TERM 1 .

Week 1:

Presentation of the module / general introduction / bibliography / explanation of end-of-year exam.

Images, clichés about France and French society. List of business vocabulary.

Week 2:

Chronology of the 5th Republic / Presentation of the French political parties and of the French Unions.

Writing business letters (la lettre générale, la lettre d'offre).

Week 3:

Positive and negative aspects of the French economy.

Writing e-mails;more commercial correspondance. Press review.

Week 4:

The 35 hour week law (its origins, its aims) .

Telephoning and roleplays. Translation passages based on business vocabulary.

Week 5:

The 35 hour week law : François Hollande and the position of the Socialist party in 2011.

Making an appointment. Discussion of business situations.

Week 6: READING WEEK.

Week 7:

The 35 hour week law : various positions/ the pros and the cons.

Writing business letters ( la lettre de commande). Translation exercise with business vocabulary.

Week 8:

France and Globalisation: analysis of Jean-Claude Beaujour. The place of France in the world.

Presentations: Module A

Week 9:

La désindustrialisation en France / The French and la démondialisation. Arnaud Montebourg.

Presentations: Module B. Discussion of business situations.

Week 10:

The French social model: a definition. Its origins, its cost. An impediment to French competitiveness?

Business press review. Presentations. Module C

TERM 2.

Week 1:

Unemployment in France (1974 : Giscard d'Estaing's presidency; the oil shock)./ Le R.M.I./ Le R.S.A./ The situation nowadays (employment/unemployment). Presentations: Module. D. Translation exercise with business vocabulary.

Week 2:

Poverty in France. La précarité économique. Book by Florence Aubenas: Quai de Ouistreham. General comment on the book, and study of a few excerpts.

Images of Business in France: part 1.

Week 3: 

6 May 2012: election of François Hollande: analysis of his platform/ his vision for France.

Images of Business in France : part 2.

Week 4:

Le contrat de génération / le contrat d'avenir / tax reforms… More work on Florence Aubenas's book.

Writing letters of complaint (la lettre de réclamation).

Week 5:

Le Rapport Gallois / competitiveness in France / the law on flexi-security: April 2013.

Example of a French company / organisation chart / Presentation of a French company by the students.

Week 6: READING WEEK.

Week 7:

French Young people and apprenticeships / What industrial future for France? September 2013 : les 34 plans dans l'industrie.

Meetings: Module A./ Letter writing.

Week 8:

France and Europe. A European identity for the French? Example of E.A.D.S.: A European partnership.

Meetings: Module B./Business situations practise.

Week 9:

The Franco-German relationship: its history, its evolution…François Hollande: a new approach?

C.V. writing and practice.

Week 10:

The Euro crisis. The Europeans and austerity, le repli sur soi …

Meetings. Module C./ la lettre de motivation.

TERM 3.

Week 2:

General revision on the different topics studied.

Prepare a job interview. Applying for a summer job.

Week 3

Revision work on commercial correspondance.

More practice on business letters and e-mails. Work with video documents.