Expat in France , looking for French Lessons

9POSTS

8 years ago

Hey there , I moved with my job and with my girlfriend in Marseille a couple of months ago , I am interested to know if there is any place that offers free French lessons for expats? In my job I need only English , but for my girlfriend is impossible to find a job without speaking French.
She went initially to the Alliance Francaise for a month , but we can not keep this up every month (it costs like 500 EUR per month to study there).

Thanks in Advance

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Catherine Rigoux Member

20POSTS

8 years ago

Hello there.
You are looking for free French lesson. Free in France my dear is going quite a challenge.
Maybe your girlfriend could go ask in a kid, s school to be abble to follow the court, in class with the other kids. The rest, I'm not sure.
Good luck to you both

Tevisbuckles Contributor

153POSTS

8 years ago

Hi, I thought of another way to learn French, easy, effective and inexpensive although not free: Babbel online. I use it to learn a foreign language. If you look on the internet, you will find various discounts, I pay around €5/month. You must use it every day if you expect to improve so it takes some discipline. Best wishes.

garcia.calavera New member

9POSTS

8 years ago

Thanks for all replies , we have given up on trying to find French classes after we knocked at every door at the Mairie and at different NGO organisations , all refusing us. France is definitely not a friendly place towards new people. We will probably just ride my contract out and move on to a new country judging by the way things are going.

Tevisbuckles Contributor

153POSTS

8 years ago

Hi, your attitude is sad. You can't expect to find everything for free! Look at the incredible health care system in France, one of the best in the world. Since you have a job, I assume you can afford to pay something for French lessons. Look on Le Bon Coin and you find lessons, the teachers need to make a living.

1 member reacted to this post

garcia.calavera New member

9POSTS

8 years ago

Is not just the french lessons , it seems like everyone is making our life difficult here , we were already refused by 4 landlords to get an apartment for rent , even though I work for a famous multi national corporation here and have a solid monthly income, I found out that next year in addition to the big chunk of taxes I get cut out from my gross salary , I have to further pay an additional and ridiculous high income tax. The health system may be great , but we are not using it so basically we pay for nothing (same for the pension scheme , a lot of money for something that is unlikely we will benefit if we are not going to live in this country forever)
Tevisbuckles , thanks for the link , 5 EUR per month is a good deal , I will definitely try.

Catherine Rigoux Member

20POSTS

8 years ago

So sorry to hear that, but some how I'm not surprised. I'm experiencing exactly the same vibe since I came back here after a long while abroad. That is unfortunate but one thing tho, everywhere in the world you, ll go you will found good and bad things. Adaptation is a good thing to have.
Good luck to you two in anything you do or anywhere you go. Stay safe

Tevisbuckles Contributor

153POSTS

8 years ago

I must say that it is very difficult to be a landlord in France because of the strict laws protecting tenants. I am not making excuses for them but I wouldn't be a landlord in France. If for some reason tenants don't pay their rent, it takes many months to get them to leave and in the winter months, they cannot be forced to leave... so landlords are paranoid. Some landlords are wealthy but some count on the rent money to live.

2 members reacted to this post

Catherine Rigoux Member

20POSTS

8 years ago

#10

I will never feel sorry for a Landlord. When you are in need to found a place to live and you see what the landlord is offering, I always wonder if he or her as a human been will live in it.?? (probably not is my sure answer!) They are very well covered in France. The landlord is a king. They don, t give a Damm if you have money problem or what so ever. They care only about the rent you give them, if you call them to talk about things who doesn, t work properly(, because they went to cheap before the rent,), they will always tell you that it is what it is and for what you are renting they should have put the rental to a highest price.....
I will never feel sorry for a Landlord.

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garcia.calavera New member

9POSTS

8 years ago

#11

Honestly I don't understand this legislation , in my country landlords fight to get a tenant quickly in their flat, don't even care where you work as long as you pay the rent. If you don't pay one or two months they kick out , simple as that....

Catherine Rigoux Member

20POSTS

8 years ago

#12

Look on the website le boncoin. You have a lots of add in there. It is from landlord themselves or by agency. You have to put first your department and then the add will come up. Or you can go in a real estate agency but here usually they add their commission on the top of the rent.

garcia.calavera New member

9POSTS

8 years ago

#13

all the landlords we saw and refused us were from leboncoin. We avoid real estate agencies because they ask for ridiculous commissions like 500-700 EUR + inventory charge.

Tevisbuckles Contributor

153POSTS

8 years ago

#14

garcia.calavera wrote:
Honestly I don't understand this legislation , in my country landlords fight to get a tenant quickly in their flat, don't even care where you work as long as you pay the rent. If you don't pay one or two months they kick out , simple as that....

Hi, maybe in your country, landlords can "kick out" tenants easily but this is NOT the case in France as I wrote to you earlier. There are very strict laws in France protecting tenants. As a result landlords are very picky about renting and some of them keep their property empty rather than take the risk to rent it and not be able to kick out tenants who don't pay. There is what's called a "treve hivernale" when landlords cannot evict tenants during the winter months even if they don't pay any rent.