It's quite contradictory with what happens in practice. You can absolutely go live in France and be considered a Frenchman. However Americans will always identify you by your family's origin, even if you're born in the US.

Actually that difference in how countries see nationality was well illustrated when France won the soccer World Cup, and American commenters didn't see an issue with denying the French players they belonging to their country, and insisting they were from Africa and couldn't have changed that because of their ancestry. The French saw that as profoundly racist. See https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/7/19/17590302/t...

Different political climate. Things that may be politically impossible in the US may not be in France, and vice versa.

Being a French citizen living in the United States is not having multiple nationalities, only one (French).

haha. Funny comment. There are probably a thousands ways the US is more Free than France. Let's not start by checking all the administrative barriers to do ANYTHING in France. The US is certainly not an exemplary model for Freedom anymore, but trying to compare France and US in terms of Freedom is a lost battle.

As I see in your profile that one of your goal is to live outside the US, let me tell you that I'll gladly trade my French passport for your US passport. In France, you'll have as much compassion, fairness, equality and socialism as you want (and probably even more!)

edit: to be honest, you are on the right track to experience this brilliant social system in the US...

as a french, this is so overblown. You've got much more chance getting shot in the US than in France.

Recent stats give 7800 murders in the US (only by gunshot!) since the beginning of the year, vs 729 overall murders in France:

* https://www.planetoscope.com/Criminalite/1416-meurtres-par-a...

* https://www.planetoscope.com/Criminalite/1201-homicides-comm...

No, my understanding is only if you actually have income from France – such as rental income. Income is income, and it seems fair.

I believe the US is truly exceptional with FACTA, but it’s probably only because of their current position that they are able to claim global jurisdiction over domestic legislation. If Iran passed such legislation, I doubt any banks would be allowed to comply. FACTA is often cited as a reason for people renouncing US citizenship.

I can relate to that... in the 80s USA was the dream for us kids. But now... I'm so glad I don't live there. France is indeed extremely generous. I wish more french people would realize this.

That's a meaningless statement unless you're comparing the Paris metropolitan area to some similar area in the US. France doesn't have a sparsely populated continental interior to drag down the nation wide population density.

I am inclined to think it's easier to move around with a family in the US than in Europe because of the language barrier.

Never been to the USA in the last 10 years, but I interact regularly with usians, and this is not my experience at all. All of them have been extremely nice people, without a trace of disagreeableness.

What irks me, is that they are constantly giving unwarranted and over the top praise. I find this very disturbing. In France this attitude is invariably interpreted as ironic mockery. And if they spoke French I would be genuinely offended by such attacks.

While the rest of your article may have some exaggerations, that's true and that's what is shaping my decision. I can live with some insecurity, I can live with deadbeat companies trying to avoid paying their bills and laws preventing me from hiring - I'll just go solo and focus on foreign clients.

But if on top of that I'm hated and discriminated against (that's common when your name doesn't sound french) sorry but that's just too much.

BTW for the people who do not know France let me precise what the "military" mentioned by this poster is : there are squads or 3 to 5 soldiers, in full uniform with machine guns in their hand patrolling in some places. I don't know if it's supposed to make me feel safe or not. And you can be asked "your papers" by policemen for no reason that not looking exactly like what they expect. (I once took the train to work every day - when they did that for the 4th time straight, I just said I had forgotten them (I had!) and suggested they arrest me. they ducked out. That's just plain intimidation)

And BTW to those who say it's anecdotal evidence, just go live there! Try it for yourself. Vote with your feet. When it is in the media and your family is attacked and you see people being attacked too, all the while being hated for being successful maybe you'll sing a different tune.

I'm happy to be on the right side of the atlantic, in the FWI where making money is well regarded, people start business, and you generally feel safe. The population is quite diverse in the Caribbean, and - for now it's working just fine! There's not so much hate!

We certainly have unemployment and some stupid french laws to deal with, but with different tax brackets, and overall it's IHMHO not a bad choice.

PS: to those who downvote my original article, I tried to be factual and fully honest. You can hate the truth, but it remains the truth.

Great. You don't get to decide what the French people want either.

It depends on your previous education. If he speaked both french and english (thus, language were not a relevant part in the decision), then France would be a better destiny. Is a Mediterranean country, so there is a lot of shared context. More similar climate (in the South), familiar ingredients used in the kitchen easily available, and because France have stronger historical bounds with several African, and by extension Islamic, countries. For islamic people to be able to find food halal prepared by other muslim of their same branch is a must. Finding a suitable job out of the capital would be also much easier. There are more locations suitable in France.

French citizen here, I'm really surprised by what your saying as it doesn't match at all what I've seen about french higher education.

> French taxation is incredibly complex and heavy on the middle class

Yes and no. French taxation can be complex, but it's also mostly pre-filled and automatized. For most people, it's simply a matter of checking if the tax form is correct (and I've never had an incorrect one so far, as my employer automatically transmit my paycheck info to the government)

> Life grinds to a halt with some regularity due to general strikes

There are often disturbance due to strike, but "Life grinds to a halt" is also widely hyperbolic. The last real impactful strike I remember was the late 2019 month-long strike on parisian public transport, which was annoying (and was quickly followed by Covid lockdown)

But I also agree on many points you bring, there tend to be far less upward social mobility than in the USA (I'm always surprised by how fast people seem to be promoted in the USA), and generally more disposable income and opportunities. On the other hand, instead of having everyone thinking themselves as "temporary embarrassed millionaires", it's more accepted that even lower socio-economic classes should have decent working and living conditions, along with a better safety net.

On the plus side, apparently very few place in the USA are actually walk-able, even the malls seems to need a long drive instead of being part of living in a city. There also aren't any food desert, with unprocessed food cheap, tasty[1] and widely available. Also, while there certainly are a fair share of drugs and homelessness, it's quite also quite safe[2].

[1] I know how smug that will sound, but all the echo I have is that fruits and vegetable in the USA taste very bland, and are far less nutrient-rich than they used to be a few generations ago. A friend who visited the USA was shocked about it, and half-seriously though he had Covid when he tried them, and he wasn't the only one.

[2] There are however pick-pocketing targeting tourists, especially asian, but a "hot" neighborhood in France is waaaay safer than a hot neighborhood in the USA.

Having kids and retiring usually do not happen at the same time.

>a few of my friends, who were settling in France for personal reasons

So they're not French. Your first comment is definitely wrong then.

I believe they were referencing the circulaire Guéant[0], which comes from the previous government, wronged many skilled workers & French companies as well -- it sets a 'national preference' for hiring.

0: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circulaire_du_31_mai_2011

Rest assured that as a French, I can confirm this is not specific at all to the US.

Literally the biggest lie I read here for a long time. Yeah France is so racist that 20% of the population is of foreign non-white ancestry, nationality is easy to get (notably got automatic if botn on national soil), no welfare programs discriminates on nationality basis, illegal aliens are rarely expelled (being sentenced is not more automatic ground for it), there is laws forbidding criticizing immigration, land are given for cheap to build foreign religious buildings, etc. If anything France isn’t putting it’s original citizens first enough. The super high tax rates explained elsewhere is in great part used to fund immigrants life.

Also from the point of view of most French, the important thing is speaking good French and integrating well with our culture, regardless of skin color.

Right. Living in France sucks! /s