The French Way

Introduction
When the rioters burned the buses in suburban Paris, the Frenchmen and the world were shocked. When French President Mitterrand was reported to have a mistress, the world was amazed by the indifference shown by the French public. Famous photographer Robert Doisneau captured romantic couples in Paris. What kind of people is this? There are some clichés about the French people and the life in France. Are they really arrogant? Are they really bad at learning English? Do they dislike the USA and the fast food? Are they romantic? How can we explain their reaction?
In this essay, I want to show an image of France without bias and stereotype by giving the French way of communications first. French way of communication is not a “French exception”. It comes from somewhere deep in the culture. While analyzing the specific way how French people communicate with one another, I will also use some culture factors to explain the communication characteristics. I will also seek for a little comparison through the culture shock that I have been through in France to illustrate the cross cultural communication.

How do the French people communicate?
According to Edith Wharton, there are two ways of judging a foreign people: at first sight, impressionistically, in the manner of the passing traveler; or after living among the foreign people, soberly and advisedly, and with all the vain precautions enjoined in another grave contingency. She refers to the French culture as “poetry of life”. However, instead of seeing French culture through a subtle object, one can see the French way of giving the message to one another by a more objective analysis: Geert Hofstede Analysis . We can also re-examine the French communication through nine lenses at the same time: family, religion, language, education, history, politics, economics, national resources (geography) and class structure. The culture factors can actually tell us why the French act in a certain way.

French people and uncertainty avoidance
The Geert Hofstede analysis for France illustrates their emphasis on uncertainty avoidance. France gets 7, Taiwan gets 20 and USA gets 32; a low score means the country does not like uncertainty. The high uncertainty avoidance ranking indicates France’s concerns for rules, regulations, and issues with career security. I think one of the reasons why French people behave in this way is the French language.
Modern French used to be one of many dialects spoken in the territory. It was spoken primarily in the region of the River La Loire. Now French is spoken by almost 100% of population although there are some minor dialects. The language belongs to Romance family. The grammar of the language is very refined and complicated compared to English, having the conjugations and accords of feminine and masculine terms. As many languages of Romance language, verbs are very precise in expressing time and meaning. This feature of French leads to the tendency that French people prefer the rules and the precision. French is a low context culture.
In real life communication, the uncertainty avoidance is embodied by the clear-cut conclusion in the negotiation setting. Everything should be more or less concrete and written down in order to be effective. As Taiwanese, I was very frustrated with the uncertainty avoidance because I felt like being forced to decide and speak out the decision. At the same time, because of this high uncertainty avoidance tendency, French people tend to take the process of cooperation more slowly and they prefer to have more time to be well prepared. They prefer to have a meeting during which everyone has already something concrete to provide and contribute. In this way, they are not comfortable with Taiwanese “loose” behavior. For instance, I always need to have almost everything done before the group meeting when I studied in France. The French classmates arrive at the meeting and they would put everybody’s efforts together and get a consensus about how to present the subject.
Although there is an increasing usage of argot and suburban way of speaking, French is a formal language. While doing business or joining the conversation with a bunch of French people, it’s important to demonstrate a good command on formal French although most of French people have learned English. With aid of a good mastery of French, people can gain a very quick access to the core of social events and win more respect, which would facilitate the affairs.

Some Tips
 Most individuals in business speak English. If you do not speak French, it is very important that you apologize for your lack of knowledge.
 The French have a great appreciation for the art of conversation.
 Punctuality is treated very casually in France.
 Business can be conducted during any meal, but lunch is best.

French people and individualism
In addition to uncertainty avoidance, France gets 11th position in individualism and collectivism scale in the Geert Hofstede analysis meanwhile USA is the 1st individualistic culture. The individualism comes from the religion: Christianity. Roman Catholicism is the most popular religion in France, which represents from 83 to 88% of the population; at the same time, the Muslim population is growing with an amazing speed and it is estimated to be around 5 to 10%. Judaism is also popular in France; it’s about 1% of the population.
Individualism in French means that personal goals override the allegiance to groups like the family or the employer. Competition and the “I” sayings are encouraged. Hence, French people also stress the individual achievement. For example, French people like people to show their competitiveness, which I was very shocked and uncomfortable because people in Taiwan are not encouraged to show off. Because of this, I had a quarrel with my high school classmates because I said that the French people are so arrogant and they don’t care about the others. Right now, I understand that the French culture stress the individual’s performance. Next time if I have also to show my own capacity, I will be at a better position to deal with this aspect. At the same time, it’s also a culture which demands a lot of privacy because they think the personal life has nothing to do with the person’s achievement. This explains why people don’t care about the fact of President Francois Mitterrand had a mistress; in the eye of Taiwanese society, it’s not conceivable to be a great and achieved person with disrupting the collective order and values.
However, I need to counter this “individualism” argument by emphasizing the importance of family in French culture which makes the French people sometimes behave more like Taiwanese than like Americans. As most European cultures, family is the priority for French people. The French people cherish their family and defend the traditional values which originate from the family although many French couples don’t get married despite the children. The rights of the homosexual couples and unmarried couples are guaranteed by PACS (Pacte civil de solidarite), and PACS is a contract which allows two individuals to organize their united life. Although people are very tolerant towards the homosexual, the marriage between same sexe couple is still illegal.
Like other Southern European cultures, French young people have a stronger attachment to their family than the American young people. The young people generally stay with the parents till they are early thirties in some cases. Parents pay for the rent if the children want to live outside of the family, but basically the children can still rely on the parents’ financial support. The phenomenon is getting more and more attention because the younger generation sometimes refuses to leave their nest and earn their own living. In this way, French people are more similar to Asian; young people leave the nest in a very late stage of their life.

Some Tips
 The French have a great respect for privacy. Knock and wait before entering into a room. Additionally, do not "drop in" unannounced. Always give notice before your arrival.
 France is a highly stratified society, with strong definition and competition between classes.

French people and power distance
Power distance refers to the extent to which a society accepts that power in relationships, institutions, and organizations is distributed unequally. The Geert Hofstede analysis ranks France with quite a low score, and a low score means that France is a country which prefers a large power distance. (Taiwan gets 19 in the ranking and USA gets 26.)
I think the reason why French people are more tolerant of an unequally distributed power structure can be traced back to the history and to the education system. In the interim it is exemplified and reinforced by education and politics. Although France is a republic right now, France used to be governed by the dynasties. The emperors and the aristocrats formed an elite class: they’ve got knowledge and resources. Notwithstanding French people are not under the reign of aristocrats anymore, the elite class is embodied by another way of ruling and superiority.
The elitism permeates in the French culture due to the education system and the government officer selection. When graduating from junior high school, the students need to pass the examination called Brevet; only those who succeed in the exam can go on to senior high school. At the end of “premiere” (second year of senior high school), all students need to pass the French Bacalaureat to test students’ ability in French literature. Those who fail the exam need to repeat the second year in senior high school. In order to go to university, students are required to succeed in Bacalaureat at the end of the third year. With the Bacalaureat, students can apply for universities as they wish and they don’t need to pay for the tuition. However, students can also choose another route: go to “preparatory school”, which prepares students to pass a series of selective examinations at the end of two more years’ studies. The students who succeed in the entrance exam of “grande ecole” can go to the elite school such as National Administrative School and National Normal School. These students will be next public servants and teachers. People without the degree from National Administrative School can still work in government but if a person wants to work in a higher position, the person had better have the master degree from the very best schools which aim to shape the next generation bureaucrats. This process of forming future officers, professors and engineers helps the people to accept some social phenomena with protesting.
While building connection with the professors or dealing with the authority in France, Taiwanese and Americans often find that it’s hard to be familiar with them. For example, professors don’t have office hours and they don’t need to be familiar with the students. “They are neither accessible nor helpful!” is a usual complaint. However, the distance between the professor and the French students is large and tolerated because they represent the authority. French students just accept this as a fact. In Taiwan, I respect the professors. However, students can still approach teachers and have a conversation more easily because Taiwan has been influenced by the USA.

Some Tips
 Dress conservative and invest in well-tailored clothing.
 Patterned fabrics and dark colors are most acceptable, but avoid bright colors.
 French businessmen do not loosen their ties or take off their jackets in the office.
 Women should also dress conservatively. Avoiding bright or gaudy colors is recommended.
 Women should also avoid any glitzy or overpowering objects, such as flashy jewelry.

French people and femininity
French culture is more of feminine traits than Taiwanese one, but they are similar in the scale. A feminine society thinks that sexual equality is important and thus gender roles are more flexible in French society than in a masculine society, such as Japan. The society has a more feminine culture, but all in all it’s still a traditional society: man has the final say on most of the family decision although man is supposed to be more caring and nurturing.
French society is also a society in which a person should show his sense of beauty and taste, which goes back to France which Edith Wharton has described. The French enjoy life and have a strong sympathy toward the weak. In this sense, French people are indeed romantic.
In communication, the style is less aggressive and more reflective. Speaking softly is a common code in France; although interrupting is not forbidden, one still need to listen to another person’s talk with attention. In the meantime, the French enjoy having intellectual debates with others.

Some Tips
 The French are very conscientious of their appearance.
 The French frequently interrupt each other, as the argument is a form of entertainment, but the French often complain that North Americans lecture rather than converse.
 Be sensitive to the volume of your voice. Speaking with loud voice and laughing hard might offend or embarrass everyone in a restaurant, meeting, or on the street.
 Eye contact is frequent and intense, and can often be intimidating to North Americans. French handshakes are not as firm as in the United States or in Taiwan.
 Avoid drinking hard liquor before meals or smoking cigars between courses. The French believe this permeates the taste buds, compromising the taste of the meal.
 Good gifts to present include books or music, as they demonstrate interest in intellectual pursuits.

Conclusion
It’s never easy to understand one culture by a mere analysis, but through the analysis people can have a more accurate and objective view of French communication characteristics in a nutshell. One should now know the French culture is a low context language culture; the French don’t like the ambiguity. French culture is also an individualistic one: competition is encouraged and personal goals are important. Although individualism is popular, the French still consider themselves as part of society. The French also tend to accept a larger degree of uneven power distribution. In communication, it’s easy to observe the difference of power and hierarchy. It’s also a more feminine society, in which the tone and the voice of conversations would be softer. The role of women is well regarded, but still it’s still a male chauvinist society.

References
Flanner, Janet. Paris Was Yesterday, 1925-1939. Harcourt, 1988.
Marquardt, M., Berger, N., and Loan, P. HRD in the Age of Globalization. Basic Books, 2004.
Ministry of culture website: http://www.culture.fr/
Samovar, Larry and Porter, Richard. Communication between Cultures, 2nd edition. Wadsworth, 1995.
Wharton, Edith. French Ways and Their Meaning. Berkshire House Books, 1997.