4.432 èmes

08:37 Dec 11, 2012 

yes, of course, that's true..... all the other way around re points and commas...

08:33 Dec 11, 2012 

Note it would not usually be a comma; the point is used as a thousands separator in FR; one would never mix a decimal with a fraction, if as you imply it ought to have been 'four point four three two -ths'

08:31 Dec 11, 2012 

to Phil and AllegroTrans...your answers appreciated and I will keep everyone posted as to what it turns out to be.

08:27 Dec 11, 2012 

Thanks for your input. It is indeed written exactly as I reproduced, which, I agree, is unusual in French, because you'd at least expect a comma instead of a decimal point! I am just querying it with the client (well, assuming they respond) as it is clearly a very important number... but I do see what you mean in your explanation. Will get back with any response, for future reference.

06:41 Dec 11, 2012 

If this were indeed meant to be 4 × 1/432 nd, I find it alarming in the extreme that it should be written as 4.432, which in FR quite clearly normally means 'four thousand, four hundred, and thirty-two'. The use of the . to mean × is not common outside scientific / mathematical circles.

I suspect that there is a minor typo in the source text, and it should have read 4,432 1/10,000 ths — these proportions are most usually expressed in 1/10,000 ths, in which case, of course, they can readily be converted to percentages.

You could just check the logic of this: 4,432/10,000 = 44.32%, i.e. nearly ½ the property — is that consistent with what your document is about? If it is only a broom cupboard in the Arche de la Défense, that seems unlikely, but if, on the other hand, it is one whole floor of a building, for example, then it could well be plausible.

00:10 Dec 11, 2012 

I assume the "4." means "four".
We had a similar question recently. I said "four 432nds" (or whatever), but everyone else said it should be 4/432. If you calculate it as a percentage, it gives a very long recurring number.

23:44 Dec 10, 2012 

There's really no "normal" in English agreements - the rule simply being that the expression is clear and unambiguous. I realise that in France, proportions are often expressed in one thousandth parts, but this would be unusual in England. Personally I would opt for percentages.