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Comment by camus2 | Hacker News Reader

French here. You have to learn french, people in the french administration aren't going to communicate with in you English.

Obviously in Paris more and more people know English since it's a touristic area. But it isn't like Berlin,Amsterdam or Brussels where you can live with very little local language knowledge. Correct french is a pain in the ass to learn, the language is needlessly complicated.

Frankly If I were a "foreigner" (outside the EU) who wants to move to a non English speaking European country, I'd go to Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden or Austria. I lived and worked in all these countries without problem and with little knowledge of the local language.

Just don't come here with 0 french and expect to find work, that's not realistic. If you are an "expat" (i.e. you already have a guaranteed job in France), then by all means...

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I'm sorry, but ... typical French reaction (I'm French myself)

The government and the administration is trying to improve the climate on founders/visa/startups/tech, and yes, it's far from being perfect and there are a lot of pieces missing and a lot that could be improved, but, at least, they seem to be trying.

And then you come, and just tell people they should go somewhere else "because it will be too hard".

So, I'm all for warning that it won't be all pink and easy, but I don't think it ought to be as hard as you seem to imply.

One thing which is definitely true is learning a few words and know how to say "Hi" in French and that you don't know the language will go a long way.

After, that, if you feel like you want to stay in the country, you will naturally go towards learning the language anyway.

I lived 7 years in the Netherlands, and you can go mostly fine with just English (even though, in some more rural areas, it can still be hard despite the reputation of the country), but learning Dutch helped me integrate and "unlock" situations where English would not have been enough, just because it showed to the people involved I was willing to integrate better in the country and make efforts to be understood.

I think the problem is that there is a complete disconnect between those in government that are "trying" as you say, and those who execute the day to day bureaucracy.

Let's take an example directly from this announcement: "Apply to the French Tech Visa for Investors: Contact your local French Consulate or the local "Prefecture" (if you already reside in France) and follow the general route to apply for a "Passeport Talent"

Only those who live here will understand what this entails. The prefecture is a branch of regional government that is totally gridlocked with unnecessary paperwork.

2 things :

- they tell you explicitly you can contact the consulate, that's when you're not in France

- If you're already in France, there is a big chance you've already been in contact with the prefecture, so you'll know what it is. Besides, it's very googleable.

Finally, yes, the prefecture is definitely not the best place to hang out, but I'd be surprised if they did not get very precise and direct instructions on how to take care of those candidates.

Well, getting lost in translation is something normal, isn't it? I have been 1 year in Germany and I tried to learn German. If you don't want to learn a new culture/language it's going to be difficult for sure. Why a whole country should adapt to you? Some english speaking guys don't want to make effort to adapt and I really think that they miss the most important & fun part of travelling/living abroad. You can raise money in english in France. No issue on that.

We have nice startup here and nice developpers. But you can also find nice thinghs in other EU countries. Business is everywhere...

> people in the french administration aren't going to communicate with in you English.

They won't communicate in French either. They bark at you. And you bark at them. Whoever barks the louder wins.

Can ask what you do and how you have managed to live and work in all of those countries? That's quite a list.

I know a lot of english spoken only people in french startup.

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