Doing Bussiness In France

6 Pages 1615 Words

The purpose of this paper is to provide the audience with information that will help the reader with possible future meetings while doing business in France. The content of this paper will provide general information about France including; a basic geographic summary, helpful information focusing on business customs and practices and the differences and interesting cultural facts about France.
Geographical Overview
France is located in Western Europe; it borders the Bay of Biscay and the English Channel, located between Belgium and Spain southeast of the United Kingdom; bordering the Mediterranean Sea which is located between Italy and Spain.
France has a temperate climate from being located mid-way between the North Pole and the equator. The Mediterranean coast makes the climate have typically cool winters and mild summers, however many places in France do get extremely hot summers and bitterly cold winters. The mountain areas of France have a tendency to be colder with a considerable amount of rain and snow.
France has a terrain of mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in the north and west of the country. The remainder of the country is very mountainous specifically the Pyrenees in the south and the Alps in the east.
France is approximately 212,000 (plus) square miles in size with a population of 59,800,000. The capital of France is Paris with a population of more than 8.7 million people.
Business Customs and Practices
The French are very formal, in both dress and manners. The details do not matter to the French but rather it is the overall affect that matters. The French do not get on a first name basis quickly; they see informality as becoming too pushy and view it as a loss of respect. While Americans try to not interrupt the French on the other hand like to do many things as the same time and will constantly interrupt one another. This behavior not only occurs in business settings but also in soc...