Et bien...?

2. Et bien...?
pronounced more or less: Ay b'yenh
Variation: Eh bien...?
The -en is nasalized: to produce the correct sound, don't let your tongue touch the roof of your mouth.

Essentially expresses a lack of surprise, but also acceptance of a situation as the (not necessarily agreeable) norm and therefore to be expected.
Literal translation: "And well...?"
Meaning: "Well, whad'ya expect after all?" tinged with "Whatchya gonna do?"
Often accompanied by a shoulder shrug, raised eyebrow and knowing look.
Implication: Everybody (especially me and apparently not so much you ) knows that that's the way it is. Why would we/should we expect otherwise and beside there's nothing we can do about it.

Example: Up until a few months ago, our small village, like other remote villages in France, was still living in the age of dial-up Internet connections (j'hallucine). The community finally installed a high speed system, but the job wasn't done properly (Et bien...?). Many homes found themselves and find themselves not only without a functional Internet connection, but also without phone service. So DSL technicians make the long trek up here several times a week to correct the problems and connect new customers. Each time a repair is made to link a new customer into the system, an already existing customer loses his service. We couldn't make any sense out of it till yesterday when a technician confessed that, given the way the system had been installed, the only way to connect a new client was to disconnect an old one. My reaction: J'hallucine! The reaction of the French villagers? Et bien...?