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New
Caledonia, See
Nouvelle
Calédonie
Navigo: Carte Navigo - The
electronic smart-card system used for travel concessions on the public
transport systems of the Ile de France (Paris) region. Navigo cards can
be applied for free online. Alternatively, "Navigo découverte" (Navigo
discovery) cards can be purchased for 5 € at metro stations and other
approved points of sale. A passport-style photo is required. Anyone can
apply for a card, there are no local residence requirements. The card
can then be credited for weekly, monthly or annual use, providing
ticketless transport on all or parts of the Ile de France public
transport network (buses, metro, RER, suburban trains). In September
2009, a week's pass for travel in zones 1 and 2 cost 17.20 Euros, a
month's pass covering zones 1-4 cost 91.70 €. Navigo will have fully
replaced the Paris Carte Orange travel cards by 2010. The system is similar to London's Oyster card system, though cheaper.
NF: Normes
Francaises. The NF label on a
product means that it complies with French standards. See AFNOR.
Nids de poule : expression sometimes seen on roadsigns in France, translating litterally 'hen's nests', but meaning
that there are potholes in the road.
NMPP - Nouvelles Messageries de la Presse Parisienne :
NMPP is a private company holding a
virtual monopoly over the distribution of newspapers and magazines in France. Set up in 1947 with the aim of ensuring that all
publications so wishing could benefit from guaranteed national or regional
distribution, it today distributes over 100 dailies and over 3500 magazines,
representing some 80% of the market - to some 29,000 points of sale in
France. The NMPP's dominant position in press distribution has its drawbacks;
the company has been attacked for abusing its position and for fixing
minimum quantity levels for magazine distribution, making its services too
costly for many niche market publications. NMPP is a joint-venture owned by Hachette
(49%) and France's main magazine publishers.
Nord– Pas-de-Calais The
northernmost region of France, and after the Ile de France
(Paris) region, the most populated. The region lies between Belgium,
the North Sea/Channel coast, and Picardy. Capital Lille. See Regions of France
Nord, Gare du.
Paris mainline railway terminus, serving destinations in
central
northern and northeast France, including Amiens, Lille and
Valenciennes. It is also the Paris terminus for Eurostar services to
London, and Thalys high-speed services to Brussels, Amsterdam and
beyond. See rail
travel
Normandie
: historic region in the middle of Northern France, between Brittany
and Picardy. Today, the historic area of Normandy is divided into two
administrative regions, Basse Normandie (capital Caen) and Haute
Normandie (capital Rouen). For further details see Normandy regional guide
Notables:
Local VIPs, people with considerable power or influence in local affairs,
either through election or through connections. See Elites.
Notaire
: A notaire is a type of solicitor or notary, whose function is to
formalise procedures, usually on behalf of private individuals; these
include conveyancing (buying and selling property), the drawing up of
wills and testaments, drawing up contracts of marriage. Notaries are
self-employed professionals, holding public office.
Notat, Nicole : Born 1947, former leader (1992 - 2002) of the large
CFDT Trade Union, the first woman to attain such a senior position in
the world of French trade unionism. As a union leader, she was remarkably
open to dialogue, and as such was considered as weak by more militant
hard-liners.
Notre Dame de Paris :
the cathedral of Paris, one of the finest mediaeval gothic cathedrals
in the world, located on the Ile de la Cité, in the heart of
Paris. See Paris
tourist attractions.
Nouvelle
Calédonie, (New
Caledonia)
: French overseas territory in the south Pacific, capital
Nouméa.. A referendum on autonomy for this territory is
scheduled in the near future.
November 11th , le Onze
novembre : Armistice day (World War I), a national holiday in
France.
NRJ (Pronounced
Energie) : one of the first, and now one of the biggest, private music
radio stations in France. NRJ was founded in 1991, immediately following the
liberalisation of broadcasting by the newly elected president François Mitterrand.
Numéro azur : National phone number for which all calls are charged
at local rates (the difference being paid by the company or the organisation,
not the caller).
Numéro
vert
(green number). A toll-free
phone number, usually starting with the prefix 0800. Other special rate
phone
numbers include the numéro azur (0801 or 0810), charged at
local rate, and
numéro indigo (0802 0820 0803 or 0830) charged at premium
rates.
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