Last year, there was an exhibition at the Jean-Moulin center near Pey Berland called 1917 Voilà les Américains. It included talks and debates on subjects as diverse as –

The logistics of the American army in Gironde in 1917-1919: power, modernity and heritage

1917 – Jazz has arrived!

And 1917. The year that changed the world

Bordeaux has a long-standing ‘special relationship’ with the United States.  It has the oldest US consulate in Europe (the Hotel Fenwick at 1 cours Xavier Arnozanat Thomas near the quais), Jefferson visited the city and the Marquis de La Fayette left France for his first trip to the American coast from Bordeaux in 1777, three years before his famous crossing on board L’Hermione.

Despite the monumental and war-changing presence of ‘Uncle Sam’s soldiers’ in Gironde, studies into their history and critical influence on WW1 have largely been sidelined.

The Sud Ouest was a long way from the front, and the troops stationed here were essentially in charge of the logistics and stewardship of the army. They built the colossal port, shifted thousands of tons of heavy equipment, and covered everything that was out of sight of the widely-reported front lines. Nevertheless, Bordeaux played a fundamental role in the war effort.

In the final year of WWI, the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) developed a comprehensive support network appropriate for the huge size of the American force. It rested upon the Services of Supply in the rear areas, with ports, railroads, depots, schools, maintenance facilities, bakeries, clothing repair shops (termed salvage), replacement depots, ice plants, and a wide variety of other activities.

The AEF initiated support techniques that would last well into the Cold War including forward maintenance, field cooking, graves registration (mortuary affairs), host nation support, motor transport, and morale services. The work of the logisticians enabled the success of the AEF and contributed to the emergence of the American Army as a modern fighting force.

Today, it’s hard to imagine the colossal deployment of equipment and men (more than a million soldiers) involved in the American Expeditionary Force’s engagement in France.

In 1918, 2 800 000 tons of equipment and goods were reported to have transited through the port of Bassens. In October 1918, day and night, an average of 7 men, 2 horses and 7 tons of equipment landed every minute. 1,500 steam locomotives and 23,000 wagons were provided by the United States, most of which were left behind at the end of the hostilities. This railway equipment was used for many years after the Great War.

Tens of thousands of soldiers set up home in the local region, accompanied by several thousand civilians supporting them through humanitarian associations. In Gironde, on 1 October 1918, the American workforce comprised: 3,202 officers, 89,027 troops, 4,366 civilians, and 168 nurses. They lived in a wide spectrum of military bases, most of which were dismantled when they left – see below.

Army logistics divisions constructed vast camps of several hundred huts throughout Gironde, sometimes with rooms that could accommodate 600 people at a time – such as the Victory Theatre in Lormont-Génicart – most of them made of wood.

The Bordeaux region was specifically home to the army Supply Service, known as Base Section 2, which, in addition to focusing on the logistics of the American war effort, served as a behind-the-lines base network for the wounded and those on leave from the front.

Base Section 2 built field hospitals of unprecedented size around Bordeaux – particularly in Mérignac-Beaudésert, or installed them in pre-existing buildings, such as Château Trompeloup in Pauillac, the Petit Lycée de Talence, etc.

Pauillac Trompeloup served as a major maritime base with over 3000 men stationed there in 1918 – covering a range of activities such as the unloading, assembly and repair of all US Army seaplanes in service in Europe, as well as a station for a squadron of seaplanes participating in the surveillance of the Gascony coast.

The American military was keen to erase all lasting traces from France’s landscape and society following the war – simply to restore “freedom and democracy for the peoples under the yoke of the German oppressor”. So the majority of American settlements were dismantled following the departure of the expeditionary force – after more than a hundred years, their trace has almost vanished completely.

However, a few links to the past remain today…

The Bassens quayside is one of the most remarkable achievements of the US presence in Bordeaux. Over 5 months, US forces built several hundred meters of wharves and tens of kilometers of rail track to enable ships from across the Atlantic to land the equipment and supplies needed to deploy troops. These facilities (since renovated or modified), served as the foundation for the modern port. Graffiti carved by American soldiers and dated 1918 is still visible on the quay.

In Bordeaux itself, boulevard de Caudéran was renamed on July 13, 1918 in honour of President Wilson.

While, in Gradignan, there are traces of an ‘American fountain’ hidden under a heap of brambles. It marks the spot where the horses assigned to the troops came to drink in the Eau Bourde, the small river that crosses Bordeaux.

The Talence American Cemetery, created in April 1918, contains the graves of 13 Canadian and 5 American soldiers.

And in Villenave d’Ornon, the Bagatelle Florence Nightingale Nursing School, built in 1921, houses a commemorative stone in honour of American nurses who devoted themselves to caring for soldiers wounded from the front.

At Le Verdon-sur-mer, at the tip of the Médoc, there used to be a large monument erected to the glory of the US troops in 1938. The Germans unfortunately blew it to smithereens with dynamite in 1942, but the memories remain in the archives.

The American beach at Cap Ferret still exists, but the wooden hangars that prepared the seaplanes involved in the conflict built by the Navy regiments in 1917, have vanished without a trace. The construction of seaplanes in the region did not end in 1918 though – to find out more about this extraordinary regional history, head to the Hydraviation museum in Biscarosse.

There were nearly 180 Franco-American marriages in Bordeaux between 1918 and 1920 – despite the challenges posed by the quasi-alcohol ban in the city! There were also many ‘adoptions’, which often consisted of the sponsorship of French orphans by American committees, such as those of the American Red Cross, to financially assist children whose fathers had fallen at the front.

The Americans also left their mark on French society by importing the US culture to Gironde. Through sport, their humanitarian approach, the management of troops and war victims – and music…

The first notes of jazz resounded as soon as the troops (and the Harlem Hellfighters!) arrived in 1917.

Of the 100,000 US troops that set up camp around Bordeaux, 20,000 were African American. Often forbidden to fight, they worked in support roles, such as building the port at Bassens – and they played jazz, or more specifically, ragtime!

Several bands that were extremely well known on the American scene came to Europe to play.

One of the very first jazz concerts in France took place in Bordeaux – courtesy of the 808th Stevedore Regiment.

Several concerts by African-American lieutenant, bandleader and pianist James Reese Europewere also held in the Gironde capital. The concerts at the Café Anglais, on the Allées de Tourny became “an unmissable event for many Bordeaux residents”!

Black Americans were the object of great curiosity for locals at the time, and jazz was seen as the forbidden fruit of freedom and peace. It appeared at the same time in the other major French ports where American troops transited, Nantes and Brest.

After the war, the taste of jazz remained in Bordeaux in various bars frequented by young people and sailors around Saint-Pierre, where they listened to imported records, and in some theatres such as Le Français and Le Trianon. However, because of the Depression, and American protectionism, it only really took off properly after the Second World War.

The American forces began their huge withdrawal operation following the armistice in 1918. Between November 1918 and July 1919, over 400,000 men set sail from Bassens or Pauillac Trompeloup (for the sick, convalescent or injured). This was accompanied by the dismantling of the logistical support bases. The Americans had made their indelible stamp on the history of Bordeaux.

Base n°2 including the Bassens port facilities, the Saint-Sulpice d’Izon warehouses, the Saint-Loubès ammunition depot

Pauillac-Trompeloup Maritime Base

Souges Instruction Camp

Camps at Bassens, Carbon-Blanc (including a horse camp), Lormont (Génicart) for passing troops, and Cenon (Grangeneuve).

Courneau camp (near La Teste) for artillery

Seaplane station in Cap-Ferret

Airship station in Gujan-Mestras

Aviation School at Moutchic

Croix-d’Hins radio station

Hospitals in Talence and Mérignac (Beaudésert: planned capacity of 20,000 beds)

Troop depots in Libourne for heavy artillery

Coutras Store

Fuel depots (gasoline) in Saint-Loubès, Blaye and La Roque-de-Thau (Gauriac)

Centre for Permissionaires in Arcachon

Lift depot (supply of horses) in Mérignac (Beaudésert)

Postal center in Bordeaux (near Saint-Jean station)

Logging in the Landes de Gascogne

Administrative Services

Soldier assistance associations (American Red Cross, YMCA, Knights of Columbus)

Uniform and shoe repair shops

Warehouses

Garages in Bordeaux or in the inner suburbs (Gradignan, Bègles…)

Industrial installations requisitioned in June 1917 such as the quarries of Rions, Saint-Emilion, Montagne, Frontenac, Barsac, Lagrave d’Ambarès, Castres, Cadaujac whose materials were used for road services and the construction of the port of Bassens.

The Headquarters was located in the premises of the Faculty of Medicine, Place Victoire.

Guard Camp: fallow and cultivated land, barracks (wooden with tarred paper cover) for 60 men, messes and latrines (16)

Camp Ancona-Baranquine: fallow and cultivated land

American Docks Headquarters: cultivated land

Camp Vinehard: cultivation area

Hill Camp: various terrains

Engine reception facilities: industrial sites

Soap plant: two buildings (with corrugated iron walls and roofing, cement paving), boiler and 40 HP steam engine (18)

Mechanical bakery: corrugated iron warehouse and bakery, four ovens, a mechanical mixer to produce 48 tonnes of bread per day, messes, kitchens and wooden latrines

Pump station in the north: makeshift hangar housing a boiler and a motor-pump unit

Prisoner of War camp: mess, reading room, prison (capacity of 380 men)

Ship repair workshop: building with 42 machine tools

A.T.S. Camp: wooden huts, laundries, messes, kitchens and various premises (total capacity of 600 men)

Repair shop for locomotives: various barracks, wooden tank

Camp Brohoist: 200-man barracks

Navy Hospital: wooden boats (capacity of 150 beds)

Fire station: corrugated iron huts

French Docks Station: sheet metal shack and repair workshop

Road service: equipment depot, stable and tool storage

Salvage Camp: wooden mess huts, kitchen, laundry room and latrines

Pump station near Salvage Camp: barracks with an electric pump and a pump with a petrol engine

Refrigeration plant: warehouse with a surface area of 7000 m2, premises and equipment for the operation of the plant

Elevating plant

Electrical plant

Coal handling facilities

De-greasing plant

Chinese Gunpowder Factory Camp (colonial workers’ camp)

Three times a year, Bordeaux City Hall organises a reception for newcomers in the lounges of the Town Hall. If you wish to participate and receive information and invitations from the city, do not hesitate to register. It’s a friendly opportunity to meet other newcomers and above all to get as much info as possible.

More info here

BORDEAUX EXPATS group page

Bordeaux Expats English Jobs
Expats Living in Bordeaux

Wanted Community Bordeaux – in French only

Student Accommodation in Bordeaux – not just for students! There are general links at the end

Dick Turpin’s, 72 Rue du Loup

English Country Kitchen, 4 Rue Castelnau d’Auros

The Black Velvet Bar, 9 Rue du Chai des Farines

The Blarney Stone, 144 Cours Victor Hugo

The Connemara, 18 Cours d’Albret

The Dog and Duck (Mickey), 5 Quai Louis XVIII

The Frog & Rosbif (Rachel), 23 Rue Ausone

The Ramblin’ Man, 52 Quai Richelieu

The Starfish Pub, 24/26 Rue Sainte Colombe

Vintage Bar, 45 Rue Saint-James

Excuse my French (Sam), 87 Rue des Faures

KURO Espresso Bar, 5 Rue Mautrec

Musette Bicycles and Coffee (Chris), 72 Cours de la Somme

Sophisticakes, Cupcakes, 5 Rue de Guienne

Cambridge Arms, 27 Rue Rode
The Market Tavern (Andrew), 15 Rue Rode

Molly Malone’s, 83 Quai des Chartrons
Paul’s Place, 76 Rue Notre Dame

The Golden Apple, 46 Rue Borie

Lily Blake, Women’s clothing store, 68 Rue Notre Dame

Restaurants and Bars

The Stag & Loar Pub (Sam), 2 Rue Pacaris

Invited To,printing shop, 42 Rue Capdeville

Spinbreak Studio, cycling/fitness, 26 Rue David Johnston

Bordeaux-ese expressions in everyday language can confuse newcomers to the region. The main rule is to never ever ask for a pain au chocolat, but a “chocolatine”, otherwise you’re in deep shizzle! Don’t ask for a “sac” from the supermarket, ask for a “poche” and if you are told that something is “well stuffed” (gavé), it’s a good sign!

About the author:

Chris Tighe lives in Pessac, loves the Sud Ouest and helps to run the voluntary blog and FB site, Bordeaux Expats. In his spare time, he works a cosy 36 hour week as a translator for a local tech company. He lives 35 minutes from the beach, a two-hour drive from San Sebastian and has successfully escaped his preordained destiny working 60 hours a week in London, commuting four hours a day on rammed medieval public transport – cheers ears.

I feel like a multitask cook! In fact, many things have been cooking in my “art kitchen” at home and abroad, since the last blog and some meals have been served at the restaurant’s tables, some are still in the pot…

Last March and April, I got invited by the French Alliances of Abu Dhabi and Dubai (in the United Arab Emirates) to present my book to the francophone audience in the Middle East. It was very nice to speak with the expats there, because when you end up living in the UAE (like I did 8 years ago), it means that you already got different experiences of expatriation.

So my novel about the Gold rush in the 19th century sounded familiar to them who came to Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the 21th century in order to follow the “Oil rush”…

I am now preparing and rehearsing for a show coming soon on October 5th. This will be a new genre for me to perform, and I am very excited because I will revive the actress in me! Two musicians from Bordeaux and I are now working together to create a new piece: a “musical reading session” (Lecture musicale) of some extracts of my novel. This event will be part of a cultural festival called “Du Verbe à la Main” in La Teste-de-Buch. I can’t wait to get back on stage!

I also gave some creative writing workshops for kids and I will do more within the coming months… (you can follow the news on my blog)

I feel really blessed because it’s been 5 years since I quit my job as a French teacher in order to commit full time to my artistic career which has so many facets. And after these years of hard work of all my crafts and also some deep inner work, I can tell that the harvest is coming. It’s definitely like having been pregnant for many years and now I am ready to give birth because the art pieces are mature to be shared with the world.

In June, I just finished the post-production of my short film produced by Révérence and supported by OCS, the CNC and the Adami. This comedy called “Bumper” (“Le Créneau” in French) just got selected by the San Diego Film Festival. The story is about a grandmother and her grandson…

For many years, Max, a young man full of ambition, has been dreaming of being accepted in a prestigious political science school. The day before the interview, he plans to spend the night at his grandmother’s house which is near where the oral exam will be taking place the next morning, thus hoping to be in the best mindset to succeed. But once he gets there, Max finds out his Grandma has decided to take her driver’s license again…

I hope that my film will soon be selected for festivals in France!

It makes me so happy to go back there to present my film to my fellow San Diegan people because, as I said in the last blog, I used to live there (2004-2007) and this is how I got to write my novel… Everything is linked, you see? I wrote my novel by living in California and now California wants me to come back there to share my film with the audience. I will try to get contact in order to coproduce a feature film that I already wrote with my brother.

And by being there for the festival, I will take the opportunity to give a conference about the novel at the French Alliance of San Diego. I am now preparing a pedagogic project with the French students of the French American school where I used to teach, so they can read some of my chapters about San Diego and participate actively to the presentation I will give on October 19th over there.

My life as a teacher, my life as a writer, as a director… everything draws a circle and nourishes the rest. This is a blessing to witness it while living it.

Oh yes! I have so many files of new novels and in some other genres.

Right now I am working on an essay, a very personal subject (my Madagascan and French roots) that will expand into a collective topic about our multicultural planet. This is not so far from the subject of my actual novel… But after the fiction based on Californian history, I felt like writing something even closer to my identity and more in touch with the contemporary reality of people who experience what it is to belong to several cultures on this planet. I want to do my part to contribute to inclusion and acceptance of others.

I am also working on a book of tales. Tales lead to universality. This is why I write: extend the horizon.

I can’t wait to speak in English about my book! This will be the first time to talk about it in another language than mine. This multilingualism is key to me. Adapt to others’ language in order to reach a larger audience and share differences of point of view. This is my mission as an artist. If I only speak French, I cut myself form the rest of the world, so this is very important for me to “translate” my book’s message as much as I can. I thought about translating the whole novel but my English is not good enough to catch the subtlety of my French style. I hope that one day a professional translator will translate my book for Anglophone and Hispanic people because I write also for/about them: the Mexican, Spanish, American roots of California. By translating, we respect a duty of memory, which is necessary to build a more peaceful world, I think.

I will talk about the genesis of my novel, my PhD thesis, which nourished my fiction, and about my methodology as a traveller-writer. And I will also give a sample of my reading session by reading an extract! And also, hopefully, I will have hard copies to sign for the readers who want to get the book that is also available on ebook.

For the second year running, Moliets and Huchet top the list with 24% of the votes (2,110 / 8,790). It’s a stunning spot, blending the wilderness of the local coast and the tranquillity of the nature reserve nearby. You can explore the pathways through the preserved flora and fauna, before going for a swim in the ocean. Win win!

2 – The beach at the Arjuzanx reserve

3 – Lespecier beach in Mimizan

The north of the Landes coast was hugely popular with punters, the Lespecier/Bias beach in Mimizan received 12.1% of the votes. It’s one of the wildest beaches in the Landes, the ultimate place to chill out and get a tan in peace. There’s also a surf school.

With 10.3% of the votes, Contis beach is also a calm oasis of sand and waves. It has a few wooden shops and is the perfect retreat from city life and traffic jams!

5 – Maguide, at Lac Cazaux

Maguide came in 5th with 9.1% of the vote. A Bordeaux Expats favourite, the southeastern side of Lac Cazaux is an excellent place to take kids learning to swim – Maguide closely resembles a Pacific paradise! The water is extremely shallow and warm for about 100 metres out – there are wilder parts of the beach where you can set up your parasol and picnic gear in the trees, and more tame beaches with large sandy areas and lifeguards/monitored swimming areas.

See you there!

About the author:

Chris Tighe lives in Pessac, loves the Sud Ouest and helps to run the voluntary blog and FB site, Bordeaux Expats. In his spare time, he works a cosy 36 hour week as a translator for a local tech company. He lives 35 minutes from the beach, a two-hour drive from San Sebastian and has successfully escaped his preordained destiny working 60 hours a week in London, commuting four hours a day on rammed medieval public transport – cheers ears.

 

The Canal des 2 Mers (850 kilometers – from Royan to Sète) is an insane cycle route linking the Atlantic ocean to the Mediterranean. It starts at Royan and goes along the Gironde estuary to Bordeaux. It then takes you south where you pick up the Canal de Garonne to Toulouse. It then transforms into the infamous Canal du Midi, which you follow to eventually reach the Mediterranean at Sète!

I cycled the Royan to Bordeaux section in 2004 and it’s simply amazing. The route takes you through the back-roads and past the sublime viewpoint at Talmont-sur-Gironde. You then head down to Blaye where you take the ferry across and cycle on to Bordeaux through the endless Medoc vineyards. It’s about a 7 hour cycle and can be done in a day if you’re on a mission…

This is a 60km flat trail on an old railway track that takes you in a direct line to the beach at Lacanau. You can set off from the quais or join it from Eysines and roll out of town into the vast expanse of pine forest that leads to the Atlantic – take a walkman!

For more information, check out this all-encompassing article from Tim Pike at Invisible Bordeaux.

La Vélodyssée (1200km from Roscoff to Hendaye) is the French section of Euro Vélo 1 (European cycling path linking Norway to Portugal). This major bike route crosses Brittany from Roscoff and follows the Atlantic coast to Hendaye. The Vélodyssée is the longest way-marked cycle trail in France.

To reach it from Bordeaux, follow the Bordeaux-Lacanau cycle path to the beach and follow the signs.

La Scandibérique (1600km; from Namur, Belgium to St-Jean-Pied-de-Port) is the longest cycling route in France and is the French section of Euro Vélo 3 (the ‘Pilgrims route’ from Norway to Spain). It diagonally crosses the entire length of France from the Belgian border to St-Jean-Pied-de-Port, the merging point of the Santiago de Compostella pilgrimage walking paths. It slices through Paris, Tours and Bordeaux!

The route out of Bordeaux heads south through Gradignan and Leognan and eventually on to Mont-de-Marsan and Dax. If you plan to cycle a long distance, register as a pilgrim for €15 at the Bordeaux Compostelle pilgrimage office at 28 Rue des Argentiers and you are eligible for free accommodation along the route as an official pilgrim.

The 54-km route from Bordeaux to Sauveterre-de-Guyenne is another path along a former railway with a stopover at Créon. It is also on the Scandibérique.

It starts just after the end of the north side of the quais on the way to Latresne and ambles through villages and vineyards inland…

Tim Pike wrote a fantastic article on the history of the path, which you can read here. Chris Cooley also wrote a fun blog about his cycle up there in 2013. Chris obviously found cycling around Bordeaux appealing as he now runs the Musette cycle café!

Lacking actual bicycles, I started by checking out decent local routes that have bike hire places nearby. One of my first search results took me to the Station Vélo in Créon and the Roger Lapébie cycle path.

Founded in 2000, the Créon bike station was labelled as France’s first cycle tourism ‘resort’. It’s actually a fairly underwhelming experience and consists of a few bikes inside the old railway station building…

We hired our well-kept bikes and were soon on our magical mystery tour up the railway! We set off to La Sauve and the old rail track wove through a forest before coming to a viewpoint of the stunning medieval abbey. There we turned off and headed into the village to have a look and grab some much needed refreshments.

When we got back to Créon, the cycle path was closed and the locals were setting up loads of food stalls and a stage for a night of concerts, eating and boozing – the local guinguette! They apparently do this every Saturday night throughout the summer.

The Créon bike station is run by cycle technician, Fabrice who recently moved to the Sud Ouest after years working like a dog for Disney in Paris. He was looking for a more laid back career and way of life – he certainly found it!

Getting there and away – the Transgironde 404 takes you directly to Créon from Place Stalingrad. Otherwise it’s a car ride.

Cost – here – it’s basically €10 for a half day and €8 for a kids trailer.

Boring stuff – the cycle path can get busy on weekends and people tend to bomb along at 90 miles an hour. There have also been reports of some of the intelligent local kids throwing drawing pins all over the track to try to puncture people’s tyres.

Fun stuff – Créon town is a gorgeous medieval bastion town that used to be English. The drive up there is pretty as well taking you past scores of undiscovered vineyards.

Beer – One of the Bordeaux region’s longest-standing brewers is based here at the Brasserie St Leon. They have regular concerts along with the village guinguette booze ups at the station every Saturday night during the summer. Oh, and there’s a massive local beer festival in Créon every June..   

Similar to Pessac, Thouars has a smallish indoor pool/kids pool that transforms into a megatastic outdoor waterpark in the summer! It’s all fairly relaxed and you don’t need a swimming cap, although still come in proper swimwear and not beach shorts etc.

There is a large outdoor pool, a diving pool with three heights of boards, a kids water play area with jets etc. and a kids pool (including sun loungers). There is a large grassy area for sunbathing and picnics and they have free table tennis tables and table football! Check out the kids playground/obstacle course as well.

To play the games, you need to exchange your locker key – the guy has floats and other equipment for free so just ask.

Author: Chris Tighe

The French are also very pernickety about future employees having precise job qualifications. Decent jobs in Bordeaux are few and far between so it’s definitely an employer’s market! If you are qualified in a specific area, make sure your quallies apply in France. If they don’t (usually the case), look into how you can do a course at one of the umpteen colleges and universities to get the French version. The only drawback is that qualifying in a specific field often takes a while and is expensive!

Minimalize and tailor your CV! Jobs here are always hugely over-subscribed and HR departments or employers simply don’t have time to read CVs. Keep your CV as simple as possible and remove anything that is surplus to the future position. It’s almost a case of copy-pasting the job application word-for-word in your CV. Here’s the fun part: each motivation letter has to be tailored to each individual application as well…

Follow everything up. Be annoyingly persistent and try to meet people face to face. Bordeaux is a village and everyone knows everyone. Extreme politeness goes a long way and don’t get offended in the slightest if no one ever gets back to you or returns your call. I’ve applied to over 200 positions here and had zero response – it’s part of the game…

Make sure your CV is in perfect French. Get a native French speaker to go through your CV with a fine toothcomb and write the motivation letter for you.

Get a car. Bordeaux is very spread out workwise with many companies on industrial estates around the periphery. Employers will often ask if you have one for flexibility and because they know that using public transport is unreliable. In any case, if you stay for any length of time, you’ll end up living outside the center anyway.

English teaching for adults and workshops for kids

Most English speakers head straight to English teaching. The majority of employers are looking for candidates with a degree and a CELTA qualification of some kind. The CELTA (TEFL) courses can be done as a one-month intensive in cities all over the world or online.

Schools rarely hire teachers on full time contracts – it’s a case of slowly building your hours over time based on demand.

Teachers are usually employed on fixed-term contracts for a set number of hours a week, which can block you for other work and stop you from clearing a decent full salary every month. Many of the schools also hire last minute in September in the post-vacances panic!

The Montessori movement is also booming in Bordeaux and there are many schools that are looking for English-speaking AMI qualified teachers.

Here are some of the main schools:

• Babylangues – rue Georges Bonnac
• Bordeaux International School – pricy private school on rue Judaique
• Centre de Langues Bordeaux Montaigne – Bordeaux University’s main language school in Victoire (basement)
• Cetradel – Pessac
• Chambre de commerce – place de la Bourse + Bordeaux Lac 
• Elaia formation – based in Gradignan
• English Coaching Bordeaux
• English Insiders – run by Michelle Kuhl
• Enjoy Speaking English – Cenon
• Firstep in English – a chain of English schools across town
• Glotte Trotters – Merignac
• Hamilton House – Pessac
• Kids and Us – Victoire
• La Petit Ecole Bilingue – based in Chartrons
• Les Mots pour le Dire – Bouscat
• Les Petits Bilingues – Bordeaux and Pessac
• Mary Poppins Services – English-speaking babysitting agency
• Mickey’s English Workshop – rue des Ayres, central Bordeaux
• New Deal – Stalingrad
• Speaking Agency Bordeaux – babysitting in EN
• We love little – Darwin – kids workshops
• Wall Street English Bordeaux – Merignac – large nationwide chain with set lesson plans

Not forgetting the business schools:

• Kedge
• INSEEC 
• EBBS
• Ecole Commerce Bordeaux
• Talis
• etc.

 

The English pubs

The other major draw for expats is the plethora of English/Irish pubs in town. Do the rounds and chat to the bar managers. They usually hire staff on fixed-term contracts for a set number of hours a week, which can block you for other work and stop you from clearing a decent full salary every month.

Many of the pubs are also on the lookout for chefs and washer uppers…

Try these (I’ve batched together the sister pubs):

• The Market Tavern – Chartrons
• The Houses of Parliament – old center
• The HMS Victory – Victoire

• The Cambridge Arms – Chartrons
• The Oxford Arms – St Seurin
• Molly Malone’s – Chartrons end of the quais

• The Charles Dickens – pont Pierre end of the quais
• The Sherlock Holmes – rue Judaique – sister of the English Country Kitchen

• Dick Turpin’s – Pey Berland
• Sweeney Todd’s – opposite the Frog – near St Michel
• The Black Velvet – chai des Farines
• The Blarney Stone – near Pey Berland
• The Cock ‘n Bull – Pey Berland
• The Connemara – near Meriadeck
• The Dog And Duck – on the quais near Quinconces
• The Frog and Rosbif – rue Ausone – near St Michel
• The Golden Apple – Chartrons

You could also try French places including the St Aubin, Vintage bar and Central pubs (Stalingrad and Gambetta).

Events waiting/’Extra’ work

Being a waiter in France is a major serious profession but places do take on casual staff from time to time. Another option which worked for me is events waiting/extra work for one of the numerous events caterers in the area. The work is often very long and late hours – you’re expected to come in civvy clothing and help set the event up, then get changed into your suit and tie to wait large numbers of tables in groups, then change back at the end to take the event down. I became auto-entrepreneur and found work more easily as companies could take me on as a casual.

Try calling these to arrange a meeting:

• Lacoste – they also run the hospitality in the Cité du Vin
• Humblot
• Philys
• Monblanc
• Capdevielle
• etc.

Don’t hesitate to go to see the Thedra events catering agency at place Ravezies with a CV full of hospitality experience.

Events hosting/hostessing

There are a few events hosting/hostessing agencies around town that look for English speakers to host events. The work will involve being young, smart and very smiley. You’ll find yourself welcoming guests at chateau cocktail dinners, posh corporate seminars and large events, often at the Palais de la Bourse, Matmut or Hanger 14.

Try these:

• Sud Hôtesses
• Alizée Hôtesses
• City One
• Charlestown
• Tendances Hôtesses

 

Agencies – interim tertiaire

‘Manutention’ (unskilled manual work) via recruitment agencies is a good place to start if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty. The work can include: stacking shelves in the large stores like Castorama, Leroy Merlin, Ikea etc. and can involve early hours or night shifts; car valeting and washing in the posh dealerships (e.g. BMW) around town; loading and unloading agro-chemical trucks (Laffort); unloading containers with merchandise damaged in transport (JF Hillebrand, Bruges); picking packing for companies like Duclot wine exports etc. I’ve even sold Christmas trees in the Ikea carpark! They can sometimes cover the cost of training for a forklift license at AFPA, which could help you get work at Médecins sans Frontières etc.

If you have a license with a van driver category, delivery companies also take on extras – I was offered an English-speaking position unloading post off planes at Bordeaux airport for UPS as they needed someone who could speak to the pilot.

A lot if this type of ‘manutention’ is word of mouth and guys you’ll meet on the jobs will give you the headz up.

 

• Kelly – I worked with them for a couple of years and had regular jobs.
• Manpower
• Randstad
• Capactuel
• Apole
• etc.

Other avenues

Teambuilding: I worked for a teambuilding company based in Leognan for a while called Autreman. They run regular teambuilding events and games for large international companies around Bordeaux and elsewhere in France and often look for English speaking hosts.

English-speaking guide: Bordeaux Walking Tours hires staff for each summer season. You can also try Rustic Vines etc. I looked seriously into qualifying to become an official licensed guide – it’s an expensive one-year master’s course at the CNAM and you can then register for regular guide work with Agica.

Translating: If you have any experience translating or related qualifications, get in touch with Hancock Hutton and Aquitaine Traduction. You can also try advertising online or on university noticeboards for work translating or proofreading student docs. You could also specialize in translating specific types of scientific, medical or legal English with the relevant university departments. I tried to set up my own translation company for a while and began cold-calling chateaux and events companies all over the region.

Bear in mind that a lot of local companies are happy to translate French into English themselves (sure that their English is good enough) and don’t understand the importance of text written by a native speaker.

Hotels: local hotels often advertise for English speaking staff. The Euratlantique business park has a number of hotels opening soon and they are keen to hire. The Grand Hotel also has a range of available positions.

Events planning: I worked for an events design company called Depack as an event planner for a while. You can also try Bordeaux Events, Absolute Event and Les Ortigues. If you wanna work in events, a great place to network is the SoEvenements trade fair held every March – make sure you tell them you run a company in the UK or elsewhere are attending to invest in the Bordeaux region… (they are a bit funny about who they give tickets to)

Wine export: many expats are involved in the wine industry: for more info, see Charlie’s blog on Bordeaux Expats.

Grape picking etc. for casual work in the wine industry, check out the Vitijob site. Many chateaux also post on their own facebook pages or directly onto the Pole Emploi site or Indeed.

The Airport: aside from the airline companies and airport shops/restaurants and airport itself, try the car hire companies who regularly hire English-speaking staff – Hertz, Europcar, Sixt etc.

International companies based in Bordeaux: a quick Google search will bring these out but here are some of the main ones – Thales, Dassault, Safran, CDiscount, Lectra, Siblu, Oxbow…

Software companies: Bordeaux is an up-and-coming software hub and many companies are looking for developers. But if you’re already a developer, you don’t need me to tell you that..
You can also check out iGaming companies like Bookieworks…

Networking

There are active groups in Bordeaux for business networking in English. Try these for starters:

• The Bordeaux Business Network
• The Franco-British Business Association

You can also get involved in the expat network of clubs and meetups via this blog:

Expat Networking in Bordeaux

Websites

Subscribe to as many websites as possible to find out the latest job openings as soon as they pop up – and do as much networking via LinkedIn as possible!

Try setting up notifications on Indeed among others.

Bordeaux Expats also has a dedicated facebook page called Bordeaux Expats – English Jobs where we regularly post English-speaking job offers in a wide range of sectors.

If you’ve been working in France for a while already, you’ll be eligible for ‘chomage’ (unemployment benefit) which can tide you over during your search. After a couple of years here, I had a chomage window of a few months which saved my bacon and meant I had time to apply for a range of better jobs. Pole Emploi also have their own consultants who can look into getting you on a vocational training course, which may be free…

If all else fails, considering re-training or setting up you own company. Pole Emploi also offer a free ‘bilan de competances’ or skills evaluation that consists of a series of meetings over 8 weeks and can definitely steer you in the right direction.

About the author:

Chris Tighe lives in Pessac, loves the Sud Ouest and helps to run the voluntary blog and FB site, Bordeaux Expats. In his spare time, he works a cosy 36 hour week as a translator for a local tech company. He lives 35 minutes from the beach, a two-hour drive from San Sebastian and has successfully escaped his preordained destiny working 60 hours a week in London, commuting four hours a day on rammed medieval public transport – cheers ears.

 

It’s surprisingly easy to drive on the motorway, even if you are an insane bastard.

Here are the main guidelines:

 

• Many people assume the motorway speed limit is 130kph. It’s actually 180-250kph although if it’s late at night and there are no police around you can go as fast as you want. Above all, make sure you never reduce your speed on wet roads.

• It’s best practice to try to drive within 0.5mm of the bumper of the car in front, then overtake without indicating – don’t forget to ‘sneer’.

• The right lane is for lorry drivers so that they can swerve into the hard shoulder while texting or watching the football. Lorry drivers are also encouraged to avoid using their mirrors or eyes at all costs.

• The middle lane is for quietly determined pensioners and Modus drivers.

• The left-hand lane is for German cars and their prey. BMW, Audi, SUV and “sports car” drivers have the divine and legal right to undertake traffic jams and generally behave however they want – they are superior beings.

• Motorbikes are entitled to weave psychotically between any lane at any speed.

• If you need to change lanes or exit at a junction – UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES USE YOUR INDICATORS OR MAKE ANY PRIOR SIGNAL WHATSOEVER.

• There is no law as such on the motorway, and it is actually fine to shoot other drivers with a crossbow, especially if they have a caravan.

• The motorway is basically a straight line so you don’t need to pay attention to driving. It’s better to focus on your smartphone, laughing at people who have broken down or simply letting your imagination take you to a distant planet.