French Striking Behaviour

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French Striking Behaviour

Thought this particular behaviour, the project will be an in-depth analysis of this aspect of French culture.

The project will be carried out through independent researches, comparison with another culture, American culture, and using the concepts and tools discussed in the module.

In the first part, I will explain French culture in general.

Then, in a second part, I will describe the phenomena and behaviour of going on strike in France.

Then we will discuss the traditional aspect of striking in France.

We will then analyse the striking behaviour using ‘theoretical’ concepts and tools.

Finally, in the last part, I will explain how I organised my work and how I carried out my research project, including the methods I used to achieve it.

1/ French culture in general customs and etiquette

A/ French etiquette

France is a Western Europe located country. Its capital is Paris and it has 60 millions inhabitants. The official language is French and is spoken by 88% of the population. The rest of the population speaks dialects which have no legal status.

France is family oriented country. Indeed family values like marriage for instance are very important. Friendship is also important and a friend has the duty to be available and thus imply habitual contacts.

When you meet people, the common greeting is to shake hands. If you are meeting friends you may kiss on each cheek. First name is used only for family and friends.

B/ Business

In Business environment people are formal and polite. Business is done through trust and respect. The way French persons talk or write is often related to their social status, education level, and which part of the country they have been educated. When you do business it is very important to build a network for future alliances and trust. There is a high power distance as you don’t talk to your manager directly; you need to go through hierarchy. You won’t share the same office as somebody higher in the hierarchy than you. Meeting your supervisors in your free time is also very unusual.

C/ Values and society

French are highly individualist people as they are self interest. If they find a better paid job for example they won’t hesitate to leave their company. They are not used to share flats, cars, TV…

However, it is a feminity society with a strong welfare. Everybody on the Left and many people on the Right are very attached to the so-called French "modèle social" (social model) ; for them, it means free or moderately priced in public sectors such as health and education, a higher compensation for unemployed people, a minimum income for all (RMI), etc.

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