Formation Civique

n. – course in understanding French civil laws
The final requirement in securing my carte sejour was to take a class in French civil law. There are four types of classes that are offered to immigrants such as myself: one to help you learn about the daily life in France, “Session information sur la vie en France;” one to help you find work, “Dipense d’un bilan de competences professionelles;” one to help you improve your French speaking skills, “Dipense de formation linguistic;” and the final and unlike the others, obligatory, one to teach you about civil laws.

I was given a date and required to be there from nine in the morning until seven at night. I was dreading it like a bad rash, panicked about being late or quizzed at the end and failing somehow. I have to admit though that I was more than pleasantly surprised.

There were about 20 of us including the teacher and a translator. The majority of the group was made up of native Spanish speakers representing Chile, Nicaragua, Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru and the translator from Cuba. I was the only American and the rest of the group was comprised of an Asian woman, several Africans and two Algerians.

Our teacher was Tunisian and as with most teachers, her sprit and personality helped keep us interested in the information, even thought it, in and of itself, was already interesting. We learned about the history of France, how it evolved from a monarchy to an empire and finally a republic.

We learned about the regions (22), the departments (100) and the communities (36,000). We learned about the constitution, the organization of the government and the fact that it is laic, meaning that religioun is something to be practiced privately and not imposed on by the state. We learned about human rights, liberty, equality and fraternity, the French creed, as well as the various symbols of France, Marianne, the flag and the Marseillaise.

In addition, we learned a little bit more about the various cultures of each of us sitting in the class. How our countries and our laws may be similar in some ways and very different in others. I imagine at the core, these classes are designed for people coming from regimes that are less free, if you will, or less concerned with human rights. The fact that polygamy and female circumcision, “excision,” are illegal here is not shocking to me, but for some, these practices are common where they are from.

Being faced with this reality reinforced in me how lucky I am. I moved from a country where human rights and freedoms are revered to one that feels the same. And in many ways, the French people are even more protected with regards to unemployment insurance and health benefits. It is both a democracy as well as a socialized system that work in tandem.

So I learned a great deal in a short day and even made some new friends. After nine months, I have finally completed all the requirements for my carte sejour and have a few months to relax before starting the process of renewing it again. But the next time it will be with a more profound respect of the place I now call home in thanks to the chance to be educated further in what all of that entails.