French blogger fired for online journal

An English blogger in France has been dismissed for gross misconduct

An English woman writing about her life in France has been fired for entries on her blog.

The woman blogged anonymously under the name Petite Anglaise, meaning 'Little English', a term French people use to refer to English females. Her site attracted between 40,000 and 60,000 visitors a month. 

Writing in her blog, she described how she was "Dooced", a reference to Heather Armstrong, who used the online pseudonym Dooce and was fired from her job in 2002 for comments posted on her blog. 

The woman was originally accused of gross misconduct and suspended without pay for bringing her company into disrepute, despite never mentioning her name or the company's name on her blog.

This was later revised to "dismissal for real and serious cause - breakdown of trust" for which she will receive paid notice.

Writing about the experience, she said: "I am handed a letter to read and sign, which invites me to attend a dismissal interview the following week.

"There is a phrase I do not understand, 'mise à pied conservatoire', the horrible significance of which only becomes clear once I get hold of a dictionary at home.

"I have been suspended without pay, pending my dismissal interview for gross misconduct, the kind of grizzly fate usually reserved for people who endanger the lives of other employees, turn up to work under the influence or embezzle funds."