At the same time, they are entirely comfortable with robust and direct intellectual exchanges within the negotiation. Indeed, since French negotiators tend to relish a battle of wits, they may even regard the argument as intellectual sport. The emphasis on argument also means that your counterparty will expect your objections, difficulties and suggestions, to be expressed in terms of an intellectual discourse. It follows that a disagreement is not necessarily an indication of a lack of interest in your overall proposals or an insurmountable objection to them. The French admiration of rhetoric also emerges in correspondence conducted in the French language.
Verbal agreements are to be confirmed in writing by the party who initiated the business project.
French business partners place great importance on a contract, and they look for it to be coherent and to give precise definitions of terms. In contrast to the Anglo-American tradition of case law, French business contracts are usually fairly brief. In your negotiations, you may encounter the strong links that still exist between government and business in France. The country still has a surprising number of companies in state ownership. Many top and middle managers of French companies attended the Ecole Nationale d'Administration, which grooms the country's most promising students to become leaders in government, industry and commerce.