Does detention exist in France? Or is that strictly an American thing?
Yes it does!
However you can only have it on wednesday afternoons and saturday mornings, or during free periods.
So basically, you get a paper that your legal representative has to sign prior to the detention date. You’ll need to give it to whoever’s going to watch you during the detention.
You can also get expelled temporarily depending on how bad your behaviour was, or expelled definitively for reasons such as a too high amount of missed classes (usually in private schools).
During detention, you get a work to do. You can get detention for not doing your homework and end up completing said homework during the detention.
Or, you can get a generic type of work to do. It can go from lines to write many times (like “I’m not gonna insult the teacher again” 100 times), or cleaning the classroom (pretty rare), or completing a certain work given by the teacher that may constitute a grade.
Detention can only range from 1 to 4 hours. It’s fairly rare to get a 4 hours detention and definitely needs more serious reasons than what I’ve been given to see in American TV shows.
I don’t know if it’s an actual thing to put the student in detention on a whim, but in France the paper written by the teacher is actually checked by the chief supervisor who will stamp it and scold you a bit before asking from you to give back the paper signed. The chief supervisor will also make sure the reason behind detention isn’t ridiculous.
It is necessary that the class rep takes you to the supervisor’s office.
In my school at least, it was however more common for the teacher to expel the student from the on-going period than give them detention. It still requires a paper to sign but can substitute detention because you don’t have to wait one of the detention days or a free period to be punished, those being replaced by the period you’ve been expelled from.
You’re just shoved out of the classroom, go see the chief supervisor and you hang out in a study room. The teacher may or may not give you a work to do.
How do students determine which high school (lyceé) they attend? Do they just go to the school that is closest to their home right? Is private school kind of a bad thing and held up in less regard unlike in the States?
Alright, so.
All mandatory schools (elementary, middle school and high school) in France are free and follow the exact same syllabus that is provided every year by the Ministry of Education. It’s more or less flexible as, for example, the novels you study during the year are arbitrarily chosen by your teacher within the theme given by the Ministry. For example, if the Ministry asks for French teachers to teach autobiographies to their students, the teachers are free to choose whatever autobiographies they want.
Now, that brings us to your question: how do students choose their high schools?
Since all high schools follow the same curriculum in terms of programs, high schools are chosen for their proximity, or if they want to go to the same high school as their friends. That’s in general.
However, the main difference that exists between high schools in France is the teacher body. Some high schools have one that is better than the other, might involve some commuting, etc… That’s case-to-case situations. Most of the schools are good; they’re not incredible, but they’re good enough and I think the Ministry of Education is doing a fairly good job because they keep reforming and re-adapting the school system every single year. France is lucky to have a pretty active Ministry.
Now if you want to go from good to incredible and it is geographically possible for you, go ahead! It’s free anyway.
On the topic of private schools, they do exist. They’re more sheltered, stricter. The quality of the teaching remains a fairly vague topic, and the opinions are pretty mixed.
I can’t for sure tell you that the teaching is better or worse, but the quality of life there seems to be better as a lot of parents prefer to sign their children up in such establishments to avoid them learning expletives and “street behaviors”.
I’m also reading several articles stating that private schools are more popular starting with middle school education because they seemingly provide a better environment that improves students’ performances. As such, 38 out 50 of the best high schools in France are private.
Some private schools in France are boarding schools, but not all of them. Almost all of them are Catholic schools, but you can find Jewish schools and Muslim schools as well, though to a lesser proportion. It’s also important to point out that the religious teachings are optional.
However, due to the religious specificity, a lot of people don’t really go there. You might not know it, but France is legally secular, and it means that freedom of worship and culture is the constitutional norm. France therefore being a multicultural country with no official religion, people don’t really see the point of going to a Catholic school.
Unlike the United States, religion has very little to do with France’s politics and Catholics don’t have much power in the government. To put it short, no one cares if the President is atheist or if he doesn’t go to church on Sundays.
The relationship with religion is very uninhibited when compared to what it would be in the United States. I’m only comparing these two countries and am not saying France is the most uninhibited country in the world when it comes to religion, but you get my point.
Though 30% of French people deem that private schools can be afforded by poorer households, a lot of them are still reluctant because they can get good enough teaching at public schools.
Because of that, private schools with a religious connotation seem like closed areas and we don’t really know what’s going on there except that it can be expensive or require a specific characteristic in your family lineage (like the Maison d’Education de la Légion d’Honneur that only lets you in if a person from your family got the Légion d’Honneur). It’s got a pretty selective aspect, but I doubt it’s got a bad reputation.
I’d say it gives off an aspect of wealth, quality, and strictness?
It’s fairly secluded as it’s well-known for its walls and closed gates. It strengthens the idea of security that a lot of parents look for, but it also makes it look like a world on its own because we have little idea of what’s going on there, especially for private boarding schools.
However, private schools have been, for the past few years, growing more and more popular, especially for middle school and high school. It might be interesting to keep that in mind. Switches from public to private are becoming a bit more frequent, but in numbers, only a rough 20% of students are studying in private establishments.
Hi, question off the prepa talk. So if Mari is interested in fashion, would she try to take prepa classes for that? (And maybe Adrien would do physics?)
If Mari is interested in fashion, she’s more likely to take the artistic track in high school.
For the record, French schools have 3 highschool years. At the end of your 1st highschool year (known as Seconde or 2nde), you have to pick a track that will define the rest of your highschool classes and baccalaureate depending on what you do the best (or what you want to do later).
There are 3 general tracks (Scientific, Economic and Literary) but there are also a lot of other more specific tracks that not all highschools offer but that still exist.
Most people who want to work in graphic arts will therefore pick the STD2A track (Sciences et Technologies Du Design et des Arts Appliqués translated to Sciences and Technologies of Design and Applied Arts) and study for 2 years arts. They’ll also spend that time creating a book that will allow them to join art schools later on.
Now what you need to know about higher education in France is that there are countless and thousand of possibilities depending on what you want to do.
Shortly speaking, preparatory classes (or more commonly known as prépa) have always been the prestigious road that only the best go to after their baccalaureate. It’s 2 years of intensive work, there’s a lot of pressure, a lot of depression cases. People don’t sleep much, they have many subjects to study, they’re required to have top notch grades and if not, they’re simply kicked out of the prépa.
It’s not easy. Not at all. To put it simply, you can take college rush times and multiply them by 5 and spread this during an entire year that stretches from September to July.
Not only that but those 2 years only prepare for an entrance test that you can take to join more prestigious schools, but do not form you at all to work or what you’re going to study in the school. They’re mostly about theory teachings and exams, as well as weekly tests. They’re like a military sort of school, they teach you to stand high levels of stress and workload. A funny anecdotes is that prépas are so hard that grades are actually in negative. You can have a -5 out of 20 at a test.
While prestigious colleges used to require a prépa before you join them, gradually more and more are starting to open their doors to however wants to take the entrance test they’re affiliated to after 2 years of studying wherever they want, not specifically the prépa.
But the prépa keeps having a very prestigious connotation, and students still need to suffer for their ambition.
People from Adrien’s social classes all would go to prépa. However, I can’t really advise you to send Adrien there if he’s to continue modeling.
It is also important to note that there are a lot of prépas depending on what you want to do. There are art prépas, scientific prépas, literary prépas, economic prépas, etc… And within the prépas, you have specialisations.
There are also prépa rankings, Cachan being the most selective one. Sometimes studying in a “prépa” isn’t enough. You need to get into a really good one.
And lastly, prépas also exist in boarding school format, or are literally imbedded to the prestigious school that requires it.
As I said, a prépa prepares you for an entrance national test that will allow you to join one of the prestigious schools that open their door to whoever passes it.
The arts and design prépa only exists in 5 schools. As such, there are only 100 students who can be taken. You have to apply to each of the schools individually and have a top-notch book, grades, cover letter and interview. It’s much harder for people who haven’t taken an STD2A baccalaureate and completely impossible if they haven’t taken an art option during highschool.
However, this prépa is the only one in France offering for the student to go on a 3-weeks internship at the end of their first year, cementing what they have learnt throughout the year and breaking the only-theory prépa tradition.
At the end of your prépa, you are allowed to take the entrance test known as ENS Paris-Saclay. This one only lets 7 students pass.
In short, on a population of 67 millions, only 7 pass the ENS Paris-Saclay entrance test and join an art school after their prépa.
But art schools can’t do anything with only 7 students!
That’s right! And that’s why there are so many alternate tracks in France. Writing an extensive summary of all the diplomas that exist there would take literal days and even I don’t know all of them. However, I can give you a few alternatives for art studies.
Brevet de Technicien Supérieur (BTS)
This diploma generally lasts 2 years and exists for 200 specialisations.
Generally because depending on your highschool track, it sometimes needs an upgrading for certain specialisations (like art, or hotel business) and sometimes it only takes 1 year.
The concept is that it looks almost exactly like highschool as you’re in a class and a defined schedule. The only difference is that BTS is more into concrete projects and operational teaching. Literally, it teaches you to be capable by the end of your teachings and be able to work as soon as you get your diploma.
You’re a technician by the end of your BTS studies.
It is that aspect that generally interests art students for it focuses on manual teachings that are required for any art studies. Drawing, sculpting, taking pictures, sewing, etc…
There are 7 design specialisations for BTS. But in Mari’s case, it would be logical to go for a “BTS design de mode, textile et environnement, option mode” translated to BTS fashion, textile and environment design, fashion option.
This specific diploma is usually given in fashion schools. So instead of going through prépa, you just go to a fashion school and get a BTS and you can work already.
Might be interesting to note, however, that a BTS isn’t very prestigious and that if you so wish, you can continue by studying a master or a license for more international recognition. But talent and contacts can perfectly do the trick.
Université
This is the literal translation of university. It’s your regular university with majors, minors, amphis and all that jazz.
Needless to say that it’s a jungle though.
What you need to know about universities in France is that they’re very very very cheap.
Most schools for higher education in France are cheap. Except for private schools like HEC or emlyon. I’m giving business school examples, but the idea goes for a lot of other sectors like communication.
That being said, the fact that they’re cheap and that not all of them are selective (so we’re not counting La Sorbonne, Nanterre or Dauphine even though they’ve very cheap too. I’m talking about selectivity here) is such that all kinds of people can get into them. But not everyone is determined, or hardworking and the teachers aren’t necessarily amazing. So it’s very common for people to drop out because they can’t work on their own or muster enough motivation to keep going to boring classes, because most classes are optional and schedules can be changed anytime. I’m not going to write a post about social problematics but what you need to know is that it is common for amphis at the beginning of the year to have about 1000 students and end up with 200 by the end of the year, the number only dropping with the years.
Don’t overlook them though. For example, you can only study law in universities as there are no private schools for that. So some of the universities are very very good.
Universities can be an alternative to prépa as you can study for 2 years and have a license that will allow you to either work or keep going with your studies, or take the same entrance exams as prépa students. It counts for BTS students as well btw, they can take the exams.
But as I said the ENS Paris-Saclay is very difficult.
So either you get a license 2 in university and change school for a private entity or keep going for your 4 years. There are prestigious universities so it’s actually not bad at all (cf. to the selective universities mentioned previously).
Now you have most of the informations you need to know. I tried to stay very general so that no one gets lost, and sadly didn’t really tackle the Adrien topic in details.
But just in case you’re curious, if he ever wants to study physics, he can either go to a university or take a prépa in physics (PS) or physics and engineering (PSI) and eventually go for an engineering school.
It is however important to note that while prépa mostly only has a certain prestige in other studies, it is highly recommended for scientific studies!!!
Finally, I do hope this was clear enough, and if not, feel free to re-ask.
Good luck with your work and thank you for the question!
Hey there! So aparently there's some confusion in the fandom concerning school dances - I would have thought that this is a normal thing in schools everywhere, but I've come across some people shouting that there are no school dances or parties in France. Maybe you could help to settle this once and for all?
Mod Verse : Hello!
Truth is- school dances are not typically a thing in France. No prom, no homecoming party.
In some really rare cases, there can be a prom night in some high schools, because it’s a thing happening in large amounts of american movies and people want to experience it, but it’s a very, very small minority.
And even that small minority has nothing to do with the school. If you want to organize prom, you organize it with your own funds, own funding activities, own rent, etc... It’s just a bunch of students who really want to do it and handle everything on their own.
Mod Maha : In my old highschool, it was a tradition that students from the Economic track organise prom, because it was a private school and we technically came from social classes that allowed us to have the means to fund such an event. We do everything on our own, but the school requests from us to have a few teachers supervising the event. Other than that, they didn’t care much about the rest and would care even less if we didn’t organise a prom at all in the year.
If Adrien was planning to go into business school, what's the path he would take in lycee? And would he go into prepa? Thanks for your help!
Hello, hello!
Now, that’s my field. Basically, he could take any of the general tracks. However, it is recommended to take the ES track (Social Economy) or the STMG track (Technological Sciences of Management).
Now, if he were to go into prépa or not depends on the school he’s aiming for and if he’s planning to stay in France. France has a lot of very good business schools; they’re mostly expensive because they’re private, but not as expensive as American colleges. Once again, college is fairly affordable in France.
Do keep in mind that in a French context, prépas and business schools are what’s most expensive when it comes to post-lycée studies.
If he goes abroad, prépa isn’t needed.
If he stays, I’d say that he’d go into prépa and aim for prestigious schools like HEC or emlyon or ESSEC. He’d pick the “Grande Ecole” program which is the program that requires the prépa.
However ESSEC and emlyon, for example, also offer bachelor courses that are more practical, more field centered. Those are called BBA (Bachelor in Business Administration).
I’m personally taking a BBA with emlyon, and the major difference is that while the usual “Grande Ecole” program implies that you’ve studied a hell lot of theory before they start giving you actual projects and missions to work on. The bachelor already throws you in the swimming pool.
Bachelor is close to what a business degree is in anglo-saxon countries minus the fact that you can choose your minors and your majors. Nope, they give you their own program and schedules to follow.
However, seeing Adrien’s family background, I tend to think that he’s more likely to go the traditional path and suffer study 2 years of prépa before taking the oh so scary entrance test that will open to him the doors of the most prestigious schools of France (and possibly the world considering HEC’s reputation).
I still want to point out that the chances he doesn’t get the schools he wants are very high and that he could retake his entire prépa program if you decide that he gets schools he didn’t want, or that Gabriel didn’t want. It’s common.
It is also important to know that a majority of students retake their first year because of how hard prépa is, and if you’re really bad you can literally be kicked out. But if you’re a very, very good student, you can join the “Classe Etoile,” a.k.a. the Star Class for your 2nd prépa year and have higher chances to get into the schools you want. It implies you’re a genius.
AS A REMINDER, PREPA LASTS 2 YEARS.
FROM THEN ON YOU’LL STUDY APPROXIMATELY 3 YEARS. IT IS RECOMMENDED TO TAKE AN MBA AFTER THAT.
Now when it comes to prépas, you have a lot of very good (and selective) prépas in Paris, but some of the business schools also offer in-campus prépas that come as boarding schools.
You don’t have to specifically name the school Adrien will get into, but you can decide to choose that Adrien is already following the prépa program of the school he wants. That doesn’t mean that he’s gonna pass the entrance test and remain in the school though.
There is an entrance test for whatever course you decide to take. BBA? Entrance test. Post-prépa? Entrance test. Post-license? Entrance test.
Prépa is the traditional way to get into business schools in France. But you may headcanon some other students getting in after 2 years in a public university because they couldn’t afford prépa, or didn’t like the pressure of it. You can also get into a “Grande Ecole” program after a BBA but it is argued that it’s completely useless because it’s just a repeat of knowledge. A lot of people keep thinking though that “Grande Ecole” programs have a prestigious sound to them.
Though you end up with the same business skills, BBA and “Grande Ecole” programs are not the same.
On the same thread, you may follow a BBA after a prépa, but I’ll say it’s pretty useless as the program is more focused on field work and less on all the theory you’ve been brought to learn during prépa.
Now to conclude, I just want to add that most business schools in France switch their entire program to English starting the 2nd/3rd year (respectively for Grande Ecole and BBA) seeing how it’s the international language. Some others also add languages like Chinese and Spanish (Like in my case).
ALL BUSINESS SCHOOLS IN FRANCE HAVE TO SEND YOU ABROAD FREQUENTLY FOR INTERNSHIPS AND EXCHANGES. In that regard, the fact that they’re private allows them to have a wide network of partners that make it easy for the students to go abroad.
I'm doing an AU that involves Chloé, one where she manages a small bed and breakfast (a Gîtes?) with her father. What can you tell me about hotels in general in Paris (pricing, management, amenity options, etc.) as well as how they vary between price points?
Hmm would you be talking about a guest house (maison d’hôte)? Or an inn (auberge)? A boarding house maybe (pension de famille)?
I usually hear of a gîte (without the S because it’s singular haha) in rural contexts, but I do see on the internet that it counts like a guest house even in a city.
About the management, the Paris tourist office provides a few valuable informations. Basically what you need to know before we go further is that Paris is a very touristic city, and because of that, hotels follow very strict rules to provide quality and security to the huge number of tourists that Paris welcomes everyday.
There are a few golden rules that all hotels need to respect in Paris, as required by the Ministry of the Interior:
To declare the establishment
To inform the clients (as in perfect transparence)
Hygiene within the establishment
To respect security and public health laws
To make my establishment accessible to all public (adapted access and rooms)
To respect public tranquility
I’m just summing up everything because French law is quite thick, so this is going to be a very light post.
Pricing
We said it in an earlier post but the cost of living in Paris is way higher than in the rest of France. One of the examples we had mentioned is that the price of a small studio in Paris would buy you a 4 rooms house in the north of France.
For the record, the high cost of living also implies higher salaries. Not because people are wealthier, but because the salary needs to follow the cost of living and vice-versa. That said, everything in Paris will therefore be more expensive.
It works for hotels too.
However, it is important to note that London remains more expensive in terms of hotels, and that New York’s average is almost the double of Paris’.
Paris Référencement gives you a selection of hotels per standing along with an average price, and as such :
2-star hotel: Starting at 45€ per night (around 50$)
3-star hotel: Generally between 70€ and 100€ per night (around 78$ and 112$)
4-star hotel: Starting at 150€ per night (around 168$)
5-star hotel: Starting around 270€ and goes around 1620€ per night (around 302$ and 1816$)
It is important to note that these prices are only currency conversions and that they do not reflect in any way the purchasing power parities between the United States and France.
It is also interesting to add that prices might differ depending on the hotel’s location as well as its category. As such, a 2-star hotel might price as much as a 3-star because it’s located in a famous neighbourhood.
In terms of boarding houses, inns and guest houses, the pricing goes over a very wide range. Starting from prices as low as 48€, they usually don’t go over 150€. Their main strength is the location. If they’re in a good place, they can afford to rise their prices.
A boarding house near the Jardin de Luxembourg can afford to ask for 70€ per night (which is a bunch if you’re planning to stay for a week).
The reason is that they’re usually managed by the owners directly who pay for everything individually depending on the clients they have. They do not get company prices, and they usually handle everything on their own, including cleaning and cooking. This causes them to have to adapt their price to the minimum wage which is very controlled in France (which is around 68,32€ a day for a monthly wage of 1480,27€).
For the record, the average cost of living in Paris is of 2 256€ per month
Management
I’m not exactly sure what you mean by management. Do you mean supplier prices? Or hiring?
Supplier prices require a consequent order. The quantity makes the price lower than buying everything per unit. I cannot help you with the prices though, but depending on the popularity you want to give to your small bed and breakfast, the choice of going for a supplier order or a unit order remains yours.
Would it be less expensive to buy a few things that won’t rot? Or is it not enough?
For the hiring, the Labour Law is quite controlled in France. You have to declare the person you hire, and pay them above the minimum wage. Firing is very very tricky because you need to have a chaotic antecedent with your employee and have legally and officially warned them about 3 times with a signed paper. Not only that but you need to make sure they have enough to live after they’re fired, and the firing process is long as well, you need to warn beforehand, at least a month before and blablabla. It’s only a small part of it, but you get my point. This entire tricky law makes employers pretty doubtful when it comes to hiring because they can’t get rid of the employee very easily. French people love paperwork.
But I do believe the new Labour Law in France allows the workers to sign their own deal with their employer and bend certain aspects of the law if both parties are okay with that.
You also need to know that hiring a minor person is tricky too. I’m going to try and be very short about it:
The contract needs to be a fixed-term contract, in other words a temporary job and has to be paid as much as any other adult.
A minor under 16 can only be hired during holidays that are at least 14-days long.
Minors cannot work more than 8 hours a day and without a 30 minutes break at least after 4:30 hours.
They get 2 days where they cannot work, and have to not be working for at least 12 hours (for minors between 16 and 18 years old) and 14 hours (for minors under 16).
Minors cannot work by night (they can’t go over 8pm, and can over up to 10pm if they’re over 16)
A medical examination and the authorisation of the legal representative of the minor prior to work
The labour inspection’s authorisation is required 15 days prior to the start of work if the minor is between 14 and 16 years old.
For the anecdote, if you buy a guest house, it usually takes up to 3 years to start making it profitable in regards to the possible building work, the bills, the purchase itself, etc…
In terms of labels, all owners of guest houses and inns need to refer the the aforementioned Tourist Office (of your city, or region) to classify their establishment and gets stars. They need labels, and the stars depend on:
The equipment
The services
Sustainable development
These criteria change every 5 years depending on the evolution of the norms and the stakes of the government.
In terms of required services for a good hotel, the French government put up a nice document online It’s 30 pages of tables, isn’t that great
Don’t feel scared by the screenshot I’m gonna add, I’m gonna explain what you need to know and focus mainly on the management.
From left to right, you have “Economic hotels” “Mid-range hotels” and “high end hotels”, the last column being about very very high end hotels.
I’m going to focus on 1-star and 2-stars but feel free to send another ask if you want more information from this table.
Economic hotels
More known as 1-star hotels. The first line of the table (common to all types of hotels) just repeats the golden rules I gave you at the beginning of this post. Now the second line is about positioning.
This type of hotels is required to provide at least 8 hours a day at least of welcome. It has to provide private or common sanitaries and a hall of at least 20 square metres.
2-star hotels
The main difference is that the minimum welcome hours are now of 10 hours.
The minimum hall superficies have grown by 10 square metres and the hotel has to be speaking at least one european language aside from French.
Amenity options
Since most hotel control depends on the stars of your establishment, I’m going to give you the strict minimum for a very very basic hotel and from there, you can add whatever you want.
What matters isn’t what you end up putting, but the minimum asked.
Opaque hiding from the outside (either through walls or fences, the goal is to give discretion to the clients)
Soundproofing
Electric equipment and sanitaries
Heating (depending on the climate)
Telephone in all the rooms and a switchboard to contact the reception
50% of the rooms have a TV or at least one common room has one.
Good state and cleanliness of all areas frequented by the clients
Good state and cleanliness of all the equipment used by the clients
Furniture for the required equipments (table for the telephone for example)
That is for the most basic requirements. That earns you a 1-star hotel according to the most recent regulations of 2009. Room-service is, in case you wonder, not a requirement for economic hotels. It is, however, mandatory for 5-star hotels.
THIS IS FOR WHAT I MANAGED TO FIND ABOUT HOTELS. The topic is very wide but this post tried to be as exhaustive as possible without being too off-topic.
One last advice is that laws always try to be the most idealistic possible, and all of this probably might make France look like a hotel paradise. But France is flawed like any other country and there are still hotels that do not respect all these laws. The government cannot check all the hotels, and hotel keepers don’t all have the patience to read all these papers or have any ambition to make their hotel big.
So realistically, there will always be bad hotels.
However, I wish you good luck for your AU, and remain at your entire disposal for any further questions!
