Heritage places as perpetual sources of income

We will never know if the erstwhile emperors of France had this in their mind when they had built or commissioned such beautiful monuments all over France. MONEY. The French  govt makes a killing by charging millions of tourists every year a substantial entry fee at many such monuments! Not a bad way to generate revenue. Lesson for the US, and especially India, with SO many beautiful cultural and historic monuments lying under-utilized.

citadel at Lyon, 6 euro

Jacobin square, Lyon

Gardens at Versailles, 8.50 euro

Louvre, 15 euro

Louis XVI palace gates, free!

Hall of mirrors, Versailles, 9 euro

Lunch, with this view from table, 20 euro

gardens at Versailles, 8.50 euro

Apple product prices in France

Apple stores in France charged the same prices numerically as the Apple stores in the US. But the difference was the currency in question; i.e. the Euro in France and the Dollar in the US. So, an iPad that cost $350 in US was sold at 350 in France; but the currency in question was the Euro, which was undoubtably a stronger currency!

Apple is taking its French customers for a ride!

http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/06/04/apple-store-to-open.html

Public transport in France

French people enjoy a great and reliable public transport system. They can do without buying a car, unlike the people of the US. Paris and Lyon, the two major cities we visited had very a good network of trams, trains and metro stations. The metros in France are so easy to understand that a foreigner, with no knowledge of French language could also travel comfortably to any destination of his choice.

The train platforms had a unique signboard that displayed the number of minutes left for the next train to arrive, and the train after that. This reduced the frustration of passengers and helped them manage their waiting time better.

Peaceful protests for Animal rights

As I set out from my hotel one morning, I saw a group of people congregate in a prominent public place, carrying placards of graphic pictures of Abattoirs and of the cruelty to animals that take place there. The unique aspect to their protest was that they did not do any talking per se. They stood there with their placards, and displayed a handmade counter, giving a live feed of the number of animals facing a cruel death every minute in France. They also played shrieking animal noises in the background, the ones that are made by animals when they are about to be killed.
This unique way of protest had an effect on the French people, and I saw many of them stop from their busy schedule and take notice. Moved by their effort, I too joined them briefly.

French kids and smartphones

Its not unusual in the US to see parents using hi-tech gadgets such as iPhones and iPads to distract their children and stop them from causing trouble or running amock, especially in a public place. But in France, the parents seem to have a tighter hold on their kids and do not seem to need the use of technology to 'tame' their kids! Plus one, for the parents in France!

http://cdn-ugc.cafemom.com/gen/constrain/500/500/80/2012/12/19/21/ek/9n/powllzmm0w.png

Gender equality at the workplace

As a part of company visits, we visited several companies such as Galderma, Aldos and Renault. We observed the most modern industrial practices and equipment, including hi-tech machines from Sweden and Six-Sigma implementation.We saw equal participation of females in the work force, even in the factories, which are considered the traditional strongholds of males.

http://www.history.com/photos/women-factory-workers-of-world-war-ii

Honesty at the Paris flea market

Another cultural difference that I noticed between the US and France was the presence of widespread flea markets. These flea markets were a treasure trove of eccentric items, sold at throwaway prices. It was at one such flea market that I found a beautiful French style hat that I had always wanted to buy.

The flea market had hats in 3 piles of various price ranges -10, 15 or 20 Euro. I picked up a beautiful grey linen hat from the 20 Euro pile and started to bargain with the owner, an immigrant in the country to sell it to me at 15. He looked at me and the hat, and said, "You can have it for 10, Monsieur.." I was pleasantly surprised. 

As I walked away from the flea market after making the purchase, I had a warm feeling inside me. The owner told me that the hat was a 10 Euro hat that had landed in the 20 Euro pile. He could have easily made a 5 Euro profit by agreeing to sell it at my offer of 15. But he chose to be honest and this gave me a taste of the business ethics of France.

http://www.parislogue.com/files/2009/08/saintouen.jpg