{"id":8080,"date":"2011-07-12T20:04:21","date_gmt":"2011-07-13T00:04:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=8080"},"modified":"2014-06-13T14:43:39","modified_gmt":"2014-06-13T12:43:39","slug":"three-typically-french-acronyms-cedex-cgt-and-cie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/three-typically-french-acronyms-cedex-cgt-and-cie\/","title":{"rendered":"French Texting Abbreviations: CEDEX, CGT, et Cie"},"content":{"rendered":"

After the “Texto\/SMS<\/a><\/strong>” post of yesterday, many of you asked for more!<\/p>\n

French\u00a0a<\/strong>br\u00e9viations<\/strong> <\/em>are virtually\u00a0partout<\/strong><\/em> (everywhere): In les journaux <\/em><\/strong>(newspapers),\u00a0les magazines<\/em><\/strong>, les films <\/em><\/strong>(movies), les conversations quotidiennes<\/em> <\/strong>(daily conversations), including\u00a0les SMS <\/em><\/strong>(text messages), which\u00a0are hands-down\u00a0le medium\u00a0de communiction favorit de ladite<\/strong> “G\u00e9n\u00e9ration Y<\/strong><\/em>” (the favorite communication medium of the so-called\u00a0“Y Generation”), who prefer to send “des textos<\/strong>” <\/em>rather than\u00a0passer un coup de fil <\/em><\/strong>(giving a phone call)…
\nMembers of the “G\u00e9n\u00e9ration Y<\/em>“, stereotypically more\u00a0“apathetic” (“a-what?”) than its “X<\/em>”\u00a0predecessor,\u00a0portent mal leur nom <\/em>(carries a misnomer—“a mis-what?”) Instead of asking “le pourquoi des choses” <\/em>(the “whY of things”), they just\u00a0shout back: “WhY not”!
\n<\/strong>As\u00a0to the two preceding generations,\u00a0“les Baby Boomers”<\/em>and “la G\u00e9n\u00e9ration X”<\/em>, please refer to the post:\u00a0\u201cFoule Sentimentale\u201d\u2014Alain Souchon (Made in \u201cMoZer RUSSIA\u201d!)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

\u00c0 vos marques! Pr\u00eats! Partez!<\/em> <\/strong>(Ready! Steady! Go!)<\/p>\n

* CEDEX<\/em>:<\/strong><\/span>
\nWe saw last time that the abbreviation\u00a0BP<\/strong> <\/em>in French stands for\u00a0Po Box<\/strong>.
\nStill about the French\u00a0poste<\/em>, you need to know about\u00a0le Cedex<\/em>, which is an acronym for a special sevice called\u00a0”\u00a0Courrier d’Entreprise \u00e0\u00a0Distribution\u00a0EXceptionnelle.<\/strong><\/em>” Many foreigners in France wonder what the CEDEX stands for: Is it\u00a0like a\u00a0code postal<\/em> (zip code)?Non<\/em>.\u00a0In plain English, that would be “Mail of\u00a0Companies with Exceptional Distribution”, meaning companies who\u00a0usually receive a lot of letters per day, and therefore need to have a mailing priority with la Poste de\u00a0France. <\/em>In that sense, CEDEX is not unlike the American FedEx.<\/p>\n

For example, if you are\u00a0an<\/em> actionnaire <\/em>(shareholder) of la soci\u00e9t\u00e9<\/em> “L’Or\u00e9al<\/em>“<\/strong>, you may contact their headquarters\u00a0by mail at\u00a0the following address:
\n
\n” 41<\/em>,\u00a0rue Martre<\/em> –\u00a092117 Clichy\u00a0Cedex<\/span><\/em> –\u00a0France<\/em><\/strong> ”<\/p>\n

* CGT:<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/em>
\nThe Americans have their\u00a0AFL-CIO<\/strong>; the French\u00a0are blessed with\u00a0their\u00a0CGT !
\n<\/em>
\n<\/strong>Thanks to the long-running tandem of\u00a0trade unionCGT<\/em> <\/strong>(la <\/em>Conf\u00e9d\u00e9ration\u00a0G\u00e9n\u00e9rale deTravail<\/em>)<\/strong> and\u00a0a rather\u00a0rigid French\u00a0patronat <\/em>(employers—See\u00a0MEDEF<\/strong>), la gr\u00e8ve du travail <\/em><\/strong>(work strike) has become somewhat of a\u00a0passe-temps\u00a0national<\/em><\/strong> (national pass-time) in France, at times\u00a0paralyzing all\u00a0economic activity for weeks…<\/p>\n