Sun, 8 November 2009
Some 450 pre-Columbian pieces in Quai Branly museum.
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Basil Howitt on criminal investigations in the coastal resorts.
Useful information on renting accommodation in Paris.
Relocating can have a big impact on your relationship.
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No, I am not married to an alcoholic. Rather, it would appear that one important 'event' after another has been occurring at his office, necessitating an all-out shindig for each and every occasion.
Whether someone is coming or going, having a baby or retiring, celebrating 20 years with the company or 5, these office pots (pronounced 'poh') are regular happenings at most French companies.
Secretary doing a good job lately? Throw her a pot. Pourquoi pas? Boss bringing in cases of champagne for the World Cup? Now, that's not so odd, is it?
It's not that employees of American companies don't celebrate such things; it's just that planned events taking place 'on the clock' and on company premises are distinctly different from those once-a-year (off-site) evening Christmas parties, for example.
For one thing, I have yet to see a daytime American office party where alcohol is readily available (or available at all, for that matter) - which is not to say, of course, that it doesn't happen; I simply was never fortunate enough to work in an office where it did.
On the contrary, our office parties were always rather banal affairs, consisting of a few meat and cheese trays from the local grocery store, a baked good here and there, punch or soda, and people standing nervously around the walls making small talk – and decidedly not having a good time. (On a few occasions, in fact, I can recall counting down the minutes until I could escape back to my own desk so I could get back to work; now, what kind of party is that?!)|
The French companies I am familiar with, on the other hand, are a good bit different in this respect. Not only my husband's firm (a bunch of nuclear engineers), but my own (a pharmaceutical company, a huge media conglomerate, a language school and two grandes écoles) in Paris are – on a regular basis – the sites of 'lunchtime' bashes known for eating up entire afternoons.
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This is what you need to consider when making an early choice between purchasing or renting accommodation in France.
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