Got My Licence! Republican Herald, October 2011

Obtaining driver's license in France takes time, money
BY NANCY HONICKER
Published: October 30, 2011

http://republicanherald.com/news/obtaining-driver-s-license-in-france-takes-time-money-1.1224163

On Oct. 16, I was heading north, travelling by my favorite means of transport, the TGV, France's high-speed train, that has almost turned Paris and Provence into neighbors. I had spent the weekend near Nimes, the region where the bull runs I wrote about last July take place. At this time of year, after the late-September grape harvest, the vineyards are golden against a sky of brilliant blue, and in the surrounding woodlands, wild strawberry trees, members of the arbutus family, look like they belong in a game of Candy Land. The trees are heavy with hundreds of edible fruits that resemble gumdrops. Red on the outside, yellow at the center, they are as sweet as candy when you bite into them.

In the train, I was relaxing, looking out the window, watching the South with its dry fields and mountains, vineyards and olive groves fade away, making way for night and the greener, less dramatic landscapes of the North. I was not thinking about the week to come and the challenges awaiting me in Paris, but while I savored the last three hours of my trip, the time required to travel between Nîmes and Paris, let's say the week was "thinking about me."

While I drifted in and out of sleep, millions of Frenchmen were in front of their TVs, watching the national eight o'clock evening news. The big news of the day: as of Oct. 17, all over France, the examiners in driving centers, where candidates for a driver's license begin their road test, were beginning an unlimited strike. My driving test, whose result I hope to give to readers at the end of this article, was scheduled for the end of that week.

By now, regular readers know the French love strikes and the examiners at the driving centers are no exception. Since a 2007 reform of the rules of the road and the requirements for obtaining a license, they have regularly gone on strike, although until the beginning of Monday's strike, there had been no long-term movements, as was the case in 2002, when examiners went on strike for 47 days straight.

This time, they are protesting against their working conditions and low salaries in a profession where, after nearly 40 years on the job, an employee, who also happens to be a civil servant of the French government, rarely earns more than $3,000 a month (starting salaries are around $1,500 a month). Since the 2007 reform, the 1,500 examiners have seen their workload increase. In that year, the driving exam was extended from 20 to 35 minutes and a new, more complex system of evaluation was imposed. Also, secretaries were replaced by computers and it was up to the examiners to enter the results themselves. More work, the same salary, and, last but not least, no respect.

The result: as of Wednesday, Oct. 19, more than 78 percent of the profession was out on strike, and in certain regions, that figure climbed to 100 percent. It just so happened that my exam was scheduled to take place in Bobigny, one of the towns where agents were protesting loudest.

A few miles from Paris, in the heart of the "dangerous suburbs," the Bobigny exam center has not escaped suburban violence, another reason for examiners to strike. They have been beaten up by candidates whom they have failed and have even had their life threatened. Some unsuccessful candidates, turning their violence against themselves, have stretched out on the ground, challenging the examiner to run them over because they prefer death to having failed the exam! For the above reasons, examiners no longer give results the day of the test and candidates have to depend on the French post to find out how they did, which means at least 48 hours of high anxiety, because first time round, only about 50 percent of candidates pass!

But what about me? Am I still as angry as I was a month ago? Am I driving any better? To both those questions, I'd answer yes and no.

Two weeks ago, I felt ready and said this to the director of my driving school, at which time she announced that I first had to do nine hours of intensive training, at 52 euros ($71) an hour. That was how they did things and without that, she assured me, I would not be ready the day of the exam. I asked why I had not been informed before hand, why this was written nowhere on paper. The answer (and remember, driving schools in France have an almost total monopoly on teaching driving and presenting candidates for the test) was "my way, or NOT the highway." In other words, I had no choice, especially as the director insinuated I would not pass otherwise.

Thus, in the days leading up to my exam I did the intensive training in three-hour sessions. Three hours in heavy, rush-hour traffic, three hours of gruelling driving, all beyond my powers of concentration at the end of a long workday. Having been a teacher myself for more than 30 years, I can attest that such methods are ineffective and may do little more than reinforce the bad reputation driving schools already have among the French. During each session we drove by the Bobigny exam center and each time it was closed. All week long, I followed the strike online, reading every article and report I could find, reading readers' comments as well, further proof, if I needed it, that I'm not the only one who is angry.

Finally, Friday arrived. With a teacher from my driving school and two other candidates, each 18 years old, I made the trip to Bobigny, just in case. And it is a good thing we did. The gate to the center was open. A car was parked in the parking lot. Once we parked, an examiner approached us. Our driving test was going forward as scheduled, and my name was first on the alphabetical list!

I'd heard all kinds of stories about examiners, describing them as cruel, even sadistic, whereas I found myself seated next to a calm and courteous young man who happened to not be on strike. We did the test and I did fine, until I really messed up at the end when, wanting to shift from second to third gear on a standard transmission, I accidentally slipped into first. My two young companions made what is called "une erreur eliminatoire," a disqualifying mistake (after their parents had invested more than $2,500 in driving lessons, they confessed to me), whereas my case remains up in the air. I may have passed, I may have not, depending on the number of points earned: 20 out of 30 and I pass, 19 and I fail. The gear-shifting incident may have knocked me out of the race….

Monday, Oct. 24 - More than 72 hours have gone by since I took the exam. I return home from work, I open my mailbox, and there it is, the envelope with the results: favorable.

Readers, I've earned the right to get into a car, turn the key and drive in France!

(Honicker can be reached at honicker.republicanherald@gmail.com)