Is it possible to live in France without knowing French?

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BoraÂ²

yes it's possible, you should not have any probleme at work, but your difficulty's will start when you will go to mak shoping and visiting contry sid.

dwain

Not really. The French have a strong affinity for their language, and expect people in France to speak French. In France, it is better to try to speak French even if you're not so good at it than to speak a foreign language. Not speaking French at all, particularly if you are staying there for a while (not just a few days as a tourist), will be viewed as an insult.

caliguy87

The French definitely don't appreciate people not even making an effort to learn the language. However with that being said, it would be difficult, but possible, but only in the large cities, such as Paris or Lyon. Even there though, not everyone speaks english.

brainstorm

You will need to speak French to work

errolcollen

Why would anybody WANT to do that? French is the world's most beautiful language. Thousands and thousands of people slogging away at French lessons miles from France would jump at the opportunity to live in France for a while to learn a bit of the language.

slipstreamer

Not really. Why not make the attempt? If you are surrounded by the language, you cannot help but pick it up a bit. It's a bit rude to not try.

This is an excellent opportunity that you should embrace. Take part in where you are.

angelguy_paris

No, also when you will get your visa to stay and renew it you will be asked to learn French, if not this one wont be renewed.

At the same time I will find this silly...why dont you want to learn French if you want to live there? why dont you go to England? like this you wont have any language problem.

Veronica Alicia

Many English people visit France on holiday for a month without being able to speak French, it's the working which will cause a problem.
On holiday, you can shop in supermarkets and recognise food items, but being able to say "please" and "thank-you" anywhere in the World is appreciated.
Without any language skills at all life can be quite tricky - how do you explain what you want in a pharmacy for example?
French people do expect you to make an effort, I'm afraid (and I have relatively near French ancestors) and can be very helpful if you do. If you cant be bothered, neither can they!
Get yourself a dictionary and phrase book and learn the basics before you go.

Graham I

It is certainly possible, although I would highly recommend learning at least enough French to be polite. You will be a social outcast if you don't say "Bonjour", "Pardon" etc at the appropriate times.

Whether it is "normal" to speak English at work depends entirely on the job. If you work for a foreign company it's entirely possible that there will be other non-French people and that therefore speaking English will be acceptable. However French would be the norm in the vast majority of workplaces.

For a couple of months I wouldn't let it put you off, but use it as an opportunity to try and learn a little French!

Orla C

You might get away with it for a couple of months, but if you were staying longer, you really would have to learn French. And learning a language is much easier if it's a full immersion thing, like when you're in the country and hear it spoken all the time, and have plenty of opportunities to practise.

shishi

French people are bad in English, so it'll be difficult in your daily life.. also at work.. no really you need to speak un petit peu franÃ§ais!

qriste

It will be hard, as the sad reality is not that people here don't "want" to speak English, it's that they "can't", very few people speak English here, and I've never seen someone who speak only English at work. It's true that there are many English people who don't speak a word of French, but they are either retired, self employed, craftmen, they hold bed and breakfast for English speaking people...

Cabal

I work for a British company in France and speak English at work so I'll say yes, you can find that kind of work. But I also am French and can go buy a bottle of something to drink without fearing to have bought paraffin oil because I cannot read the name. You can probably go by for a couple of months, I wouldn't recommend it for more than a week or two. It is bad for the moral to walk around and not be able to understand a single word day after day after day..

Nuxly Stardust

Basically, it is possible in any french speaking country, except france.

rugratshd

Yes. Sort of.
The only job you would be able to take is working helping someone who is English to restore a property. I have seen this type of work advertised 3 times in the last 18 months. In each case the pay has been restricted to board and lodging plus, in only 2 cases, â‚¬100 per week pocket money.
I know of one lady who speaks no French at all and has been living here for 5 years,but, she employs a full time interpreter!
I would have like to answer 'no', because it would be impossible to get a full time living wage over here without speaking fluent French, but the above shows it is possible, but highly unsatisfactory

Francoise

It is possible, if you are loaded. Look at Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, they all live in South of France from time to time and they all don't speak French. They all have interpreters and bodyguards to do the hard work of communicating and safeguarding.
You may work in an English speaking firm with English speaking persons, but what about daily life necessities ? You can't keep looking for shops, supermarkets, pharmacy, government departments, post offices, utility providers, hospitals which run by English speaking persons.

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