•Employers and trade unions don’t really talk together as they look at each other as almost belonging to a separate species.
•The need to make a strong distinction between work and private life is even stronger in France than in the US, despite the fact that the US scores higher on Individualism. This is a reflection of the fact that employees more quickly feel put under pressure than in the US because of their emotional dependence on what the boss says and does. In cultures which score high on Power Distance and Collectivism, the “normal” combination, such dependence is welcomed. At least, if the power holders act as benevolent fathers.
•The French prefer to be dependent on the central government, an impersonal power centre which cannot so easily invade their private life.
•What is human, but more pronounced in France, is the need for strong leadership in times of crisis. In spite of that, when the crisis is resolved the president should make space for much weaker leadership.
•Many French have the need to become a “patron”, whether as mayor of a small village or as the chairman of the bridge club.
•Customer service is poor in the eyes of all those Anglo-Saxons who believe that the customer is king. Not so in France. The French are self-motivated to be the best in their trade. They, therefore, expect respect for what they do, after which they are very much willing to serve you well.