Catégorie : Paris

50 shades of lockdown: part 2

I’m back with more musings about life under lockdown. Having survived the first week, I began week 2 with a strange mix of optimism, boredom and blasé. Day 8: a bit of blur The days are starting to run together. It’s harder and harder to distinguish them apart. The big event of the day was…

English Copywriter in Paris: How to freelance for a French company

I was recently asked the best way to find freelance work with French companies. The London-based freelancer in question wanted to know the secret to breaking into the French copywriting market. This got me thinking about how I find work and whether cultural differences are at play when hooking new clients. Before starting though, I’d…

English Copywriter in Paris: A little less English?

I recently applied for French nationality. Partly in a reaction against Brexit. Partly because (nearly) my whole life is based in Paris now: my clients, my apartment, my partner and now my soon-to-be-born child, who will be educated in France and feel more French than British. This decision got me asking lots of questions. Does…

English Copywriter in Paris: The French art of striking and protesting

Strikes from air controllers, train drivers, metro workers, teachers and students mean things have been grinding along at an excruciating pace in Paris in recent weeks. The latest instalment involves blockading oil refineries to disrupt petrol distribution! And, in many cases, patience is wearing thin among the famously strike-happy French who feel that they are being…

English Copywriter in Paris: French attitudes job security

The last few weeks have been filled with red-hot striking and protests here in Paris. This time, it’s all about, amongst other things, proposed labour reforms. What kind of radical changes have the French government cooked up to incite so much anger? Hollande & Co. are trying, among other things, to make it is easier…

English Copywriter in Paris: 5 Parisian signs of Spring

Summer is glimmering far off on the horizon. The first energizing rays of sunshine are gently falling. The clocks have raced back an hour. It’s official. Spring is here! In the French capital, this means… 1.)  Long lunches basking at outdoor tables with chilled bottles of chardonnay. It is important to realise that as temperature increase, so…

English Copywriter in Paris: finding fresh inspiration

The Rentrée has been and gone with October hovering ready to land on Thursday. It’s been a busy month in “back-to-school” mode after the long, sunny summer days when nearly every company and agency in Paris closed its doors for at least a couple of peaceful weeks. It’s back to routines and daily life, to administrative hiccups…

English Copywriter in Paris: surviving as a freelancer in France

It’s been a while. I had angelic intentions about writing regularly, but they were slowly washed away by waves of work and long weekends with friends and family. However, now that August is on the horizon and my clients are heading off to the beach, I can finally stop, take some deep breaths and find…

English Copywriter in Paris: the little French details

The title of my recent post about the solitude of freelancing may have (misleadingly) seemed a little negative, so I thought I’d clear up any confusion with a more cheerful topic to start to the almost spring-like month of March. I’ve already touched on some of the big cultural differences between France and the UK,…