You hear endless complaints about the bureaucracy in France,and it is true that everything is laid down and codified but with the notable exceptions of R.S.I (Régime Sociale des Indépendents) and France Telecom, a national disgrace, I have had no problem with the bureaucracy even having started a business,changed my driving licence to a French one,and had a replacement Carte Grise (vehicle registratation document) supplied when I mislaid the original.

The secret is NEVER try and do anything by post unless you  absolutely have to.It is worth driving for a couple of hours if necessary to have a face to face meeting rather than trying to deal with officialdom by post.In my experience, with the approach”Can you please help me? I’m a stupid foreigner, I don’t understand this document” I have invariable been met with not only help but a willingness to bend the rules if necessary to solve a minor problem.Civil servants are people too.Never adopt an arrogant,angry or facetious approach.And if you don’t speak French take someone along with you who does.

Even the incredible RSI solved a problem overnight with a meeting after countless letters,registered letters and e-mails remained unanswered,or at least the latter answered with an automatic reply promising an answer “as soon as possible”.That was eight months ago and I’m still waiting!