Working in France FIMO

[Littlejo]

Hi, Fairly new to forums! i had a little go earlier this year but had too many other things going on in my life to think much about trucking although that is all I've dreamt about for nearly 2 years now! To cut a long story short, Im living in France and I need to take my FIMO, its obligatoire!!! I found a few old posts that spoke briefly about it but couldn't find anyone that had done it? wondering if anyone is in the same boat as me?
Ive been waiting 7 months now to exchange my uk licence for a french permis brexit it has been okayed now, but still waiting for them to send it me! I hope to get on a course as soon as I do, but nervous as my french is ok but im not a native. and although ive looked and seen the modules Im wondering what they do for it to be 4 weeks long? anyone got any experience? also just any experience of trucking in France? Good companies to work for, bad ones...wages ? how do they compare to the uk? ive only got my class 2 atm once ive got my FIMO i will go for the SPL. Id really like to do international, and im thinking if i did a couple of years working over here, if i went back to the uk, would that be good enough experience to get european work and is there much demand any more for euro work I rarely see UK plates any more, but i am very south.
appreciate any feedback! I know ive put lots of questions in there think im on the right topic page, but if im not someone please direct me, its a mind field when you don't know what you are doing!
thanks Jo

[OwenMoney]

Do you have a residency card pre Stupid Brexit ?

[Littlejo]

Thanks Owen! yes stupid brexit indeed!! guess we are lucky we moved here before all that **** happened. must be a nightmare to move here now got a 10 year carte de sejour

[wanderingstar]

There are French companies that specialise in going to the UK. I liked doing agency work in the past as it was the only work I found with late starts without it being nights.

[Craig 111]

There are French companies that specialise in going to the UK. I liked doing agency work in the past as it was the only work I found with late starts without it being nights.

He's down south, and I can't think of many firms down there that head to the UK regularly nowadays

[wanderingstar]

Ah OK. And hello!

There are French companies that specialise in going to the UK. I liked doing agency work in the past as it was the only work I found with late starts without it being nights.

He's down south, and I can't think of many firms down there that head to the UK regularly nowadays

[Littlejo]

I know one place not far from me that does international, It doesn't have to be uk, want to see a few other european countries! but i want to drive for them just because they are called TIT and i think it would be funny to drive around in a truck with TIT on it, I am a little immature

[Craig 111]

TIT with the white tipper trailers and green logos? We see them over here all the time, look pretty tidy

[Littlejo]

TIT with the white tipper trailers and green logos? We see them over here all the time, look pretty tidy

Ive not actually seen one! not sure what they deliver it says vrac... just found out TIT stands for Transport Internationaux du Tarn, makes sense im in the Tarn.

[Craig 111]

https://www.tit.fr/recrutement

They're currently looking for drivers for bulk tipper and walking floor work.
They require that you live within 30 minutes of one of their two depots, dunno if that's your case?

[Littlejo]

Thanks Craig. That’s kind of you, checking it out now!! Right by me, but gonna need that bloody fimo. Just saw afftral today, and and interview with eychenne ( look good, refrigerated goods regional) but not feeling so confident with my French atm… but fingers crossed!

[Littlejo]

https://www.tit.fr/recrutement

They're currently looking for drivers for bulk tipper and walking floor work.
They require that you live within 30 minutes of one of their two depots, dunno if that's your case?

Yep not quite there yet, only got my c

[Craig 111]

Thanks Craig. That’s kind of you, checking it out now!! Right by me, but gonna need that bloody fimo. Just saw afftral today, and and interview with eychenne ( look good, refrigerated goods regional) but not feeling so confident with my French atm… but fingers crossed!

Nice one, Eychenne seem to be quite busy, used to see a lot of their trucks on Leclerc work. As for your French language skills, just keep on at it, it'll only get better

[Simon]

Thanks Craig. That’s kind of you, checking it out now!! Right by me, but gonna need that bloody fimo. Just saw afftral today, and and interview with eychenne ( look good, refrigerated goods regional) but not feeling so confident with my French atm… but fingers crossed!

Nice one, Eychenne seem to be quite busy, used to see a lot of their trucks on Leclerc work. As for your French language skills, just keep on at it, it'll only get better

In my experience, the best way to learn any language is to speak it with the locals.
They'll very quickly realise that French isn't your mother tongue and probably change to English, to help you.
You'll have to explain that you want to improve your spoken French, so would prefer they spoke French with you. If you haven't done this already.
It took me many months to learn that quatre vinqt dix (ons, does, tres, etc) was 90 (91, 92, 93 etc), because I was expecting to hear nonant et ... Quatre vinqt dix just went straight over my head, the person would see my confused expression and change to English for me. I had to ask another driver what had actually been said, they explained it, THEN the penny dropped
The more you learn and use, the quicker you'll learn more and use more, and so on.

I'm rarely in France these days. Germany and Switzerland much more. So I'm learning more German. Apparently I have the most strange accent.
I first learned Hoch Deutch in the 80s. I've since then learned much more, but mainly from Southern Germany and Switzerland. So my 'German language' pot is very mixed.
It's like speaking BBC English, with a good handful of Geordy, Scots, Yorkshire etc phrases and words thrown in at random
I get by quite comfortably in German, but leave a trail of confused Germans behind me

[Franglais]

Thanks Craig. That’s kind of you, checking it out now!! Right by me, but gonna need that bloody fimo. Just saw afftral today, and and interview with eychenne ( look good, refrigerated goods regional) but not feeling so confident with my French atm… but fingers crossed!

Nice one, Eychenne seem to be quite busy, used to see a lot of their trucks on Leclerc work. As for your French language skills, just keep on at it, it'll only get better

In my experience, the best way to learn any language is to speak it with the locals.
They'll very quickly realise that French isn't your mother tongue and probably change to English, to help you.
You'll have to explain that you want to improve your spoken French, so would prefer they spoke French with you. If you haven't done this already.
It took me many months to learn that quatre vinqt dix (ons, does, tres, etc) was 90 (91, 92, 93 etc), because I was expecting to hear nonant et ... Quatre vinqt dix just went straight over my head, the person would see my confused expression and change to English for me. I had to ask another driver what had actually been said, they explained it, THEN the penny dropped
The more you learn and use, the quicker you'll learn more and use more, and so on.

I'm rarely in France these days. Germany and Switzerland much more. So I'm learning more German. Apparently I have the most strange accent.
I first learned Hoch Deutch in the 80s. I've since then learned much more, but mainly from Southern Germany and Switzerland. So my 'German language' pot is very mixed.
It's like speaking BBC English, with a good handful of Geordy, Scots, Yorkshire etc phrases and words thrown in at random
I get by quite comfortably in German, but leave a trail of confused Germans behind me

I speak fluid French desert wine bottle.

Trouble is the locals don`t actually here wot eye sez.

Edit... been told that in Quebecoise, 90 is neuvante? But I don`t know the truth of that, or if a Frenchman was playing me for a Belge...

[Gidders]

When I lived in Belgium (Flemish) they spoke 70 as septante rather than the official soixante dix. The French appear unruffled by this.

[Simon]

When I lived in Belgium (Flemish) they spoke 70 as septante rather than the official soixante dix. The French appear unruffled by this.

Belgian French for 90 is Nonante.
Isn't Flemish (Flems) the Northern language, similar to Dutch?

[Gidders]

When I lived in Belgium (Flemish) they spoke 70 as septante rather than the official soixante dix. The French appear unruffled by this.

Belgian French for 90 is Nonante.
Isn't Flemish (Flems) the Northern language, similar to Dutch?

Flemish is indeed Dutch with a noticeable accent. A bit like Geordie English ?

[Littlejo]

Hi, so a little update dont want to jinx it, but i have a trial with Eychenne starting Monday for a week! if I do ok, i will start the course in January. My Son is doing it too!! Hes been a bit lost recently and im really pleased he has decided to give this a go! and of course it would be great for me to have someone who speaks french / English natively to help me (Not so Happy my ex has also decided to be a trucker and has the Job at the end of my road!) My French isn't to bad, im beginning to realise, I just lack confidence after been told for years how bad it is and always been talked over or not talked to atall, because my ex is French and obviously easier to talk with. I do struggle with the pronunciation of words, but have that problem in english too!! I get told i sound like jane birken alot lol, but i don't keep my english accent on purpose
So ill be happy whatever course I get put on, if it gets me driving! but my son is saying the course is 5 months arhhhh... i know the FIMO can be done in a month, but I do need my class 1 licence so, anyway i will hopefully find out shortly!
made me laugh about the numbers,it is so confusing!! I believe in occitan (old south french language) they did use septante octante etc but why they stopped,well I think the French love that their language is hard, they are very proud of it! I have enough trouble with French Im not learning another one!

[Franglais]

A Brummie might struggle with Parisian French, but might pass for a native in Narbonne.
Anyways good news re work, hope it all works.

[Littlejo]

Hi! Finally I have passed my CE!!! I have a titre pro diploma (french) this apparently it gives me 2 years worth of experience !!! lol i still can't reverse!!!
so it has not been easy and has taken a long time to achieve. i started the first course beginning of February and finished the last course end of July. I have redone my class C done the FIMO ( French CPC-a lot easier than i thought!) got my ADR base and now my CE!!
So just a quick recap of my experience and thoughts on doing it in france...I wish i hadn't!!! Its been full of drama! the courses did not go how they should have in their defence it was the first time they had done it from where we did it ( more countryside than a big town) and I think their last!! it started going bad at the end of the first course. We where just waiting for our diplomas to come through, I knew id passed the drive and the fimo I was pretty sure went well, you were given a case study and it was all about the drivers hours and routes and lettre de voiture etc, had to dock and take pallets off etc...it really wasnt very difficult, and then we were told, well 2 of us, the 2 of us that had already got our C licence that we had to do everything again!!! it wasn't that we hadn't passed , it was that we had not done it in the correct order??? I didn't understand!!! I was fuming!! given less than 12 hours notice to do the tests again I did with much annoyance.
So the second course (CE and ADR)...what didn't go wrong!!! in short we had 10 different instructors, 7 different trucks, first 5 weeks was in a road train and we didn't start the reverse until the last 2 weeks and then when we did it was very badly organised!! the day of the test was the first time I had put the truck together and apart again, still not sure what this is called in english?! attelage and detelage. So the reverse....what a nightmare!!! I had 4 different instructors, only 1 of them was decent..and i only had him for 2 days, the last one I had, I had a huge fight with as he was not good atall, just shouted all the time or ignored you totally...So...I need more practise!!! hopefully i will do ok, that it is the lack of training not my ability, but im not sure, not confident at all!!! I will find out soon.. I am signing a contact on friday and start work on monday morning early got a 2 month trial, fingers crossed it goes ok, if not, can anyone recommend jobs that don't involve much reversing??

[stu675]

Congratulations! Sounds like an ordeal, but good to hear you're straight into work. The reversing will come with practice (At least that's what I'm hoping )

?! attelage and detelage.

Coupling and decoupling.

[Simon]

Congratulations! Sounds like an ordeal, but good to hear you're straight into work. The reversing will come with practice (At least that's what I'm hoping )

I'm hoping the reversing will come with practice too. Although at this point it won't matter too much, I retire in 18 months
Well done on getting through and finding a job too.

[wanderingstar]

Well done Jo, you did great. You drive a car with the skill, confidence and control of a rally car driver so I'm sure you'll conquer trucks in no time!

[ROG]

Finally I have passed my CE!!!

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