|
Tuesday, 09 October 2007 |
Dear Ms Stirling,
Is there an anti-English sentiment when products bought
in France seem to have instructions in just about every
European language other than English?
Surely there are more English in France than Poles,
Romanians, Serbs, Russians… I could go on.
A H King
I empathise, especially for computer or hi-fi goods with
thick manuals full of technical jargon which is difficult
enough to follow in English, never mind pidgin French
translated from Japanese! However, for goods sold in France,
companies are only legally obliged to provide instruction
manuals in French. Any other languages included are at the
companies’ discretion, and are usually related to their
commercial distribution area. If the hi-fi you bought is not for
distribution in an English-speaking country, then they don’t
have to give English instructions. I am assured by the French
service de consommation that it isn’t a question of
discrimination.
|
|
|
Tuesday, 09 October 2007 |
|
If you need work done, such as ironing, gardening, cooking,
shopping or even a little light DIY, ring 3211 to obtain a list
of local recommended agencies and associations that can do
it. There are services aimed at the disabled and elderly,
children can be taken to and fetched from school, help with
schoolwork and child minding and help with computer and
administrative problems. It all depends on what’s available in
your area. It’s up to you to contact the associations on the list
yourself, and find out how they want to be paid, but many of
them use the CESU (cheque emploi service universel) which
greatly simplifies the paperwork for all concerned.
|
|
|
Tuesday, 09 October 2007 |
|
Beware if you take the contents of your piggy-bank to pay for
something. Legally you are not allowed to pay more than
€3,000 in cash for goods unless you are a professional – the
government’s effort to try and reduce tax fraud,
counterfeiting and money laundering.
|
|
|
Tuesday, 09 October 2007 |
|
Since July 1, under-18-year-olds (who are already excluded
from gambling casinos and sporting clubs) have now been
banned from playing any kind of gambling game
commercialised by the Française des Jeux organisation. This
applies to scratch cards, lotteries and sport betting, and is an
effort by the government to reduce gambling addiction.
|
|
|
Tuesday, 09 October 2007 |
|
From 2008 there will be a new system of permanent car
registration numbers, entirely unrelated to which
département you live in, and not changeable if you move to a
different place. The new plates will show three separate
blocks of a maximum of two letters, three numbers then two
letters, black on a yellow background. The first number will
be “A 11 A” and the last “ZZ 999 ZZ. Motorbikes will use a
similar but reduced system. Initially this will apply to new
vehicles, but will affect older vehicles whenever there is a
change to the carte grise. It looks like having fun spotting
townies or bumpkins from their number plates could become
a thing of the past.
|
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Next > End >>
|
| Results 181 - 189 of 340 |
