6. « French people are sexual libertines »
France never went through a puritan or prohibitionist period
- Proportion of couples living without being married
More than 2.2 million of French couples (seven times as many as 20 years ago)
More than one in three babies are born out of wedding
- Marital fidelity and illegitimacy no longer carry a stigma :
President Chirac
Vincent Auriol (president during the World War II)
President Mitterand
DSK
10. Good Manners
According to you, which
mistakes did Mrs Li ?
Basic protocol :
- Never arrive early or exactly on time.
You have to give your host time to
prepare.
- Better to be overdressed than
underdressed
- Never arrive empty-handed
- Don ’t ask for a tour of the house
- Wait to be served
- Don ’t begin to eat before the
hostess
- Eat all the food you ’re served
- Don ’t hurry when eating : people
want to take time for dinner, they want
to eat and to talk.
- Don ’t leave immediately after dinner
During her first stay in France, Mrs Li, a
Chinese business woman is invited fo a
dinner. She isn ’t used to the customs of
French peole.
This is how the dinner goes :
Mrs Li arrive an hour in advance. She ’s
wearing her every day clothes. Mrs
Dupont, the hostess is a bit surprised.
Mrs Li say « I came in advance to help
you with the preparation of the dinner
… ».
They talk for a while and Mrs Li ask to
visit the house. At the end, of the visit,
Mrs Li wants to stay in the kitchen to help
the hostess. The hostess says she has to
go back in the living room.
The dinner last for two hours. A few
minutes after the dinner, Mrs Li decides
11. French people and conversation
During an official visit, Pierre, a French
diplomat meets a German historian.
«- I ’m interested in History too » says
Pierre « Do you know Jacques Lavigne ?
« - Yes, he is famous here. » answer the
German diplomat.
« What do you think about his last
book ? »
The German answer and explains with
details what does he think about the book.
But, very soon, Pierre doesn ’t listen to
him. He interrupts suddently the German
with a joke and goes to see someone else.
What do you think about Pierre ’s
attitude ?
12. Different countries,
different styles of conversation
-
- The Anglo-saxon style : you begin to speak when the person you ’re
talking to stops.
- The latin style : it ’s normal to be interrupted. The conversation is like a
ping-pong game. You ask a question as if you throw a ball. You can not
keep the ball for too long.
- The oriental style : they let people finish their speech and take a little
pause before answering a question.
- Keep the
conversation
moving from topic
to topic
- Expect to be
interrupted
13. French people and food
- An important part of life
« He who invents a new dish will have rendered
humanity a greater service than the scientist who
discovers a planet. »
« Tell me what you eat, I will tell you who you are »
Anthelme Brillat Savarin
(XIX century author of « The Physilogy of taste »)
First French cook books date back to the Middle
Ages. Some experts of the past are still famous :
- Brillat Savarin
- Vatel
- Carême
14. The most famous guide for kitchen is « Le
guide Michelin »
First French cook books date back to the Middle Ages. Some
experts of the past are still famous :
Brillat
Savarin
Vatel Carême
15. French people at work
Just 6 months !
Lucas is a French saler. He worked 10
years in a French company : the company
« Potiron ». In 2009, he decided to
change and obtained approximatively the
same job in an American company based
in France and named « Pumpkin ».
The next text explains his experience in
the « Pumpkin Company »
16. The first time he saw his new Sales
Director, he was very surprised : he
asked him to call him « Tom » and
proposed him to decided himself his sales
goal.
By Potiron, it was totally different : his
boss always set the sales objectives for
each saler. He decided to set a low
objective, in case of …
After several months, Lucas had
problems with his wife. He was not very
concentrate on his work and his sales
declined. Tom asked him to react quickly
but he didn ’t. After a few months, he
received a lay-off letter.
17. Different countries,
different styles of hierarchy and management
Hierarchy Distance Culture
SHORT
The hierarchical
superiors are
approachable.
Every body takes
his responsability
LONG
The hierarchical
superiors are not
approachable.
The superiors take
decisions. The
employees comply
with their decision.
FEMALE
People care of others
and compassionate
MALE
People admire
success and don ’t
have much pity for the
ones who fail.
Source : Geert Hofstede, Culture nationales en quatre dimensions
