In France, it’s important to ensure that you make appointments for business and social events.
It is not pleasant in France to arrive at the front door unannounced which is considered very rude, whatever the occasion. While you should endeavour to be punctual, you will not be considered to be late, should you come ten minutes after the scheduled time.
French people treat punctuality very casually, however, still there remains a regional difference, If you go towards south of France you go towards the more relaxed way. The French have a very comfortable approach when attending meetings themselves, so it wouldn’t be surprising if a French colleague arrives late. However, staying late at the office is normal, particularly for individuals with senior posts.
For social events, it’s better to be punctual since your expects your arrival and has cooked meal.
In French work culture, punctuality is regarded as a gesture of respect. However, there is an understanding that occasional delays of a few minutes may happen. Nevertheless, honor everyone's time by proactively scheduling meetings well in advance—ideally 1-2 weeks ahead—accompanied by a shared agenda.
In France, however, arriving on time for a social is not so much a bad thing, but a faux pas. No one will be there – everyone is always running late (though keep it to 20 minutes max). Ms Lepère highlights that one area that French people are particularly sensitive over is good wine.
Being on time is a sign of respect towards others in France. It is important to arrive on time to an appointment or meeting, especially in a professional or academic setting. When/if late , it is polite to notify in advance.
In Belgium, France, Switzerland, and Canada, people are punctual for appointments in the business, health care and education sectors. It is considered rude to waste the time of others by arriving late. This rule applies even more, sometimes to the second, for public transportation such as high-speed trains.
I would love to share my experience of “Why Japan is the most punctual country in the world?” I experienced the HBS case study learned during my masters “TESSEI: 7-minute miracle” at Tokyo station.
You can either live in France on a 6 or 12 month long stay visa; a residency permit or you can apply for French Nationality. There is nothing in between. We use the term French Residency to cover anybody who applies for a residency permit (carte de sejour).
On the other hand, if you live in France or northern Italy, chances are you won't feel the need to make the call, since being 6 or 7 minutes late is within the realm of 'basically on time' (If you were running 12 or 15 minutes late, however, that would be a different story.)
French law requires that most people spend at least 11 consecutive hours away from work, so the morning workday usually starts any time after 8:30 am. Most employees, however, usually drop off their children at school around 8:30 am and then commute to work to arrive between 9 and 9:45 am.
Depending on the level of the person you are meeting, the appointment scheduling is often handled by the secretary. Punctuality is valued and appreciated in French business culture.
Generally speaking, French speakers also use the 24-hour clock when they speak. Sometimes the 12-hour clock is used orally, but only in informal circ*mstances. Since there is no one-to-one equivalent of "am" and "pm" in French, context must be relied on to figure out which one is meant.
In 1976, daylight saving time (summer time) was reintroduced in Metropolitan France for the first time since WW2 because of the oil crisis, and since 1976 Metropolitan France has thus been at GMT+1 (now UTC+01:00) during the winter and GMT+2 (now UTC+02:00) during the summer.
Well, France is in a time zone that's one hour ahead of the UK but geographically it's slightly to the east, meaning the sunset actually reaches Paris before it reaches London, even though it exists in a time that's later than the UK, so it's already later when the sun sets.
Bastille Day, national holiday in France and its overseas départements and territories, marking the anniversary of the fall on July 14, 1789, of the Bastille, in Paris.
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