Doing Business Can Be Frustrating

France is a wonderful place to live. But it’s not always a wonderful place to do business and/or close deals, especially if you’re a type A personality. You have to be sure to factor in extra time in case there are unexpected hold-ups. And all too frequently they are bound to happen. Or holidays. Or strikes. Or mail that doesn’t arrive in a timely fashion. Even though the French have now joined the Internet bandwagon and send "mail" (not email), many documents are useless except as reference. Unless they’re original hard copies and signed in a precise manner, plus the place and date of the transaction, they aren’t the real thing. The other day was my day to have the shakes. Thank goodness, the lawyer who represents me doesn’t visibly flinch. I was verge of a nervous breakdown.  Tim received an envelope with the necessary information on a Wednesday in preparation for the following Monday’s morning meeting.   Ordinarily, that should have been enough time to resolve any outstanding issues. But this was definitely not the case.  Since Thursday was a holiday, people had already taken off for a mini-vacation. Why would anyone bother working on Friday when they could go away for a long weekend?  That’s known as taking the bridge (pont) and returning to work Monday. Some people may even take an extra day or two since the French are entitled to five weeks of vacation each year. During the Monday a.m. meeting, there were numerous mini-crises; the majority would have been resolved had the right people been in the office prior to the holiday that was supposed to last a single day. But no, Tim and I had to run to accomplish a few miracles (thank you Tim) before the deal will be done. He was calm and collected. I was a nervous wreck fearing the worse possible scenarios. Doing business in France isn’t always evident. France’s President Sarkozy is constantly on the go: his goal is to make France a first-rate power that’s respected by the world. His recent trip to Washington was not intended simply to impress George W. Bush. Sarkozy will be in office long after the US president and is fully aware of his need of Congress’s support.    Part of Sarkozy’s campaign strategy was to increase employment.  In doing so, he’s riling the unions’ backs by threatening to cut pension benefits. The CGT has announced a strike beginning Tuesday at midnight that may cause a long-term transportation strike that had many citizens walking as well as screaming. One small consolation, people in Paris and Lyon will be able to rent bikes to get from here to there if there any left in the parking stations. Some people are projecting that these strikes may rival those in 1995 that paralyzed France until President Chirac caved. Sarkozy has already announced he’s going to stand firm and will take the same stand as the U.K’s first female Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher did when she took on the trade unions, which has had a lasting effect on Britain’s government. Time will tell.    In the meantime, don’t forget there are holidays during the Christmas season, nearly all of May (that’s an exaggeration but not terribly much).  And then there’s August.  A top-level executive admitted that although he planned to work then, he was unable to get anyone on the phone. Out of frustration, he joined the vacation crowd in Provence and checked his office email daily hoping there’d be some business. Like the rest of France, he was forced to wait until the rentree.   © Paris New Media, LLC [email protected]