Having now lived in France for a whole 4 months, it is fair to say I am an expert in French culture and have fully embraced the Gallic lifestyle of going around with a red beret and a string of onions around my neck. Obviously, this is a joke, but for the record, I have seen a lot more berets in France than I thought I would.

Like most Year Abroad students, I am unable to stop myself from insufferably waxing lyrical about my time away in another country and how this experience has changed my life and shaped who I am etc. That said, while France is not that far from the United Kingdom or quite the culture shock some of my friends are experiencing in China or Japan, it has definitely shown me a different way of life.

What strikes me the most about la République is their work-life balance; the French know how to savour the everyday. The way of life over here feels a lot calmer and laidback – this is significantly helped by my 12-hour work week as an English Language Assistant. But by observing how my teacher colleagues at school operate and experiencing the overall feel of Bordeaux where I’m spending part of my year abroad, I believe the French have managed to achieve an excellent quality of life. I am a lot further south from the hyperactive capital of Paris, but I still think the French as a populace prioritise deriving pleasure from their routine better than their neighbours across the channel.

The French know how to savour the everyday

There is,of course, the stereotype of the French being lazy and their idea of a full workday being about four hours, including an extremely long lunch. I definitely debunk this extreme, but I would argue they are better at leaving the work at work and making the most out of their downtime.

Food in France is a big deal and something they take very seriously. While the schooldays in France are longer than in the UK (8am – 6pm), the lunches are admittedly longer, and this gives pupils and teachers enough time to enjoy a proper break, and even return home, instead of wolfing down a sandwich on the move. There is always a lively and bustling atmosphere in Bordeaux, regardless of the time of day, day of the week, or even the season. Given my low hours, I have a lot of free time to explore the city, and I always find French people, not tourists, doing the same and discovering what their city has to offer. Cafés and restaurants are always full, as are bar terraces, even on weeknights.

The French as a populace prioritise deriving pleasure from their routine better than their neighbours across the channel

It seems to me the French take into account that there is more to life than just getting through the work week, buoyed by the thought of a holiday coming up in six months, a feeling that is seemingly ingrained into the UK mentality. Instead, they focus on creating a rich and plentiful life each day by slowing down and benefitting from what is right in front of them.

This is not to say that France is perfect. Like any country, it has its issues, such as quite a turbulent political scene which saw three Prime Ministers in 2024 (sound familiar?), and it struggles sometimes to balance its secular laws with an increasingly diverse population. France also has quite a penchant for never-ending bureaucracy, which, combined with this aforementioned joie de vivre attitude, can be a tad frustrating.

So while at the minute I may be proclaiming La Marseillaise proudly from the rooftops, I hope once I come back down to earth and return to UK soil that this mindset stays with me and I always aim to get the most out of the everyday.   

Image: Alice Martin