Archive for 'Business'

Google Puts the “€” in French “€-Books”

Posted on 12. Jun, 2012 by in Business, Culture, History, Literature, News, Vocabulary

Not too long ago, several French literati organizations seemed to heroically wage an “uphill crusade” against the Internet search Goliath Google, accusing it of outright book piracy.

Today, the paramount motivation of these organizations appears to be more mercantile than virtuously academic.

Everything else, of course, “n’est que littérature“ (“nothing but literature”)

Internet search giant Google has finally struck a deal with two major French publishing organisations which had previously dared to take it to court, bringing an end to six years of legal battle over its controversial “Google Books” feature (click here to view Google Livres, the French version of Google Books.)


Back in June 2006, a French publishing house called “La Martinière“, current owner of the well-known Éditions du Seuil, sued the Mountain View-based company.

La Martinière was fully backed by le Syndicat national de l’Édition (SNE) and la Société des Gens de Lettres (SGDL.)

Three years later, the French publishers efforts seemed to be rewarded: A TGI (French acronym for Tribunal de Grande Instance, namely a French Superior Court) condemned Google for contrefaçon (piracy), considering that scanning books without the express authorization of their authors constituted a serious violation of la loi française (French law.)

Notwithstanding this condemnation, several SNE members went on to conclude separate deals with Google to sell their own livres épuisés (out-of-print books.)

Take for example French publishing leader Hachette, the flagship subsidiary of the Lagardère media empire which now boasts in its corporate portfolio prestigious maisons d’éditions such as Fayard and Grasset. Less than two years ago, it reduced its participation at a major SNE book fair, the famous Salon du Livre de Paris, to the tune of 10% only.

Why so?

Experts point to the fact that Hachette had in the meantime quietly allowed Google to scan its old and rare books and sell them as des livres numériques (e-books.)

Less than a year later, the same French publisher that cast the first stone, namely la Martinière, brazenly struck a comparable deal with Google—although it wished, for reasons readily understandable, that the deal would remain “confidential.”

Not to be outdone, the Société des Gens de Lettres (SGDL) also wanted its part du gâteau (share of the cake), so it also reached a separate agreement with Google, by virtue of which the American company would bankroll the design of its brand new base de données (database.)

Pour mémoire (for the record), the SGDL is the brainchild of high-caliber 19th-century French authors, of the likes of Balzac, Victor Hugo, and Alexandre Dumas.

Today, the society is comfortably housed in the luxurious Hôtel de Massa, which hit the news headlines back in 1928 for its painstaking relocation, pierre par pierre (stone by stone), from its original location at the Champs-Élysées, all the way to the garden of l’Observatoire de Paris, the leading astronomical observatory of France, built in the 17th-century by none other than the brother of Charles Perraut, the French author who would popularize fables such as Cinderella and la Belle au bois dormant—works now scannable for Google gratuitement (free of charge), but which won’t be available to readers for free, bien sûr.

Energy and Power Politics: The French vs. The German Model

Posted on 25. May, 2012 by in Business, Culture, News, People, Vocabulary

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Don’t bury Nicolas Sarkozy just yet!

Now that François Hollande is French President, he will have to answer, sur le terrain (on the ground), to some of the tougher questions raised by his ex-rival Sarkozy during their Presidential debate.

Let’s pick up from the portion of the debate where we left it last time.

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Hollande and Sarkozy in the last Presidential Debate—Some points are still very relevant, now more than ever!

(Start from 32:15)

L’ALLEMAGNE (GERMANY) as a MODEL:

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  • Sarkozy:

Ok, tell me, is there a country, in Europe or the OCDE [in English OECD], which did better than France?

  • Hollande:

The United States and Germany fared much better than us.

Now let’s talk again about les accords compétitivité-emploi (the competitivity work agreements): You talk about the German example. But in Germany, they have social partners who are well-respected, and a system which protected workers from being fired.
Your TVA [Taxe sur la Valeur Ajoutée, a consumption tax], which you want to introduce in October, means 300 Euros less for a couple of “smicars” ["smicar" refers in French Slang to an employee who earns the minimum wage called "le SMIC".] That is unacceptable!
Concerning the SMIC: I will make sure it is adjusted in function of growth: It will go up whenever growth goes down, and vice versa.
I will also lock the price of energy, especially the price of l’essence (fuel) for the first three months, and I will make sure to help the families as well.

  • Sarkozy:

It’s the first time in the world that les syndicats publically support a Presidential candidate. This is very dangerous: Whenever syndicats get mixed up with politics, they cannot protect the workers.

  • Hollande:

That is not true, because in Germany the syndicats are very much involved in politics.

ENERGY Politics:

  • Sarkozy:

Les heures supplémentaires (working overtime) has helped the purchasing power, but you want to stop that, and instead you want to raise le SMIC. I wonder why?
You said you would lock the price of fuel: But what will you lock, exactly? You won’t be locking the price of the crude oil barrel that you’ll buy. You won’t impose your price on countries like Saudi Arabia

  • Hollande:

Oh come on, you know that I mean the distribution price of the refined product: the fuel.

  • Sarkozy:

But France is not an isolated island! Out of whose pocket is the difference going to be paid? There are not three pockets out there, only two of them: The pocket of the consumer and the pocket of le contribuable (the taxpayer.) To pay two cents less on a litter of fuel is equivalent to 1 billion of Euros more in deficit. How will you be able to lock the price of fuel and in the same time reduce the deficit?

  • Hollande:

I will primarily target the speculating distributors of fuel. Those who on purpose keep stockpiles of fuel at a low market price, then decide to sell it whenever it is best for them! Those distributors are the ones who will pay, not le contribuable (the taxpayer.)

  • Sarkozy:

Since oil prices are skyrocketing, is it not madness to suggest dismantling half of our nuclear energy capacity?

  • Hollande:

Not true, but we’ll get to that later.

How to Write a CV in French

Posted on 24. Mar, 2012 by in Business, Culture, People

Prominently highlighting your French skills on your CV can be very good for a relevant language-related job.

But you know what?

Sending along a French version of your résumé is actually even more impressive—if not an absolute requirement in many cases!

Since there are plenty of websites and resources that show you how to write a good résumé in English in terms of its forme, today’s post will focus on its French contenu (content.)

Keep in mind that writing your CV in French is actually more than simply translating it, and that a French résumé is not necessarily presented in the same fashion as in other countries.

You must also know that although the word résumé is itself originally French, it is a ”false cognate”: The French actually say “un CV” or “un curriculum vitae“, since the word résumé simply means “summary” in French!

  • Informations personnelles (Personal Information):
                • Nom de famille (Last Name) (In capital letters, please!)
                • Prénom (First Name)
                • Adresse email (Email Address)
                • Numéro de portable (Mobile Number)
                • Numéro de domicile (Home Number)
                • Adresse (Address)
                • Date et lieu de naissance (Date and Place of Birth)
                • Nationalité (Nationality)
      • Situation personnelle et état civil (Personal and Marital Status)
                • Célibataire (Single)
                • Marié(e) (Married)
                • Séparé (Separated)
      • Diplômes (Diplomae):
                • Doctorat (PhD)
                • Master (Master’s) (Different than a simple Maîtrise, since a Master corresponds to five years of university, whereas a Maîtrise requires only four. But having said that, the word “maîtrise“ is also part of the diplomae listed below.)
                      • MSc or ”Maîtrise ès sciences“ (MS: Masters of Science)
                      • Maîtrise ès arts“ or ”Maîtrise universitaire ès lettres“ (MA: Masters of Art)
                      • Maîtrise en administration des affaires (MBA: Masters of Business Administration)
                • Baccalauréat universitaire or License (Bachelor’s degree)
      • Compétences et expérience professionnelle (Qualifications and Professional Experience)
                • Niveau d’aisance (Fluency Level)
                      • Natif (Native)
                      • Courant (Fluent)
                      • Lu, écrit, parlé (Proficient)
                      • Convenable (Intermediary)
                      • Notions de base (Basic)
      • Références (References):
                • Nom (Name)
                • Occupation (Position)
                • Adresse (Address)
                • Adresse email (Email Address)
                • Numéro de téléphone (Phone Number)
      • Loisirs et centres d’intérêt personnels (Leisure and personal interests)