(3)
Where to Stay	129	(1)
Travel Abroad	130	(2)
Business Briefing	132	(20)
Business and Government	132	(1)
French Bosses	133	(2)
Women in Management	135	(1)
Making Contact	136	(2)
Formality	138	(1)
Rules for Building Successful Contacts	139	(4)
Time, Agendas, and Deadlines	143	(1)
French Negotiating Style	144	(5)
Contracts	149	(1)
Meals	150	(2)
Communicating	152	(12)
Face to Face	152	(3)
Body Language	155	(1)
La Langue Franglaise	156	(3)
Postal and Electronic Communication	159	(3)
Conclusion	162	(2)
Resources	164	(1)
Further Reading	165	(1)
Index	166