Guide to living and working in France

France

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Country Overview

 

Population

60.5m

Unemployment Rate

7.9% (11/07)

Average annual unemployment rate 1995 – 2004

10.7%

GDP

€1,710bn / $2,534bn

GDP per head

€23,722 / $35,150

Capital

Paris

Major language

French

Life Expectancy (UN)

77 years (men)

84 years (women)

Monetary unit

1 euro = 100 cents

Internet domain

.fr

International dialing code

+33

 

In 2007, the French government launched divisive labour reform efforts that have continuing into 2008. France's tax burden remains one of the highest in Europe (nearly 50% of GDP in 2005). In 2007, France brought the budget deficit within the Euro-zone’s 3%-of-GDP limit for the first time and reduced unemployment went down to approximately 8%. With at least 75 million foreign tourists per year, France is the most visited country in the world and maintains the third largest income in the world from tourism.

 

The Economy

Industries include: machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metallurgy, aircraft, electronics, textiles, food processing and tourism.

 

Pay

 

 

Human development Index

Ranking:  10th
Index value:  0.952


The Human Development Index combines statistics on GDP, adult literacy, average years of schooling and life expectancy to provide an indicator of human development. The HDI shown here gives the ranking of 24 countries among 177. See http://hdr.undp.org/en/ for more information.

 


Getting a job

Applying for a job:

You can contact prospective employers directly by telephone, fax or e-mail, but the most usual procedure is to send a printed letter of application along with your CV. Growing use of the Internet in France means many companies (especially the larger ones) now also accept applications by email or through online application processes.

Cover letters: In France, the cover letter that should accompany a CV is very important. The letter should be a maximum of two pages written formally and following a standard format containing:

  • Top left: your surname, first name, full private address and telephone number;
  • Top right: the place and the date, and further down the address of the company and the person to whom the letter is addressed;
  • The purpose of the letter or the reference;
  • The body of the letter;
  • Bottom right: your signature.


Only write a letter by hand if this is specifically requested, in which case the company may use graphology (analysis of your handwriting). Today, many companies prefer to receive applications by e-mail.

Curriculum Vitae (CV): CVs are normally one page long, but they can run to 2 pages if you have had a long professional career (more than 10 years’ experience). A traditional CV comprises 4 main parts:

  1. Personal details: Name, address and private telephone number, age, nationality, marital status. You should not include details of your religion, health or political views.
  2. Qualifications: Diplomas, qualifications obtained, dates and places (universities etc). If possible, give the French equivalent of your qualifications with a description of the course content. Also add any additional training undertaken while working (e.g. evening classes), the languages you speak and level of competence in them.
  3. Professional experience: Dedicate one paragraph to each job held. Indicate how long you occupied the post, the name and location of the company, the duties you performed, your responsibilities and the objectives attained. 
  4. Non-work related activities and hobbies: This part is not mandatory, but some well-chosen activities can give a recruiter a clearer picture of your personality.


Conditions and rights

Employment law:

The Labour Code (Code du Travail) is the primary basis for labour law. Alongside the code, there are a number of legal rights introduced through collective and works agreements (règlement intérieur). Most employment contracts are for an open term (contrats à durée indéterminée) and a major legal distinction exists between 'cadres' (top managers) and 'employés' (lower grade staff).

Working hours:

Standard hours: The legal length of the working week is 35 hours in all types of companies and the working day may not exceed 10 hours. The maximum working day for under 18s and apprentices is 8 hours. The maximum working day may be extended to 12 hours under a collective agreement, but in principle, no more than 48 hours a week may be worked.

Overtime: Some managerial staff classified as ‘autonome’ work more than 35 hours a week, but are given additional holiday leave. Overtime is paid as follows:

  • 25% an hour for each of the first eight hours of overtime (from the 36th to the 43rd hour inclusive). 
  • 50% extra for each hour after that.

 

Holidays and leave:

All workers have a right to paid leave once they have worked at least 1 month during the reference period, which runs from 1 June of the previous year to 31 May of the current year. Workers are then entitled to two-and-a-half working days’ leave for each month worked, i.e. five weeks of paid leave per year worked.

Sick, maternity and paternity leave: workers are entitled to sick leave, maternity (or adoption) and paternity leave. After taking maternity leave, workers can ask to take parental leave or to work part time so they can look after their child. Parents are also allowed to take time off work to look after children who are disabled, have suffered an accident or are seriously ill.

Other types of leave: Employees may also take a sabbatical of up to eleven months, individual training leave (‘CIF’), leave to set up a business, international solidarity leave, leave to look after a sick child or skills leave. Eligibility for some of these types of leave may be conditional upon seniority in the company, or minimum contributions paid to the public social security scheme.

Public holidays: New Year’s Day, Easter Monday, May Day, 8 May, Ascension Thursday, 14 July, 15 August, 1 November, 11 November and Christmas Day. May Day is the only guaranteed paid holiday. Other public holidays are generally only paid if they fall on an ordinary working day.

 

Contracts

Types of contract:

The minimum legal age for employment is 16. There are two types of contract: the CDI (indefinite contract) and the CDD (fixed-term contract). The CDI is the norm and the CDD the exception. CDD contracts may be issued:

  • to replace an employee who is absent;
  • to cover changes in business activity;
  • when the company has a temporary increase in its business; 
  • when there is a need to carry out safety work; 
  • to meet an exceptional export order, to carry out one-off occasional tasks not linked to the company’s normal business; 
    for seasonal work;
  • for short-term temporary contracts;
  • for recruitment under employment policy initiatives.


These contracts last up to 18 months. The temporary nature of the contract entitles the employee to a bonus of 10% of the total gross salary.

Other types of contract:

New recruitment contract: This is a new type of CDI reserved for very small companies with less than 20 employees. Simplified dismissal procedures can be used from the end of the first month to the end of the 23rd month of employment.
Intermittent contract of employment: This is a contract signed with a company in a professional sector where business suffers genuine unforeseeable fluctuations throughout the year. 
Apprenticeship contract: to provide young school-leavers with training to help them to obtain vocational qualifications.

 

Employment contracts:

Entering into an open-ended contract of employment is not subject to any formal conditions. It does not therefore need to be in writing and can be in any form agreed to by the parties. The essential features of a contract of employment are the identities of the parties, the employee’s job title, the pay and the place of work. The employee must be informed in writing of certain aspects:

  • the identities of the parties; 
  • the place of work; 
  • the title, grade, nature or category of the work for which the employee is employed; 
  • the starting date of the contract; 
  • the expected duration of the work if it is a temporary contract; 
  • the amount of entitled paid leave; 
  • the length of the notice period; 
  • information regarding the salary and the frequency of its payment; 
  • working hours: daily or weekly; 
  • the collective agreement(s) (if any) governing the conditions of employment.


A document in writing is required for the other types of contract, such as CDD, apprenticeship, etc.

 

Visas and work permits

Visas:

Citizens of full European (EU, EFTA, EEA) Member Countries: are able to live and work in France without a visa or work permit.
France is a signatory to the Schengen Treaty. The 15 Schengen countries are: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. With a Schengen visa, you may enter one country and travel freely throughout the Schengen zone.

Passport holders from EU/EEA/EFTA countries in addition to the following countries do not need a visa to visit France or other Schengen countries: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Israel, Japan, Republic Of Korea, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Romania, San Marino, Singapore, Switzerland, United States, Uruguay, Vatican and Venezuela.
Nationals of countries not mentioned above will need a visa to visit France.

Work permits:

Citizens of EU/EEA countries: (European Union, Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway) do not need a work permit to work in France.
‘New’ EU members: employment of nationals from new EU members the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia remains restricted at the moment, so citizens of these countries require a work permit. Citizens of Cyprus and Malta have no such restriction due to their small size.

Non-EEA countries: All non-EU/EAA nationals need both a work and a residency permit. These are applied for at the same time and are interdependent. The permit type required depends on the planned activity and whether you ask for a temporary or long-term work permit.
Swiss nationals: For Swiss nationals there is a special agreement between France and Switzerland that makes the application for a work permit straightforward, but Swiss citizens still need to follow the regular visa application process.

Types of work permits:

Work permits have various forms. They may be issued as residency permits, giving the right to work in France or issued as a specific work permit (in this case accompanied by your passport and/or visa). If you hold a permanent residency permit in France, you have the right to work in France. If you hold a provisional stay permit or short-stay visa, you have to apply for permission to work. If successful, you will receive one of the following: 

  1. Temporary residency permit: specifying the type of work permitted as well as where you will be working. 
  2. Temporary work permit: This applies to certain cases, e.g. where the employee remains on the payroll of an overseas company.
  3. Seasonal work contract: which will define the type of work, its location and validity.


 

Tax, social security and healthcare

Taxation system:

Any individual, whether a French or foreign national, who is resident in France for tax purposes is subject to French income tax on his/her worldwide income. Depending on the nature of the earned income, a taxpayer with foreign source income may be liable for both French and foreign taxation on the same income. In order to avoid such double taxation, he/she can request the application of the Tax Treaty (if one has been signed between France and the other country). The result of such an application will be either the adjustment of the effective rate of income tax or the calculation of a tax credit amounting to the income tax paid outside France.

The social security system: EU citizens are generally covered in France by their own country's social security system. If you come to live in France, you must register with Social Security. Citizens of non-EU countries must have a residence permit to be able to sign on to the French Social Security register. There are several mandatory schemes in France: 

  • a general scheme for employees, covering about 80% of the population, 
  • a self-employed scheme, 
  • an agricultural scheme, 
  • a special scheme for some specific categories such as domestic staff.

General scheme: This scheme covers sickness, maternity, occupational accidents, invalidity, old age and survivors’ pensions, death, family benefit, unemployment benefit and retirement. When you start work in France, your new employer will register you with the URSSAF. This body manages the various Social Security schemes and unemployment benefits. Social Security contributions are deducted at source and vary depending on how much you earn. They are split between a contribution by the employer and a deduction from the worker's wage. Once you are registered, you will receive a Social Security membership certificate with your Social Security number and a ‘Vitale’ card. If you are self-employed, you must register with the self-employed ‘autonome’ scheme at the URSSAF and make the required payments yourself.

 

Health system:

The main role in the administration of the healthcare system falls to the State. Therefore, the State:

  • is responsible for general public health issues: disease prevention, health monitoring, combating major illnesses and problems (drug addiction, alcoholism);
  • trains health workers, helps to define their conditions of employment, monitors quality standards in care facilities and in pharmaceuticals production;
  • supervises Regional Hospital Agencies;
  • ensures the adequacy of care and prevention structures and regulates the amount of care on offer: staff, premises, heavy duty equipment.

 

Hospital care is provided in public or private establishments. The two sectors differ in certain aspects: the scope of provision of care, working arrangements, facilities, type of customers and payment arrangements.

Pharmacies: Health insurance does not restrict either the patient's freedom of choice or the doctor's freedom to prescribe. The "Vitale" card enables treatment to be paid by the health insurance scheme. One of the principles of the French social health protection system is that the patient should make a financial contribution. In principle the patient usually pays the care provider directly for the entire cost of the treatment and then receives a partial refund from the health insurance scheme to which he or she belongs.

 

Lifestyle

This is a country that is rightly recognised as having one of the most sophisticated cultures in Europe in terms of the arts & cuisine. Now a multicultural society, life in France is very diverse, from rural to city life.  The country boasts first-class beaches, mountain resorts, & cultural attractions. Healthcare, education are world-class.  Fluency in the language is a strong advantage to an enjoyable life in France.

 

Report complied: 2008
Copyright © 2008 Exposure Jobs