In our previous lesson, we discussed ways to make a friendly and polite request in various situations in French. There is yet another level of formality that requires more sophisticated language, often in the form of set expressions and polite formulas, which we are going to explore in this lesson. 

In addition to the more common ways of saying “please” in French—the informal s'il te plaît and the formal s'il vous plaît—there are yet more formal equivalents of “please." One of them is je vous prie (literally, "I pray you"). As Nelly points out in her video, this kind of “please,” je vous prie, almost sounds too impersonal in a restaurant setting:

Pourrais-je avoir le menu, je vous prie ?

Could I have the menu, please?

Caption 41, Français avec Nelly Alternatives to "je veux" - Part 2

 Play Caption

You are more likely to hear je vous prie in a more formal situation such as in a courtroom, like the judge in this video uses it: 

Asseyez-vous, je vous prie.

Sit down, please.

Caption 54, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience: Détournement d'argent dans le couple ? - Part 1

 Play Caption

In the same video, another judge uses an even slightly more formal expression, veuillez (the imperative form of vouloir, “to want”). The two phrases are pretty much interchangeable, as both are impersonal, although you could argue that veuillez is more of a direct command while je vous prie is more of an invitation:

Veuillez vous asseoir.

Please take a seat.

Caption 24, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience: Détournement d'argent dans le couple ? - Part 1

 Play Caption

It is also possible to combine these two ways of saying “please” in the same sentence. In English, we tend to avoid such repetition, but the second "please," je vous prie, tacked on at the end softens the tone of the request:

Baptiste, veuillez vous présenter à la barre, je vous prie.

Baptiste, please take the stand.

Caption 31, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience - Volé par sa belle-mère ? - Part 6

 Play Caption

On the other hand, when starting a sentence with je vous prie, it has the opposite effect! In the context of this video, where an employee in trouble is asking his boss for forgiveness, je vous prie sounds more like an urgent plea:

Je vous prie de m'excuser.

Please forgive me.

Caption 9, Le Jour où tout a basculé Ma collègue veut ma place - Part 8

 Play Caption

The expression je vous prie de + infinitive can also express an order, an official request to comply with the rules. In this episode of our Zooriginaux series, the officious penguin is asking the lion Sir Tigris to get out or else. So in this case, je vous prie de translates as “I’m asking you to,” said in a firm tone of voice:

Je suis désolé, Sir Tigris, mais le règlement interdit de déranger les artistes. Je vous prie donc de sortir.

I'm sorry, Sir Tigris, but the rules forbid disturbing the artists. So I'm asking you to please get out.

Captions 24-26, Les zooriginaux 6. Tiger Minor - Part 2

 Play Caption

Incidentally, do not confuse je vous prie with je vous en prie, which means something entirely different. It is the formal equivalent of de rien (you're welcome):

Merci infiniment. -Je vous en prie, merci. -À très bientôt.

Thanks a million. -You're welcome, thank you. -See you very soon.

Caption 78, Le Mans TV Mon Village - Malicorne - Part 4

 Play Caption

All the expressions mentioned so far can be used in writing or in formal speech, but there are some formal instructions only found in writing. You may have come across public signs starting with the very impersonal expression prière de (literally, "prayer to"). This expression often features on public signs, notices, and official documents. Since there is no direct translation, its meaning will become clear with an example. If you ever see the road sign Prière de ne pas stationner, it is in your interest to understand it if you want to avoid a parking ticket! 

Prière de ne pas stationner. Emplacement reservé.

No parking. Reserved parking.

There is another public sign that you might like to take heed of: il est interdit sous peine d’amende (it is forbidden under penalty of a fine). In this video, Daniel Benchimol reads the long list of rules on a sign in a public park:

Il est interdit donc sous peine d'amende de marcher sur les pelouses et massifs

So it is forbidden, under penalty of a fine, to walk on the lawns and flowerbeds

Captions 34-35, Voyage en France Soissons - Part 2

 Play Caption

Likewise, it is best not to ignore the words défense de + infinitive, forbidding you to perform certain actions, unless you are willing to break the law. Now that smoking has fallen out of favor in France, you may come across more "No Smoking" signs in cafés:

Défense de fumer

No smoking

There is yet another form of request that is extremely impersonal, the formula ne pas + infinitive. The verb addresses no one in particular and, as in prière de and défense de, remains in the infinitive form instead of the imperative mood used for commands. In the context of this song, the use of the infinitive is a plea for help, as the singer is asking people to stop being indifferent to the plight of starving children in drought-stricken East Africa:

Ne pas les laisser dans l'indifférence et l'oubli

Don't leave them in indifference and neglect

Caption 59, Lesieur Des Ricochets

 Play Caption

Now you know that there is more than one way of saying “please” in French, ranging from very friendly to formal and impersonal. And you are now aware that some formal instructions only appear in writing. Don't fret too much over the differences between some of these expressions, as they are often subtle and subjective. Just be mindful of the level of the formality of a situation and remain respectful when making a request or receiving a request. Merci de bien vouloir consulter les vidéos sur Yabla (please watch our Yabla videos) to help you navigate the nuances and differences in formal language. Thank you for reading!

In our earlier lessons on legal vocabulary, we gave an overview of French courts and learned about etiquette and procedures in the courtroom. Now we are ready to enter the courtroom once again to take a look at some court cases and see what we can learn.

One of the earliest procès (trials) in French history dates back to 1456, the rehabilitation trial for none other than Joan of Arc (in response to the 1431 trial in which she was charged of heresy):

Et effectivement alors en mille quatre cent cinquante-six va se dérouler un énorme procès avec plus de trois cents témoins

And indeed, so in fourteen fifty-six, a huge trial is going to take place, with more than three hundred witnesses

Captions 35-37, Lionel Le musée de Jeanne d'Arc - Part 1

 Play Caption

Joan of Arc’s mother fought to have her daughter rehabilitated after her death in a huge trial that, as mentioned above, numbered over three hundred témoins (witnesses) who sought to clear the heroine’s name with their numerous témoignages (testimonies):

Et on va essayer, effectivement, au travers de tous ces témoignages, eh bien, de réhabiliter effectivement Jeanne.

And they're going to try, indeed, through all these testimonies, well, indeed to rehabilitate Joan.

Captions 39-40, Lionel Le musée de Jeanne d'Arc - Part 1

 Play Caption

Many of these témoins came to témoigner (testify) in the small town of Vaucouleurs, not far from Joan of Arc’s birthplace of Domrémy:

Y a eu des gens de Vaucouleurs qui sont allés témoigner à ce procès

There were people from Vaucouleurs who went to testify at this trial

Captions 42-43, Lionel Le musée de Jeanne d'Arc - Part 1

 Play Caption

More recently, another shocking affaire (case) made the headlines in France, l’affaire Pelicot:

L'affaire suscite une émotion immense.

The case is provoking huge emotions.

Caption 17, France 24 Affaire Pelicot : retour sur un procès hors normes

 Play Caption

Unlike le procès de Jeanne d’Arc (Joan of Arc’s trial), which was noted for its large number of témoins, l’affaire Pelicot (the Pelicot case) shocked the public with its nombres d’accusés (number of accused) as well as the horrendous nature of les faits reprochés (the charges):

Hors norme par sa durée, le nombre d'accusés et par les faits reprochés

Unusual for its duration, the number of accused, and for the charges

Captions 47-49, France 24 Affaire Pelicot : retour sur un procès hors normes

 Play Caption

On its own, the noun le fait usually means “fact.” However, in a legal context, its meaning varies depending on the situation. Earlier on in the Pelicot video, les faits translates as “the events” to refer to what happened to the victim, events which were horrendous, as the journalist alludes to l’atrocité des faits (the atrocity of the events):

Gisèle Pelicot arrive au tribunal d'Avignon pour un procès que cette victime de viol a voulu public, malgré l'atrocité des faits.

Gisèle Pelicot arrives at the Avignon courthouse for a trial that this rape victim wanted public, despite the atrocity of the events.

Captions 3-5, France 24 Affaire Pelicot : retour sur un procès hors normes

 Play Caption

Indeed, un fait can also mean an unverified fact, in other words a “claim” or “allegation," an important distinction in a court of law. In this trial from the drama series Le Jour où tout a basculé, a husband nie les faits (denies the allegations) made by his wife:

Xavier Plot nie les faits.

Xavier Plot denies the allegations.

Caption 5, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience: Détournement d'argent dans le couple ? - Part 1

 Play Caption

In a later segment, a witness backs up Xavier Plot's déclarations (statements):

Le témoin vient de confirmer les déclarations de Xavier Plot.

The witness has just confirmed Xavier Plot's statements.

Caption 55, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience: Détournement d'argent dans le couple ? - Part 5

 Play Caption

However, l’accusation (the prosecution) is not buying it:

Mais pour l'accusation, tout ceci sonne faux.

But for the prosecution, all this sounds false.

Caption 56, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience: Détournement d'argent dans le couple ? - Part 5

 Play Caption

Note that outside of a legal context, une accusation is a direct cognate of the English "accusation." So be on the lookout for layman’s terms such as les faits, les déclarations, l'accusation, which take on specialized meanings as part of legal terminology.

To sum up, here is a list of vocabulary words covered in this lesson:

un procès: a trial

une affaire: a case

un témoignage: a testimony

témoigner: to testify

nier: to deny

un témoin: a witness

l’accusé: the accused

l'accusation: the prosecution, accusation

les faits reprochés: the charges

les faits: the allegations, the events

les déclarations: the statements

Be sure to watch our series Le Jour où tout a basculé - À l'audience for some more legal vocabulary and stay tuned for another lesson on the topic.

Drop the e in affaire and you have the English word “affair,” right? Indeed, affaire is sometimes a direct cognate of "affair." But don't be fooled by the similarity. Une affaire can also be a false cognate that has many meanings that differ from the English, namely “case," "things," "incident," "story,” "business," and more.

Let's begin with the most obvious pitfall, the expression “to have an affair." In French this is NOT avoir une affaire but avoir une liaison, as Nelly points out in her video on faux amis (false cognates):

En [anglais] ça signifie avoir une liaison avec quelqu'un

In [English] this means to have an affair with someone

Caption 13, Français avec Nelly Les faux amis - Part 2

 Play Caption

Interestingly, the expression avoir affaire à (to deal with) does exist, but make sure you drop the indefinite article une. Avoir affaire à quelqu’un often implies having unpleasant dealings with someone, like the poor zoo animal in this video:

Si vous lui touchez une plume, vous aurez affaire à moi.

If you touch one of his feathers, you'll have to deal with me.

Captions 29-30, Les zooriginaux 6. Tiger Minor - Part 2

 Play Caption

How else can you use the word affaire in French? The plural form des affaires simply means “things,” as in “belongings,” or else “business,” as Nelly explains in her video:

Alors qu'en français, "les affaires" tout simplement, c'est tes objets, par exemple, ton téléphone, ton sac ou bien le business.

While in French, "les affaires" quite simply are your things, for example, your phone, your bag, or else "business."

Captions 16-18, Français avec Nelly Les faux amis - Part 2

 Play Caption

Indeed, faire des affaires means “to do business”:

Est-ce qu'il est plus facile de faire des affaires en France ou au Québec?

Is it easier to do business in France or in Quebec?

Caption 26, Le Québec parle aux Français - Part 7

 Play Caption

Speaking of doing business, faire une bonne affaire means “to get a bargain”:

On fait toujours de bonnes affaires au marché.

You always get great bargains at the market.

As for private business, if you want someone to keep out of your affaires, you can say:

Mêle-toi de tes affaires !

Mind your own business!

Affaire is a direct cognate of "affair" when it's used to mean "matter":

Chez les Marchal, le bac c'est une affaire de famille.

At the Marchals', the bac is a family affair/family matter.

Caption 23, Le Journal Le baccalauréat - Part 1

 Play Caption

Si l'on en croit les déclarations de Xavier Plot, cette affaire ne serait qu'un quiproquo.

If we are to believe Xavier Plot's statement, this affair/matter is supposedly just a misunderstanding.

Captions 25-26, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience: Détournement d'argent dans le couple ? - Part 4

 Play Caption

In fact, like "affair," affaire can refer to any event or sequence of events that have occurred. Daniel Benchimol mentions one of the most famous and controversial affaires in French political history, l'affaire Dreyfus (the Dreyfus affair): 

"J'Accuse...!" est considéré comme le tournant de l'affaire Dreyfus.

"I Accuse...!" is considered the turning point of the Dreyfus affair.

Caption 45, Voyage en France Médan - Part 3

 Play Caption

Not every affaire is as dramatic as the Dreyfus affair. In this example, cette affaire (this affair) simply refers to a public matter that has previously been discussed:

Un mois plus tard, tous les protagonistes de cette affaire se retrouvent dans la salle d'audience.

One month later, all the protagonists of this affair meet again in the courtroom.

Captions 22-23, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience - Escroqué par une "marieuse" ? - Part 7

 Play Caption

If the affaire in question is a specifically legal matter, we usually call it “a case” in English:

Derrière chacune de ces affaires, des victimes

Behind each of these cases, victims

Caption 26, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience: Détournement d'argent dans le couple ? - Part 1

 Play Caption

When l’affaire does not refer to anything specific other than "what happened earlier," the word often does not have a direct translation, as in the expression lâcher l'affaire (to drop everything):

Ils ont dû lâcher l'affaire et ont évacué la zone en catastrophe.

They had to drop everything and evacuate the area in a panic.

Caption 9, La Conspiration d'Orion Conspiration 4/4

 Play Caption

Speaking of "what happened earlier," une affaire can also be "an incident":

Suite à cette affaire, Patricia a été rétrogradée et mutée en province.

Following this incident, Patricia was demoted and transferred to the provinces.

Captions 49-51, Le Jour où tout a basculé Ma collègue veut ma place - Part 8

 Play Caption

Or it can be “a story”:

C'est une affaire de diamants volés à Paris.

It's a story of diamonds stolen in Paris.

Caption 42, Extr@ Ep. 9 - Du boulot pour Sam et Nico! - Part 6

 Play Caption

Indeed, we could replace une affaire with une histoire in the sentence above:

C'est une histoire de diamants volés à Paris.

It's a story about diamonds stolen in Paris.

Finally, here is another interesting way to use affaire. When a company talks about its area of expertise, what it does best, you may come across the expression c’est notre affaire (it’s what we do best). Here is an example with an interesting interpretation of the phrase:

« Transport de fret, entreposage et distribution, solutions de chaîne logistique - c'est notre affaire». 

“Freight transportation, warehousing and distribution, supply chain solutions - we cover it all.” 

Here at Yabla, helping foreign-language learners c’est notre affaire (is our business, what we do best)!