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Getting a job in France – it can be done
There are as many reasons for moving to France as there are ex-pats living there. Some people move to France in retirement, ready to enjoy a different way of life and having a retirement fund available to enable them to do so without worrying about finding a job. (Retirement in France.) (Retirement in Perpignan.) Others are simply independently wealthy (lucky them!), whilst still more run their own businesses such as bed and breakfast establishments, or gîtes. (Owning Gîtes and Chambres D'Hotes (B&Bs) in France.) Then there is another sector, those who move to live in France and need to find a job, either full-time or part-time. If this is you, don't panic... it isn't always easy to find a job in France, but if you do your homework and get your preparation right it can be done, and there are plenty of ex-pats out there earning a living and proving the point!
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Job options in France
If you are contemplating a move to France, or have already committed to living in France and now find yourself in the position of looking for a job, there are a few things you need to consider. Will you set up your own business, or would you prefer to let someone else deal with all the social charges and paperwork and work for an employer? What type of job will you look for? Where will you begin your search? And finally, what happens if you find yourself stuck without a job in France?
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Learning French advisable if you want to work in France
Some people will tell you that it is impossible to find a legal, gainful job in France unless you speak the language fluently, but this is not necessarily the case. There are some jobs where you can get by without the language (or with just a smattering) but these jobs tend to be menial or seasonal jobs which don't pay much, such as cleaning gîtes, or picking grapes. It is possible to find jobs working for other ex-pats too, and this is how many British people avoid the problem. Learning French is, however, the single biggest thing you can do to help yourself, as employers who can't communicate effectively with you are unlikely to employ you. (Learning to speak French - Misadventures in a Foreign Tongue.)
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Job possibilities in France affected by qualifications
The first and most obvious choice of career is to continue doing the same job in France that you were doing in the UK. It makes sense, you know the job, you have the skills, you have the qualifications. But are you sure? Not all qualifications from England travel well... some become “lost in translation”. The French, for example, do not accept English teaching qualifications for teaching in French state schools, even if you are a fluent French speaker. To teach here you would have to undergo complete teacher training in the same way as any unqualified person would. This applies to most of the professions in France, from teachers to architects, so if you have a professional job in the UK do make sure your qualifications “translate” to French!
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“Gizza a job!”
Remember the anguished cry from Yozzer Hughes in the celebrated play “Boys from the Black Stuff”? Well, the cry for jobs can resound in certain parts of France too, so if it is vitally important that you find work quickly, research and choose your area carefully. (Introduction to France.) Clearly, the large towns and cities in France offer more job possibilities than the countryside and small towns, but in some cities, particularly in the south of France, there is a high rate of unemployment. Here, home grown applicants tend to be first in the queue for those sought after jobs.
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Jobs available for tradesmen
The best qualifications to have, in terms of ease of finding a job in France, are the trades. Skilled craftsmen such as builders, metal workers, stone masons, plumbers and decorators can usually find work, especially in areas where renovation of old properties is popular... which is most of rural France! The vast majority of British property owners in France have bought properties to renovate, so there is plenty of work out there for those skilled in the necessary arts. (Building or extending property in France.) Ex-pats, particularly the older ones for whom language learning can prove too difficult, like to deal with native English speakers to avoid confusion, so use this to your advantage and apply for jobs with them. Ladies, take note... you don't have to grow muscles and be a builder to “muscle in” on this idea... possible jobs for the ladies include English speaking travelling hairdressers, beauticians and aroma therapists, which are all in great demand.
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Jobs in the ex-pat market in France
The advantage of looking for a job in France as opposed to looking in countries less popular with the British, is that there is a huge ex-pat market to tap into. Wherever you go in France, you will find at least some British (or English speaking) people who have settled here, and many have set up their own businesses. These people are usually keen to employ other ex-pats, often largely due to the common language, and this may well prove to be your best chance of finding a job.
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Jobs for cash
Be wary, however, of any employer who wants to pay you cash in hand... no questions asked... this practice, known as “working on the black” is greatly frowned upon in France, and it is common practice for reports to be made to the authorities resulting in a visit from the gendarmes! The quality of life in France is generally excellent, but you don't get something for nothing and much of this is down to the high social charges that workers pay to maintain systems such as health care and education. (Health Care in France: a French Hospital Experience.) (French Education System - Schools in France.) Therefore, people who pay these charges do not take kindly to seeing ex-pats arrive, set up illegally, undercut prices and take jobs away... whilst still benefiting from the systems they are not paying into! If you are going to run your own business, you need to declare yourself at the appropriate office. These vary according to what you plan to do, and you can obtain advice from your local Mairie or Hotel de Ville.
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Look for jobs where British ex-pats live
If you are hoping to find a job working for and with other British people, then you should look at basing yourself in the areas where there are already well established expatriate communities. Broadly speaking, you will find large amounts of British in the Dordogne department (Dordogne Property Guide), specifically near Eymet; in Brittany (Brittany Property Guide) (Property for sale in Brittany) (Brittany Property - an insider's guide), the most popular departments being the Côtes-d'Armor (Côtes-d'Armor Property Guide) and Morbihan (Morbihan Property Guide), although most of Brittany has British enclaves these days; and in Provence (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Property Guide). And this means all of Provence! British people have lived in the region for many years now and have established themselves in all areas from the coast to the mountains… and everywhere in between. Of course, many other parts of France are becoming “Anglicised”, and each region will have towns which are known to have more than a sprinkling of our fellow countrymen. In the Midi-Pyrénées (Midi-Pyrénées Property Guide) and Languedoc-Roussillon (Languedoc-Roussillon Property Guide) (Languedoc-Roussillon Property - an insider's guide) for example, the towns of Mirepoix (Mirepoix Property Guide) and Quillan (Quillan Property Guide) are very popular with Brits... you only have to walk down the main streets on market day and listen to all the English voices to discover just how popular these places are!
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Working from home in France
This can prove to be an ideal solution for people who have a suitable business or amenable employer. The Internet is, of course, a virtual office for some people whose entire business life is conducted via the laptop, and of course, for these people it makes no difference where they are based in France. Other jobs which work well from home include writing and arts and crafts, and certainly some parts of France seem full of artists and writers, taking their inspiration from the beautiful landscapes and fascinating characters around them.
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Residential courses - a job option
An extension of this can be to run residential courses in these skills as your job, and these can prove very popular and successful in France. Artists and craftspeople, such as potters and jewellery makers, often rent a spot in the local markets to sell their wares, and this is usually quite inexpensive and a good way of getting to know the local people and improve your French.
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Commuting between the UK and France
There are people who have jobs working for an English company and who commute periodically for meetings. Yet they manage their day to day work from home in France, thanks to the modern miracles of the computer and the Internet. Quite a lot of businesses can be largely run from France, necessitating only a few trips back and forth, such as managing rental properties in the UK. Some ex-pats work all week in the UK then fly over to France for the weekends, while others make their travelling between the two countries pay their wages by transporting goods from one to the other. Of course, daily commuting is probably impossible unless you live in the far north of France or have a private jet... and if you have that much money you probably won't need to find a job anyway! (French Connections.) (French Connections - Travel to North-West France.) (
French Connections -Travel to Paris and North-East France.)
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Teaching EFL and translating jobs
Teaching EFL (English as a foreign language) and translating are, of course, two areas in which speaking English can be a positive advantage when looking for a job in France. Of course, in the case of the latter you will need to be skilled in French also, but for the former you can get by with very little French as the lessons are taught in the target language as modern good teaching practice dictates. However, as with all jobs, preparation is the key. If you think that this is a career for you, then take an internationally recognised training course... the best one is the CELTA (Cambridge English Language Teaching to Adults) so you not only have the necessary skills but also the all important certificate. The French love to see bits of paper, and the more qualifications you can provide that they recognise, the better chance you have of getting that teaching or translating job!
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Unemployment in France
The burden of this article has been employment and job prospects, but we will consider for a moment the worst case scenario, and look at the position you might find yourself in should you not be able to get a job in France. There is a very complicated set of criteria which governs entitlement in terms of unemployment benefit, and the scenario varies with each set of individual circumstances.
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What to do if you're unable to find a job in France
The first move, whatever your circumstances, is to contact ASSÉDIC, the Association pour l'Emploi dans l'Industrie le Commerce... or, in other words, the Unemployment Office. You will need to register here before you can go any further, and they will assess the validity of your claim and calculate your benefit. Whether or not you are entitled to benefits from France depends on several factors, the most basic (for European Nationals) being that you are of employable age and health, are legally resident in France and have worked in France for at least one day, have paid a determined number of social security contributions in your previous country, and are in a position to attend interviews and start a job. If you haven't ever worked in France, you will probably need to apply to your previous European country for benefit or certificates stating your entitlement.
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ASSÉDIC and ANPE - France's Unemployment Office and Job Centre
After you have registered with ASSÉDIC, you will need to register with ANPE (Agence Nationale Pour Emploi), or the Job Centre, who will be your resource for finding suitable work. Once more, if you do your homework and arrive in France with all the right “E” certificates and other paperwork in hand from the British authorities, the process will be much easier... and faster. For further information try the websites, ASSÉDIC (www.assedic.fr) and ANPE (www.anpe.fr). It may also be worth looking at Manpower France, an agency that has details of many temporary jobs, which at least may help you get a foot on the ladder and qualify for benefits whilst trying to find permanent work. Their website is www.manpower.fr.
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Be prepared!
The Boy Scouts motto is a good one to adopt if you are planning to move to and find a job in France. The above information is in no way exhaustive. The possibilities are endless and job opportunities vary greatly from place to place and from individual to individual. It may, however, give you some ideas about what to expect and may help you avoid some of the pitfalls which can trouble the unwary! Bon chance!
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About the author
Joanna Simm moved to the Languedoc area of south-west France in October 2004 having found her property through French Property Links.
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