Paris_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Lonely Planet [309]
For practical information on living and working in employment in Paris and France, pick up a copy of Live and Work in France by Victoria Pybus, now in its 5th edition, or Living and Working in France: A Survival Handbook by David Hampshire.
The fortnightly Fusac Click here is an excellent source for job-seekers.
Return to beginning of chapter
SAFETY
In general, Paris is a safe city and random street assaults are rare. The so-called Ville Lumière (City of Light) is generally well lit, and there’s no reason not to use the metro until it stops running at some time between 12.30am and just past 1am. As you’ll notice, women do travel alone on the metro late at night in most areas, though not all who do so report feeling 100% comfortable.
Metro stations that are best avoided late at night include Châtelet-Les Halles and its seemingly endless corridors, Château Rouge in Montmartre, Gare du Nord, Strasbourg St-Denis, Réaumur Sébastopol, and Montparnasse Bienvenüe. Bornes d’alarme (alarm boxes) are located in the centre of each metro/RER platform and in some station corridors.
Nonviolent crime such as pickpocketing and thefts from handbags and packs is a problem wherever there are crowds, especially packs of tourists. Places to be particularly careful include Montmartre (especially around Sacré Cœur); Pigalle; the areas around Forum des Halles and the Centre Pompidou; the Latin Quarter (especially the rectangle bounded by rue St-Jacques, blvd St-Germain, blvd St-Michel and quai St-Michel); below the Eiffel Tower; and anywhere on the metro during rush hour. Take the usual precautions: don’t carry more money than you need, and keep your credit cards, passport and other documents in a concealed pouch, a hotel safe or a safe-deposit box.
Vigipirate is a security plan devised by the Paris city council to combat terrorism. Both citizens and visitors are asked to report any abandoned luggage or package at all times. When the full Vigipirate scheme is put into action, public litter bins are sealed, left-luggage services in train stations and at airports are unavailable, checks at the entrances to public buildings and tourist sites are increased, and cloakrooms and lockers in museums and at monuments are closed.
Return to beginning of chapter
TAXES & REFUNDS
France’s value-added tax (VAT) is known as TVA (taxe sur la valeur ajoutée) and is 19.6% on most goods except medicine and books, for which it’s 5.5%. Prices that include TVA are often marked TTC (toutes taxes comprises; literally ‘all taxes included’).
If you’re not an EU resident, you can get a TVA refund provided that: you’re aged over 15; you’ll be spending less than six months in France; you purchase goods worth at least €175 at a single shop on the same day (not more than 10 of the same item); the goods fit into your luggage; you are taking the goods out of France within three months after purchase; and the shop offers vente en détaxe (duty-free sales).
Present a passport at the time of purchase and ask for a bordereau de vente à l’exportation (export sales invoice) to be signed by the retailer and yourself. Most shops will refund less than the full amount (about 14%) to which you are entitled, in order to cover the time and expense involved in the refund procedure.
As you leave France or another EU country, have all three pages of the bordereau validated by the country’s customs officials at the airport or at the border. Customs officials will take one sheet and hand you two. You must post one copy (the pink one) back to the shop and retain the other (green) sheet for your records in case there is any dispute. Once the shop where you made your purchase receives its stamped copy, it will send you a virement (fund transfer) in the form you have requested. Be prepared for a wait of up to three months.
If you’re flying out of Orly or Roissy Charles de Gaulle, certain shops can arrange for you to receive your refund as you’re leaving the country though you must complete the steps outlined preceding.