And many of them are still arriving in Britain......
The number of expatriates in overseas employment is growing, and so are their communties because some miss the way of life. The problem is not getting initial work experience which is readily available in the form of unpaid internships.
Boris Mollereau left Paris over three years ago. Higher salaries, jobs opportunities and a desire to perfect his English brought the 27-year old business school graduate to London. After stints at a hedge fund company and an investment bank, he accepts there is less employment security in the UK, but it is more than made up for by the abundance of jobs.
"Here, I might lose my job more easily, but I can find another job just as easily," he says. "French people don't realise that a robust job market is in itself a form of job protection."
According to Insee, the French national statistics agency, the number of French expatriates living in other western European countries jumped more than 47 per cent to 563,977 between 1991 and 2002. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates that the number of French expatriates in the UK is around 192,822 and 267,287 in the US as of 2002.
Marine Quillon, 22, says she left her home country for New York six months ago partly because of the job market in France. (France's unemployment rate is around 9.6 per cent, rising to 23 per cent for young people, while the jobless rate in the US is 4.7 per cent.)
"France is a great place to live if you have a job," she says. "But if you are young and fresh out of school, it's a completely different story."
As Ms Quillon sees it the problem is not getting initial work experience, which is readily available in the form of unpaid internships. The difficulty is landing that elusive first job.
"High school students who were out on the street protesting, they don't know what awaits them. They say they will be exploited by the new labour contract, but companies are already exploiting young graduates through the system of stages (internships)."
Frédéric Viguier, co-director of the Institute of French Studies at New York University, says that because of the high labour costs, it is not uncommon for French companies to use interns as temporary workers.
"In the US, internships are seen as educational experience and often lead to full-time jobs," he says. "But in France, companies take on interns for six months to a year with no intention of ever hiring them."
Underfunding of French research is another concern, according to Catherine Bolliet, who is studying for a doctorate in materials science and engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "You have more resources to do proper research here," she says. "You feel more efficient and productive."
But although many young French expatriates find satisfying work abroad some of them miss the quality of life they left behind.
Agnes Tounkara, who is originally from Senegal, gained French citizenship in 2000 and spent four years in Paris working as a researcher for an energy company before moving to the US to work for the French Library and Cultural Centre in Boston. She has two young children, and says she hopes to return to France.
"It's definitely easier to work and have two kids in France," she says. "When you're young and focused on a career, the US seems like heaven, but as you get older and want to work and have a family, France seems more ideal."
www.ftd.de . . .
The number of expatriates in overseas employment is growing, and so are their communties because some miss the way of life. The problem is not getting initial work experience which is readily available in the form of unpaid internships.
Boris Mollereau left Paris over three years ago. Higher salaries, jobs opportunities and a desire to perfect his English brought the 27-year old business school graduate to London. After stints at a hedge fund company and an investment bank, he accepts there is less employment security in the UK, but it is more than made up for by the abundance of jobs.
"Here, I might lose my job more easily, but I can find another job just as easily," he says. "French people don't realise that a robust job market is in itself a form of job protection."
According to Insee, the French national statistics agency, the number of French expatriates living in other western European countries jumped more than 47 per cent to 563,977 between 1991 and 2002. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates that the number of French expatriates in the UK is around 192,822 and 267,287 in the US as of 2002.
Marine Quillon, 22, says she left her home country for New York six months ago partly because of the job market in France. (France's unemployment rate is around 9.6 per cent, rising to 23 per cent for young people, while the jobless rate in the US is 4.7 per cent.)
"France is a great place to live if you have a job," she says. "But if you are young and fresh out of school, it's a completely different story."
As Ms Quillon sees it the problem is not getting initial work experience, which is readily available in the form of unpaid internships. The difficulty is landing that elusive first job.
"High school students who were out on the street protesting, they don't know what awaits them. They say they will be exploited by the new labour contract, but companies are already exploiting young graduates through the system of stages (internships)."
Frédéric Viguier, co-director of the Institute of French Studies at New York University, says that because of the high labour costs, it is not uncommon for French companies to use interns as temporary workers.
"In the US, internships are seen as educational experience and often lead to full-time jobs," he says. "But in France, companies take on interns for six months to a year with no intention of ever hiring them."
Underfunding of French research is another concern, according to Catherine Bolliet, who is studying for a doctorate in materials science and engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "You have more resources to do proper research here," she says. "You feel more efficient and productive."
But although many young French expatriates find satisfying work abroad some of them miss the quality of life they left behind.
Agnes Tounkara, who is originally from Senegal, gained French citizenship in 2000 and spent four years in Paris working as a researcher for an energy company before moving to the US to work for the French Library and Cultural Centre in Boston. She has two young children, and says she hopes to return to France.
"It's definitely easier to work and have two kids in France," she says. "When you're young and focused on a career, the US seems like heaven, but as you get older and want to work and have a family, France seems more ideal."
www.ftd.de . . .
