Foreign languages are not yet widely spoken in France. Young people are for the most part capable of understanding English, though rather less able to speak it effectively.

Information, whether official or unofficial, in print or electronic form, is generally available only in French, except where it is intended for tourists (about hotels, restaurants, entertainment, cultural monuments and tourist attractions etc.)

French society is characterised by a paradoxical emphasis on both the individual and the central State, with intermediate bodies such as local authorities and the organisations of civil society (trade unions, voluntary organisations, foundations) being relatively undeveloped as compared to other European countries.

The role of the State finds expression in the existence of a substantial body of legislation and regulation (notably in the field of industrial relations), which is nonetheless not always strictly observed. Thus everyone about in public must carry identity papers, while the regulations on motor traffic are not at all stringently applied, and driving in France is relatively dangerous.

The public authorities take greater responsibility for childcare than anywhere else in Europe except the Nordic countries. For young children under 3 years of age, assistance towards the cost of care in crèches, or at the homes of parents or childminders, is provided in various forms (family allowance, tax allowances, grants to organisations, grants from works councils). From the age of two and a half, children can attend schools.

Provision for others requiring assistance, such as the aged and the disabled, is less generous.

To know more: The official information site of the French government

For French expatriates, there are two associations for France people abroad which can offer complementary information to that given by the identified resource person. These organisations are: l'Association Démocratique des Français à l'Etranger (ADFE) et l'Union des Français de l'Etranger (UFE).

In addition, some services for French people are also available abroad. These include :

• Schools teaching French educational programmes are present in all the European countries, managed by the French agency for the teaching of French abroad. AEFE. There are also three European schools, financed by the European Commission, in Munich, London and Brussels.
• Cultural institutes, such as those of the association called
  Alliance française.

To find out more:

• List of bodies belonging to the ADFE association
  http://www.francais-du-monde.net/accueil_sections.html
  
• List of bodies belonging to the UFE association
  http://www.ufe.asso.fr/
  
• List of schools abroad
  http://www.aefe.diplomatie.fr/
  
• List of French cultural institutes
  http://www.france.diplomatie.fr/