Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Public Phones
There is still public phone service in France, but it has suffered
from the ubiquity of cell phones. Many of the handsome
glass phone booths are gone, and some of those remaining
suffer from vandalism. To use the working ones, you buy a
Telecarte
(phone debit card) at any Tabac, street kiosk, or even
the post ofi ce. Insert the card in the phone and it displays
the value you have remaining on the card. Dial your number,
and the phone will continue to display your dwindling credit
as you talk. The speed of the descent in value corresponds
to the distance called.
Calls within France are relatively cheap, while long
distance calls are very expensive. If you run out of time on
one card, you can insert a second one, if you have it, without
losing the connection.
Finding Numbers
There are telephone topics (
les annuaires
) available by region,
and the post ofi ce will help you, but the computer offers the
easiest option: the national directory online, both commercial
and personal numbers, at www.pagesjaunes.fr.
THE COLOUR OF MONEY
The French have a very unique relationship with money.
While they relish expressions of sensuality in nearly all its
forms, they i nd the subject of
money almost indecent. It is
alright to have it, of course, but
it is quite another thing to talk
about how much of it you have.
For example, when you ask a Frenchman what he does for
a living, and he is a little vague, it is better not to pry. If his
job involves a highly paid position, he will be reluctant to talk
about it. This is not modesty so much as a highly developed
sense of vulgarity. Making money, even a lot of money,
doesn't have the admiration of the typical Frenchman.
Contrary to most of the world, no French person wants
to be judged on the basis of how much money he makes.
He may be willing to talk about his job and its challenges,
'L'argent ne fair pas le bonheur.'
—P.J. Stahl
(Money can't buy happiness.)
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