The French are, ethnically, descended from a mixture of Romans and Germans, and in my sourer moments here I imagine that they inherited the worst traits of both: an Italian love for pointlessly tangled bureaucratic rules, combined with a German insistence on sticking to those rules.
Case in point: the monthly Metrocard, or Navigo as it's called here.
A quick review of how it works in New York: You go to a machine in any subway station, stick in your credit card or a bunch of $20 bills, and walk away with a card good for 30 days' unlimited travel. Yes, the machines are sometimes broken, and swiping the card is a bit finicky, but by and large it works well, for visitors and residents alike.
Here's how it works in Paris:
First, you need to get your picture taken -- it's considered fraud to lend your Navigo to anyone else, so you get a personalized one with your picture. Less than 100k in size, please, and framed correctly as an ID photo.
Then you fill out a short form online, attach your picture to it and send it in. The form asks for basically just your name and address, but it has to be an address in France.
About a week later you get your card in the mail.
The next step is to wait for the end of the month. Navigo cards cover the calendar month, not just any 30-day period, so if you're not about to start a calendar month, you're out of luck. (You can, however, charge it by the week at a slightly higher price to get you to the end of the month.)
Now you have to charge it. Find the machines which are plentiful in any station, insert your card and discover that they only accept credit cards with a certain type of chip in them, which of course French cards have and American cards don't. And they don't take cash; in fact I have never seen a machine of any type in France that accepts paper money.
So then you have to find the staffed ticket booth -- only bigger subway stations have them, and usually only at one entrance, which is not always signed -- and hand the lady inside your Navigo and 55 euros, and she will process it for you.
Other than that, no problem.
(Let me add that there are plenty of moments when you feel that the French inherited the best traits of both: German love for and facility with high-tech, and Italian love for good food, fashion and art. But this is not a moment when I'm feeling it.)
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It seems they make it very difficult for Non-French (hence the chip, the picture id) and short-term visitors (hence the monthly cycle) to get a Navigo Card. It makes sense if the Navigo gives really steep discounts, better than the MetroCard. They don't want foreigners getting the benefit for which they pay for in their taxes.
Once you know what to do, it really isnt very difficult.
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