The links listed below are organized according
to the three following categories:
NB: for the websites in French,
see the page in
French.
Management / Cross-cultural topics
 www.interculturalpress.com : books in English on cross-cultural topics, to be ordered on line
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International Mobility
www.kunveno.com : a club for expatriates in Paris
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France
Type in "France" on a search-engine
and you will discover that there are more than 176 000 000 pages!
Try "Moving to France" and you will probably still come
up with 10 400 000 pages to look at... When it comes to trying
to find objective, up-to-date and practical information on relocating
to France, the web offers everything you need though finding it
can take some time. To get you started, you will find below a
selection of some useful websites to visit.
www.expatica.com/france.asp :
this site is particularly interesting to look at for its "French news" section. Articles are translated from the French Press Agency and offer explanations of the main headlines in French news. The relocation offers advice on car registration and the health system. The housing section offers clear explanations on choosing neighborhoods and renting. While the "Life in France" presents information in a disorganized way, the actual contents of articles are useful and offer insight into some of the French attitudes and lifestyle.
www.parisfranceguide.com
: while this isn't the most graphically-pleasing website, it basically
offers useful articles organized by theme. It may be worth taking
a look at the section on children to get advice on family activities
to do in Paris. There is a very complete list of English-speaking
doctors, dentists and lawyers that has been compiled from the
lists of the Canadian and British Embassies.
www.paris-anglo.com
: this website is the creation of David Applefield, a long-time
American expat writer and journalist. The Directory is the website's
strongest point - you'll find the contact details for shops, clubs
and organizations that can help you get settled in. You can also
subscribe to his free weekly newsletter, FrancoFiles.
www.moving-to-france-made-easy.com
: this website was created by an expatriate spouse to help others
relocate more easily to France - especially Americans and non-EU
nationals. The style is simple and friendly. She offers practical
advice and explanations and manages to stay relatively objective.
She focuses a great deal on real estate in France. Also, being
based in the countryside herself, she is less Paris-centric than
many others who have created sites.
www.franceguide.com with another www.francetourism.com for Americans
The French Tourist Office’s websites are quite frankly mind-boggling… The first claims to be the official one, the second displays the banner of la Maison de la France, the Tourist Office’s overseas entity… in either case, these can be consulted if you are planning to travel around France once you have settled in. Before you arrive though, you might find the section on "practical information" useful; it offers general guidelines about what to expect when you arrive in France and in the first days of getting around.
www.hwelty.com:
Harriet Welty Rochefort is an "American in Paris" and
the author of two fun books on France: French Toast and French
Fried (see bibliography). Her website presents an upbeat selection
of answers to recurrent questions she hears about France and the
French. She often shares her opinions yet doesn’t hesitate
to include opposite viewpoints that are sent to her by email.
Her site can be difficult to navigate through but the few nuggets
you’ll find make the search worth it! (from the home page,
click to "about the author" and then on visit her website
Understandfrance
– this is the page with practical tips).
www.service-public.fr:
this site takes the form of a consumer guide on the rights of
French residents and the official procedures they might encounter.
A section entitled Étrangers en France gives information
for foreigners wishing to visit France. It includes a regularly
updated list of answers to frequently asked questions on administrative
issues. It is also possible to ask your own questions.
www.anglofrance.net:
this site brings together the best and the worst qualities of
websites. You’ll find a homepage with wide offerings: news
stories, a directory, an expat guide. Yet, as the French say "trop
d’information tue l’information" - too much information
kills off the information – and in a sense, it’s difficult
to find an answer to a specific question you may be asking. It’s
worth a visit if you have some time to spend browsing around!
www.mappy.com:
this site allows you to find the map of any place in France (and
a few other countries), at different scales: from the very detailed
neighborhood to the location in France as a whole. This site also
gives any itinerary in France by foot or by car, with a map and
a written description which can easily be printed.
Also in German, Spanish, Italian and Dutch.
www.voyages-sncf.com
is the official website of the French railway company SNCF. Click
on "Trains" and you can find all the information concerning
your travel by train. You can even buy your tickets on line
and have them sent to you for free if you buy them well in
advance. The website is also a portal for flights,
hotels, car rentals, and vacation packages.
To find the English, German, Spanish, Dutch and Italian versions, you need to scroll down and find the small flags in the column on the left.
www.ratp.fr
gives you all the information you want on the metro and RER in
Paris: map of the lines, specific itineraries, schedules, traffic,
tickets and prices.
www.meteo.fr
gives the weather forecast for France as a whole and for each
region and main city, as well as that of Europe and the world.
In French only for the main pages, in French, English, German, Italian, Spanish and Dutch for the cities.
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