Specialists aside, most Britons, North Americans, Australians and Kiwis who manage to survive for long periods of time in France do it on luck, brazenness and willingness to live in pretty basic conditions. In the cities, bar work, club work, freelance translating or teaching English, software fixing, data processing and typing or working as an au pair are some of the ways people scrape by; in the countryside, the options come down to seasonal fruit- or grape-picking, teaching English, busking or DIY oddjobbing. Remember that unemployment is very high; the current rate in France is hovering at around eleven percent.

Anyone staying in France for over three months must have a carte de séjour , or residency permit - citizens of the EU are entitled to one automatically. France has a minimum wage (the SMIC - Salaire Minimum Interprofessional de Croissance), indexed to the cost of living; it's currently around 40F/¬6.10 an hour (for a maximum 169-hour month). Employers, however, are likely to pay lower wages to temporary foreign workers who don't have easy legal resources and to make them work longer hours. By law, however, all EU nationals are entitled to exactly the same pay, conditions and trade union rights as French nationals.

If you're looking for something secure, it's important to plan well in advance. A few books which might be worth consulting are Work Your Way Around the World by Susan Griffiths (Vacation Work), A Year Between and Working Holidays (both Central Bureau) and Living and Working in France by Victoria Pybus, published by Vacation Work, 1998. In France , check out the "Offres d'Emploi" (Job Offers) in Le Monde, Le Figaro and the International Herald Tribune ; keep an eye on the noticeboards at English and North American bookshops and churches; and try the youth information agency CIDJ (Centre d'Information et de Documentation Jeunesse), 101 quai Branly, 17015 Paris, or CIJ (Centre d'Information Jeunesse) offices in other main cities, which sometimes have temporary jobs for foreigners. The national employment agency, ANPE (Agence Nationale pour l'Emploi), with offices all over France, advertises temporary jobs in all fields and, in theory, offers a whole range of services to job-seekers open to all EU citizens, but is not renowned for its helpfulness to foreigners. Non-EU citizens will have to show a work permit to apply for any of their jobs. Vac-Job, 46 av Réné-Coty, 17014 Paris (tel 01. 43.20.70.51), publishes the annual Emplois d'Été en France (Summer Jobs in France ), which may be useful.

Finding a job in a French language school is also best done in advance. In Britain, jobs are often advertised in the Guardian' s "Education" section (every Tues), or in the weekly Times Educational Supplement . Late summer is usually the best time. You don't need fluent French to get a post, but a degree and a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) qualification are normally required. The month-long TEFL course currently costs £944. The annual ELT Guide (£12.95) gives a thorough breakdown of TEFL courses available; the booklet is produced by EFL Ltd, 1 Malet St, London WC1E 7JA (tel 020/7255 1969, fax 255 1972), and the same company publishes the monthly ELT Gazette which is filled with job advertisements (subscription for 12 issues £25.50). Vacation Work, 9 Park End St, Oxford OX1 1HJ (tel 01865/241 978, fax 790 885) publishes the useful Teaching English Abroad (£10.99 plus £1.50 post and packaging) while the British Council's Web site ( www.britcoun.org/english/engvacs.htm ) has a list of English-teaching vacancies. If you apply for jobs from home, most schools will fix up the necessary papers for you. It's just feasible to find a teaching job when you're in France, but you may have to accept semi-official status and no job security. For the addresses of schools, look under "Écoles de Langues" in the "Professions" directory of the local phone book. Offering private lessons (via university notice-boards or classified ads), you'll have lots of competition, and it's hard to reach the people who can afford it, but it's always worth a try.

Some people find jobs selling magazines on the street and leafleting by asking people already doing it for the agency address. The American/Irish/British bars and restaurants in the main cities and resorts sometimes have vacancies. You'll need to speak French, look smart and be prepared to work very long hours. Obviously, the better your French, the better your chances are of finding work.

Au pair work is usually arranged through one of a dozen agencies, listed in Vacation Work's guide . In Britain, The Lady is the magazine for classified adverts for such jobs, arranged privately. As initial numbers to ring, try Avalon Au Pairs (tel 01344/778 246, www.city2000.com/avalonaupairs/top ) in Britain, the American Institute for Foreign Study (tel 203/869 9090, www.aifs.com ) in the US, or Accueil Familial des Jeunes Étrangers (tel 01.42.22.50.34; 690F/¬105.23 joining fee) in Paris. These have positions for female au pairs only and will fill you in on the general terms and conditions (never very generous); you shouldn't get paid less than 1650F/¬252 a month (on top of board and lodging and some sort of travel pass). It is wise to have an escape route (like a ticket home) in case you find the conditions intolerable and your employers insufferable. It may be better to apply once in France, where you can at least meet the family first and check things out.

Temporary jobs in the travel industry revolve around courier work - supervising and working on bus tours or summer campsites. You'll need good French (and maybe even another language) and should write to as many tour operators as you can, preferably in early spring. In Britain, ads occasionally appear in the Guardian 's "Media" section (every Mon) while travel magazines like the very reliable Wanderlust (every two months; £2.80) have a Job Shop section which often advertises job opportunities with tour companies. Getting work as a courier on a campsite is slightly easier. It usually involves putting up tents at the beginning of the season, taking them down again at the end and general maintenance and troubleshooting work in the months between; Canvas Holidays (tel 08709/022022) are worth approaching. The British company PGL Young Adventure Ltd, Alton Court, Penyard Lane, Ross-on-Wye HR9 5GL (tel 01989/764 211, www.pgl.co.uk ) runs several children's activity centres in France, employing people proficient in watersports or with youth-work experience, and offers general catering, domestic and driving work, between May and September every year; you should apply before April.

An offbeat possibility if you want to discover rural life is being a working guest on an organic farm. The period can be anything from a week to a couple of months and the work may involve cheese-making, market gardening, beekeeping, wine-producing and building. For details of the scheme and a list of French addresses, you can write to Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOOF), 19 Bradford Rd, Lewes BN7 1RB, in the UK; WWOOF W Tree, Buchan, VIC 3885 ( www.earthlink.com.au/wwoof ) in Australia; or WWWOOF RR2, Carlson Rd, S18 C9, Nelson, British Columbia VIL 5P5 in Canada, enclosing an self-addressed envelope.