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    $\begingroup$ @Benoît: I cannot help but notice that the faculty at French universities are almost 100% French citizens and/or obtained their degrees from French universities. (I don't blame anyone for this.) I would think that as an American, say, applying for such a job, the competition would be especially harsh. Also, from what I've heard, salaries for a Maitre de Conference position are somewhere between 1/2 and 2/3 of that of an American assistant professor position. (Nevertheless part of me finds such an option attractive. If only my French were better it might be a serious consideration...) $\endgroup$
    – Pete L. Clark
    Commented Jun 17, 2010 at 16:58
  • $\begingroup$ @Pete L. Clark: you're right that it seems especially difficult for a young mathematician from abroad to get hired in France without any preliminary contact (and I know at least one case of a very good candidate that is unlikely to be hired this year given her rankings); however, a fair number of successful candidates are, for example, from Italy (I think of candidates that had their PhD there). Concerning the salary, you are perfectly right but it is still sufficient to live quite comfortably, except if you need to find an apartment in Paris. $\endgroup$
    – Benoît Kloeckner
    Commented Jun 18, 2010 at 7:17
  • $\begingroup$ @Pete L. Clark: there is also a possibility to be hired in France without speaking French so well (although you should be willing to learn): CNRS offers each year a few positions (one or two !) partly dedicated to attract mathematicians with some experience (typically, four years in academia) from abroad. It is called CR1 (Chargé de recherche de première classe), and like any other position in CNRS there is no teaching load, although you can easily give a course (usually at graduate level) if you want to. The starting salary is something like 2300 euros a month. $\endgroup$
    – Benoît Kloeckner
    Commented Jun 18, 2010 at 7:26
  • $\begingroup$ @Benoît: thanks for your response. I sense you're right that I was overstating things a bit (and certainly you know far better than I): in the last decade the liquidity of students and jobs within the EU has increased considerably. But for an American (or Russian, Japanese, etc.) to get a job in France: that seems like a tall order... $\endgroup$
    – Pete L. Clark
    Commented Jun 18, 2010 at 11:48
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    $\begingroup$ I once tried to figure out the relative value of US vs French salaries and found it exceedingly difficult, mostly due to uncertainties in the US social benefits' costs. Even ignoring the health care costs, the universities have different and hard to calculate pensions (say, UMN very generously paid me extra 13% to my 401K, while MIT paid only 5% but had a separate pension plan). Some universities pay tuition for children, some don't. Often, the salaries tend to lag behind inflation with some full professors getting less than new assistant professors, which makes comparisons even harder... $\endgroup$
    – Igor Pak
    Commented Jun 18, 2010 at 18:04