One of the strange things about working here is that there are a number of "hidden" benefits that nobody tells you about. Perhaps you’re just starting to work at IRCAM, and this will give you some useful starting points for asking questions.

You and your IRCAM badge

First, although everything at IRCAM is handled internally, like pay and supervision, you’re really working for the George Pompedeu museum next door, and this comes with some benefits. For instance, your IRCAM badge gets you in the back door to the museum, so you can skip the long lines. You can get into all the exhibits for free. You get to see all the movies the museum shows for free. You can also get a friend into exhibits with you with your badge, but they'll have to pay for the movies. The employees association for the museum provides benefits like reduced rates to upcoming shows, group vacation packages, and photo processing. It’s worth tracking them down to find the list of benefits. There should be a monthly pamphlet you can get from the personel office, although there isn't one over the summer.

Shopping in Paris

IRCAM has a card that entitles you to a small (10%) discount at the local department store, BHV. Martine Gaultier keeps the card, which you can borrow when you go shopping. Of course, it comes with restrictions, like not being able to buy food, books, no reductions in the restaurant or on BHV arranged vacations (and there are probably more), but something is better than nothing, right?

Cheap Eats

Every Tuesday the personel office sells "Tickets Restaurant" that you buy in books of 20 for 440 francs. These you can spend for 880 francs at local restaurants, boulangeries and even the supermarkets. How these places deal with the tickets depends: some places, like Marks & Spencer’s, don’t give change. Some places give an "avoir" in lieu of change, which you can bring back later to spend as cash, but only at their store. Some places just give change, as if you’d spent cold cash. The hours of sale are limited, so check with the personnel office, and be sure to buy your allotment of tickets before the year is up, otherwise you’ll loose them as of January 1.

The Carte Orange

IRCAM will pay for half of your monthly ticket on the metro. Just bring in a copy of your first month’s pass with the ticket to start the ball rolling. Make sure you ask for your reembursement starting with the first month you're here. Otherwise you might be buying metro tickets for quite a while without knowing. Note to the slow: there's a big difference between a Carte Orange, and a Carte Bleu, which is the french version of the ATM/Credit card.

The mythical "Carte de Ministre de Culture"

There exists a card that will get you into all the national museums in France for free. It’s called the Carte de Ministre de Culture, and is valid for three years. Usually this card is only for people with CDI’s (indefinite length contracts), but at IRCAM some people are so lazy that they never pick their card, and the usual modus operendi is to offer the unclaimed cards to people who are on salary. Here’s the catch: this only happens in the third year of the card’s lifespan. If you’re here in the first or second year, and don’t have a CDI, you won’t be offered anything. If you’re here between the last year of an old card and f irst year of a new card, and have a one year contract you should also be eligable, but this depends on office politics. The best practice is to smooze with the people in the personnel office alot and make it clear that you’d like one.

Getting to IRCAM (and out!)

Make sure they pay your ticket to come here before you agree to a contract. It may seem self evident that they'll pay you to come here, but it's not. I know cases where the employee had to pay his way to Paris in tourist season, which isn't cheap. Believe me. And as long as you're asking for a ticket to come, why not ask for a ticket back to your homeland when you leave?

Medical Insurance

This is really confusing. Here in france it's Security Social that pays the major portion of medical costs. Employees have a "Mutuelle" that pays the most of the difference between the final cost and what's paid by security social. Make sure you have your social security "Attestation" as soon as possible, just in case you have to visit a doctor, or heaven forbid, to a hospital. Don't be fooled by a card that says "sante" on it, that's the card for the mutuelle, and is worthless without the attestation.

Cheap Holidays

As an employee you're entitled to "cheques vacance", which can be used to pay travel expenses (hotel, tickets, food) Money for this is put in a big pot, and the pot is divided using a complicated formula involving how many people ask, and how much they made the previous year.

Death and Taxes


Tax day in France is usually May 1, but there's often an extension until the end of the first week of May. The government won't mail you a tax form your first year, so you'll have to pick it up at the Mayor's office. The form is rather simple, it asks how much you made, and doesn't ask for any calculations. The government will figure out how much to take out of your bank account directly. You can calculate this ahead of time on the web. If you're a student, be sure to mention that, as it will cut your taxes enormously.

It's all for sale


IRCAM's computer team will sell off surplus computer equipment once a year at their "Braderie". The stuff is actually free, but don't expect much, unless you've been hunting for a shell of a computer, or a hollow monitor to use as a fishtank. More interesting is that the production team sells off old mixers, speakers, mikes and the like. Ask Alain Jaquinot for the list of what's available.

Need more information?

A fun, but not always good read is Georgina Born's "Rationalizing Culture", which was a socialogical study of IRCAM done in the 80's. It's available in the IRCAM mediatheque. 381 IRC Bor