Fonctionnaires
An American friend shared how sad he was that so many young French people aspire to working for the government. He said it with that special tone of voice Americans use when they say government. It's like when my wife says tarantula or when I say tax bill.
French people don't see it that way. Once you've done your initial period "north of the Loire" (i.e. in a Paris suburb) you can apply to move somewhere nice ("south of the Loire"), be assured of a job and get a decent pension when you retire.
I met a friend yesterday who is an accountant. He'd had trouble getting a steady job. He's black. He has a nice family. Last year he did the exams to become a fonctionnaire and was accepted. We all cheered! Now he's doing his stint in Paris and waiting to apply for a post "south of the Loire" next spring. We hope he gets something in Bordeaux, but there's a lot of France south of the Loire.
Charles Bremner of the Times tells us of another advantage of the life of a fonctionnaire.
French people don't see it that way. Once you've done your initial period "north of the Loire" (i.e. in a Paris suburb) you can apply to move somewhere nice ("south of the Loire"), be assured of a job and get a decent pension when you retire.
I met a friend yesterday who is an accountant. He'd had trouble getting a steady job. He's black. He has a nice family. Last year he did the exams to become a fonctionnaire and was accepted. We all cheered! Now he's doing his stint in Paris and waiting to apply for a post "south of the Loire" next spring. We hope he gets something in Bordeaux, but there's a lot of France south of the Loire.
Charles Bremner of the Times tells us of another advantage of the life of a fonctionnaire.
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