Learning French: how workers can enjoy the silence at the bibliothèque

Since the Covid pandemic, when office workers began to work from home (remote working is called télétravail in France) for safety reasons, for many the return to working ‘au bureau’ (in the office) has been gradual – what the French would call au fur et à mesure.

For those whose boss (le chef or le patron) permit (or insist) that they continue to work at least part-time from elsewhere, there are several options worth considering: staying at home (à la maison), working in either a bespoke office or makeshift workspace on the kitchen table; in a rented office space (or more usually just a desk, which the French call, much to the annoyance one presumes of the Académie Française, le coworking) or in a library. Note that the French word for a desk is also, confusingly, le bureau).

The latter is a great option – free wifi often comes as standard in your local bibliothèque (not to be confused with la librairie, which is a bookshop); you can plug your computer and phone in without charge; and, perhaps most importantly, you are guaranteed silence (obviously this is not a good option for those whose work involves lots of phone calls – appels téléphoniques). 

For some with ‘office’-type jobs, leaving the house to work in a public area is a great way to mimic former working habits – just by leaving the house you can clear your mind and feel part of la société française, even if you have little interaction with others.

A bibliothèque is a designated quiet area, but if your town has a médiatheque, you are more likely to be disturbed by music, kids’ club activities, association events and suchlike and general brouhaha.