Pacifier, paci, binky, dummy - using a tétine or toto, as it’s called by the littles, is almost a requirement for starting at the crèche, French daycare. On the first day the staff will ask if you’ve brought your child’s toto and doudou. Which brings us onto.... Coming from the word doux, or soft, the doudou is the most important member of your family in it’s role as your child’s comfort animal or blanket. God forbid anything happen to the doudou. You may have heard of SOS Medicin, well there is also SOS Doudou, where desperate parents can place ads looking for long lost doudous. Goûter: Essentially the most important meal of the day for French children. From 4 o’clock onwards, or whenever the school doors open up, children make the mad dash to claim their after-school snacks. Who wouldn’t love to eat a chocolate sandwich as one of their “meals.” It’s true, the French … [Read more...] about The words you need to know if you have children in France
France
What changes in France from April 2018
As ever, the beginning of the month signals a new raft of small but perhaps important changes in France. Here's what's happening in April. Energy cheques Energy cheques -- the new system designed to help those with modest incomes pay their energy bills -- may have been officially launched at the beginning of the year but most of the four million households set to receive them will only start to do so from the beginning of April. These cheques, which have replaced the "social tariff" scheme, will be sent by post automatically. New health advice for parents The government's new "health book" (or "carnet de santé" in French) which contains the latest medical advice for children is set to appear at the beginning of April. The book, which is free and traditionally handed over by the maternity ward or a doctor, will replace the edition which has been distributed since 2006 with the updated version designed to … [Read more...] about What changes in France from April 2018
Large trade deals between VN, France inked
Photo: VNA A number of deals were signed under the witness of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong after his meeting with representatives from the Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF). At the headquarters of the Movement of the Enterprises of France, Vietnamese airline Vietjet and French group Safran – CFM signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on comprehensive cooperation in providing engines and technical and maintenance services worth US$6.5 billion for Vietjet airplanes. Other cooperation documents included a contract between Vietjet and Gecas France on buying six A321 neo airplanes worth US$800 million on hire-purchase, an MoU between FPT and Airbus on building capacity and consulting staff and developing the Skywise data platform of Airbus, an MoU between FPT and Geopost on helping to modernize the IT system and improving the operation efficiency of Geopost. Following their talks between Party Chief Trong … [Read more...] about Large trade deals between VN, France inked
Vietnam-France bilateral trade enjoys continuous growth
In 2017, the two-way trade value exceeded US$4.6 billion, up 11.6% from 2016. The figure included US$3.3 billion worth of Vietnamese exports to France and US$1.3 billion worth of imports from the European country, both increasing by over 11% year on year. Vietnam’s key export staples to France include footwear, garments and textiles, household appliances, agro-forestry-aquatic products, gemstones, jewelries, electricity devices, electronics, mechanic tools, pottery, rubber, coal, plastic products and rattan and bamboo handicrafts. Last year, Vietnam exported US$1.13 billion worth of mobile phones and components to France, earning the products first position in the list of exports to the European nation for the seventh year in a row. They were followed by garments and textiles with turnover of US$526.6 million, footwear and computers and spare parts, which raked in US$436 million and US$211 million, respectively. Meanwhile, Vietnam mainly imported high-valued products from … [Read more...] about Vietnam-France bilateral trade enjoys continuous growth
In France, it’s illegal to expect employees to email after hours — and New York City could be next
New York City may pass a law making it illegal for employers to require employees to check work email outside regular work hours. France passed a similar law in 2017, and the German company Volkswagen shuts off email servers at night. Research suggests workers are emotionally exhausted by the anticipation of receiving messages from work when they get home. Sending your team emails and Slack messages after everyone’s left for the day is annoying. Soon, it could also be a crime. A new bill in New York City aims to protect workers’ “right to disconnect,” making it illegal for employers to require employees to check their work-related electronic communication outside regular work hours. The bill will be introduced in the City Council meeting Thursday by Raphael Espinal, who represents District 37 (in Brooklyn). Time Out New York reports that if the law is passed, workers who are barraged by super late or early emails from their managers could complain to the … [Read more...] about In France, it’s illegal to expect employees to email after hours — and New York City could be next