The
American community in Paris (#1) |
Organizations and available
services for Americans visiting or living in Paris :
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And also :
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Institutions, churches, etc... |
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Five different US communities in Paris! |
The American
Church |
65 Quai d'Orsay - 75007
Tel.33-(0)1 40 62 05 00
Information Center : tel.33-(0)1 45 56
09 50 |
All
Protestant Denominations. An active meeting place for the international
community with a much consulted bulletin board for jobs and rooms.
Regular church services and Sunday school.Attended by people of many nationalities and denominations. |
The American Cathedral |
23 Avenue George V - 75008
Tel.33- (0)1 53 23 84 00 |
A neo-gothic church founded in 1886. Serves also as the seat for the Bishop in charge of Episcopal churches in Europe. Many good concerts. |
American
Embassy & Consulate |
2 rue Saint Florentin - 75001
Tel.33-(0)1 43 12 22 22 |
Self-explanatory!! |
The American Library |
10 rue du Général Camou
75007
Tel.33-(0)1 53 59 12 60 |
Indispensable
if you love to read, don't have zillions of dollars to spend
on every book that comes out and are staying in Paris long enough
to make it worth your while. Events : "Evening with an Author",
"Evening with an Expert", etc... Also great for children.
If you're not a member, there is a building use fee. Read more. |
AUP (American University of Paris) |
31 Avenue
Bosquet 75007
Tel.33-(0)1 40 62 06 00 ; in the USA : tel.
212/983 14 14. |
Very
well located university, attracting students from all over the
world |
Read the page about religion in France And also :
- The Bridge International Church is an English-speaking church meeting in the western suburbs of Paris (Rueil-Malmaison : Tel 01 39 75 47 02).
- Saint Joseph's Church, 50 avenue Hoche 75008 Paris Tel. 33-(0)142
27 28 56 (Roman Catholic Church) houses ACWO (the American
Catholic Women's Organization of Paris)
- An Anglophone synagogue
- An The French-American
Foundation (FAF), Comité
Français 21 bld de Grenelle 75015 Paris (fafparis@aol.com,
tel. 01 45 77 40 01) and in New York (Tel.212-288 4400, email
french_amerfdn@msn.com) : many events, with prominent speakers,
some interesting initiatives to make both business worlds understand
each other better (and a guide book of useful addresses)
- French
American Center, Espace Pierre Cardin, 1 Avenue Gabriel, 75008
Paris
- Association France-Amériques, 9 Avenue Franklin Roosevelt 75008 tel
33-(0)1 43 59 51 00 is a club (with a restaurant), in a very
beautiful mansion which hosts several other Franco-American organizations
- The French-American Guide (see Bibliography) provides
a useful list of organizations in Paris.
- More to come
DID YOU KNOW
THAT.... The number of American residents in France is
165,000 (with an estimated 50,000 in Paris) and the number of
US visitors is 3 million a year (Source : US Consulate 2003).
See the figures about Americans abroad, click here for a list
of famous
Americans who lived in Paris and read the page about retiring in France. In Paris, American expats
live mostly in the West (29%) and in Western suburbs (31%) :
see detailed
figures.
To discover what they like the most in Paris, click here and see a list of illustrious Americans
who lived in Paris.
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Harry's Bar, 5 rue Daunou (near Opera) is a popular US landmark in Paris. Founded in 1911, it has served its famous cocktails to illustrious patrons like Ernest Hemingway and Scott Fitzgerald. At each US Presidential election since 1924, Harry's Bar organizes a vote to predict the winner and is generally right. |
Major issues for Americans living in France...
Apart from coping with the French, which they often find easier than they feared, Americans who have decided to stay in France for a long period of time experience what is sometimes a real cultural shock. The major issues they have to address are :
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Like everybody : finding a place to stay (it's expensive : see my page) and a job (jobs are scarce and complicated for non-European citizens : see my page)
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For families : American generally dislike the French conception of education and prefer bilingual private schools (in my opinion, they are wrong... : read "French Toast")
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Health coverage : if you have a job in France, no problem (you'll probably love the French health system), if not, check it carefully
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The threat of being double-taxed by the US government (see what it means)
- More to come ....
DID YOU KNOW THAT....
In France, the words " city center " (centre ville)
and " suburbs " (banlieue) do not connote the
same things as in the USA : " city center " connotes
comfortable traditional apartments for the middle to upper-middle
class whereas " suburbs " often connotes ugly social
housing with immigration and crime problems ; the reason for
this is that in the 1970s low-income housing constructed around
big cities was not accompanied by shopping centers, youth centers,
etc... and many young people found themselves with nowhere to
meet and nothing to do. Some have risen above the problems inherent
in these neglected suburbs, others not. Of course there are centrally
located mediocre areas and affluent pretty suburbs (especially
in the West of Paris) but as a general rule the image of "suburbs"
is not the same in the US and in France. When people refer to
"jeunes de banlieue" (literally : kids from the suburbs)
, they mean "a gang of hooligans". This is a very unfair
stereotype, but it is a fact. Therefore, a headline such as "Suburbian
Riots"
in the US press in Nov.2005 may be very misleading for the readers
: they were riots in the poorest areas. In Paris, many expats
live in Western suburbs and most long-time residents live in
the center.
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Many Americans live in Paris (maybe 30,000?). There are several American communities in Paris, at least five. Surprisingly enough, they don't mix as much as one could expect. What follows can be considered quite caricatural but let's try to picture five very different "Americans in Paris".
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The first category is the category of high class expats, like embassy officials or correspondents of major US media. They spend 3 to 5 years in France. Their French is good but they don't meet French people except in their job or when shopping. They live in Le Vesinet, attend services at the American Cathedral, send their children to American schools, read only the US press and watch news on CNN or BBC, take a swim at the Cercle Interallie or Ritz Hotel. Needless to say that their American staff (chauffeurs, marines, etc.) assigned to Paris between a similar assignment in Nairobi and the next one in Stockholm speak no French at all, live among themselves in a US compound, shop in the embassy shop and will have no specific memory of Paris when they retire.
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The second category is composed of long-term expats, like lawyers or US bankers. Some of them spend twenty years or more here. They speak good French, live in the 7th, have French friends, sing in the choir of the American Cathedral and belong to the American Club, WICE and AARO. They live like the French of the same social status but largely among themselves. Like the first category, they live in France with the French as a back-drop.They are often, members of Republicans Abroad. When they retire, they go to Florida, unless they have died at the American Hospital.
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The third category is the category of permanent immigrants, often with a French spouse.. They teach in a French school or translate in a French company. Their French is excellent, they read the French press and watch French TV. They travel more in France and know the country better. Although often critical, they understand the country much better than the two previous categories with which they rarely mix and who often look down at them. They attend the American Church and belong to AAWE.They are often members of Democrats Abroad. Among them, more and more retirees (read
about retiring in France)
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The fourth category, less homogeneous, is the category of "non-touristic visitors", younger people, students or young professionals, on a short stay in Paris for a year or two. They tend to merge more within the French milieu, try to learn French as fast as possible and meet in bars.They travel extensively all over Europe.
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The fifth category is composed of many (thousands of) people who
have a second home in Paris and spend a few weeks or a
few months every year, often academics (in a little two-room
apartment with exposed beams in the Marais) or sometimes New-York
bankers (in 2000 sq.ft apartments Avenue Foch). They have a few (American) friends but rarely mix with the other four categories.
See detailed figures : where
they live and where they buy property in Paris.
DID YOU KNOW THAT .... ? In 2016, the Democratic primaries in France gave the following results : Bernie Sanders 62.67%, Hillary Clinton 36,34%.
Associations
AARO (Association of Americans Resident Overseas) |
Mona Bismarck Foundation
34 avenue de New York
75116
Tel33 (0)1 47 20 24 15
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This group is on
top of everything Americans need to know about taxes and citizenship
in France. It is now (2014) very active to help them with FATCA. |
AAWE (Association of American Women in Europe) |
Mona Bismarck Foundation
34 avenue de New York - 75116
tel (0)1 40 70 11 80
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This group of 600
American women married to Europeans and living permanently in
France is active in the fields of bilingualism and citizenship.
It publishes and updates key-books
on living in France. It sponsors many activities for members'
children (Thanksgiving and Halloween), offers scholarships, and
holds a largely attended Christmas Bazaar each year |
WICE (Women's Institute of Continuing Education) |
7 cité Falguière - 75015
Tel.33-(0)1 45 66 75 50 |
An nonprofit cultural
and educational association providing courses in Art History,
Living and Working in France, History and Culture, Creative Writing
workshop, Studio Arts, Languages and TEFL. There are also opportunities
for volunteering. |
CIEE (Council on International Educational Exchange) |
Tel 33-(0)1 44 41 74 74
or (0)1 58 57 20 50 |
Student exchange
programs |
AWG
(American Women's Group) |
32 rue du Général Bertrand
- 75007
Tel. 33-(0)1 42 73 36 74 or (0)1 42 73
28 72
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The AWG has been
fostering Franco-American ties since 1949. This dynamic group
includes both longtime residents and newcomers who find a touch
of "home" while learning more about France through
a variety of activities and courses. |
American
Field Service - Vivre Sans Frontières |
46 rue du Commandant
Jean Duhail 94132 Fontenay-sous-Bois |
Runs international
exchange programs for 15 to 18 year olds. 25 local committees
in France.
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Association
France- Amériques |
9/11 av.Franklin D.Roosevelt - 75008
Tel. 33-(0)1 43 59 51 00 |
A well established association in a beautiful 18th
Century building, ideal for Franco-American social and professional
events. |
Franco- American Commission For Educational
Exchange |
9 rue Chardin 75016 Paris
Tel.
33-(0)1 45 20 46 54 or (0)1 44 14 53 60 |
For U.S. candidates
wishing to attend French Universities (and French students who
want to study in the U.S.) |
The American Club of Paris |
Mona Bismarck Foundation
34 avenue de New York
- 75116
Tel.(0)1 47 23 64 36 |
One of the oldest non-diplomatic American institutions in France provides Americans with opportunities to meet, and at the same time, to preserve the special ties that the United States has had with France for more than two centuries |
Anglo-
American Press Association of Paris |
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visit the AAPA website |
And also :
- Universities
Alumni Groups : Berkeley
(0)1 46 07 00 43, Boston Univ. (0)1 44 62 20 53, Bryn Mawr (0)1
40 56 06 18, Columbia (0)1 43 35 44 63, Georgetown (0)1 47 27
48 43, Harvard (0)1 60 72 43 78, M.I.T. (0)1 40 56 03 23, Paris
Alumni Network (0)1 39 67 72 27, Princetown (0)1 45 49 04 75,
Stanford (0)1 45 53 28 84, Wellesley (0)1 45 53 00 42, Yale (0)1
48 04 51 75
- BCWA (The British
and Commonwealth Women's Association in Paris), 157 rue du Faubourg
Saint Honoré 75008 Paris, Tel. 33-(0)1 47 20 50 91
- More to come...
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Ecole
Active Bilingue |
117 Boulevard
Malesherbes 75008 Paris Tel. 33-(0)1 45 63 62 22 |
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Lycée
International, American Section |
BP 230 78104
Saint Germain en Laye Tel. 33-(0)1 34 51 74 85 |
The French high school system with, in
addition to it, an excellent American section (among others).
Located in a very nice small town, 20 minutes from Paris by metro. |
The
American School |
41 rue Pasteur 92210 Saint-Cloud
Tel. 33-(0)1 47 20 22 51 |
A
friendly school offering a very American atmosphere |
The American University of Paris (AUP) |
6 rue du Colonel Combes 75007 Paris
Tel : 33-(0)1 40 62 07 20
US Office : 950 South Cherry Str., Suite
210 Denver Colorado 80246
Tel : (303) 757 6333 |
A unique university attended by students
from all over the world. Very interesting Summer programs and
programs for adults. All courses in English. |
Parsons Paris |
45 rue Saint-Roch - 75001 Paris
+1.212.229.5900 |
The Paris branch of Parsons. |
Schiller
International University (SIU) |
9 rue Yvart, 75015 Paris
Telephone: 33 (0)1 45 38 56 01 |
SIU
Paris is part of SIU's worldwide network of seven campuses which
provide students with business and diplomacy courses based on
the US higher education system. |
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And also :
- American Graduate School
of International Relations and Diplomacy (AGS), Alliance
Française Building - 101, boulevard Raspail, 75006 Paris Telephone: 33
(0)1 47 20 00 94, AGSIRD offers US-accredited MAs, as well as
PhD programs, in the field of International Relations and Diplomacy.
It combines American teaching (dialogue, individual attention,
out of the classroom observation) with the rich resources of
Paris.
- Marymount School, 72 boulevard de la Saussaye
92200 Neuilly/Seine, 33-(0)1 46 24 10 51
- Pre-school and primary : Ecole
internationale Malherbe,
19, rue du 11 novembre, 78110 Le Vésinet tel 33-(0)1 39
76 47 37
- A small bilingual international
school near Paris (in the Yvelines)
- The American Business School in Paris
- More to come
To know more about French
universities, visit the site of the Sorbonne (in English)
Read the page about French education |
To related pages : American-run
businessesin Paris, American writers (#2),
to Shopping in Paris
(#5), to American corporations (#4), favorite links, useful commercial links, the history of US firms in France, etc... |
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Harriet Welty
Rochefort writes articles and books about France and the French.
Order her books :
- "Joie de Vivre", Secrets of Wining, Dining and Romancing like the French, St.Martin's Press, New York, 2012
- "French Toast, An American in Paris
Celebrates The Maddening Mysteries of the French", St.Martin's Press,
New York, 1999
- "French Fried, The Culinary Capers
of An American in Paris", St.Martin's Press, New York, 2001
More on Harriet's books (excerpts, upcoming
events, testimonials, etc..) |
Together
or separately, Harriet and Philippe speak
about Intercultural Differences : click
here for information.
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To
email
me |
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