Paris culture & etiquette

The single biggest social key here: greet with 'Bonjour' (or 'Bonsoir' in the evening) when you enter any shop, café, bakery or office, and before you ask anything — including 'do you speak English?'. Parisians aren't cold; they're formal, and skipping the greeting reads as genuinely rude. Lead with Bonjour and a please, and the famous 'Parisian attitude' largely evaporates.

EU/EEA/Swiss citizens just move. Everyone else needs a long-stay visa (VLS-TS) applied for before arrival on France-Visas, then validated online via OFII/ANEF within 3 months of landing (the tax rose to ~€300 from May 2026). The standout route for skilled workers and founders is the multi-year Passeport Talent (salary threshold ~€39,582, family included with open work rights). France has no digital-nomad visa — the 'visiteur' visa is the closest but bars all work, including remote.

France's system reimburses ~70% of care via Assurance Maladie, with a mutuelle (complementary insurance, ~€20-80/mo) topping up the rest. After ~3 months of stable residence you join via PUMA, register with CPAM, declare a médecin traitant (GP) and get a Carte Vitale; employees are covered from day one. Non-EU newcomers must carry private insurance (a visa requirement) until then. Always declare a GP — going off the 'parcours de soins' cuts your reimbursement.

The régime des impatriés (Art. 155 B) is the single biggest expat tax lever: if you were non-resident for the 5 prior years and join a French employer, you can exempt your impatriation bonus (or a flat 30% of net pay), pay for foreign workdays, and 50% of certain foreign passive income — for up to 8 years. It's claimed on your return, not automatic, so many eligible hires overpay for years. France taxes residents on worldwide income (progressive to 45% + social charges), so this matters.

Paris's rental market is brutal: tiny studios, fierce competition, and landlords who demand a thick dossier (ID, visa, work contract, last 3 payslips, tax notices) plus a French guarantor (garant) earning ~3x the rent — or a paid guarantor service like Garantme/Visale. Rents are partly capped (encadrement des loyers), agency fees are regulated, and most flats need a French RIB to set up. Have your paperwork ready before you view.

Transit is superb: a flat €2.50 ticket now covers any métro/RER trip across Île-de-France (since Jan 2025), Navigo Mois is ~€92.80, and Vélib' bikes are everywhere (rental e-scooters were banned in 2023). Paris is engineered against cars (30 km/h, the Crit'Air low-emission zone, costly parking). Two rhythms to know: much of the city empties and many small shops shut in August (les vacances), and Sundays are quiet. Lean into the café-and-market life.