Popular French Acronyms and Abbreviations

Popular French Acronyms and Abbreviations Lost in alphabet soup? Acronyms and abbreviations abound in French, especially in newspapers, on the news, and in political discussions. You might not be able to learn every French abbreviation and acronym, but you can get a good head start by memorizing this list of the most common ones. The ~ symbol indicates that the English equivalent is an approximation. AB agriculture biologique organic farming ADN acide dà ©soxyribonuclà ©ique DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) AEF Afrique à ©quatoriale franà §aise French Equatorial Africa AF allocations familiales ~ welfare, family allowance ALENA Accord de libre-à ©change nord-amà ©ricain NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) ANAEM Agence Nationale d'Accueil des Étrangers et des Migrations "National Agency for the Reception of Foreigners and Migration" ANPE Agence nationale pour l'emploi unemployment and job search agency AOC Appelation d'origine contrà ´là ©e guarantee of origin AOF Afrique occidentale franà §aise French West Africa API Alphabet phonà ©tique international IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) AR accusà ©/avis de rà ©ception return receipt requested, acknowledgement of receipt A.R. aller-retour round trip ASSEDIC Association pour l'emploi dans l'industrie et le commerce ~ agency for payment of unemployment BCBG bon chic bon genre preppy, Sloaney BD bande dessinà ©e comic strip BN Bibliothà ¨que nationale national library BNP Banque nationale de Paris large French bank BP boà ®te postale post office box BTP bà ¢timents et travaux publics public buildings and works sector BTS brevet de technicien supà ©rieur vocational training certificate bx bisous (at the end of a letter) ~hugs and kisses cd,cd c'estdire that is, i.e., I mean CAI Contrat d'Accueil et d'Intà ©gration agreement required of long-term visitors and residents of France CAP Certificat d'aptitude professionnelle required for employees who do not have a college degree CB carte bleue, carte bancaire debit card CCI Chambre de commerce et d'industrie Chamber of Commerce CCP compte chà ¨que postal postal checking account CDD contrat durà ©e dà ©terminà ©e job contract for a set duration CDI contrat durà ©e indà ©terminà ©e job contract for an indefinite duration CEDEX courrier d'entreprise distribution exceptionnelle ~ FedEx (early morning delivery service) CFA Communautà © financià ¨re africaine Community of French colonies in Africa which use a single monetary unit called the CFA franc CFP centre de formation professionnelle professional training center CGT Confà ©dà ©ration Gà ©nà ©rale de Travail ~ AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations) Cie compagnie Co. (company) CIO Centre d'information et d'orientation career advisory center CNED Centre national d'enseignement distance Number one distance learning organization in Europe CNR Centre national de recherche National research institute COB Commission des opà ©rations de Bourse stock exchange regulatory commission: ~ SEC (US), ~SIB (UK) COD complà ©ment objet direct direct object pronoun COI complà ©ment objet indirect indirect object pronoun CP cours prà ©paratoire ~ first grade CPE Contrat Premià ¨re Embauche controversial job reform provision introduced in 2006 CRS Compagnie rà ©publicaine de sà ©curità © riot police squad CSA Conseil supà ©rieur de l'audiovisuel French broadcasting regulatory body, ~FCC CUIO Cellule Universitaire d'Information et d'Orientation organization of university-level study and career counselors CV curriculum vitae ~ rà ©sumà © DAB distributeur automatique de billets cash dispenser (ATM limited to withdrawals) DALF diplà ´me approfondi de langue franà §aise ~ TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) DEA diplà ´me d'à ©tudes approfondies ~ PhD minus the dissertation DELF diplà ´me d'à ©tudes en langue franà §aise ~ TOEFL DES diplà ´me d'à ©tudes supà ©rieures ~ Master's degree DESS diplà ´me d'à ©tudes supà ©rieures spà ©cialisà ©es ~ Master's degree + one year internship DEST diplà ´me d'à ©tudes supà ©rieures techniques ~ Master's degree in technical subject DEUG diplà ´me d'à ©tudes universitaires gà ©nà ©rales ~ Associate degree DGSE Direction gà ©nà ©rale de la sà ©curità © extà ©rieure ~ CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), MI6 (Military Intelligence 6) DILF diplà ´me initial de langue franà §aise ~ TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) DK dà ©ca (apocope of dà ©cafà ©inà ©) decaf (decaffeinated) DOM-TOM Dà ©partements d'outre-mer et Territoires d'outre-mer former colonies which remain French territories DSK Dominique Strauss-Kahn French politician accused of sexual assault in 2011 DST Direction de la surveillance du territoire ~ CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), MI5 (Military Intelligence 5) DT diphtà ©rie, tà ©tanos vaccine against diphtheria and tetanus EDF Électricità © de France nationalized French electric company É.-U.É.-U.A. États-UnisÉtats-Unis d'Amà ©rique US (United States)USA (United States of America) FLN Front de libà ©ration nationale Algerian political party FLQ Front de la libà ©ration du Quà ©bec Revolutionary organization in Canada which resulted in the "FLQ crisis" of 1970. FN Front National Far right political party (Jean-Marie Le Pen) FNAC Fà ©dà ©ration nationale d'achats des cadres ~ Borders (megastore for books, music, movies, + electronics) .fr (pronounced point f r) internet country code for France GAB guichet automatique de banque ATM (automated teller machine) GDF Gaz de France nationalized French gas company GE Gentil Employà ©e (au Club Mà ©diterranà ©e) Club Med employee G.I.G.-G.I.C. grand invalide de guerre -grand invalide civile severely disabled veteran - severely disabled person (found on handicapped parking signs) GM Gentil Membre (au Club Mà ©diterranà ©e) Club Med member/guest Go giga octet GB (gigabyte) GO Gentil Organisateur (au Club Mà ©diterranà ©e) Club Med organizer h heure (telling time) o'clock Hadopi Haute Autorità © pour la diffusion des Å“uvres et la protection des droits sur Internet Anti-piracy policing authority HLM Habitation loyer moderà © low-income housing HS hors service out of order HT hors taxe tax not included, subtotal Ifop Institut franà §ais d'opinion publique French public opinion research institute INSEE Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques national institute for statistics and economic studies IQF Invitation Quitter le Territoire order to a foreigner to leave France IVG interruption volontaire de grossesse abortion Jour J literally D-Day (6 June 1944), but can be used figuratively to mean "the big day" K7 cassette audio or video cassette - used in ads LCR Ligue Communiste Rà ©volutionnaire Trotskyist political party in France LEP lycà ©e d'enseignement professionnel vocational high school LlH Longueur, largeur, Hauteur lwh - length, width, height LO Lutte Ouvrià ¨re Trotskyist political party in France LOA location avec option d'achat leasing with the option to buy MEDEF Mouvement des Entreprises de France largest French job union MJC Maison des Jeunes et de la Culture Youth cultural center MLF Mouvement pour la libà ©ration de la femme French women's lib movement Mo mega octet MB (megabyte) MRAP Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l'amitià © entre les peuples French antiracism movement NAP Neuilly, Auteuil, Passy preppy, Sloany NDLR note de la rà ©daction editor's note NdT note du traducteur translator's note NF norme franà §aise approved French standard of manufacture, ~ seal of approval OGM organisme gà ©nà ©tiquement modifià © GMO (genetically modified organism) OLP Organisation de la libà ©ration de la Palestine PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) ONG organisation non gouvernementale NGO (non-governmental organization) ONU Organisation des Nations unies UN (United Nations) OPA offre publique d'achat takeover bid OS Ouvrier spà ©cialisà © unskilled or semi-skilled worker OVNI Objet volant non identifià © UFO (unidentified flying object) PACS Pacte civil de solidarità © legal alternative to marriage in France, with a provision for same-sex couples PAO publication assistà ©e par ordinateur desktop publishing PC poste de commandement HQ (headquarters) PC(F) Parti communiste (franà §ais) French Communist Party Pcc pour copie conforme certified copy PCV paiement contre và ©rification orpercevoir collect call (French on the phone) PDG prà ©sident-directeur gà ©nà ©ral ~ CEO (chief executive officer) PEE plan d'à ©pargne entreprise ~ 401k (except in France, the company puts in 3x the employee contribution) PEL plan d'à ©pargne logement ~ savings account for purchase of a home PIB produit intà ©rieur brut GDP (gross domestic product) PJ pià ¨ces jointes Enc. (enclosed in a business letter) PJ Police judiciaire ~ FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) PMA pays moins avancà ©s undeveloped countries PMU pari mutuel urbain OTB (off-track betting) PNB produit national brut GNP (gross national product) po pouce in. (inch) PS Parti socialiste Socialist Party; one of the three largest French political parties (Franà §ois Mitterrand, Sà ©golà ¨ne Royal) PT Parti des Travailleurs Trotskyist political party in France PTT Poste, Tà ©là ©communications et Tà ©là ©diffusion post office and telephone service P.-V. procà ¨s-verbal meeting minutesautomotive ticket or fine PVD pays en voie de dà ©veloppement developing countries qcm questionnaire choix multiple multiple choice test QG quartier gà ©nà ©ral HQ (headquarters), local pub R.A.S. rien signaler (informal) no problems/issues (e.g., on the condition portion of a car rental contract) RATP Rà ©gie autonome des transports parisiens Paris public transportation authority (mà ©tro and bus) rdc rez-de-chaussà ©e first floor (US), ground floor (UK) RER Rà ©seau express rà ©gional high speed train service between Paris + suburbs RF la Rà ©publique franà §aise the French Republic RIB relevà © d'identità © bancaire summary of bank information (for automatic payments) RMI revenu minimum d'insertion ~ minimum welfare payment, income support RN revenu nationalroute nationale GNP (gross national product)main road RPR Rassemblement pour la Rà ©publique French center-right political party; one of the three largest (Jacques Chirac) RSVP rà ©pondez s'il vous plaà ®t please respond (thus "please RSVP" is redundant) RTT rà ©duction du temps de travail reduction of working hours rv rendez-vous meeting, date SA socià ©tà © anonyme Inc. (incorporated), Ltd. (limited) SAMU secours d'aide mà ©dicale d'urgence ambulance SARL socià ©tà © responsabilità © limità ©e Inc., Ltd (limited liability company) SDF sans domicile fixe homeless (noun or adjective) Sida syndrome immunodà ©ficitaire acquis AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) SMIC salaire minimum interprofessionnel de croissance minimum wage SNCF Socià ©tà © nationale des chemins de fer franà §ais nationalized French train system SPA Socià ©tà © protectrice des animaux ~ASPCA (US), ~RSPCA (UK) SRM Socià ©tà © des rà ©dacteurs du Monde Society of Editors of Le Mondenewspaper SVP s'il vous plaà ®t please systà ¨me D le systà ¨me dà ©brouillard, le systà ¨me dà ©merder (informal) resourcefulness TEPA travail, emploi, pouvoir d'achat 2007 French fiscal package TGB Trà ¨s grande bibliothà ¨que nickname of the Bibliothà ¨que de France TGV train grande vitesse high-speed train TIG travaux d'intà ©rà ªt gà ©nà ©ral community service TNT tà ©là ©vision numà ©rique terrestretrinitrotoluà ¨ne national digital terrestrial television serviceTNT (trinitrotoluene) TPS tà ©là ©vision par satellite TV via satellite TTC toutes taxes comprises tax included TVA taxe sur la valeur ajoutà ©e VAT (value-added tax) UDF Union pour la dà ©mocratie franà §aise center-right French political party; one of the three largest (Franà §ois Beyrou) U.E. Union europà ©enne EU (European Union) U.L.M. ultra-là ©ger motorisà © ultralight (plane) UMP Union pour un Mouvement Populaire center-right French political party UNL Union Nationale Lycà ©enne national union for high school students URSAFF Union pour le recouvrement des cotisations de la sà ©curità © sociale et des allocations famiales Social Security UV unità © de valeur university course credit vf version franà §aise film dubbed into French vm version multilingue film with choice of sound and subtitles vovost version originaleversion originale sous-titrà ©e film shown in its original language with subtitles in French VTT và ©lo tout terrain mountain bike W.-C. water-closet bathroom, restroom (US); toilet, loo (UK) x fois (par exemple, 10x plus) times (for example, 10x more) X l'École Polytechnique nickname for top polytechnic school in Paris

Biography of Angelina Grimké, American Abolitionist

Biography of Angelina Grimkà ©, American Abolitionist Angelina Grimkà © (February 21, 1805–October 26, 1879) was a southern woman from a slaveholding family who, along with her sister Sarah, became an advocate of abolitionism. The sisters late became advocates of womens rights after their anti-slavery efforts were criticized because their outspokenness violated traditional gender roles. With her sister and her husband Theodore Weld, Angelina Grimkà © wrote American Slavery As It Is, a major abolitionist text. Fast Facts: Angelina Grimkà © Known For: Grimkà © was an influential abolitionist and womens rights advocate.Born: February 20, 1805 in Charleston, South CarolinaParents: John Faucheraud Grimkà ©Ã‚  and Mary SmithDied: October 26, 1879 in Boston, MassachusettsSpouse: Theodore Weld (m. 1838-1879)Children: Theodore, Sarah Early Life Angelina Emily Grimkà © was born on February 20, 1805, in Charleston, South Carolina. She was the 14th child of Mary Smith Grimkà © and John Faucheraud Grimkà ©. Mary Smiths wealthy family included two governors during colonial times. John Grimkà ©, who was descended from German and Huguenot settlers, had been a Continental Army captain during the Revolutionary War. He served in the state House of Representatives and was the states chief justice. The family spent their summers in Charleston and the rest of the year on the Beaufort plantation. The Grimkà © plantation produced rice until the invention of the cotton gin made cotton more profitable. The family owned many slaves, including field hands and household servants. Angelina, like her sister Sarah, was offended by slavery from an early age. She fainted one day at the seminary when she saw a slave boy her own age opening a window and noticed that he could barely walk and was covered on his legs and back with bleeding wounds from a whipping. Sarah tried to console and comfort her, but Angelina was shaken by the experience. At age 13, Angelina refused confirmation in the Anglican church of her family because of the churchs support for slavery. When Angelina was 13, her sister Sarah accompanied their father to Philadelphia and then to New Jersey for his health. Their father died there, and Sarah returned to Philadelphia and joined the Quakers, drawn by their anti-slavery stance and their inclusion of women in leadership roles. Sarah briefly returned home to South Carolina before moving to Philadelphia. It fell on Angelina, in Sarahs absence and after her fathers death, to manage the plantation and care for her mother. Angelina tried to persuade her mother to set at least the household slaves free, but her mother refused. In 1827, Sarah returned for a longer visit. Angelina decided she would become a Quaker, remain in Charleston, and persuade her fellow southerners to oppose slavery. In Philadelphia Within two years, Angelina gave up hope of having any impact while remaining at home. She moved to join her sister in Philadelphia, and she and Sarah set out to educate themselves. Angelina was accepted at Catherine Beechers school for girls, but their Quaker meeting refused to give permission for her to attend. The Quakers also discouraged Sarah from becoming a preacher. Angelina became engaged, but her fiance died in an epidemic. Sarah also received an offer of marriage but refused it, thinking she might lose the freedom she valued. They received word about that time that their brother Thomas had died. He had been a hero to the sisters, for he was involved in emancipating slaves by sending volunteers back to Africa. Abolitionism The sisters turned to the growing abolitionist movement. Angelina joined the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society, which was associated with the American Anti-Slavery Society, founded in 1833. On August 30, 1835, Angelina Grimkà © wrote a letter to William Lloyd Garrison, a leader of the American Anti-Slavery Society and the editor of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator. Angelina mentioned in the letter her first-hand knowledge of slavery. To Angelinas shock, Garrison printed her letter in his newspaper. The letter was reprinted widely and Angelina found herself famous and at the center of the anti-slavery world. The letter became part of a widely-read anti-slavery pamphlet. The Quakers of Philadelphia did not approve of Angelinas anti-slavery involvement, however, nor of Sarahs less radical involvement. At the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Quakers, Sarah was silenced by a male Quaker leader. The sisters decided to move to Providence, Rhode Island, in 1836, where the Quakers were more supportive of abolitionism. In Rhode Island, Angelina published a tract, Appeal to the Christian Women of the South. She argued that women could and should end slavery through their influence. Her sister Sarah wrote An Epistle to the Clergy of the Southern States. In that essay, Sarah confronted Biblical arguments typically used by the clergy to justify slavery. Sarah followed that with another pamphlet, An Address to Free Colored Americans. While these were published by two southerners and addressed to southerners, they were reprinted widely in New England. In South Carolina, the tracts were publicly burned. Speaking Career Angelina and Sarah received many invitations to speak, first at anti-slavery conventions and then at other venues in the north. Fellow abolitionist Theodore Weld helped train the sisters to improve their speaking skills. The sisters toured, speaking in 67 cities in 23 weeks. At first, they spoke to all-woman audiences, but then men began to attend the lectures as well. A woman speaking to a mixed audience was considered scandalous. The criticism helped them understand that social limitations on women were part of the same system that upheld slavery. It was arranged for Sarah to speak to the Massachusetts legislature on slavery. Sarah became ill and Angelina filled in for her. Angelina was thus the first woman to speak to a United States legislative body. After returning to Providence, the sisters still traveled and spoke but also wrote, this time appealing to their northern audience. Angelina wrote an Appeal to the Women of the Nominally Free States in 1837, while Sarah wrote an Address to the Free Colored People of the United States. They spoke at the Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women. Catherine Beecher publicly criticized the sisters for not keeping to the proper feminine sphere, i.e. the private, domestic sphere. Angelina responded with Letters to Catherine Beecher, arguing for full political rights for women- including the right to hold public office. Marriage Angelina married fellow abolitionist Theodore Weld in 1838, the same young man who had helped prepare the sisters for their speaking tour. The marriage ceremony included friends and fellow activists both white and black. Six former slaves of the Grimkà © family attended. Weld was a Presbyterian; the ceremony was not a Quaker one. Garrison read the vows and Theodore renounced all legal power that laws at the time gave him over Angelinas property. They left obey out of the vows. Because the wedding was not a Quaker wedding and her husband was not a Quaker, Angelina was expelled from the Quaker meeting. Sarah was also expelled for attending the wedding. Angelina and Theodore moved onto a farm in New Jersey and Sarah moved in with them. Angelinas first child was born in 1839; two more and a miscarriage followed. The family focused their lives around raising the three Weld children and on demonstrating that they could manage a household without slaves. They took in boarders and opened a school. Friends, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton and her husband, visited them at the farm. Angelinas health, however, began to decline. American Slavery As It Is In 1839, the Grimkà © sisters published American Slavery As It Is: Testimony From a Thousand Witnesses. The book was later used as a source by Harriet Beecher Stowe for her 1852 book Uncle Toms Cabin. The sisters kept up their correspondence with other anti-slavery and pro womens rights activists. One of their letters was to the 1852 womens rights convention in Syracuse, New York. In 1854, Angelina, Theodore, Sarah, and the children moved to Perth Amboy, New Jersey, operating a school there until 1862. All three supported the Union in the Civil War, seeing it as a path to end slavery. Theodore Weld traveled and lectured occasionally. The sisters published An Appeal to the Women of the Republic, calling for a pro-Union womens convention. When it was held, Angelina was among the speakers. The sisters and Theodore moved to Boston and became active in the womens rights movement after the Civil War. All three served as officers of the Massachusetts Womens Suffrage Association. On March 7, 1870, as part of a protest involving 42 other women, Angelina and Sarah illegally voted. Death Sarah died in Boston in 1873. Angelina suffered several strokes shortly after Sarahs death and became paralyzed. She died in Boston in 1879. Legacy Grimkà ©s activism had a profound effect on the abolitionist and womens rights movements. In 1998, she was posthumously inducted into the National Womens Hall of Fame. Sources Browne, Stephen H.  Angelina Grimke Rhetoric, Identity, and the Radical Imagination. Michigan State University Press, 2012.Grimkà ©, Sarah Moore, et al.  On Slavery and Abolitionism: Essays and Letters. Penguin Books, 2014.