Quelle heure est-il - What Time is it in France

Only 24 Hours in a Day – French Time

Getting the time right from the basics of France being 1 hour ahead of the UK, let alone thinking about all the other time zones where Cle France clients travel from! Organising all the viewings with our 150+ agents at various times of the day can be a challenge but it is what we do everyday, day in and day out so we are pretty good at telling the time in French, are you?

Before moving to France I had never said seventeen o’clock. In France, that’s the normal way to say five o’clock PM.

France uses a 24 hour clock rather than an AM/PM system. This extends into the spoken language, and while you can say huit heures du soir (eight o’clock in the evening) or huit heures du matin (eight o’clock in the morning), it’s common to just say vingt heures (twenty o’clock) or huit heures (eight o’clock).

Image by Kyle Steed on Flickr.

It’s not too hard to get used to the system, but it can lead to strange mixups. Aujourd’hui (today) I still occasionally get mixed up with the time and show up at the wrong time because mon cerveau (my brain) tried too hard to convert the 24 hour time.

One time I showed up to a meeting deux heures en avant (two hours early). I had checked l’horloge (the clock) about cinquante fois (fifty times) before leaving the house and I was just as surprised as the person I was meeting.

Ce n’est pas la bonne heure ?

On a dit 17 heures et il est 15 heures !

It’s not the right time?

We said 5 PM and it’s 3 PM!

I started to rougir (turn red) once I realised my mistake. I told myself that dix-sept heures is 5 o’clock so many times that once I saw a 5 sur l’horloge (on the clock) mon cerveau jumped ahead!

Once I was used to le nouveau système (the new system), I quite enjoyed the clarity that comes from never wondering if it’s 12 AM or PM, even if I still show up deux heures en avant sometimes.

We at Cle France have to be good with time planning as we send hundreds of people every week visiting properties in France and one other chap who is very good with timing is Ben, our Cle France dedicated currency expert, he makes sure your money is where it needs to be and on time.

Ben Amrany from FC Exchange follow this link or phone and ask for myself and quote "Cle France" on 020 7989 0000.

You may contact me directly using this form (click here) with your requirement and I will explain the options that are available to you in getting the best exchange rate.