Working in France

High unemployment rates and a bureaucracy tough on illegal workers makes France a difficult place to find casual work, particularly if you don't speak French. After a lot of looking it is possible to find work here, although it is much easier if you speak French and hold an EU passport.

If you have an EU passport you can legally work here, although you still have to apply for a residence permit (known as a carte de séjour). If you are self-employed or involved in some sort of freelance trade you can just turn up, get a telephone connected and start business. You may even be able to do all this legally, although France's tough bureaucracy and outrageous taxes will make you think twice before wading through the mountains of paperwork that you need to comply with in order to be legal.

An au-pair is the most popular backpackers' job in France. Looking after a couple of kids is lots of fun, although it can be very exhausting at times. It may not make you rich, but it's usually a live-in job with the benefit of your own Parisian apartment; or at the very least, a tiny room with a nice view.

Paris's English speaking community is the best place to look for this type of work. For au-pair and other work (including English teaching), try the classified ads in the Paris Voice (website http://parisvoice.com) and France USA Contacts (website www.fusac.fr). These two free publications are available at the American Church (65 Quai d'Orsay, Métro Invalides) and the major English language bookshops including WH Smith (place de la Concorde, Métro Concorde) and Shakespeare & Co. (37, rue de la Bûcherie, Métro Saint Michel).

It is possible to legally work as an au pair if you are single and aged between 18 and 27. If you hold an EU passport you may be able to find work and arrange all the paperwork after arriving in France, however non-EU nationals should try and arrange everything before arriving in France.

You can try the following au pair agency:

Le Monde Au Pair

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