Learning French in Paris: why it's worth it, even if work is in English

Paris will let you work in English. It will not let you live in English, and it notices the difference.

The short version

• Plenty of Paris offices run in English. Landlords, the mairie, the prefecture, the GP and your children's school mostly don't.
• Since 1 January 2026, non-EU newcomers under 65 need French at A2 for a first multi-year residence card and B1 for a first ten-year resident card [2]. Naturalisation needs B2 [4].
• Withdrawal Agreement Brits swapping their card don't face the language requirement [5].
• French is a Category I language for English speakers: the US Foreign Service Institute estimates 30 weeks of full-time study [8].
• The City of Paris runs its own adult French classes, and state schools have UPE2A classes for children who arrive without French [6][7].

Why bother if work is in English?

Your colleagues may switch to English to be kind. The rest of the city won't, and it shouldn't have to.

Landlords, agents and tradespeople. A lease (bail), an inventory (état des lieux) and a plumber's quote (devis) are in French. If you understand the deposit clause and the notice period yourself, you're much harder to overcharge, and much less likely to sign up to something you didn't mean to.

The GP and the pharmacy. You'll register with a médecin traitant and use the carte Vitale. Some doctors speak good English; plenty don't, and describing symptoms through a translation app is no fun with a temperature. Pharmacists give a lot of first-line advice, all in French.

Officials. The prefecture, the CAF, the tax office and the mairie run on French forms and French emails. A clear, polite sentence on the phone can save weeks.

Safety. You can call 112 anywhere in the EU, and France also has 15 for medical emergencies (SAMU), 17 for police and 18 for the fire brigade (pompiers). Being able to give an address, a door code and what's happened is what matters.

Being taken seriously. Parisians have a reputation for switching to English, sometimes before you've finished your first sentence. Keep going in French. Effort earns respect, gets you friends outside the expat crowd and makes the city feel like home rather than a long holiday.

Where French is actually required

France has tightened its rules, and they now bite for newcomers.

The integration contract. Many non-EU newcomers sign a contrat d'intégration républicaine (CIR) with the French immigration office, OFII. If your test shows you're below A2, you can be offered up to 600 hours of French; once you accept, attending is compulsory. There's also civic training of four sessions, 24 hours in all [3]. Some permits, including the visitor and student cards, are outside the CIR [3].

Proving your level. For residence cards, only two tests are recognised: the TCF and the TEF, and certificates are valid for two years. Diplomas such as the DELF and DALF also count at the right level. Foreign diplomas don't, even from French-speaking countries [2]. For naturalisation, a B2 diploma, the brevet, or a TCF or TEF under two years old will do [4].

Your first week: the basics

The one rule to learn on day one: always say bonjour. Into a shop, a bakery, a lift, a doctor's waiting room, bonjour madame or bonjour monsieur comes before anything else. Skip it and you're rude, however good your French. After about 6pm, it's bonsoir.

Use vous with anyone you don't know, anyone older and anyone behind a counter. Wait to be invited to use tu.

Numbers are a bit of a minefield: 70 is soixante-dix (sixty-ten), 80 is quatre-vingts (four twenties) and 90 is quatre-vingt-dix (four twenties and ten). Practise them before your first market.

Pronunciation traps

• Silent endings. Most final consonants aren't spoken: Paris is "pa-REE", ils parlent is "eel PARL".
• Liaison. A silent consonant comes back before a vowel: vous avez is "voo-za-VAY".
• Nasal vowels. Vin (wine), vent (wind) and vingt (twenty) are close; practise with someone who'll correct you.
• U vs ou. Tu (you) and tout (all) differ only in lip shape. Say "ee" with your lips pushed into an "oo".
• The French r comes from the back of the throat, like a gentle gargle.

Paris French

Parisians speak fast and drop the ne in negatives: je sais pas for "I don't know". You'll hear verlan, slang that flips syllables: relou (annoying, from lourd), chelou (weird, from louche), meuf (woman, from femme). Du coup (so) and grave (totally) turn up in every other sentence. Don't use them with the prefecture.

How hard, and how long?

The US Foreign Service Institute puts French in Category I, "languages close to English", at 30 weeks, or roughly 690 class hours at 23 hours a week, for professional working ability [8]. Spelling and pronunciation take more work than Spanish or Italian, but the shared vocabulary gives you a head start.

For a working adult, a realistic routine looks like this:

1. Two or three classes a week, ideally with homework.
2. Fifteen minutes a day of vocabulary or an app, with the morning cuppa.
3. One French-only conversation a week: a tandem partner, a neighbour or the boulanger.
4. French radio or podcasts on the commute.
5. A target exam with a date. If you're a newcomer heading for a multi-year card, A2 within a year is realistic; B1 and B2 take longer.

Ways to learn in Paris

The City of Paris adult courses. The Cours d'Adultes de Paris run French as a foreign language (FLE) classes from A1 to C1, plus phonetics, DELF B2 and TEF preparation and civic exam preparation. For 2026/27 a 120-hour course costs EUR 300 (about £250) and a 60-hour course EUR 160 (about £135), with half price for people on certain benefits. Registration for annual and autumn courses ran from 17 August to 7 September 2026; second-semester registration runs from 5 to 25 January 2027, online at scap.paris.fr [7]. Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = EUR 1.20).

OFII courses. If you've signed a CIR and tested below A2, your French course comes through OFII [3].

Parents' classes. The académie de Paris runs the OEPRE programme (Ouvrir l'école aux parents pour la réussite des enfants), French and "how the school works" sessions for parents [6]. Ask your child's school.

Universities and private schools. Paris has university French courses and dozens of private language schools. Compare hours, class size and exam preparation.

Tandem partners. Many Parisians want to practise English; swap an hour over a coffee.

Live online lessons. One-to-one suits a busy diary, small groups are cheaper and keep you talking, and kids' classes keep children's French going through the holidays.

Exams. The DELF (A1 to B2) and DALF (C1 and C2) diplomas don't expire. The TCF and TEF are tests with results valid for two years for residence and nationality [2][4].

For tips on teachers who get people through the TCF, ask in our community group for Brits in France.

French and your kids

All children aged 3 to 16 must go to school or be home-schooled in France [1]. Children who arrive without enough French are supported by the CASNAV, which places them in a UPE2A (unité pédagogique pour élèves allophones arrivants), a dedicated unit that teaches French while moving them gradually into ordinary classes [6]. Under-tens usually pick up French quickly; teenagers need more support and patience.

If your children are at an international school or the British Section, keep their French alive outside lessons with clubs, sport and holiday camps. It's what makes Paris their city as well as yours.

If you'd rather learn with a live teacher online, our language partner is below.

Sources

1. GOV.UK (FCDO): Living in France (last updated 2 October 2026)
2. Service-Public.fr: Carte de résident et carte pluriannuelle, comment justifier de votre connaissance du français (verified 10 February 2026)
3. Service-Public.fr: Le contrat d'intégration républicaine (CIR) (verified 26 June 2026)
4. Service-Public.fr: French nationality, how to justify your level in French (verified 1 January 2026)
5. The Connexion: French language tests harden (7 February 2024)
6. Académie de Paris: Schooling newly arrived non-French-speaking pupils (checked 11 November 2026)
7. Ville de Paris: Cours d'Adultes de Paris brochure 2026/27 (PDF)
8. US Department of State: Foreign Language Training (FSI language categories) (checked 11 November 2026)
9. Service-Public.fr: Naturalisation par décret (verified 16 July 2026)

Keep reading

• The carte de séjour: Withdrawal Agreement cards vs new arrivals
• Bilingual sections in French state schools
• French admin for Brits: CAF, impots.gouv and the RIB
• Brits in the EU after Brexit: residence rights and the 90/180-day rule