A lecteur/lectrice (male/female) is a university teaching assistant in France. The direct translation of the word is actually "reader," so if you want to refer generally to teaching assistants, you'd use assistant(e). 
As you might know, I've been traipsing around France for the last four months. Before I graduated with my Bachelor's in May, I decided to spend the 2018-2019 academic year as a lectrice at l’Université de Bourgogne in Dijon. 
Since it's the end of first semester, I wanted to detail my experience--both as a way to reflect, and as a guide for those hoping to teach in France.

How I Got a Lectrice d'Anglais Job:

Since my alma mater (Amherst College) has a partnership with l’Université de Bourgogne, I bypassed the formal application process that unaffiliated candidates have to undergo. Each year, Amherst sends a graduating senior to Dijon to be an English TA, and l’Université de Bourgogne sends a master's candidate to Amherst to be a French TA. 
When your home university has a partnership with a French one, your university controls selection, so the application process can vary quite a bit. Personally, I had to create a sample syllabus for a course on American Culture and Civilization. This syllabus is a lot more involved than the kind of classes you'd be teaching, and the level is much to high for undergraduate students, but my home university was looking for evidence that we could teach a creative and thought-provoking class. Also, though all the classes English TAs teach are conducted in English, my application needed to be in French (our language skills are taken into consideration). 
I named my course Marginalized Americans: The Quest for Equality and Belonging Since WWII, and divided the semester into three sections: The Quest for Equality, Hysteria Against "The Other," and How to be "American"?. I included works such as the Hidden Figures film, Only What We Could Carry: The Japanese-American Internment Experience, and The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Each work had a paragraph description, and my sample syllabus overall was 4 pages single-spaced, including a one-page introduction. Your French department might keep "winning" applications, so be sure to ask for examples.
Once selected, I then had to send in my French CV to l’Université de Bourgogne, and that was it! 
If you're applying as an unaffiliated candidate, you'll likely have to send in a resumé and cover letter, either directly to the university, or to a recruiter. It also pays to know people working in the university--one of the lectrices this semester was unaffiliated, but got the job because a former lecteur recommended her. 
One thing to note is that qualifications for affiliated candidates are often looser--you don't need a graduate degree, or even experience in teaching. There are 6 English lectrices this year, and 4 of us only have a bachelor's and one of us hadn't even taught before. 

A Typical Week of a Lecteur d'Anglais: 

This is my actual first semester schedule. As you can see, I usually only taught half days, and I had one day off. My total number of teaching hours amounted to 14/week. It sounds awesome, but you might also notice that I start at 8am Monday through Wednesday. Next semester, I have a similar schedule, but I have much longer Fridays, get two days off, and teach only 11 hours/week (I couldn't escape a single 8am though haha).
Most lecteurs/lectrices are contracted to work 200 hours across the entire year (teaching only, not including lesson planning). Some classes are counted 1 hour of class = 1 hour of teaching, and others are 1.5 hours of class = 1 hour of teaching. I don't really understand the pattern, but you can safely assume that you won't be required to spend more than 300 actual hours in front of the classroom a year. Since I taught over 100 hours the first semester, I was given a lighter second semester. 
If you want to take on extra classes, you totally can, and you'll be well-compensated for it (I think the pre-tax rate is 40 euros/hour). But, you'll only get the cumulative extra pay at the end of your contract, in August.
You might also notice that I have a class highlighted in purple--halfway through the semester, the university decided to create a new first-year group since some teachers had 40+ students in their classes (students in the same group attend the same classes together). You should be prepared for random changes to occur (often for the worse). No one was super happy about the change--the students originally had Fridays off, and teachers had to stay later on Fridays. Even more frustrating, a lot of classes only saw marginal decrease in size.
It's hard to complain about schedules though because we do really have it good, especially compared to a 40-hour work week. Even better, we get academic breaks: 1 week for Toussaint (All Saint's Day) at the end of October, 2 weeks for Christmas, 1 week in February, and 2 weeks for Easter. We also have a one-month break from mid-May to mid-June since exams end in mid-May, but we have to proctor makeup exams at the end of June. 

How Lecteurs Are Paid:

Our salary is definitely on the modest side. Our post-tax salary is about 1208 euros/month. If you've decided to buy a transportation pass, you get reimbursed 50%, so you can expect a month deposit of 1222 euros.
While this sounds like near poverty-level pay, this amount is actually a living salary in France. For one, rent is cheap (at least in Dijon). I pay around 325 euros/month (utilities and housing taxes included) to live in a conveniently-located, new apartment with two French students. You can also qualify for government housing subsidies ranging from 60-200 euros/month (though the process is very slow and some people never see this money). I'm able to buy groceries, travel moderately, pay for a private gym membership, and still save around 350 euros/month. 
We're also paid same amount each month regardless of vacation. So while I may only be working two weeks each April-June, I get paid the same amount as if I worked the full month. We're also paid July and August, though our work officially ends at the end of June. 
On the flip side, you do have to fund your own startup costs, from getting your visa ($150) to your plane ticket here ($400). We also aren't paid until the end of the first month, so you should have at least $2000 saved to use.
If you're considering the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF) for assistantship jobs in high schools and middle schools, know that you'll be paid much less--about 790 euros/month. 

The Classes Lectrices Teach:

While we're called teaching assistants, we're actually in charge of our own classes. We're historically only supposed to teach conversation classes, but you may also be pulled into other topics. This semester, I also taught translation (French-English) and Grammar & Translation (French-English and English-French). I was definitely the least happy about the Grammar & Translation class--I felt totally unqualified to teach grammar as a native speaker, and also unqualified to do English-French translation. There were also writing classes and listening comprehension classes that I didn't teach. Next semester, however, all of us will really only have conversation classes. 
One thing to note is that all classes are only once a week, from 1-2 hours each. So we often teach many different groups of students and see 200+ different faces per semester. This can make planning a little harder as different groups have different levels of English and enthusiasm.

What French University Students Are Like:

Some of my students are fantastic, and we laugh a lot together in class. Others of them can barely understand what I'm saying, and are totally disrespectful. I once asked a girl to put away her ipad, and she literally responded with the equivalent of "how fucking annoying" in French. 
That being said, most of my classes are fine, though phone usage and motivating the students to speak English in groups can be a problem. Regardless of how many times I remind them and threaten to take off participation points, the majority of students will continue to speak French during group work. I've been told that it's really just a culture thing. I've found, however, that speed dating and role-playing exercises get them to actually speak English. 

Overall Impression:

This job is definitely a decent recent grad or gap year experience. You get to experience teaching at a university (though the system is very different from that in the U.S. We found out our courses the week before classes started, so we had to plan from week to week, rather than making a syllabus). You also get enough free time to pursue personal projects, reflect on your next steps, or even take a second job. 
While pay is modest, it's enough to live by. And while students can be awful, they can also be pretty awesome. There's one group that I'm actually sad to be saying goodbye to at the end this semester.
One thing I want to point out is that you will spend most of your days speaking English, so don't take this job primarily to practice your French. If you do want to practice French as an English lecteur, I recommend rooming with French locals. 
It can sometimes be isolating to live abroad, but it's nice to have a team of lectrices with whom you can plan courses, vent, and hang out. I'm an introvert when it comes to large social gatherings though, so I haven't always enjoyed the French social scene.
Regardless of my gloomier days, I'm happy with this job and am looking forward to next semester's adventures.
Until next time,

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Fellow Asian-Americans often ask me what it's like to live in France as a minority. My response usually begins "Well, it's not bad...but it's not great..." France has a reputation for being one of the more xenophobic countries, and while I haven't experienced blatant racism, I definitely feel more day-to-day discomfort than I do in the States. 
I think part of this discomfort arises from the lack of diversity in France. It's estimated that only 15% of the population is non-white, versus 47% in the US. Even more staggering, Asians only make up about 1.5% of the French population, almost four times less than the 5.6% in the US. My classroom demographics corroborate these statistics: of my 200+ students, only two are Asian. 
Non-tourist Asians are pretty rare in France--so much so that when I see one, I notice and feel a sense of shared identity ("oh look, there's another Asian, just like me!"). In America, it wasn't unusual at all for me to run into other Asians (but that's not to say that diversity isn't a problem in some places). When there are fewer minorities, there are fewer opportunities for non-minorities to interact with different cultures, so ignorance is more likely. When there are fewer minorities, minorities are more likely to feel like outsiders. 
I can't speak for all Asians in France, and I don't want to generalize. Instead, I want to share my unsettling experiences as a snapshot of life in France as a minority.
Just so you have some context, I've spent 7.5 months in France total--4 from study abroad (2016), 1 from travels (2017), and 2.5 while working (2018). I won't share these microaggressions in chronological order, but rather on a scale from ignorant to hostile.

I speak French, thank you.

In the more touristy parts of France, shopkeepers and restaurant employees often address me in English, before I've even spoken. Because of my ethnicity, they simply assume that I don't speak French. Some people may argue that their actions are justified--if most Asians who frequent their stores don't speak French, it's easier to start with English (would you speak in Mandarin to a white person in China, for example?). But, you can't deny that this is only a reminder that you "don't belong" and that people perceive you as different.

Another time, I was on the tram in Bordeaux, and I noticed girls about my age looking intently at me. As they got off, one of them brushed past and said sorry/excuse me in Mandarin. I could've been Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Laotian, etc., but they assumed that I was Chinese and that I didn't speak French. I think they had innocuous intentions--maybe they just wanted to use the Mandarin they'd learned--but this interaction nonetheless made me feel like an outsider.

Not microaggressions, but more like plain rudeness or lack of empathy

A couple months ago, one of my temporary roommates and her boyfriend were over when we were having dinner. Naturally, we offered to share with them. I had made one of my signature dishes, broccoli and tofu, and everyone expressed enthusiasm for the tofu--except the boyfriend. He tried some, then declared that it was "weird" and refused to eat the rest. Keep in mind that we were under no obligation to invite them to join us in the first place, that his presence was announced pretty last-minute, and that the couple did not contribute to the meal in any way, even the dishes. 
When I lived with a host family in Bordeaux, the mother and I were discussing refugees one day. Her response shocked me--she said that she understood they needed a place to go, but that they often ended up on the streets, and it wasn't "very pretty to look at them." She was thinking only of her own (minimal) discomfort and totally ignoring the life-threatening situations the refugees may have fled, and the difficulties of being homeless. 
Again, on the tram in Bordeaux, a 5-7 year-old boy remarked that he "didn't like the lady sitting next to him." I was right next to him. And I'm pretty sure I didn't smell that day or didn't dress funny, so I can only attribute his remark to my Asian appearance. Also, since he voiced that thought audibly, he must've assumed that I didn't understand French. His mother tried to play it off as "oh, you think the lady is pretty?" and I was too unsettled to say anything.
I've also experienced several instances of general yelling in Mandarin. I'll run to catch the tram, and someone will scream "faster, faster!" in Chinese, or I'll be jogging and people will make remarks, or strangers will greet me with "Nihao."

Bad customer service, or racism?

When I arrived in Bordeaux, one of the first things I had to do was get phone service. I signed up with a company that offered 1GB of data and unlimited texts and calls for 20 euros a month. Ten days later, I was out of data--and I had only used 500MB. When I returned to the store, they claimed that I "must've misunderstood" the man who had set my plan up. I was fuming--even if I was a foreigner, I could definitely understand the difference between 1GB and 500MB. The store refused to give me more data, even though it was their mistake (which they also refused to admit). I left and changed service providers.
At the Dijon market, I was once looking for peaches near the end of season. One stand had some inexpensive and fresh Saturn peaches at first glance. But, as I was picking some up, I noticed most of them were moldy. So I did what anyone would do--I inspected the ones I'd already selected, and put the moldy ones back. The seller brusquely told me to stop ("arretez, arretez"), and confused, I asked "What? Stop picking?" He said "No one wants to buy the peaches you touch" (notice the "you"). So I put all my peaches down and said "Okay, no problem, I'll go elsewhere."
Another time in Dijon, I went to my private gym with a friend who was visiting from the States. He obviously wasn't a member, but I figured it wasn't a big deal if he didn't use the gym equipment. There were very few people there since it was late at night. On our way out, one of the owners ran up to us and asked if my friend was a member. When I said no, he blew up and said he'd cancel my membership next time I brought non-members. He talked over me when I tried to explain that this friend didn't even use the equipment, and I had only brought him along since he didn't speak French and I didn't want to leave him on his own. The owner continued to chew me out when we hadn't disturbed anyone or anything in the gym. I doubt he would've treated me so poorly if I had been French. I doubt he would've even noticed my friend if we both had been white (my friend is also a minority). 

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The Bottom Line:

I don't want this to read like a list of complaints, or to give the impression that all of France is discriminatory--the country has plenty of open-minded, progressive people. Most days pass without incident. But, it's undeniable that I experience uncomfortable encounters at a higher rate in France than in the US. In the 7.5 months I've spent in France, I faced 10+ microaggressions (or just plain racially-motivated aggressiveness). In the 13 months I spent in the US (July 2017-September 2018), I experienced 3 unsettling situations (1. "Nihao" as a greeting, 2. "Welcome to America" as a greeting, 3. "Are you Korean?" as a greeting). 
Basically, if you're an Asian-American in France, you should expect ruder and more frequent microaggressions than you do in the US, especially if you're from a more liberal part of the States.
Some of the encounters I describe are ambiguous, and could actually not be motivated by racism. I'll never know for sure. What I do know is that all of these encounters made me self-conscious of my Asian identity. All of these experiences made me feel like I didn't belong, that I wasn't respected, or that I was perceived differently.
If you've experienced similar displacement and this post resonated with you, I'd be happy to chat with you in the comments or via email. If you've experienced otherwise as an Asian in France, I'm glad that you've been well-treated--I'd also love to hear about your experience.
Cheers,