B2 taught you the formal letter and the CV. This lesson covers what happens after you are hired: the meeting, the negotiation, and the two written genres that structure French professional life — the compte rendu and the rapport.
The cultural half matters as much as the vocabulary. A French meeting is more argumentative and more hierarchical than a North American one, and mistaking debate for hostility — or informality for equality — causes more trouble than any grammatical error.
| French | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| l’ordre du jour | lordr dü ZHOOR | the agenda |
| animer une réunion | ah-nee-may ün ray-ü-NYOHN | to chair a meeting |
| faire un point | fair uhn PWAN | to review progress |
| un tour de table | uhn toor duh TAHBL | a round of contributions |
| je me permets de vous interrompre | zhuh muh pair-may duh voo zan-tay-ROHNPR | if I may interrupt |
| juste une précision | zhüst ün pray-see-ZYOHN | just a point of clarification |
| je rejoins ce qui a été dit | zhuh ruh-zhwan suh kee ah ay-tay DEE | I agree with what has been said |
| je nuancerais | zhuh nĂĽ-ahns-RAY | I would qualify that |
| on s’éloigne du sujet | ohn say-lwah-nyuh dü sü-ZHAY | we are drifting off topic |
| je propose qu’on tranche | zhuh pro-pohz kohn TRAHNSH | I suggest we decide |
| on acte cette décision | ohn nakt set day-see-ZYOHN | let us record that decision |
| qui prend le lead | kee prahn luh LEED | who owns this (jargon) |
In a French meeting, contradicting a proposal is how you show you have read it. Je ne suis pas d’accord, et voici pourquoi is normal and expected; silence can read as either assent or disengagement, neither of which you may intend. The polite forms — je nuancerais, je verrais les choses autrement, permettez-moi d’en douter — soften the delivery, not the disagreement.
The compte rendu reports what was discussed; the relevé de décisions lists only outcomes. They are different documents and mixing them is the commonest mistake.
| Compte rendu | Relevé de décisions |
|---|---|
| Narrates the discussion | Lists only decisions |
| Past tenses, impersonal | Present or infinitive, with owners |
| Il a été rappelé que le budget était contraint. | Décision : réduire le périmètre. Responsable : M. Dubois. Échéance : 15/06. |
| No opinions of the author | No discussion at all |
The register of a compte rendu is impersonal past: il a été décidé, les participants ont convenu, la question a été soulevée. You do not appear in it, even if you wrote it.
Three movements, and the third is the one that gets read.
| Section | Contains |
|---|---|
| Le contexte | why the report exists, the remit, the method |
| Le constat | the findings, with figures, without interpretation |
| Les préconisations | numbered, actionable recommendations with owners and costs |
A synthèse or note de synthèse at the front — half a page, standing alone — is expected for anything over a few pages. Recommendations that cannot be acted on are the classic failure: il faudrait améliorer la communication is not a préconisation; mettre en place une revue mensuelle de portefeuille, pilotée par la direction financière, à compter de septembre is.
| French | Pronunciation | Use |
|---|---|---|
| une marge de négociation | ün marzh duh nay-go-syah-SYOHN | room to move |
| une contrepartie | ĂĽn kohn-truh-par-TEE | something in return |
| revoir sa position | ruh-vwahr sah po-zee-SYOHN | to reconsider |
| faire un geste commercial | fair uhn zhest ko-mair-SYAHL | to offer a goodwill concession |
| sous conditions | soo kohn-dee-SYOHN | subject to conditions |
| c’est notre dernier mot | say notr dair-nyay MOH | that is our final offer |
| parvenir Ă un accord | par-vuh-neer ah uhn ah-KOR | to reach an agreement |
| acter le principe | ak-tay luh pran-SEEP | to agree the principle |
| en l’état, c’est difficile | ahn lay-TAH say dee-fee-SEEL | as it stands, that is difficult |
| je dois en référer | zhuh dwah zahn ray-fay-RAY | I need to refer it upwards |
| un cahier des charges | uhn kah-yay day SHARZH | a specification document |
| un devis | uhn duh-VEE | a quotation, an estimate |
Note je dois en référer. In a hierarchical culture, the person across the table may genuinely not have the authority to close, and saying so is not a delaying tactic. Asking early who decides saves a meeting.
| Jargon | Plain French |
|---|---|
| un livrable | ce qu’on doit livrer |
| challenger une proposition | remettre en question |
| ĂŞtre force de proposition | proposer des solutions |
| un point bloquant | un obstacle |
| en mode projet | par projet |
| Ă date | Ă ce jour |
| impacter | avoir un effet sur |
| débriefer | faire le point après |
French corporate speech borrows heavily from English and then conjugates it (staffer, forwarder, briefer, updater). Use enough to be understood, not enough to be laughable — and be aware that in Québec the same words are often frowned on where France shrugs.
French professional culture values structured argument, written traces and formal hierarchy. Meetings can be long and openly contested; the compte rendu is what settles what actually happened. Email register stays fairly formal even internally — Bonjour Madame, Cordialement — and first names alone in a greeting can read as brusque. The 35-hour framework, RTT days and the droit à la déconnexion shape expectations about response times.
Québec's workplace norms are closer to North American ones: flatter hierarchy, earlier tutoiement, shorter meetings, more consensus-seeking and less open contradiction. Vocabulary diverges too — un emploi à temps plein, la CNESST, les vacances rather than les congés, une jobine for a small job — and anglicisms that pass unremarked in Paris (un meeting, un deadline) are often actively replaced in Québec (une réunion, une échéance). A French manager arriving in Montréal usually reads as too direct; a Québécois one in Paris, as insufficiently assertive.
Write CR or RD.
1. A colleague contradicts your proposal in a French meeting. This usually means:
2. Which is a real préconisation?
3. Je dois en référer in a negotiation means: