I attended an obligatory one-day seminar sponsored by OFII (Office Francais de l'Immigration et d'Integration) to learn about "Life in France." There were 12 attendants: a Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian, Thai, Pakistani, 6 Turkish, and myself, of which one person was a male.
The purpose of this orientation is to accelerate the integration process, and a strong emphasis was placed on acquiring the language and respecting the French values: Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité (liberty, equality, and fraternity). I guess the government has decided that the concept and the definition of fraternity is rather complicated for the newcomers to comprehend. So instead of fraternité, they employ the concept of Laïcité (secularization) and Soliderité (solidarity). Oh yeah, they made it really easy to understand.
Besides learning about the responsibility as a resident in France, various kinds of practical information and available resources on job, school, health, and citizenship was given, which underlined the fact that France is truly a social state. The number of public services is enormous. For example, I learned that we could have requested to rent kitchen equipment from CAF (Caisse Allocation Familiale) who provides housing support and child support. The CAF is not only for the socially unprivileged but it is for everyone. Being a single income household, we may get some housing support from them as well.
I have two more obligations to complete before I get to renew my carte de sejour next year: another one-day orientation to learn about the French Republic, and 105 hours of French course. What have I to complain? This is a pretty good way to get one's life started in France! Canada also provides free language classes to immigrants, but they should also offer orientations on life in Canada. Integration should not have any conflict with the concept of multiculturalism, right?
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