MAKING YOUR LIFE
IN FRANCE
FRENCH NEWS IN ENGLISH SINCE 2002
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UK family appeals 28 areas at high New property form
for help over mystery drought risk, water latest as June
death at ski resort use rules updated deadline nears
Senators back
proposal for
second-home
owner visas
Lawmakers want to ease red tape for six-month stays
by Liv Rowland
SUPPORT is growing in the French parliament
for more flexible visa rules for foreign
second-home owners.
Several senators and at least three MPs now
back the idea of a five-year visa for this group
that would allow visits of up to six months a year
in total during the five-year validity period.
This would be separate to the 90 days in 180
Schengen visa-free rule that applies to non-EU
visitors, including second-home owners.
Currently, second-home owners must submit
full paperwork each time they want a visa to visit
for four to six months and go through the same
in-person visit process. A fee is due every time.
The proposed visa could be for all national-
ities, and not just Britons post-Brexit.
The idea is possible as France is free to set its
own national rules on visas and residency
cards, whereas the 90/180-day rule is a general
Schengen area policy.
The government also indicated after a recent
France-UK summit that more flexible rules for
British visitors, in particular, could be looked at.
Members of the France Visa Free campaign
group (tinyurl.com/france-visa-free) have shared
with us the support of other lawmakers for
changes since we reported about Charente-
Maritime senator Corinne Imbert in April.
Those who have so far supported more flex-
ible rules for second-home owners, such as a
79 years on, Nazi
victim is identified
Photo: Claude JACQUIER
by watch in photo
LESS TAXING
June/July 2023 Issue 248 €6.25
P5
P39
Photo: 135pixels_shutterstock
P2 / P8
Playing first fiddle Banks must
refund card
fraud victims
more easily
BANKS have been reminded
by the Banque de France of
their obligations to refund cli-
ents who fall victim to card
fraud, usually within 24 hours.
It comes as the number of
frauds in France is dropping
but banks have become more
reluctant to refund quickly.
For two years, banks have
required two-factor authentifi-
cation, such as entering a code
sent to your phone, for pur-
chases in the EU of €30 plus.
The BdF says a client must
be given the benefit of the
doubt unless there is real rea-
five-year visa, include senators Mar­tine Ber­thet son to suspect fraud or negli-
and Cédric Vial (Savoie), Philippe Mouiller gence, including when two
and Gilbert Favreau (Deux-Sèvres), Nicole factors were required. If two
Bonnefoy (Charente), Philippe Bas (Manche) factors were not used, 24 hours
and Jean-Claude Requier (Lot), as well as MPs should always be respected.
Caro­line Colombier (Charente) and Philippe Banks have 30 days to take
Fait (Pas-de-Calais). money back if they find proof
MP Xavier Roseren (Haute-Savoie) also said that the client was at fault.
he would “study the legal situation attentively”
regarding British homeowners in France.
Earlier this year, Ms Imbert submitted a pro-
Car test change
posal for an amendment backing the five-year THE number of checks under-
visa to a new Immigration Bill. taken during the contrôle tech-
The bill was postponed and is now due to be nique car roadworthiness test
introduced to parliament in a new version in July. has increased to 136.
Ms Imbert said in March: “I will take advantage of The eCall, which in recent
the new text to re-submit the amendment.” cars alerts emergency services
She said it was most likely to be seen as in the case of an accident, will
acceptable if it was for all foreign second-home now be tested.
Photo: Helene Luzzati
owners. It had more chance of passing, she The OBFCM that measures
said, than a deal offering a special six-month how much fuel or electricity
visa waiver only for British owners. the car has used will also be
French and other EU visitors can spend six monitored (unless you opt out)
Cellist Héloïse Luzzati’s
months in the UK visa-free. and data sent to the EU. This is
Senators can submit amendments for debate to see if cars are performing as
when the house examines laws as long as they well as during factory tests.
are deemed to be legal and appropriate.
Campaigners continue to argue, however, that mission to shine a light on Fees are not expected to rise.
the case of British homeowners is special as
many bought as EU citizens but are now subject
to non-EU citizen rules, often without having
forgotten female musicians L 14574 - 248 H - F: 6,25 € - RD
è Turn to Page 2 INTERVIEW FRENCH LIVING
‘The EU flag is New health law
no longer a P15 aims to simplify
symbol of peace access to care
within Europe’
P7 Photo: sylv1rob1
P3
2 News connexionfrance.com The Connexion June 2023
HIGHLIGHTS
News
New health law aims to simplify access to care
1-11
3
Second-home owner visa proposal
Continued from page 1
Benefits rules expected to toughen for foreign residents
Î
Eco-grant issues continue / Nuclear sites update 4
How to fix poor UK satellite reception 5 voted to lose EU citizenship.
Defender of Rights ready to help with residency issues 6 The Brexit deals cover residents THE time that foreign people must spend in only six months, while housing benefit requires
Nazi victim identified 79 years after assassination 7 but not second-home owners. France to be eligible to draw benefits should be eight. He also wants to stop payments of benefits
Water crisis declared in south as spring rain comes late 8 There are an estimated 86,000 increased from next year, Public Accounts other than pensions into accounts outside the
Protests intensify over motorway expansion projects 9 British-owned second homes in Minister Gabriel Attal has said. EU’s Sepa zone (to which the UK still belongs).
New rules and changes, key dates coming up 10 France where many owners had Mr Attal wants to align them all on the rules It is said that social security bodies can access
World’s oldest endurance race to turn 100 11 been coming visiting for up to for RSA income support, which require nine airline records to check the time people spend in
six months without formalities months’ presence in France a year. Currently, France. Two Les Républicains MPs have called
People / Comment 12-17 as EU citizens. family allowance, widow/er’s benefit, Aspa pen- for a referendum on making non-contributive
Interview: how cycling led me to local politics 12 Many report difficulties with sion top-up and ASI disability benefit all require benefits available only after five years’ residency.
France a world leader for caviar farms 13 the visa process, causing some to
Simon Heffer/Richard Ogier 14 delay plans to visit. One reader Senator when they wish, like any owner ties from before it came into
Far-Right terrorism threat ‘is real’/Nabila Ramdani 15 told The Connexion they are Corinne Imbert who pays his or her property force (1995), in theory, still
Readers’ letters 16-17 considering selling up as a result. supports more taxes, to enjoy their property,” he stand in parallel with the
Others have told of problems the flexible visa said, adding that he agrees “in Schengen 90/180-day rules.
Practical 18-21 90/180-day rule causes (page 6). options for particular with the idea of a new One, for example allows

Photo: Sénat
Your questions 18 Reader Will George, a re­tired second-home ‘owner’ visa or even a reciprocal Americans to stay in France for
Make sense of une résidence secondaire 19 office manager from the north owners six-month visa exemption.” an additional three months.
Mind over matter when it comes to learning the lingo 20 of England, showed us an email put people off?). He added that MP for Manche Bertrand However, US travel advice for
You can save money by buying local produce 21 message from the assistant of the 90/180-day rule creates Sorre has had a response to his France does not mention this

24
Côtes d’Armor (Brittany) problems if they need to visit written question to the Foreign and we understand American
Photo: Remi B Duncan Photos

senator Alain Cadec saying: “He their property to deal with an Affairs Ministry in which he visitors rarely attempt to use it
PAGES supports the proposal of his col- emergency. asked about a new visa, or a six- as it might be hard to explain to
French living league Senator Co­rinne Imbert
and will back it when the
“We could also make many
more improvements to our
month waiver for Britons. He
said the 90/180-day rule “penal-
border police. We have not so
far identified any states that
Celebrate haggis, whisky, and the Bill is examined by parliament.” garden and property if given ises [them] despite the fact they signed such agreements subse-
Auld Alliance at a Celtic festival near you Mr George, in his 60s, said he the time to be able to do them. contribute to the local econo- quent to the implementation of
INTERVIEW: ‘It is in tough times and his wife had made sacrifices “And my interest in World War my, the life of local associations the Schengen area rules.
that we need to roll up our sleeves’ to afford an old property in a One has led me in the past to and restore old buildings”. Some Schengen countries,
Cook like a Michelin chef French village. They had accompany school trips to The ministry said British own- such as Sweden and Portugal, do
From Nazi war camp survivor to fêted campaigner planned, on retirement, to Verdun, the Somme and Ypres. ers could use a temporary long- allow visitors of nationalities not
spend six months at a time Having used up my 90 days at my stay visa to stay six months. requiring short-stay visas for
there but last year had to “jump house, I can no longer do this.” However, it adds: “At the March brief trips to apply, while in the
DIRECTORY 22-27 through hoops” to obtain a French MP Rémy Rebeyrotte 10 Franco-British summit, France country, to stay an additional
temporary long-stay visa. (Saône-et-Loire) has written to and the UK agreed to establish a three months. They must show
Cancer expert alarmed by ignorance of risk 28
“We find the process extreme- the Interior Ministry, prime ‘dialogue on mobility’ via a tech- sufficient means to fund this.
Ten things your prefecture can help you with 29 ly onerous and with little or no minister and president, saying nical working group to look at In France, extensions are
Hats: the Irish woman who refused to let heritage die 30 flexibility from TLS [contrac- that foreign second-home own- questions of mobility which can exceptional and relate to emer-
Petition to save Girlguiding in France 31 tors for the French consulate in ers, including Britons, in Bour­ be addressed in a bilateral context gencies, such as needing to stay
the UK], creating a huge gogne-Franche-Comté are “a [as opposed to EU-wide].” for healthcare. It is also often
Money / Work/ Property 32-39 amount of anxiety,” he said (see real asset to our region”. The The Schengen Agreement difficult to obtain a prefecture
page 6: Is visa process set up to Britons are now “penalised states that certain bilateral trea- meeting to discuss such claims.
The Back Page 40
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Editorial: news@connexionfrance.com The number of properties sold has Despite the fall in transactions, prices from the Ecology Ministry.
shown a decline since a peak in August on the whole have been continuing to As shown right, most
Write to: The Connexion, 2021 and is now back to levels similar go up, with notaires predicting a rise high-risk (red) areas are
Le Grande Bretagne, 30 Av. Grande Bretagne, 98000 Monaco to those before the pandemic. of around 2% for houses, excluding in the south-east or Ile-de-
@ConnexionFrance In February this year, figures showed new-builds, and 0.3% for non-new- France (but not Paris) apart
1,083,000 houses had been sold over build flats in May. Overall price data from Deux-Sèvres and Possible drought (yellow),
The Connexion the previous 12 months, an 8.1% drop is collected after volume data but the Vienne in the west. prob­able (orange), very
on the same date a year before. notaires publish estimates. Upper and southern probable (red).
Contributors: Liv Rowland, Ken Seaton, Simon Heffer, Nick Inman, Samantha David,
Brian McCulloch, Justin Postlethwaite, Nabila Ramdani, Théophile Larcher, Gillian Harvey,
Volumes are still far above a low of When prices are looked at by area, Corsica (not shown) are
Martin Greenacre, Nick Jenkins Sub-editing: Sarah Henshaw Design: Lynne Spaight 564,000 sales in 2009 but it appears that with definitive prices at the end of 2022, red and orange. a different internet brows-
Proof reading: Richard Henshell Editorial consultant: Bruno Lacombe a near continual rise in sales seen since areas with year-on-year rises included Experts warn that er and/or click to down-
February 2015 – except for a small Brest (14.5%), Caen (0.2%), Le Havre heavy rainfall in May has load a PDF map.
Directrice de la Publication (Managing Editor): Sarah Smith Covid lockdown dip – is over. (18.2%), Limoges (3.4%), Bordeaux come too late to refill the Levels range from ‘vigi-
Rédacteur-en-Chef (Editor-in-Chief): Sarah Smith “If things continue, it is likely that (2.8%), Marseille/Aix (2.8%), Montpel- water tables sufficiently lance’ to ‘alert’, ‘reinforced
The Connexion is published by English Language Media Sarl the number of properties sold [year on lier (12.3%) and Grenoble (4.1%). (see page 8). alert’ and ‘crisis’. Several
Registered office: Le Grande Bretagne, 30 av. Grande Bretagne, 98000 Monaco year] will fall below the million mark Those seeing drops included Rouen MPs have also voted in areas are at crisis level.
Environmental policy: by late summer,” the report states. (-3%), Amiens (-4.1%), Poitiers (-4.5%) favour of tougher fines for For example, from ‘alert’
The Connexion is printed on recycled newspaper. Joanna Leggett, of Leggett Immobili- and Dijon (-7.9%). people who fail to carry level, swimming pools can
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Encart abonnement sur une diffusion partielle. erties overall as last year, but it is hard buy houses with poor energy efficiency should be imposed by from 11:00 to 18:00.
Printed by Rotimpres, work finding them.” ratings at a discounted rate, being will- prefects, according to For vegetables, the rules
Impressions Rotatives, 17181 Aiguaviva (Girona), Espagne The fall in the number of sales might ing to renovate themselves if necessary. the drought level in their are the same for ‘alert’ or
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 The Connexion
Du coup, filler words Native American tribe featured in new DiCaprio
in French are ‘not new’ film has a special link with south-west France
YOUNG people in France are
often criticised for using a lot of
filler words but this has more to
do with the words they choose
than the amount, a public speak-
ing coach told The Connexion.
Du coup, en fait, grave… These
terms are littered throughout
spoken French yet are difficult
to translate, as they can mean
everything and nothing.
The language guardians at the
Académie française, for exam-
ple, warn that du coup should
not be used to mean ‘as a result’,
as it often is, but that it denotes
an instant impact.
While du coup is “clearly asso-
ciated with Generation Z” –
those born from 1997 onwards
– older cohorts are not com-
pletely innocent when it comes
to fillers, says Laura Sibony, cre-
ator of Ecole de la Parole.
“People in their thirties are
more likely to use genre (like),
or au fait (by the way).
“Baby boomers will say pour
ainsi dire (so to speak), d’une cer-
taine manière (in a way) – expres-
sions which are longer but do not
have any more content.”
She says the prevalence of filler
words may be due to the fact
that “French is spoken relatively
fast, and does not allow you to
invent words however you like”.
Other fillers are used to add
nuance, she said, including un
New health law aims to cut wait to see nurses
HEALTH professionals have
welcomed a new law that will
allow patients to see certain
nurses and specialists without
having to visit a GP first.
They say it will save time and
improve care.
The Loi Rist, passed by MPs in
May, will, for example, allow
certain patients direct access to
an infirmier en pratique avancée
(IPA, advanced practice nurse).
Julie Devictor, president of the
Conseil National Professionnel
des Infirmiers en Pratique Avan-
cée (CNP IPA), said: “It’s very
good news, and something we’ve
been waiting a long time for.”
The IPA role was created in
2018 to reduce doctors’ work-
loads and improve patient care.
IPAs are experienced nurses
who have undertaken an addi-
tional two years of university
study. They offer longer consul-
tations in addition to doctor
visits, usually for patients suf-
fering from chronic illnesses.
Ms Devictor said direct access
to IPAs would particularly
benefit patients in psychiatry.
“There is a lack of psychia-
trists, and patients have to wait
months for an appointment.
“If they are seen by an IPA in
psychiatry for an initial assess-
ment, the nurse can evaluate
the level of urgency and poten-
tially alert the psychiatrist.”
It will also be possible to con-
sult a speech therapist or physio-
therapist (up to eight sessions)
June 2023
peu, assez, plutôt… As in: Je suis
assez d’accord (I quite agree).
“This comes from the fact
French is a very written lan-
guage, and we like to form
beautiful sentences with preci-
sion, even when speaking, but it
doesn’t work as well orally.”
Ms Sibony often works with
high school students to prepare
them for their oral exams.
“I start by getting them to
bang on the table when they
hear du coup, just so they realise
they are doing it.
“We can become slaves to our
speech – students often say ‘Oh,
I didn’t do it deliberately’. We
don’t always control what we are
saying, but try to escape from all
the people looking at us.”
Silence is usually more
impactful, she says.
“For du coup, it works well,
as it rarely means anything.
Replacing it with silence allows
you to add rhythm to the
sentence, and give the listener
time to pause and better under-
stand.”
Le Petit Robert dictionary has
revealed the 150 words added to
its 2024 edition, including angli-
cisms such as ghoster, crush,
greenwashing, and spoiler. Many
of the terms reflect societal
changes, such as mégenrer (to
misgender someone).
without a GP referral. Following
disagreements between MPs
and senators, however, direct
access to IPAs and physiothera-
pists will apply only to profes-
sionals who work in existing
healthcare structures, such as
health centres, in partnership
with GPs.
This includes just 3% of
physiotherapists, according to
trade unions.
It excludes those working in
communautés professionnelles
territoriales de santé (CPTS) –
local groups of healthcare pro-
fessionals who agree to work
together. An experiment into
including CPTSs will take place
in six departments.
This does not affect IPAs, as
they are not usually permitted
to work as part of a CPTS.
Patients’ group France Assos
Santé welcomed the changes. Its
connexionfrance.com
Photo: Apple TV+
Left: An image from the film Killers of the Flower Moon, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, which was presented at Cannes
Right: A painting from Montauban artist Rosendo Li shows members of the Osage tribe crossing the town’s Pont-Vieux bridge
NEW Martin Scorsese film Killers of the links between the communities, said:
Flower Moon, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, “Collections were organised among the
is centred on the indigenous Osage tribe in people of Montauban and the money
Oklahoma – but the tribe also has a special allowed them to return home.”
link with a town in south-west France. Mr Drouilhet had always been interested
In 1827, six Osage people travelled to in Native American culture for its relation-
Europe, where they met France’s King ship to ecology and discovered the local
Charles X and took part in theatre shows link through a magazine article.
and other events. “In 1989, I wrote to the tribe and offered
However, when interest in them waned, the descendants of these original visitors to
they fell on hard times and in 1829 three partake in cultural exchanges,” he said.
arrived in Montauban in Tarn-et-Garonne The links have existed ever since, with
to seek help from Bishop Louis-Guillaume Montauban, for example, leaving a parcel of
Dubourg, a former bishop in Louisiana land in its Jardin des Plantes as a gift to the
who had sent missions to the Osage Nation. Osage tribe, now visible in sculptures and
Former science teacher Jean-Claude with a plaque. Since 1999, Montauban
Drouilhet, founder of the Oklahoma- has been twinned with Pawhuska in Okla-
Occitania association, set up to maintain hama, allowing many members of the
Devictor said many nurses do
New law
will make it
already when the doctor is not
available. “The French system
easier to see
continually forces nurses to
a nurse for
circumvent the law. This will put
chronic
them in compliance.”
conditions
Chiropodists will be allowed
to prescribe orthotic insoles,
which are currently available
only via a GP referral.
The law has been welcomed
Photo: Shutterstock _Gorgev
by pharmacists, as it extends
more authority to them when it
comes to renewing prescrip-
tions for chronic illnesses and
administering vaccinations.
Pharmacists will be able to
president Gérard Raymond renew expired prescriptions up to
said: “We have always been in three times, for a month each
favour of opening up new time, for the continued treatment
responsibilities to other health of a chronic illness before the
professionals. patient needs to return to the GP.
“That will mean working in a This is intended to allow
team, with a doctor who is treatment to continue without
responsible for the diagnosis, interruption due to wait-
and then everyone working in ing for a GP appointment.
collaboration.” Pharmacists working in labs
He does, however, regret the will be authorised to perform
exclusion of CPTSs. “We would smear tests to check for any
have preferred to take a leap early cervical cancer risks.
forward, instead of a small step. This will also extend to rapid
“The first issue is we do not tests for other conditions,
have enough IPAs.” including bacterial throat infec-
There are currently just 1,400 tions and cystitis.
qualified IPAs, but this number Direct access to these profes-
is set to rise by 700 each year. sionals is due to take effect once
Rules around who can give the law is definitely adopted in
prescriptions are also due to late May, but the right for IPAs
become more flexible. to write new prescriptions will
IPAs will be allowed to write require a decree to be published
prescriptions instead of just with more details, which might
renewing them, which Ms take several months.
News 3
Photo: Rosendo Li
10,000-strong Osage Nation to spend time
in south-west France.
Montauban’s mayor and deputy mayor
were present in Cannes for an indigenous
fashion show, alongside film crew members
to coincide with the presentation of Killers
of the Flower Moon. They were invited by
Osage designer Dante Biss-Grayson.
Mr Drouilhet also runs a Facebook page
called ‘Killers of the flower moon &
Montauban’ and was recently surprised to
see a Leonardo DiCaprio requesting to join.
Now the initial shock has passed, he is not
convinced it is the actor himself.
“The request was renewed several times
in a few days. I think the real DiCaprio has
more to do than ask to join a Facebook
group of which he is already a member!”
Shortages of 3,000 medicines
FRANCE is facing shortages of ments to be prioritised. Health
more than 3,000 types of med- Minister François Braun said
icine, according to the senator earlier this year: “Once we
leading an inquiry committee have the list, we will analyse
on the issue. all phases of production, from
Sonia de La Provôté said all the active ingredients until the
sectors had been affected, moment the medicine arrives
including anti-cancer and in the pharmacy, and identify
anti-epileptic drugs. where the hold-ups are.
She warned of a “domino “It’s unacceptable not to have
effect” in relation to antibiot- access to medicines ident-
ics as pharmacists have turned ified as essential.”
to one variety after another, He added that steps would
meaning “the whole chain of be taken to bring production
antibiotics” is now affected. back to France. Drugs would
One in three people in be stocked ahead of future
France has been confronted winters if necessary.
with shortages, according to a Mr Braun recently called for
study by patients’ group a joint European response to
France Assos Santé. the question of shortages.
The strain on supply chains Paediatricians from several
has been going on for several countries recently sent a letter
months. Various factors have to European health ministers
played a part, including high warning that children were at
demand due to winter flu and risk due to shortages of medi-
bronchiolitis epidemics, and cines, including antibiotics
the EU’s reliance on manufac- and asthma treatments.
turing in China and India. Pharmacists are now allowed
To prevent future shortages, to sell exact doses of certain
the government has drawn up medicines, including antibiot-
a list of 280 ‘essential’ medi- ics, to reduce waste.
cines, which must still be However, a year on, only
finalised. There is no indica- 0.1% of reimbursable medi-
tion of when it will be made cine is sold this way.
public. The idea, inspired by Pharmacists say they do not
similar measures taken in the have time to separate doses
UK and US, will allow the into new boxes and print off
production of these treat- new labels.
 4 News connexionfrance.com The Connexion June 2023

Nuclear red tape reduced Electric car charge points hit

despite cracks in reactors 100,000 – but are little used
THE CONSTRUCTION time
for new nuclear reactors could
Penly nuclear power plant in Normandy THE NUMBER of public
charging points for electric Windscreen code to aid rescuers
be reduced by at least two years vehicles passed the 100,000 ALL NEW Renault and Dacia
thanks to a new bill that simpli- mark in May, five months later cars now come with QR codes
fies administrative procedures than the government’s revised on the windscreen and rear
and planning documents. target of the end of the year. window to give emergency

Photo: Renault
The legislation was approved There has been a dramatic services key safety information.
by parliament in May and the rise in the rate of installation – Scanning the code reveals
government hailed an environ- from 3,000-5,000 new points details such as where airbag
Photo: Dan Lee / Alamy

mental step forward. per year before 2020 to 3,000- cartridges are found (to avoid no rules making it obligatory,
It also removes the current 4,000 a month in the years them being punctured during a Renault spokesman said.
50% cap on nuclear power’s since, new official data shows. rescues), whether the seats Another Renault safety inno-
share of France’s electricity mix France now has the second- slide, and how they can be vation, patented for electric
and introduces tougher penal- largest network of charging moved if the contact switches cars, is an oval trap of thin
ties for people who illegally 23mm. It means that if the per year into the public grid – points in Europe, behind the are off. Battery location and plastic, which allows firefight-
enter a nuclear power plant. circuit was ever used in an about 80% of the annual con- Dutch (125,000 points) but the safest places to cut the car ers to safely squirt water on
It has been a difficult few emergency, the pipe, holding sumption of Normandy. ahead of the Germans (85,000). body are also given. the battery if it catches fire.
months for France’s nuclear mildly radioactive hot water EDF said its investigation In France, almost all electric The codes were first used in Batteries are often sealed
industry after a large crack was under 50 bars of pressure, showed the cracked weld had car purchasers also buy a 2014 on Renault’s Zoe electric away and can burn for two or
discovered in March in a pipe would be at risk of leaking. been badly repaired twice dur- domestic wallbox charger and cars after concerns that three hours. The plastic trap,
that forms part of an emergency Experts said that, in such a ing the plant’s construction, with Renault estimates that 90%-plus high-powered electric cables which melts if the battery
cooling circuit at a nuclear reac- case, radiation would have been pipes forced into position. of the electricity used to charge might be cut during rescues. catches fire, usually means the
tor near Dieppe, in Normandy. kept within the perimeter of the Penly was one of the last reac- batteries comes from them. The system is also used by blaze can be extinguished in
The fault, at the Penly site, was building and there was no risk tors built using a so-called Public points are thus mainly Mercedes. However, there are under 10 minutes.
identified while the plant was to the public. P4 design. used in holiday season by driv-
shut down for routine mainten- However, the nuclear safety There are two pairs of P4 reac- ers passing through. power to the battery in half an over, new figures from the
ance and checks for cracks – a regulator ASN said the crack tors at the power stations of Public chargers, which are hour for several hundred kilo- industry agency Avere show. In
problem that has plagued EDF classified as a Level 2 incident Nogent-sur-Seine (Aube) and usually expensive to use, are vis- metres of driving range but March, the best-selling electric
reactors for 18 months. – Level 5 being the most serious Belleville-sur-Loire (Cher), and ited only 13.5 times a month on each station (usually two to car in France was the Tesla
It had recently invested in an – and ordered EDF to carry out one each at Cattenom (Moselle) average, says the Association four cable points) costs around Model Y, with 6,455 vehicles
emergency programme to repair an accelerated inspection and and Golfech (Tarn-et-Garonne), nationale pour le développe- €1million to install. sold. A price drop made it elig-
them, which involved 100 spec- repair programme. all of which are now under ment de la mobilité électrique. By far the majority of the pub- ible for bonus écologique grants,
ialist welders from the US. The Further checks revealed close inspection. A third of public chargers are lic chargers are 22kW or less – a under which drivers can receive
work had been deemed a success another two cracks at French operated by shops, usually level that makes installation €5,000 to €7,000 towards an
and feared power cuts over the power plants, albeit less serious. n A French-led nuclear alliance supermarkets, a third are in pub- costs cheaper and that usually electric car worth less than
winter were avoided. One was in the second Penly met in Paris in May to prepare lic car parks, and a quarter in provides 50-100km of driving €47,000.
Most of the cracks discovered reactor and measured 57mm plans for developing an integrat- parking bays along the side of range in 30 minutes of charging. The next bestseller was the
so far have been no more than a long and 12mm deep. The other ed European nuclear industry to the road. The rest are mainly on At the end of March, there Dacia Spring. For electric vans,
couple of millimetres deep in was at Cattenom in Moselle and reach 150GW of nuclear in the business premises, often garages. were more than 760,000 electric the Citroën ë-Berlingo was the
the 27mm-thick pipes. measured 165mm long and EU electricity mix by 2050. Fast chargers, giving up to vehicles on French roads and most popular.
The crack at Penly, however, 4mm deep. The group comprises 16 150kW of power, make up only another 449,000 plug-in President Macron has said he
is 155mm long – a quarter Penly was commissioned in European countries, including 6% of public chargers in France, hybrids, which typically have a wants to change the bonus rules
of the circumference of the pipe 1990 and feeds, on average, the UK as a special ‘guest’. and are mainly on autoroutes. 30km electric-only range before so that it applies only to cars
– with a maximum depth of about 18 billion kilowatt-hours Germany has not signed up. They can usually give enough a conventional engine takes made in Europe.

Eco-grant issues continue to mount

A SUBSIDY scheme for eco-friendly home plained to it about the service. It called for
renovation work continues to be marred the government to form a crisis committee
by complaints from applicants and a to sort out bugs on the website, work to
reluctance among building professionals reduce the time taken to make payments,
Photo: Bilanol_Shutterstock

to become accredited. appoint named people to handle each case,

To qualify, any such work must be carried
out by a tradesperson with Reconnu garant
de l’environnement (RGE) certification.
However, official figures from Ademe, one
of the agencies running the scheme, show
France has only 62,410 certified companies,
representing less than 5% of the 1.3 million
building companies listed in France.
This creates a huge backlog, as those seek-
ing to apply for MaPrimeRenov’ govern-
ment grants scramble to book these trades-
people in the short time windows afforded
to them when applying for aid.
Last year, Finance Minister Bruno Le
Maire said he wanted to quadruple the
number of RGE-certified tradespeople by
2028, to 250,000.
When asked why they are not interested
in getting RGE accreditation, many trades-
people cite the complexity of obtaining the
certificate – and the cost.
A carpenter in Charente told The
Connexion: “I used to be RGE-registered
when it first came out in 2015, but I did not
renew it after the four-year period was up.
The file we needed for all the paperwork
was as thick as a telephone book.
“It took about two weeks of office work to
complete, and it cost over €4,000 over the
four years. We have work on our books
until 2025 at the moment without RGE, so
Energy renovations must be done by RGE-
certified tradespeople to qualify for grants
but too few workers are accredited
I do not see the point any more.”
Qualit’EnR, one of the certifying bodies,
said its prices ranged from €895 to €2,360
before tax for the entire four years, depend-
ing on the nature of the qualification.
A spokesman said: “I do not know where
the €4,000 figure comes from – it is not
something we recognise.”
Ademe did not respond for information
on the price of RGE certification.
However, the RGE issue is only part of
MaPrimeRénov’s problems.
Delays or refusals to pay out for approved
applications were first exposed in 2021 by
consumer rights organisation UFC-Que
Chosir and the problem has not gone away.
A complaints site set up by the government
after the gilets jaunes protests (tinyurl.com/
RGE-complaints) receives two to four com-
plaints a day about MaPrimRénov’ delays.
Meanwhile, the government ombudsman,
Défenseur des droits, told a Senate inquiry
in the spring that 500 people have com-
set up a separate complaints channel direct
to ministries, and pay the backlog of
delayed payments.
Among those affected is The Connexion
reader Alan Henderson, from Charente.
He signed up with MaPrimeRenov’ in
September 2021 to help cover the cost of a
€10,000 air-heat pump hot water system. He
was told he was eligible for a €5,000 subsidy.
The system was installed in March 2022,
and he was informed via an email that the
money would be paid. However, he is still
waiting 15 months on, despite his local
maire taking up the case.
“In July 2022, MaPrimeRenov’ said they
wanted to do an inspection, and we heard
nothing more. Then they said we had not
confirmed a time for the inspection,” said
Mr Henderson.
“It turned out the inspector had the wrong
phone number, in spite of our correct con-
tact details being on all the forms.”
In his last letter from MaPrimeRenov’, in
April this year, the agency said it would be
in touch if it needed more information.
Mr Henderson is now considering legal
action. “It has been over a year, and every-
one who has tried to help us says the prob-
lem is that you can never speak to one
person, and the people you speak to refuse
to give their names or job titles,” he said.
 The Connexion
Website bug
reported on
P&O system
P&O is investigating a bug on its
website that prevents people
from providing advance passen-
ger information – such as pass-
port details – after booking.
This information is usually
required for travel between the
UK and EU.
We reported the issue to the
firm following emails from a
reader. He said P&O’s customer
services admitted to technical
problems and told him his pass-
port could simply be scanned
at the port.
He was concerned since a
third-party booking portal had
informed him that pre-registra-
tion was obligatory.
n In view of renewed media
reports of travel problems due to
post-Brexit rules for UK pass-
ports, we note that these apply
only to visitors and not to
Britons who live in France and
have a valid carte de séjour.
The latter can enter from the
UK with a valid passport but
visitors must check that their
passport on entry was issued less
than 10 years ago (see ‘date of
issue’), and is valid for at least
three months after the day they
will leave the EU to return to the
UK (check ‘expiry date’).
Appeal for help
over son’s tragic
ski resort death
THE FAMILY of
a man found
dead during a ski
holiday in Haute-
Savoie last year
are still appealing
for anyone with
information to
get in touch. Early on March 31,
2022, the body of musician Pat­
rick (Paddy) Findlay, 27, from
Hertfordshire (pictured) was
found at the foot of a cliff.
He had been with a friend at
the Social bar in Flaine and left
to catch up with him as they
were to take a funicular down to
the White Pub in a lower area.
He left at 00:51, in a grey shirt,
beige jacket and blue jeans.
He spoke on the phone with his
friend at 00:55 saying he would
be there “in a minute”, and the
friend took the lift alone soon
afterwards. Mr Findlay checked
his WhatsApp at 1:07 but when
his friend called many times
from 1:20, he did not reply.
His mother Dinah said invest-
igators say it was an accident,
but she has many unanswered
questions. She is asking anyone
who saw her son after 00:55 to
email on patrickinvestigation@
hotmail.com.
She asks in particular why he
would take a path in “completely
the wrong direction” then,
despite having drunk only
moderately, walk off through a
dark wood and slip over a cliff
at the end.
June 2023
What to do if UK satellite TV is poor
WE HAVE received many
reports about problems in
France with the reception of
satellite TV over the UK’s
Freesat network.
This is linked to an accelerat-
ing switchover to high-definition
(HD) broadcasts from standard
definition (SD) technology.
HD allows for crisper images
but older Freesat and Sky
receiver boxes are SD-only.
It means viewers need to
change their receiver box or
re-tune. Some might also need
a bigger dish.
TV over the internet is anoth-
er alternative.
The BBC recently closed
almost all of its SD services.
Both it and ITV say the last SD
channels will be turned off
from the end of March 2024.
Channel 4 is also moving
towards mostly HD.
For some readers, changing to
an HD box solved the issue.
Many mentioned a Man­hattan
Freesat receiver, which is availa-
ble for around £70.
Others report that their recep-
tion, despite being HD, is affect-
ed by weather changes.
“All channels go if it is not
sunny – and we have an extra-
large dish,” said a reader in
Haute-Savoie.
Richard Westbrook, of Sky in
France, based in Occitanie, said
Drivers could face
€1,000 AdBlue bills
TECHNOLOGY designed to
improve diesel engine exhaust
emissions has left thousands of
motorists with bills of around
€1,000 each, leading consumer
group UFC Que Choisir reports.
The system uses a solution of
distilled water and urea, branded
AdBlue. You can top up at blue
pumps in certain service stations
or buy AdBlue in containers
from motoring shops.
It is automatically injected into
a car’s exhaust system, where it
breaks down polluting nitrogen
oxide so that only nitrogen and
water vapour are emitted.
The first indication that a refill
is needed comes from a warning
light and usually it takes two
years of driving for this to show.
Problems reportedly come
when the sensor built into the
reservoir does not work.
If the fluid runs out, the car
will not start until the whole
reservoir is replaced, costing
more than €1,000. The sensor is
not available individually.
French still like to pay in cash
HALF of all payments in French shops – excluding online purchases
– are still made using cash, a European Central Bank survey found.
It is the most popular payment method, with cards following
(43%), though payment by phone is also gaining popularity, doub-
ling in three years. The figure for cash has dropped by seven per-
centage points since 2019, and 18 points since 2016, but the drop is
less than the EU average of 14. Anonymity and protection of private
life are among the reasons given for people preferring cash.
connexionfrance.com
60
70
90
100
130
most people already have HD
boxes and can probably contin-
ue receiving HD services if
they have a correct-sized dish.
He said new dishes cost
around €200-£350, depen­ ding
on size.
BBC HD signals seem to have
become weaker with this year’s
changes, he added. Plus, there
is often a drop-off in signal
strength from April to August
related to the tilt of the Earth.
An IP TV box for streaming
over the internet can be an
alternative.
Sky Stream, with a specific
Sky box that allows streaming
to your TV with wifi, is another
possibility.
Anyone with a smart TV can
also use this, combined with
a VPN paid-for service that
disguises the location of your
TV by providing a UK-based
IP address.
After asking for member expe-
riences, UFC Que Choisir col-
lected 1,418 individual reports.
It found that Peugeot and
Citroën cars were the most
affected, but almost all diesel
cars made between 2013 and
2020 were involved, especially
those made from 2015 to 2019.
“The problems are treated case
by case by manufacturers, which
is regrettable,” said UFC. “There
is a lack of transparency over
how much the owners will be
left out of pocket.”
Only 9% of the UFC members
had repairs entirely covered:
55% had a partial refund and
36% had to pay in full. Among
those who had to pay part of the
bill, the average was €921.
Crystallisation of the AdBlue
was sometimes found to have
caused sensor malfunctions and
other issues. Risk can be reduced
by not fully filling the reservoir,
not continuing filling after the
pump’s first cut-off, and adding
anti-crystallisation agents.
News 5
Left: Dish sizes
by area advised
Other reader tips:
by Sky in France n Cable quality can also make a
– the firm is still difference to satellite reception.
monitoring “Webro’s WF100 is great for
whether tweaks preventing signal quality loss.
Photo: Trevor Dallas, tvbrittany.com
are needed due Also I think a lot of people
to changes in align the dish and get a good
signal strength signal strength but then don’t
tilt the LNB [a little box on an
Right: Trevor
arm that points towards the
Dallas of
centre of the dish] to bring up
TVBrittany
the signal quality too.”
Mr Westbrook said people as BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub
who use Sky boxes can still find (‘catch-up’), for which he can n “You should completely rescan
SD services on channels 801 to provide a dedicated VPN router the satellite and do some house-
805 while wait­ing to get a bigger box. This uses a small UK keeping on your saved chann-
dish for bet­ter HD reception. service that is not blocked, els,” another advised.
In some cases, poor reception unlike many of the well-known De­ s­
pite having a “cheap as
may simply be due to a dish VPN companies. chips HD box,” he said this had
being blown out of alignment, Plugging it into your French got everything working again.
Mr Westbrook added. internet box allows users
His firm can look at it for free, to watch Netflix or Amazon n A reader from Lot used to
and charges €80 to realign it, Prime’s UK services, if they watch on SD as it was less
if necessary. have subscribed to these. affected by weather and was
Trevor Dallas of TVBrittany, He can also provide a ‘wifi struggling to watch the BBC
serving mostly northern France, Magbox’ linked to a particular after it went all-HD. A tech-
said the move to all-HD is due British service that allows you nician replacing the head on her
to demand for quality. to access all the usual UK chan- dish had solved the issue.
“If you’re paying €2,000 for a nels, as well as a library of
TV, you don’t want fuzzy old films and series box-sets. Both n Try a low-tech approach first
1980s-style pictures.” involve subscriptions. by just rebooting your box:
He reports selling a lot of HD Several readers also suggest unplugging it, leaving it a while,
boxes this spring to people with VPNs or a similar Smart DNS. then plugging it back in again.
old equipment at their French Some combine this with a sep-
second homes. arate router or a Fire TV stick. Have you found other solutions to
He adds that streaming televi- The latter converts an ordinary this issue? Please let us know at
sion is becoming popular. This TV to a smart TV that can con- news@connexionfrance.com and
includes UK TV services such nect to the internet. we will share them with readers
Here to listen
We are Cancer Support France, supporting English-speaking
people in France who are touched by cancer.
We offer free, confidential support for English-speaking people throughout France
touched in any way by cancer. Our highly trained volunteers offer emotional,
language and practical help. CSF trained volunteers can guide you towards the
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To find out more about our support, please contact us.
Email: helpline@cancersupportfrance.org
Call: 0800 240 200 Web: www.cancersupportfrance.org
CSF Press Advert Female 129x170.indd 1 06/05/2022 14:06
 Residency cards /
6 News
Visas / Admin connexionfrance.com The Connexion June 2023

Defender of Rights ready to help with residency issues

FRANCE’S Defender of Rights is ready
to help foreigners in the country who
face administrative difficulties, even if
they are not full-time residents.
The Défenseure des Droits’ report
for 2022 flagged up foreigners’
residency as the ‘most complained-
about’ public service, so we spoke to
mon, even if it can be complicated when equipped to do their jobs from home, To find your local delegates, go to:
it comes to prefectures.” Delegates which slowed down processing. tinyurl.com/ddd-delegates.
often mediate, seeking a solution or “Britons then had the misfortune In theory, they focus especially on
explanation, whereas national-level that the consequences of Brexit, and disputes over interpretation of rules and
lawyers typically help with legal action. the new necessity to undertake proce- unusual situations that were not provid-
The Defender continues to receive dures to have residency cards, came ed for, but are now being called on just
many complaints related to foreigners’ just at that point when the services had because people cannot get an appoint-
services, particularly related to the become worse for all non-EU citizens.” ment, which is “extremely serious”.

Photo: Défenseur des droits

Daniel Agacinski, her deputy in
charge of mediation.
The Défenseure is both a person –
currently Claire Hédon – and a service,
including central office staff in Paris
and 570 departmental delegates.
People facing difficulties with official
bodies can apply to the De­fender by
online form (tinyurl.com/seize-ddd),
phone, in person with a departmental
delegate, or in writing, without a stamp,
to: Défenseur des Droits, Libre réponse
71120, 75342 Paris CEDEX 07.
The remit is even larger for ‘discrimin-
ation’ – for example, if you believe you
were poorly treated based on origins
or nationality, the Defender can help
even if a state body was not involved.
The Defender can look into issues free
of charge and undertake mediation, or
assist with going to court.
Mr Agacinski said: “The strategy
depends on the situation and the
nature of the infringement of rights
that we identify, but the amicable
[mediation] process is the most com-
trend for putting procedures online.
“Digitisation made procedures easier
for some, but it’s made it harder for
those who have difficulty using the
internet or anyone who comes across
bugs or difficulties because their situa-
tion doesn’t tick the usual boxes.
“If an online process is the only
option and it’s not accompanied by a
human presence, able to respond to
questions and help with blockages, it
can harm people’s rights.”
Issues have been reported with this
in many areas of public service, from
social services to unemployment bene-
fits, but it has caused the most serious
consequences for users of residency
services at prefectures because of the
wide-ranging impact on people’s lives.
“It’s also the case where contact with
the service has been become the most
closed-off and reduced in quality.
“That had already started before the
pandemic, due to political and organis-
ational choices, so we can’t put it all
down to that, even though it rapidly
Daniel Agacinski, mediation chief
made things worse,” Mr Agacinski said.
It has become “extremely difficult, if not
impossible, to communicate with some-
one,” though it is likely to be easier away
from the large cities. As a result, people
might not get the advice they need to
complete formalities correctly, and end
up needing help from other providers,
such as social workers or charities.
The move to putting applications
online appeared to have been done too
fast and without enough backup from
actual people where necessary.
“Even the Cour des Comptes [which
checks on public spending] has recog-
nised that we went too far, too fast
in reducing personnel in prefectures.”
That was then compounded during
the pandemic, as many staff were not
However the “first shock” had come
in 2017-18 with the closing down of
face-to-face services for driving licenc-
es and vehicle cartes grises. Mr Agacin­
ski said that situation had improved but
there were now concerns over redeploy-
ment of more staff at ANTS towards
French people’s passports and ID cards.
Regarding residency, he said people
often cannot turn to France Services
centres that help with administrative
tasks, as residency matters are not offic-
ially part of their remit. Some, but not
all, prefectures have points d’accueil
numériques (IT help desks), but they
help with using official websites, not
with residency problems per se.
The Defender can help, for example,
when a card is refused or it is taking
too long to obtain a response from
officials. “All foreigners who are [phys-
ically] in France can see a delegate to
see if their rights have been infringed
and we can help to restore the person’s
rights, or obtain a response or get a
situation looked at again.”
Last year, top administrative body the
Conseil d’Etat said there must be help
on offer for those experiencing issues
with online residency procedures, and
alternative ways of accomplishing
them must be provided.
However, the Defender continues to
receive “more and more” complaints.
Mr Agacinski said if you call their
helpline (09 69 39 00 00), you can ask
if there is an English-speaking delegate
who can help, but it is not guaranteed.
The website is partly in English, and
the online application form is being
translated. In the meantime, some
internet browsers can translate.
n Cpam health authorities topped a list
of public services that people in France
found best to use in a recent Opinion
Way survey. Pôle Emploi came last.
Cpams and health services in general
were also praised by our readers. ANTS,
for car registration, and the pension
service were criticised. Search public
services at our website for the full article.

How 90/180 rule is Is the visa process set News in brief

affecting travellers
MEMBERS of the France Visa
Free campaign group have
shared examples of how they
have been affected by the EU’s
90/180-day rule since Brexit.
The rule means that Britons,
like other non-EU nationals of
countries that do not need
short-stay visas, can spend only
90 days visa-free in any rolling
180-day period, looking back
from the current day.
The situations shared include:
left for holidays in France;
n Owners of a UK-based busi-
ness who must visit clients
across Europe struggle now to
also spend time in France;
n A regular participant in
town-twinning exchanges in
different parts of France now
faces restrictions on time at
their French second home;
n A travel professional can no
longer attend conferences and
meetings in the EU and also
Security guard told
up to put people off?
he can keep his job
BRITISH security guard Cal­lum
Colverson, from Brittany, has
been told he can keep his job
despite post-Brexit legal compli-
THE VISA process might be set days?’. I don’t think they planned cations. Officials have agreed
up partly to put people off and enough or looked into issues like that his situation had not been
reduce immigration, says a law- hiring people at the consulate.” foreseen by the law.
yer specialising in visa help. TLScontact in the UK offers The 33-year-old had been told
Post-Brexit, a visa is needed for extras for those willing to pay, he would not be able to renew
Britons to stay more than three ranging from an affordable £15 his obligatory professional
months (see left). for assistance with filling out the licence, as a new law states that
Alexandre Gil­ leoen, from France-Visas application to £50 non-EU foreigners need to have
Gilleoen Avocats in Lyon, for a Saturday or early morning held a residency card for five
spoke to The Connexion about appointment, or an ‘apply any- years. As a British citizen, he had
difficulties that UK readers where’ service where staff come not needed a card until 2021.
The Cnaps agency, which
Photo: Gilleoen Selarl

n A modern language teacher
who accompanies school trips
and also has a French second
home and family in France and
finds it very difficult;
n People who rent out gîtes
and need to check on them find
their own time for recreational
trips to France or other EU
countries has become limited;
n The owner of a time-share
flat in the Spanish Canary
Islands has to be very careful
about time also spent in France;
n A person who used to enjoy
long stays in Spain now strug-
gles, as they must also visit close
family members in southern
and northern France;
n Similarly, a member whose
90-year-old mother is in Spain
can no longer spend several
months in the summer at their
French home as well as visiting
her and keeping time available
in case of emergencies;
n UK-based tour managers
and guides who take out groups
to the EU and return in-
between have had their liveli-
hoods put at risk; the same
applies to HGV drivers who
might no longer have any time
spend time at their French
home, so has reduced their pro-
fessional opportunities;
n A person with a son and
friends in Spain and another
friend in Italy can no longer see
them and also spend the time
they used to spend in France;
n One second-home owner is
concerned that it is not possible
to visit for an urgent mainten-
ance or insurance-related issue
if the 90-day period has been
used. Another is worried that
someone who has used up their
days might not then be able to
see a dying relative in the EU;
n The owner of a boat moored
in France can no longer cruise
French waterways for five
months of the year, as before.
France Visa Free is asking for
more flexible rules for UK citi-
zens, comparable to the UK’s
rule allowing EU citizens to visit
for up to six months at a time.
Their other proposals include
a multi-year visa for non-
residents who own property in
France and/or simpler online-
only visa renewal.
The group can be found here
tinyurl.com/france-visa-free.
report with using the website to your home for £700 – plus
of TLScontact, the third-party £150 for extra people. issues the licences, invited him
contractor used by the consulate The France-Visas.gouv.fr plat- to get in touch after we made
to book visa appointments for form was due to shut from May contact. He did so, and believes
bringing in paperwork. 26-29 for maintenance. this led to the decision to renew
Appointments can only be Alexandre Gilleoen TLScontact offices were unable his card. His lawyer told him the
booked following an application so there are fewer applications. to receive people during this news just before he was due to
at france-visas.gouv.fr. Readers They know these companies period, so anyone set to go for appear in court over the issue.
report bugs with the site and don’t work well and some people an appointment on May 30 was
problems ob­ taining appoint- will get discouraged when they being advised to file and print European court set
ments, leading some to put off see how complicated it is. off their application before the
stays at second homes. “Part of French public opinion closure period. to rule on Brexit case
Mr Gilleoen said there has is against immigration. For the Mr Gilleoen’s main advice to THE EUROPEAN Court of
been an increasing trend for the public service in charge, the Britons is to ensure you apply for Justice is to rule on June 15 on a
French government worldwide fewer the applications, the less the right kind of visa as a first case looking at the legality of the
to contract out the appointments work for them.” step – for example, a temporary Brexit Withdrawal Agreement
process, either to TLS or VFS. Mr Gilleoen said the process is long-stay visa if you are not and its impact on Britons who
“Neither is good, and it’s hard easier for the highly-qualified moving to France. lost EU citizenship rights.
to reach out to them if you are and well-off as they, or French The Connexion also spoke to Still in the name of Harry
unable to use their site, which employers, can use a specialist visa consultant Ilya Zlokazov, Shindler – a British war veteran
usually works badly,” he said. such as himself to apply. of Zlokazov & Com­ pany in from Italy who died this year
He believes the reason for the “It’s easier when you have Valbonne, Alpes-Mari­times. He aged 101 and who was one of
contracting out is “it costs less”, financial means because you advises starting the France- the complainants – the pro bono
and perhaps because officials don’t have to do it, but for every- Visas application six months in case is being led by French barris-
know the complex online process one else, it’s quite complicated.” advance – but saving it and not ters, including Bordeaux-based
will put some people off. He added: “France and the UK filing it yet – to obtain a visa Julien Fouchet.
“Before, consulates had to have many ties, with a lot of number that can be used to The case is based on loss of
employ a lot of desk agents to people going back and forth. monitor and book appointments rights such as local election vot-
take in the applications. Now “They should have asked at TLS. It is always hard to get an ing. Mr Fouchet hopes it is possi-
they’ve just kept the ones who themselves ‘OK, once Brexit is appointment if you are trying ble, if not to have Brexit ruled
process applications. done, what are we doing to do from May to September, he said. illegal entirely, then to improve
“It seems it’s now also become with all those Brits that want to Search ‘Zlokazov’ on our the rights of Britons established
harder to make an appointment, live here or stay for more than 90 website for more of his tips. in the EU.
 The Connexion June 2023 connexionfrance.com News 7
News in brief It took him Nazi victim identified 79
Rowdy wedding fine
A TOWN in central France has thousands years after assassination
of hours to
brought in measures to combat
‘rude behaviour’ at wedding
ceremonies, including lighting A GROUP of local historians have
flares and throwing confetti.
Happy couples in Roanne, in
Loire, will also have to hand
craft... now identified a man known only as ‘X’ on
their village war memorial as pharmacy
technician Robert Rosengarten and
over €300 if they are more than
carpenter’s added his name to the monument.

Photo: Claude Jacquier

15 minutes late to the town hall, Denise Cunit, a member of the Cruet

and €400 if they fail to show up.
Convert loose change
MACHINES that convert coins
into supermarket vouchers are
2CV made
Nature et Patrimoines association, based
in Savoie, said: “To give him a name is to
give him a second life.”
of wood is The mystery began on June 8, 1944, as
members of the Resistance were trans- The photo that made it possible to

Photo: Frederic Wells

growing in popularity, with
Franprix becoming the latest
chain to roll them out in certain
stores.
There are now more than
1,000 Coinstar machines across
French supermarkets. Their
growth has been fuelled by
inflation, which was measured
at 5.9% in April, compared to
the same period last year.
HHC items face ban
FRANCE is likely to ban prod-
ucts made with HHC, a mole-
cule derived from cannabis, the
Health Minister has said.
Currently not classified as
drugs, HHCs can be freely sold,
which François Braun referred
to as a “loophole”.
HHC products are increasing-
ly common, both online and in
shops selling CBD, another
cannabis derivative.
up for sale
AN EXTREMELY rare Citroën 2CV
made of wood is set to be sold at auction
this month. It is the labour of love of
French carpenter Michel Robillard.
It is hoped the car will fetch up to
€200,000 and break the world record for
the sale price of a 2CV – €176,000.
Mr Robillard, 74, started his remarka-
ble project in 2011. It first took six
months to design drawings of the car, a
reproduction of a 1955 model.
The rest of the time was spent crafting
the car for which four different wood
types were used: walnut for the wings;
and pear, apple and cherry wood trees
for the body.
The wings were completed using more
than 60 pieces of tailored wood. All in
all, it took 5,000 hours of patient work.
However, when Mr Robillard started
driving it in 2017, he fixed a 3CV engine.
The car has since toured museums and
car fairs and was long featured in
La Belle Lochoise, a museum dedicated
to 20 of his creations in Sennevières
(Indre-et-Loire) in central France.
The car will be auctioned on June 4 at
Château d’Artigny in Montbazon (Indre-
et-Loire) by Rouillac auction house. Its
director Aymeric Rouillac told The
Connexion: “He is an extraordinary man
but with a great modesty. He does not
only share the face of Leonardo da Vinci!”
He said the starting price was hard to
estimate given the uniqueness of the car.
The Citroën 2CV is a classic French car
style, originally from 1948, and known
affectionately in France as ‘la Deuche’
(for deux chevaux – two horsepower). It
was originally described in advertising
as ‘four wheels under an umbrella’.
Citroën stopped production in 1990.
ported from Curial prison in Chambéry.
“The vehicle stopped in Cruet. Seven
people got out and were shot. When
locals arrived to collect the bodies, there
were eight of them,” Ms Cunit said. They
also found a bicycle of a quality brand
that nobody in the village owned.
“The eighth body had a bicycle clip,
and was different from the others. They
were dressed like maquisards, but the
eighth was elegantly dressed. He had a
ring on the little finger of his right hand,
a watch, and tortoiseshell glasses.”
The rest of the bodies were returned to
their families, but Monsieur X was con-
signed to anonymity... until 2019, when
the archives were unsealed and the assoc-
iation could finally access descriptions
of the victim and see the jewellery.
They launched an appeal in the local
press, and Claude Jacquier, whose family
was from nearby Brison-Saint-Innocent,
got in touch. “He was doing research
around Sylvia Littmann, who was Robert
Rosengarten’s girlfriend at the time.”
identify Robert Rosengarten (right)
When Mr Jacquier showed them a photo
from his collection, they knew they had
their man. It featured a figure with glass-
es, a rectangular watch resembling the
one held at the mairie, and a ring on his
little finger.
Born in Monaco to a Jewish family, Mr
Rosengarten had been working as a
pharmacy technician in Aix-les-Bains.
“The Vichy laws banned him from
working as a pharmacist,” Ms Cunit said.
His parents were arrested in Nice and
deported to Auschwitz, where they were
killed in September 1944. The same fate
befell Ms Littmann, who it is believed
was arrested around the same period
when Mr Rosengarten was executed.
On May 8, Cruet residents gathered at
the memorial for their annual VE Day
commemoration. For the first time,
Robert Rosengarten’s name was spoken
alongside those of seven other martyrs.
“We were all very moved, but satisfied
to have given him back his identity.”

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 8 News connexionfrance.com The Connexion June 2023

Water crisis declared in south ‘Smart’ street lights save public

as spring rain comes too late
SIGNIFICANT rainfall in May will
not be enough to prevent droughts
this summer, experts warn.
France experienced a record 32 days
without rain in January and February
before returning to more usual levels
but the rain came too late to replenish
groundwater tables and was mainly
taken by growing spring vegetation.
Tables were already at low levels
after a very dry summer in 2022.
Fabienne Trolard, research director
at the National Research Institute for
Agriculture, Food and Environment,
said: “Winter rain is the most effective
for recharge as vegetation is dormant
and takes little water.”
Instead, it rained in April and May,
when vegetation grows and monopo-
lises the water that arrives on the
ground. “No more than 20% filters
through to the water tables.” In some
places, the ground was already so dry
that rain ran off it, causing flooding.
On April 1, 75% of groundwater
tables, which supply most of France’s
drinking water, were below normal
levels, reports the BRGM geological
research office. The recent rain is,
however, beneficial for agriculture.
The lack of rainfall has been particu-
larly serious near the Mediterranean.
By May 10, the prefecture in Pyrénées-
Orientales had declared a ‘crisis’, the
highest alert level for drought, across
much of the department. It warned of
“a historic drought, the intensity and
length of which have no equivalent
since such records began in 1959.”
Rainfall was down 60% to 65% over
the previous 12 months.
Residents are banned from watering
lawns during much of the day, filling
private swimming pools and washing
cars. Sports pitches and golf courses
cannot be watered unless the water is
entirely reused. Farmers can still
water crops but at a reduced rate.
Firefighters, meanwhile, have been
stocking water from swimming pools
donated by campsites. Overground
pools cannot be bought.
To check water restrictions near you,
visit tinyurl.com/FranceDrought and the
websites for your prefecture and mairie.
The restrictions will remain in place
until at least June 13 to secure a supply
of water for ‘priority uses’, such as
drinking and fighting fires.
Parts of the Bouches-du-Rhône,
Gard and Loiret departments were
also at crisis level in mid-May.
“We are going into the summer at an
overall deficit so we will have to be
careful. But that does not mean there
will be harsh restrictions. It all depends
on the rain we get,” said Dr Trolard.
“The drought last year was due to an
anticyclone that was blocked for
several weeks by a jet-stream that split
in two. There is nothing to say this
year will be the same.”
While farmers in the south already
fear losses, in eastern France and
Brittany, rain has brought surface water
levels back to more regular levels.
“Farmers could do their first hay cut
a month in advance. They will be able
to water hay and wheat correctly,
which is a guarantee for the upcoming
harvests,” Dr Trolard said of Brittany.
“In Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, the
drought has continued, meaning we
are dependent on reservoirs in the
Alps, but these waters have not
returned to their normal levels.”
Whatever this summer brings, there
is an increasing acceptance that the
status quo is not sustainable.
“Overall, we are going to have 10%
to 15% less rain in the coming years,”
Dr Trolard said. “We must completely
rethink the way we manage water.”
In April, the government published
a 53-point plan to preserve water in
the future, including funding for agri-
cultural practices that save water. It
aims for a 10% reduction in water use by
2030, and to increase the treatment and
reuse of wastewater from 1% to 10%.
Everybody will be called upon to play
a part, as President Macron wants to
introduce a ‘progressive’ water pricing
system where the more water you use,
the higher the price per cubic metre.
money without sacrificing safety
A FRENCH engineer has invented a
system that allows towns to switch
off their street lights at night – and
residents to turn them back on.
An increasing number of towns have
been going dark to save on electricity,
but this can lead to safety concerns.
‘J’allume ma rue,’ however, allows you
to switch on the street lights along your
route using a smartphone.
Olivier Bozzetto, who came up with
the compromise, said: “I had the idea
five or six years ago when lots of com-
munes wanted to switch off public light-
ing, which always divided people.”
There is no need to download an app,
as the creator wanted it to remain anon-
ymous. You just need to activate the
GPS function on your phone.
The website jallume.fr allows you to
select a junction box, meaning you can
switch on several lamps at a time. They
will usually remain on for around 15
minutes, and if you move in that time,
the system will light up other areas.
While some local authorities have
taken the opportunity to start turning
off their street lights overnight, other
areas where this was already the case
have used the system to switch off for
longer periods – from 22:00 to 06:00,
instead of 00:00 to 04:30, for example.
The timings can be adapted: residen-
tial areas are likely to go dark earlier
than town centres.
“If you turn off between 23:00 and
05:00, you will save 50% over the course
of the year,” Mr Bozzetto said, adding
that ‘J’allume ma rue’ does not signifi-
cantly diminish these savings. “Lights
are switched on three or four times a
night, on average.”
Mr Bozzetto calls his system a form of
“non-punitive ecology” – a way of
reducing pollution without making
residents feel they are paying more in
taxes for worse public services.
As well as the environmental and eco-
nomic benefits, reducing light pollution
is good for biodiversity. In Pont-de-
l’Arche, in Eure, Normandy, where the
project was launched, locals report a
rise in the number of owls and bats.
Rising energy costs mean demand
has not been steady. The company
has equipped almost 50 towns across
France. Its largest client is the Cergy-
Pontoise urban area in Ile-de-France,
which represents 210,000 residents.
While free for users, local authorities
pay €390 per box (each controlling 10 or
more lights), plus an annual €120 sub-
scription fee. One commune reported
the energy savings paid for the system
after a year, and there are indirect sav-
ings as future changes to the time the
lights go off can be done remotely.
Firefighters or gendarmes can easily
switch on lights during operations.

Wheelchair brakes win Spy service to

annual inventors’ prize track down
tax evaders
FRANCE plans to create a fiscal
intelligence service to root out
tax evasion.
Public Accounts Minister
Gabriel Attal, announcing the
policy, said: “Our priority is to
Colin make the ultra-rich and the
Gallois multinationals who commit
(left) and fraud pay what they owe.”
Lancelot The intelligence service at the
Durand Finance Ministry will “recruit
with their human sources working for
Photo: Eppur

winning financial institutions and pay

invention
THE CREATORS of a braking
system for wheelchairs have
been awarded top prize at
France’s annual Concours
Lépine invention competition.
Colin Gallois and Lancelot
Durand scooped the Prix du
Président de la République
thanks to Dreeft, a pair of
wheels for manual wheelchairs.
They say the wheels allow
users to brake using a fifth of
the effort and without using
their hands as brake pads,
which often results in skin
lesions and shoulder pain.
The wheels are fitted with a
coaster braking system, inspired
by traditional Dutch bicycles. It
is activated by lightly pulling
the handrim backwards.
Lille-based start-up Eppur,
founded by the two engineers,
conducted a survey of 164
wheelchair users. Half had
already lost control on a slope
or ramp, and 85% had taken a
diversion to avoid encountering
slopes.
The product costs €1,990 and
is available at 100 distributors in
France, which can be found on
eppur.eu/carte-des-revendeurs.
This year’s contest also saw
several inventions designed in
response to climate change. The
second most prestigious prize
went to Flowstop, an inflatable
flood barrier that can be made
to fit doors and windows.
Also rewarded was a system
for saving water when cleaning
swimming pools, dubbed Stop
Eau Gaspi. The filtration system
allows water used to clean the
sand filter to be pumped back
into the pool, along with the
treatment products, rather than
going to waste.
Gers-based inventor Patrice
Fortin has patented the system
but it has yet to go on sale.
them for their information”.
Agents will use intelligence
techniques, including wire-
tapping, to gain information.
The service will focus on “sit-
uations where the current tax
auditing tools are impeded,
notably funds hidden abroad in
tax havens and opaque entities
such as trusts, the use of tax
reduction consultants and abus-
ive optimisation by large multi-
nationals,” Mr Attal’s office said
in a press release.
The goal is to train 100 ‘elite
agents’ by 2027, some of whom
might come from existing intel-
ligence services, with the first
operating from 2025.
The number of tax audits,
meanwhile, will increase by 25%
between now and 2027, with a
focus on the largest estates.
There are also plans to create
an offence for incitement to tax
fraud. People who share or sell
tips for evading tax would risk
up to three years in prison.
 The Connexion June 2023 connexionfrance.com News 9
Protests intensify over motorway expansion projects Amber light
ENVIRONMENTAL activists have The Rouen
trials for
stepped up their opposition to two
major motorway extensions.
Hundreds of people recently blockaded
bypass
would link
the A13
pedestrians
the A13 Normandy motorway, 30km and A28 SIX cities are to test amber
outside Rouen, to protest against the motorways lights for pedestrians to improve
A133-A134 project, which would create and would safety and encourage walkers to
an eastern bypass around the city, link- be a toll respect red lights.
ing the A13 and the A28. road The idea is to limit confusion
The 41.5km expansion is expected to between drivers and walkers
cost upwards of €1billion. The aim is to when both traffic and pedest-

Photo: Shutterstock_Hadrian
relieve congestion in the city centre and rian lights are red. Static and
Photo: liaisona28a13.com

bring new economic opportunities. France wants to flashing lights will be tested.
The prefecture wrote in 2021: “Rouen teach 850,000 The lights will be placed
remains the only French metropolis of schoolchildren per between the existing ‘walking’
this size without a road bypass.” year to ride a bike green and ‘stationary’ red fig-
Critics, however, point to official data ures, and will fulfil a similar
showing an expected increase in CO2 associations, including Les Soulèvements role to amber traffic lights – to
emissions of 50,000 tonnes per year, and de la Terre, which Interior Minister €2billion plan to promote cycling is unveiled signal they will soon switch to
the planned destruction of large parts of Gérald Darmanin wants to dissolve after CYCLING campaigners are hoping that a local level and allowing them to “bring red. People who have already
the Bord forest. violent protests at a water reservoir site. new investment in cycle lanes will help forward all their knowledge of the area begun crossing a road can con-
A peaceful gathering in Léry-Poses Meanwhile, work recently began on a France catch up with its neighbours. and their suggestions.” tinue, but those who arrive once
(Eure) attracted more than 1,000 people, another controversial motorway project The government unveiled its plan vélo Ecology Minister Christophe Béchu has the light starts flashing should
including local and national politicians, – the A69 between Toulouse and Castres in May, pledging €2billion between now said the programme “will not finance not start to cross.
such as Marine Tondelier, leader of the – despite continuing protests that drew and 2027 to improve infrastructure and paint jobs, but real cycle lanes that are The trial will take place at
Green Party (EELV). between 4,500 and 8,000 people in April. help people looking to invest in a bike. safe and separated from car traffic.” select crossings in Metz, Nancy,
Ms Tondelier said in a video: Activists who successfully fought the It aims to increase cycle lanes from France also hopes to step up cycling Nantes, Nice, Strasbourg and
“Ecologists have been fighting this pro- A45 motorway project between Lyon 57,000km to 80,000km by 2027, and lessons, so that from 2027 all primary Toulouse and will last for two
ject for more than 50 years. When a and Saint-Etienne recently published an 100,000km by 2030, with €1.25billion set school children learn how to ride a bike. years. Versailles was due to be
project doesn’t happen after 50 years, open letter in support of opponents to aside for infrastructure. “This objective was already set for 2024 included but is now reported to
there is usually a reason. It does not sud- future projects. Thibault Quéré, advocacy manager at before being pushed back,” said Mr have withdrawn.
denly become legitimate 50 years later.” Transport Minister Clément Beaune the Fédération française des usagers de la Quéré, who warned improvements are Almost 500 pedestrians died
Protesters also undertook operations to has said the government is reviewing a bicyclette (FUB), said: “That’s less than needed. “Local authorities are often and more than 2,000 were
adapt the environment and encourage number of planned motorway projects, the required funding, which we estimat- unfamiliar with the programme, and injured in 2022, according to
endangered species to make the forest based partly on environmental factors. ed at €2.5billion back in 2020.” there is a lack of trained instructors.” provisional road accident
their home, as well as driving hundreds of “We will take courageous, audacious He did, however, say it would “breathe The FUB is advocating for a “clear hier- reports.
nails into tree trunks to make it more decisions in the coming months,” he new life into the cycling ecosystem.” archy of transportation methods”, and for Around 40% of fatal accidents
difficult for chainsaws to be used on them. said. “Certain projects will no doubt be The FUB is calling for 1% of the new funding for new roads to be redirected to in urban areas take place on
The events were organised by several suspended or stopped.” budget to go towards involving citizens at cycling and public transport. pedestrian crossings.

Anti-fraud filter to fight

email and text scammers
BETTER protection from email
and text scams, including an
anti-fraud filter, has been
revealed in new official plans.
Such scams are common in
France and often include a link
to an official-looking website
designed to encourage people
to enter personal or bank details
that can then be stolen.
Around 60,000 complaints
were sent to Thésée, the plat-
form dedicated to online scams,
between March and October
2022 alone. Visit tinyurl.com/
scamFrance (English option).
Better online protection was a
campaign pledge of President
Macron. The government pre-
sented a draft bill on the subject
to ministers in May.
The anti-fraud filter would
show users a warning message
when they click on websites
identified as dangerous.
The aim is to test it ahead of
September’s Rugby World Cup
and expand the list of fraud-
ulent sites in time for the 2024
Paris Olympics, as scams often
multiply during major inter-
national events.
However, despite being “a great
idea”, this is not the best way to
end such scams, a cybersecurity
expert told The Connexion.
Denis Jacopini said: “With
this, before people can be pro-
tected, others have to be tricked
Strategic financial
open your letterbox, one in 10 The regulator would be charged
letters has a toxic powder which
will poison you, you will stop
trusting the letterbox.
“The government is propos-
with publishing the guidelines
of the verification system.
An experiment is currently
under way into a double anony-
planning for
your life in France.
ing to warn people that, if they mat (double anonymity) sys-
open a yellow envelope, they tem, whereby an organisation
will be poisoned because other such as an internet provider
people have been poisoned supplies a certificate of legal age
when opening such envelopes.” without knowing what it will be
The second issue, he added, is used for, and websites can check
“if the service takes weeks or the certificate without knowing
months to react to flagged web- the identity of the person. This
sites, it will be useless.” is the system supported by the
He believes a better solution Cnil civil liberties commission. Is your wealth management on track to
meet your objectives and provide long-term
Talk to the people who know
would be to implement a filter Critics have pointed out that it
to detect malicious emails.
The bill would also give the
would be possible to bypass age
restrictions by using a virtual
financial security? Regular reviews are always
important, even more so after the changes
0 805 112 163 (N0 Vert)
Arcom regulator the power to private network (VPN), which and uncertainty of the last few years. france@blevinsfranks.com
order operators to block porno- provides the user with an IP
Blevins Franks has 45 years of experience
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prevent minors accessing their Another key measure would managing our clients’ capital. We provide www.blevinsfranks.com
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judge. The websites would also spreading hatred banned from give you peace of mind about your future.
be removed from search social media. Our investment recommendations are
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to pay a fine of up to 4% of their a six-month suspension from a tax-efficient and meet your estate planning
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Pornographic sites are already for repeat offenders – if a per- will know your savings are well looked after.
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Jean-Noël Barrot even said at a The bill would also enshrine Blevins Franks Group is represented in France by the following companies: Blevins Franks Wealth Management Limited (BFWML) and Blevins Franks France SASU
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 10 What’s new
Strike day, forest fires, upcoming tax cuts... new changes in France
1. National strike
TRADE unions have called for
a day of national strike action
to protest against the pensions
reform, on Tuesday, June 6.
It is not known which sectors
will strike, or whether there
will be disruption to trains.
Check the SNCF website from
17:00 the day before to see if
your train is running.
On June 8, MPs will debate
a bill proposed by a centrist
group of MPs, aiming to repeal
the reform and fix the pension
age at 62 as formerly, and to
call for a conference on how to
ensure the pension system is
properly financed inn future.
Prime Minister Elisabeth
Borne has claimed it is “uncon-
stitutional”. It is unlikely to
succeed but if it did, it would
prove embarrassing for the
government.
2: Tax cuts plan
PRESIDENT Macron has said
he wants to spend €2billion to
reduce taxes for middle earners
between now and 2027.
The plans have not been form-
ally announced or voted on,
but would be aimed at those
who earn €1,500 to €2,500 per
month before tax – almost half
of full-time employees.
Mr Macron did not specify
what form the tax cuts would
take, but has asked the govern-
ment to work on proposals.
Are you a contractor or thinking
of working remotely from France?
Are you a contractor or thinking of working
www.freelanceinfrance.com English speaking helpline +33 (0) 249 880 125 contact@freelanceinfrance.com
www.freelanceinfrance.com
English speaking helpline +33 (0) 249 880 125
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connexionfrance.com The Connexion June 2023
3: Food deal extended orities recommend these people to 90 cents more expensive,
Increased fines for not clearing your garden
FRANCE’S trimestre anti-infla- receive a booster injection while rolling tobacco prices
tion (anti-inflation quarter) twice a year, in spring and have risen by 20 cents to €1.20, MPs HAVE voted to intro- are in an affected area, and
price protection measures will autumn. You must wait six depending on the brand. duce tougher fines for people your property is situated
months after your last dose. who do not clear the ground within 200m of woodland,
be extended beyond June 15,
the government has said. You can make an appoint- 7: Electric car loan around their homes in areas you are usually required to
The voluntary scheme has ment with your doctor, pharm- INTEREST-FREE loans for at risk of forest fires. clear and cut back vegetation
seen several supermarkets acist or nurse, or via sante.fr. buying an electric or hybrid car The fines apply to people across a 50m radius around
have been expanded to include who do not carry out this your home. Along private
lower prices on a selection of
daily goods, from fruit and
5: Fire risk updates retrofitting (converting a con- obligatory débroussaillement. roads or tracks leading to
vegetables to hygiene products, METEO France will publish a ventional engine to electric). Fines will rise from €30 to your home, 10m should be
by 5% to 7%. The new end date daily bulletin on the risk of wild- To benefit, you must live in €50 per square metre of land cleared on each side.
is not yet known but Système fires from June 1 to Octo­ber. one of the 11 cities where there requiring débroussaillement, Local decrees might modify
U has said it will maintain the Departments will be classed as is a low-emissions zone (ZFE) to limit spread of wildfires in the rules – check with your
offer until the end of the year. green (low risk), yellow (mod- and have taxable income below areas at risk. mairie or prefecture.
erate), orange (heightened), or €14,089 per household ‘part’. It comes as lack of proper If you pay someone else to
4: Covid vaccine red (very high), based on factors clearance was blamed for a carry out the work, you can
AT-RISK populations have including temperature, rain and 8: Health staff return massive fire in forêt de La benefit from a tax credit of
until June 16 to get the latest wind speed. SOME 3,000 healthcare staff Teste, Gironde, last year, up to 50% of the cost, within
Covid vaccine booster. have returned to work after which destroyed 7,000ha certain limits, if you employ
Those eligible include people 6: Tobacco prices the obligation for staff to be and meant 20,000 people them via the Cesu system or
who are over the age of 80, are THE PRICES of cigarettes and vaccinated, in place since were evacuated. use a firm with Services à la
immunocompromised, live in rolling tobacco have risen due September 2021, was lifted. Opposition MPs had personne accreditation.
a care home, regardless of age, to new calculations taking Suspended staff must be argued that better communi- If you ignore the rules, your
or are at risk of suffering from more account of inflation. assigned the same job as cation was needed instead so mairie can serve a formal
serious forms of Covid. Auth- Many packs of 20 are now 20 before, or an equivalent one. that homeowners are aware notice period in which you
of their obligations. must complete the work, and
9: Parking for SUVs The obligation mostly can impose a fine of up to
Digital driving licences €100 for each day that you
Photo: Shutterstock_aurelie le moigne
LYON is preparing to intro- applies to Auvergne-Rhône-
DIGITAL driving licences are expected duce new rates for residents’ Alpes, Corse, Nouvelle- fail to do so, as well as the
to be rolled out across France in 2024. on-street parking, including Aquitaine, Occitanie, and €50 fine per square metre.
The licences will be stored via a smart- making SUV owners pay more. Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur. You also risk a criminal fine
phone app that can be accessed without The fees will vary by family The rules might differ of up to €750. If the failure
an internet connection. They will not size and means, and vehicle between departments in the allows a fire to spread and
replace paper or photocard licences but type, with electric cars (and same region, and some other damage another person’s pro­p-
will ‘complement’ them. all large or low-income fami- departments that have forests erty, this can rise to a year in
The scheme will be trialled in three lies) paying €15/month and or woods at risk might also prison and a €15,000 fine.
departments later this year. There are Paper and photo conventional vehicles weighing require it. To check if your MPs also voted to ban
also plans to introduce digital health card licences will more than 1,725kg €45/month property is affected visit smoking within 200m of for-
insurance and identity cards. still be valid – €30 will otherwise apply tinyurl.com/francefire. If you ests during high-risk periods.
from 2024.
Neighbours come together Dates for your diary
THE FÊTE des Voisins He wanted to create links
neighbourhood get-together in response to increasing
returns on June 2 after the social isolation.
June 1: Deadline for declaring income
tax online in departments 20-54
last three years were disrupt- Only 30 people turned up June 2: Fête des Voisins (see left)
ed by Covid. to the first event, but it has
Ten million people are since become an internation- June 2-4: Rendez-Vous Aux Jardins
If you are planning on working expected to participate in al movement known as
the event, which usually European Neighbours’ Day. June 4: Mother’s Day in France
from home in France as a freelancer,
contractor, remotely from France?
or for your existing
involves neighbours sharing
a meal or a drink.
To organise a street party,
contact your local mairie to
UK employer and have concerns June 6: National day of strike action
While the festivities are get authorisation. Then you
If regarding compliance,
you are planning social from home in
on working often facilitated by local can simply put up posters June 8: Online tax declaration
charges
France as aorfreelancer,
declaring contractor,
your work authorities, the idea is for and place invitations in deadline for departments 55-95
orthen Challenge
for your existing& UK
Co. employer
have the and have citizens themselves to your neighbours’ letter
perfect regarding
concerns solution. compliance, social charges organise
or gatherings. boxes. Posters and flyers are June 8: MPs will debate a bill to
declaring your work then Challenge & Co. June 2 is the launch date
have available for download from reverse the rise in the retirement age
As your English-speaking Umbrella for the campaign, but lafetedesvoisins.fr.
thecompany
perfect solution.
in France, we can provide from 62 to 64. It has been put forward
events can be organised Mr Périfan is also behind by the Liot group of centrists and
Asyou your English-speaking
with employee statusUmbrella
under company in
throughout the year. L’Heure Civique, a volun- independents, including overseas MPs
France, we canSalarial
our Portage provideregime
you with employee status
giving The Fête des Voisins was teer programme encourag- and Corsican nationalists
under ourfreedom
you the Portage Salarial regime
to freelance giving youfounded
without the in 1999 by Atanase ing people to dedicate one
freedom to freelance
the worry without the worry of self-
of self-employment Périfan, who was moved to hour of their time each June 8-9: The EU’s Justice and Home
employment
in France. in France. action after hearing how an month to helping others in Affairs (JHA) Council meeting will
elderly woman’s body was their local area. To learn meet, and is expected to confirm a
not found in her flat for more and to sign up visit new timeline for the digital Entry/Exit
• Employee, Health, Unemployment & Retirement two months after she died. lheurecivique.fr. System, now due to start in 2024
benefits
Employee, Health, Unemployment
n
• No
n Current
administration
& Retirement benefits
• Fully Compliant solution for your Agency,
No administration
Employer or Clients
Discover France’s gardens June 18: Father’s Day in France
June 21: Fête de la musique. This
MORE than 2,000 public and
Photo: Claudio Giovanni Colombo_shutterstock
• Member of PEPSsolution
(syndicatfor
des Professionnels de gardens will open their
private annual festival, coinciding with the
n Fully Compliant summer solstice, sees free concerts
l’Emploi en Portage Salarial)
your Agency, Current Employer doors from June 2 to 4 for the
20th Rendez-Vous Aux Jardins of all kinds, including in the streets.
or Clients It was started in France in 1982
event. Thousands of activities will
n Member of PEPS (syndicat des take place, from guided visits to
concerts and the chance to talk to June 30: Deadline for all home-
Professionnels de l’Emploi en
professional gardeners and landscapers. owners in France to submit the new
Portage Salarial) obligatory online property ownership/
The theme this year is Garden Melodies – the sounds of
running water, of birdsong, or music composed specifically usage form (see page 39)
for gardens. The private Parc du Bois Cornillé in Brittany,
for example, will welcome visitors with a recital by harpist June 30: The regulated gas tariff is
Catherine Baudichet. abolished. Engie clients who have not
The Ministry of Culture has been organising the event yet signed up for a market-rate contract
since 2004. Many of the events are free, but not all. For will be automatically transferred to a
more details go to tinyurl.com/rdvjardins. transitional passerelle (bridge) offer
 The Connexion
From fog lamps to crashes: world’s
oldest endurance race turns 100
SOME 300,000 people are
expected to attend this month’s
24 Hours of Le Mans endurance
race – a celebratory year as it
marks the 100th anniversary
of the first event in 1923.
Tickets had sold out by last
December, with attendance
expected to break the record
of 263,500 set in 2015.
Residents of the local Sarthe
department were the last to
know if they would be able
to attend, with a number of
tickets reserved for them.
The names of people who
could buy the last tickets were
drawn out of a hat in late April.
More than 50,000 Britons
usually make the trip to Pays
de la Loire for the occasion.
Due to be held on June 10
and 11, the race will see a
return of pre-race car inspec-
tions being carried out in
Le Mans city centre.
A special 1.5-metre-high
trophy has been made out of
bronze for the anniversary
race by Monnaie de Paris,
the institution responsible for
all of France’s coins.
Weighing 70kg, the trophy
will be awarded to the
winning team. The drivers
will receive smaller, traditional
silver trophies.
A number of events are
planned to celebrate the cent-
enary, including a special
exhibition at the 24 Hours of
Le Mans Museum from June 1
to July 2 featuring 86 cars that
have participated in the race,
including 65 winners.
Concerts, autograph sessions
and film screenings will also
feature in the celebrations, with
local authorities holding events
throughout the department.
Even the city’s trams have
had a makeover to celebrate.
For those without a ticket,
parts of the race, the concerts
and the centenary show will
be broadcast on two big
screens in the city centre –
Place de la République and
Place des Jacobins.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is
one of the most famous motor
races in the world, along with
the Monaco Grand Prix and
the Indianapolis 500.
The race is unique, with a
track that is particularly long
– now measuring 13.6km –
using some of the public roads
(closed for the race!) just
outside of Le Mans.
In the past, it saw some of
the fastest racing cars in the
world, with French driver
Roger Dorchy being clocked at
405km/h in a Peugeot in 1988,
before the organisers changed
the course and put a chicane in
what had been a long straight.
Now most of the cars in the
top category reach speeds of
around 360km/h.
Although this year marks the
event’s 100th anniversary, it
will not be the 100th time it
has been held. The race has
June 2023
The start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2022
been cancelled on 10 occasions
since 1923: in 1936, due to a
general strike and political
unrest, and between 1940 and
1948, due to World War Two.
It has also been postponed
four times, including due to
the May 1968 protests and
the Covid pandemic.
In 1955, Le Mans witnessed
the worst accident in motor-
sport history when 83
spec­tators were killed and
180 injured in Pierre Levegh’s
fatal crash as his Mercedes
collided with an embankment
and burst into flames.
The race was allowed to
continue, but the tragedy did
result in improvements to safe-
ty standards. Mercedes-Benz
withdrew from all motor racing
at the end of the season, not to
return until 1987.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is
known as a testing ground for
technical innovations, many of
which would later be applied to
mass market vehicles.
Fog lamps made their first
appearance at the race in 1926,
and in 1953 Jaguar won while
pioneering the use of disc
brakes, a solution origin-
ally developed for landing
planes on aircraft carriers.
There are plans to introduce
a hydrogen category, although
connexionfrance.com News 11
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The start of the race in 1929.
In our July issue...
The winning Bentley Speed Six of
British drivers Woolf Barnato and
Tim Birkin can be seen on the left
in the foreground
Your questions answered
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Recognising regional accents
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EXCLUSIVE
INTERVIEW
Perpetual
Secretary
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Photo: Shutterstock_Oskar SCHULER
Photo: Michel Monsay(c)Académie française
française,
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historian
and Russia
Left: Danish driver Tom Kristensen holds the record for the expert
most wins, with nine. Right: The trophy for this year’s race
Hélène Carrère
the initial target of 2024 has ing at 16:00 on the Saturday (it
now been pushed back to 2026. used to be 15:00), meaning
d’Encausse
For decades, the race was also teams race through the night.
known for the ‘Le Mans-style Most teams have three driv-
start’, where drivers lined up ers working in shifts, although
on one side of the track and the safety rules do allow for
had to run to their cars on two drivers, as long as they These and many more practical tips and topics
the opposite side when the follow a schedule of how long about life in France + full access to our website
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flag was lowered. they can drive for.
This was abandoned in 1970 The race is famous for its
due to safety concerns. parties and all-night funfair,
Le Mans features cars specially with many fans taking tents
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designed for the world endur- and camping.
ance circuit racing alongside It can be difficult sleeping
amateur teams that use in a tent with the noise of to receive the July edition at your home and
older cars. the race, loud music and often
Winners in each category are drunk revellers, some of whom
benefit from full access to our web articles.
decided by the number of kilo- reportedly go through the whole Only €69 to a French address
metres each car has driven dur- weekend without seeing a rac-
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 12 French Life connexionfrance.com The Connexion June 2023

Cycle campaigning and city pride were

a springboard to role in local politics
France first-hand:
Local councillor
Interview by Annaliza Davis
British-born Steve Jackson,
67, settled in Albi (Tarn)
the main bridge, which worked really
well. In 2001, the new mayor offered
me the honorary last place on his
electoral list, but I refused because I
wanted to remain apolitical.
However, in 2008, the mayor tried
again, putting me 11th on the list so
that I was easily electable.
I asked another politician’s opinion
Local officials have public confidence but are losing appetite for the job
MORE than half of mayors (55%) do not want to stand
for re-election at the end of their term, according to an
Ifop poll published at the end of last year.
The figure, a record in 20 years, has been credited to
tough economic conditions making it harder for elected
officials to exercise their mandate.
Mainland France is divided into more than 36,000

aged 24 and has been
a member of the town
council since 2008
MY FATHER was a photojournalist
who loved driving and caravanning
around Europe, so that’s probably
why I started cycling around France
in my school holidays.
A kid from Toulouse invited me to
a cycle touring event, where I met
the club from Montauban in Tarn-
et-Garonne. When I was studying
French at university, I requested a
placement there for my teaching
experience and was sent to Albi.
and he said: “Go for it, no one else
will ask you.” He was right, and I
really wanted to see how things
worked from the inside.
During my first election campaign, a
local news website received a comment
about me being “the one who got people
cycling on the left.” This regarded the
contraflow lanes on our one-way
streets, and I saw my name crossed out
on a ballot sheet, but that happened to
others, too. Through my teaching,
most people already knew that I am
pretty honest and true to my beliefs,
and that I genuinely love this town.
I was the first non-French member
elected to Albi council and still
communes, each of which has an elected maire.
An annual political confidence ‘barometer’ by the
university Sciences Po shows that year after year mayors
are the only elected politicians as a group that attract
more than 50% of general confidence.
Sciences Po researcher Bruno Cautrès said it is because
they “embody accessibility, devotion, down-to-earth
politics and the wielding of power in a modest way.”
The maire runs the commune with the help of his
or her adjoints (deputies) and the conseil municipal
(council). This local layer of administration has key
responsibilities, including primary and nursery educa-
tion; the maintenance of roads; and sport and culture in
the commune. Its first job is to elect the mayor, as the
municipal election only appoints the council.
The council must meet at least once every three months
and the agenda, set by the mayor, must be communicated
Photo: shocked_shutterstock
before the meeting begins. The meeting is open to the
public unless the assembly decides to close the meeting or
the mayor exercises his or her power to ‘police’ it, particu-
larly in the event of unrest, and restricts public access.
The mayor and conseil municipal are elected every six
years (the next élections municipales will be held in 2026).
Since Brexit, British citizens no longer have the right
to vote or stand for election. The Leave result had the
consequence that 800 elected conseillers municipaux of
only British nationality were no longer eligible to be
re-elected in 2020.

I returned after graduating and was
lucky enough to get work as a screen-
printer and stained-glass window-
maker, then ran a mobile disco for
seven years and served in a nightclub
bar. Life was quite hard but it did me
a lot of good!
Eventually, I built up enough hours
teaching English for it to be a full-
time job.
Albi was quite run-down in those
days and a lot of friends could not
remember the pride I felt at that first
meeting in the historic hall, surround-
ed by a lot of good people wanting to
improve life in the city.
I am not particularly political. I am
probably left of centre and obviously
the environment is important to me,
as it should be for everyone.
The mayor is centre-right, but the
team has a good mixture of views and
people generally seem happy to have
me around.
“
where they came from. Instead of say-
ing “the French should do this”, it’s
better to say “we could do this”.
All migrants, I think, go through a
period of doubt about having made
the right choice. Things were not
Remember that you are better back home, they were just
different, and the French do get an
chosen because you awful lot of things right.
If you want to be more involved in
represent something, municipal life or the community, you

Photo: Steve Jackson

understand why I stayed, but I loved
the place. The people are wonderful –
and it’s certainly not run-down now.
Later in life, I came back to my
passion for cycling and noticed that
the French cycling federation did not
seem particularly active. So, in 1991, I
started campaigning, pestering people
with photos and slideshows, which
eventually led to me becoming one
of the federation’s national ‘experts’
on cycle infrastructure.
In 1995, we met all the municipal
candidates and got lanes painted on
I had always intended to apply for
citizenship after retirement but in
2013 my wife, who is from the north
of France, asked: “Why wait?”
It was only after applying that I
realised how much I wanted it. I
have my past, but my present is here.
The ceremony at the local prefecture
was fantastic. They invited me to say
something and it was the first time I
had given a whole speech without any
notes. I managed to fully express my
pride and love of the country that was
adopting me. Following Brexit, if I
not because you are
brilliant at something
Steve Jackson
had not had French citizenship, I
would have been forced out of the
council. I did not see that result
coming and I am still pretty disgusted
that the people most affected by Brexit
– teenagers, expats and migrant work-
ers – could not vote.
I was also shocked by the wave of
racism that it provoked, and I feel
very sorry for people who felt obliged
to leave the UK.
Nowadays, I probably feel more
French than British but I still follow
the news in the UK, and it’s nice to
bring a slightly different point of
view to the table.
However, nobody appreciates some-
one who continually says life is better
don’t need to be a French citizen: go
to public meetings, join local associa-
tions, maybe volunteer for festivals
and sporting events. I am now on the
board of trustees for the school where
I first did my teaching experience, and
that must be pretty rare.
Thank people who help to get things
done and give credit where it is due.
And if you do get on the council,
remember that you are chosen because
you represent something, not because
you are brilliant at something. You are
part of a team and the mayor is boss!

Career change: I walked about 20km a day but loved being outdoors again
In our series featuring Moira Tune helps foliage to spread and air in order to earn Smic [minimum ation, checking the density
people who have
New directions: to circulate. It also improves wage] you need to work through daily and rotating the young

changed roles Diving instructor ripening and helps to protect

the vines from wind.
100 vines an hour.”
Over time, Moira improved
wine in the huge vats (cuves).”
While working the vineyards
in France, Moira Tune to vineyard worker “The work was very physical. her pace and took on the role has been a challenge, it has
I’d walk on average 20km a day again the following season. brought many benefits.
explains how a job it made sense to find a home and work eight-hour days. Finally, in spring, vineyard “Locals seem to respect me
Photo: Moira Tune

in a vineyard was a
useful stepping stone
to a new career
WHEN Moira Tune, 54,
arrived in Charente-Maritime
in 2015, she was already used
to living abroad, having spent
the previous 18 years in Egypt
working as a scuba diving
instructor and editor.
“I loved my life in Egypt,
where I’d lived since my early
30s,” she says. “I adore diving,
so teaching it professionally was
amazing. I also love writing, so
editing a local tourist magazine
was a very satisfying role.”
However, in 2015 she realised
near mum and dad, so made
the move in 2015.”
Upon arrival, Moira set up on
the auto-entrepreneur scheme,
it was time for a change. offering freelance services such
“Egypt had changed after the as web design, content produc-
revolution, so life became a bit tion and social media market-
more difficult. Also, my job ing. However, she knew she
was dependent on tourism, wanted to integrate more and
which had sadly plummeted. in 2019 she took a seasonal
I felt I needed more security role working in vineyards.
and stability,” she explains. With no experience and with
Having decided she did not only basic French, this was a
want to return to the UK, daunting undertaking, but
Moira turned her attention to Moira secured a role doing
France. “My parents have lived relevage.
in Charente-Maritime since “Relevage takes place when
2004,” she says. “I’d visited over the vines are growing and
the years and really liked the involves lifting the branches,”
area and the culture. I decided explains Moira. This process
“Relevage usually takes place
for three weeks in June, so it
was an intense period and com-
pletely exhausting, but I enjoyed
being outdoors and working
with the vines,” she says.
Moira continued to work in
this way each summer from
2019 to 2022 and, having
gained some experience of
vineyard work, also started
doing the tirage de bois in
December 2021.
“Tirage de bois is where work-
ers trawl the vines pulling out
dead wood and preparing the
plants for the new season’s
growth. The first year, I worked
solo and it was incredibly hard,”
says Moira. “I was so slow, and
workers carry out the attaché – more,” Moira says, “and having
where vines are pinned to wire to speak French and work in
before they start to bud. Moira French teams meant my
did her first attaché season in French came on in leaps and
spring 2022. bounds. It was really difficult
“It took about eight weeks in at first, but being immersed in
total,” she says. “After that, I an environment where nobody
did gourmandage, where you speaks English really does
knock the sucker shoots at the make a difference.”
base of the vines to prevent The experience of working in
them taking the nutrients from a vineyard has been a spring-
the plants.” board to a new career in prop-
After working on the vines erty management, which Moira
for two years, Moira was started this year – a less physi-
offered an opportunity to train cal, more stable role.
in vinification, making red “My years working with
wine for a local co-operative. French teams and my improved
“My main job was to ‘tend language definitely played a
the grape juice’, which meant part in being able to take on
adding yeast to start ferment- this new job,” she says.
 The Connexion June 2023 connexionfrance.com French Life 13

France a world-leader for caviar farms Port of Marseille on

by Brian McCulloch
FRENCH farming methods have been
trial over pollution
credited with leading the way in modern
from cruise ships

Photos: Brian McCulloch / Inset caviar: Nicole M Iizuka_Shutterstock

caviar production after the depletion of
wild sturgeon prompted bans on fishing.
France, among the first countries to
authorise sturgeon farming, now has seven
sites. The fish are killed for their eggs
between seven and 10 years of age. Mixed
with salt, these become caviar, a delicacy
that sells for €2,700 a kilogram.
Laurent Deverlanges, who owns the Caviar

de Neuvic farm in Dordogne, told The
Connexion: “France went from hardly eating
any caviar to being one of the world’s biggest
consumers between 1920 and 1939.
“When so-called White Russians were
kicked out of Russia by the communists,
Paris became the European city with the
largest and most dynamic Russian refugee
community. They brought their love of
caviar, and the French quickly adopted it
and have been eating it ever since.”
Wild sturgeon have been extinct in
French rivers since before World War One
due to overfishing, dams and changes to
the ecosystem, which saw food sources,
such as freshwater mussels, destroyed.
They used to be found mainly in the
Gironde estuary and the Dordogne and
Garonne rivers, which flow into it, as well
as in smaller numbers in other French
rivers flowing into the Atlantic. This
explains why six of the French farms
are located in Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
Researchers first tried, unsuccessfully,
to re-introduce sturgeon to the Gironde
estuary in the late 1980s.
Subsequent attempts at a breeding pro-
gramme failed because of difficulties repro-
ducing both the salt water environment of
Photo: M. Joly
Laurent Deverlanges,
left,, has owned the
left
Caviar de Neuvic farm
in Dordogne since 2011 One flagship Marseille-Corsica ferry has been fitted with an
improved exhaust system to reduce dangerous emissions
Neuvic on the banks of the Isle river. It ways to break through previous barriers to THE Port of Marseille is con- port, which is banned.
had been used for trout and carp before the feast on the expensive fish. Water flows ducting a project to measure its However, things are starting
owner applied for authorisation to raise through the ponds from the river, then impact on air quality in the city. to change. One of the big ferry
sturgeon. However, he was under-financed through a reed bed filter before rejoining the It faces a court case from resi- companies, La Méridionale,
and going through a divorce when Mr river. Pollution from dirty engine oil once dents’ associations over pollution has retrofitted the engines on its
Deverlanges met him and decided to take meant the river circuit had to be shut and the from cruise ships and ferries. flagship Piana with new exhaust
on the project in 2011. “Having all the emergency recycling system used for two days. With at least five large ferries systems to neutralise acidity and
paperwork was a big advantage – it is an All the sturgeon are bred on site, with anchored there, local residents filter out fine particles.
industry where the government has very prime specimens identified and separated complained during lockdown The company claims the sys-
strict standards,” Mr Deverlanges said. from the others for breeding stock. that the smelly fuel oil – more tem, which removes 99% of fine
He grouped together founder sharehold- Eggs laid by the female are mixed by like tar than diesel – used by the and ultra-fine particles from
ers from the worlds of food production, hand with sperm from the males, because ships cast a brown smog over exhaust gases, is the first of its
luxury goods and research for initial fund- natural conditions, where the eggs would the city that caused breathing kind on a ship.
raising of €2.1million, then raised another be stuck in clumps to rocks on the river problems. The system reportedly stops
€4.1million in 2014 to develop the Caviar bed, cannot be reproduced. Locals claim that the promise most of the emissions of sulphur,
de Neuvic brand. The young fish are kept together until made by ship-owners to use the gas responsible for acid rain
“We have two sorts of sturgeon: one three years old when they are caught and only diesel fuel when close to and smog.
which matures at seven years, and one at sexed using an ultrasound machine similar the city has not had much effect It works by trapping pollutants
10, so we needed investors who would stay to those used on expectant mothers. because captains are not making in the ship’s filters, where it is
for the long term,” Mr Deverlanges said. Male fish are separated and slaughtered the switch. then moved to land-based
The business now boasts sales of €7.2mil- for fresh fillets – sturgeon has a good tex- Even before lockdown, resi- treatment centres.
lion, 50 employees, and shops on-site in ture but a bland flavour – smoked fillets, dents formed an association to Renaud Muselier, president of
Neuvic, and in Paris, Bordeaux and Lyon. canned fish and specialities such as rillettes. voice concerns about air pollu- the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur
It also has a restaurant in Neuvic and The females are kept until they reach tion from cruise ships, which region, said: “Thanks to our ‘no

the sea and the transition to freshwater,
made when the fish move upriver to breed.
However, it laid the basis for raising other
freshwater sturgeon, mainly originating
from Lake Baikal in Russia. These methods
were developed by French researchers into
reliable fish-farming processes.
Mr Deverlanges has been fascinated by
fish since childhood, an interest that
inspired a degree in agricultural engineer-
ing. After graduating, he worked around
the world, including long spells in Cuba
and Mozambique for agricultural and food
production projects before returning to
France, where he heard of the fish farm at
Bordeaux, and makes related products,
including a vodka. All the caviar is certified
organic and around 15% of production is
exported to 28 countries, with Japan being
the main overseas customer.
The farm has 150,000 sturgeon raised
in ponds covering 1.3 hectares of the
20-hectare site. The main ponds measure
180m by 15m and are 1.3m deep.
They are covered, as sturgeon do not toler-
ate sunlight, and solar panels on the roof
mean the farm produces its own electricity
for its pumps, with a little bit left over for the
grid. Electric nets are now used to keep
cormorants and herons out – they found
“
harvesting age, then scanned again to see if often dock for a day and keep
their eggs have formed. their engines running.
When they have, they are transferred to After a 10-year campaign,
clear water finishing ponds before being they launched a court case
stunned with a captive bolt gun, similar to this spring, claiming lives have
those used on sheep, and killed. At this stage, been put at risk by pollution
they are usually 1.2m long and weigh around due to inaction, negligence
10kg, with the eggs accounting for 1.2kg. and imprudence.
Residents complain
All parts of the fish are used, including Port authorities have brought that soot from ships
the swim bladder in the tip of the forward existing plans to provide
sturgeon’s nose, which makes fine wood high-capacity electric cables to covers their gardens
glue for violin-makers, and collagen from the ships.
cartilage and skin for cosmetics. The move means cruise liners smoking in dock’ project, we
The farm had 6,000 visitors in 2022. can use electricity from the grid, have sustainably improved air
Prices, including a tasting, start from €21. rather than run their engines to quality in our ports.
generate power. “At La Méridionale, we’re

Set ground rules for a better visitor experience
from those who essentially see
As the summer your home as a cheap holiday?
influx of visitors First, remember, you never
have to endure the company of
approaches, someone who upsets you. No
Cynthia Spillman excuses. Just say no! This part-
has tips on icularly applies to self-inviting
‘waifs and strays’. This isn’t self-
making sure stays go ish – it is self-caring and if it
smoothly. Cynthia does not feel right, then trust
your instincts and refuse.
specialises in writing If people are offended, that
about relationships shows a lack of sensitivity on
and overcoming their part. A good test can be
to ask what that person would
adversity and joins us do if the roles were reversed.
with a regular column Having decided who you will
accept, agree and communicate
how long they can stay. Our
YOU’VE achieved your dream English friends in Nice have a
and own a French home. You Four Day Rule, which seems
look forward to long days in perfectly reasonable.
the sun, sipping wine or getting There is clarity and in four
on with a bit of bricolage. days guests are unlikely to out-
Suddenly, however, a deluge of stay their welcome. It is up to
‘new best friends’ invite them- you to decide the period you
selves to stay. How do you select feel most comfortable with, but
those who will be easy guests, be make sure you do not leave any
lovely to see, and will muck in loose ends or you might feel
anxious during your guests’
stay, willing them to leave.
Before the guests arrive, ask
what they would like to do.
Send details of local sights.
Suggest activities and, if you so
choose, tell them you will not
be able to escort them every-
where. Build in some time for
yourself. It is far better to set
these boundaries in advance.
If you have to work, make it
clear. You don’t have to sabo-
tage your normal routine.
Remember to ask about diet-
ary requirements and, if you
don’t always want to cook for
them, make that clear before
they arrive. You can put your
kitchen at their disposal.
Never feel you have to foot
the bill if you dine out. If guests
offer to pay, think twice before
refusing. They might feel good
about giving something back.
Finally, communicate other
house rules – regarding smok-
ing, for example. If you have
pets, inform guests in advance.
Campaigners say years of talk
have resulted in just three dock-
ing points being equipped with
Apply these measures and you the necessary equipment.
are more likely to relax when The three installations have
people stay. Who knows, you been made permanent, and the
might even enjoy it! study is being extended to see
if the port should make it com-
Guest stressbuster tips pulsory for ships to obtain elec-
• Communication and tricity this way when in dock.
planning are key Many of the vessels that use the
• No is a complete sentence, no port will need to have a new plug
further explanation is needed installed to access electricity
• Self-care is essential from the quay.
• Boundaries are vital but Marseille’s port is much closer
build in some flexibility too to the city centre than most
• Silence your inner critic, who French ports, making it particu-
might attempt to guilt-trip you larly sensitive to the pollution
• Plan some time out for yourself emitted by cruise liners.
• Have a contingency plan in Residents complain that soot
case things go wrong from ships covers their gardens,
• Avoid setting expectations and that standing water outside
for future visits has an oily film.
Health concerns that locals link
If you have your own set of house to ship pollution include heart
rules, wonderful or terrible and lung problems, cancers,
experiences to share, or have any allergies and complications in
questions on the emotional the development of unborn
aspects linked to living in France, babies.
Cynthia would love to hear from They also say that the ‘scrub-
you. Please email her via bers’ used to clean ship exhausts
news@connexionfrance.com eject polluted water into the
going further, and thanks to this
particle filter, the most virtuous
ship in the Mediterranean is
taking to the sea from
Marseille.”
Piana was built in 2011, can
carry 800 passengers, 2,500
metres of freight trailers and
200 cars, and has a crew of 50.
It is used as a ferry on the
Marseille-Corsica route.
The company received grants
from the French environment
agency Ademe and from the
regional council.
La Méridionale pioneered the
port-to-ship electricity systems
from 2015, and is studying
the feasibility of building a gas-
fuelled power station in Corsica,
where the grid is insufficient
for the extra power required by
large ships.
The Port of Marseille says it
hopes to have results of the
air-quality study by early 2024,
and will adjust its strategies
accordingly to limit pollution.
The port is also considering
expanding its fuelling station for
natural gas – a fuel increasingly
used by cruise ships.
14 Comment connexionfrance.com The Connexion June 2023
Richard Ogier is an Australian journalist based in Simon Heffer, the renowned political commentator
Strasbourg. He has written on France and Germany
for the LA Times, Canadian Globe and Mail, Liberation, and historian, turns his gaze to French politics
Independent and for his native Australian press.
He joins The Connexion as a regular columnist Simon Heffer is also a columnist for the Daily and Sunday Telegraphs

French cinema is I Why bringing

was amused on the morning of
the recent Coronation of King
Charles III to receive my usual
daily email from Le Figaro and notice

essential in keeping
back monarchy
the lead item on it: ‘Qui serait le roi
de la France?’ (Who would be the
King of France?)

the art form alive

There was some vague mention
later on, I think, that a great
historical event, the first such

to France may
for 70 years, was happening in
the neighbouring country (indeed,
ELITIST or high-quality? Or rather, a premium on quality? The Cannes film the President of France and
Festival evokes not just the special place cinema holds in French percep- Mme Macron attended it, even if the
tions of exceptionalism. It turns the mind to the position of culture in the President did not choose to comple-

not be such a
national self-reckoning. ment his wife’s exquisite dress sense
The former Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot sparked a firestorm early by attiring himself properly in a
this year when her memoirs took aim at the national film industry for, she morning coat), but Le Figaro seemed
claimed, its cosseted solipsism. mainly concerned about who, were
“The famous ‘cultural exception’ allows very many French films ‘not to France to have a monarchy again,

find their public’, as they say, politely, or more explicitly, to be flops,” she would sit on the French throne.
wrote in the stinging 682 jours. “The system also guarantees lead actors Might this have been provoked by
earn fabulous fees, three or four times higher than actors in American a moment of sour grapes, jalousie,
independent cinema.” rancœur or amertume?
But it also enables, she might have written, the employment of multiple Who knows? But it is an interesting
non-stars, as well as assorted additional ‘creatives’ and technicians. And question, and one that touches more
not merely in cinema. A special unemployment directly than one might imagine on
scheme permits income cover in crises (like Covid), the governance of France today and
and through ordinary down times for arts and enter- The art in the near future.
tainment workers, from camera operators and musi- cinemas that It is usually accepted that there
cians to sound staff in state TV. are three competing houses for the
There’s no immediate need, then, for artists and mark many throne. First, there are the Bourbons,
performers to wait tables, or work in hotels or dig French descendants of poor old Louis XVI,
roads, when the next gig is slow in coming. Because it’s who met his brutal end on the guil-
precisely in the periods between publication that writers
regional cities lotine in 1793.
actually write, that composers compose, that little com- wouldn’t exist Those who regard the Bourbons as
panies cobble together their next theatre production. were it not for having the main claim are known as
But it’s not just the artistic talent that’s provided with Legitimists, and they trace descent
a buffer against the brutal selectivity of the market. the support from Charles X, who was removed in
The art cinemas that mark many French regional cities they receive the July Revolution of 1830. He was a
wouldn’t exist were it not for the support they receive brother of Louis XVI, as was the man
from various levels of government.
from various he succeeded, Louis XVIII, and the
As for Paris, who wouldn’t want to see films in that levels of House had been restored after the
section of the fifth district near the Sorbonne, with its government fall of Napoleon.
litter of art et essai movie houses in what remains of Unlike their decapitated brother’s
the city’s old left-wing heart? Le Champo is probably monarchy, this one was constitution-
the best-known, with Le Reflet opposite, where photos of Orson Welles al, without the trappings of despot-
and Alfred Hitchcock look down from the walls and an image of Woody ism, enlightened or otherwise.
ridiculous idea
claimed the Second Empire.
Once that Empire went with the
events of 1870, France was left with
three pretender Dynasties. The
Bonapartists need not be taken
seriously, being very much johnny-
come-latelys to the monarchy game.
The pretender is 36-year-old Jean-
Christophe, Prince Napoléon,
Prince of Montfort, descended
from Napoleon’s younger brother
and a private equity manager.
The two competing branches of the
Bourbons are a different matter. The
Legitimists regard Don Luis-Alfonso
de Borbón, duc d’Anjou and a
descendant through the male line of
the Sun King, as the rightful King of
France. He is 49, and would be
was asked to rule in a dispute
between the two branches a few
years ago, it claimed it had no juris-
diction in the matter. Therefore, it
might appear that the chances of a
restoration are slimmer than ever,
given no one would know whom to
restore, and for France it might be
out of the frying pan, into the fire.
Ever since he took over in 2017,
President Macron has been com-
pared to the Sun King, and mocked
for his apparently regal style, very
unbecoming, some of his people feel,
of the leader of a republic.
But recent events – notably the use
of section 49.3 of the French consti-
tution to force through his hated
pension reforms – prompt the
thought that France might be more

Allen famously guards the toilets. Charles X tried to rig an election in
Further along at 23 rue des Écoles the Cinéma Club has special screen- 1830, after behaving for several years
ings featuring encounters with directors and sometimes major actors. in an increasingly authoritarian fash-
I remember being entranced by Charlotte Rampling at peak gorgeous ion, and was forced to abdicate.
giving a special introduction to a screening of The Verdict, where she stars He was succeeded by his cousin
opposite Paul Newman’s Boston attorney, looking like every man in his Louis Philippe, a descendant through
later 50s wishes he did (though he’s on the grog, knocking back a raw his mother of Louis XIV, and son of
egg in a pint of beer for breakfast). Pretty Parisiennes sat cross-legged the duc d’Orléans. Charles X had in
at Ms Rampling’s feet. fact abdicated in favour of his grand-
Further back into the sixth, Catherine Deneuve had just done the déco son Henri, duc de Bordeaux, who
and interior design at the Panthéon cinema cafe when I was a regular vis-
itor there around 2010. At Le Saint-Germain-des-Prés, I remember coming
was just 10 years old and was easily
shunted aside by the Orléanistes, and
out of a screening of Jean-Luc Godard’s For Ever Mozart and reading a the Chamber of Deputies proclaimed
Télérama review pinned to the wall delighted at the extent to which this Louis Philippe king.
latest perl from the Latin Quarter’s reigning secular Pope of cinema was, Thus two rival dynasties were
“actually comprehensible” (as if he needed to be!). established: the Legitimist Bourbons
Well, all these cinemas are subsidised. Because Paris rents are so and the (by implication) illegitimist
expensive, but also because they continue to show repertoire cinema cadet branch of the same family, the
and little films with low budgets. Orléanistes. Louis Philippe reigned
Godard, not the easiest of film-makers, had a kind of open invitation until the revolution of 1848, but
at Cannes. He was perhaps the definitive example of the French auteur found himself fighting on two fronts:
approach to film-making. against the Bourbon cousins, who
But it’s not only about preserving French quality, it’s about the French wanted their throne back, and repub-
as arbiters of the taste and quality of others — in cinema, in culture, in licans, who wanted no throne at all.
the face of Hollywood, Big Streaming and new technologies. In 1848 he abdicated in favour of
I would remind Madame Bachelot that there is also a lighter side. his grandson, the comte de Paris,
I’ve just seen popular French director Cédric Klapisch’s En corps. who was only nine: but the Chamber
Humanist, a box office triumph, it’s a film of fiction about classical ballet of Deputies refused to have it, and
— an ostensibly elitist art-form that is not so here — that actually features the Second Republic was established
classical dancing. Much as Bertrand Tavernier’s Round Midnight dared to – but with a familiar name, Louis
feature the minority music of modern jazz. Art forms that France and the Napoléon Bonaparte, as its president.
French have helped to keep alive and make accessible to the rest of us. With predictable inevitability,
And to be sure, the Cannes film festival is one of the keepers of the flame. he declared himself Emperor
Napoleon III in 1852, and pro-
“
After the 2027 election,
might people possibly
start to think there
may be better way of
ensuring the will of the
people is acted upon?
Louis XX, and his being Spanish
need not be an obstacle (after all, the
English throne is occupied by a man
who is effectively three-quarters
German and a quarter Scots).
However, the Orléanistes look to a
descendant of Louis Philippe, Jean
Carl Pierre Marie d’Orléans, aged 58,
as the rightful king: he would be
Jean IV. He is known as the comte de
Paris and is a colonel in the reserve
of the French Army.
So even if France wanted a monar-
chy, it would have to decide which of
these two royal houses should supply
the monarch. When a French court
democratic under a constitutional
monarchy, with its checks and bal-
ances, than under a republic where
the head of state is also the effective
head of government and can do very
much as he likes when the need aris-
es. Were M. Macron prime minister,
and had an unelected arbiter to
answer to, things might be different.
This is all hypothetical, because
of little evidence of a movement
for monarchy in France. When a
monarchist party stood in the 2019
European elections its candidates
hardly registered.
But what if – and this is far less
hypothetical – the 2027 election
ends up presenting the French with
a choice between Marine Le Pen and
Jean-Luc Mélenchon? What,
especially, if Mme Le Pen won
– a possibility now openly discussed
in France?
And what if this happens after what
are perceived as almost four more
years of autocracy, belligerence and
unrest provoked by the ideas and
attitudes of M. Macron? Might
people possibly start to think there
may be a better way of ensuring the
will of the people is acted upon? If
I were French, I’d start working out
whether it is to be the duc d’Anjou or
the comte de Paris.

52,000 readers receive Connexion’s weekday free e-newsletters. Do you? Sign up at connexionfrance.com
 The Connexion June 2023
Far-Right terrorism threat ‘is real’
It is not the most visible
far-Right extremists we
need to worry about,
researcher Stéphane François
tells Martin Greenacre
THE SIGHT of black-clad and masked
Photo: Abaca Press / Alamy
protesters parading through central
Paris has ignited debates about whether
the threat of far-Right violence is taken
as seriously as it should be in France.
Almost 600 people joined the march
on May 6 to commemorate the death of
far-Right activist Sébastien Deyzieu, 22,
who fell from a building while escaping
from the police on May 9, 1994.
The event takes place every year, but
this year authorities were accused of
complacency, having previously cracked
down on pension protests. Following
the outcry, Interior Minister Gérald
Darmanin instructed France’s prefects
to ban all far-Right demonstrations, a
move that has already been met with
legal challenges.
French political scientist and specialist
of the far-Right Stéphane François, who
teaches at Université de Mons in
Belgium, said: “Compared to certain
years, there weren’t many people. There
have been May 6 protests with 1,000 to
1,500 people.”
The difference this year, he said, is the
“context of polarisation”, and increasing
tensions over France’s approach to the
far-Right.
“There is the Paris police prefect,
Laurent Nuñez, a former intelligence
chief who has been warning of the dan-
gers of the far-Right for several years.
Then there is a very right-wing Interior
Minister who is already thinking about
the presidential election in four years.”
May also saw far-Right activists
disrupt a children’s storytelling event
held by drag queens in a library near
Rennes, replicating protests held in the
US. Meanwhile, the mayor of Saint-
Brevin-les-Pins (Loire-Atlantique)
resigned after his cars and home were
set on fire. He had been targeted by
extremists over plans to move an
asylum seeker reception centre to a
different part of town.
There was an escalation of violence in
December when a shooter targeted a
Kurdish cultural centre in Paris, killing
Street light ‘sobriety’ is false economy
by Samantha David
I KNOW we were all supposed to be
careful with energy this winter because
of prices, the dratted Putin, and the
environment, but the mayor has been
doing that for ages in our village.
I don’t think it’s a green thing as much
as simple money-saving. Basically, the
commune is broke, but because the
inhabitants are all paying increased
local taxes, we expect the same level of
services. So the mairie has somehow
had to rob Pierre to pay Paul.
The street lights were low-hanging
fruit, and besides, all the other com-
munes were doing it. At first, they only
turned the street lights off at midnight,
which was okay, especially in the
summer. But now that everyone in the
village has accepted that as normal, the
timetable seems to have been gradually
altered. Now, if you stay late at the bar
– it closes at 20.30 – you’d better have a
torch with you. They come on quite
three people. Then, in April, a parlia-
mentary assistant to a left-wing MP
was attacked ahead of the final of the
Coupe de France football competition.
The threat of violence comes from a
subsection of the far-Right, variably
referred to as the ultra-droite (ultra-
right) or droite radicale (radical right).
“They seek to overthrow the system,
which means overthrowing the
Republic,” Dr François said.
“They are extremists who want to
move into action, who reject multicul-
tural society and believe that a Muslim
is never moderate, always an Islamist.”
There are an estimated 3,000 radical
right activists in France, a figure that
has remained relatively stable over
the years.
“Those are the known activists who
can be tracked across groups. But a
new profile has appeared – people who
are radicalised online, belong to no
movement or group, and believe France
is in decline and they must move into
action. We are starting to see what
we call ‘accelerationists’, who want to
start a race war in France to provoke
a counter-shock.”
Their models are Norwegian terrorist
Anders Breivik, and Brenton Tarrant,
responsible for the Christchurch mosque
shootings in 2019. This group is less
visible and thus harder to quantify, and
far more dangerous, Dr François said.
“When people demonstrate like on
May 6, they show their muscles and
scare middle-class people and journ-
alists. We talk about them and they
become the villains they want to be.
“Those who protest generally know
there is a line they cannot cross. They
can be radicalised but they’re not stu-
pid enough to act on it as they know
early in the morning. About 5:00,
which seems bizarre to me, but what do
I know? Perhaps everyone else in the
village is up and outdoors while we’re
still curled up in bed?
Anyway, it doesn’t work all the time.
On some random Saturdays, the lights
stay on later, and I think they were on
all night on New Year’s Eve. Also, I
think the timer is dodgy because they
very often stay on all night if there’s a
thunderstorm or the hour shifts.
The point is, we only get very short
periods of street lighting these days.
As a result, the DIY store is doing a
roaring trade in outdoor lighting,
especially those fancy ones that turn on
automatically. The favoured light seems
to resemble something from a football
match: large and square, set high up
and belting out enough lumens to
illuminate the Eiffel Tower. They are
brighter than the street lights, in fact.
My neighbour bought one from a DIY
truck that parks on the place from time
connexionfrance.com
Members of the far-
Right gather in Paris
every year (as here
in 2007) to mark
the death of activist
Sébastien Deyzieu.
In 2023, the protest
sparked debate over
the authority’s
stance towards
far-Right extremists
they’re being tracked. The others may
be activists, but not in the foreground,
or they might have left a party or group
because all they did was talk or train,
instead of moving into action.”
As well as the role of the internet in
spreading extremist ideas, Dr François
points to the radicalisation of the main-
stream Right in France, which has
sought to recover voters attracted by
the far-Right.
Related to the normalisation of
extremist ideas is a “quite phenomenal”
rise in racism, he says. He believes there
is little doubt the threat of far-Right
terrorism is rising, “not necessarily in
terms of the number of individuals, but
in its intensity – there is an increasing
radicalisation.”
“We are not necessarily talking about
thousands of people preparing a coup
d’état, but we could have people carry-
ing out attacks, which was the case
until the 1990s, before it fell away, and
now it’s returning to a reasonably high
level. We are not yet at the level of the
1970s, with its neo-Nazi groups.”
Despite repeated warnings, he says
the Interior Ministry has only begun
taking the threat seriously in the last
four or five years. “We are paying for
that delay. We have an Interior Minister
who for a long time was more focused
on ‘leftists’, Islamists or ‘ecoterrorists’
than on the radical Right.”
Twenty-nine right-wing extremists
were arrested in France in 2021, com-
pared to five in 2020 and seven in 2019,
according to Europol. This is part of a
global trend – a 2020 report from the
UN’s Security Counterterrorism
Committee revealed far-Right-inspired
terror attacks had increased by 320%
over the previous five years.
to time. She said it was a bargain and I
think it was, because it’s so over-sens-
itive that it turns on every time a cat
so much as strolls past their front door.
Whatever. I think it’s fine. We’re
organising our own street lights in a
weird round-about, flashing-on-and-off
way, and I’ve got a trusty torch in my
car. I miss the view, though. From
upstairs, I used to gaze at a pattern of
delicate, lacy black branches silhouetted
against the misty salmon light the other
side of the orchard. But that’s a minor
inconvenience.
So all is well. Except one thing. With
all these incredibly powerful sensors
and lights operating all over the place,
has the village’s total power consump-
tion decreased or increased?
On October 6 last year, when the
government announced the plan de
sobriété énergétique, the aim was to use
10% less energy by 2024. So I’m just
wondering: are we using less electricity?
Or more?
Comment 15
Nabila Ramdani is an award-winning
French-Algerian journalist who specialises
in French politics and the Arab world.
Her articles feature in the French national
press as well as internationally.
She is a regular columnist in The Connexion.
The EU flag is no
longer a symbol of
peace in Europe
THERE IS a very simple but profound
reason why Emmanuel Macron believes
in flying the EU flag: Peace in Europe.
I’ve spoken to France’s president person-
ally about this, and he told me that he
Photo: Shutterstock_sylv1rob1
believes the gold-starred blue banner
symbolises the relatively calm 78 years
across the western part of the continent
since World War Two.
This is particularly important to
Macron because he is a child of Amiens,
capital of the Somme department in
northern France and scene of some of the vilest
battles in human history. Combatants from the
now self-styled liberal democracies slaughtered A lot has
each other in their hundreds of thousands using
all their industrial might while rallying under changed
national flags, including the French Tricolore and in recent
German Reichsflagge, as well as the Union Flag.
A united trading bloc led by traditional enemies years and,
ended such rivalries, and all but guaranteed for good or
peace, Macron argued. This was especially so
after the EU developed into a supranational bad, the
political union. EU banner
Hence, MPs loyal to the president shepherding a
new bill through the Paris National Assembly last is fast
month imposing the flying of both the national becoming a
and EU flags on larger town halls. This means
that any mairie serving more than 1,500 local militaristic
residents will have to go dual banner. one
In principle, it is hard to fault Macron’s thinking.
He knows that the far-Right, including the
Rassemblement National (RN), are furious about
the new legislation, but that might be considered a good thing.
Flag-waving nationalism is wonderful at sports events such as
football matches, but it can become very sinister indeed when
politicians glory in it.
Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the RN (as the Front National), was
obsessed by the sanctity of the Tricolore, both before and after he
was convicted of racism and antisemitism. In this sense, the EU flag
might well be considered a sign of peace – one that negates the
darker aspects of the one it will be fluttering alongside.
Except that a lot has changed in recent years and, for good or bad,
the EU banner is fast becoming a militaristic one. In 2018, just a year
after coming to power, Macron himself marked the centenary of the
World War One Armistice to say that a “true European army” was
needed so the EU could “defend itself better alone”, without the help
of America and other NATO allies.
Since then, the perennial Eastern European conflict between
Ukraine and Russia has developed into a full-blown war, and the EU
is firmly championing the Ukrainians, who are not in the EU. Ukraine
president Volodymyr Zelensky has even just won the hugely prestig-
ious Charlemagne Prize for “services to European unification”.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said during
the presenting of the award that “Ukraine incarnates everything the
European idea is living for”, while firmly implying that Russia does
not. The vast amount of weapons EU countries are now pouring into
Ukraine – Germany pledged €2.7billion-worth in May – certainly
backs up such a sentiment.
Such actions also support the pessimistic prediction that the EU
might eventually be dragged into active combat over the future
of a non-EU state. World War Three would likely follow, as other
nuclear-armed countries, such as China, ally with the Russians. It is
all almost too terrifying to contemplate, but that is what people
were saying in 1913 and 1938.
The issue of national symbols is certainly an absurdly trivial one in
relation to the prospect of yet another cataclysmic global war but,
given the increasing bellicosity of EU leaders on behalf of Ukraine,
hoisting the gold-on-blue flag as a compulsory sign of peace looks
like a ridiculous idea.
 16 Letters connexionfrance.com The Connexion June 2023

Do you agree? Protests and polls can undermine real democracy

by Nick Inman a promise or expects citizens to fight
a war that breaks international law.
IT WAS the word ‘unpopular’ that In other circumstances, it is a dub-
piqued my curiosity. ious good that serves the interests of
The Guardian’s Paris correspondent opportunist, populist leaders. They
claimed that President Macron’s have nothing to lose and everything
be at the expense of dialogue.
Democracy is not simply what hap-
pens in the ballot box or what opinion
polls report. It is how a free and fair
society talks to itself. It is debate:
speaking and listening, exchanging

pension reforms were unpopular
because, well, just look at the number
of protesters out on the streets on
strike days. That proves it, doesn’t it?
Democracy is, of course, govern-
ment by popularity and this raises
the interesting question: how is this
mysterious force of public acclaim
measured?
For the last few months, there has
been a consensus in the media –
French and international – that
Macron and his prime minister
Elisabeth Borne are at fault on this
issue: they are stubborn, arrogant
and on the wrong side of democracy.
They are not listening to what their
electorate is telling them.
Hang on a minute. A recently
re-elected president who is unpopular,
undemocratic and working against
the people? We should not let this
assertion pass without checking it.
Macron was voted president last
Photo: O.Kemppainen_shutterstock
to win by demonising the incumbent information, and being honest about
president. Opposition politicians can- trade-offs that have to be made.
not hide their delight in the wave of We are undoubtedly seeing the two
dissatisfaction that they hope will main shortcomings of representative
carry them into power. democracy: negative voting (against
Journalists, too, like it when politics Le Pen but not necessarily for
is transferred to the streets. Macron) and the fact that you have to
A protest against pension reform outside the Palais-Royal, Paris, in March Dry parliamentary discussions about vote for a package of pledges, some of
year on a platform that included increase. Reading the media lately, the technicalities of legislation do not which you might not agree with at all.
pension reform. The legislative you get the impression that there are make good television. Footage of The way to sort this out is not to
elections delivered a hung parliament two parallel democracies in France: clashes between protesters and police create new institutions but to discuss
but still the president could claim he the formal democracy of the past that keep viewers hooked to their screens the problem with respect for one’s
had a responsibility to the people to should be ignored, and the spontan- and social media surfers clicking. opponents.
do what he had promised and what eous democracy of the present that Some of the losers in last year’s pres- When dialogue about difficult
they had asked him. must be respected, whatever it says idential election are calling for a Sixth choices is replaced with a zero-sum
Have the people since changed their and however it says it. Republic which, they hope, will pre- game of pronouncements by Macron
minds? What if they realise they have This day-to-day democracy is meas- vent autocratic presidential rule in the met by slogans from angry strikers,
made a mistake? What if they change ured not by votes cast in secret ballots future. This, they say, is the answer to France is no longer demonstrating to
their minds from week to week? What but by the size and noise of the mob the problem. They have not under- the world how democracy is done.
if they are obsessed with a single issue and by the results of opinion polls stood the first rule of democracy: it is
and do not see how it relates to (which are anything but scientific). about talking as much as voting. Do you agree or disagree with
everything else that government is ‘Direct democracy’ – a vague It is good that people take an inter- Nick Inman? Tell us why at
about? To put it crudely: one person’s euphemism if ever there was one – is est in politics, participate and make news@connexionfrance.com
public spending rise is another’s tax justifiable if a politician goes back on their feelings known, but it must not

They said it … Stop picking

on older drivers
This is science, not dogma REGARDING your recent
online article about the debate
Didier Raoult over medical tests for elderly
Retired French physician, who gained worldwide attention during the drivers, in rural France it is
pandemic for promoting hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for Covid, younger drivers who are the
admits it is not effective against the Omicron variant problem – overtaking, speed-
ing and tailgating.
If I want to sell rillettes No one seems to police this.
Photo: Frederic Legrand -
Beware bulk-buy ‘deals’
THE PRICING of some bulk- size from keeping their original
All in favour of
EU flag-flying
The Connexion asked online for
buy ‘deals’ in supermarkets is
dishonest, as reported in your
price. For those who don’t have
time to check every item, it is views on the push to obligate
recent online article. an equally dishonest practice. French mairies to fly the EU flag
My first encounter was in In these times of rapidly ris- [Editor’s note: MPs approved
relation to packets of coffee in ing prices, where people are the idea but limited it to mairies
Leclerc. I reported them and not buying as much, maybe it with at least 1,500 residents,
later a consumer protection would be a good idea to offer meaning 70% will be exempt].
association took them to task, the choice of smaller packets. We think EU visibility is very

on Red Square, I will sell It infuriates us and is danger- after which things improved. With so much food waste, it important. When we lived in
COMEO_shutterstock

ous. We often see cars that
rillettes on Red Square have overshot and ended up
in a field.
François Fillon As someone pointed out to
Former prime minister, when grilled by parliament about his links to me recently, these drivers are
Russia, insists that his business ventures are a private matter
young women as well as men.
But when one elderly driver
The obsession with tolerance has an accident, everyone has
weakens secularism an opinion. Surely the statistics
speak for themselves. If this
Since then, overpriced bulk would also be beneficial to the UK there was little physical
‘deals’ can be found everywhere. those who can’t/won’t use all the evidence of the huge support
I always check the price per kilo- contents. Elderly people like communities received from
gram or litre, though it usually myself, who eat less, are often European funding, unlike our
takes longer to shop and obliged to buy items designed experiences in Ireland.
occasionally they aren’t correct. for a family of four to six and Would Brexit have happened
There should be a law ban- the sell-by date limits how long if people had been more aware?
ning the practice, as well as we have to consume it. Trish WICKSTEAD and
rules to stop items reduced in Jenny SPOONER, by email Gill PALMER, by email

Elisabeth Badinter
Philosopher, in L’Express
was a major problem, insurance
firms would almost certainly
increase their premiums for
The French rioted because they older drivers.
didn’t want to work until 64 while in Younger people generally
drive more dangerously, so let’s
America, we have an 80-year-old stop picking on the elderly.
begging for four more years of work Janet LYNCH, by email
Shooting your mouth off FRANCE is part of the EU and
the EU is not only a common
I WAS amused by your article in the May issue listing faux pas market, it is also a political
that readers have made while learning French. project. Consequently, flying
A neighbour once asked what I did at a shooting club I had
joined. As tirer means ‘to fire’ and coup is ‘shot’, I told her: J’ai tiré
both the French and European
flags everywhere, including city
quelques coups. She explained the expression meant to have sex. and town halls, is logical.
Steve BARRETT, by email Jean-Claude GUEDON, Canada

Roy Wood Jr
The comedian joked at this year’s White House
Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington Dans le passé – 10, 50 and 100 years ago
Pots and pans are obviously more JUNE, 2013 JUNE, 1973 JUNE, 1923

dangerous than the sound of boots Tour de France turns 100
THE 100th edition of the Tour de France
Ian Brossat began on June 29 from Porto-Vecchio
Paris councillor reacts to a Préfecture de Police statement that justified
in Corsica – the first time the cycle race
Watch workers seize factory First concrete church built
ON June 12, workers at the Lip watch JUNE 17 saw the conse-
factory in Besançon discovered manage- cration of the Église
ment plans to lay off staff and decided to Notre-Dame du Raincy,
Photo: FNA_shutterstock

allowing a far-right rally to proceed after ‘saucepan’ protests were banned

had visited the island.
My generation has done nothing To celebrate the 100-year milestone, it
featured some of the famous climbs from
glorious about climate change its history, including Mont Ventoux and
Alpe d’Huez, which was climbed twice in
Martin Hirsch one stage. The route also involved an
Former head of the charity Emmaüs and High Commissioner for Active evening finish of the final stage on the
Solidarity against Poverty and for Youth, in Le Journal du Dimanche
Champs-Elysées in Paris. It was the first
time since 2003 that the Tour was raced
Polanski has repaid his debt to entirely on French soil.
society. All those who think that It was won by Chris Froome for Team
Sky, who became the second Briton in a
he belongs in prison are mistaken row to bring home the yellow jersey after
Bradley Wiggins in 2012. Wiggins had
Samantha Geimer chosen not to ride after illness and injury
Rape victim, aged 13 at the time, forgives the director
46 years later in an interview with his wife in Le Point left him insufficient time to train.
occupy the site, taking two administrators near Paris – the first
and a government labour inspector as
hostages, until they received more
such building to be
made out of reinforced
information. concrete in France.
The hostages were quickly rescued by Built by brothers
police but the workers stayed put, selling Auguste and Gustave Perret, it was desig-
existing stock and trying to get operations nated a historic monument in 1966 and
moving again. They united under the is sometimes called ‘Sainte-Chapelle du
slogan: C’est possible: on fabrique, on béton armé’ (Sainte-Chapelle of reinforced
vend, on se paie (It’s possible: we make, concrete). The material was chosen for
we sell, we pay ourselves).
In January 1974, a new boss promised to
economy but the finished building, with
its slender supports, was widely praised.
retain all staff and create new collections. Inside, stained glass windows by
However, a year later the company was Marguerite Huré are dominated by blues
still making losses and was liquidated at the entrance, becoming warmer
soon after. Lip was relaunched in 2002. towards the sanctuary.
 The Connexion June 2023 connexionfrance.com Letters 17

The Connexion letters pages are Strategic financial planning for

sponsored by your life in France w w w. b l e v i n s f r a n k s . c o m

Absurd DPE ‘Therapy’ dogs overdue

I WAS quoted in an article in
your May issue regarding the
energy-efficiency (DPE) score
of my Dordogne farmhouse.
Having challenged the rating,
it has moved from a G to an F,
so there is some improvement.
However, it still seems
extremely unfair that someone
who does little more than tap
the walls with his knuckles can
ruin the value of a property.
Our walls are 1.4m thick,
stone and blocks either side.
We have lost two buyers due
to this totally false report. It
says the house has no protection
from the sun but this is com-
plete nonsense. We have wood
for heating and cooking and
use very little of it.
Another point to mention is
the cost. We paid €850 for the
DPE certificate and another
€720 for an [obligatory] energy
audit. A friend with twice the
space paid only €750 for his
DPE, so shop around.
I understand the aim of the
exercise is to reduce emissions,
yet ours came out at a high C.
It is ruining the value of stone
properties. Soon there will be a
shortage as no one will be able
to sell at a reasonable price.
Terry SCATES, by email
Post bikes idea
I LOVED your article in the May
issue about postal workers’ bikes
being given a second life.
However, would it not be better
to refurbish the bikes and give
them back to the postal workers.
Ian SHIRREFS, by email
Nouvelle Attitude, the firm that
refurbishes the bikes, replies:
La Poste is considering purchas-
ing some but rounds have evolved
in recent years with a drop in let-
ters and a rise in small parcels.
In this context, the bikes are no
longer suited to current rounds.
Electric car fallacies Web solution
YOUR January/February issue
HOW interesting to read your article in the May issue about I READ the electric vehicle Jenkins well with his Tesla, a highlighted problems for non-
Snoopy the English setter helping out in a Paris hospital. (EV) article by Nick Jenkins in brand that UK motor maga- UK residents accessing the
After many years in France, latterly looking after my husband the May issue. If its purpose zines claim is one of the least gov.uk Government Gateway
with Alzheimer’s disease, I returned to England 10 years ago with was to prove it is possible to reliable. website if they do not have a
my dogs and volunteered as a ‘Dementia Friend’ at my local hosp- drive from Yorkshire to My last trip to Dordogne from UK address, driving licence, etc.
ital in Yeovil, Somerset. It wasn’t long before I was introduced to Perigord, then all very well. If Nottingham in my British-built Following a letter of com-
Tilly, a cocker spaniel that also regularly visited the wards. She it was to convince readers to SUV used just under 10 gallons plaint to HMRC, I was told it
was encouraged to the side of a bed and, if the patient was happy, purchase an EV, then it fell of diesel, purchased at super- is still possible to create a
to jump up and lie quietly or sit by a chair to be stroked. short of relevant facts. market prices and totalling 10 Government Gateway account
Tilly was a PAT dog (Pets as Therapy). The charity, in existence The environmental impact of minutes of stoppage, with no as long as you have a biometric
since 1983, was looking for more volunteers so I signed up my EVs (extraction of rare metals, worry about finding fuel. UK passport, National
golden retriever. She had to be vetted but passed with flying col- issues surrounding recycling Michael TINN, by email Insurance number, and access
ours and often joined me on afternoon visits, to the delight of batteries, etc) have been covered to a smartphone and UK
patients, visitors and staff. She was always kept on a lead and by various reports and articles. Nick Jenkins replies: telephone number.
brought joy to everyone she encountered until she retired, aged 10. Consider, too, that most EVs Throughout history, there has Download the gov.uk ‘ID
I am now back living in France and have a two-year-old retriever. are heavier than normal cars, been resistance to technological Check’ app and, at the appropri-
I wondered if I could take him into a local retirement home once which means more tyre wear, advance. Yes, building EVs uses ate stage in the account crea-
he has matured, and asked a nurse friend. She had never heard of brake pad toxins, and likelihood natural resources, just like any tion, take a picture of both the
dogs being allowed in retirement homes, let alone hospitals. Now it of serious injury in an accident. manufacturing process, but I am photo page in your passport
seems the French are perhaps ready to embrace this idea. I look It has also been alleged some very happy with my Tesla. It and a ‘selfie’, then allow your
forward to the results of their research programme. UK multi-storey car parks may does have ‘emissions’ but, when phone to scan the microchip on
Sue FINER, Narbonne need structural modification. activated, that feature simply the front page of your passport.
Another point is that insurers makes fart noises. Childish? Of This verifies your identity and
Let off steam or share a point have discovered it is very diffi- course, but my toddler grandson a Government Gateway account
Share of view on an aspect of French life
Email: letters@connexionfrance.com or write to:
cult to establish if an EV battery loves it – and it’s his future I am can then be created.
has been damaged in the event thinking of by driving a non-poll- Gary GRANT, Morbihan
your The Connexion, Le Grande Bretagne,
30 av. Grande Bretagne, 98000 Monaco of an accident, and are increas- uting car. Incidentally, I doubt
views! Please include your name and department of France ingly inclined to write off the that any road safety organisation
or country where you live. Letters used may be edited
for space and sense; the Editor’s decision is final.
car (not very environmentally
friendly!). Needless to say, pre-
would recommend driving so
many hundreds of miles with DIY firefighting
Letters received may be used online and/or in print. miums will rise. I wish Nick only a 10-minute break. AFTER reading your recent
article on drought crisis and
Secularism and the law Stop censoring books wildfire threats, I thought I
would pass on a project I
I MUST take exception to Nick to meet for public worship, and undertook to contain a small
Inman’s statement in the May if group members choose to YOU invited comment on the removal of offensive language from garden fire until the pompiers
issue that religion in France is
a private matter and the law
stand in the marketplace and
engage people in conversation
books. The problem is that those wishing to sanitise books are
looking at them from the point of view of what they consider
arrive on the scene.
Our house has six outside
keeps it out of the public realm. about their beliefs, they can do ‘correct’ today – not what might be ‘correct’ tomorrow or what taps with garden hoses. I fitted
His view that “if people are so, provided they respect the was in the past when these works were created. all of them with quick release
allowed to go about advertising views of their interlocutor, do Who actually benefits from, for example, Dix petits Nègres being couplings of the same size.
their faith... it only causes not represent a threat to public bowdlerised? My generation read it in our teens without becom- I also purchased coupling
problems” is not an accurate order, and respect the values of ing racist as a result. Are we next going to censor Macbeth because connectors so that I could con-
summary of French law. the French republic. of all the killing? Other Shakespeare tragedies because of the relation- nect several hoses together if
On the contrary, France is a Although some would prefer ship problems? Set up a cellule psychologique outside the Opéra needed, and added inexpensive
signatory to the Declaration of that the practice of religion Garnier in case someone is too shocked by the death of Mimi? plastic nozzles. This all worked
Human Rights, which grants a were banned from the public Where does this absurdity stop? so well that I did the same
person “freedom, either alone sphere, history suggests that Who is at fault here? Surely the parents of the youth they profess thing to my neighbours’ hoses.
or in community with others the more a religion is sup- to protect. I simply cannot believe that young people, if left to This is a simple, fast and
and in public or private, to pressed and forced behind decide for themselves, would feel oppressed by reading books cheap way to build the first line
manifest his religion”. closed doors, the greater the containing what the do-gooders classify as offensive language. of defence in case of a fire.
There is no embargo on the determination of believers to It is for the individual to decide whether to read them, taking I hope you will pass it on to
practice of religion in the pub- ensure its survival. into account his or her own sensibilities. your readers.
lic sphere. Faith groups are free Rob GILL, by email Michael STOREY, Ille-et-Vilaine Allan LINHARES, by email

You can debate and comment on articles via our Facebook

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page: facebook.com/TheConnexion. Here is a selection of

 
 

recent popular subjects... You can find the original 

 




Mayor bans Sunday
afternoon hunting
“Why can’t there be a
national ban on Sunday
afternoons?” CD
“As a farmer. it sounds like a
good compromise. Damage
to crops from animals is bad
enough now, so what would it
be like if hunting was banned
articles at connexionfrance.com
mange le chat de Carol. They
were shocked.” CA
“I once told a French butcher
that I never use preservatives in
my homemade sausages.” MB
“‘Parapoulet’ for ‘umbrella’
caused a good laugh!” IC
“Shortly after arriving in France
and eating a wonderful meal
Drivers advised to avoid of cacophony for the day?” AF   
dashboard cameras “Hilarious. Obviously no one    
“They’re much more effective told the French.” PB
than the French police, who   
“We love the peace in our French
don’t seem to do anything other village. What a shock when we 

than hide with speed radars.” PG are home in the UK – mowers,
“The footage may not be chainsaws, hedge cutters, often        
useful in court but, same as at the same time.” LF 
     

any CCTV, it certainly lets
police keep up with who the Pool still adds value to   
SIRET 48003796900015

in a lovely local restaurant, I

totally? But I, like others, would
like to walk my dog safely and
not worry about being shot on
my own land!” DDM
More language faux pas
“My friend was feeding my cat
while I was away. She saw the
neighbours and told them: Je
struggled to find an impressive
word to praise the food. After a
few vinos, the one I came up was
‘épouvantable’ which at the time
I thought meant ‘delicious’. I
couldn’t understand the waiter’s
response.” AF
“Never say the female of cat.
Way too dangerous.” IC
bad guys are.” C&K
Restrictions on mowing
lawn on a bank holiday
“The rules for mowers/chain-
saws are very sensible but where
are the rules to control those
real noise vandals who remove
silencers from their bikes and
turn the countryside into a hell
property despite droughts
“Our notaire told us it adds
no value at all – just helps sell
faster from their boards.” PG
“Are we going to start getting
refunds on our taxes because
they are banning us from
topping them up, with water
bans a yearly event now?” CO www.skyinfrance.co.uk
 18 Your Questions
Q& A
Readers’
questions
answered
Send your queries about life here to Liv Rowland
at questions@connexionfrance.com. Questions here
were answered with research from Martin Greenacre
Can my British mother live with us?
I AM a British citizen, French-resident,
living permanently in France, married
to a French national. Is it possible to
have my mother, now 80, come to live
with us in France and what would be
her entitlement to healthcare? P.S.
THERE ARE several ways your mother
could be allowed to come.
The first is if she is considered dependent
on you.
As a British citizen, if you were living in
France before January 1, 2021, and obtained
a Withdrawal Agreement (WA) residency
card, a dependent parent will be eligible to
apply for a five-year carte de séjour.
In this case, your mother would have to
apply for a WA carte de séjour at your local
prefecture within three months of moving
to France. She would have to provide
supporting documents, including your
carte de séjour, proof of your relationship,
and proof that she is in your care.
The latter will usually include proof
of your income and an attestation sur
l’honneur (signed declaration) that you
are responsible for her.
There is no clear definition of depend-
ency, but Justine Wallington of the Rift
group, which defends the rights of Britons
in France, said “long-term financial
dependency” is generally a better fit with
the EU and WA rules than “physical or
Can I get an eye test at an opticians? How close to my
ARE there opticians in France, like
Britain’s Specsavers, that test your
eyes in-store, then make the glasses
following this prescription? R.M.
IT IS not possible to have an eye test and
obtain a prescription at an optician in
France, as it is in the UK, but this year it
has become easier to see a specialist who
can provide a prescription.
Previously, you had to visit an ophthal-
mologist (or ophtalmo) to get a prescrip-
tion for glasses, and there can be long
waits for appointments in some areas.
Since February, patients aged 16 to 42
have been able to visit an orthoptist for
a first prescription. An orthoptist is not
a doctor but a specialist in the treatment
of eye conditions through re-education.
This is not possible if you suffer from
eyesight issues related to conditions such
as glaucoma, cataracts or cancer.
For people who already wear glasses, the
eye test and prescription can only be done
by an orthoptist if the last check-up from an
ophthalmologist was less than five years ago
(three years for contact lens wearers).
If you are over 42, you must visit an
ophthalmologist, but the idea behind the
reform is to reduce waiting lists. Once you
have a prescription, you can then go to an
optician to select your glasses.
Prescriptions last five years between ages
16 and 42, or three years for older patients.
FUTURE QUESTIONS
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2023
Are there better offers during
ventes privées or the soldes?
WILL I get better deals if I shop during the
ventes privées or the official sales period? J.H.
THERE are more opportunities than ever to find
deals in French shops these days, but this has also
led to confusion over when is the best time to buy,
with the soldes, ventes privées, Black Friday and
medical dependency”. Having said that, a more all competing for our attention.
Photo: Shutterstock_Pack-Shot
French decree relating to the WA rules Theoretically, greater reductions are available
does also refer to people who urgently during the soldes, but it depends on what you are
need personal help from their family looking for.
member due to serious medical reasons. The word soldes refers to the two official sales
You may be asked to prove that you have periods: one in the summer, and one in winter,
been providing your mother with financial with the dates set by a decree from the Finance
support – for example, through regular Ministry. Companies are only allowed to advertise The summer sales start this year on June 28
bank transfers – and that you have the ‘sales’ during these two periods. specific group of people (hence the word ‘private’).
funds to support her while in France. They usually begin on the second Wednesday This usually means clients who have signed up to
If your mother is financially dependent in January (or the first Wednesday if the second a loyalty card or newsletter, although it is often
on you, she could also qualify for a carte Wednesday is later than January 12), and the last possible to sign up to the loyalty programme on
de séjour ‘ascendant à charge’ as the Wednesday in June (or second-to-last if the last the day, meaning that in practice anybody can
mother-in-law of a French citizen. Other- Wednesday is later than June 28). benefit from the offers.
wise, there is no automatic right for UK They run for four weeks. So the 2023 summer Many retailers have taken to holding ventes
citizens to bring their parents to France. sales will last from June 28 to July 25. privées in the weeks leading up to the sales, adding
If your mother is financially independ- During this time, shops can only offer reductions to the confusion.
ent, she will therefore be in the same on items that are already in stock and that have These offers can include items from the most
situation as other retirees looking to settle been on sale for at least one month before the recent collection, and shops are expected to restock
in France. The option in this case is to soldes began. when they run out.
apply for a long-stay visa equivalent to a If they run out of stock, they are not allowed to There is generally, therefore, more stock available
residence permit – a visa lasting up to 12 order more, as the idea is to offload old stock and during the ventes privées, meaning it is easier to
months, which requires holders to apply make space for new collections. find what you are looking for in your size, even if
for a temporary carte de séjour ‘visiteur’ The biggest price reductions can be found during the reductions are not always as significant.
before it expires. the soldes, as these are the only times in the year The way these promotions work is often different
She will also have to show she has regular when shops are legally allowed to sell products at a to the soldes, and they may be limited.
income equivalent to the net French loss. This is more likely to happen towards the end During ventes privées, you may be offered a
monthly minimum wage (€1,383/month). of the four weeks, as shops offer several démarques certain percentage off a single item of your choice,
UK state pensioners can use the S1 form (mark-downs), with ever-increasing reductions. for example.
system to access healthcare in France. The rules around ventes privées (private sales) are In summary, there are usually greater discounts to
There is also a general principle that per- more relaxed: they must only take place outside the be had during the soldes, but ventes privées might be
mits anyone living long-term to apply for official sales periods, and must be reserved for a a better option if you are looking for a specific item.
healthcare under ‘Puma’ residency rules.
Can I have car serviced by another
neighbour’s fence dealer without risking its warranty?
can I build a shed?
Photo: Shutterstock_Lucky Business
I OWN a Kia hybrid which that year gave drivers the
I bought new from a right to have their car
WHAT are the rules for building a dealer in Bordeaux three repaired and serviced at
shed in relation to its proximity to years ago. The car has a their chosen workshop, to
a neighbour’s fence? R.T. seven-year warranty, pro- increase competition and
vided it is serviced as per to allow drivers to find
THERE are two options in the case of a the schedule. better value.
dividing fence or wall on the boundary, The dealer is 50km away, This is known as
In that time, you can go directly to the which in most cases will be in shared own- and it can take two hours European Commission
optician to change your glasses, and they ership, unless it is entirely on your property. to get there. The service Regulation No. 1400/2002
can give you an eye test and adapt the pre- First, you could install your shed right then takes two hours, You can, therefore, have
scription if necessary (the doctor may state beside it but you will need written permis- making for a wasted day. your Kia serviced at the
this is not possible in your prescription if sion from your neighbour to do this. Is it legal to have your car Renault dealer without
you suffer from certain conditions). In this case, you should still leave a small serviced by any dealer endangering the warranty.
The Alain Afflelou chain of opticians has gap to ensure that rainwater runs off on to without endangering the You can also visit an
begun offering online consultations with your property. manufacturer’s warranty? independent garage, as
an ophthalmologist, via in-store consult- If you decide to build it away from the There is a Renault dealer these tend to be cheaper
ation rooms, in around 20 stores in areas fence, there will usually need to be a gap in my town, where we have than dealers associated
where there is a shortage of eye doctors. of at least three metres, though exact rules my wife’s Zoe serviced – with manufacturers.
It plans to extend this to 200 stores. can vary depending on your commune’s can I have my Kia serviced You only need to ensure
Ophthalmologist and orthoptist trade plan local d’urbanisme, the local planning there? D.A. the garage follows the man-
unions are opposed to digital consultations document, so it is best to check this with ufacturer’s service schedule,
in shops, saying they are motivated by the mairie if in doubt. IT IS no longer necessary to eg. servicing the car on time
profit and online appointments should be In any case, it is recommended that you have your car serviced and using parts that meet
carried out by local doctors, then followed discuss the location of the shed with your (called a révision in French) correct specifications (not
by in-person consultations if needed. neighbour to avoid future disagreements. by a workshop associated necessarily supplied by Kia).
A selection of glasses is available at no Note that if your shed takes up more with the manufacturer. If there is a problem down
upfront cost if you have mutuelle top-up than 5m2, you need to make a déclaration This was obligatory if you the line, the manufacturer
insurance, under the 100% Santé scheme. préalable to the mairie to undertake the wanted to maintain the has the right to ask for
Some opticians might accept non-EU work. You will need to apply for permis warranty until 2002, but a proof that its guidelines
prescriptions, but they are not required to de construire planning permission if it is European regulation passed were followed.
do so and these will not be reimbursed. larger than 20m2.
Can a dentist refuse to take
on a new patient, even in
What should I do with the livret
de famille I received when I
How much can you expect to
pay to insure your dog against
What is the procedure for
registering a used car
case of an emergency? became a French citizen? vet bills in France? bought privately in France?
To receive the next issue at home... subscribe at connexionfrance.com by June 12
 The Connexion June 2023 connexionfrance.com Practical 19

une résidence secondaire

John Kitching, a

Make sense of director of French Law

Consultancy Limited,
answers a reader query

Can we give French second home to son?

Q: WE LIVE in California and
are dual UK/US citizens with a
second home in France.
Using the EU 2015 option of
writing our wills under Californian
inheritance law, we planned to
leave the French house to my
husband’s son who lives in the
UK, and other assets to our two
other children here. Before we
die, would it be possible to ‘give’
the property to his son or sell it
to him for a nominal sum?
A: AS YOU and all children
live outside the EU and are
not EU citizens, and as you
have UK nationality (for
ease, I will assume English
or Welsh nationality), you
can use the EU Succession
Regulation No 650/2012 to
elect the law of England and
Wales to apply to the French
estate. This allows you to
leave the French estate to
his father, he has a tax-free
allowance of €100,000 and
then a sliding scale of tax
from 5% to 45%.
Regarding lifetime gifts,
these do not fall within the
scope of the EU Succession
Regulation, and the French
laws of reserved heirs need
to be considered. Gift tax
would apply at the same
rates as for inheritance.
If a property is sold at an
undervalue, the price differ-
ence would be taxed as a
gift, which could be done if
the other children formally
agreed to the gift and to
them being disinherited.
Any value passing to him
from you would be taxed at
60%. In the case of French
gifts, if the giver dies be-
fore 15 years have passed,
the gift will be deducted
from the tax-free allow-

From the 90-day rule
to rental income, it is
best to be informed
when buying a second
home in France
FOR MANY people, owning
a holiday home in France is
the stuff of dreams – but if
you go into it unprepared, it
can quickly turn into a frus-
trating round of visa appoint-
ments and unforeseen taxes.
There are 3.2 million second
homes (résidences secondaires)
in France, with 40% found in
coastal areas. One in 10 is
owned by somebody who lives
abroad, of whom 27% live in
the UK, 12% in Italy, 12% in
Belgium, 11% in Switzerland,
and 8% in Germany (figures
relate to 2021 and are from the
official statistics agency Insee).
The first thing to consider
if you are not an EU citizen is
whether you will be able to
spend enough time in France
to make it worthwhile.
People from visa-waiver
countries such as the US, UK
and Canada do not require a
visa for short stays, and can
spend 90 out of every 180 days
in France. This is a rolling
window – it is the last 180 days
that are taken into consider-
ation. A calculator is available
on tinyurl.com/90180days.
Many feel hard done by
(the UK, for example, allows
Europeans six-month visa-free
stays), but this is an EU-wide
rule that already existed for
many countries but was
extended to UK citizens
following Brexit.
Several politicians have sug-
gested changing the rules to
recognise the contribution of
second-home owners to their
communities. Corinne Imbert,
senator for Charente-Maritime,
proposed an amendment to a
recent immigration bill to create
a ‘second-home owner visa’,
valid for five years and allowing
visits of up to six months. The
bill will be debated this autumn.
As it stands, if you want to
spend more than three consec-
utive months in France, you
will need to apply for a visa.
This will usually be a temp-
orary long-stay visa (VLS-T),
which allows for stays of up to
six months. You can extend
your stay using the 90/180 days
rule, but when re-applying for
a visa, six months must pass
between the end date of the
last visa and the intended start
date of the next one.
Longer-term stays of 12
months or more would typical-
ly require a long-stay visa
equivalent to a residence
permit (VLS-TS), but in this
Our main image
was drawn for
The Connexion by it has been replaced by
artist Perry Taylor. a charge based on the
For more of
his work visit
perrytaylor.fr
case your French home will be
considered your primary resi-
dence. It can be extended by
applying for a residency card.
If you choose to come using
your 90-day allowance, you
should be aware of two chang-
es on the way from next year:
first, the need to apply online
for a €7 Etias visa waiver
approval, valid for multiple
trips over a three-year period.
Roll-out has been pushed
back due to delays to the new
electronic Entry/Exit System
(EES), which will replace
passport stamps, now also
not expected until next year.
It is important to be aware of
liability for French local prop-
erty tax, which will usually be
greater as a second-home
owner, compared to residents.
Taxe foncière is due by all
home-owners and the amount
depends on factors including
location and quality. In theory,
it is possible to request an
exemp­tion, including for second-
home owners if you are aged
75+ and have a low income
(currently €11,276 per year in
net taxable income if you live
alone/€17,297 for couples).
If this applies, you should
contact the local tax office.
Some areas also offer three-year
exemption following substantial
renovations to improve the
home’s energy-efficiency.
Taxe d’enlèvement des ordures
ménagères (household waste
collection tax) is due at the same
time, with no discounts for
people who only spend
part of the year in
France. In Dordogne,
number of people
using a property.
Taxe d’habitation
occupancy tax has
been abolished for
main homes, but not
second homes. In zones tendues
– areas with more than 50,000
inhabitants and with a housing
shortage – a surcharge of 5% to
60% can be imposed. In 2022,
1,136 communes (3%) were
eligible and 255 opted for it.
This number is set to rise as
the term zone tendue is being
extended to smaller towns
where there are housing
pressures and a large propor-
tion of second homes.
It is expected that 4,000
communes will be able to apply
a surcharge from 2024, with a
list due in the coming months.
Popular coastal destinations
are likely to be affected. Pay-
Image: perrytaylor.fr
your husband’s son, not to ance with regard to any
the other children, who will (other) inheritance that the
inherit other assets. recipient may receive.
If you leave French property The transfer could, how-
to your stepson, he will face ever, work if he were able
ment deadlines are usually in 60% inheritance on the to use his own funds to buy
Octo­ber for taxe foncière and value exceeding €1,594, from you at market value
De­cember for taxe d’habitation. as he is not a bloodline (he would also need to pay
Payment by regular instalments relation. If he inherits from notaire fees of around 7%).
is an option.
When you come to sell a Call +44 (0) 16 63 74 54 88 for a free initial consultation.
second home, you might also frenchlawconsultancy.com
be liable for capital gains tax if
it has increased in value, which
is not the case for main homes.
Reno­vation work that adds
to the property’s comfort and Question from
amenities can be deducted
from the purchase price, a second-home
provided you keep invoices.
Otherwise, a flat deduction
owner...
of 15% is applied if you have
owned the home for five years.
It is important too to ensure Owning a second home in France
that you are complying with Photo: Shutterstock.com_E. Spek
local regulations, and you
should check with your mairie
Is eco-renovation aid only for main homes?
about any restrictions. For Q: WHAT financial aid is available from France for
example, in departments prone energy-efficiency renovations for a second home?
to wildfires, homeowners are A: UNFORTUNATELY, several of the main aids for this are
responsible for débroussaillage for main homes only. For example, only primary residences
– clearing scrub in an area of are eligible for the MaPrimeRénov’ grant scheme for reno-
50m around your property if it vation work to make them more energy-efficient.
is situated close to woodland.
Another point to consider is However, if you rent your property out, you may also
apply but it needs to be rented out as a main home (not a
whether you plan to rent the
holiday/ short-term let) and for at least five years from the
home out in your absence.
If so, you will have to declare moment you receive the money, so if you plan to use the
this with the mairie, and some property yourself, this will not apply.
cities also require you to request The same applies to the interest-free eco-loan.
prior authorisation (visit tinyurl.
Second-home owners can, though, apply for help under
com/rent2ndhome).
If you earn rental income, a different scheme called Certificats d’économies d’éner-
you will have to declare this to gie (energy saving certificates/CEEs). The aid is provided
the French authorities but you by energy suppliers and can take the form of grants, vouch-
can opt for a system allowing a ers or price reductions.
50% expen­ses allowance, rising Under this, homeowners can get money to carry out small
to 71% if you obtain classement projects, such as installing more efficient boilers or heat
of the property, which entails pumps, or insulating their home.
visits from inspectors and the
You can compare offers on energy companies’ websites,
attribution of a star rating.
You might also want to such as EDF (prime-energie-edf.fr) or Total (tinyurl.com/
employ help such as a gardener TotalCEE). You must accept an offer of aid before signing
or handyman. If you employ a quote for the work. The FranceRénov’network can offer
them directly and do not pay a free advice to help you (france-renov.gouv.fr).
business for the service, there You should then contact a professional with Reconnu
is a system called Tpee to help garant de l’environnement (RGE) status to undertake the
with formalities such as collect- work (tinyurl.com/RGEFind) before sending supporting
ing social charges. For more documents to the energy company.
information visit tpee.urssaf.fr.
 20 Language / Finance connexionfrance.com The Connexion June 2023

Mind over matter when it Putting off French could

stem from fear of failure
comes to learning the lingo by Gillian Harvey

‘SELF-LIMITING beliefs’ are

Switching to a French
‘head’ can help
navigate the nuances
of the language,
suggests Nick Inman
the main cause of procrastin-
Of course, in this article I am ation among language learners,
going to have to generalise. I a productivity and study coach
am not claiming that 67 million has claimed.
people all think in the same Juliet Landau-Pope says:
way, but there are some “Often the thing that puts us
common denominators. off learning is, first and fore-
If you don’t believe me, make most, a fear of failure.
hearing loss making convers-
ation classes difficult, or be
linked to a fear of discovering
such limitations.
Her tips for beating procras-
tination include taking small
steps, rather then setting sights
on a bigger, overwhelming goal.
“For example, if you are
deliberating about whether to
sign up for a year’s course, just

Photo: Ekaterina Karpacheva_Shutterstock

SPEAKING and thinking are
intimately linked. To make
progress in French, you have
to get at least a little into the
mindset behind the language.
French requires you not only
to change your vocabulary but
to flip a switch in your brain at
the same time.
Otherwise, you will go around
speaking French in the way an
anglophone thinks it should be
spoken – and no wonder if no
one understands.
your own inquiries: talk to a “It’s very hard to shake off go along to a taster session or
French neighbour or friend the self-limiting beliefs we’ve speak to a teacher. Dip a toe.”
and ask them if I am right. acquired through school and Being clear about what you
A useful place to begin is other learning situations. want to achieve will also help.
Sudhir Hazareesingh’s “If you’ve been told you’re “Maybe you just want to read
How the French Think. not good at something, or find the news or chat to a neigh-
His main point is that the things difficult to memorise, bour. You may not need to
French laud intellectualism. anxiety can flood back in.” concentrate on grammatical
They delight in arguments Ms Landau-Pope said another accuracy. On the other hand,
about abstract concepts, while The French language reflects some key differences in thinking reason people are deterred is you might be interested in
English tends to be applied to Another gulf between the two are either rivières (rivers flowing the unrealistic expectation of literature and culture and less
more concrete matters. languages is that the French do into other rivers) or fleuves how long it will take. on conversation. Figure
Another difference is that not go in for many taboos and (draining into the sea or ocean). “We’re a fast-paced society, out the best goal for you.”
English favours improvisation. euphemisms. In a later article, I will tell you used to getting things done, For those put off by hearing
Intelligibility is the only aim They talk quite plainly about what you can say in English but dashing things off. Language loss or other problems, there

“
French requires you
to not only change
your vocabulary but
to flip a switch in
your brain
You will also be missing out
in other ways. Getting practical
stuff done is one thing, but
adapting to a different way of
seeing the world brings greater
benefits still.
and each speaker is free to all the things you should not not in French (and vice versa). learning can be a slow, labor- are often easy workarounds.
create around this. mention in the officers’ mess: Linguists delight in making ious process,” she said. “You may need to use sub-
By contrast, French is a right/ sex, politics, the workings of such lists. “You learn one grammar titles when watching TV, or
wrong formula: respecting the body and all matters inti- Sometimes, there is a gain to tense at a time, build up your ask the teacher to speak more
the method is as important as mate without embarrassment. an English-speaker and French vocabulary. It can take time and loudly,” said Ms Landau-Pope.
getting the message across. Coming down to a mundane simplifies things for you, such as patience before you can have a “If your eyesight is poor, you
English prefers short, practic- level, you will have noticed a lot depuis as a catch-all translation conversation or read a news- might need larger-print books.
al words with multiple and of the main differences already. for ‘since’, ‘from’ and ‘for’ in the paper article, and for some Don’t be afraid to ask for the
even vague meanings. French If you try to think in English context of duration. people the lack of rapid results adaptations you need.”
is the opposite. It shuns phrasal and translate literally into At other times, it is French causes them to lose heart.” Learning something because
verbs in favour of single-pur- French, you will be constantly that makes more of a meal of She also cited demands on a we feel we ought to can also be
pose coinages. For example, tripped up. And not only by things and you have to stretch learner’s time, including work a struggle, she added. The key
where English puts ‘bring’ to etiquette, genders, the different your mind to accommodate it. and childcare, for making is to understand how learning
lots of uses (‘bring about’ /
‘bring back’ / ‘bring closer’),
noises that animals make on
the Continent and back-to-
I am going to get letters about
this one, but there is no short
language lessons feel like a
‘luxury’, rather than top of the
a language will change your life
for the better.
in French you have to learn a front possessives (la maison de way to say ‘to hug’ in French: ‘to do’ list. As such, she argued, “Think carefully about the
series of mots justes (amener, Peter instead of Peter’s house), you have to say prendre dans it can be harder to find the difference it’s going to make,”
entraîner, provoquer / rapporter but also by a whole host of les bras, serrer dans les bras or motivation to continue. she said. “If you can identify
/ rapprocher). other little peculiarities. faire un câlin. Age, she continued, is another a significant, positive impact
To speak requires that you To give just one example, you So the language lesson for reason people are quick to give learning language will have on
utter polysyllabic mouthfuls might think that a river is a today is: don’t fight it – go with up. She said it might throw your life, then that will help to
without being self-conscious. river. In France, however, they the French flow. up legitimate barriers, such as drive you forwards.”

Five alternatives to leaving savings in current accounts

Money Matters
Robert Kent of
Kentingtons
kentingtons.com
ACCORDING to the latest figures from the
Banque de France, a combined total of more
than €500billion was sitting in people’s current
accounts in January, gaining little or
no interest.
When it comes to saving, too many people opt
for what is familiar. Expatriates are no exception.
Although their life is now in France, their
money often gets left behind in their former
country of residence.
This avoids the uncomfortable reality that their
world, including what works for them financial-
ly, has now changed.
Such thinking, however, can be very costly. Not
only might they be missing out on better savings
incentives, it also creates complexity. In some
cases, people might also, unwittingly, be break-
ing the law. So what are the main savings
options for residents of France?
Livret A
This is a risk-free, government-regulated bank
account offering a fixed interest rate. It is availa-
ble to all residents of France. All of the main
French banks offer these accounts.
You can withdraw funds at any time, without
penalties or fees. Moreover, the account is free of
income tax and social charges. The interest rate is accounts before looking at market-based invest- like a life assurance bond (ie. an investment wrap-
relatively low (currently 3%), which means that
your savings might not keep up with inflation.
ments. We all need to keep some cash aside for
unforeseen emergencies.
per) with almost no relevance to life assurance
but so-named for historic reasons.
There is also a cap on how much you can Its popularity is largely due to its flexibility,
deposit – €22,950 each. Beyond cash, however, what other options exist? with no upper limits on investment, and signifi-
cant advantages for income tax, social charges
LDDS (Livret de développement durable et solidaire) PEA (Plan d’épargne en actions) and inheritance tax. It is also exempt from
This is another government-regulated savings A PEA allows you to invest in a wide range of capital gains tax and enables investors to get
account, much like the Livret A, and so is free securities, including stocks, bonds and collective around French succession laws.
of income tax and social charges. investment funds. Like the PEA described earlier, it can be used
It offers a fixed interest rate (currently also 3%) The main advantage of a PEA is its tax benefits. to invest in collective market-based funds and
and is available to all residents of France. The gains made from PEA investments are bonds. However, it can also access guaranteed
The main advantage of a LDDS is its focus on income tax-free after a holding period of five funds and hold cash, permitting greater
sustainable development, which means that your years. Any access within five years tends to lead flexibility for efficient financial planning.
savings should support environmentally friendly to immediate closure, but it becomes more flex- Unlike the other options we have covered in
projects. The deposit limit is €12,000 per person. ible after this period. this article, it is possible to have international
Bear in mind, however, that ‘income tax-free’ versions with the same tax benefits.
LEP (Livret d’épargne populaire) does not mean ‘social charge-free’, so 17.2% still This means you can access different currencies,
This is aimed at households with limited income needs to be factored in. have paperwork in different languages and it
and has a fairly low ceiling in terms of the Also, not everyone wants to go all-in on the can easily move with you, should you ever
amount that can be saved. stock market, preferring some extra security leave France.
Currently, a married (or Pacs) couple with a using cash and guaranteed funds. The assurance vie is best described as tax-
maximum income of €32,821 can only deposit There are no advantages in terms of succession efficient rather than tax-free. However, if we
up to €7,700. law, which is worth considering when capital compare the tax position against a PEA over 10
This may sound restrictive, but there is a good becomes significant. years, an assurance vie tends to come out better
reason. It pays, as of February 2023, interest of In addition, there is a cap on how much you because it mitigates the effect of social charges.
6.1%. For those who qualify, it makes sense to can invest in a PEA – €150,000 per individual. This is not the case with a PEA.
use this for any spare cash. Finally, PEA investments are subject to market For these reasons, the international assurance
Again, the account is exempt from income tax risk, which means the value of your investments vie tends to be very popular with expatriates
and social contributions. can fluctuate and even decline. in France.
Between the Livret A, LDDS and LEP, a saver Of course, there are many more options than
may hold a significant amount of cash, receiving Assurance vie the five listed here. To help decide which one –
reasonable rates and paying no taxes or social I could spend a great deal of time discussing the or mix – is right for you, seek professional
charges. They make sense for all savers, and we assurance vie as it is easily one of the most pop- advice from a French-qualified source who
recommend clients make the most of such ular investment structures in France. It is much understands the international perspective.
 French living
Food Wine Homes Gardens Interviews Events FRENCH NEWS IN ENGLISH SINCE 2002

Interview: composer
Héloïse Luzzati
Limousin gardens
to explore

AULD FRANCE
Celebrating France’s Scottish links,
from highland games to a kilt society
Photo: The Kilt Society
2 Celtic culture connexionfrance.com French Living I June 2023

Celebrate haggis, whisky,

and the Auld Alliance at
a Celtic festival near you
Samantha David discovers the ancient friendship between Scotland and France lives on
through a host of festivals in the Hexagon, with traditional music, games, and men in kilts

O
nce upon a time, when

Photo: left, OT Aubigny-sur-Nère; inset, Festival Ecossais 1782

Scotland was Catholic and
England was Protestant,
a pact was sworn between
nations; a solemn alliance.
It was signed in 1295 by the Scot, John
Balliol, and Philip IV of France to ratify
an agreement that the two nations would
band together to defend themselves
against ‘Perfidious Albion’. And 728 years
later, the ‘Auld Alliance’ between Scotland
and France still endures. There are out-
crops of tartan all across the Hexagon,
if ye but look to see them!
Large associations including the
‘Caledonian Society of France’, the
Association France Grande-Bretagne in
Paris, and Auld Alliance – le Lien Franco-
Ecossaise in Orléans, celebrate Burns
Night and St Andrew’s Day, run exhibi-
tions and talks, give demonstrations,
organise social events, and run Scottish
dance and music classes. They make
historical costumes, re-enact scenes,
research genealogy, organise exchange
visits and clan meetings. They also post
events being held by numerous other
local associations. If you are in the area, do not miss the Above: Pipers lead a been announced, it is expected to be over There is even a kilt-maker in town;
After the rugby Trophée Auld Alliance fortified Château Saint Mesmin in Saint- procession through the Whitsun holiday, May 18-19, 2024. Lady Chrystel handcrafts traditional kilts
which was founded in 2018, one of the André-sur-Sèvre. Built in the 14th centu- Aubigny-sur-Nère An event to attend is Melting Kilts in in any tartan required. “I get orders from
biggest Scottish sporting events in France ry, an imposing donjon was added in the during its Fêtes Dinard (Brittany), usually held over the all over France; I even get orders from
is the bi-annual Highland Games held in 15th century, almost doubling the size of Franco-Ecossaises; first weekend of October. Organised by Scotland,” she says. She also makes his-
Bressuire (Deux-Sèvres), between Poitiers the construction. It offers medieval-style and inset left, the Mouvement Associatif du Tartan, pipe torical costumes using tartan. “People
and Nantes. activities and workshops for adults and performers from bands and parades, swirling kilts and bring sketches and we discuss the ideas
Organised in mid-June by the AJEF children daily in July and August, and the Scottish band twirling dancers, clan representatives and and then I make whatever they want.”
(Association sportive des Jeux D’Ecosse en is a favourite with local families. Off the Boat at gatherings are all expected to be on the The town holds its Fêtes Franco-
France) the weekend event includes toss- The Highland Games in Luzarches Festival Ecossais programme along with food and dancing. Ecossaises every year in mid-July and this
ing the caber, throwing the hammer, (Val-d’Oise) just north of Paris will be 1782 in 2023 Another town with exceptionally year marks the 600th anniversary of the
shot put, and tug o’war. Kilts are de held over the last weekend of September strong Scottish connections is Aubigny- town being gifted to Sir John Stewart of
rigueur. Competitors come from all (September 30 to October 1, 2023) sur-Nère (Cher). The mairie’s website Darnley. The festival will run from July
over the world. along with a traditional cei- even features tartan wallpaper. Twinned 13-16, 2023, with whisky and haggis to

“
The games will be held lidh. Teams from all over with Haddington in Scotland, the consume, free concerts, a medieval mar-
next year on June 15-16, Europe will take part in Château des Stuarts is slap-bang in ket, a Scottish market, traditional Scottish
2024, and are expected traditional sports, the middle of the historic centre with encampments, re-enactments, a kilt race,
to attract upwards including tossing the its cobbled streets and half-timbered processions through the town, ceilidhs,
of 12,000 people. caber. There will be buildings. pipe bands, a show, a ‘village of the Clans’,
Alongside tradi- categories for the The estate was first gifted to Sir John and parades, all of it topped off by a fire-
over 40s, those
Wander
tional sports, expect Stewart of Darnley (1380-1429), as a work display on the Sunday evening.
to see pipers, danc- under 90 kilos, and reward for having commanded his forces If you are based further south, do
ing, whisky tasting
and haggis. “We will
women. There will
also be pipe bands, round the on the French side against the English
during the Hundred Years War. The
not miss the new and glorious Festival
Ecossais 1782, which will be held on July
also be running the
first International
Scottish dancing,
and a concert. town and castle was built by Robert Stuart de
Lennox at the start of the 16th century,
1-2, 2023 in the extensive grounds of the
Château de Saint Andiol, near Avignon.
Championship for the
best mixed team,” says
Stalls will sell kilts, kilt
pins, brooches, whisky, you will find and remained in the family’s hands until
the line died out in 1672, when it revert-
Festival Ecossais 1782 is organised by
Marie-Nadège Barthazon and Erik Lopez,
organiser Alain Rousselot.
“This will be a unique event
Irish coffee, and cakes.
Another fixture is Celtiron, a Scottish ed to the French crown.
It has been well-maintained and now
both dedicated Caledonophiles. “We are
proud of the long love story between
in 2024.”
The Highland Games are the result of
a Scottish festival held over the Whitsun
weekend (which was from bar, and a houses offices and a museum, the Centre
d’Interprétation de l’Auld Alliance which
France and Scotland, and wanted to
introduce that to the south of France,”
firm links being forged between the two
nations, because Bressuire is twinned
May 26-28 in 2023), and hosted at the
Domaine de l’Abbaye de Thiron-Gardais distillery traces the history of the Stuarts in
Aubigny. There is even an escape game!
explains Marie-Nadège Barthazon. “Last
year was the first festival, and we started
with Fraserburgh in Scotland. “We are
lucky because we are twinned with cities
(between Chartres and Le Mans in Eure-
et-Loir). As well as traditional games, maturing the The facade of the chateau still features
the Stuart coat of arms, which faces a
from zero but it was amazing. So many
people came, and we saw how many
in eight different countries, and all of the
associations are very strong. It’s such a
there was Celtic music, harp players,
a medieval village, a crafts market, first batches monument to the Auld Alliance in the
form of a massive sword surrounded by
other people love Scotland, too. We are
delighted to have the Highland games
cultural richness. Also, the medieval
Château de Bressuire is a beautiful
activities for children, plus a bar and
food trucks. of its own rocks and water. Wander round the town
and you will find a Scottish bar, and a
and real Highland cows.”
The festival is named to commemorate
setting for the games. You’d think you
were in Scotland.”
The planning has already started for
2024, and although the dates have not yet whisky distillery maturing the first batches of
its own whisky.
1782, the date when the infamous ‘Act
of Proscription’ was finally repealed.
June 2023 I French Living
Imposed by the English after the Jacobite
uprising of 1745, the law was designed
to stamp out Scottish culture by banning,
amongst other things, wearing tartan,
allegiance to a clan, and owning arms,
even for hunting.
The festival offers a programme of
pipers and concerts, dancing, Highland
games, a cattle show, and demonstrations
of Border Collies working with Scottish
Blackface sheep. There will be Highland
ponies, and an open competition to find
the most elegant man wearing a kilt.
Activities will include demonstrations
of ‘handfasting’, the tradition of knotting
ribbons for a wedding (tying the knot!)
and for anyone wishing to tie the knot,
there will be a blacksmith with an anvil
at the ready, just like in Gretna Green.
There will be guided visits to the haunt-
ed chateau, a historic reconstruction of
the Clan Mannaheim Jacobite encamp-
ment, a mechanical bucking (Highland)
cow, archery, a Scottish market, axe
throwing, sword fighting, a Scottish
pub selling Le Loch’Beer, and lots to eat.
There are some good Scottish pubs
and bars in France. Many are in Paris,
but there is the Bar Ecossais in Brest,
the Hopscotch pub in Toulouse, Au
Chardon d’Ecosse in Annecy, the Loch
Ness in Marseille, the Kiltin’ Brewpub in
Grenoble, and in Angers the Black Peat.
All of them are worth checking out.
If you want an authentic haggis,
however, you will have to go online,
research your local area carefully, or else
contact Monty Butcher in St-Barbant,
Haute-Vienne.
Using meat from their own farm, they
make fabulous Lorne sausage, black pud-
ding, bacon, gammon, Scotch pies, pork
connexionfrance.com
pies and of course haggis, which is in
great demand locally.
Or, head north to Pont-l’Abbé in
Brittany, and investigate Céline Pochat’s
Scottish shop, La Sirène Ecossaise. “I
just love Scotland and everything
Scottish,” she says.
Her shop is stocked with gifts, souve-
nirs, tartan ties, scarves and cushions,
Scottish shortbread, sweets, cards, jams,
and even tins of haggis. “I’d love to sell
fresh haggis,” says Céline, “but it’s really
difficult to import it since Brexit.”
If that leaves ye thirsting for a wee
dram, there is no shortage of whisky
distilleries or specialist whisky bars in
France. In Lyon, the Whisky Lodge
(established in 1968) offers an extensive
selection of Scotch and French-made
whiskies, with some very rare bottles.
You can even order whisky from their
online boutique. They organise an annual
whisky festival every March in Lyon’s
Palais de la Bourse. The Toulouse Whisky
Festival is held every May, and the Whisky
Live Paris festival runs from October 21
to 23, 2023.
For inspiration on how to add a little
Celtic flair to your cooking at home, grab
a copy of Ecosse by Sarah Lachhab from
Alsace, with photography by Aurélie
Bellaccico from Paris. The authors say
that having lived in Scotland for years,
they wanted to change French preconcep-
tions of Scottish cuisine.
Written in French, it has wonderful
recipes for all the traditional Scottish
favourites, including cock-a-leekie soup,
cranachan (whipped cream, whisky, por-
ridge oats, honey, and raspberries), and
their own vegetarian version of haggis.
www.editionsdelamartiniere.fr
Celtic culture 3
Photo: Remi B Duncan Photos
Scottish Government Office
A stork at the centre for
“There is so much friendship between
breeding and protection
the French and the Scots,” says Miranda
at Parc de l’Orangerie in
McIntosh, the Head of the Scottish
Strasbourg
Government Office in France. She has
been in her post in Paris for a year now,
and the office is five years old.
“We promote Scottish business, arts,
sport, and culture. France is Scotland’s
biggest export market for food and drink.
Salmon and whisky are the big ones, but
West coast langoustines are prized, along
with Aberdeen Scotch beef, and Brewdog
beers. Last year we celebrated the 30th
anniversary of Scottish salmon being
awarded the prestigious Red Label status.
It was the first non-French food to receive
that certification.
“We run events enabling French chefs
to spend time in Scotland discovering
Scottish products and produce, so that
they can incorporate them into their
cuisine back in France. We also work
with culinary schools.”
The links between the two nations
stretch back to the Auld Alliance, she
explains. “The terms of the Alliance
have changed throughout history,
but regarding architecture, cuisine,
culture, and social values, connections
continue to be very strong.”
In 2013, France and Scotland signed
a Statement of Intent formalising their
intention to deepen cooperation in the
cultural sphere. The aim is to highlight
each other’s creativity and heritage,
to support collaborations between
artists, foster partnerships between
cultural institutions, and to develop
cultural exchanges between the nations.
“There is a very active Scottish diaspora
in France. We work closely with the
Caledonian Society and the Auld Alliance
Association. We worked with the latter to
set up a new town twinning between
Cruden Bay and Châtillon-sur-Indre.
There are quite a number of ‘GlobalScots’
Above: kilts galore
at last year’s debut
Festival Ecossais
1782 near Avignon
Members of the Kilt
Society de France
For the love of kilts
T
he Kilt Society de France associ-
ation exists to bring together
anyone in France who enjoys
wearing a kilt. “We’re very
open,” says association secre-
tary Gibert Josse. “As long as they wear a
kilt properly, and can drink a bit of whisky,
they’re welcome.”
He stresses that a kilt is not a skirt. “We’re
in the 21st century, so if women want to
in France, too.”
GlobalScot is an international business
network (set up in 2001) which helps
members to access investment, as well
as share knowledge and connections
to help Scotland punch above its weight
on the international stage. “Aberdeen,
Napier, and Edinburgh universities
also have alumni organisations in
France.”
Mrs McIntosh notes that as a centre of
Celtic cultures, Brittany has very strong
links with Scotland, not least of which is
the Lorient Interceltique Festival (4-13
August, 2023) which is enormous and
always showcases Scottish talent. But
there are also deep connections in other
areas, including renewable energy.
She says that following hot on the heels
of this spring’s Trophée Auld Alliance is
the World Cup, which will take place in
France in September and October. “The
Scottish rugby team will be based in Nice,
which is twinned with Edinburgh. There
is sure to be a strong Scottish contingent
visiting France for the occasion.”
A key moment last year was unveiling
a commemorative plaque in October
at Les Invalides in Paris for Scottish
soldiers who have fought on French
soil. Another important date is the
annual WW2 commemorations
in Normandy.
The Scottish Government Office in
France exists to promote Scotland and
all things Scottish, and works closely
with Scottish Development International,
Scotland’s trade and inward investment
agency. “We’re always interested in
discovering Scottish or Scottish-themed
businesses, and are happy to help them
with promotion and networking.”
The office promotes Scottish festivals,
ceilidhs, Highland games, and St Andrew’s
Day and Burns Night events in France.
Businesses can contact them by emailing
francehub@gov.scot, or by following
them on Twitter, @ScotGovFrance. It
is also possible to sign up for their
newsletter.
Photos: The Kilt Society
wear kilts, that’s fine – as long as they are
not mini-kilts or maxi-kilts or anything
like that. But very few of our female
members do wear kilts. Some wear tartan
trousers, or dresses or skirts but in fact a
kilt is meant to be worn by a man. My
wife wears tartan trousers.”
Kilts are traditionally worn in Ireland
and Celtic parts of northern France as well
as in some Celtic parts of Spain. “Bretons
are quite similar to Scots in many ways.
It’s not just the question of kilts, in both
cultures we know how to party all night
and still work hard all the next day.”
4 Rencontre
‘There is no such thing as different
male or female composition styles’
Women composers have been written out of the
historical record. Théophile Larcher talks to cellist
Héloïse Luzzati about how she is putting these
forgotten female musicians back in the spotlight
C
an you name five male com-
posers? Most likely, yes: Bach,
Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert,
Brahms. Can you name five
female composers? Most
likely not.
Cellist Héloïse Luzzati fights this predic-
ament by bringing female composers back
into the spotlight. She began playing cello
aged five at the conservatory in Le Mans
(Sarthe). She continued her training at the
Conservatoire in Paris, where she started
to question why the place was so... male.
From the classical music she learned,
to her teachers and conductors, at record-
ing studios and in orchestras, her world
revolved around men.
The Covid period gave her the time to
look for the female composers whose
stories had been left out of history books.
Her research drove her to create La boîte
à pépites, a YouTube channel dedicated to
showcasing the music of female composers
as well as providing a six-minute biogra-
phy for each woman. The opening sentenc-
es of this Connexion article were borrowed
from La boîte à pépites.
From success on YouTube, she kept the
momentum going by founding the associ-
ation Elles - Women Composers, a record
label also called La boîte à pépites and the
upcoming fourth edition of Un Temps pour
Elles festival (from June 10 to July 9). All
these ventures put female composers in
the spotlight.
But it is still an uphill battle. Only 4% of
composers played in concerts are female,
and only 8% of orchestra conductors
are women.
Ms Luzzati is surprised how even female
composers themselves are unaware of the
existence of their historical counterparts.
It took 25 years for you to see
that men dominate classical music.
What was your ‘eureka moment’?
I can’t really pinpoint a ‘eureka moment’,
but rather that it was an accumulation
of small things, one after another. So for
example, sitting in an orchestra and play-
ing bad classical music that requires lots
of money to release and record, simply
because the male artist is a household
name. The music does
not justify this.
I started to ask
myself how is it female
composers never get
booked? Could we
not do better? Why is
it never women? This
was my analysis as a
professional player.
Before turning pro,
when I was still a
student at the Conserv-
atoire de Paris, I never
played compositions
by women. There was
this impression of being educated by men
only. I have nothing against men, but I
think a bit of diversity here and there is
connexionfrance.com French Living I June 2023
Photos: Héloïse Luzzati
essential. When I recorded my first film
scores, we were directed by men, playing
music by men. It felt like something was
being taken away from me.
Do you think it hindered your
training in classical music history?
Absolutely. This is why it has become
a lifelong quest. This is both a person-
al journey to feed my curiosity and a
process of historical compensation. I feel
that what I record is useful and has added
value. This is an artistic process, but also
involves being willing to share, to reach
a wider audience, and to reveal a history
that has been suppressed.
Then came the association...
In fact the boîte à pépites YouTube
channel came first, during the Covid
lockdown. Never would have I expected
that it would then lead to founding an
association, a label and several editions
of a festival…
It seems like you uncovered a
long-forgotten labyrinth of talent…
I am not the first one, in all modesty.
My strength is my ability to put these
composers’ work into the spotlight.
The association can then get to work on
everything else. This includes researching
potential music to promote, made possi-
ble because of our musicians’ instinct to
discover good music.
Then came the record label and the
festival, which put our work on an inter-
national stage.
Above, Cellist, someone able to read it and play it. And if You are a cellist. Do you consider
Have you noticed a particular researcher, and that music is not recorded, how can peo- yourself to be a historian too?
way in which women compose advocate for ple later assess it and form opinions about Historian is too big a word. A researcher
classical music? female composers it? No recording equals no participation would be more fitting. I love research and
There is no such thing as different female through history, in the history of classical music. have spent my life digging up new music.
or male composition styles. But I have Héloïse Luzatti I often use the example of the French
to admit that sometimes I think that composer Louise Farrenc (1804 - 1875), So, if I’m in Paris, there is a high
if a certain male composer had been a who had an outstanding classical music chance that I’ll find you in the Biblio-
woman, his composition would have been career. Her music was recorded and theque nationale de France (BnF)?
classed ‘feminine music.’ I sometimes feed played. She deserved an entry in the Kind of, yes. In fact the association
“
that cliché myself, both as a composer Dictionary of Music and Musicians that partnered with the BnF for next season,
and as a performer. People come up to me reflected her success, only to end up with with concerts organised using women
at festivals to say that if they had closed “teacher at the conservatoire”, eight years composers’ funds from the BnF. I am very
their eyes, they would have thought I after she died. Why did she disappear? excited and proud about this project. It
was a man, because I have a ‘masculine Because she could no longer defend her will represent the fruit of our daily work,
type of playing.’ These legacy. The same goes for many women. in the most passionate, fantastic way.
are baseless, meaningless
interpretations. Classical When I interviewed composer
Zahia Ziouani in 2022, she told
How can our readers
help you to find new music?
Can you explain to music was me only 4% of orchestra leaders I love this question! If readers have
our readers why female were women, around the same women composers in their lineage and do
composers have been written by percentage as for female composers’ not know how to put their work into the
erased from history? work being programmed... spotlight, it is our duty and desire to help.
Classical music was men, as It has improved, reaching 8% recently. Our first collection, a compilation of
written by men, as was What is outstanding about Ms Ziouani is work by Charlotte Sohy, came from the
history. Women have been was history. that festival programmers can no longer descendants of a composer. The sheet
erased from this history. ignore her, since she is living proof that music was not even in library collections.
Secondly, classical music Women have women have earned their stripes. Everything came from private resourc-
is the least diverse art In my case, it is slightly more complicat- es, just like our next CD. So, I implore
form because it requires been erased ed because what I’m trying to do requires anyone with a female composer in their
an intermediary. By that time, conviction, confidence, recording, family history to please come forward.
I mean anyone can pick up a book and from this and a lot of money. For Ms Ziouani,
read it. A painting is seen and interpreted. because of her public success, any issue Visit YouTube @LaBoiteaPepites/featured
A sheet of classical music, however, needs history can be resolved in a much shorter time. and elleswomencomposers.com.
6 Gardens
Limousin in bloom: Open Gardens
scheme welcomes visitors in June
This is a prime month
to explore gardens for
a good cause. Cathy
Thompson showcases
two gems in Creuse
and Haute-Vienne
W
elcome to another
June of summer-fresh
gardens to visit. Make
sure you check the
Gardens Open website
regularly (www.opengardens.eu), since
new open days are added weekly – even
daily! – at this time of year. A day ticket
usually costs €5, while for only €15 you
can buy an annual ticket and visit gardens
everywhere in France.
Lynn Hutchinson’s garden in the Creuse
(1 Prondessagne, 23200 Saint-Avit-de-
Tardes; Tel: 05 55 66 46 99) is open on
Sunday 11 June, from 10:00 to 17:00.
From her former garden in the flatlands
of Lincolnshire to the rolling countryside
near the National Park of Millevaches in
the Limousin, Lynn has pursued a life-
time interest in gardening.
Throughout her nineteen years in
France, she’s also had plenty of time to
observe changes in the climate. “It is much
drier now and we’ve extended the pretty
dry borders around the house considera-
bly as a result. I’ve got a bit of colour
theming going on there, which I enjoy.”
To extend this area the Hutchinsons have
had to be tough, as well as imaginative,
because each planting hole – whether for
peony, iris or rudbeckia – must be dug out
of the gravel with a crowbar.
“We have a lot of reservoirs for water
storage, but I really only water plants now
and then, perhaps, for the first few weeks
of a plant’s life. After that I haven’t really
got the time.” A consequence of the drier
conditions has been, she believes, lower
fruit yields both from the trees that were
originally resident in the orchard and
their own, newer, plantings.
Lynn says that one of her biggest learn-
ing curves has resulted from the differen-
tial between nocturnal/diurnal tempera-
connexionfrance.com
tures. “One February it was -20 °C at Above and left:
night and then 26°C the following day. Le Jardin du Bagnol,
Plants have to be tough to cope with that Annie Specht-
and in the first couple of years I lost more Carpentier’s English
than a few!” cottage-style garden
Fortunately, this also makes it essential in Haute-Vienne;
for her to indulge her passion for propa- below right, Lynn
gating when it comes to penstemons and Hutchinson’s garden
other slightly tender perennials that featured both neat
might have survived a Lincolnshire and wilder areas
winter. The results of her work should
benefit the June visitor as much as Lynn’s
own garden: all she asks is a sensible
donation, funds to go to the Jardins
Ouverts charities.
Part of the garden has been created on
top of an old road surface and the vestig-
es of that include a large, rather tricky
70m-long bank, with mature trees grow-
ing on it, once the roadside verge.
Varying from a height of 5m to 12m,
this represents a massive planting
challenge by anyone’s standards.
“It is 100% dry at all times, partly
because of those mature oaks and ash lin-
ing the top, and all of the classic rockery
plants that I put in died. The soil is not
French Living I June 2023
ciously read books written by the likes
Photos courtesy of Lynn Hutchinson and Annie Specht-Carpentier
of Jelena de Belder (a Slovenian-Belgian
botanist) and Princess Greta Sturdza.
Trips to English gardens reinforced the
overwhelming urge to make a garden of
her own, with the outcome that she and
her husband purchased an old farm, with
land of one hectare, in the Limousin.
The year 1994 saw them clearing land
that had lain abandoned for eleven years.
‘Gardeners know what that’s like!’ laughs
Annie. Little by little they made plans and
began to plant, but the process was slowed
by the fact that their home and work were
700km away in Belgium and real progress
was only possible during holidays.
Annie comments that at this time there
were few private gardens in France open
to the public, no specialist nurseries and
no plant fairs. It was because of this that
many a ‘special’ plant made the long jour-
ney south from Belgium – or even
England – to the garden at Le Bagnol.
The garden evolved in two parts – a
lower ‘English cottage-style’ garden and
an upper more naturalistic planting – but
one of the first things the couple did was
to plant mixed hedging around the entire
area, to provide a complementary screen
and backdrop for future plantings, as well
really deep enough for larger bulbs like as protection against wind. It has also sup-
daffodils, although we have planted cycla- plied a rich diversity of habitat for birds
men in the shadier areas and they are and other small mammals.
thriving, as are prostrate junipers and The acid soil has allowed Annie to
Iris foetidissma.” indulge her love of ericaceous plants such
Predictably – given her obsession – one as acers. Now she estimates that they have
of her favourite areas of the garden is the over 2000 different kinds of plant settled
greenhouse. “I could spend hours there. happily in the garden and, since many of
In the winter I fill it with herbs and their original tree plantings are reaching
salades, although what I plant does have maturity, these offer shade during the
to be quite tough because it’s unheated increasingly hot summers, providing shel-
and it gets pretty cold. ter for ferns and beautiful foliage plants.
“But it’s the space I love most in this She is sure the French passion for gar-
garden – the way I can just walk out from dening has evolved considerably in the
the house through our very gardened area last twenty years. There are now so many
and into the ‘tamed’ wilder areas beyond.” young specialist nurseries, as well as the
opportunity to meet their owners at plant
Le Jardin du Bagnol, Annie Specht- fairs. “And the internet means that you
Carpentier’s garden in the Haute-Vienne can buy that ‘most coveted rare plant’
(37 Le Grand Bagnol, 87250 Fromental; without even having to leave home!”
Tel: 06 34 95 26 49) is open on Saturday 3 Another new trend in France is the
and Sunday 4 June from 11:00 to 18:00. interest in winter gardening and Le Jardin
Annie admits to having been ‘seduced’ du Bagnol is keenly following the trend,
many years ago by the ‘jardin à l’anglaise’ with plantings of hamamelis, hellebores
of a lady who was to become her mother- and bulbs. It’s a case of “watch this space”,
in-law. Her new passion took her to join says Annie. Perhaps we can imagine
gardening groups in Belgium and to vora- winter and spring openings in the future?
 June 2023 I French Living
Garden digest
Light up your garden in style
With evenings now lighter for longer,
why not give your outdoor space some
illuminated elegance during long suppers
with an item from French designer fur-
niture and accessory company Fermob’s
range of chic lights.
The moon range of standalone lamps,
designed by Tristan Lohner and inspired
by large, stylish 19th century street lights,
is wireless and rechargeable (it comes
with a charging base) and available in
a wide range of colours.
They are also waterproof and shock-
proof, with adjustable lighting intensity.
Available from all major outdoor furni-
ture specialists such as Truffaut, prices:
63cm, €396; 40cm, €149.
Piscine maintenance
For readers with a swimming pool, as
sunny days are fast approaching, June
is an important month for some mainte-
nance – think about removing any debris
floating on the surface every day, check
the pH level of the water, sweep or vacu-
um the bottom and walls, and add a dose
of disinfectant once a week.
Gardener’s world live show
Any readers planning a visit to the UK this
June may wish to coincide it with a day out
at the BBC Gardeners’ World Live 2023
at the NEC in Birmingham. Tickets from
£25, see website for details.
www.bbcgardenersworldlive.com
Sow much to do: potager jobs for June
For keen grow-your-owners, there is much
to do this month, not least sowing aplenty:
beetroot, chicory, kale, red cabbage, cour-
gettes, fennel, beans, leaf lettuce, cucum-
bers, gherkins, aubergines, white onions,
peppers and tomatoes.
Plant basil too, and, if you grow chives,
now is the month to cut the flowers off.
Photo: Pixabay
connexionfrance.com
Photo: Fermob
Main photo: Cathy Thompson; inset: Promesse de Fleurs. Rose ‘Jacques Cartier’
New roses bred for resistance
Rose lover Cathy Thompson examines floral options available to gardeners
French garden diary
A
s I have mentioned before,
Brexit has gloriously
Insta-jardins removed my old safety blan-
Instagram is a brilliant kets and forced me on horti-
place to enjoy other cultural journeys of discov-
people’s gardens in ery – and now there’s a new road ahead
France, with everyone for the roses in my garden.
from visitors to chambre I have a grand total of 58 here, although
d’hôtes owners posting at least three of these are on their way out,
seasonal snaps and sad to say. I have had severe problems
quirky updates from with root dieback (on a heavy, winter-wet
their gardens (users can clay soil) and Blackspot susceptibility. The
search using the hashtag old roses do magnificently. It’s the more
#jardins, #monjardin, recent introductions that really suffer,
#jardinage or #potager). such as the repeat-flowering Bourbons
Aside from the pure like ‘Mme Isaac Péreire’, a rose remarkable
pleasure of tending to both for its beauty and vulnerability to
ones crops, a great benefit Blackspot. Although, in her defence, she
is the cost-saving that does rally each spring for a marvellous
home-grown fruit and show and is usually still flowering into
vegetables bring. December.
As father and son potag- But the David Austins are even worse
er pairing Greg et Owen and all three of the previously mentioned
(nos_actions_leur_ave- malingerers – who I’m thinking of send-
nir) proudly point out ing to the great compost heap in the sky –
in this post about a first are from the Austin stable. It was, there-
strawberry récolte: fore, with great interest that my recent
“We have just saved gut feelings about the Austins were con-
ourselves €7.50!” firmed when I read an old 2010 article in
The New York Times. How I wish I had
read it before beginning to plant my
French garden!
In the course of that article, Peter E.
Kukielski – until 2014, curator of the
Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden at New
York Botanic Garden, and widely recog-
nised for his work in sustainable horticul-
ture and disease resistance – suggests that
our ancestors’ desire for ‘more and better’
has cost us dearly in rose health.
He says: “It was during that madness
for the big fragrant bloom that never
stopped, which began with the first
hybrid perpetuals, back in the late 1800s,
that the rose lost its disease resistance.
The genetics started falling apart. The
French were as mad about the hybrid
perpetuals as the Dutch were about their
tulips. But at the end of the season, these
will have black spots, they will defoliate.”
These hybrid perpetuals are, with the
Bourbons – enter ‘Mme Isaac Pereire’
stage left – the ancestors of many of our
modern roses, the Austins included.
Compare their July foliage to the health
of the older, once-flowering cultivars such
as ‘Mme Hardy’, ‘Fantin Latour’ or the
even older Albas.
Mr Kukielski is of the opinion that,
“You will never know their [roses] true
disease resistance until you stop spray-
ing.” Bringing me neatly to a famous
French horticultural event, the Concours
International de Roses at Orléans. In
2022, in the course of the 64th edition of
this competition, the German company
Kordes swept the board in more than one
category, and the top ‘Médaille de la Ville’
was won by their cherry-red floribunda
rose, ‘Enjoy’, which also took home the
coveted prize for the environment, relat-
ing directly to disease resistance.
Kordes & Sons, based in Schleswig-
Holstein, stopped spraying their rose
fields against disease of any kind back
in the 1990s and the roses they
introduced after 2000 have
proved exceptional for their
disease resistance.
‘Enjoy’ had previously
been awarded the
German ADR label
(Allgemeine Deutsche
Rosenneuheitenprüfung,
or General German Rose
Novelty Test), which is
only achieved after stringent,
five-year field trials. It’s an
internationally respected scheme
“
If you are not hooked
on the old rose style
these easy-going
beauties are a
must for continuous
garden flower
Gardening 7
begun in the 1950s, primarily at the
instigation of Wilhelm Kordes and other
German rose growers, and you can bet
your Kukielski dollar that these roses will
be tough.
Those who adore modern, single to
semi-double roses will find the Kordes
catalogue a treasure-chest of joys (www.
rosen.de/en). Myself, I’m not too fond of a
rose like ‘Enjoy’, leaning more to the soft
colours of the old shrub roses, but even I
can find a space in my heart (and my
borders) for rich violet-red modern shrub
rose ‘Ile de Fleurs’, which gained the ADR
in 2018.
And there’s a wonderful guarantee: if it’s
a shrub rose and Kordes are selling it, you
can assume that it will not languish with-
Blackspot like my poor old ‘Mme Isaac
Péreire’. They even list and sell some of
the older shrub roses that have coped well
under their ‘no-spray’ field conditions.
Try ‘Jacques Cartier’ (1868), magen-
ta-pink ‘Rose de Rescht’ (1840), or vio-
let-pink ‘F. J. Grootendurst’ (1918) – all
repeat flower to some extent. Moving
on from the Kordes stable,
two of the latest in a range of
roses that French parks’
departments have been
experimenting with in
municipal planting schemes
were awarded the German
ADR label in 2021: ‘Emera’
in fuchsia-red and ‘Opalia’ in
pure white.
Originally bred in Germany, the
Décorosier range of landscaping roses,
to which ‘Emera’ and ‘Opalia’ belong
(www.decorosiers.com), is now exclusively
produced in France and boasts a colour
palette of more than fifteen varieties.
Verdia, the company that produces them,
believes that they are the “beginning of a
garden revolution” offering roses that are
both “easy and generous”.
If you are not hooked on the old rose
style these easy-going beauties are a must
for continuous garden flower on a plant
that grows no more than about 80cm tall.
What’s your favourite rose or rose
breeder, if you are thinking primarily
of disease resistance? Contact Cathy
at editor@connexionfrance.com
8 Interview connexionfrance.com French Living I June 2023

‘It is in tough

Photo: DR
times that we
need to roll up
our sleeves’
Théophile Larcher talks to Nicolas Sarkozy’s former
communications chief, Thierry Saussez, about his
brainchild Villes & Villages: où il fait bon vivre, and
his business that aims to defeat French pessimism

N
o matter how recently you
moved to France, chances
are you already know
about one of the country’s
most popular rankings.
But do you know the man behind it?
Thierry Saussez is the mastermind of
France’s Villes & Villages: où il fait bon
vivre, roughly translated as ‘the best towns
and villages to live in.’ It ranks the best 500
towns and villages, and releases the list
in partnership with French newspaper
Le Journal du Dimanche. Every year it
generates a flurry of articles in the regional
and national press.
In 2023, Angers (Maine-et-Loire) came
top (for the second time in a row) in the
town category, and Guéthary (Pyrénées-
Atlantiques) came first in the village rank-
ing. This fourth edition, much like its pre-
decessors, was a great PR success.
And this is not by chance. Mr Saussez is
often called the ‘Jacques Séguéla of the
Right’, referring to the marketing expert
known for the successful electoral ad cam-
paigns he created for former president
François Mitterrand in 1981 and 1988.
Mr Saussez was once the communica-
tions chief to former president Nicolas
Sarkozy, and remains one of his strongest
supporters. It has been suggested in the
press that the Villes & Villages ranking is
a disguised political tactic to spread right-
wing ideas among France’s towns and
villages ahead of France’s next presidential
election in 2027.
The Connexion asked him about the
In this fourth year of the ranking, I see
69% of people have named security
as the most important category.
Has this always been the case?
Quality of life is the most important, but
security comes second. This has been the
case since the first year of the ranking.
Health is climbing up in the ranking after
the end of the Covid crisis, but there
seems to be a delayed effect here. However,
French people seem more attached to
health infrastructure than ever before.
Other important factors in the ranking
are proximity to urban towns with good
services, and with a ‘village life’ atmos-
phere in mid-sized towns.
The ranking confirms a trend first
noticed by sociologists – a renewed inter-
est in mid-sized towns and villages.
It highlights the desire of French people
to be close to mid-sized cities and nature,
something accentuated by the pandemic
with lockdowns and remote working. This
is the best recipe for happiness.
Do you agree that French people are
‘living the dream’ with their pavillon
houses, and now that they have
attained it, they do not want a ‘return Above, Thierry promote its villages and heritage. The lat- highest numbers of British people, it is
to past times’? Saussez sporting est edition has generated more than 500 probable that the resulting quality of life
Yes, I believe so. With the condition that his trademark grin articles in the press, including yours! and house prices have boosted those
they need to be close to an urban centre. towns and villages.
Not all villages and towns are making high Annecy’s PR team has chosen not to
rankings. Look at towns such as Boulogne- display the label, despite outstanding Now onto your battle for optimism.
Billancourt, Asnières, Nogent-sur-Marne, scores. Top-ranking Angers likewise Are the French really so pessimistic?
and Saint-Germain-en-Laye around Paris. has not promoted it yet. Is it just a France is a paradox. While most French
They have better rankings than Paris itself. matter of time before they do? people say they are happy in their person-

ranking and what it tells us about France
and its people in 2023. We also spoke
about another business he founded in
2014, Le printemps de l’optimisme (the
spring/dawn of optimism), which aims to
spread optimism among the notoriously
pessimistic French population.
“
In Corsica, on the other hand, remote I believe so, yes. The ranking is so popular
villages far from both Ajaccio and Bastia that it can take time to convince mayors of
have poor rankings. the benefits of having a sign displayed at
the town or village entrance. Surely the
France has more than 30 labels. mayor of Angers must be considering it,
What do you bring to the table? since it is the second year in a row that
Surely a Ville et village fleuris label the town has topped our ranking. This is
al and professional lives, France is one of
the most pessimistic nations in the world.
When you try to understand why, there
is this idea that French people like to be
frightened and like to scare themselves.
There is sort of a bias, a displayed pessi-
mism, something journalists often cater

How does a town or village succeed in

the Villes & Villages ranking?
French people were asked in a survey to
name the most important aspects of good
living. They chose: air quality; security;
health; transportation; shops and services;
protection of the environment; education;
community spirit; sports and leisure, and
quality of housing.
The ‘best-to-live-in’ town or village is
ranked by these ten categories, using data
from Insee and other governmental bodies.
The results are weighted depending on
the importance of each category to
produce the most accurate and scientific
ranking possible.
indicates it is a good place to live...
I do not think so. Villes fleuries and ville
internet are great, but they are thematic.
The only global label is ours. It can be
used for communication to promote the
town, to trigger interest when welcoming
newcomers. It can be displayed on a sign.
An MP recently told me his phone was
ringing off the hook even before the the
ranking was made public.
It proves your communication skills.
You are not nicknamed the ‘Jacques
Séguéla of the right’ for nothing!
Well, I can only hope so. What I can say is
that it offers France one of the most spec-
tacular nationwide PR opportunities to
While most free advertising!
About Annecy, they have dived in rank-
French peo- ing over the years because of expensive
rents. This is not the most important cate-
ple say they gory but it doesn’t work in their favour.
The biggest take away is the lack of
are happy... interest by French people in big cities such
as Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Nantes and
France is one Paris, which all dropped ratings in our
2023 edition.
of the most Some French villages have been
pessimistic re-populated by British immigrants.
Have you studied the effects of this
nations in migration on the vitality of a region?
Yes. In the case of Creuse and depart-
the world ments in the centre, where there are the
to. When I started the Printemps de l’opti-
misme, I was compared to an American…
I was going to ask you about the
TV interview you gave in 2014
when you were first compared
to an American…
But why was it brought up in the first
place? There is confusion in France about
being optimistic. It is too often under-
stood as being blissfully, unrealistically
optimistic, in the way that Americans are
often regarded. This is absurd. These are
extremists of optimism responding to
extremists of pessimism, people who have
a different relationship with reality.
We are somewhere in the middle.
June 2023 I French Living
French people are lucid optimists. We
know that life is as beautiful as it is fierce
and unfair. We know that there are no
right or wrong answers. But, most impor-
tantly, we know that it is during bad
circumstances that good energy is needed
the most.
Where does this perceived attitude
come from? And why do you think
British people and Americans are
more optimistic than the French?
There is a stronger bias between personal
optimism and collective pessimism in
France. France has both cultural and
historical reasons. Religion is the first
reason. Catholicism’s relationship with
money is complicated – it took until
Pope John Paul II to acknowledge the
market economy.
Then there were revolutions against
the privileged; Marxism gained a strong
foothold in France; class warfare worked
well. Then there is the fact that the State
is regarded as an institution which is
required to accompany us from the cradle
to the grave. But when French people are
sent the bill, it is always too high...
So, it’s complicated!
(Laughs) And then there is our
outstanding educational system which
develops critical thinking. But when this
system is pushed to the extreme, it creates
depressive people asking themselves
whether life is worth living or whether
everything was better previously. This is
of course nonsense.
After the housing crisis in 2008, sky-
rocketing debt, global warming, wars
connexionfrance.com
in Yemen, Syria, and the migration
exodus it triggered, then Covid, and
now the war in Ukraine, you can’t
deny a build up of negative events...
I do not deny it. But it is precisely during
tough times that we need to roll up our
sleeves. Life is not only about the good
times. I want to give credit to Martin
Seligman, the creator of positive-thinking
philosophy.
Every scientific study shows that being
positive is good for the brain. When you
wake up in the morning, think about
something positive, your breathing pat-
tern will slow down and you will spread
happiness. When you come to the office
every morning, brighten the mood with a
smile, thinking of a beautiful woman or
man you have seen, a flower, or the land-
scape. Express your gratitude. Be thankful
and everything will be better. It is science.
More and more Brits have become
pessimistic about the state of Great
Britain following Brexit. Is that a
victory for French pessimism?
Yes. French writer Sylvain Tesson said
that French people live in paradise while
believing they are in hell. They know it is
a country with outstanding diversity,
gastronomy, pioneering science,
exceptional physicians, and a diversified
economy. It is still an agricultural and
nuclear country and our language is
spoken more and more around the world,
contrary to popular belief. Deep down,
they know how lucky they are.
Photos: top, Wikimedia Commons; bottom, Abaca Press / Alamy
Sites to share €4million
sustainable tourism fund
Green news
Funding will assist green switch
Nine locations in France have been
selected to share government funding
totalling €4million, in order to adapt
and improve their sustainable tourism
(tourisme durable) offering.
At the end of 2022, an invitation to sub-
mit applications was sent out as part of
the Destination France Plan launched by
the government, to make France the lead-
ing destination for sustainable tourism.
The ministry has targeted coastal,
mid-mountain and rural sites, all due to
their sensitivity to climate change, their
tourist appeal with strong seasonal shifts
and their ‘recurring difficulty in mobilis-
ing dedicated engineering’.
The government’s ecological transition
website states that the selected projects
‘meet the challenges of sustainable tour-
ism development, including: the diversifi-
cation of ‘the tourism offer’; the develop-
Top: Thierry Saussez ment of low-carbon mobility; the sustain-
(centre) with able management of resources; the con-
Emmanuel Macron ciliation between tourist frequentation
(right) in 2016 at the and the protection of natural areas; the
Forum d’Optimisme; integration of tourist activities in their
and above (centre) territory; and, in connection with the res-
with MPs at a busi- ident populations, consideration of the
ness conference in fluctuating nature of its tourist real estate.
Paris, 2009 Plus, raising environmental awareness
and education.’
The nine successful applicants will
receive the funding from the DGALN
(General Directorate for Housing and
Nature Development), with budgets allo-
cated for one of three types of help: the
Territorial Workshop, which will provide
engineering support ‘for the construction
of a project or a territorial strategy’; the
Partnership Development Project, a ‘con-
tractual agreement between the State,
the municipalities and local partners
(public and/or private) to accompany the
realisation of one or more complex devel-
opment operations intended to meet the
objectives of sustainable development of
the territories’; and finally, the Eco-
Neighborhood approach, which ‘pro-
motes new ways of designing, building
and managing the city sustainably by
integrating the issues and principles of
the city and sustainable territories’.
Among the more well known places
from the winning bidders are Gorges de
l’Ardèche (Ardèche), pictured top, and
Vallée d’Ossau (Pyrénées-Atlantiques),
pictured inset. Others include Commune
de Pont-de-l’Arche (Eure), communes in
Maremne Adour Côte-Sud (Landes) and
Commune de Bonifacio (Corsica).
Green news 9
Photo: Pixabay
Photo: Pixabay
Seafront snackers risk fine
Anyone considering munching on a
baguette whilst on an 800-metre stretch
of the Flots Bleus seafront promenade at
Saint-Laurent-du-Var (Alpes-Maritimes)
runs the risk of receiving a €35 fine.
Picnics join electric scooters on the
banned list for the shaded seafront.
The decree imposed by mayor Joseph
Segura is in response to what he calls “a
minority that doesn’t show respect, that
throws its rubbish on the promenade.”
He confirmed, however, that eating on
the beach is still permitted.
“
The ministry has
targeted coastal,
mid-mountain
and rural sites
Toulouse-Barcelona flight dismay
A new thrice-weekly summer flight route
between Toulouse (Haute-Garonne) and
Barcelona in Spain, which will last just
one hour and cover 250kms, has caused
consternation amongst environmentalists.
The Vueling service, which starts in
July, will cost as little as €50 return, and
comes after the direct train route between
the two cities was halted during the
Covid pandemic because it was not prof-
itable enough. Previously, the SNCF ran a
three-hour route in partnership with the
Spanish company Renfe, but now train
travellers must change at Narbonne,
which adds 50 minutes to the journey.
“We should have done what was neces-
sary to make the train an interesting
alternative,” says Yannick Saleman, of
environmental think tank, Shift Project.
10 Nature connexionfrance.com French Living I June 2023

Salamanders and singing toads

Jonathan Kemp spots a
rich variety of species in
his local environment

A
ll it took was a just a splash

Photo: Jonathan Kemp

of rain, and the life that had
been patiently waiting
hidden underground or
in some secluded crevice
burrowed all the way up to the surface as
night fell. The first to appear was a fire Fire Salamander
salamander (salamandre tachetée) slowly
waddling across the terrace, an impres- ble, with careful listening, to hear the dif-
sive looking beast with its bright yellow ference in the calls, the scops owl’s being

Photos: Jonathan Kemp

spots and stripes on the shiny black back-
ground skin.
The brightness of this skin colour
is deliberate; a warning to potential
predators that it is not good to eat,
an advertisement of the toxic glands
situated around the head and the skin of
the back. I was not going to touch it even
with gloves on – they are quite capable of
shedding their tails and limbs as a
defence mechanism and then growing
them back nearly perfectly, a process
called regeneration. It has been only
relatively recently that the mechanisms
of how this works have been understood,
and is no doubt being studied to see if the
ability could somehow be transferred to
human beings. Infant humans can do this
to a limited extent, but adults cannot.
They are amphibians, giving birth to
live larvae and depositing them directly
in water, and our damp, deciduous wood
sloping down to the stream is the ideal
habitat for this strange animal.
This particular one is probably not fully
slightly longer and more whistled.
The following night, it was obvious
that at least one of the ‘singing’ male
toads had got lucky and found himself
a female. He will mount on her much
larger back and grasp her under the Above: Male Midwife toad with eggs
front ‘arm’ pits. Here he will hang on, if Inset: Male and female Midwife toads
possible, until she lays a string of eggs
(bracelet), which he will then fertilise. repetitively call just outside ones Interestingly as I lose some of my hearing
To stimulate her to lay he will give the bedroom window some people get with age, it can hear calls and songs that I
female a rapid massage with his feet and annoyed, as they can be persistent. cannot, so that is good if you are trying
at the same time compress her flanks. They are small (only as big as a star- to count the birds in your garden, for
He then wraps the eggs around his back ling), with a body about as big as a instance. It does seem to drain the phone
legs – thus the name – and will carry clenched fist. Their prey is mainly battery quickly, however.
them, going down every evening to a insects, and generally they hunt at night,
water point to keep them moist, for a avoiding twilight hours. A friend put up
length of time that can vary from three to nesting boxes in his hamlet, and was suc-
eight weeks, until they are ready to hatch cessful in enticing the owls to use them.
into tadpoles and drop off in the water. Not sure what his neighbours thought.
He might, in a good year, be carrying For those that need help in identifying
the eggs of up to three females, up to 150 bird calls and songs – as I do from time
eggs. Above is a photograph I took in a to time – there is a newish free app to
previous year showing the male emerging put on your smartphone: Merlin Bird
in the evening with his precious cargo ID, published by the Cornell lab and,
wrapped around his hind legs, on his way for most common birds at least, seems

grown, being about 18 centimetres long;
they can exceed 30 centimetres. The
myth that they are so cold that they can
resist fire is nothing more than a myth,
but historically they have always been
associated with fire, an association proba-
bly originating from their habit of hiber-
nating in rotting logs, and then emerging
when the log was put onto a fire.
Next night we were serenaded by at
least three midwife toads (crapaud or
“
down to the stream to bathe them. In
France, they are considered vulnerable,
and are a fully protected species.
Scops owls arrive back from their win-
tering territories south of the Sahara in
mid-spring. With careful listening, the
way to tell their calls apart from the mid-
wife toad’s is to detect the slightly longer
note, and a fuller musical quality, whilst
the toad has a straighter, more mechani-
cal sound. What’s more, the toads cannot
to be pretty accurate.
It is best on sound identification, obvi-
ously it is harder to get accurate photos
on a smartphone, but it will identify from
photos too. Standing still, you record,
and it will give you the nearest matches,
that can then compare with other record-
In France, ings, confirm it is your bird.
Highly skilled ornithologists will be
toads are sniffy about resorting to such means;
and, of course, it is better to have remem-
a fully

Photo: Claude Ruchet

alyte accoucheur). These lovely little
toads wake up from their hibernation
and start to call, a repeated single note at
a certain pitch that can be confused with
the scops owl (petit duc scops). It is possi-
move rapidly from tree to tree, so if this
happens, it’s an owl!
These charming little owls are quite
capable of nesting in villages, parks
and gardens, and when they start to
bered the sound in your own mind; but
as an aid to getting you to that point it is
protected well worth downloading. It gives calls as
well as songs too, and you can choose the
species world zone that you find appropriate. Scops Owl

The French boom in mantrailing, a great way to train and exercise distracted dogs
distraction, and scent contamination.” enough. So many pet dogs are bored

Photo: courtesy of Ann-Jo Proos

She says the key to teaching dogs is rigid. They need to live in a pack,
Samantha David training them to ignore distractions whether that is with humans or other
when they’re working. “This can be animals. They hate being alone, and

T
he canine sport of man-
trailing has recently
increased in popularity.
“I introduced it to France
when I arrived here in
2007,” says Ann-Jo Proos. Originally
from Australia, she runs Mantrailing
France, and trains dogs as well as
new instructors.
“I was a qualified dog trainer in
Australia, and had a searching compa-
ny in Holland before we arrived in
France. I also work with Lowland
Search Dogs in the UK. Mantrailing is
having a moment in France. A person
walks a trail and an owner and dog
pair follows some time later, hoping to
find the person. Urban trailing is the
most difficult, because there is so much
very helpful discipline for difficult
dogs because it helps them focus,
gives them a job to do. Training the
owner is the most difficult part.
People think dogs are less intelligent
than humans but dogs are smarter
than us when it comes to sense of
smell. Problem dogs are often not well
socialised, and this training can help
with that.”
In theory, any dog can learn to man-
trail but in practice some dogs just
aren’t that motivated. “It’s just to do
with the animal’s personality rather
than the breed although there are gen-
eral trends; greyhounds are often not
very interested, and short nosed dogs
like pugs tend to find it a challenge.
“Many pet dogs aren’t properly
exercised. Fifteen minutes a day in
the same part of the same park isn’t
they need activities. They need some-
thing to do.”
“Mantrailing is excellent for people
without much dog training experi-
ence. It helps owners read signals
from their dogs, which results in
forming closer bonds. Owners learn
to become more interesting to their
dog. Mantrailing teaches them to read
the information the dog is relaying as
they are following a trail. “It makes
life with your dog interesting. The
police use play as a reward, but for
pets food works. Dogs love to play,
but many people don’t play with their
dogs, wrongly believing that it causes Ann-Jo and her dogs
them stress.”
The only equipment needed to learn prompt to show them what they are dog-owners and for people wanting
mantrailing is a Y-harness and a 10 doing and what is expected of them.” to become instructors. She can be
metre-long lead. These allow the dog Ann-Jo Proos runs courses in contacted via her website:
the freedom to work, and also act as a English from March to November, for mantrailing-france.fr.
 June 2023 I French Living connexionfrance.com Cultural digest/Trending 11
From bagpipes to bicycles

Photos: Cerema
Urban cable cars
installed in Brest
A round up of the arts and culture stories creating a buzz in France and, below, Toulouse

1. Celtic celebrations Paris, capitale de la gastronomie, du

This year’s epic Festival Interceltique de
Lorient, the annual celebration of eight
Celtic countries’ music and traditions,
takes place from August 4 -13 in the
Morbihan coastal town.
The chosen “country of honour” for
2023 is Ireland, with Clannad among
Moyen Âge à nos jours (Paris, Capital of
Gastronomy, from the Middle Ages to
the present) is curated by François-Régis
Gaudry, author and food journalist for
France Inter and presenter of the pro-
gramme Très Très Bon on Paris Première.
The visitor tour takes in objects, rare
documents, original menus,

1
Photo: Festival Interceltique de Lorient/Flickr

paintings, photos, videos and

the headliners, along with Suzanne Vega
and other big names from the folk and
pipe worlds.
The festival’s statistics are impressive:
850,000 festival-goers will attend 300
concerts, with 5,000 artists performing
reconstructions – some loaned
from the likes of the Louvre
Museum, the BnF, the Carnavalet
Museum and Château de
Fontainebleau – with subjects
ranging from the memorable
banquet of Charles V (pictured)
when the court still resided in
Paris, to the contemporary suc-
cess of the capital as a culinary
hub. www.paris-conciergerie.fr Upwardly mobile: cable cars and
4. Le Tour gets Netflix treatment
Sports fans – notably those of the
armchair variety – are in for a
the ‘new cities of tomorrow’
treat this month with the release on June
8 of Netflix’s big budget documentary An on-trend transportation solution for dense urban environments is
series about the Tour de France. the cable car. Théophile Larcher reveals French successes... and failures
The eight-part series, called Au coeur
du péloton in France and Unchained in
English speaking territories, was filmed
#trending

across 12 stages. The event, first held in
1971, is made possible thanks to some
1,500 volunteers.
Expect much bagpiping, parading,
flag waving, dancing and serious Breton
partying. Book tickets at festival-
interceltique.bzh/billetterie-2023.
2. Police and thieves
M
from March to July 2022 and follows the
fortunes of several teams as they prepare
for and ride in the world’s most gruelling ore and more French cities have
cycle race. plans to implement urban cable
Previous Netflix shows that document- cars as a new innovative transpor-
ed Formula One (Drive to Survive) and tation system, piggybacking on
golf (Full Swing) attracted swathes of successful rollouts in France and
new fans to the sports thanks to high South America. Toulouse (Haute-Garonne) and
Saint-Denis (Réunion island) are the two latest to

3
Photo: Bibliothèque nationale de France

Fans of gritty French TV policier series
(crime dramas), or those perhaps mourn-
ing the demise, after eight seasons, of the
superb Engrenages (Spiral) will welcome
BRI, which has recently aired on Canal+.
The show follows members of
Versailles’ BRI (brigade de recherche et
d’intervention, or investigation and inter-
vention unit) that tracks gangs of serious
criminals engaged in armed robbery,
kidnapping and hostage-taking, as well
as terrorists.
The show differs from Engrenages in
that the police officers are much younger
and come from more diverse back-
grounds, giving it a fresher feel with
more contemporary slang dialogue.
3. A very tasty exhibition
A wide-ranging exhibition for histo-
ry-loving gourmands amid the splendid
Gothic naves of the Conciergerie in Paris
(birthplace, lest we forget, of the restau-
rant, the baguette and the croissant) runs
until July 16, showcasing the role the
French capital has played in the develop-
ment of gastronomy over six centuries.
have opened services in 2022, providing improved
accessibility to steep locations.
But other French cities have shown interest,
propelled by increased demand and good attend-
ance. Téléo, France’s longest urban cable car in
Toulouse, has transported 1.12 million passengers,
according to latest figures provided in February
this year.
“This is a solution that resolves mobility challeng-
es both today and in the future,” said Fabien Felli,
president of Poma, France’s main cable-driven lift
systems, and the company behind the Toulouse and
Saint-Denis projects.
While Poma is known for its cabin lifts in several
of France’s ski stations, the company has taken on
more and more projects in big cities among its
catalogue of engineering prowess.
Nice, Bordeaux, Vitrolles, Grenoble or Ajaccio are
actually under discussion or up for consideration,
he said, confirming the interest of several mayors
production values and dramatic narra- for an alternative transportation solution that pre-
tives based on inter-team and inter-per- vents traffic congestion, surpasses geographical lim-
sonal rivalries, as well as casting light on its and is environmentally-friendly.
the hitherto secret worlds of elite sport. The cabin lift in Vitrolles is planned for 2027,
The documentary is released in time to Bordeaux in 2028 and Nice in 2040. All of them
tease fans prior to the 2023 race, which look to interconnect crowded areas such as com-
will take place from July 1-23. mercial centres and airports or to run over rivers to
make traffic more fluid.
lic or overall cost can be reasons for halting a project.
The most emblematic is Orléans (Loiret) whose
project got buried by socialist mayor Christophe
Chaillou after the municipality suffered €3.9 million
in losses as consequences of the pandemic.
Along with confirmed projects in Nice, Bordeaux,
Vitrolles or Grenoble, there is a similar number of
towns which have given up on decade-long projects.
These include Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), Issy-
les-Moulineaux (Hauts-de-Seine) and Grasse
(Alpes-Maritimes).
But this also explains the success in South
America, where presidents such as Colombian
Alvaro Aribe or Lula in Brazil served in office
for eight and seven years.
She mentioned a project in Lyon that was aban-
doned after several planned routes looked out onto
too many private houses. Brest’s lift cabin was very
careful about that aspect and installed windows that
tint whenever the cabin flies over an area owned by
the navy.
Another reason for the late interest of French
engineers for cabin lifts lies in the preference for
buses, metro and tramways as transportation-sys-
tems, both Mr Felli and Ms Girault said.
Cabin lift systems come into the equation only
when other systems were not able to open lines in
some of the most complex areas. “Prospects are real.

4
Photo: Screenshot, Netflix/Youtube

The pioneering French example lies in Brest
(Brittany), a 420 metre-long cabin lift opened in
2016 between the Capucins’ district and the centre,
passing over the river Penfeld. It carried 200,000
people during its first two months of service.
Brest took inspiration from successful examples
in trailblazing South America, mainly La Paz in
Bolivia, Medellin in Colombia and Brazil – which
all turned to cabins lifts in the early 2000s to over-
It is a relevant solution to overcome geographical
constraints,” said Ms Girault
Mr Felli said he is looking at a bright future, tak-
ing the example of Téléo which was implemented
under different mayors. He dreams of cities with
cabin lifts interconnected with bus, metros and
tramway lines.
“It stems from a desire to invent the new city of
tomorrow,” he said.

“
come uneven landscapes.
But the craze for urban lift-cabins was no bed of
roses in France and has still to overcome many
obstacles from the public or politicians.
“Such long-term projects need long-term political
support from successive mayors,” said Florence
Girault, head of projects at Cerema, a governmental Brest took inspiration from
body of the Ecological ministry studying public
transportation and town-planning development. successful examples in
Ms Girault said a shift in political leaning from the
municipality, environmental reticence from the pub- trailblazing South America
12 Recipes connexionfrance.com French L

Cook like a Michelin che

This issue we present a Michelin-starred cooking challenge to
Connexion readers, with two detailed but achievable recipes from
the notoriously discreet Aubrac culinary legend Sébastien Bras,
who has just released his first magnificent cookbook. Bonne chance!

T
he new book by Sébastien Bras tells the story
behind one of the most influential restaurants
in the world, situated in the picturesque
Aubrac region of France. In this long-awaited
volume, the son of legendary French chef
Michel Bras invites us through the doors of Le Suquet, his
two Michelin star restaurant with dramatic views over the
breathtaking countryside.
Through never-before-published recipes and specially
commissioned photography, Sébastien tells the story of his
family, where cooking is not only passed from generation
to generation but is constantly reinvented and imagined.
Grounded and shaped by the terroir of his home in
Aubrac, Bras' cuisine is internationally recognised as one
of the most influential in the world, particularly for having
raised vegetables and herbs to an art form.
Featuring 40 iconic recipes along with sumptuous and
evocative images of the restaurant and surrounding land-
scape, Bras: The Tastes of Aubrac opens the Bras family
album, showcasing the amazing story of a culinary tradi-
tion passing through generations of world-class chefs.

HERE we have selected two of the simplest recipes in the

book, for Connexion readers to try at home.
For the ‘white soup’ recipe, ‘Institut de Beauvais’ is one
of the oldest potato varieties. Its high starch content makes
it particularly suitable for soups and purées and its very created during his early years at Le Suquet. It is a
white flesh is perfect for this recipe. It has a lot of eyes, memory that he holds dear, because it was the first
however, which makes it rather tedious to prepare. dish of his that Michel agreed to put on the menu,
The rhubarb recipe is inspired by a dessert that Sébastien without changing anything.

WHITE SOUP WITH AGED FREE-RANGE BACON,

ROASTED SHALLOT AND GRILLED HAZELNUTS
Ingredients (for elements 1-5 of the recipe method) 3. Potato spirals. Peel and wash the potatoes. Using a
1. 200g Institut de Beauvais potatoes, peeled and cut suitable machine, peel the potatoes into thin strips and
into large cubes put them in cold water. Bring a large saucepan of salted
1 litre vegetable stock (broth) water to the boil and blanch the strips for 45 seconds,
60g peeled and sliced carrot then immediately cool them under cold water. Drain on
60g peeled and chopped onion paper towels.
60g leek, white part only, finely chopped Preheat the fan-assisted oven to 110°C (225°F). Arrange
150g ham hock, cut into large cubes the potato strips on a sheet of greaseproof (wax) paper,
100g butter forming a rectangle of 50 × 20cm (20 × 8in). Brush
100g whipping cream with clarified butter and cover with a second sheet of
2. 250g butter greaseproof paper. Using a sharp knife, cut 4 long
3. 4 large Institut de Beauvais potatoes rectangles of 5 × 20cm (2 × 8in). Insert these rectan-
4. 60g aged free-range streaky (regular) bacon gles into a spiral-shaped stainless steel mould. Bake
250g whipping cream for 2 hours. Check the colouring – they should not be
Salt, to taste too dark – and adjust the time and temperature
5. 2 peeled shallots if necessary.
Olive oil, to taste
1 teaspoon roasted and chopped hazelnuts Unmould, remove the greaseproof paper
2 spring onions (scallions) and leave to cool. Set aside in a very dry place.

Method 4. Bacon mousse. Cut the bacon into 3mm (1/8in)

1. White soup. Wash the potato cubes. In a cooking
pot over a medium heat, place the vegetable stock
(broth), potatoes, carrot, onion, leek and ham hock.
Cook for 30 minutes. Remove the aromatic garnish
(carrot, onion, leek, ham hock). Add the butter and
cream, then blend everything, in a mixer or with
an immersion blender. If necessary, add a little
vegetable stock to thin it: the dry-matter content of the
potatoes may vary depending on when they were
harvested and how long they were stored. The
consistency of the soup should be that of liquid cream.
2. Clarified butter. Melt the butter in a bowl in a a roasted shallot and sprinkle with roasted and chopped
bain-marie. When the butter has melted, leave it to
rest for 10 minutes. The watery part of the butter
(casein and whey) will settle at the bottom. Keep only
the top part, which is transparent. You should be left
with around 200g of clarified butter.
thick slices. In a frying pan (skillet), cook it
slowly, until lightly golden. In a saucepan, heat the
cream over a low heat. Blend the bacon and cream.
Strain, season with salt if needed, then pour into a small
siphon fitted with a gas cartridge. Refrigerate.
5. Just before serving. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
Roast the shallots in foil with a drizzle of olive oil for
about 30 minutes.
Pour the hot soup into a hot soup dish. Place one potato
spiral in the centre and fill with the bacon mousse to
one third of the height of the potato spiral. Add half
hazelnuts. Add some spring onion (scallion) leaves. Bras, The Tastes of
Serve immediately. Aubrac by Sébastien
Bras, with texts by
Note: Clarified butter keeps better and withstands a higher Pierre Carrey © 2022,
cooking temperature than butter. Phaidon Press Ltd.
Living I June 2023 connexionfrance.com Beer 13

ef

Main photo: Find a Bottle; inset: Pixabay

POACHED RHUBARB WITH LEMON,
FOUACE AND ORANGE-BLOSSOM CREAM

Hop to it! The inexorable French

rise in IPA beer consumption
In a departure from gastronomic tales, this issue we turn
to beer, and the phenomenal rise of IPA beer drinking
Lagunitas IPA; the Scottish phenomemon
Punk IPA from BrewDog; and Belgian
Food notes

B
IPA Vedetta; you can spot any number of
homegrown French IPAs, with their own
Ingredients rowse any medium-to-large market-share-grabbing version of the
1. 200g icing (confectioners’) sugar 25g candied citron supermarket drinks aisle (rayon export beer that was originally shipped to
100g liquid glucose 30g fouace or brioche, crumbled boissons) and the most popular India in the 19th century (under the
2. 4–8 costmary leaves, wiped with a into pieces beers are stacked high and wide. control of the British East India Company).
damp cloth 5. 100g fouace, cut into 1cm (half inch) Top sellers in 2022 were, The French have a long way to go in
1 egg white, beaten slices by percentage of market share, terms of reaching the 40% market
Icing (confectioners’) sugar, for dusting 1g sheet gelatin Heineken (14.1%), Leffe (11%), share that hoppy, slightly bitter
3. 100g caster (superfine) sugar 150g milk 1664 (9.6%), Desperados IPAs are said to hold in the
40g lemon juice 6g butter (8.9%) and then US market but the growth
2g lemon zest 2g hazelnut praline Kronenbourg (7.2%). here is huge: in 2017,
3 large rhubarb stalks, cut into 10cm 25g caster (superfine) sugar However, look beyond French supermarkets
(4in) pieces 20g orange blossom water the big brewery names sold 14,000 hectolitres of
4. 75g butter, softened 120g whipped cream producing fairly standard IPAs. In 2018, 27,000. In
112g caster (superfine) sugar 6. 140g fromage blanc (or quark or and bland lager-style tip- 2019, 45,000. And in 2020,
30g flour, sifted Greek yoghurt) ples, and you can spot signs 100,000 hectolitres.
2.5g baking powder 2g citron zest of a quiet French drinking The French are becoming
100g eggs 20g lemon juice revolution that has been slowly more curious about alternatives
75g blanched almonds, chopped 16g icing (confectioners’) sugar building over the last few years: the to lagers, developing a taste for ales
37g cocoa nibs 7. Thin slices of rhubarb for serving proliferation of IPA-style (India Pale with character. The explosion in new “craft”
Ale) beer sold in bottles (bouteilles) and breweries is driving the trend – about thirty
Method cans (canettes). in the 1980s, and 2,500 today. But the real
1. Opaline. In a saucepan, heat the sugar and glucose to 163°C (325°F), stirring Alongside the original big guns of this question is, of course, are the French ones
regularly. Pour the syrup onto a plate covered with greaseproof (wax) paper or onto burgeoning market – such as imported any good? Having tried dozens, your Food
a silicone pastry mat. When cooled, break it into the bowl of a blender and blend pioneering US brews, Brooklyn East and Noter's palate is yet to be convinced...
to a powder.
Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F). Place four 10 × 6.5cm (4 × 2.5in) cookie
cutters onto a baking sheet covered with a silicone pastry mat. Using a conical
strainer, sprinkle the powder into the cookie cutters. Bake for 5–6 minutes, until Gadget inspector Now available
translucent like glass. Remove the pastry mat to a work surface and leave to cool.
Using a small spatula, loosen the squares of opaline.
2. Crystallised costmary leaves. Brush the costmary leaves with the beaten egg white.
Sprinkle with icing (confectioners’) sugar and shake gently to remove any excess.
Leave to dry at room temperature for 24 hours.
3. Poached rhubarb. In a saucepan, combine the sugar with 400g water and bring
to the boil to make a syrup. Add the lemon juice and zest, lower the heat and
cook for 5 minutes. Poach the rhubarb pieces in the syrup over a low
heat until they begin to soften. Leave the rhubarb to cool in the syrup.
4. Croustillant. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted
with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter with the sugar for 1 minute
until pale. Add the sifted flour and baking powder, then add the eggs one at a time.
Gently incorporate the rest of the ingredients using a spatula. On a baking
sheet lined with greaseproof (wax) paper, spread the mixture out to a thickness of
3–4mm (about 1/8inch). Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Pepper mill with a twist Ketchup with a kick is great
5. Fouace cream. Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F). Bake the fouace/brioche slices
in the oven for about 10 minutes, until lightly golden. Leave to cool, then reduce to
lights up your barbecue for grillades and burgers
powder in a blender. Set aside 60g of this powder. The perfect gift for the barbecue expert With the Made in France ethos now
Soak the gelatin in a little cold water until soft, then squeeze dry. In a sauce- who has everything, this ingenious torch extending to all corners of the culinary
pan, bring the milk, butter, hazelnut praline and sugar to the boil. Stir in the gelatin, and pepper mill (moulin à poivre) com- scene, many French restaurants now prefer
fouace powder and orange blossom water. Just before the mixture begins to set (at bination – new from Peugeot Saveurs – to offer bespoke locally made sauces to
around 35°C/95°F), stir in the whipped cream. Set aside in the refrigerator. includes an intuitive LED light which turns guests enjoying a burger and chips. How
6. Citron cream. Stir all the ingredients together until smooth. when as the mill is tilted to 25°. Perfect for about this spicy take on ketchup, from
7. Just before serving: Make a quenelle of fouace cream and place on a plate. Arrange some last minute seasoning or using at the Basque brand ETXEKOA (which means
the poached rhubarb on the plate and top with an opaline square. Sprinkle with table once the sun goes down. It features ‘homemade’ in the local dialect). Ketxup
some croustillant. Add some citron cream and crystallised costmary leaves. Finish rubber protections and a stainless steel Bask uses fiery stew piperade, made with
with a thin slice of fresh rhubarb. base, plus a handy storage hook. Espelette pepper, as its inspiration. From
€84.90 from fr.peugeot-saveurs.com €6.25 from www.xipister-etxekoa.com
14 Vinegar
Made in Orléans: a venerable vinegar
Martin-Pouret, the
only company still
making wine vinegar
using the traditional
Orléans method, is
trying to convince the
public that vinegar has
more uses than simply
for vinaigrette, says
Patrice Bertrand
I
n the French collective memory,
Orléans, 130 kilometres south of
Paris, is unerringly associated with
Joan of Arc who, in May 1429 at the
height of the Hundred Years’ War,
drove the English out of the city. But it’s
often forgotten that for centuries, the
town was the French capital of vinegar:
in the 18th century, it counted some 300
vinegar producers who supplied 80% of
the country’s demand.
Today, only one vinegar-maker remains
from this glorious period: the Martin-
Pouret company, which has been making
vinegar using the traditional Orléans
method since 1797. “To make good
vinegar, you need good wine,” explains
Paul-Olivier Claudepierre, co-director
of Martin-Pouret, whose shop is on
Rue Jeanne d’Arc, near Sainte-Croix
Cathedral. “The difference between
Orléans vinegar and classic vinegar is fra-
grance, roundness, balance and aromatic
complexity, like that of an aged wine. Its
“
The Orléans method
earned vinegar-makers
the exclusive right
to make vinegar by
royal decree in the
16th century
acidity is not an acidity that bites but an
acidity that awakens.”
If Orléans was the French vinegar
capital for so long, it’s thanks to the Loire
River which traverses the city and via
which, in the late Middle Ages, goods
from the South of France and Burgundy
were transported towards Paris by
boat. Merchandise was sorted
there, starting with wine,
which was transported
in barrels and difficult
to preserve.
When it was acidic or a
little sour, it was set aside
and used to make vinegar.
This is how the Orléans
vinegar-makers developed
the so-called Orléans method,
a unique knowledge that earned
them the exclusive right to make vinegar
by royal decree in the 16th century.
“The Orléans method is the queen of
vinegar production,” says Paul-Olivier
connexionfrance.com
Claudepierre. “Even those making vine-
gar in other regions of France, such as
Banyuls, use it. It’s both simple and com-
plex and consists of three stages: firstly
the selection of wine, always French,
red or white, then fermentation for three
weeks in oak barrels, protected from light
and kept at a constant temperature of
30ºC. The wine slowly and naturally
transforms into vinegar.
“The last step is to remove the vinegar
from the barrels and age it in oak foudres,
vats of 200 to 5,000 litres, in the cellar at
15ºC, for at least a year, and potentially up
to 20 years. This technique makes it pos-
sible to obtain deeper, clearer and more
intense vinegar than industrial vinegar,
whose rapid and violent fermentation is
generally done in 48 hours with the addi-
tion of ferments or oxidation enhancers.”
When ready for bottling, it’s either left
natural or flavoured with walnut, rasp-
berry, citrus, shallot and even poppy
flowers. With a range of about thirty dif-
ferent vinegars, Martin-Pouret markets
800,000 bottles annually, in supermar-
kets, fine food stores, restaurants, online
and abroad. The prices range from about
5 euros for standard red wine vine-
gar to 60 euros for a 20-year-
old, with 3-, 6- and 9-year-
old vinegars in between.
“These vinegars are not
just for making vinai-
grette and can be used as
a base for fantastic sauces
at a low price,” says Paul-
Olivier Claudepierre. “For
the 20-year-old vinegar, I
recommend serving just three
drops on oysters, ideally beautiful
Gillardeau oysters [deemed by some the
‘Rolls-Royce’ of oysters], and you have an
explosion of incredible flavours – the
confluence of a raw briny product and a
French Living I June 2023
wrote in his Studies on Vinegar and
Photo courtesy of Maison Martin-Pouret
Wine: “The superiority of Orléans vine-
gars is due not only, as one would be
inclined to believe, to the fact that they’re
made with wine, but above all to the way
they’re made, preserving the vinegar’s
indeterminate volatile principles with a
pleasant odour, which are virtually
entirely removed by the air draught and
rising temperature in the manufacture
of alcohol vinegars.”
Seventy years before Pasteur’s discover-
ies, a wine merchant founded the house
of Pouret, which in 1910 became Martin-
Pouret. But with the railway’s arrival in
the mid-19th century, Orléans gradually
lost its monopoly of the vinegar market
and vinegar producers started closing
their doors.
In the early 21st century, only Martin-
Pouret survived, the last house to perpet-
uate the ancestral know-how, but it was
stagnating. In 2019, enter Paul-Olivier
Claudepierre and David Matheron, two
entrepreneurs passionate about gastrono-
my searching for a “sleeping beauty”.
They bought Martin-Pouret from
Jean-Francois Martin, an heir of this
vinegar dynasty. Their objective: to dust
off the company using more dynamic
marketing and make this emblem of
gastronomy shine, both in France and
abroad. And, to revive the almost forgot-
ten profession of master vinegar-maker,
as wine vinegar today only represents 6
to 7% of vinegar sales in France.
With its twenty employees, including a
master vinegar-maker who has been with
the company for 25 years, Martin-Pouret
has found a new lease of life. In addition
to vinegars, other vinegar-based products
Clockwise, from above: vinegar with notes of caramel, vanilla, such as mustard, gherkins, ketchups and
vinegars, mustards and candied fruits, all balanced by a mayonnaises have been added to its
and pickles from the beautiful acidity. The result is just excep- product range.
Martin-Pouret range; tional.” An exceptional vinegar indeed, it Also, the company will soon leave the
vinegar being bottled is used by great chefs such as three- two-centuries-old workshops for new
on the production starred Pierre Gagnaire, who developed premises on the outskirts of Orléans
line; David Matheron his grandmother’s chicken recipe using where a second boutique will open.
and Paul-Olivier it. In Blois, in his two-starred Fleur de “But one of the challenges is the
Claudepierre, the
entrepreneurs who
Loire restaurant, chef Christophe Hay, a
great user of Matin-Pouret vinegars, says:
product’s image,” says Paul-Olivier
Claudepierre, a food industry veteran.
reawakened this
Orléans gastronomic
“They’re one of those unique and excep-
tional products that I’m proud to have in
“In people’s minds, vinegar is a product
lacking nobility. It’s something that’s for-
“sleeping beauty” my territory.”
The French chemist and microbiologist
gotten in the back of the cupboard
because we don’t realise the importance
Louis Pasteur, who analysed the produc-
tion process of this vinegar in 1867,
good vinegar can bring to the kitchen.
Our whole approach is to tell people: be
careful with the vinegar you use
because, for a few extra euros, it
can make a huge difference on
your plate.”
One of the ways of convincing
this public will be, on 11 and 12
June this year, the first Orléans
Vinegar Festival, organised by the
association Les Amis du Vinaigre
d’Orléans. Six renowned French
chefs will be invited, with the
help of Martin-Pouret’s master
vinegar-maker, to create the vine-
gar of their dreams. One year
later, after ageing, twelve bottles
will be auctioned off to the chari-
ty of their choice. The following
year, six new chefs will take up
the challenge.
“We make one of the best vine-
gars in the world,” says Paul-
Olivier Claudepierre. “We want
to show consumers that, with
good vinegar, you can make
something other than vinai-
grette. And, above all, that you
can buy the Hermès of vinegar
at an extremely affordable price.”
martin-pouret.com
June 2023 I French Living
Meet the producers
H
ervé Grangeon opened his
distillery in Passel (Oise)
after a 25-year long career
in distilling. He gained
his ‘Master Distiller’ title
in 2016.
“The idea was to start a craft distillery
doing each stage of the process by hand
in order to produce very high quality
spirits,” he says. He has obviously
achieved his aim; the distillery won
the Gold Medal for Single Malt at the
prestigious Salon International de l’Agri-
culture in Paris last year.
The name Ergaster comes from homo
ergaster, meaning working human – they
are thought to be the first to use tools to
cut meat up and skin animals. “I wanted
to go back to the idea of using organic
ingredients and doing everything by
hand, because whisky isn’t a necessity,
it’s pleasure. So we shouldn’t pollute the
planet in order to make it.”
He works with two colleagues, Roman
Doyet and Elodie Darque, who both
joined the distillery as apprentices.
“There is no specialised training centre
for distilling in France, so I trained them
myself.” Together they produce around
3,000 bottles of malt whisky and 2,000
bottles of gin a year.
As well as their range of malt whiskies,
they pick wild juniper berries by hand to
make their wild gin, producing three
varieties: Ascendance, Madagascar and
Herboriste. They are also working on
producing white rum later this year.
He explains the way spirits can be tasted
and appreciated. Distillers pay attention
to the distance between the nose and the
glass, the taste in the mouth, and in order
to produce a smooth, balanced whisky,
they evaluate the immediate effect of tast-
ing it (the attack), how it develops in the
mouth, the final taste, and the persistence
in the mouth.
“The flavours come from the ingredi-
ents, of course, and we only use organic
ingredients produced in France, and
also from the wooden barrels in which
it is matured.”
Hervé Grangeon runs one-day courses
(€250) for people wanting to learn more
details about distilling. “We go through
all the steps from the ingredients to label-
ling the bottles, and lunch is included.”
He also runs tours for groups of between
5-12 people (€10 per
person). Both must be
booked in advance
and can be conducted
in English.
Ergaster is sold at
the distillery’s bou-
tique, and on their
website, which also
gives details of
stockists.
distillerie-ergaster.
com/en/home
connexionfrance.com
Photos courtesy of La Maison des Abeilles
A wine industry in constant evolution
Jonathan Hesford reflects on ever-changing trends from both makers and drinkers
A year in the vineyard
L
ike all food and drink, wine
goes through trends. Although
it may seem like a traditional,
slowly changing, somewhat
fusty industry, it is actually
constantly evolving to meet customer
demands or find new customers. Also
wine writers are constantly trying to find
Cheese of new things to write about or a niche to
make their own.
the month:
When I was growing up in England,
there were a handful of popular brands
Arradoy that almost everyone seemed to drink.
Mateus Rosé, Blue Nun and Le Piat d’Or.
People didn’t know much about grape
varieties or wine regions and there was a
preference for sweeter wines. Lambrusco
and Liebfraumilch were hugely popular.
Photo: Fromage Arradoy
At parties there would always be a bottle
of Harvey’s Bristol Cream or Crofts
Original, a style of sweet Sherry made
purely for the UK market. Dry wines
were for Sunday lunch and even then
Basque country is the ver- the choice was generally limited to
dant homeland of some of Beaujolais, Bordeaux, Rioja or Chianti.
France’s finest brebis (un- When Australian and Californian
cooked ewe’s milk) cheeses, wines entered the UK market, customers
with AOC Ossau-Iraty had to learn about grape varieties.
clearly the best known. Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot and
Some manufacturers Chardonnay became types of wine. The
trade more under their own Yuppie generation turned away from
brand name, however, in- sweet wines and towards ‘more sophisti-
cluding Arrodoy, crafted by cated’ dry wines. The height of sophisti-
the Fromagerie des Bergers cation was Chardonnay. Parents even
in Saint Michel near Saint- named their children after it.
Jean-Pied-de-Port. New World wine producers wanted to
All milk is produced ex- recreate the oaky aromas of expensive
clusively by local ewes and white Burgundy. To save money, they
is collected within a 30km turned to oak chips instead of barrels.
radius of the dairy and the Wine writers started criticising “sawdust
cheese matured for a mini- flavoured” wines, leading to a brief trend
mum of three months. in ‘Unoaked Chardonnay’ but its demise
There’s only one way to was on the cards. Prime Minister John
enjoy this summertime
Major said his favourite wine was ABC –
favourite – with some rich
Anything But Chardonnay. The final
cherry jam, which many
nail in the coffin was Bridget Jones, sob-
Ossau-Iraty makers also
bing into her enormous glass of
make and sell on site.
Chardonnay.
Local speciality: However, varietal wines were the new
trend. After the excesses of Chardonnay,
Crème came a trend for the bland-tasting but
d’Anchoïade nice-sounding Pinot Grigio. Everyone
had their favourite grape and would
drink nothing else. British consumers
turned away from French wines because
they didn’t state the grape varieties on
the label. Wines made from grapes with
unpronounceable names like Mourvèdre,
Photo: Barnier Olives
Viognier and Gewürtzrtaminer
were doomed.
Trends in grape varieties are often
based on false premises. Very few people
“
With June’s prolonged
sunny evenings comes the
joy of the outdoor apéro,
the early evening social
nibbles-and-drinks treat
for friends and neighbours.
Looking beyond the Orange wine is seen as
staples – crisps, nuts and
thinly sliced saucisson sec part of the alternative
– why not give your toasts
(toasted slices of baguette) category of wine.
a touch of seaside elegance
with a generous layer of While still rare in
good anchoïade cream?
This blend of salted supermarkets, it
anchovies, olive oil, vinegar,
garlic and a little lemon has hit the lists of
is also great as a dip for
crudités (vegetable sticks). trendy restaurants
Wine and Cheese 15
can identify the grape variety when they
taste a wine blind. Nor do they appreci-
ate the difference that climate and wine-
making style can have on wines made
from the same grape. Most wrongly
assume that it is the grape variety that
makes a wine dry or sweet.
The popularity of rosé has returned,
after years of it being seen as just a fun,
summer drink. The resurgence was
driven by Provence producers whose
wines, made primarily from Cinsault,
have a pretty, pale salmon-pink hue. In a
desire to achieve that colour, producers
in other regions, using other grapes,
employ quite aggressive winemaking
techniques such as picking very early,
adding decolorizing agents and high
levels of sulphites. This can result in a
chemical-tasting wine and I wonder
when consumers will realise that colour
is not as important as flavour.
Sugar is back again. Semi-sweet red
wines were historically popular in north-
ern Italy and Eastern Europe but were
never taken seriously by wine connois-
seurs. In the USA, there has been a wave
of sweet red wines such as Barefoot and
Apothic, which has taken over the
best-seller sector of the market.
Even popular brands of “dry”
wines like Oyster Bay,
Yellow Tail and Blossom
Hill have between six and
12 grams of sugar per litre
added to them.
The overlying trend is
that people are drinking
less wine, especially young
adults. In a desire to reduce
alcohol intake, people are also
turning away from big, powerful wines
and seeking out lighter, lower alcohol
ones. In general, wine consumers are
buying better, or more expensive wines,
often choosing to spend more to drink
Organic and Natural wines.
Originally aiming to swing the pendu-
lum away from the over-worked block-
buster wines favoured by American wine
critic Robert Parker, Natural wine not
only has to be made from organically
grown grapes, but it also aims to avoid
almost all the additives and processes
used to produce the highly consistent,
technically-perfect industrial wines that
win medals in competitions and fill the
supermarket shelves around the world.
While this sounds like a welcome
return to traditional values and meth-
ods, avoiding intervention during the
winemaking can result in wines that
smell and taste nothing like traditional
Recent wine trends include
celebrity-backed brands by
the likes of Kylie Minogue
and, inset, the orange wine
renaissance by makers
such as Gérard Bertrand
ones. Those alternative flavours, com-
bined with glugability, have won a large
following. Today, every French city
boasts a number of hipster wine-bars
that only serve Natural wines with labels
featuring cartoons, puns and witty slo-
gans, rather than crests, châteaux and
fancy script.
A spin-off from the Natural movement
is Orange Wine. This isn’t wine made
from oranges. It is made by fermenting
white grapes with their skins and judi-
cious exposure to oxygen. It results in
amber-coloured wines which have aro-
mas of bruised apples, marmalade and
wood varnish with a slightly bitter taste.
They have been made in parts of Italy,
Slovenia and Georgia for centuries but
were never very popular. Orange wine
isn’t really Natural or necessarily made
from organic grapes but is seen as part
of that alternative category of wine.
While still rare in supermarkets and
regular wine merchants, it has hit the
lists of trendy restaurants, partly because
of its ability to match Asian flavours.
At the other end of the spectrum, con-
sumers are willing to spend more to buy
wines endorsed by celebrities. In
the last decade there have
been dozens of wine brands
launched by TV hosts,
actors and pop stars.
While Brad Pitt actually
owns the Provencal
estate which makes his
Miraval rosé, others have
very little to do with the
production of the wine.
As a winemaker, it is
frustrating to see that people
are willing to pay through the nose for
very poorly-rated wine brands created
by the likes of Graham Norton, Kylie
Minogue, Cameron Diaz and Drew
Barrymore. Thankfully in France,
these are few and far between, perhaps
because when actor Gerard Depardieu,
a professed wine connoisseur, launched
his own brand it was widely ridiculed
by the trade.
Every new trend in wine is dismissed
by connoisseurs and traditionalists as a
passing fad but many of them linger on
for years, selling vast numbers of bottles
for those producers that ride the wave.
Jonathan Hesford has a Postgraduate
Diploma in Viticulture and Oenology
from Lincoln University, New Zealand
and is the owner, vigneron and wine
maker of Domaine Treloar in the
Roussillon. www.domainetreloar.com
 16 Interiors
A gorgeous guesthouse in Bordeaux
Opened just a year ago,
La Maison Course is a
seriously chic hideaway
for anyone considering
a Bordeaux city break.
Owner Florence Féron
revelas her interiors
and renovation tips
A
stylish chambre d’hôtes with-
in the refined, elegant walls
of a sumptuous 19th century
Bordeaux townhouse, has
become the go-to address
for citybreakers seeking a suave sojourn in
refined environs.
Guesthouse La Maison Course, which
offers five tastefully decorated rooms, as
well as a roof terrace and heated swim-
ming pool, is the passion project of owner
Florence Féron, who fell in love with the
property – which was already being run
as a B&B – just two years ago. “I felt a
very strong connection. It just seemed so
obvious that this was where I belonged and
a place where I could build the ideal con-
ditions where guests would combine their
spirits, hearts, bodies and souls,” she says.
As well as its chic yet cosy rooms, mas-
sage parlour and hammam, there are also
shared public areas such as the kitchen and
‘tasting’ area that represent both social and
convivial meeting points for guests and lo-
cals – where ‘Bordelais’ can come to enjoy
wine tastings and after work get-togethers.
Throughout the year, La Maison Course
also welcomes guests and local residents
alike to join regular holistic workshops
at its ‘Salamander Club’. Themes include
gourmet tastings, yoga, personal develop-
ment and self-realisation workshops, as
well as the chance to get to know amazing
artists, designers and craftspeople.
Connexion caught up with Florence to
find out how the renovation was under-
taken, to discover her design inspiration,
which she calls a blend of ‘old-style and off
the wall’, and to ask if she has any astuces
(tips) for any readers embarking upon
their own renovation project.
Where is your property located?
Maison la Course is located near the
Jardin Public, close to the centre of Bor-
deaux and the lively Chartrons district.
When and how did the project
find its beginnings?
Chance put this beautiful house in our
path during the summer of 2021. From
Photo: Olivier Criquioche
connexionfrance.com
the first visit, the whole family was
attracted by the place which was already a
guest house. We took over the guest house
at the end of December 2021 and after
an intense month of work, we opened
Maison la Course in February 2022.
What challenges did this
project pose for you?
French Living I June 2023
Photo: Olivier Criquioche
Photo: Robin Danos
[Kodak Ektachromth (cooking range)
What original features
Photo: Robin Danos
did you want to keep?
I wanted to retain the unique character
of this 19th century mansion.
How did you design the themes
and colours of the guest rooms?
The living rooms and stairwell are khaki
green. I wanted to keep a colour that stays
close to nature and one which also sym-
bolises balance, love and family ties.
I wanted to add touches of gold for the
dreamy and warm character of this col-
our. The rooms are often in the harmony
colours of blue, a colour associated with
peace and dreams.
What are your tips for finding crafts-
men for the construction work?
Look for tradesmen and trustworthy
people located nearby.
We always ask our readers for
design advice. What are the three
most important design considerations
for anyone renovating an apartment
or house, whether to live in or to
accommodate guests?
What’s important to me in a renovation
Clockwise from above: the The house was already exceptional. I project: deciding on a common thread
living rooms have a natural wanted to retain the luxury of the prop- and style for the entire home, even if the
feel in khaki green; one of erty, add a twist of whimsy, and free up renovation is going to be broken up into
the guest rooms, called space for the comfort of our guests. several stages.
Lasaia after a Central There were three main objectives for the Next, follow your heart and choose
American butterfly ‘as a renovation work: firstly, to infuse a little objects that are meaningful to you.
reminder that life is always extra soul into the decoration with new Then, at the end, add a touch of some-
on the move’; another wallpapers and fabrics, mainly chosen thing which ‘jars’ a little – something that
salon where breakfast is from Christian Lacroix and Jean-Paul is “not quite right”.
served; owner Florence Gaultier, and a selection of decorative
Féron; the stunning roof-
objects made by local designers.
top pool and terrace Next, we wanted to ensure that every-
one’s work was made a little easier – in
particular the preparation of breakfast,
thanks to a new kitchen area and the
handling of laundry.
Finally, we were keen to add a serenity
space with a comfortable massage room.
The important thing was to achieve
everything in a short time frame, given
the reopening date. The challenge was
met, despite the weather conditions that
impacted the renovation of the roof
terrace.
Did you have any experience
in design or interior design?
Only the personal experience of
renovating several residential homes.
June 2023 I French Living
Medieval saucepan symphonies
Art historian Dr Julia Faiers lifts
the lid on the medieval history
of protest pan bashing
T
he act of banging pots and
pans in the streets as a form of
political protest has made the
headlines recently following
President Macron’s unpopular
pension reform bill. But those who take to
the streets today with their saucepans and
wooden spoons may not realise that their
particular method of din making stretches
all the way back to medieval times, when
it was called charivari.
Back then, a culinary cacophony was
not used to express political dissent with
the elites of Paris, but to show disapproval
closer to home. A charivari involved a
group of people congregating outside
someone’s home, and launching into a
discordant concert, typically to protest
an ill-matched marriage.
This shows a gleeful disregard for
decorum. If the neighbours objected at
the age difference of a newly married
couple – frequently if an elderly man was
tying the knot with a young girl – they
wouldn’t whisper or spread gossip. Instead,
they would pick up a pan and bash the
living daylights out of it with whatever
cooking utensils they could find, suppos-
edly to shock some sense into the
mismatched pair.
Another target of the noise brigade
were widows and widowers who chose
to remarry ‘too’ soon after their spouse
had died. What passed for a respectable
waiting period before embarking on new
nuptials is unknown.
How long the hullabaloo lasted depend-
ed on the compliance of the targeted
couple. The crowd would apparently
hold the pair to ransom, stopping the
pan banging only if they were offered,
for example, drinks and refreshments.
Sometimes the couple were required by
the charivari crowd to ‘run the donkey’,
in which the woman would have to ride a
donkey facing the correct way, while the
man had to sit with his back to her, hold-
ing the donkey’s tail.
The origins of the term charivari are also
less than clear. The word appears in sever-
al other guises during the medieval period,
from the early fourteenth-century chaliva-
li, to chalvarium, calvali or charivalli. Some
scholars have suggested it came from the
ancient Greek chalibarion, which refers to
the noise made by striking brass or iron
2 1. At the top of this jolly manuscript illumination from the 14th-century Le Roman de Fauvel, the main character,
connexionfrance.com Hidden histories 17
1
vessels. Others point to its roots in Italy,
specifically the Piedmont area, where the
term chiavramarito survives to this day,
referring to dressing up as a goat while
making a racket.
Despite the hazy linguistic origins, chari-
varis are known to have taken place regu-
larly throughout France at the end of the
medieval period, particularly from 1350
to 1420. There are multiple references to
charivari in late-medieval religious docu-
ments. This type of noise pollution seems
to have riled the Church in particular.
In fifteenth-century Albi, for example,
the seneschal (a type of judicial officer)
fired off a furious memo (at least the
medieval equivalent, on parchment) ban-
ning the population from indulging in
the practice. Albi was in fact no stranger
to charivaris. The residents showed their
displeasure through pot bashing as early
as 1145, when an emissary of the pope was
greeted by a charivari on trying to enter
the city gates. So cross was Pope Eugene
III that two days later he sent his number
one weapon against dissent and
heresy, the formidable Cistercian monk
Bernard de Clairvaux, to quell the unruly
rabble in Albi.
While the medieval charivari was gener-
ally rowdy and chaotic, rarely did it cause
physical harm to the recipients. One
unfortunate incident, however, has gone
down in the history books for resulting in
the deaths of four members of the nobility.
Photo: Gallica, public domain
Rather than commoners causing a com-
motion with pots and pans, this deadly
charivari was performed in 1393 at the
Hôtel Saint-Pol in Paris in front of King
Charles VI and his court, as a form of
entertainment. The queen, Isabeau of
Bavaria, had organised a masked ball to
celebrate the remarriage of one of her
recently widowed ladies-in-waiting.
Based on several illuminations in fif-
teenth-century manuscripts that describe
3 4
what has been named the bal des ardents
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain
(ball of the burning men), scholars believe
the performers of the charivari were
Photo: British Library, public domain
dressed as savages or demons. The king’s
brother, the Duke of Orléans, accidentally
set fire to the stage hangings, causing the
fatal conflagration. In the twenty-first cen-
tury, however, President Macron has little
more to fear from the current charivaris
than a political headache.
Fauvel, an evil half-man, half-horse, approaches his new wife, the allegorical figure ‘Vainglory’, to consummate
the marriage. Below, the townspeople hold a raucous charivari in the streets.
2. An illumination from Jean Froissart’s Chronicles (c. 1470) depicting four hairy ‘wild men’ performing a chari-
vari before the French court in 1393 to celebrate the re-marriage of one of the queen’s ladies-in-waiting. In the
bottom right-hand corner stands the Duke of Orléans (in blue) next to his brother, King Charles VI. The duke
holds a flaming torch that will turn the festivities into tragedy.
Photo: British Library, public domain
3. This miniature, from a 1483 manuscript of Froissart’s Chronicles, also depicts the fatal charivari of 1393, known
as the Ball of the Burning Men. Here, a lady of the royal court tries to extinguish the flames engulfing one of the
performers by throwing her skirts over him.
4. A modern caricature of charivari by the early nineteenth-century French illustrator Jean Grandville, showing a
more imaginative array of instruments than pots and pans.
18 Puzzles connexionfrance.com French Living I June 2023

Bilingual cryptic crossword by Parolles

Answers are in French and English
Across Down
1 Extremely gutsy soldiers taking test involving 1 Complain about Penny getting flu in
love of spinning round (8) Rennes (6)
5 Father returning to face large unruly mob 2 Concerning an expression of annoyance over
shows poise in Nîmes (6) Monique’s delay (6)

9 Benefit of a hobby (8) 3 Aim to understand after volunteers join

resistance (6)

?
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10 Starts to act uneasily after a month in port 4 Novel reader isn’t dispassionate (10)
in Alaska (6)
6 American looking into horses with
11 A formal arrangement of flower beds in protuberant bellies (8)
Bristol and Bordeaux (8)
7 Worked in musical drama with Edward
12 Size of a book perhaps from the Bible found briefly (8)
behind court in the centre of Loos (6)
8 Plump French roue essentially cut by broken
14 Luc Besson’s at last making exceptionally bottle? Just the opposite (8)
neat film about space (10)
13 Tom, with good reason, cooked for an
18 Puppet from somewhere in South America epicure in Lyon (10)
hidden by Dickens’ doctor (10) 15 Willingly accepts a couple of emperor’s teeth
22 Regularly vague on value of French rake (6) straighteners (8)

23 Unusual fuss over retaining revolutionary as 16 Undecided on temper of French

Napoleon’s second-in-command (4-4) figurehead (5-3)
17 Agree to change after marijuana is found in
24 Sabine’s to tell of damaged cornet (6) Jean’s vegetable patch (8)
25 Male icon working for fuel supplier (4,4) 19 Bastien’s to isolate being the only one in
26 Petain’s to command regiment at first after Iran (6)
WWI battle in northern France (6) 20 First in support of article by a believer in the
existence of God (6)
27 Hidden diamonds discovered on south-
eastern island (8) 21 Upset when removed from goal (6)

French-themed crossword by John Foley

Note all answers are words or names associated with France
Across Down
2 National women’s football team (3,6) 1 Tiny irritating insect (4)
7 Cool place for 2 ‘Capital of Flanders’

Photo: MisterStock_shutterstock
storing wine (7) and of the Hauts-de-
Photo: REDAV_shutterstock
France region (5)
3 Look after or
take care of (7)
4 Bacon strip (6)
8 Energy or pep (5)
5 Larme ou pleur (7)
9 And 11 Lawyer and statesman who
proclaimed the Third Republic in 1870 (4,8) 6 Jules ________, composer whose work
includes the operas Manon and Werther (8)
10 Hearing organ (7)
8 Boisson amère – not just for afternoon (3)
12 Of hair, châtain colour (6)
11 See 9
14 Petite quantité d’un liquide (6)
13 Plante aromatique – delicious
17 Sports shoes (7) with tomatoes (7)
19 One of Normandy beaches for Allied D-Day 15 Sentiment de fierté (7)
landings this month in 1944 (4)
16 Blanc entre deux mots (6)
22 Partie arrière du pied (5)
18 Very long period of time (3)
23 Studio or workshop (7)
20 France’s longest river (5)
24 Dramatist best known for plays such
as Le Cid born this month in Rouen 21 Soft cheese named after the northern region
in 1606 (9) in which it originated (4)

Solve the clues then unscramble the shaded letters to reveal the codename for
Normandy landings 6 June 1944 (9,7)

Fun French facts Like our quiz?

2 Harry honour 3 Hair today, dry tomorrow Buy our quiz books
Photo: Georges Biard

1 Sing when you’re winning online at

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SINGER Alain Souchon, one of France’s best- connexionfrance.com
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June 2023 I French Living connexionfrance.com Puzzles 19
Toughnut No.No.16
Toughnut 2 – Scribo Crossmots
- Scribo Crossmots Five French Facts:
To complete these dual-language puzzles called ‘Toughnuts’ you need to translate the clue
These dual-language
and then decide wherepuzzlesthe
called ‘Toughnuts’
answer require
fits into you toTo
the grid. translate the first
help the clue and thenofdecide
letter where is
the answer
The next king of France?
the answer fits
provided. in the chance!
Bonne grid. To help the first letter of the answer is provided. Bonne chance! France is well into its Fifth Republic but a tiny minority of citizens think that the country
Find a location on the Monopoly board from the highlighted squares. would be better as a monarchy as soon as possible. During the political squabbles of the 1950s,
For more dual-language puzzles see www.crossmots.com Charles De Gaulle is said to have prophesied the imminent restoration of the monarchy but
A Au-dessus (5) changed his mind ten years later when he acquired quasi-royal powers as incoming president.
A Seuls (5) Should the day come when the French have had enough of republics, there will be a scrap

Alliance Royale_Facebook / Mark Tantrum_Wikimedia / Cyril Girault_Wikimedia / Lys-Jaune_Wikimedia / FC (Secrétariat de Louis de Bourbon, Duc d’Anjou)_Wikemedia
between rival factions. There are two serious claimants – they have even chosen their regal
A Amusé (6) names – and three other alternatives to take into consideration. Following the Salic law
A Cendre (3) (circa AD 500) only men can inherit the throne. By Nick Inman
A Terrible (5)
1 Louis XX aka Louis de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou is the claimant of the
B Hose (5) “legitimists” - people who don’t think there is any doubt about who is the
C Horns (6) rightful king. He traces his descent from Hugh Capet, 10th century king of
D Descriptifs (12) the Franks through Louis XIV to his father, “Aphonse II”, who died in a skiing
accident in 1989. He also has Queen Victoria and the Spanish dictator Francisco
D Unclothe (11)
Franco (his great grandfather) in his family tree. The elder of his twin sons,
D Ten (3) another Louis, is known as the Dauphin of France.
D Poussiéreux (5)
E Encyclopédie (12) 2 Jean IV aka Jean d’Orléans aka Prince Jean de France aka the Count of Paris
is the candidate for the House of Orléans. His claim derives from Louis-Philippe I
E Assay (5) who took the throne in the July Revolution of 1830 that supplanted the Bourbons.
É Stretch (6) The fact that Louis-Philippe was forced to abdicate in 1848 and flee to Britain
E Exact (5) (where he lived until 1850 under the name of Mr Smith) is not considered to
undermine his candidature.
I Individual (11)
I Intention (6) 3 Napoleon II aka Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoléon, is the Bonapartist
I Iles (7) contender for the crown, being a descendant of the Emperor’s nephew, Jérôme.
He also has Bourbon ancestors, which helps. Technically, it should be his father,
I Articles (5)
Charles, who is the heir apparent but he was cut out of the line of succession
L Niveau (5) by the family because he publicly espouses republican and democratic values.
M Conducted (5)
N Kernel (5)
4 Charles XI aka Charles III would be an outsider in the competition if he
decided to revise his lapsed claim. Back in the 14th century, Edward III of England
S Plus sûr (5) claimed to be the rightful heir to the land across the Channel on the death of his
S Saumon (6) uncle Charles IV of France. Successive English kings and queens asserted the claim
S Shampooing (7) until the Revolution, when France did away with the monarchy. But you never
know with genealogy – or rather you always know. Should a vacancy arise,
S Alors (2) wouldn’t it be cost effective to have one king for the two countries?
S Silky (6)
T Tissue (5) 5 To be decided (one of the above). The Alliance Royale is a political
movement that unites royalists using the ballot box. It wants to win the presidency
V Widow (5) and hold a referendum to decide between the competing claims above.

Test your knowledge of France

For all answers with our Connexion quiz
please turn to
Guess the region... French Living 1 Which sites are responsible for 20% of
French water use:
France has 13 regions. Every issue we pick a spot, page 24 A - Nuclear power stations,
B - Farms,
all you need to do is work out which region it is in... C - Reservoirs where water evaporates?
2 Which one is a cake?
Clue: Cream of the crop A - Paris-Nice,
B - Paris-Brest,
C - Paris-Roubaix?
3 What is the 49-3?
A - Last England-France rugby score,
B - An article in the French Constitution,
C - A Seine-et-Marne commune?
4 When did French women get the right
to vote?
A - 1848,
B - 1945,
C - 1944?
5 Why did Paris Préfecture de Police give artist
Rosa Bonheur permission to wear trousers?
A - To protect her modesty while working
at height,
B - To paint undisturbed in a male
environment,
C - For medical reasons?
6 She appeared in the first French Masterchef
on TF1 in 2010 and this year gained a
Michelin star for her Gard restaurant,
who is she?
7 Michelin starred chef Philippe Etchebest
was criticised for putting what in a quiche
Lorraine?
8 What costs as little as €0.22 in a supermarket
or around €1 in a boulangerie and was last
year put on Unesco’s intangible heritage list?
9 Until the 17th century this was a meaty
sauce but is nowadays a salad dressing
made with vinegar, olive oil and mustard
plus seasoning, what is it?
10 How did gendarmes catch four youths who
had thrown eggs at vehicles on the A20
motorway in Tarn-et-Garonne earlier
this year?
11 Conductor Georg Solti died in Antibes in
1997 but in 1998 set a record that lasted
until 2023 – what was it and who broke it?
12 Georges Guétary and Gene Kelly sing “S
wonderful! S marvellous!” in the opening
lines from a song in a 1951 musical…
which one?
13 The same song was also a Fred Astaire and
Audrey Hepburn finale in a 1957 film …
which film?
14 By what name is Héloïse Adélaïde Letissier
better known?
15 New York folk duo The Books produced a
mini-CD of music in 2004 that could be
heard in only one place – where?
16 What is the unique selling point of clothing
label Populère?
17 The French football team is called Les
Bleus for their blue strips – but have they
always been blue?
18 What would you do with a béret basque?
19 What name was given to radical militants
in the French revolution in 1792?
20 Created in 1973, this French clothing label
took its name from Les Trois Petits Cochons
Disney tale – what is it?
Profile
Quiz by Ken Seaton who has lived and
worked as a journalist in France since 2009
20 Reviews
French films
A critical eye on ciné
releases and classics
Pauline à la plage
Dir: Eric Rohmer
NOTHING gets one in the mood for a
summer seaside holiday in France quite
like Eric Rohmer’s 1983 romantic come-
dy, which is a sun-soaked, heady blend of
relationship angst, cross-purposes and
philosophising – during some lengthy
conversations – over love's many possibi-
lites and dangers.
Before becoming a director, Rohmer was
a teacher then a journalist and helmed the
influential film journal Cahiers du cinéma
from 1957 to 1963 (counting Jean-Luc
Godard and François Truffaut among his
colleagues). It was his 1969 film Ma nuit
chez Maud (My Night at Maud’s) – one
of his acclaimed ‘Moral Tales’, see also
Claire's Knee and Love in the Afternoon –
that placed him at the top table of auteur
cinema. In 1983, and at the top of his
game, he made Pauline à la Plage, the
third of six ‘Comedy and Proverb’ films
which, typically for Rohmer, features a
cast of teens and twenty-somethings.
The titular teenage Pauline (Amanda
Langlet) is on holiday in Normandy with
her older cousin (an effervescent screen
presence in Arielle Dombasle) navigating
a blossoming romance while the grown-
ups engage in manipulative power games.
In retrospect, you will see that the film’s
opening proverb sums up Pauline's
open-minded approach on how best to
conducts oneself: ancient poet Chrétien de
Troyes' (born in 1135!) wonderful quote:
‘Qui trop parole, il se mesfait’ (‘A wagging
tongue bites itself ’).
Excellent advice from an excellent film
that would serve as a great springboard
to explore Rohmer's back catalogue.
Available to Stream on Apple TV.
Cinema: Jeanne du Barry (dir. Maïwenn)
Johnny Depp stars as Louis XV in this his-
torical drama about his relationship with
the eponymous social climber/courtesan.
Mind their language: phrases that kids swear by
Language notes
O
ne of the great challenges of
raising small children, be
that in France, or anywhere
else, is controlling the kind
of language they are exposed
to, and keeping a tightish rein on them
hearing too many swear words (gros mots).
At home, there is nobody to blame but
oneself if there is an occasional slip.
But once they go out the front door each
morning, to go to school, childcare, sports
practice or to visit relatives, all bets are off,
and one places trust in those in charge not
to overstep the bad language mark.
Your language noter's own experience
with a bilingual five-year-old in this
regard is often very amusing, even if
certain inappropriate words and phrases
make their way home thanks to a kindly,
elderly relative with a penchant for drop-
connexionfrance.com
Music
Etienne Daho Tirer la nuit sur les étoiles
BORN in Oran, French
Algeria, 67 years ago,
singer-songwriter Etienne
Daho has enjoyed a distin-
guished 15-album career
with hit records from 1981
to the present day. He is
known for his deep voice
and lush orchestration,
layered with the latest elec-
tronic sounds thanks to an
Books - The 20 minute review
We read recent releases with a link to France. To be fair, each gets 20 minutes’ reading time
Perestroika in Paris,
Jane Smiley,
Knopf €15.95;
ISBN: 978-0525520351
JANE Smiley's whimsical novel
Perestroika in Paris is the perfect
antidote to modern times.
Perstroika is a race horse who
wanders off and ends up explor-
ing Paris with a pointer called
Frida, a pair of cheeky ducks, a
raven, and a boy called Etienne
who lives with his ancient
grandmother.
Reading this requires the will-
ing suspension of disbelief; we
all know that if a dog wandered
into a deli with a banknote in its
mouth the assistant would not-
know what to put in the bag -
but, hey,
this is fiction so let's just go with the
flow here. There are no baddies, no
Editor’s
enemies, just the looming probability
that they will be discovered and
choice
dragged back to real life.
In the meantime, however, the
friends explore the City of Light,
enjoying all the simple pleasures of
friends being together. And yes, it all
ends happily ever after.
Jane Smiley has written numerous novels and won the Pulitzer
Prize for A Thousand Acres. She has also written several books
for young adults. She has been awarded the EN Center USA
Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature. It is no surprise
then, that under the charm of her Parisian tale there
lurks a delicate exploration of loneliness and survival.
This is a perfect read for anyone who loves animals, or Paris.
Although it is an adult novel, it would be perfectly suitable for a
12 year-old; in fact it is the sort of book you read over and over.
Especially during times of trouble.
ping the P-bomb (his occasional use of
putain is not exactly unsurprising as this is
probably the most common swear word in
France). Add to this his very commonly
employed end-of-sentence suffix, the fairly
rude ‘con’ (it peppers conversation in the
Toulouse area) – and you have the perfect
“
storm for an effing and jeffing toddler.
One day recently, however, a more
creative and poetic-sounding combination
emerged from the little larynx as the salad
bowl was passed around – a word I had
never heard before. Out popped, with elo-
How sweet, quent precision when refering to some
playground rival or other, the word “un
I thought, casse-burnes”. How sweet, i thought, that
sounds nice – we have a budding
we have a Baudelaire here, an eloquent little poet.
But, alas no – les burnes refer, in the most
budding vulgar manner, to ‘balls’ and a casse-burnes
is a ‘ball-breaker’. I looked the word up,
Baudelaire asked him to use ‘casse-bonbons’ instead
and made a mental note to have a word
on our hands with the sweary septuagenarian.
French Living I June 2023
ever-changing roster of contemporary pro-
ducers. Among those who have collaborated
with Daho or remixed his work are Jane
Birkin, Marianne Faithfull, Françoise Hardy,
Charlotte Gainsbourg plus Arthur Baker,
Air, OMD and William Orbit.
In short, he has credibility beyond French
shores in abundance and is effortlessly ele-
gant and serious as a writer-performer.
Among his biggest hit singles is 1984's
Weekend à Rome, which was adapted by UK
A Woman of No Importance,
Sonia Purnell,
Viking €29.92;
ISBN: 978-1984877611
THIS biography reads like a
thriller; American socialite
Virginia Hall joined
Winston Churchill's shad-
owy Special Operations
Executive during WW2 and
became the first Allied
woman working behind
enemy lines. Despite her
prosthetic leg, she was so
efficient that at one time she was top of the
Gestapo's wanted list. They apparently called
her 'the most dangerous of all Allied spies'.
The book is a breathless retelling of how
Virginia Hall established spy networks, received
weapons and explosives by parachute drop, and
rallied the Resistance. Eventually her cover was
blown and to avoid arrest she hiked over the
Pyrenees into Spain. She returned to France
after D-Day however to continue the job of
pushing the occupying forces out of France.
Sonia Purnell has done a fine job of tracking
the movements of an enigmatic woman, brave
but completely mysterious, who blazed a trail
not only for women but for disabled people
too. After the war was over, she worked for the
CIA until she finally retired in the 1960s.
Anyone would enjoy this book, but it will
especially appeal to those fascinated by spies
and spying. What kind of person makes a good
spy? What is spycraft really? How do people
manage to change their appearance and pass
through checkpoints un-noticed? It also looks
at the role of spies in the modern world.
The most extraordinary aspect of the whole
tale however, is how come we never heard of
Virginia Hall before?
Granny knows best: bedtime bores
The French you don’t
learn at school
A
linguistic deep dig, conduct-
ed by author Jean Maillet in
2021, resulted in a super
book for etymology lovers
(it is currently in French
only): 365 expressions préférées de notre
grand-mère (Granny's 365 favourite
expressions, published by Les Editions de
l'Opportun).
The author unearthed and explained
some of the long-lost, charming or cheeky
expressions uttered by French people of a
certain age back in the day (à l'époque).
Among our favourites is the marvellous-
ly intriguing ‘Triste comme un bonnet de
nuit’ (translated in English as ‘Sad like a
night cap’ – the cap here meaning a fetch-
ing little hat, as opposed that one last tip-
ple, or boisson alcoolisée, before dodo).
band Saint Etienne for their hit single He's
on the phone. His latest album, Tirer la nuit
sur les étoiles, was released in May and is his
first for six years. It was recorded at Abbey
Road Studios in London as well as in Paris
and Saint-Malo and features a duet with
Vanessa Paradis.
The stylish performer will be heading out
on a nationwide arena tour in November
and December this year. Check dates at
dahofficial.com
A Bite Sized History of
France, Stéphane Hénaut
and Jeni Mitchell, The New
Press, €13.60; ISBN:
978-1620972519
THIS is the perfect
combination of
history, culture and
foodie factoids,
written by a French
cheesemonger and
an American expat
academic.
Tales include the
crêpe that doomed Napoleon, the cas-
soulet which won a war, and the rebel-
lions sparked by bread and salt. Did
you know, by the way, that Catherine
de' Medici adored artichokes?
Meandering from the Romans to
the modern day, the bite-sized chunks
of history cover Roquefort and
Camembert, absinthe and oysters,
plus social and political trends. It even
dips into the darker side of French
history; the wars and conquests. But
be warned, it would be impossible to
read this book without regular trips to
the kitchen for refreshments.
This book would appeal to anyone
interested in France, whether living
here already or still at the stage of
dreaming about it. Having said all
that, A Bite Sized History of France is
definitely written from a liberal view-
point, making the case for tolerance of
Muslims in France, for example. There
is no attempt to sit on the fence. But
then history without politics is like a
tomato without salt, so perhaps that's
a good thing. Read and discuss!
The person being referred to as ‘sad’
when Granny used to mention them in
this context was not necessarily unhappy
or sorrowful (malheureux, triste), but
rather a party-pooper or averse to fun.
Back in the 17th century when the
phrase first appeared, some people would
have very short hair in order to wear elab-
orate wigs, and would then wear a night
cap – just like the elderly – at bed time.
Thus the night cap came to symbolise a
certain dull, early-to-bed lifestyle.
Today, a more conventional way to
describe someone as boring is to call
them une personne ennuyeuse. Which
brings us to a common error when using
two similar adjectives that both mean
‘boring’ – ennuyant and ennuyeux.
Ennuyant implies a temporary or fleet-
ing sense of boredom, ie ‘Cette conversa-
tion est ennuyante’ (this conversation is
boring), while ennuyeux implies a person
or situation that induces a more constant
sense of dullness, worry or annoyance.
June 2023 I French Living connexionfrance.com Shopping/Did you know? 21
QUOI DE NEUF?

Top: Shutterstock/ EQRoy; painting: Jacques Laumosnier, Musée de Tessé

New products, designs and ideas from around France

The shared possession, Pheasant Island; below,

Louis XIV of France and Philip IV of Spain meeting on
Pheasant Island in 1659 for the Treaty of the Pyrenees.

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Tiny Basque island is

Soule), the epicentre of espadrille making in France, Art of Soule Cîroc, whose production
designs and manufactures slip-on summer footwear from braided method undergoing five
jute fibres, featuring fun, vibrant colours and eclectic prints. distillations uses grapes

both French and Spanish

Models pictured, Biarritz Grande Plage and Palma Pink, €49. instead of the usual grain
Browse and buy at the Biarritz boutique or online. or potatoes (making it glu-
artofsoule.com/en ten-free), was created in
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from a family of Bordeaux l’identification de l’Ile des Faisans.
wine-growers. The spirits
Did you know? The island was first used as a prison.

are crafted using grapes
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Cîroc red berry flavour
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ries of a large family estate where the founder’s
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Best known for creating a wide range of picnic
hampers, backpacks and blankets, they also make
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from wheat fibres with a bamboo cover (featuring a
silicone seal to prevent leaks). Currently listed on
the website at half-price (€7.45).
www.lesjardinsdelacomtesse.com
F
rance is officially 675,418
square kilometres when the
metropolitan area and all of
its overseas territories and
island possessions are taken
into account. However, the territory
shrinks or gains 0,000682 square kilo-
metres every six months.
This is because of Pheasant Island, a
tiny island on the Bidassoa river and a
joint possession – also known as a con-
dominium – of both Spain and France
since the 17th century. It is 210 metres
long and 40 metres wide.
Authority is given to Spain from
February 1 to July 31 before power is
transmitted to France from August 1
to January 31. Only during the Covid
period, when the island remained a
Spanish property for two years, was
this diplomatic routine broken.
The island is forbidden to the public
but there was a time when it was open
to visitors during France’s national her-
itage day. This ceased more than 10
years ago, according to Odile Artola,
guide at Hendaye’s tourism office.
Historians do not agree on the origin
of its name, some having traced it to
the presence of bustards and pee-wees
(magpie larks) on the small island
while others have concluded it came
from the French word faisance (mean-
ing a travel toll).
The term faisants, from the old
French reference to the activities of a
pontonnier (someone working on a
pontoon), was excluded from the list of
possible explanations by historian Jean
Francis I – prisoner of Charles Quint –
was exchanged for two of his oldest
sons on March 15, 1526. These Enfants
de France title-holders and Eléonore de
Habsbourg were exchanged for two
million crowns in 1530.
However, the island’s fame is mainly
built on the Treaty of the Pyrenees, an
agreement between Spain and France
signed on November 7, 1659 to end
a war that had started in 1635, and
which included a marriage agreement
in which Philip IV of Spain married
his daughter to Louis XIV.
The island is also sometimes referred
to as the ‘island of conferences’ for the
24 diplomatic meetings that were
conducted between August 13 and
November 7, 1659 whilst concluding
the treaty.
The condominium status was granted
by the treaty of Bayonne on December
2, 1856 before a convention signed on
March 27, 1901 between both coun-
tries, specified by police and judicial
authorities.
It is governed by regional marine
captains that are referred to as
viceroys, a constitutional anomaly
under France’s governance since
France is headed by a president –
unlike Spain, which is governed by
a king.
The only way to see the island is
through the boardwalk on each bank
of the Bidassoa. It is mostly composed
of trees, however, and uninhabited.
A stone table honouring the treaty
of Pyrenees and a commemorative
plaque installed under Napoleon III
are featured.
22 History connexionfrance.com French Living I June 2023

From Nazi war camp survivor

to fêted anti-poverty campaigner
Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz came from an illustrious family but, as Samantha David reveals, after surviving the
horrors of Ravensbrück concentration camp for women, spent the rest of her life fighting to eliminate extreme poverty

G
eneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz

Photos: left, Abaca / Alamy and right, Serge Mouraret / Alamy

(1920-2002) joined the
Resistance when she was only
19 years old. She survived the
war, despite spending 15
months in Ravensbrück, the notorious
women-only concentration camp. She spent
the rest of her life fighting for the under-
dog, eventually becoming one of only six
women buried in the Panthéon.
She was born in the remote Cévennes
mountains, where her father Xavier, a
mining engineer, was the older brother of
Charles de Gaulle. Her mother Germaine
was the daughter of novelist Pierre
Gourdon. The family was comfortably well
off, educated, cultured and liberal.
Soon after she was born, the family
moved to Sarre on the German border,
where there was a large mining complex.
As a direct result of the in utero death of
her unborn child, Germaine de Gaulle
died of septicaemia when Geneviève
was barely five years old. As a result of this
tragedy, young Geneviève grew very close
to her father. She found it hard to accept
her new step-mother when he re-married
five years later. She was a good student,
however, and became so accomplished in
German that her father got her read Mein
Kampf in its original language.
In a referendum of 1935, when she was
15, the population of Sarre voted to
become German. (The territory had been
held by France since the Versailles Treaty
at the end of WW1, but has remained part
of Germany since the referendum vote).
After the vote, all resident French
citizens were ordered to leave the territory.
The De Gaulle family moved to Rennes,
where Geneviève finished school and
enrolled to read history at Rennes univer-
sity. She completed her first year.
In June 1940, when France was occupied,
she joined the Resistance using the name
Germaine Lecomte. Early activities includ-
ed tearing down German posters and Nazi when the Red Army arrived at the camp in Above, Geneviève de Français, a political party launched by her
symbols. She and her fellow students also April 1945. She spent her new freedom Gaulle-Anthonioz famous uncle, Charles de Gaulle.
distributed anti-Nazi leaflets that convalescing in Switzerland, where she met (second from left) In 1958, her husband became director of
denounced the Vichy government and her future husband, Bernard Anthonioz, a during her symbolic artistic creation at the Ministry of Culture.
the occupation. well-connected, educated, cultured man burial at the Through his work and contacts she was
In 1941, she moved to Paris, where she who had also worked with the Resistance. Panthéon in Paris, introduced to Father Joseph Wreskinski,
enrolled at the Sorbonne and continued They married in 1946 and went on to have in 2016 a Polish chaplain working in the slum
her clandestine activities, mainly in the four children together. quarters of Noisy-le-Grand, north of Paris.
form of writing illicit pamphlets and pass- Her experiences in prison profoundly He had been born in 1917 in a refugee
ing on information. She was betrayed and marked her approach to life. Back in camp in Paris. His mother was Spanish,
subsequently arrested by the Gestapo, who France, Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz his father was Polish but held a German

realised that she was carrying false identity
papers. She revealed her real identity (as a
member of the de Gaulle family), and this
may have saved her life, as she was ear-
marked for ransom rather than execution.
Initially held in France, in February 1944
she was transferred to Germany and
imprisoned in Ravensbrück. She formed
close friendships with four other
Resistance workers: Jacqueline Péry d’Alin-
court, Suzanne Hiltermann, Anise Postel-
Vinay and Germaine Tillion, all of whom
also survived their incarceration.
In October 1944, Himmler ordered her
to be placed in solitary confinement while
an attempt was made to ransom her back
to France. She was eventually liberated
became president of the Association nation-
ale des anciennes déportées et internées de la
Résistance. She felt that it was important to
record what people had suffered, as well as
celebrate the support and friendship the
prisoners had offered each other.
Despite that, it took more than fifty years
before she felt ready to recount her own
experiences, in her memoir La Traversée de
la Nuit, published in 1998. In it, she detailed
the horrors of the three-day
cattle-truck train journey to Germany, the
guards’ cruelty, and in particular the condi-
tions endured by children in the camp.
After WW2, she was deeply involved with
the prosecution of war criminals,
and also in the Rassemblement du Peuple
“
passport, and the entire family had been
interned in France during WW1. He grew
up in extreme poverty, and began his path
to priesthood at the age of 17. He was
finally ordained in 1946.
As a priest, his self-imposed task was to
help the poorest of the poor. He went into
slums and down mines and caught TB.
When you have He went on a pilgrimage to Rome, where
he inspected the hellish conditions in
experienced Sicilian salt mines. After returning to
Paris, in 1957 he founded the international
absolute evil, ATD Quart Monde (Aide à Toute Détresse)
which is today known as Agir Tous pour la
the only response Dignité Quart Monde. He coined the
phrase Quart Monde (Fourth World) in
is fraternity 1969 to describe the bottom layer of the
June 2023 I French Living
world’s social pyramid; those people with
the least money, rights, and dignity.
He insisted on taking Geneviève de
Gaulle-Anthonioz to visit the slums of
Noisy-le-Grand. “On the faces of these
men and women I recognised the same
look on the faces of my friends in
Ravensbrück when we had no more hope,
when we were exhausted by the daily
struggle, and you tell yourself that it can
only end in death...” she said.
“I would never compare a slum to a
concentration camp – people were not
there to be killed. But when you don’t have
water to wash in, no place to sleep, no
access to culture, you have experiences
which are not far from it. I know the
humiliation of feeling bad. I recognised
the smell of my friends at the camp among
the homeless in Noisy-le-Grand. I knew it
well, I had smelt like that myself. When
you have experienced absolute evil, the
only response is fraternity.”
The visit changed the direction of her
life. As president of the French branch of
ATD Quart Monde from 1964 to 1998,
she was dedicated to eradicating extreme
poverty in France.
In 1960, she joined a committee set
up by the famous writer Simone de
Beauvoir to defend Djamila Boupacha,
a young Algerian woman who had been
arrested by the French Army on suspicion
of plotting a terrorist attack during the
Algerian War. While incarcerated, Mrs
Boupacha was tortured, raped, beaten and
electrocuted multiple times over many
months. The defence committee shone a
spotlight on the illegal and brutal practices
of the French authorities in Algeria, and
connexionfrance.com
eventually saw Mrs Boupacha released Above, Geneviève de
from custody in 1962. Gaulle-Anthonioz
In 1982, Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz being interviewed in
testified at the trial of Nazi war criminal 1987 during the trial
Klaus Barbie. of Nazi war criminal
In 1988, she joined the Conseil Klaus Barbie
Economique et Social, and spent a decade
lobbying ceaselessly for the adoption of
the anti-poverty law, the Loi d’Orientation
Contre La Grande Pauvreté, which was
eventually passed in 1998. This law led to
the establishment of the Revenu Minimum
d’Insertion (RMI), the Couverture Maladie
Universelle (CMU), and the Droit au
Logement Opposable (DALO), all of which
aim to prevent exclusion and destitution.
She was awarded the Grand-Croix de la
Légion d’Honneur, the Croix de Guerre
1945-1939, the Médaille de la Résistance
Française avec Rosette, and the Prix des
Droits de l’Homme.
She died in 2002, and was buried at
Bossey (Haute-Savoie). A memorial plaque
was installed on the house where she lived
in Paris. She was so highly regarded that
she was even considered for canonisation,
though this was not pursued.
In 2015, President François Hollande
announced that Geneviève de Gaulle-
Anthonioz’s remains were to be trans-
ferred to the Panthéon. Her old friend
from Ravensbrück, Germaine Tillion,
was also to be reinterred there.
The families decided not to allow their
ancestors’ remains to be moved, however,
and therefore the two women symbolically
entered the Panthéon in May 2016.
The coffins used contained only earth
from the cemeteries where the respective
women were laid to rest.
Local history 23
Plogoff’s epic Breton battle
against nuclear power site
Annaliza Davis reveals how the people of France’s westernmost
village, Plogoff, came together in 1980 to resist a national plan to
build a nuclear power station near their traditional Breton village
Secret history of villages
S
itting at the very tip of Brittany,
Plogoff is famous for being
France’s westernmost village and
for winning an epic David-and-
Goliath battle against the
authorities in 1980.
Although part of France, Brittany has a
personality distinct from the rest of the
country: Celtic, wild and somewhat stuck
in its ways. The further west you travel,
the more this personality intensifies into
Finistère then the Cap Sizun and finally
arriving at Plogoff.
The Land’s End of France, this is a
rugged landscape of granite cliffs and
windswept gorse, its men traditionally
working at sea or on the land while the
women kept everything running at home.
Over 800,000 visitors a year are
drawn to the Pointe du Raz
coastal point as well as the
beaches, coastal paths
and quaint harbours.
It is a gem of
vast landscapes,
clear waters and
unspoilt natural
heritage.
So you can
imagine the
shock in
December 1974
when villagers heard
that a nuclear reactor
would be built here. The
decision-makers in Paris
felt that this remote spot would
be ideal, and that its simple, rural
occupants would be thankful for the
resulting housing estates, leisure centres
and new employment opportunities. They
were very much mistaken. Locals rejected
the plans immediately, leading to a seven-
year battle that is still talked about today.
Raised in Plogoff, Fañch Le Henaff was
a teenager at the time. He said that
Bretons were already fighting to protect
their natural heritage against offshore oil
spills, pesticides and pollution; the nuclear
plant posed an even bigger threat.
“For us, it was about more than the
Photo left: Annaliza Davis, and inset, Archives départementales Finistè
environment. Decisions were being made
unilaterally in Paris with no consultation;
this was a cultural battle to defend
Brittany and our way of life, but above
all to defend democracy. That is what
should inspire others, and the fight has to
continue in order to keep the land healthy
for future generations.”
At the time, there were fewer than 2,000
villagers, yet the momentum of their
protests forced a six-week public enquiry
in 1980. Streets were blocked, official
documents burned, barricades built and
rebuilt, gendarmes were brought in, but
the people stood their ground.
In May 1980, a mini festival drew
100,000 supporters from all over France
(see inset photo). The response prompted
politician François Mitterand to promise
that if he were elected, he would cancel
the project: and the nuclear plans were
officially scrapped on December 12, 1981.
As elsewhere, recent decades have
seen youngsters leave to pursue
city careers, but since the
pandemic, the village
has benefited from a
rejuvenating influx
of younger
residents. Many
older houses have
been renovated,
and new
businesses are
flourishing.
Thanks to the
resilience of its
villagers, Plogoff
maintains its quiet
dignity and rugged beauty.
Most locals cannot imagine
living anywhere else; newcomers will tell
you that there is a captivating energy here.
The village is moving with the times but
you will still spot the occasional retiree in
the supermarket with wooden sabot clogs
over his slippers, and many places still
close from October to April.
Now immortalised in books and films,
Plogoff ’s fight against the nuclear reactor
was an underdog story that resonated
nationwide at the time and remains an
example of Breton defiance and the
effectiveness of impassioned protest. Not
bad for a village at the edge of the world.
24 The big picture connexionfrance.com French Living I June 2023

George Sand’s polymath son in focus

A fascinating new

Main photo: Colombe Clier Centre des monuments nationaux;l inset, hilippe Berthé Centre des monuments nationaux
exhibition in Indre
explores the creative
endeavours of the
iconic writer’s son

G
eorge Sand’s son Maurice
was born 200 years ago this
year, and to mark the anni-
versary there is an exhibition
of his work at the Château
d’Ars (Indre) not far from the family
home in Nohant.
George Sand, one of France’s most
prolific and successful writers, was also
known for her relationship with Chopin,
and for dressing as a man.
She had two children from her only
marriage, to François Casimir Dudevant,
contracted when she was just 18: Maurice
(1823-1889) and Solange (1828-1899).
When the couple divorced, she man-
aged to retain ownership of the house
in Nohant as well as custody of her two
children and she did not have any more.
Solange was a writer, and Maurice was
multi-talented. He studied art with Eugène
Delacroix and produced a fine array of
paintings. He illustrated several of his
mother’s novels for a collected edition
Oeuvres de George Sand published in nine
volumes between 1852 and 1856. He was
also interested in science, including geolo-
gy, and he was also a writer who produced facts, beautiful objects and books. Above: The Sand Although he was interested in so many
nine novels, although his best known He travelled extensively, including family’s marvellous different areas including botany and
work is his mammoth book about the visits to Quebec and the US where he in-house puppetry architecture, recurring themes included
Commedia dell’arte: Masques et Bouffons met Abraham Lincoln. In 1862, mostly theatre; right: fantasy, parallel worlds, and mutations
(Comédie Italienne), published in 1860. at the behest of his mother, when he was Exhibition ‘The which crop up throughout his work.
He was an accomplished puppeteer, 39 he married Lina Calamatta, the daugh- Feather and the The metamorphosis from caterpillar
having enjoyed producing puppet shows ter of one of his mother’s close friends. Paintbrush’ at to butterfly fascinated him, as did the
at the family home as a child. When he She was much younger than him, but the Musée de George lost world of Atlantis and the idea that
lived in Paris he also had a puppet theatre, marriage was a success. Sand & de la Vallée perhaps animals could change into
and wrote the plays as well as making They settled at Nohant and had two Noire in La Châtre, plants and vice versa.
the scenery and sculpting hundreds of daughters, Aurore (1866-1961) and will showcase His bicentenary will be celebrated all
different puppets. Gabrielle (1868-1909). Neither had any Maurice Sand’s this year at the Musée de George Sand
Writing plays and putting on shows was children, and Solange’s two daughters had illustrations and & de la Vallée Noire (in La Châtre, very
a family passion, so much so that George tragically died as children, which is why paintings close to George Sand’s house) with an
Sand had a theatre installed in the house Aurore donated George Sand’s house to exhibition of around 80 of his designs, the family plot at Nohant. The beautiful
at Nohant. He is also a knowledgeable the state when she died. illustrations and paintings. His work has house and garden, including the theatre,
butterfly breeder and collector who To ensure that her son was financially only rarely been exhibited, so this is a is open to the public and tickets for the
became a member of the Société ento- secure, Sand sold three Delacroix paint- good chance to catch it. obligatory guided tours are available
mologique de France in 1855. This was ings and invested the money on his be- George Sand was close to her children, online. There is also a large bookshop
in line with his upbringing. His mother’s half. Maurice was then able to pursue his and Maurice lived nearby all his life. on the premises.
house was full of collected historical arte- cultural and artistic interests all his life. They are both buried alongside her in museegeorgesand.fr

Quiz answers from page 19 Answers from page 18 and 19 A ABOVE,

A ALONE,
A AMUSED,
1. A – A Green politician said it was 31% so the Ecology Ministry checked - and found the figure was 14 years old. Guess the region Toughnuts A ASH,
A new study said 20%. Farming uses 45% 2. B – Paris-Brest is a choux pastry gateau named for a bicycle race. Guimiliau’s enclos paroissial, a walled clutch of 16th-17th A AWFUL,
Round like a wheel, it is filled with praliné nut cream and topped with flaked almonds 3. B – The 49-3 is a parliament century church buildings typical of Lower Brittany, tied to B BOYAU,
procedure forcing through a law and avoiding an Assemblée nationale vote. It is also the coordinates of Isles-les-Melde- wealth from flax/hemp production. Photo: Wiki/Tango7174 C CORNES,
uses in Seine-et-Marne 4. C – Women got the vote in 1944, 1945 was the first election they could vote in 5. B – Women
Bilingual cryptic crossword D DESCRIPTIVES,
were banned from wearing trousers and police gave “permission de travestissement” so she could paint her masterpiece D DÉSHABILLER,
Across: 1 Gyratory, 5 Aplomb, 9 Interest, 10 Juneau, D DIX,
Le Marché aux Chevaux (The Horse Fair) 6. Georgiana Viou lost in the 2010 Masterchef final but won the star for
11 Parterre, 12 Octavo, 14 Finalement, 18 Marionette, D DUSTY,
Rouges at Nîmes. Her cooking mixes home country Bénin and adopted home Marseille cuisine 7. Cheese. In a
22 Râteau, 23 Sous-chef, 24 Conter, 25 Coal mine, E ENCYCLOPEDIA,
YouTube video Etchebest includes 70g of gruyère. Lorraine critics said he should “respect French gastronomic heritage”
26 Sommer, 27 Secreted. E ESSAI,
8. The baguette. Six billion sell a year but critics said Unesco’s award was for “artisanal know-how” and should exclude
Down: 1 Grippe, 2 Retard, 3 Target, 4 Restrained, É ETIRER,
cheaper and less flavoured supermarket bread 9. Vinaigrette. The 14th-century Le Viandier cookbook by Taillevent, E EXACT,
described it as a brown sauce of pig’s spleen, chopped and stewed with blood, broth, ginger, pepper, saffron, wine and 6 Paunches, 7 Operated, 8 Boulotte, 13 Gastronome,
I INDIVIDUELS,
vinegar 10. Barcodes on discarded egg boxes pinpointed the shop that sold the eggs. Store CCTV showed a youth 15 Embraces, 16 Prête-nom, 17 Potagère, 19 Isoler, I INTEND,
buying 80 eggs 11. He was the record Grammy winner until Beyoncé won her 32nd award. Solti’s final 20 Theist, 21 Offend. I ISLANDS,
Grammy in 1998 was for Chicago Symphony playing Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg 12. An American in French-themed crossword I ITEMS,
Paris by Vincente Minelli. Filming was at MGM in California not Paris. A shame for Kelly’s Parisian co-star Leslie Across: 2 Les Bleues, 7 cellier, 8 tonus, 9 Léon, L LEVEL,
Caron 13. Funny Face by Stanley Donen. Top Paris tourist spots were filmed and the finale, with Astaire (58) and 10 oreille, 12 auburn, 14 goutte, 17 baskets, 19 Gold, L LUCKY,
Hepburn (28) was at Château de la Reine Blanche in Chantilly forest 14. Christine and the Queens, playing a mix 22 talon, 23 atelier, 24 Corneille. M MENÉE,
of choreographed dance and art-pop 15. The Ministère de la Culture lifts in Paris. The Music for a French Elevator Solution No.16 (AVENUE HENRI-MARTIN) N NOYAU,
Down: 1 puce, 2 Lille, 3 soigner, 4 lardon, 5 sanglot, S SAFER,
album was created for the ministry’s 1% art/sound event 16. Its T-shirts are made by prisoners in Toulouse Seysses jail
6 Massenet, 8 thé, 11 Gambetta, 13 basilic, 15 orgueil, S SALMON,
in a rehabilitation project 17. No, their first games in 1904 were in white, sometimes with blue stripes. The first time in
16 espace, 18 éon, 20 Loire, 21 Brie. S SHAMPOO,
blue was away against England in 1908 18. You can wear it or eat it. A béret basque is the typical hat and also a S SO,
skinless flat round sausage 19. Sans-culottes, as they rejected aristocratic and bourgeois knee-breeches and wore Unscrambled answers: Operation Neptune. S SOYEUX,
long trousers 20. Naf Naf. Brothers Gérard and Patrick Pariente started in Paris with the name of the story’s Fun French facts T TISSU,
“practical pig”. 1 Isabelle Adjani, 2 Un sorcier, 3 Fur. V VEUVE,
V VOULU.
 The Connexion June 2023 connexionfrance.com Practical 21

Save money by buying local App identifies flora and fauna

You can find cheaper your pantry before ripening.”
Processed foods such as
fruit and vegetables in artisanal soup, jam and pâté
France by cutting out are usually less expensive in
supermarkets, meanwhile, as
the middlemen large factories can achieve
economies of scale, whereas
VEGETABLES are no more small businesses have to invest
expensive in shops that buy in expensive materials and
directly from farmers than in have less opportunity to spread
large supermarkets, according out these costs.
to a new report – and organic When it comes to markets, it
produce is even less expensive can be difficult to tell where
this way. the food comes from without
Volunteers from consumer asking each individual seller.
THE NEXT time you go for a
walk through the forest, there
is no need to be left wondering
exactly what trees and wildlife
you are sharing the space with,
thanks to an app developed by
the Office national des forêts.
Clés de forêt helps users
to identify species in three
categories: trees, footprints,
and birds of prey.
It does this through a series
of up to six questions. For
trees, for example, you are
invited to select whether it has
leaves or needles, then whether
they are simple or complex
as its size and silhouette. The
questions allow you to identify
49 trees, 14 animal footprints,
and 19 birds of prey, all of
which you are likely to come
across while out for a walk in
nature in France.
The app is available on Apple
and Android devices, and
works even when there is
no internet connection.
Forests cover 31% of metro-
politan France and are home
to 190 varieties of tree, within
seven main varieties: oak,
beech, chestnut, maritime pine,
Scots pine, spruce and fir.

association UFC-Que Choisir
visited 406 shops supplied by
producers across 63 depart-
ments. They then compared
the prices for a basket of 17
vegetables with those listed on
the websites of the seven main
supermarkets.
The non-organic basket cost
€38 in both cases, but the
organic products were 15%
cheaper via short distribution
channels (€41 compared to €47
in supermarkets).
Circuit court (short circuit)
distribution channels are grow-
ing in popularity in France.
The official Agriculture
Ministry definition of a circuit
court does not reference prox-
imity. Produce can be imported.
What matters is that there is
no more than one intermediary
between producer and consum-
er, which helps to explain the
Photo: Ici.C.Local
“Sometimes resellers pass leaves (with distinct leaflets). A similar app, AGIIR,
themselves off as producers, Three questions later, the app encourages you to identify
and tourists especially can be reveals the variety of tree you species which are somewhat
fooled,” Dr Chiffoleau said. are standing before, and pre- less pleasant.
The Ici.C.Local project assigns green labels to products That is why she and INRAE sents you with facts, photos, Developed by the INRAE
sold directly by producers on market stalls collaborated with the town of and a map of France showing environmental research insti-
less on outdoor markets than victions, meaning they are will- Grabels, outside Montpellier, areas where it naturally grows. tute, the app lets you signal the
in supermarkets, even for ing to pay a premium, she said. to create Ici.C.Local, a colour When identifying birds, the presence of invasive insects
non-organic products, Dr The UFC-Que Choisir study code system for market traders. app will ask you whether you such as Asian hornets and
Chiffoleau said, as they do not looked exclusively at vegetables Products feature labels in one spotted it during the day or at brown marmorated stink bugs,
have to pay to rent a shopfront. produced in France, which Dr of three colours – green if they night, in the mountains or on which can pose a threat to food
The report also highlighted Chiffoleau believes is an are sold direct from the pro- flat land, and for features such production or public health.
significant differences, depend- important clarification. ducer; orange for circuits courts
ing on the vegetable. “People think it’s expensive with one intermediary; purple MONEY-SAVER
For example, onion, garlic, because they are comparing a for circuits courts which are
beetroot and mesclun salad
were all 13% to 20% cheaper
in circuit court outlets, while
tomato from a circuit court
with a low-cost tomato from
Spain, which is a completely
not local; and the rest have an
ordinary black sign.
The system is used in depart-
Discount cinema tickets
carrots, fennel, button mush- different product,” she said. ments including Hérault, Var
rooms and leeks were all 10% “People who do not use and Ardèche, and is being put
to 20% more expensive. circuits courts think it will be in place in large cities, includ-
That is because onion and too expensive, but once they’ve ing Lyon and Rennes.
garlic are essential to many made the leap, they start to It reflects a growing appetite
meals, Dr Chiffoleau said. think more in terms of value for circuits courts, which Dr
“There is nothing you can sub- for money.” Chiffoleau says came back in

Photo: Shutterstock_Elena Dijour

attractive pricing.
In practice, we are usually
talking about local, or at least
regional, produce.
Yuna Chiffoleau, research
director at the national research
institute for agriculture, food
and environment (INRAE),
specialising in short distribu-
tion channels, said: “Consumers
who use circuits courts expect
products that are almost organ-
ic, respect the environment,
and are tasty.”
While the study focused
mainly on shops, the notion of
circuits courts also encompasses
markets, and buying directly
from farmers.
Here, vegetables are even
cheaper – up to 15% or 20%
stitute for an onion, and super- The price difference is less fashion in the 1990s amid an
markets know people need clear for fruits, which are often outbreak of mad cow disease as
them so they put the prices up. more difficult to produce on consumers wanted to be sure
“Circuit court carrots more a small scale, the researcher of what they were eating.
often come from small produc- explained. Interest grew again during
ers who have a bit of everything, “Certain fruits, like straw- the Covid pandemic as people Independent cinemas are often cheaper than chains
and have to go out every day berries at the moment, are grew cautious once more and
and harvest this or that. cheaper in circuits courts. also had more time to cook. GOING TO watch a film can also deals to be had outside
“The growers who supply Others that can be mechanised UFC-Que Choisir has devel- be an expensive night out of these specific periods.
supermarkets are specialised in are more complicated, like oped an interactive map show- these days – and that is before Cinemas often offer discounts
two or three products, and apples, cherries and melons. ing circuit court retail points at the popcorn and other extras. for students and those under
they are much cheaper to pro- “In any case, fruits and vege- tinyurl.com/shortcircuits. Fortunately, there are certain the age of 26 or over 65, and
duce. They cover enormous tables are more flavoursome As well as searching for local times in the year when you they might lower prices on
fields, and they have a machine from circuits courts, as varieties farms via sites including can catch the latest releases at certain days of the week or
that can harvest 200 hectares of are chosen for the taste, where- bienvenue-a-la-ferme.com, you smaller prices. at certain times of day.
carrots at once.” as in supermarkets they are can also turn to your closest One of these is the Fête du At UGC cinemas, you can
Organic products tend to selected so they will keep for a Association pour le maintien Cinéma, and it is coming up save around €5 by choosing a
be more expensive in super- long time. And fruits are d’une agriculture paysanne. from July 2 to 5. Over four morning screening.
markets as they know the picked once they are ripe, These support producers by days, from Sunday to Wednes- Another discount offered
target audience is generally whereas in supermarkets they asking members to pay for day, every cinema will have by large chains, but also some
better off and driven by con- are unripe and often go bad in their produce in advance. the same ticket price: just €5. independent cinemas, is when
That is €1 more than in you pay for multiple tickets at
previous years as cinemas once. Pathé, for example,

Pharmacies can access your online records
PATIENTS will automatically have a
record kept of any medicine they take,
unless they opt out, as a new law comes
into effect.
Called a dossier pharmaceutique, the file
was previously opened only on request,
but it will now be created automatically
when you visit a pharmacy.
The Ordre National des Pharmaciens
professional body explains: “The pharm-
acist will take your contact details (email
and postal address). You will receive inform-
ation related to this automatic creation by
email, or by letter handed over in person
by the pharmacist. From this moment, you
will have six weeks to exercise your right
to oppose the automatic creation of your
dossier via a dedicated online portal.”
The objectives are to ensure greater coor-
dination between healthcare professionals,
to improve vaccination rates and to make
drug dispensation from doctors, pharma-
cists and hospitals safer by limiting the risk
of redundant treatments and unsafe drug
interactions.
The folder includes your name, sex, date
of birth, and information about any medi-
cine you take with or without a prescrip-
tion, as well as implantable medical
devices, such as prostheses and implants.
Information about medicine is kept for
12 months, three years when related to
biopharmaceuticals, and 21 years for
information on vaccines.
Any pharmacist can add to the records,
which can also be consulted by doctors
who treat you. You have the right to ask
the pharmacist not to add certain medi-
cines, and can refuse to allow your file to
be consulted. You can also ask a pharm-
acist to close the file at any time.
The Ordre National des Pharmaciens has
begun a testing phase with certain pharm-
acists before the change is rolled out across
deal with rising costs, not
least to electricity prices, but
it is still less than the average
the country. The move is part of a wider ticket (€7.50) and much less
effort to digitalise healthcare records. Last than typical tickets in most
year, France launched the Mon espace santé large cinema chains.
website, which stores information about Cinemas previously lowered
patients’ medical histories. all their tickets to €5 during
This includes prescriptions, reimburse- the Printemps du Cinéma,
ments, test results and X-rays, and you can which took place between
also add details of known allergies, any March 19 and 21.
time spent in hospital, and family history. Both festivals occur annually,
The accounts are meant to encourage as does the Festival cinéma
better dialogue between patients and Télérama. Every January, you
their doctors. can catch the best films from
Meanwhile, no date has been set for the the previous years – this year,
nationwide rollout of the digitalised carte 16 films were screened in 450
Vitale, which is due no later than art-house cinemas for €4.
December 31, 2025. It has already been There are also local festivals
trialled in a number of departments. to be found in certain areas,
French residents will eventually be able such as Ciné Cool in the
to access their health cards via a smart- Grand Est region (tickets at
phone app, making it easier to track pay- €4.50 in participating cinemas,
ments and reimbursements. You will still usually in August). There are
be able to use the physical card if you wish.
offers five screenings for €44,
or €8.80 per film. The card is
valid for three months and in
any of the group’s cinemas.
Dedicated cinephiles could
save money with an unlimited
subscription – at UGC, this
costs €21.90 per month.
Ultimately, one of the most
reliable ways to save money
on cinema tickets is to favour
independent cinemas, which
are numerous in France.
There are 2,000 cinemas
nationwide, more than double
than in the UK, for example.
People in France go to the
cinema more often than any
other European country, too.
Around 19 million tickets were
sold in April, the first time
since cinemas reopened that
audience numbers have sur-
passed their pre-Covid levels.
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businesses listed here are registered. The listings are arranged geographically by the 5 landline telephone zones of France.
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Advertise with us - prices start from just €165 HT for 1 year!
To book a space email: sales@connexionfrance.com or place your advert online at the Directory section of connexionfrance.com

P23 All of France P24 North France P24 South East France P24 South West France P25 Classifieds
All Tel Codes Tel Codes 01 - 03 Tel Code 04 Tel Code 05

COMMERCIAL FEATURE

How to effortlessly keep your pool clean all summer

A pool is an asset for making the most of the hot summer, but keeping its surface free from
flies, wasps, leaves and fluff is a never-ending story. But help is at hand: on Jan’s site you can
watch a stunning video that shows the PoolGobbler attracting all debris into its filter bag.
IT IS hard to imagine how the PoolGobbler, returning into the pool from the filtration through his website, which also features
such an apparently simple piece of equipment, pump, it connects to one of the inlet jets where a movie of the PoolGobbler at work and
can keep a whole pool surface free from its design considerably increases the speed of comments from users.
floating debris, automatically and without any the water flow. The high speed of the water To order online, visit the website or send
human intervention. It seems unbelievable, then causes a pulling effect on the surface and, a letter with a French cheque (€59.95 for the
but on pools of up to 12 x 6 metres, its as a result, the circular flow that is created PoolGobbler, plus €9.95 for an extra set of five
effective design means the entire pool area takes all floating debris to the PoolGobbler filter bags and €6.50 for postage) to:
remains spotless. where it is caught in its filter bag.” Pure-Piscines (Jan van Gils), Le Bourg, 46700,
Jan van Gils introduced the PoolGobbler Unlike many other pool appliances, the Sérignac.
into the French market after coming across PoolGobbler is completely unobtrusive and Anyone who is not satisfied will get their
it in South Africa where it is a very popular positions itself neatly against the wall so it is money back. Pool professionals interested in
product. He immediately installed it in his possible to swim at all times. It also does not selling the PoolGobbler, and those looking for
own pool in France and now believes he need any kind of electricity or cables, and is more information, should contact Jan directly.
could not do without it. easy to install. Maintenance is also easy – just
But how does it work? “The secret to the empty the filter bag when full. 05 65 31 96 23
PoolGobbler is a clever use of fluid dynamics,” Jan’s company, Pure-Piscines, sells the info@pure-piscines.com
said Jan. “Using the force of the water patented product in France, and beyond, www.pure-piscines.com The PoolGobbler will keep pools of up to 12 x 6 metres spotless and debris free

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 The Connexion June 2023
How to move your UK pension to France at a preferential tax rate
Expat wealth expert Daniel Butcher, founder of DTB Wealth
Management, explains there is no need to fear high taxes if
moving a UK pension to France and details how this could be
lightly taxed and with a quicker transfer time will than might
be expected.
“FRANCE is one of Europe’s most
advantageous countries when it comes to
buying back a UK pension fund as capital,”
says Daniel. “Whilst most countries tax
the amount as another income – some up
to 45% – by following a certain process in
France pension holders can end up paying
around a quarter of this rate.”
Those who want to move their pension
across from the UK to France are not only
are they in perhaps the most lucrative
location, but can owe as little as 7.5%
income tax on the entire amount, after a
10% allowance. This is made possible by
GOLDENWAY
INTERNATIONAL PETS
& LIVE ANIMALS
World Wide Pet
Relocator
Ministry approved
No. 61195004 – 61195001
Offices CDG Airport Paris
Offices and Kennels Normandy
Tel: 01 48 62 87 25 CDG Paris
Tel: 02 33 38 41 32 Normandy
www.goldenwaypets.com
Siret: 397549551
BEREAVEMENT
SUPPORT NETWORK
Are you grieving for a loved one
and needing to talk?
We support the bereaved and
terminally ill, face to face
in the Var, and by telephone
elsewhere in France.
www.bsnvar.org
info@bsnvar.org
06 24 50 22 74
(Mon - Fri between 09.00 and 17.00)
www.connexionfrance.com
COMMERCIAL FEATURE
55s with personal pensions, such as
defined contribution pensions,
stakeholder pensions or a SIPP. However,
once underway, a few documents must
be completed by the transferring issuer or
trust. They will withhold the tax payable to
HMRC, which DTB Wealth Management
will claim back for their client. The pension
making an “in full withdrawal” of the UK holder then receives an amount, net of UK
pension policy and taking out an Assurance taxes, into a Luxembourg AV contract
Vie (AV) fund in Luxembourg. account opened for this purpose.
“We call it the ‘in full withdrawal’ “The correct professional financial advice
method as ceding UK pensions will is crucial here,” says Daniel, “as it is
generally authorise such requests when necessary to apply the international
asked,” continues Daniel. “The pension convention between France and the UK
is then transferred into an AV fund in to avoid double taxation.”
Luxembourg – it really is the fastest and On receipt of the net sum, DTB Wealth
most financially beneficial option. Management sends a request to the UK
Traditionally the preferred route has been HMRC, signed by the local French tax
QROPS but this has become a longer and office and using a ‘France DTA form’,
more costly process.” requesting repayment of the tax deducted
This AV route is only applicable to over in the UK. HMRC usually pays this sum
SwissLife
Insurance
LEARN FRENCH Since 1898, we have specialised
One-to-one courses and in top-up health, home, car
one-to-one Skype lessons available. insurance and private banking.
Professional language teacher with
Please call Marie and Lawrence
Oxford degree.
On: 05 56 28 94 64
www.frenchcourse.fr Web: swisslife-health-insurance.fr
bordeaux.theatre@agence-swisslife.fr
Certified translations
as required by
CAF, Courts, Notaires, Prefecture,
AXA
(Births, Adoptions, Marriages, Deaths –
Divorces - Pensions – Wills – Family Law…)
Contact: 06 88 59 91 90
elisabeth.clavier474@orange.fr
Agence International
SWORN Dedicated English speaking
TRANSLATION
AND
agency staffed by native
English speakers
• Insurance
INTERPRETING • Health insurance
SERVICES • Pensions & Investments
• Life assurance
Please contact Hilary Decaumont
• Banking & lending
00 33 (0) 6 10 69 05 53
• Business insurance
Email: info@leapfrogservices.net
www.leapfrogservices.net Tel: 05 61 07 16 84
agence.international@axa.fr
www.axa-in-france.fr
TAX service covering
BEAUX
UK & French Returns.
HMRC agent. Free estimate
VILLAGES of your tax liabilities.
W: taxspec.com
IMMOBILIER T: +44 1323 657320
Selling your French home? Talk to us!
Local, professional, expert team
International Associate of Savills
ASTTRAL sa
Voted Best Agency in France
INSURANCE BROKERS
Join BVI Plus and connect
with our hottest buyers Regulated Insurance
Freephone: 08 05 69 23 23 Broker Independent -
enquiries@beauxvillages.com not tied to
www.beauxvillages.com one company,
best price & quality
We can meet all your
insurance needs
Health (top up or private),
House, Car, Business /
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Commercial
VOTED #1 – RATES AND SERVICE
Email: nchubb@asttral.com
www.PioneerFrance.com Tel: 04 68 32 41 20
40yrs info@pioneerfrance.com FCA
Web: www.asttral.com
£ € $ +33 (0)5 53 07 06 27 £ € $ Siret No: 411 673 106 00018
ALL OF FRANCE Directory 23
within two months and it is then added
to the capital already in the Luxembourg
AV policy.
“This is an excellent means for British
expats to move a pension,” concludes
Daniel.
www.dtbwealthmanagement.com
contact@dtbwealthmanagement.com Daniel Butcher founded
06 72 34 48 50 DTB Wealth Management
INDEPENDENT
INSURANCE
BROKERS
INDEPENDENT BROKERS
Working with selected
insurers to find the best
HEALTH - HOME - CAR - policy for your needs
BUSINESS - ETC at competitive rates
APIVIA, ALLIANZ,
MOTOR, HOUSE, MEDICAL
SWISSLIFE, AXA,
HISCOX, GENERALI, TRAVEL, BUSINESS
APRIL, CHUBB,
SOLLY AZAR... For information and quotes
Contact Kasia, Catherine, in English contact Penny
Mark or Philip for quotes at G.S.A.R. 05 53 40 15 71
Tel: +33 (0)5 57 80 43 35
Email: info@wminsurance.fr
W & M INSURANCE BROKERS
pennym.gsar@orange.fr
NLE
Accountants and Tax Advisors
Paris & London offices
Services offered in France and UK
Tax Returns n Accounts n Business setup
n Payroll n VAT
Paris Tel: 01 42 93 18 42 POOL FENCE
London Tel: 0208 242 5540 The pool security system
that works.
Website: www.nle-accounting.fr AFNOR approved.
Email: info@nle-accounting.com
www.poolparc.com
AXA
LIFELONG SWIMMING
POOLS IN FRANCE
INSURANCE
1 week build, bespoke design & filtration
Jean-Marie LECOMTE
Self cleaning & remotely monitored
We are British & understand
ST HILAIRE DU HARCOUET - 50600 the French system too
HOME - CAR - HEALTH
www.gaiusta.com
PET AND TRAVEL INSURANCE-
BANKING / LOANS ALEXANDER PEARSON (MSc - CIWEM)
(call Angeline: English speaking alexander@gaiusta.com
contact) - 02 33 49 12 34 +33 (0)5 58 55 72 15
agence.lecomte@axa.fr +33 (0)7 77 23 11 16
NEED FRENCH LEGAL
ADVICE IN ENGLISH? STOP CLEANING
Tax returns, pension YOUR POOL
schemes (QROPS),
Estate planning,
YOURSELF
financial advice. PoolGobbler Pro
We are expats qualified in France, automatically removes
call to try our unrivalled service
all flies, wasps and leaves
+33 (0)6 72 34 48 50 / from your pool surface.
+44 (0)20 3807 8311 www.pure-piscines.com
www. or call 0565 319623
dtbwealthmanagement.com
24 Directory
Taking the paperwork and pain out of a left-hand drive vehicle purchase
At Gary Automobiles near
Lyon, convenience and quality
are assured for customers
buying a left-hand drive car
ARE YOU looking to buy a left-hand drive
vehicle for your new life in France?
Gary Automobiles is an English-owned
motor dealer based just outside of Lyon in
the Rhône-Alpes, specialising in the supply
of quality new and pre-owned, left-hand
drive, French registered vehicles to expats
moving to France.
The company has been operating in
France since July 1 2003 and customers
only ever deal with Gary personally.
Convenience for the customer is a key
element in the company’s ethos, which is
why Gary Automobiles now has the facility
to register your vehicle in your name at
PROBLEM SOLVING
Advice on all aspects of living in
France, buying/selling,
French administration, income tax,
etc...
Competent, experienced.
Contact me now for your free consultation.
Rachel THOMAS-BONNET LLB Hons
+33 (0)6 62 78 39 77
perfidealbion@bbox.fr
Visit me at
www.perfidealbion.com
TOP PRICE FOR
VINYL RECORDS
Mobile: 06 83 32 65 15
or sue.davage@wanadoo.fr
82120 Marsac
GARY AUTOMOBILES
Specialists in supplying quality
New and Pre-owned
French registered vehicles
We buy LHD/RHD vehicles
Part-exchanges welcome
Unlike UK LHD specialists we
handle all the paperwork and
re-register the vehicle in your
name at our premises!
French registered, English owned company
Tel 0033 (0)4 74 43 89 51
or 0033 (0)6 84 85 04 61
gary.automobiles@wanadoo.fr
www.gary-automobiles.com
From a UK vehicle LOGBOOK
To a FRENCH vehicle
LOGBOOK – DONE !
PAULPALMER@CAR-REG-FRANCE.COM
WWW.CAR-REG-FRANCE.COM
Tel: 0780493243
ALL OF FRANCE
their premises – meaning there is no need
to worry about translation and paperwork
issues. Gary will issue your new carte
grise directly from his
office and can even
arrange your French
motor insurance and
transfer your no
claims bonus.
“I remember how hard
it was to understand the
French paperwork and
red tape when I made the
move over to France in
2001. I am happy to assist
fellow expats and take
that burden away,” says Gary.
Reassuringly, they are fully French
registered company with Siret / Siren / and
TVA numbers and only supply vehicles with
European specifications.
For customers wishing to stay over and
Campervans, cars
and vans wanted
Both LHD and RHD.
Also part-exchange. Collection in
the UK or France. Polite service.
Please email, text or telephone
and we will call you back.
sunnyskycars@gmail.com
or Tel +33 (0) 6 17 22 93 23
00 44 738 325 3605
LEGGETT
Property Management offer a
comprehensive property management
and rental service for your holiday home.
www.leggettpm.com
hello@leggettpm.fr
ANGLO FRENCH
EURO REMOVALS
Weekly services to and from
the UK and France
Full and part loads
40 years’ experience
Full or fragile packing service
Storage facilities in the UK
and France
UK - 0044 (0)1237 751 293
France - 0033 (0)545 894 957
info@anglofrenchmail.com
www.anglofrenchremovals.co.uk
UK Reg: 5437760
CRANBURYS
Movers - Shippers - Storers
Full and Part Loads
throughout France
Secure storage
Tel +44 (0)1962 777 684
Email moving@cranburys.co.uk
www.cranburys.co.uk
www.connexionfrance.com
COMMERCIAL FEATURE
visit the area (easyJet and Ryanair fly into
nearby airports), Gary can come to collect
you from the airport or train station, as
well as arrange
reservations or
advise on local
Lyonnais hotels.
Another part
of the service
offered by Gary
Automobiles is
that they do not
put people under
pressure to make
a purchase. They
understand the
logistics of moving abroad, so if they have
a suitable vehicle in stock they we will keep
it until you are ready to collect – with no
time limitations.
Part exchange with your right hand drive
vehicle is also available, while the company
Greetings Cards
Birthdays, Anniversaries, Special Occasion,
Christmas, Hand-made and Open - From €1.00
Hand Written Service Available
Tel: 07 70 17 73 86
enquiries@englishcardsinfrance.net
www.englishcardsinfrance.net
Siret: 538 583 60000019
Love French Interiors
French Reproduction Furniture.
Hand crafted from Mahogany.
Wide choice of finish options.
Full customisation possible.
Bespoke Design service available.
Delivery throughout France.
www.lovefrenchinteriors.com
0044 (0) 20 3474 0092
Chenil Les Mille Calins
English Run
5 Star accommodation for Dogs/Cats
l Underfloor heated kennels
l Qualified staff
l Top Quality food and exercise
l Only 45 minutes south of Caen
Convenient Ferry Access
l
www.goldenwaypets.com
Telephone 02 33 37 49 19
Emergency 02 33 38 41 32
Fax 02 33 38 44 16
For Daily
updates visit
connexionfrance.com
The Connexion June 2023
also provides a car sourcing service –
meaning if they do not have the vehicle
you want in stock, they will find it for you.
For further recommendation, here are
some previous customer comments:
“Gary Automobiles made the whole
process as painless as possible.”
Colin Edwards
“I have used Gary Automobiles to source
and deliver a new car in France. Since I
don’t speak French it was a delight to deal
with Gary himself.” Tom Wall
“Gary’s personal and English-speaking
service has been really helpful and taken
the hassle out of buying and keeping a car
in France.” James Greig
Gary Automobiles EURL
Telephone: 0033 4 74 43 89 51
Mobile: 0033 6 84 85 04 61
Email: gary.automobiles@wanadoo.fr Gary at his office near Lyon
www.gary-automobiles.com
English TV in your Painter / Decorator
French Home - interior & exterior -
Contact Martin
Professional installations in martin.dodson79@gmail.com
Brittany & Normandy
07 85 13 93 04 / 06 07 45 62 63
Mail-order throughout France Region: GARD/30
Free, friendly, helpful advice
TVBrittany
02 97 27 58 50 SKY IN FRANCE
www.tvbrittany.com Sky, Freesat
& French TV
Supplied & Fully Installed
Office: 05 63 59 85 16
Axa AngloAgence www.skyinfrance.co.uk
Car, House, Health, INSURANCE Please see our main
Bank, Savings, Investment
Going Beyond since 1989
advert in the Connexion
02 96 87 21 21
contact@angloagence.com
Alex, Richard, Trystan
SWIMMING POOL LEAK
DETECTION AND REPAIR
www.fuitedetection.fr
+33 781 444545
+44 7770 274528
Building restoration
City & Guilds qualified builder
Masonary, plastering, tiling,
Painting and decorating
Areas: 24, 46
Tel: 06 48 56 22 83
Email: pabroadley@yahoo.co.uk
AUDE & HERAULT ELECTRICIAN
Pool Specialist Experienced & French Registered.
Available for all types of electrical work.
Weekly maintenance, repairs,
equipment replacement.
Contact Anthony Main 06 62 76 20 93
Insured and guaranteed.
Areas: 16,17
Tel: 05 46 86 07 61
Email: anthonymain.fr@gmail.com Email: trevor.miell@btopenworld.com
Siret 48468735500038 Siret No. 49376573200015
 The Connexion June 2023
LECTURER IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE Part-time position in CDD (from September, 1st 2023)
Founded in 1990, ICES,
Catholic university of Vendée,
is a private higher education
institution of general interest
which combines the spirit
of a Grande Ecole with the
excellence of university
education.
THE ICES currently welcomes 1650
students from bachelor to master,
in 4 faculties: law, economics and
management; political science and
history; humanities and languages;
sciences.Located in the heart of
La Roche-sur-Yon, the ICES benefits
from a friendly environment and an
enlarged campus. Its growth should
lead the institution to welcome 2,000
students by 2025.
English-speaking insurance agency addresses concerns over health cover
Based in Bordeaux, we are
the only SwissLife agency in
France to work with English-
speaking clients all over
France. We offer a wide range
of healthcare insurance,
general insurance solutions
and private banking, backed
by one of Europe’s leading
insurance providers.
AS you would expect health cover offered
by Swisslife is comprehensive and we
enhance this with our helpful, English-
speaking, customer service.
We are currently offering three principal
types of health insurance cover:
Swisslife Santé Retraités appropriate
for retirees only. There are eight
WIFI Anglais
Keeping you connected
Internet - WiFi - VPN
Web hosting - CCTV
hello@wifianglais.com
07 78 52 20 46
DEMPSEY TREE SURGERY
CONTRACTORS
British trained & qualified tree surgeon
All tree work undertaken.
Tel: 05 45 65 96 86 Mob: 06 61 90 04 92
enquiries@dempseytreesurgery.com
www.dempseytreesurgery.com
Working in dept: 16, 17, 24, 87
Siret: 48930027700014
DORDOGNE SERVICES
All Gardening Work - Cutting
Strimming - Hedge Trimming
Clearance - Property Services
Depts - 24,46,47
Tel: Bob & Tracy 06 42 82 44 96
Email: bob.groundwork@gmail.com
siret : 48293447800017
www.connexionfrance.com
Join the team of the part-time language
lecturers for the law, economics and
management; political science and
history; humanities and languages;
sciences faculties at the start of the
university year in September 2023.
complementary policies for retirees. After
3 years, 4 years and then 5 years of loyalty,
we automatically enhance your level of
Health Care Insurance, for free and offer
better reimbursements.
Swisslife Santé. This is suitable for
customers aged 18 to retiring age. We
offer nine complementary policies, all
policies also include reimbursements
for bills which are not reimbursed by
the French health system.
Swisslife Hospitalisation only. These are
available for life-long cover but must be
subscribed before the age of 65. The top up
of any bills relates to hospitalisation only.
Swisslife santé Retraités and Swisslife
santé provide full cover which includes
hospitalisation, surgery Dentistry, Optical,
doctor fees, specialists, xrays, Cardiologists,
pharmacy. Essentially anything covered by
the French health system will be reimbursed
by Swisslife.
euroinstallations.com
• Rural Broadband
• UK & French TV
Satellite & On-Demand
• CCTV & Alarms
• WiFi Installation
• Home Audio & Cinema
Tel 06 80 55 06 09 SW France
mail@euroinstallations.com
DORDOGNE STORAGE
SOLUTIONS AND
REMOVALS
European specialists France to
France, Spain, Portugal etc.
Removals, Storage,
House Clearance, Car and
Plant Transport.
French registered professional
friendly service.
+33 (0)6 73 96 38 39
www.
dordognestoragesolutions.com
Stockagedss@gmail.com
Siret number 80114632500015
COMMERCIAL FEATURES
Your profile:
■ Native speakers or full proficiency
(min B2/C1), your professional and
life path allows you to stimulate
students (Bachelor 1 to Master 2)
in the foreign language, on topics
related to their fields of study
(international scene, social and
contemporary issues, current affairs...)
so that they develop the ability to present
their ideas and arguments in the foreign
language.
■ Retired or active, career teachers
or trainers, business professionals,
international profiles or expats, this is
about willing to interact with students,
share some experience, discuss topics,
and therefore train them in oral and
written comprehension.
■ We mainly look for the following
languages: English, German, Spanish,
Italian.
We understanding that many people
are confused by the need for even a basic
level of protection let alone why one
would need additional cover for expenses
over and above the French state scale of
reimbursement. Hence we explain step by
step the procedures that are relative to an
individual’s situation.
Each case is different and there are many
misunderstandings based on hearsay or
inaccurate translations through a claim
reimbursement. Frequently asked questions
often relate to the care path and why at
times one receives a lower reimbursement
than expected. Medical franchises and
certain common phrases used in the
healthcare industry can lead to confusion.
Why do I need a health cover policy? Will
my medicines be free as they are in the UK?
Declaration de médecin traitant, what is
the importance of this, how do I proceed?
What is the télétransmission system? How
CHARITY
PHOENIX ANIMAL RESCUE
If you are thinking of giving an
animal a home, please consider
adopting. We have many cats and
dogs looking for loving homes.
Please visit us at:
www.phoenixasso.com
www.facebook.com/
PhoenixAssociationFrance
Les Amis Des Chats
promotes sterilisation to improve
the well-being of stray and pet cats
in the rural villages of SW France.
WE NEED VOLUNTEERS
to help run our
charity shops and events.
Donations are also gratefully received at
Les amis des chats, 82150 Roquecor.
See how you can support us by visiting
www-les-amis-des-chats.com
Registered charity no: W821000447
ALL OF FRANCE Directory 25
Photos: Antoine Tatin
The languages taught at ICES are: Self-motivated and dynamic.
English, German, Spanish, Italian,
Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, please send your CV to
French as a foreign language, Russian. recrutement@ices.fr
Number of hours to be discussed (Offer reference 20230111 - LV)
does it operate? What is a dépassement
d’honoraires? (specialists’ excesses). The
importance of requesting a prise en charge
hospitalière before an admission to the
hospital. These are questions which form
part of our ‘day to day’ telephone calls and
emails. We communicate the answers in
clear English.
For more information regarding our
health insurance plans, general enquiries
or questions on sales or claims procedures
contact our main administration office:
+33 (0)5 56 28 94 64
and speak to Marie
Email:
bordeaux.theatre@agence-swisslife.fr
Website:
www.swisslife-health-insurance.fr
(in English)
HEALTH AND COUNSELLING
JOBS OFFERED
Bi-lingual Commercial Manager – French / English
Williams Silver Frost is a highly regarded business,
with excellent industry reputation.
We are looking for a permanent full-time Bi-lingual Commercial Manager who
would become an integral part of the management team running the day to day
commercial, financial administration needs of the business, as well overseeing
our customer needs and customer service responsibility.
This is a pivotal role for the business and is a key part of the Williams international
management team. We are looking for a candidate who can demonstrate a strong
track record in business, finance and commercial administration and customer
service, ideally within foodservice equipment or an allied sector
This role is based at our Gueret office however you should have the flexibility for
periodic travel work away when visiting customer sites and exhibition venues,
as well as visiting the Williams UK facilities.
Please apply to
Williams Silver Frost
2 rue Conventionnel Huguet
23000 GUERET
T. 05 55 52 27 88
Contact: Deborah JONES
 26 Directory FEATURES www.connexionfrance.com The Connexion June 2023
COMMERCIAL FEATURES

The ‘one stop shop’ for every aspect of your removal needs
Modern methods, old
fashioned values! Company
owner Andrea Watson
explains how removals have
been a significant part of the
Watson European roots for
many years. From humble
beginnings servicing the needs
of road haulage in Europe,
Andrea’s experienced team now
meet the demand for a regular
and professional removals
service.
“OVER the years, our services have
been developed to offer wrapping and
packing services, storage, vehicle re-
location services and customs clearances
specialising in movements between the
UK, France and Spain,” says Andrea.
“Our dedicated and experienced team
aim to provide you with both a friendly and
welcoming experience, while maintaining
a professional and courteous skillset to give
you the confidence in your move from the
point of first contact through to re-delivery,
making your move a stress free and
enjoyable experience.”
Watson European have found that
following Brexit and the UK’s departure
from the EU, the process in how goods
can be moved between the UK and the
EU has changed. Clients also state that
Customs’ requirements can also feel
extremely overwhelming now in addition
to the natural stresses that are already
present when moving overseas.
“At Watson European, we can take
care of all customs formalities from
permanent house moves, second / holiday
home movements and vehicle movements.
We were especially pleased to launch
our new service for ‘HMRC Transfer
Of Residence Relief ’ applications. Our
team will provide information on the
documentation required and provide
up to date information for your specific
needs. We aim to be the ‘one stop shop’
for every aspect of a client’s removal needs,”
Andrea says.
Safely storing your belongings is often an
essential part of your relocation journey.
Whether for a few days, a few months, or
a few years, Watson European have got
you covered with secure, modern storage
solutions at competitive rates.
For clients moving between the UK
and EU, Watson European offer up to 60
days complimentary storage as part of
a relocation package. This sought-after
storage solution is designed to relieve
some of the time-sensitive pressures of
moving internationally.
“Our storage solutions allow you to
travel at your own leisure, take some time
to find the perfect new home and finalise
completion dates with solicitors, says
Andrea. “Or you may simply want to do
some renovations to your new home prior
to the arrival of your belongings knowing
that your possessions are being safely and
securely looked after at our main operating
base in Lincoln, UK or our newly acquired
facility in Gandia, Spain.” Whatever your removal requirements
Andrea concludes with a ‘top tip’ when call Andrea and her team at Watson
considering a home move. “Start by taking European.
a little bit of time to call our team and have www.watsoneuropean.co.uk
a chat. They will be able to assess your Tel: Office 0044 (0) 1522 686 764
individual needs and get things moving Andy 0044 (0) 7876 504 547
in a positive manner.” Email: enquiry@watsoneuropean.co.uk

Swimming pool repair company ready for new season of leaky finders!
English speaking “Fuite
Detection” is the specialist
swimming pool leak detection
and repair company based
in South France. Owner and
co-founder Steve Mallet
reviews.
“THE 2023 swimming pool season is
approaching, and you can count on it being
as crazy as 2022,” says Steve. “Even with the
pandemic causing continued restrictions on
holiday travel, and second home attendance,
our phones continued to be red hot with
clients reporting water loss issues. We were
still able to function despite the Covid
restrictions as pool surveys and repairs can
easily be undertaken whilst respecting social
distancing and contact restrictions.
“Although based near Carcassonne we were
able to cover almost the whole of the South
of France area., repairing pools as far
as Bordeaux, Limoges and St Tropez.”
Swimming pools are a common feature in
properties in France, whether they are private
and used exclusively by the owner, or are the
all important selling point of a rental property
or a gite complex. Swimming pools are
complex and require a degree of knowledge
to keep them running properly. And they do
suffer from problems from time to time.
Pool leaks are amongst the most worrying
of issues to experience as they prevent the
pool from running properly, take up valuable
resource in both increased use of water and
chemicals, and often cause structural damage.
Steve continues: “I am a pool owner and had
been experiencing water loss for two years. I
had difficulty in finding anyone locally who
had the technical knowledge, equipment, and
desire to come and help. Eventually I found
a company in England, Thames Swimming
Pools, who were willing to come over and
have a look. They located the issue within
15 minutes – crushed pipework buried
beneath a metre of concrete! Using their
specialist technology they pinpointed the
precise location of the problem, shortly
after it was repaired and I had a perfectly
functioning pool.
“Taking the opportunity to launch this
brilliant service into France was an obvious
decision for me and so in 2014 Fuite
Detection was born, working in association
with Thames Swimming Pools.
“The service is essentially in two stages – Visit www.fuitedetection.fr
firstly we undertake a thorough survey to or call
find out where the leak is occurring, using +44 7770 274528
the most modern technology and equipment. +33 781 444545
The second stage uses technology from the
USA to repair the leak, in many cases without we are able to use a unique sleeving method to help our clients to restore problem pools
requiring expensive and disruptive excavation. which does not require any excavation. to their full glory. There is nothing better
For example on a single line, such as a “We have had an exceptional response to than arriving at a property to see a beautiful,
Vacuum Line or a Bonde de Fonde (drain) our service and are delighted that we are able inviting crystal clear pool.”

W E A R E R EC R U I T I N G !
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Scan for more
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 FEATURES Directory 27

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 28 Healthcare connexionfrance.com The Connexion June 2023

Cancer expert alarmed by ignorance of risk

Jérôme Foucaud,

Photo: Natalia Lisovskaya_Shutterstock

Photo: Nopphon_1987_Shutterstock
pictured, head Free routine screening is available
of the Research IN FRANCE, there are routine screening campaigns for four of the most
common types of cancer. These are offered free to certain age groups.
Department Breast cancer (cancer du sein)
at the Institut Those aged between 50 and 74 should receive a letter offering a free screening.
Pick from a list of radiologists on the list or choose your own. The screening
National du consists of a clinical examination, followed by a mammogram. If you are aged
Cancer, tells
Photo: Jérôme Foucaud

74 or over, free screening is offered only after consultation with your GP.
Samantha David Bowel cancer (cancer colorectal)
Every two years, eligible adults aged 50-74 will receive a letter from the national
that a recent health organisation Assurance Maladie inviting them to order a free test online.
poll suggests The test comes with detailed instructions and looks for blood hidden in the fae-
ces. If detected, a colonoscopy will be scheduled.
alarming levels of confusion Cervical cancer (cancer du col de l’utérus)
Photo: Krilerg saragorn_Shutterstock

about cancer risk factors A free smear test (frottis vaginal) is available for women every three years

Photo: SNeG17_Shutterstock
between the ages of 25 and 29, after two normal tests one year apart. They are
THE new version of a cancer ‘barom- offered every five years between the ages of 30 and 65.
eter’ compiled to monitor attitudes to Prostate cancer (cancer de la prostate)
cancer and awareness of risk factors There is no national prostate cancer screening programme for men in France.
in France shows an alarming lack of Your GP might recommend it if you are over 50. They will begin with a rectal
knowledge, says a leading expert. examination and then refer you for a blood test to measure the amount of
Every five years since 2005, around The survey explored risks from diet, smoking, alcohol and UV exposure prostate-specific antigen (PSA) produced by the cells in the prostate gland.

“
5,000 people are polled by the Institut
National du Cancer in collaboration reduce their cancer risk. “The extent to which smoking can increase caud. However, the barometer found
with national health authority Santé behaviour that most increases the a person’s chances of getting cancer. that people with higher educ-ation
Publique France. risk of getting cancer is definitely Around 25% of French people smoke levels tend to identify the risks more
The results of the most recent survey, smoking, second is alcohol, third is daily. As well as lung cancer, it can accurately. When it comes to getting
delayed until 2021 because of Covid, unhealthy eating and lack of exercise,” cause cancers of the mouth, throat tested for cancer, for example, people
have now been published.
Risk factors explored included UV
said Mr Foucaud.
“People cited pollution as one of the
The idea that a glass and breast.
“Although 70% of smokers fear get-
in lower income brackets tend to get
tested less often.
exposure from sunlight/sunbeds, top seven risk factors when, in fact, it of red wine can protect ting cancer one day, people minimise Across the board, 68.8% of women
nutrition, tobacco, e-cigarettes, is much further down the list. the risk to themselves: if they smoke aged 50-74 say their mammograms
alcohol, HPV vaccinations, and “Also, 80% of respondents thought
you from cancer is eight cigarettes a day, they will say the are up to date, but only 43% of people
getting regularly tested. psychological stress can cause cancer, completely false, but risk begins at 12 a day, for example.” in the same age group claim that of
Some 3.8 million people in France although there is not a shred of Mr Foucaud said smokers wrongly their colorectal screening.
are living with or have had cancer, and evidence to support that.” 23.5% of respondents believe the risks begin at nine or more The barometer also asked about
around 382,000 more adults are diag-
nosed every year. Although mortality
Using an agree/disagree slider, other
questions were asked about a wide
said they believe it cigarettes per day, and/or smoking for
more than 13.4 years. “There is no safe
electronic cigarettes for the first time.
“We wanted to find out if using them
rates have crept down, the number of range of cancer risks. Jérôme Foucaud level of smoking,” he insisted. was a way out of smoking, or a gateway
cases continues to rise, despite more “An interesting result was that people In addition, 54.8% of respondents to becoming a smoker,” said Mr Fou-
than 40% of cancers being preventable. over-estimated hereditary risks, ting cancer,” he said. “The idea that a wrongly believe exercise helps ‘purify caud. “This is obviously important as
Jérôme Foucaud, head of the thinking it was the third-largest risk glass of red wine can protect you from the lungs’ and only 22.5% of smokers we try to encourage people to give up.”
research department at the Institut factor, but only 5-10% of cancers are cancer is completely false, but almost a had discussed it with a healthcare Some 35% of respondents aged
National du Cancer, said: “The first inherited,” said Mr Foucaud. quarter (23.5%) of respondents believe professional in the last 12 months. 15-75 and 56.8% of those aged 15-24
thing to say is that people can reduce “I think the idea that cancer is it, despite saying they feel well informed More encouraging were answers said they had tried e-cigarettes at least
their risk of getting cancer. inherited has grown because doctors about alcohol.” relating to nutrition, with 73.9% of once, 79.4% said they cause cancer,
“But in order to do so, they have to ask if there is cancer in the family.” The barometer showed that eight respondents recognising that processed and 52.9% think they are more or just
know what behaviours reduce risk Dr Foucaud suggested that people out of 10 French people thought the meat increases risk, and 62.9% that as harmful as tobacco, although there
most, so for the first time we asked might exaggerate the risks from main risk of drinking is having a car red meat does. Some 62.8% know that is no scientific evidence for this so far.
participants the open-ended question: inherited genetics, stress or pollution accident, rather than increasing the eating fruit and vegetables reduces risk. Mr Foucaud said results of the
‘What are the principal risk factors for to avoid taking responsibility for risk of getting cancer. “In the past, there was a difference barometer would be spread “as widely
getting cancer?’.” unhealthy lifestyle choices, which are Some 54% of respondents thought between women and men, but that as possible” and used in collaboration
The answers received were alarm- big contributing factors. alcohol increased cancer risk only doesn’t exist any more, and the with public health authorities to “re-
ingly inaccurate and only 69.2% of “When it comes to drinking, any when consumed excessively. awareness is much more even think our communication strategies to
respondents agreed that they could alcohol at all increases the risk of get- There was also confusion about the across education levels,” said Mr Fou- raise awareness of cancer risk factors.”

Free wheelchairs and rail access do not go far enough, say disabled groups
THE COST of wheelchairs
will be fully reimbursed from
next year as part of
a raft of measures to help
disabled people in France.
The announcement was made
by President Emmanuel
Macron at a recent national
conference for disabled people,
held every three years.
Crucially, it came shortly after
the Council of Europe ruled
that France was breaking inter-
national treaties on human
rights by not doing more for
people with disabilities.
Groups representing the 12
million French people and
eight million carers concerned
were critical of the government’s
response, however, insisting its
proposals lack both ambition
and clarity.
Mr Macron outlined five
areas of focus, including giving
more direct help, such as the
wheelchair policy. At present,
social security reimburses only
part of the cost, and insurance is to lower that to 6%, partly by out of the 300 metros will be by several associations, includ- floor and have a debate on the
can supplement this, with changing apprenticeship condi- accessible in 2024, and all ing Collectif Handicaps, which issue with President Macron,
amounts varying according tions to give more help to firms new lines will be wheelchair- represents 52 smaller groups. but this was also rejected,” said
to policy. that employ disabled people. adapted. Spokesman Stéphane Lenoir Mr Lenoir.
With 430,000 disabled child- Work contracts under the In terms of financial aid, Mr told The Connexion that it had He admitted the association
ren now in inclusive state ESAT regime (Etablissements ou Macron said that, since 2017, participated in all the discuss- found many of the promises
schools – a figure that has risen services d’aide par le travail) will AAH (Allocation aux adultes ions leading up to the confer- made by Mr Macron “interest-
sharply in the last six years – also be changed so disabled handicapés) benefits had risen ence, but nothing had been ing”, but lacking in substance,
Mr Macron also addressed employees get the same rights by 20%. decided by the President 24 especially given that there was
education concerns. as other workers, including to He said the government hours before it was due to start. no announcement of an annual
From September, there will strike and form unions. would now work to ensure that “After hours of work, we had budget dedicated to the needs
be more money for people who Mr Macron added that “it is these can be claimed individ- no idea if the announcements of disabled people.
accompany disabled students not acceptable for these workers ually when recipients are living would be equal to our expect- This was emphasised by
in school and the possibility to be paid 60% of the minimum as a couple in the same home. ations,” he said. differences that the Collectif
that some helpers will be able wage”, although no timetable He pledged: “From October, “We wanted the measures to Handicaps found between
to get full-time jobs (35 hours was set for the changes. 120,000 people living as couples be ambitious and, above all, the written speech given to
a week) by covering lunchtime To improve access to public will see their AAH rise by an budgeted.” the media, and that made by
and extracurricular activities. buildings and government average of €350 a month.” Another reason for the boy- Mr Macron on the day.
Currently, almost all of them websites, Mr Macron has There was also a commitment cott was that the conference A promise to provide a right
are part-time, as the state can budgeted €1.5billion, of which to better sports access by build- agenda made no reference to of access for disabled people to
employ them only during €400million will be spent by ing on infrastructure to be put the Council of Europe ruling. a place of work, for example,
school hours. They are paid an 2027 to improve disabled in place for the Olympic and The association had pushed was omitted from Mr Macron’s
average of €800 per month. access in railway stations. Paralympic Games next year. for proceedings to be post- address.
Unemployment rates for dis- Currently, only 3% of Paris This includes a fivefold poned so there could be con- “We need more details to
abled people are now around metro stations are accessible to increase in the number of taxis sidered responses from govern- really understand what the
14%, compared to 18% in 2017 wheelchair-users. that are adapted to take disabled ment and disabled groups. announcements mean, and to
when Mr Macron was first The Paris transport network passengers. “When this was turned down, know how they will be put in
elected president. His objective (RATP) has promised that 32 The conference was boycotted we asked if we could take the place,” said Mr Lenoir.
 The Connexion June 2023 connexionfrance.com French life in numbers 29

Ten things your prefecture can help you Five things they don’t tell you...
about hanky panky in France

with apart from issuing carte de séjour by Samantha David

What would you add to the list?

by Samantha David Tell us at news@connexionfrance.com

EVERY department has a prefecture head-

ed by a prefect, who may be assisted by one
or more sous-préfets in their sous-préfectures.
You can think of them as the top jaw
(French administration enacted by govern-
ment-appointed representatives, ie. coming
from the top down) and mairies as the
bottom jaw (French administration enacted
by elected officials, ie. from the bottom up).
One of their main jobs is to police local

Photo: Jacob Lund_Shutterstock

government and act as a carrier pigeon Get permission to
between it and the state. They also 4 run a temporary bar
organise and oversee all local elections.
Their websites carry diverse information, This applies to associa-

Photo: Maren Winter_Shutterstock

such as local bans on barbecues, drought tion bars at public events
restrictions, firework bans and rules to such as fairs, festivals or
keep chickens inside during avian flu car boot sales.
outbreaks. This is then republished by They usually allow 1. Le couple 4. Le cinq à sept
mairies in a simpler format. groups to sell wine and
Another of their functions is to make beer but not spirits. THE concept of dating is not THIS cherished French
sure mairies and communautés de com- really current in France. You fantasy involves leaving the
munes act legally and correctly. This is hang out with someone, you office
because élus (elected representatives, such 5 Get tour guide accreditation talk to them a bit, have some untroubled
as mayors) do not have specific training in laughs, maybe get a bit pie- by traffic
administration or law. Apply for a card showing that you eyed together, indulge in some or school

Photo: Dmytro Sheremeta_Shutterstock

The prefect is essentially the sheriff and are a fully-qualified, professional skin-on-skin action and that runs in
checks everything decided at lower levels guide-conférencier. is it, you are a couple. It’s all order to

Photo: JeanLucIchard_Shutterstock
before it is signed off to be actioned. You will need this to get a job cool. There’s no need to spell meet one’s
In the past, people had to visit the prefec- as a tour guide in a state-owned it out. Et voilà! lover/
ture to apply for vehicle and residency museum or monument. mistress at
permits but this is now mostly carried out Getting the card requires a 2. L’amour 17:00 in an
online. You must still visit for certain tasks. surprising amount of experience elegant but
Apart from picking up a carte de séjour, and academic qualifications and, HOWEVER exciting or raffish
here are other things you can do there or as a result, is highly prized. humdrum their private lives apparte-
via your prefecture website: might be, French people can ment for two hours of recrea-
1 Sort a permit to release balloons
apply to have your organisation recognised 8 Get copies of official documents give the impression that they tion before arriving home
as being a utilité public (of public utility), are having illicit liaisons with refreshed and reinvigorated,
This could be for a wedding or birthday which is financially advantageous. This is These could be administrative documents a variety of amazing lovers, just in time for apéros with
party, for instance. free and in many areas can be done online. and/or public information, such as reports, and that this is tout à fait the faithful spouse and off-
minutes of meetings, fines levied, statistics, normal – even if most people spring. Mon oeil!
2 Welcome ceremonies for new citizens 6 Do an association name-check
planning permissions and documents prefer the comforts of hot
A cérémonie d’accueil (welcome ceremony) Check that the name you have chosen for announcing administrative decisions. toast at home. On peut rêver! 5. L’infidelité
for people acquiring French nationality is your association or foundation is not
usually held at the prefecture, but some- already in use. The prefecture should be 9 Ask for exemption from Sunday rules 3. Le topless IN THEORY, the French
times at the mairie or local police station. able to point you in the direction of a list accept that casual infidelity is
During the ceremony, the charter of of names already in circulation. A dérogation au repos dominical is needed A WOMAN removing her just part of life’s rich tapestry
rights and duties is read out to the new if, for example, you want to open your bikini top on a beach does not – until the President of
French citizens. Attendance is not obliga- 7 Become a medal-holder
boulangerie on a Sunday morning. cause the slightest stir but a France does it to you
tory, although inviting new citizens to a Apply to be awarded a medal for long chap with his kegs off is likely [François Hollande], and you
ceremony is. Employers are obliged to service in your employment. The Médaille 10 Medical for driving to cause all sorts of protest. It are a prominent journalist, in
grant at least half a day of extra paid leave d’Honneur du Travail, the Médaille just is not done. Not unless it which case you immed-
to enable people to attend. d’Honneur Régionale, Départementale et Provide a list of doctors you can visit to be is a nudist beach, in which iately check into a psychiatric
Communale, and the Médaille d’Honneur checked to see it is safe for you to drive if case everything is allowed to unit and write a salacious
3 Set up not-for-profit 1901 association Agricole are awarded twice a year to you have a condition considered potential- dangle free... On est libre! kiss-and-tell. Quel drame!
Or a charitable foundation. You can also applicants who fulfil the requirements. ly incompatible with driving.

with The Connexion’s in-depth digital

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 30 Heritage connexionfrance.com The Connexion June 2023

Hold on to your hats: the Irish woman

who refused to let village’s heritage die
Hat-making has been
a tradition of the Haute
Vallée de l’Aude since
the mid-1850s.
Victoria Gibson tells the
extraordinary story of
how the village rallied
to ensure the industry’s
survival
WHEN the final chapellerie in
When the factory
ceased operations, there
More than 500 hat
styles are covered
were fewer than 10 staff,
from an original work-
force of 600.
Four of these joined
MontCapel, and there are
now 11 employees along-
side a large team of vol-
unteers. The latter
includes Sonia, despite
the fact she lives in Paris
and works full-time for
the French subsidiary of
an international telecoms
company.
After securing invest-

All photo: MontCapel

The factory was built in 1925
Montazels (Aude) closed its doors in ment of €300,000-plus,

2018, the loss of the area’s hat-making
know-how seemed inevitable. That is,
until Sonia Mielke took action.
Sonia, who hails from Ireland but
has lived in France for over 30 years,
heard about the closure through
friends in the region.
Passionate about the village (her
maternal grandparents are from the
area and her family still has a house
there), she rallied a small group of
seven people who also wanted to pre-
serve its industrial heritage.
Sonia approached the local mayor
with a business plan and, with the
support of the town hall, went on
to create MontCapel, a cooperative that
includes its workers and clients as
shareholders.
“What’s important is to maintain that
savoir-faire,” says Sonia.
“The real richness of this place is that
we manufacture the felt. That’s how
you can differentiate. There are other
hat-makers in France, but there aren’t
any that make their own felt.”
The factory, built in 1925, is vast,
boasting a floor space of 5,000m².
When Sonia gained access, in October
2019, there was a lot to do.
“There had been a slow decline
between 1980 and 2018. Everything
was just left there, with no investment.
“Some of the machines are between
50 and 100 years old and nothing was
done to maintain them.
“It was just desperate.”
the team was able to
revive manufacturing and, in January
2021, the first MontCapel
bell-shaped felt, or hat body, was made.
“If you look at a felt hat, it doesn’t
have any sewing on. It’s literally
moulded in one piece. And to do that, Everybody has someone
you need these bell-shaped felt hat
bodies, and there is no other factory
in France making them,” says Sonia.
Most other hat bodies use felt from
Asia or Eastern Europe, which con-
tributed to the decline of hat-making
in the area during the 1970s.
The French felt is created with a
base of long-fibred merino wool
blended with short fibres, combined
into one big ball of wool. This is card-
ed three times, including into a carpet difference, for me, between manufac-
of wool 10cm thick and a veil which is turing and creating: we’re not hat
expertly wrapped around a wooden
cone to create the bell shape.
“There’s one person left in France
who knows how to do this and she
works for us,” says Sonia. “That’s
another of our challenges – getting
other people to learn all these tech-
niques. You can’t master it in a week.
It could take a year to learn how to
really wrap the wool properly.”
The wool is then put through
various machines to produce a
bell-shaped piece of felt, which is
manipulated into shape and dyed to
match the order requirements.
“We know our felt really, really well.
And we can manufacture. We have a
“
in their family who
worked in the industry
at some stage
Sonia Mielke,
MontCapel
whole load of tools and everything
available to do whatever our custom-
ers want,” says Sonia. “But there’s a
designers, we’re hat manufacturers.”
There are up to 30 stages in making a
hat, and orders can take between two
days and four weeks to complete. The
duration depends on the style and
colour of hat, order quantity, and the
hat bodies. Making a Napoleonic hat,
which includes lots of gold decorations
and detail, is going to take longer than
a simple Borsalino, for example.
The introduction of electricity during
the 1920s and 1930s allowed hat-mak-
ing to take off on a big scale, and by
the 1940s there were 6,000 people
working in the industry in the area,
says Sonia.
Thousands of hats were manufac-
The cooperative
makes its own felt
While ensuring
MontCapel is eco-
nomically sustain-
able, the mayor is
leading another
project for the
other half of the
factory, setting it
up as a community
venue and
tured every day and the nearby town co-working space.
of Espéraza was the second-largest hat Having weathered the pandemic,
manufacturing centre in the world, MontCapel now boasts 260 coopera-
after Monza in Italy. tive members from all over the world,
These days, 90% of MontCapel’s including the UK and Germany.
business is selling to brands, she says. “We have quite a number of English
“They decide the colours, the style, if speakers because it’s an opportunity
they want to have decoration, or for them to participate in something
whatever. And then we make it.” locally and meet other people,” says
MontCapel has more than 1,500 Sonia. “The fact that I’m an English
moulds covering at least 500 hat styles, speaker has actually facilitated that
including traditional tricornes and because people aren’t as nervous
pirate hats – ideal for companies spe- about coming.”
cialising in costumes or for organ- She describes the last four years as
isations looking for hats as part of a “mad” but worthwhile.
uniform. While it is not their main “The factory is the last of its kind in
business, MontCapel also sells a small an area where people still have a link
range of hats direct to consumers, and to hat-making.
can adjust and repair hats. Meanwhile, “Everybody has someone in their
factory tours let visitors see hat-mak- family who worked in the industry at
ing in action and to find out more some stage. It’s a real investment of
about its history. the heart.”

Ref: A16161 €680,000 Ref: A17651 €1,179,000 Ref: A20830 €304,950 Ref: A20116 €196,000 Ref: A13692 €479,000
Hautes-Pyrénées
Côtes-d’Armor

Haute-Vienne
Charente

Aude

EXCLUSIVE EXCLUSIVE EXCLUSIVE

Agency fees paid by the seller. Agency fees paid by the seller. 7% agency fees included paid by the buyer. 7% agency fees included paid by the buyer. 5% agency fees included paid by the buyer.
Energy class: E Climate class: D Energy class: C Climate class: C DPE: In progress. DPE: In progress. Energy class: E Climate class: D

Information on the risks to which these properties are exposed is available on the Geohazards website: www.georisques .gouv.fr

We have helped 1000s of clients buy and sell

property in France and have 8000+ properties
listed on our website. If you are looking to sell,
contact us for a free market appraisal.

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 The Connexion June 2023 connexionfrance.com Community 31

Petition to save Girlguiding in France King’s coronation honour

for French Highland dancer
FAMILIES are fighting to save a families in moments of transition Alison East
British institution in France after and offers an important link to their (third from
it was announced that British Girl- home country, culture and language”, left), Helen
guiding Overseas (BGO) is to she added. Harrop (right)
cease operations. So far, 14,500 people have signed and other

Photo: Muriel El Gouhzzi

BGO was first established in
Portugal in 1911 and now has 2,600
members across the world.
In France, there are 14 units locat-
ed in Ile-de-France and Toulouse,
welcoming 100 members and 37
volunteers, with sections of
a petition calling on Girlguiding Toulouse
UK to re-examine its decision Girlguiding
(visit tinyurl.com/guidingpetition). leaders at a
Helen Harrop, a Guide leader in recent camp
for Brownies, Anna Ewing, left
left,, and Anna Berkani perform
Toulouse, said volunteers felt
“blindsided” by the announcement. Guides and A FRENCH student who learnt Highland
She has been involved for the last Rangers dancing by watching internet videos during

Photo: Alison East

Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and
Rangers for girls aged four to 18.
Girlguiding is a charitable organis-
ation that offers various activities
and the chance to earn badges – the
equivalent of Girl Scouts in the US.
In a statement published on its
website, Girlguiding UK announced
it would “end organised guiding run
by Girlguiding UK (units, volunteer
structure, trips and online meetings)
in these countries and territories
from September 1, 2023”.
It cited the difficulties of running
“an overseas operation in 36 coun-
tries and territories across the
world, each with separate laws
and regulations”.
The news came as a shock to
volunteers in France, who say there
was no prior consultation.
“We are devastated,” said Jodie
Shaw, co-founder of a group in
Paris and PR adviser for the France
and BeNeLux region.
As well as helping English-speaking
girls to make friends, Girlguiding
“offers continuity for them and their
nine years. Both of her daughters
were in the Girl Guides in the UK,
and they were able to continue after
the move to France.
“We moved them over when they
were eight and 10, and they didn’t
speak French. Now they are
well-adjusted and bilingual, but at
the time they didn’t know anybody
and couldn’t communicate with
school friends, so it was a godsend
for us,” she said.
“My eldest said there were times
when it was the only bright spot in
her week.”
She says for British girls who
move to France, it “gives them a
bridge from one part of their life
to another part of their life.”
Other members have a British
parent, or are French but go to an
international school, and they have
in common the fact they are “not
fully French or fully British.”
Remembering the most recent
camp, Ms Harrop said: “There is a
Guide who is quite shy, and the
mum said she’s seen her really
thrive and shine in a place she
clearly feels comfortable. It’s a
shame that’s going to be lost.”
She is hoping Girlguiding UK
“will find a way” for overseas activ-
ities to continue. The official state-
ment said “further discussions are
now taking place about how girls
overseas might be involved in guid-
ing in the future”, but that future is
still up in the air.
The French groups have the same
programme, structure, uniforms
and first aid and safeguarding train-
ing as UK groups. They have been
told they will not be able to contin-
ue using the same resources from
September, even if they were to
set up as their own organisation,
Ms Harrop said.
Ms Shaw said: “So far, it seems the
only possible solution would be to
potentially join the British Scouts
Overseas (BSO) movement, which
continues to operate as normal.” As
well as having different programmes,
structures and leadership qualific-
ations, she explained, “the most
obvious difference is that Girl-
guiding is a female-only movement.
“We know that our girls and
young members value a female-
only safe space for them to express
themselves, grow in confidence and
have fun.”
The girls are not the only ones set
to lose out – parents and volunteers
also enjoy the benefits of a ready-
made community.
Alison East, a Brownie leader and
district commissioner in Toulouse,
said: “When they arrive in a foreign
land, young families in tow, with
little knowledge of the language and
particularly if one parent doesn’t
work, it is hard to make friends.
“Having a little connection to
the UK, and enjoying time with
like-minded adults, can be a
life-saver for some.”
lockdown danced at the British Embassy’s
Coronation party in Paris.
Anna Berkani’s usual ballet classes shut when
Covid hit so the 18-year-old turned to Highland
dancing because it can be done solo.
“I enjoyed it so much that my mum signed me
up for Zoom lessons with a dance studio in
Edinburgh,” said Ms Berkani.
She has since visted Edinburgh to dance at the
studio and in competitions.
Her dance career took another twist when she
started studying at Sciences Po, and social
media apps matched her with Anna Ewing, 20,
who is spending a year there as part of her
degree at the University of St Andrews.
“There are only about three Highland danc-
ers in France, and to find Anna at the same
university was just crazy,” said Ms Berkani.
They danced together at various events,
including in a Scottish-themed pub in Paris,
and word of mouth led to the invitation to per-
form a Highland Fling and Barracks Johnny at
the Coronation party in May.
Ms Berkani, who is from Paris, hopes to con-
tinue dancing but is torn between ballet and
Highland dancing.
“One advantage of the latter is people do it for
longer. I’ve even seen 40-year-olds dance!”

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So let us look a little deeper at how we
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your personal (or statistical) information.
ADVANTAGES: This includes your age, gender, country of
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kitchen area and entrance or large groups as well, except in this case
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information that require coverage.
PROFILE: Now we have the basic personal infor-
mation, we then focus on the components
- Sense of responsibility, flexible, open to learning new skills, friendly and kind with good
interpersonal skills that can be added to the proposal. It could
- Driving license is desirable but not essential be just medical cost cover, with dental and
vision included or maybe you want life
NET REMUNERATION: cover as well. The permutations for this
are varied but the result is we offer a
- 15.50 €/hour for the carer role simplified choice structure, or as mentioned
- Certain periods (bank holidays etc) will give rise to additional remuneration in accordance with previously, an á la carte menu – with prices
French employment law of course!
START DATE: We offer the same bespoke service for all our Insurance products,
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Please contact us at info@asttral.com
For an informal chat or to apply please contact Alice Loader at the following email address: and by phone at +33 (0)468 32 41 20
alice@aliceloader.com for more information.
 32 Practical connexionfrance.com The Connexion June 2023

Homeowners challenge ‘pay per bag’ waste charge Ex-Barclays client

RESIDENTS are preparing a legal
challenge to a new waste collection
charge that, they say, penalises the
elderly and people with disabilities.
In January, Dordogne waste collec-
tion syndicate SMD3 introduced a
redevance incitative (incentive charge),
where locals pay for the amount of
waste they produce, replacing the
court, and is preparing to request
that the incentive charge be over-
turned as well.
People with reduced mobility can
benefit from door-to-door collection,
but only if each member of the
household has a carte mobilité
inclusion disabled badge, and this
is also significantly more expensive.
aim for zero waste, and they don’t
in France struggles
need that many openings, but they
won’t be rewarded. It’s counter-
to transfer funds
productive,” she said. A BRITISH man who lives in France has
Second-home owners have raised told The Connexion of difficulties he faced
similar complaints – they are charged trying to transfer money here following
at the same rate as a two-person closure of his Barclays account.
household: €244.70 in total, allowing Barclays sent letters to clients in France
for 26 openings. requiring them to close their accounts, as

Photo: Brenda Barrington

traditional tax based on the theoret-
ical rental value of properties.
Door-to-door collections have also
been replaced with points d’apport
volontaire (PAV) – collective bins –
across much of the department.
Residents must use a card, which
is loaded with a certain number of
openings, to access the bins.
Each household is charged a fixed
€109 fee, plus an additional fee for a
certain number of openings: from 16
per year for a single-person house-
hold, to 52 for seven or more people,
meaning the total rate (including
fixed and variable charges) ranges
from €192.50 to €380.40.
One opening allows you to dispose
of two 30l bin bags. Additional open-
ings beyond your allocated number
are charged at €5.22 each.
“I receive phone calls every day
from people in tears,” said Florence
Poumarède, who founded the
Association des Mécontents de la
Collecte des Déchets en Dordogne
(AMCODD) to oppose the new sys-
tem. The group has 1,200 members.
A lawyer representing the associa-
tion has appealed against the intro-
“People are made to pay for the sys-
tem as if it is their fault that they are
sick or disabled,” Ms Poumarède said,
adding: “I don’t see how it is saving
money for the lorry to stop at number
2 and number 10, but not 4, 6 or 8.”
SMD3 has said it will introduce
a donation system, whereby people
who do not use all of their openings
can ‘donate’ them to people who are
incontinent and therefore need to
empty their bins more frequently,
but Ms Poumarède doubts the
scheme will ever see the light of day.
While awaiting the outcome of the
legal challenge, many locals have
been voting with their feet – and
their bin bags. Rubbish has piled up
next to collective bins in areas where
residents have refused to use their
badges. Others, however, are incap-
able of using the bins correctly,
Ms Poumarède said.
“Half the time, the card doesn’t
work, half the time, the bin is full,
and often elderly or disabled people
are unable to step on the pedal while
holding the bin open and dropping
in the bag.”
She also believes the incentive
Brenda Barrington, who lives in
the UK, said: “I accept SMD3’s basic
standing charge of €109. There are
standing charges for electric and
water accounts, but you are not
expected to pay for electricity or
water you don’t use, whereas SMD3
charges for openings you cannot
use, due to the length of the legally
permitted stay in France.”
She has written to SMD3 to request
a reduction to her bill, saying she and
her husband require only 13 open-
ings as they are not allowed to spend
more than 90 out of every 180 days
in France. She plans to withhold pay-
ment, which she says is double her
previous waste collection tax, until
she receives a response.
“I also explained that extra open-
ings only encourage people to pro-
duce more waste,” she added.
Ms Barrington says she now has
to drive almost a kilometre to the
collective bins in her nearest town,
whereas she could previously walk
100 metres down the road.
SMD3 did not respond to requests
for comment. It has previously
blamed price increases on the cost
the bank can no longer serve customers
Brenda Barrington must living in the European Economic Area due
now drive almost a kilometre to Brexit. The reader, who asked not to be
to drop off her bin bags named, said complications arose because
the bank closed his account a week before
incentive charge will leave some out the date indicated in the letter.
of pocket, but others better off. As his bank card was deactivated, he
People who live alone in large could not use his card details to access his
properties, for example, might pay online or telephone banking and transfer
less, as it is now based on the num- the remaining funds from his account.
ber of occupants, not the size of Instead, he was sent a claims form to
the property. return, along with identity documents
Dordogne is not the first area to “certified by a member of our staff or by
introduce this system, but others a Notary Public (qualified solicitor, any
have taken a different approach to type of certified accountant), Embassy
holiday homes. Consular or High Commission official”.
Since 2015, households in the He says that documents certified by
Communauté de communes du his local mairie – a common procedure
Bassin de Marennes (Charente- in France – have not been accepted.
Maritime) pay a subscription fee, A Barclays spokesperson confirmed the
which depends on the size of their bank does accept ID certified by a town
bin, and are also charged for at least hall or notary in France, but said docu-
eight collections. ments not in English require a translation
Second-home owners are only which is certified in the same way.
charged the flat-rate subscription fee, Customers were given six months’
and individually for each collection. notice before their accounts were closed.
On average, the incentive charge The spokesperson said: “If a customer
results in a 41% reduction in house- feels we have provided inaccurate or mis-
hold waste, and a 30% increase to leading information, we would encourage
paper and packaging recycling, says them to get in touch, so we can investi-

Did you know?

duction of PAVs in a Bordeaux charge is a misnomer. “Lots of people of fuel and electricity, and claims the environmental agency Ademe. gate, apologise and put things right.”

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 The Connexion June 2023 connexionfrance.com Practical: Money 33

The Connexion
Money / Tax page

Why does France SCIs not right for all

CREATING an SCI property holding company

ask about foreign

is not automatically a good way to own property,
as many people believe, experts have warned.
Wealth management specialists, quoted in Le
Figaro, say many families have vaguely heard that
this ‘saves money’ – but this is not necessarily

Photo: Shutterstock_fizkes
pension record?
so, they say, although it can be a useful way to
manage a property among several owners.
In particular, the experts said, you should not
use this option without taking advice and
understanding why you are doing it.
Many people think they can pay less tax in the
I MOVED to France in 2003 after working for case of renting out as there is an option for pay-
17 years in the UK. I worked for 12 years in Send your financial queries to ing corporation tax instead of income tax, which
France. I have paid Class 2 National Insur­ might be lower for owners with high revenues.
ance to top up my UK pension. When I left
Hugh MacDonald at However, in this case, banks are liable to see
work in France, I was asked to provide a form
money@connexionfrance.com. Please ensure you mark this as requiring a ‘professional’ mortgage, which
from the UK with details of my N.I. payments your emails for the attention of Mr MacDonald can be more difficult to obtain, plus there will be
so it could be taken into account for my no benefit to any associates on modest incomes.

As French residents, is it necessary for us to

French pension. Why does the French system
need this? I thought a French pension would
be based on my payments here. Will I be able
to claim both pensions? A.H.
YOU will be able to claim from both countries.
The French pension body needs to know about
UK N.I. payments due to the pension ‘aggrega-
tion’ system that applies to EU pensions and
also to UK ones due to the Brexit deals.
This means the UK and France can take
account of contributions into the other’s pension
system to avoid penalties that might otherwise
apply in the case of insufficient contributions.
In the UK, it can help make sure you are entit-
led to a pension, even if you have paid in for
fewer years than the usual minimum of 10 years.
In France, it can help avoid, or reduce, a lower-
ing (décote) that is applied to your French pen-
sion calculation if you have not paid in for the
usual standard amount of years (currently
around 42). Your French pension will still be
proportional to the years paid in, but it will not
be subject to an additional penalty – or rather,
in your case, the penalty will be lessened.
declare our ‘very small’ UK state pensions?
MY HUSBAND and I are married retirees
and have French nationality.
Our main source of income is from our
French pensions but we also receive very
small UK pensions paid into a UK bank
account (these are not taxed in the UK).
We would like to know if these UK
pensions must be declared to the French
authorities, since the amount is much less
than the first French taxable band. S.C.
YES, your UK pensions are declarable to France
and such pension income is potentially taxable
income in France unless these are ‘government’
pensions, ie from public service, such as being a
state schoolteacher or a civil servant.
The latter are taxable in the UK but should
still be declared to France, including using a
box in the 2047 overseas income form to notify
them as income that gives rise to a tax credit
equivalent to the French tax.
It makes no difference that the UK income is
under the first French taxable band amount,
which started at above €10,777 for 2022
income, as the UK income would be added to
your other worldwide incomes, including from
France, to work out your French tax liability.
If you have not yet done so, therefore, and had
UK pension income last year, we would advise
you to include it in your declaration. If you have
already declared online and can still reopen your
online declaration to add it, you can do so.
If you applied on paper, you can send a com-
plete new declaration writing on it: DÉCLAR-
ATION RECTIFICATIVE, ANNULE ET
REMPLACE. A specific corrections service is
also open online via your personal space in
August after the avis d’imposition are sent out.
Also, if you rent out a property owned by an
SCI and sell it later, taxation of the capital gains
can be several times more than if you sell it as a
privately-owned home, according to François-
Xavier Soeur of Terrae Patrimoine. He advises,
in the case of renting out, to look at changing to
another structure called a SARL familiale.
Another issue is the fact that SCI associates
have unlimited liability for debts of an SCI (in
proportion to their input into the capital).
Setting up an SCI can also be a long and costly
process, involving a notaire or avocat to draw up
statutes, and often an accountant to keep accounts.
Joint accounts at Revolut
ONLINE bank Revolut, used by two million
people in France, now offers joint accounts to its
customers across the European Economic Area.
People taking these out will not be asked to
prove they are a couple or that they live together,
so they can be used by friends, family members
or colleagues.
As with classic Revolut accounts, standard
joint accounts will come with a ‘virtual bank
card’, which provides numbers that can be used

Capital gains of former residents Wrongly charged €100 for beer for online payments, but no physical card.

WE RETURNED to the UK from French property. You should then make I WENT into a local bar in France, ordered a beer and paid by
S1 and French pensions
France in 2019 and are now selling a declaration to HMRC in the UK. contactless bank card. I later received my statement and WE LOOKED last month at renouncing, or
our French house in Gard. Do we You will not, however, have any realised they have charged me €100. I am not returning to not taking, a French pension so as to use a UK
have to pay UK capital gains tax on French tax to pay if you have owned the France until at least Easter. Is there anything I can do? D.C. S1 for healthcare, which can give reduced social
money we obtain from selling the house for longer than 30 years (for tax charges on some kinds of income. Social secur-
house, as well as paying the and social charges) or 22 years (for tax). IN THE the first instance, contact the bar with proof of the trans- ity experts Cleiss and French pension bodies
relevant taxes in France? S.L. People leaving France can generally action (ie. your bank statement) and ask for a refund. If you kept said it is possible but we did not have confirma-
benefit from a tax exemption for selling a receipt, all the better, but it should be possible for the bar to tion from the UK that the practice is acceptable
YOU MIGHT have capital gains tax to their former main home, but only until identify the payment. If there is an anomaly, you should also con- Official UK sources now confirm that this is a
pay in both countries, but any French the end of the next year. tact your bank. If you used a French card, law allows for a refund matter for France but people should take advice
tax paid could be offset against UK tax. An exemption of up to €150,000 of via the bank in the case of ‘badly executed’ card transactions. before potentially giving up an entitlement
The French tax will be organised dur- taxable capital gain for former residents Banks in many countries have similar arrangements. permanently. People in France are entitled to
ing the sale by the fiscal representative, of France selling one property after leav- Contactless payments can be prone to such problems as people have, and use, a UK S1 if they are not receiving
who is required to act as an intermed- ing is available without a time limit, but might not check the machine’s display or their receipt. If necessary, a French state pension or similar eligible bene-
iary when non-EU residents sell a only to EU citizens. a consumer body such as France Conso Banque may be able to help. fits entitling them to care via France.
However, there can be benefits of healthcare
The Connexion welcomes queries and publishes a selection with answers in The information on these pages is of a general nature. Do not take action, via France, including the right to a French Ehic,
every edition. However, please note that we cannot enter into correspondence or refrain from taking action based on this information. Seek professional
advice on the specific facts of your case. No liability is accepted in respect which can be used for free care on visits to the
on money topics. Queries may be edited for length and style. Due to the sensi­ of these articles. These articles are intended only as a general guide. UK. Another is the right to the CSS healthcare
tive nature of topics we do not publish full names or addresses on these pages. Nothing herein constitutes actual financial advice. top-up scheme for those on low incomes.
 34 Practical: Money connexionfrance.com The Connexion June 2023

Bank crashes put spotlight on savings protection

This column is by Rob Kay, a
senior partner at Blevins Franks
financial advice group (blevins-
franks.com). Rob has decades of
experience advising UK nationals
in France and features regularly
in the media discussing
issues that affect expatriates.
WE TRUST banks to look after our savings
– indeed many people consider bank deposits
to be ‘no-risk’ investments – but unfortunately
they can and do fail, as recent headlines have
reminded us.
Early March saw the collapse of two US banks,
Silicon Valley Bank(SVB) and Signature Bank.
They both had niche customer bases, with SVB
concentrated on tech and start-ups and affected
by rising interest rates, while Signature was quite
heavily tied to cryptocurrency.
Later that month, Credit Suisse had to be
suddenly taken over by rival UBS. It had faced a
number of problems in recent years, including
scandals, management issues and significant
losses. Nevertheless, the collapse of Switzerland’s
second largest bank, founded in 1856, was a
real blow for the country’s reputation as a stable
financial centre.
The situation is not the same as 2008, though.
Back then, banks around the world were exposed
to US sub-prime mortgages.
Today, tighter banking regulations require
them to hold more capital and have stricter risk
management, with the largest banks subject to
rigorous stress tests.
Bank deposit guarantees are also much higher
than they were at the start of the 2008 crisis,
giving clients much more peace of mind. That
said, we should all be aware of how our only covers the three months after the funds are How to help yourself
savings are protected in the unlikely event of received. If you have bank deposits over the guarantee
institutional failure. Not just in banks, but The FDGR also covers the ‘investor compens- limits, you can spread your savings out over
investment and insurance companies too. ation scheme’ that guarantees French-authorised more than one banking group for peace of mind.
financial securities up to €70,000 per customer, You could also consider alternative options
Savings protection in France per institution. This excludes investments pro- for your savings that provide a higher level of
The EU directive on Deposit Guarantee Schemes vided by portfolio management companies. investor protection than banks can offer.
(DGS) ensures that all member states have a Assurance vie bonds, for example, are a popular
scheme to compensate savers in the event of Savings protection in the UK and effective savings vehicle in France, which can
bank failure. The UK’s protection level has not changed since provide tax and succession planning benefits.
An update in March 2009 required banks to leaving the EU, and the guarantee limit provided If you opt for a Luxembourg policy, you benefit
increase coverage to €100,000 by the end of 2010, by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme from its very robust protection for life assurance
and this still stands today. (FSCS) is £85,000 (roughly matching the EU’s – your investment assets are protected should the
France has something called the Fonds de €100,000). insurance company fail.
Garantie des Dépôts et de Résolution (FGDR), The rules are the same as in France: protection Luxembourg’s investor protection regime is the
to which all French-authorised banks contribute. is per depositor (accounts in joint names there- strongest in Europe and stipulates that all clients’
The FGDR covers bank accounts (current fore have £170,000) and per banking institution. assets are held by an independent custodian
and deposit), savings plans such as the Plan The scheme aims to pay compensation within bank approved by the regulator.
d’Epargne Logement (PEL) and Plan d’Epargne seven days of a bank or building society failing, The bank must ring-fence clients’ securities –
Populaire (PEP), cash accounts associated with though complex cases will take longer. investment funds, shares, bonds, etc – so they
equity savings schemes (PEA), and pension The FSCS provides a protection limit of up to are held off the balance sheet.
savings schemes (PER). These are added together one million pounds for temporary high balances If the bank fails, these securities remain in
and compensated up to a maximum of €100,000 (up to six months). segregated client accounts, meaning 100% of
per customer, per bank. So far, the only difference since Brexit is that the policyholder’s securities are protected.
It also covers savings accounts such as Livret protection for deposits held in EU/EEA branches Cash deposits are not protected, but cash held
A, Livret Bleu, Livret Développement Durable et of UK firms are now covered by the local deposit in monetary funds are treated as securities.
Solidaire (LDDS) and Livret d’Epargne Populaire guarantee scheme in that country, not the FSCS. As always, savings and investment decisions
(LEP), again added together with a €100,000 should be based around your personal objectives,
limit per customer per bank. UK offshore centres circumstances, time horizon and risk profile.
Since the guarantee is per customer, jointly Some British expatriates in France keep savings Take personalised, regulated advice on asset
owned accounts are protected up to €200,000. in the Channel Islands or Isle of Man. Be aware protection and a suitable, tax-efficient invest-
Note, however, that compensation is per that they are not covered by the UK scheme, ment approach for your life in France.
banking group, not per bank. even if they are divisions of UK banks.
Any compensation owed should be available The Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey depositor n Tax rates, scope and reliefs may change. Any
within seven working days. compensation schemes all provide protection of statements concerning taxation are based upon our,
You may be eligible for an additional €500,000 up to £50,000 per person for covered banks. Blevins Franks, understanding of current taxation
guarantee if you have a ‘temporary high balance’. The Channel Islands aim to pay compensation laws and practices which are subject to change. Tax
This can apply, for example, if you have just sold within three months, and Isle of Man has no information has been summarised; an individual is
a property or received an inheritance – but it time limit. Their compensation funds are capped. advised to seek personalised advice.

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form chief
Tax services deny significant ‘bugs’ with system
Photo: Anika Molnar / Netflix

by Liv Rowland had been significant bugs. She said they

FINES will not be issued this year for
failing to complete the obligatory new
biens immobiliers residential property
declaration on time, the head of the
service has told The Connexion.
“We will be easy-going as it’s a new
reform,” said Sandrine Majorel-Delage.
Fines of €150 are, in theory, possible for
non-compliance.
Even so, she advised readers to meet
the legal June 30 deadline but not to
worry about possible minor errors with
property descriptions.
Rather, people should concentrate this
year on validating how the property is
occupied, she said.
This means declaring whether it is a
main or second home, rented out or
vacant (unfurnished and unused).
Issues to do with the description, which
is prefilled but must be checked, can be
ironed out later, she said. People should
ideally use a private message in their
online personal space for this.
The tax services have received more
than 150,000 calls about the new declar-
ation, most often concerning the surface
area displayed or the number of rooms,
but Ms Majorel-Delage denied there
had emailed 16.5 million members of the
public to alert them of the requirement
– 34 million owners in total are estimat-
ed to have to complete the form. Calls
received were “very limited” and queries
are “perfectly manageable,” she said.
Second-home owners, including
non-residents, have been emailed if con-
tact details were available, adverts have
Foreign licence swaps set to end as
penalties ease for minor speeding
been run and communications placed on
forums. “We also decided, from the start,
to translate the whole online service into
English,” she said.
The most significant ‘bug’ has been DRIVERS who flout the speed limit by Pierre Lagache, vice-president of La years. I can only celebrate.”
that some online spaces still showed a less than 5km/h will no longer have Ligue contre la violence routière, said In 2020, 58% of speeding tickets
‘declaration expected’ label, despite this points deducted from licences under road safety has become “a political from automatic cameras involved
having been completed. This is now new rules starting on January 1, 2024. instrument”. He said: “We have seen a excesses of less than 5km/h.
reported to be fixed. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin number of backward steps: the return Resident drivers with foreign licenc-
With regard to size and rooms, tax said the aim is to “adapt the repressive to 90km/h in some areas, the refusal of es are required by law to swap to a
offices have always used different defin- regime for small excesses.” Fines will a contrôle technique for motorbikes, the French licence if they commit an
itions than estate agents: for example, still be levied, however. stopping of urban speed cameras... offence involving the loss of points, so
‘rooms’ also include walled-off kitchens The measure is expected to be on top “The government is sending a this should no longer be necessary for
and bathrooms. of the ‘margin of error’ that is already message that our road safety policy is small speeding fines.
Loi Carrez surface area rules for flats deducted from the speed clocked by stopping, there is nothing to worry Last year, revenue from speed cam-
do not apply but rather ‘real area’, often cameras (5km/h in speed zones up to about. You can relax.” era fines reached €707million – up 8%
slightly larger. If you believe a significant 100km/h, then 5%). However, Pierre Chasseray, a leader on the year before.
mistake has been made, you should con- Mr Darmanin called it a “common- of motoring association 40 millions L 14574 - 247 H - F: 6,25 € - RD
tact the local centre des impôts foncier sense measure” but road safety cam- d’automobilistes, welcomed the plans.
(details can be searched online). In some paigners fear there will be more deaths He said: “We have been working on
è Turn to Page 2 and injuries on roads as a result. this with the interior minister for

INTERVIEW Save money ‘AI makes pension Hospital Explore

First wheelchair and have fun at debate irrelevant and hires a the Cher,
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MP on France’s a DIY campsite will reorder key jobs’ dog-ter France
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 The Connexion June 2023 connexionfrance.com Ideas 35

Yacht gives holidaymakers green ferry option

by Brian McCulloch Ireland and France and the
Balearic Islands, but nothing
A COOPERATIVE that has been confirmed.
trialled a sailing yacht passen- For shorter distances, such as
ger ferry between Corsica and between the French mainland
the French mainland in 2022 is and the Breton and Vendée
returning for a second year islands, Sailcoop has commis-
– but plans for a similar service sioned a new catamaran.
across the Channel have been Work on it is due to start in
delayed. June, with the expectation it
By mid-April, when the will enter service in 2024.
Corsica ferry started, half of the The co-operative hopes to sell
20,000 places available for the the construction plans for this
2023 season had been taken. craft to other operators around
Aimed at holidaymakers who the world for similar short-
want to minimise their carbon ferry work. It will have an
footprint, Sailcoop operates all-electric engine as back-up
yachts accommodating eight and for manoeuvres in port.
passengers and two crew. Sailcoop is currently locked
Prices are roughly double that in battle with French author-
of an ordinary ferry to Corsica ities over the rules and regul-
– €240 per person in a double ations of the service.
cabin for a Sunday crossing It has been opposed by other
(€216 reduced rate). ferry companies, which say the
The journey can take much law does not permit yachts to
longer too, with estimates of be used commercially on regu-
niche, and ferry boats take
2,500 passengers at a time,
but we have to show that
alternatives are available.
“Plus, travelling under sail is
a wonderful experience for
most of our passengers, 80% of
whom have never been on a
yacht before.”
It is selling shares in the
co-operative for €10.
In related news, the company
that tested a sail crossing
between Dover and Boulogne-
sur-Mer last year also hopes to
operate again this year, but
admits there have been delays.
SailLink is in the process of
buying a new boat capable of
carrying up to 10 passengers
and two crew, which should be
faster than the catamaran used
last year.
It expects to cross the
Channel in three-and-a-half
hours, for just over €100.

between 16 and 24 hours,
depending on wind and sea
conditions.
The service operates between
the mainland port of Saint-
Raphaël, near Fréjus, and
Calvi, Corsica, with one boat
scheduled per day until the end
of the season in September.
Sailcoop is also planning a
cross-Atlantic voyage between
Saint-Raphaël and the
Sailcoop’s Corsica crossings, running until September, carry eight passengers and two crew
Caribbean island of
Martinique, departing on
November 5 with a return
pencilled in for March 2024.
However, founder Maxime de
Rostolan told The Connexion
that he is not yet certain it will
take place: “There was a lot of
demand for the crossing and it
seemed a good idea to use the
boat. However, this year we
found we could not sell enough
tickets for the Martinique-
Guadeloupe service we wanted
Photo: Sailcoop
lar lines unless they are fully
registered as passenger ships.
At the moment, Sailcoop is
operating only after being given
special dispensation to do so
to run while we were there. until 2024, because the initiative
Obviously, the yacht has to contributes to France’s goal of
earn its keep, so we are consid- using less fossil fuel.
ering our options.” “By sailing on our boat, pass-
Other medium-distance engers cut their carbon foot-
routes the company is looking print for the trip by 95%,” said
at are between France and Mr de Rostolan. “We are a
“Some of the crossings last
year were longer than we
would have liked,” said Andrew
Simons, one of the firm’s
founders. “We realised we
needed a bigger, faster boat but
getting one, paying for it, and
getting it up to scratch is all
taking longer than hoped.
“We aim to start the service
in the summer, but do not have
a date yet.”

Letterboxes get bigger for the

boom in home parcel delivery Specialist investment
FRUSTRATION over missed parcels has inspired
two Frenchmen to reinvent the letterbox with a
digital locking system and in a larger size.
“We got the idea in 2016 when we realised that
we were getting fewer and fewer letters but more
advice for expatriates
and more parcels, and standard boxes were not
adapted,” said Olivier de Rodellec, who developed
a solution with consultant Adrien Oksman.
“For me, this meant getting more and more
in France.
notes about missed parcels from La Poste or
going to Point Relay shops, which usually meant
hurrying to get there before they closed.”
Their letterbox, BoksOne, is four times larger
than a standard mailbox and costs €359.
Each time something is ordered online, a Blevins Franks has decades of Talk to the people who know
unique code generated by the Boks app can be
Photo: Boks

experience providing investment

copied into the delivery information.
This is printed on the parcel label for couriers
to read and type into the BoksOne keypad when
they drop off the order. A code can also be acti-
vated remotely and relayed to the delivery per-
son if they telephone.
The parcel recipient can then open the
BoksOne using the keypad, Bluetooth (via the
app), or a traditional key. They can also invite
family members to use it or give temporary
access to a neighbour. It does not need an
electric or wifi connection.
Standard French letterboxes, which come with
keys issued to La Poste staff and trusted delivery
companies, are available from all post offices for
€63. Both cheaper and more expensive models
can be found in DIY shops.
Increasingly, however, the 30cm x 30cm x
41cm size is too small for packages as more and
Olivier de Rodellec with his BoksOne, which is
four times larger than a standard letterbox
BoksOne measures 70cm x 40cm x 37cm. There
are also larger boxes available for businesses (the
‘Pro’) and flats (the ‘Hub’).
“Businesses need somewhere they can have
incoming parcels received easily, and where
customers can, if they want, pick up their goods,”
said Mr de Rodellec. “That is where we come in.”
Other companies have also developed post-
boxes suitable for parcels.
One, from British company Smart Parcel Box,
operates by having two compartments.
The delivery is made in the top one and drops
into the secure bottom one, which is accessible
by key. Each box has a barcode for delivery staff
to scan as proof of delivery and prices start from
advice and portfolio management 0 805 112 163 (N0 Vert)
to UK nationals in France. We start by france@blevinsfranks.com
getting to know your circumstances,
objectives and risk tolerance, then
www.blevinsfranks.com
choose the right blend of investment
assets and managers to create a well-
diversified portfolio that matches your
needs and profile.
Contact your local advisers for
personalised investment advice
and peace of mind.
INTERNATIONAL TAX ADVICE • INVESTMENTS • ESTATE PLANNING • PENSIONS
Blevins Franks Group is represented in France by the following companies: Blevins Franks Wealth Management Limited (BFWML) and Blevins Franks France SASU

more people order online.
The wide availability of keys to unlock them
can also cause security problems. Parisians have
complained that thieves help themselves from
€122 for a model slightly smaller than the
BoksOne.
There is also a larger model from Boks –
looking a bit like the Amazon Hub Lockers
083-fr
(BFF). BFWML is authorised and regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority, registered number C 92917. Authorised to conduct investment services under
the Investment Services Act and authorised to carry out insurance intermediary activities under the Insurance Distribution Act. Where advice is provided outside of
Malta via the Insurance Distribution Directive or the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II, the applicable regulatory system differs in some respects from that of
Malta. BFWML also provides taxation advice; its tax advisers are fully qualified tax specialists. Blevins Franks France SASU (BFF), is registered with ORIAS, registered
number 07 027 475, and authorised as ‘Conseil en Investissements Financiers’ and ‘Courtiers d’Assurance’ Category B (register can be consulted on www.orias.fr).
Member of ANACOFI-CIF. BFF’s registered office: 1 rue Pablo Neruda, 33140 Villenave d’Ornon – RCS BX 498 800 465 APE 6622Z. Garantie Financière et Assurance de
Responsabilité Civile Professionnelle conformes aux articles L 541-3 du Code Monétaire et Financier and L512-6 and 512-7 du Code des Assurances (assureur MMA).

Blevins Franks Trustees Limited is authorised and regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority for the administration of retirement schemes. This promotion has
the rows of boxes found in the entrance of many popular in the UK and US, which La Poste has been approved and issued by BFWML.

blocks of flats, for example. By comparison, the branded to use in some of its post offices.
 36 Work connexionfrance.com The Connexion June 2023

Auto-entrepreneur Left: The firm still uses

Jacquard looms, invented
in the early 19th century

site ‘shows a lack Right: The workshop is in one

of the oldest parts of Lyon, on

of common sense’
rue Mourguet, with a shop on
rue Saint-Jean

A NEW online platform for ual property rights, made up CRAFTS

Photos: Soierie Saint-Georges

registering, modifying or
closing a business has been
criticised by a union for
self-employed workers for
being unnecessarily confusing.
in focus
of lawyers. Ms Sentey called
it a “casting error”.
She added: “Usually, after
filling in a box to say you are an Lyonnais silk worker –
auto-entrepreneur, you would
canut

Silk workers weave a spell on

The site – formalites.entreprises. be directed to a simplified
gouv.fr – launched in January version of the form used by big
as a ‘one-stop shop’ to simplify businesses, but not here.
administrative tasks. “So now, for example, you are

Lyon’s shoppers and tourists

However, Monique Sentey,
head of the Union des Auto-
Entrepreneurs, told FranceInfo
that the Urssaf form it replaced
took just 15 to 20 minutes to com-
plete. Urssaf is the government
body charged with collecting
social security taxes across many
sectors of business, including
most self-employed workers.
“It asked good questions,
which enhanced your under-
standing of your business,” she
said. “The new guichet unique
is not intelligent, not dynamic.”
She added that its only virtue
was to stop people exploit-
ing opportunities to declare
business activities not covered
by Urssaf.
“But ultimately, especially
for auto-entrepreneurs, it is a
problem. The new form seems
to have been created by people
with no common sense at all.
asked if you are filling in the
form on behalf of a manager.
Obviously, for self-employed
people the answer is ‘no’, so it
is daft to ask the question.”
Ms Sentey said the introduc-
tion of the platform in January
was followed by a marked fall
in the number of people declar-
ing auto-entrepreneur activity
in February and March.
She also criticised the way
an anti-inflation promise by
President Macron to lighten
social charges, including for
self-employed workers, was
implemented.
“In the end, there was a
€550 cut in social security
contributions – but only for
those whose declarations are
made after deduction of actual
expenses, which is not the case
for most auto-entrepreneurs,
who have deductions based on

Photos: Romain de La Calle

“For example, at the end, after a percentage of sales figures.
going through it for an hour- “For these people, it transpires
and-a-half, it asks if you are a you only get €86 off contribu-
fisherman. It makes no sense.” tions in September 2023. This
She added that although disparity effectively means we
spelling and grammar mistakes are being punished for using the Ludovic de la Calle officially retired from the family firm earlier this year but still returns to the workshop from time to time
found in early versions of the government’s own simplified
form had been corrected, the system. There is no explanation.” by Théophile Larcher Like canuts (Lyonnais silk a silking school and, on grad- working conditions. They
language was still difficult to The union is also challenging workers) of old, the brothers use uating, honed his craft among took over the Croix-Rousse
understand. “It is too bureau- a change to the calculation of LYON’S Saint-Georges silk two traditional hand techniques. the very last master-weavers in district, pushing merchants
cratic and totally disconnected retirement rights. “Retirement workshop is not just about soft The first, to weave velvet, Lyon’s Croix-Rousse district, and military out and holding
from the way normal people contributions previously paid furnishings and scarves. It tells requires meticulous attention the historic home of the city’s on for weeks until the army
speak and write.” on the basis of sales are being an important story of the city’s to produce just two or three canuts. reclaimed the city and peace
The government outsourced replaced by one on net income, industrial history. centimetres of fabric a day. “It is hard not to feel nostalgic was negotiated
work on the platform to an which will hit many self-employ- It counts itself among Lyon’s The second technique, called for what Lyon once had,” says Three years later, there was
organisation looking at intellect- ed workers,” said Ms Sentey. oldest soieries (silk workshops) brocart (brocade), sees the Ludovic. a second revolt.
and is one of the last three brothers insert additional weft The Saint-Georges workshop This time the canuts held
Changes on way for Pôle Emploi to weave fabric on Jacquard
looms, the machine invented
threads to create ornamental
patterns in certain sections of
has seen seven generations of
textile workers pass through,
Lyon for nearly a week, until
12,000 soldiers swarmed in,
PÔLE Emploi, France’s national jobseeker network, is to change by Joseph Marie Jacquard the fabric, racking up five to while his previous workshop in killing hundreds of workers.
name next year to France Travail – Travail suggesting action/ to automate patterning that seven centimetres a day. Croix-Rousse could trace five The industry faltered, but
investment in a job rather than the more passive ‘employed’. turned Lyon into the heartland To begin, Romain maps out generations. slowly revived.
The move is also to mark a change and is accompanied by plans to of silk manufacturing in the the designs on graph paper, Things really took off for the Saint-Georges has been keen
make people on RSA income top-up benefit who are registered as 19th century. making notes and studying Lyon silk industry in the 15th to highlight the part it plays
‘looking for employment’ do between 15 and 20 hours of ‘insertion’ The workshop is situated on colours to help him design a and 16th centuries. Around in this long history of silk-
work a week (the aim being to get them into a long-term job). rue Mourguet, in one of the punch card for the Jacquard 1540, King Francis I gave weaving.
The idea provoked an immediate reaction from former work oldest parts of Lyon. machine, which will control its Lyon a monopoly on raw silk Ludovic had the idea to open
commissioner Martin Hirsch, who introduced the RSA during his It is overseen by Romain and sequence of operations. imports, ensuring that all the workshop to the public to
mandate. Mr Hirsch said: “Turning someone receiving benefits Virgile de la Calle, who took “This is a bit like early com- the fine silk coming into the keep a spotlight on Lyon’s
into a labourer without rights is social regression.” over from their father Ludovic. puting,” he says. Indeed, the country from Italy or Asia first industrial heritage, and the
The government said plans for France Travail include spending “Silk fabric and spools – that ability to change the pattern stopped in the city. move seems to have paid off.
an extra €2.3billion over two years finding work for unemployed was my childhood,” says Romain, of the loom’s weave by simply Italian weavers were also The company has built part-
people. The long-term unemployed will be specifically targeted. who remembers playing hide- changing cards was an import- installed in Croix-Rousse nerships with the city’s tourist
The number of jobseekers in France dropped by 3.6% in the last and-seek between the 1820s ant conceptual precursor to around the 16th century, and office and foreign tour opera-
quarter of 2022 to 3.05 million, the lowest figure since 2011. looms with his brother. the development of computer the industry steadily grew tors, giving it more visibility.
He started working there programming and data entry. over the years. There is also a nearby shop on
Urssaf’s four-day week unpopular seven years ago, having grown
disillusioned with his construc-
Romain will spend the next
two months preparing the
A 1788 census records Lyon
had 14,777 silk looms in 5,832
rue Saint-Jean, and collabora-
tions with chateaux to replace
ONLY three workers out of a longer nine-hour days. Others tion job and worried that his loom, from threading it for the workshops. tapestries and soft furnishings
potential 200 have taken up tax thought they would be too tired father would close the business ground warp to preparing the The district grew even in their interiors.
collection service Urssaf ’s offer to profit from the extra day off. on retirement if he was unable bobbins for the pile warp (there bigger after the invention in Ludovic, who officially retired
of a four-day week at its office Lyon métropole also plans to to find a buyer. can be thousands). 1804 of the Jacquard machine, in January, is justifiably proud
in Picardie in northern France. introduce a four-day week to Virgile joined three years ago. Romain believes there are which boosted output. of his legacy. “I gave everything
Forty people had expressed reduce absenteeism and “make “We learned on the job,” says only 10 to 15 people who are Soon after, however, in that I could in the time I had,”
interest but most later with- employment more attractive.” Romain, whereas most workers still able to work like this on 1831, the canuts, all under the he says, “and I still come by
drew. Reasons given included Starting in September, the enter the craft with a qualific- Jacquard machines, as the ex- employment of wealthy silk the workshop to help out, with
difficulties reconciling family one-year voluntary trial con- ation from the Institut national pertise has gradually been lost. merchants, revolted in protest machine repairs for example.
life, especially childcare, with cerns 5,500 of its 9,600 staff. des métiers d’art (INMA). His father learnt the trade at at their pitiful wages and poor “This is a craft for life.”
 The Connexion June 2023
All on board to save France’s
historic half-timbered houses
Architecture
of France...
Maisons à By
THEOPHILE
colombages LARCHER
HERITAGE associations, tourist offices
and construction companies have been
putting their heads together to stop the
decline of France’s maisons à colombages
(half-timbered houses).
This style of building became popular
in the Middle Ages and is particularly
prevalent in the north of the country.
In recent years there have been media
campaigns to publicise the issue and
tougher legislation to protect buildings,
as well as a focus on new renovation
techniques and materials.
Some firms are now even offering dis-
mantling and reassembly services.
Success to date remains modest – the
number of half-timbered houses has been
declining steadily over the last few dec-
ades, despite their value for tourism and
renewed interest among architects
and construction professionals.
Commentators often speculate that their
disappearance threatens the very soul of
French towns and cities, as more and more
decaying structures are condemned by
mairies over safety fears.
The issue came to a head on July 22 last
year when a half-timbered house in Hoch-
felden (Bas-Rhin) was demolished to make
room for a car park, despite strong oppo-
sition from conservation associations and
TV personality Stéphane Bern, a popular
advocate for the preservation of France’s
architectural heritage.
The Hochfelden house epitomised the
reluctance of mayors to consider the eco-
nomic benefits of restoring these buildings.
Denis Elbel, vice-president of the Assoc-
iation de la maison alsacienne (Asma),
who spent a year-and-a-half trying to stop
the town hall’s plans, said: “I had found a
couple willing to put €50,000 on the table,
but the mayor wanted double the price.”
Asma has been leading the defence of
Alsatian half-timbered houses for 50 years.
It estimates that between 300 and 400 have
been destroyed every year in the region.
Half-timbered houses grew in popularity
from the 13th to the 17th centuries, being
half to a third as expensive and quicker to
construct than stone houses.
They fell out of fashion under Louis XIV,
who preferred stone and systematically
destroyed them when he conquered
formerly foreign-controlled cities, such
as in Lille.
Daniel Leloup, an architect and historian
who has written a book on the subject,
told The Connexion that there were several
hundred thousand half-timbered houses
in France by the 17th century.
“It is impossible to list how many were
lost in total,” said Mr Elbel.
Only 150,000 to 200,000 survive in the
country, he claims, mainly in the Alsace
region, which did not suffer as much
destruction in the Napoleonic wars or
during World War Two bombings.
Brittany is believed to have around 1,500
of them, with Mr Leloup having identified
370 in its prefecture Rennes. In Rouen, in
Normandy, there remain some 2,000.
Maisons à colombages are also known by
the term maisons à pans de bois. The latter
Picture-postcard maisons à pans de bois in Rennes have proved a huge tourist lure
is often used when a house is multi-storey,
and is more common in Brittany.
From the 18th century, many of these
buildings were rented to the middle and
working classes, who often lacked the time
and money to commit to renovation works.
A glimmer of light came in the 1960s
with both the rise in tourism and the intro-
duction of tighter legislation.“From there,
the bleeding stopped,” said Mr Leloup.
The Malraux law was passed on August 4,
1962, to protect France’s heritage sites from
sprawling urban development. It takes its
name from André Malraux, who was then
Minister of Culture.
Cities such as Strasbourg and Rennes
used the legislation to secure hectares of
half-timbered houses and the architectural
style also became a powerful tool to market
regions, with the buildings often appearing
on postcards.
Rennes, in particular, embarked on a
whirlwind of renovation, mostly concen-
trating on the houses’ facades. However,
closer inspection of the buildings had the
unwelcome effect of revealing just how
much work was needed to keep them
standing, with many being held up by little
more than wooden struts. The 1990s saw
efforts by Rennes’ mairie to replace these.
The renewed interest in half-timbered
houses gave building professionals and
architects a chance to gain hands-on
experience – until then, their knowledge
of this style had been largely theoretical.
Architectes des Bâtiments de France,
the group of government-employed
architects with a heritage speciality, now
have a number of specialists in this tech-
nique, who are on hand to offer advice.
Recently, the focus among building pro-
fessionals has shifted to insulation, as these
houses often have poor energy ratings.
Here, the industry has learnt from
centuries of mistakes from successive
owners. Cellars were encased in concrete,
and over-insulated houses spawned issues
with condensation and humidity, which
accelerated the rotting of timbers.
These days, fibreglass and plasterboard
are out – Mr Elbel said lime and hemp
straw have proved a more sympathetic
solution.
There have also been efforts to better
educate would-be owners of these houses
about what living in them entails. Tours
organised by Rennes’ tourist office see
guides tackling issues such as the financial
cost of renovation, for example. Help is
available – the Malraux law introduced
connexionfrance.com Property 37
Property Watch
Department 44:
in
Loire-Atlantique
DEPARTMENTAL CAPITAL: Nantes
MAIN CITIES/TOWNS: Saint-Nazaire,
Châteaubriant, La Baule-Escoublac
LOIRE-Atlantique is one of France’s richer departments,
usually coming 15th in terms of wealth measured by GDP.
Nantes, its prefecture, is an old port city with direct access
to the sea via the Loire. Formerly the stronghold of the dukes
of Brittany and later one of the French cities that grew rich
on the slave trade, it is now at the centre of a métropole of
nearly 600,000 people.
It boasts TGV links to Paris and good autoroute connections,
while Nantes airport has flights to hot, exotic locations – and
Birmingham, Edinburgh and London with EasyJet.
Downriver at Saint-Nazaire, the great Atlantic shipyards now
create enormous cruise ships. Just inland, Airbus has a huge
factory making the fuselages of some of the company’s best-
Photo: mediathèque Destination Rennes
selling passenger jets.
Over half the population of Loire-Atlantique live around
either Nantes or Saint Nazaire, and another 10% are in the
seaside resorts, of which La Baule is probably the most
fashionable and best known. Inland, the department is rural.
Property prices are generally high, especially in Nantes and
along the coast. An architect-designed, five-bedroom house in
the commune of Orvault, to the north of Nantes, was on the
market for €1.1million, for example. A small, three-bedroom
A typical Alsatian house is town house in the same commune was going for €618,000.
reassembled in Bas-Rhin
As is often the case in France, out in the countryside things
are different and it is possible to find small stone-and-slate
farmworkers’ cottages with some land for less than €50,000.
One property, with a surface area of 37m² and just over
1,000m² of land in the commune of Lusanger, was on the
Photo: Brenner Tradition
market for €45,000.
Properties around France
financial aid covering 50% of total renov- Under €137,000
ation costs to attract buyers.
Gilles Brohan, in charge of heritage
at Rennes’ tourist office, said: “It’s still
a big investment, but it’s worth it in the
long run.”
Not everyone agrees.
Stéphane Duchossois, director of Brenner
Tradition, a 40-year-old firm specialising
in half-timbered house renovation, says
many potential clients are put off by both
the cost and the regulatory constraints. “It
is still more expensive to restore them than Well-maintained, three-bed house A semi-detached, cosy, two-bed
to demolish and build a new one,” he said. near the town centre. An ideal house in the middle of a hamlet
The company now offers to take down small family and/or holiday home. with piggery and barn.
and reassemble half-timbered houses, In the historic town of Auxi-le-Château On a plot of 3,587m² with a basement
preserving as many of the original wooden that sits on the River Authie, forming and attic to convert. Located a
the border between Pas-de-Calais few minutes from the bakery in
beams and joists as possible, and using and the Somme. Situated Saint-Aulaire, Corrèze, and 10 minutes
recycled timber from the ruins of other less than an hour from Calais. from the lively market village of Objat.
buildings where not. €109,890 Ref: A15479 €136,250 Ref: A14845
This side of the business is booming,
with Mr Duchossois reporting increased
turnover of 30% to 40% and a backlog of
orders as far as 14 months.
More than €330,000
It might also give local authorities more
options when it comes to handling their
half-timbered building stock, instead of
default demolition. Mommenheim (Bas-
Rhin) provides a good example, after the
extension of a bakery was made possible
by disassembling a half-timbered house
and rebuilding it 12 metres away.
The introduction of the plan local
d’urbanisme (PLU) in 2000 has also helped
safeguard these buildings by providing a Detached, three-bed stone house Characterful three-bed family home
more coherent system of town and country with pool, garage and gardens in with three separate gîtes for up to 18
planning. Charles Schlosser, mayor of Saint-Paul-le-Jeune, south Ardèche. people, set in more than 7.5 acres.
Lembach (Bas-Rhin) from 1995 to 2020, Originally two separate apartments, Located between Châteaubriant and
saved 13 half-timbered houses thanks to this house has been well renovated Candé in the Loire-Atlantique, in a
these documents that protected more than with no remedial work required. beautifully private setting, with the
1,500 buildings around 33 villages. Close to the centre of a small but possibility to create an income from
thriving Ardèchoise town. the gîtes and equestrian facilities.
The future is certainly looking brighter
for France’s picturesque maisons à €330,000 Ref: A11607 €424,000 Ref: A14298
colombages. “The more the issue gets Properties available through Leggett Immobilier
talked about, the more it puts pressure frenchestateagents.com Tel: 05 53 56 62 54
on mayors,” said Mr Elbel.
“I am convinced that heritage will be Next month: We look at Loiret
saved,” added Mr Leloup.
38 PRACTICAL: Property

LegalNotes Progress on
connexionfrance.com The Connexion June 2023
Shelter is provided by slates covering a wooden A-frame

Your questions
answered DIY tortoise
house is slow
Matthew Cameron, partner
with Ashtons Legal,
answers a
reader query.

Problems filing a déclaration d’occupation

Q: We have a property owned
by our English company since
1997, but it does not show up
on the impôts professionnel
space online. How can we com-
in our recent experience.
The contact details will be
on your local tax bills.
and steady...
DIY
Note that French law the thing into the sun and put
provides for the possibility it away for the winter.

Photo: Nick Inman

plete the déclaration d’occupa- of penalties if the June 30 However, it was not as secure
tion status for the house? deadline is missed. as we had hoped. Tortoises are
It is worth highlighting that good at scraping a route under-
A: Every owner in France it might be disadvantageous Nick Inman

must declare whether their
property is a main resi-
dence, holiday home,
vacant, or rented out by
June 30 (see also page 39).
The fact that the tax office
wants this information to
be submitted via its online
portal has caused some
difficulties. For example,
many holiday home owners
have not set up an online
tax account, although it
should be possible.
You note that there is no
reference to the property
on your company’s online
portal. If it is permanently
rented to a tenant, it is the
owner who is obliged to
make the declaration, even
though it may be the tenant
who pays taxe d’habitation.
In this case, you as owners
might find it prudent to
contact the local tax office.
We have found them helpful
Tel: +44 (0)113 393 1930  heslop-platt.co.uk
contact@heslop-platt.co.uk
to own French property
through a UK company. Vari-
ous complications can arise,
including potential exposure
to a French tax of 3% of
the property value. There is
also an adverse regime for
French capital gains tax.
There can be tax issues in
the UK too – for example, if
the owners use the property
free of charge. However, if
they pay a rent to avoid that
issue, the company would
have to declare the income
in France.
If the intention of the com-
pany owners when struc-
turing in this manner was
to avoid exposure to French
inheritance tax, that might
not be successful either.
It is important to under-
stand the legal and tax
issues arising on both sides
of the Channel in any
ownership structure.
charts the ups
and downs of
renovating
an old
French
farmhouse
NEVER were there tortoises
better provided for by a DIY
enthusiast.
My son was given a pair some
years ago and we were not sure
what to do with them. The
challenge was to build them a
decent home from spring to
autumn. In the winter, they
hibernate in a box in the barn.
Since then, we have acquired
two more, smaller, tortoises and
have experimented endlessly
with how to build the perfect
enclosure that allows enough
space to move around but
keeps them from getting out.
Our first attempt consisted
of a frame made of timber
battens, between which we
stretched wire netting (stapled
into place).
This had the advantage of
being mobile: we could move
neath a perimeter fence and
we had to put large stones in
vulnerable places to stop them.
The largest tortoise saw his
opportunity. He walked up one
of the stones and scrambled
over the barrier to freedom.
He has not been seen again.
Next, we decided to dig a
permanent pit and surround it
with a solid wall. We chose a
sunny spot and laid out a rec-
tangle made of 5cm-wide grey
blocks standing on foundations
of rubble and cement.
I was pleased with our work
– until there was a violent
downpour one night. I rushed
out in my dressing gown to
find tortoises floating helplessly
in the rising water. We had,
without meaning to, built a
swimming pool. I got there just
in time to save them.
To avoid that happening
again, we broke one of the
end walls and extended the
enclosure with more blocks.
This meant that rainwater
would have more area to drain
into. We also provided some
higher ground so that if there
was another flash flood, the
“
I rushed out in
my dressing gown
to find tortoises
floating helplessly
in the rising water
tortoises could climb to safety.
I was reasonably happy with
it, but the straight lines upset
the aesthetics of the garden
and one corner stuck out into
the driveway.
Back to work we went. We
demolished a long wall, laid
new foundations in a pleasing
curve, and raised a barrier in
the style of our region, using
round river stones held
together by lime mortar.
It is essentially an imitation of
the structure of our house but
using smaller stones – of which
there is an abundance under
the soil. To finish the wall off,
I cut some broken bricks into
10cm-wide strips with an angle
grinder to serve as capstones.
Tortoises need shelter, as they
do not like to be out in cold and
rain. Designing houses for them
has turned out to be a great
lesson in roof construction.
One end of the enclosure is
covered with a shallow pitched
roof of canal tiles, but I am
particularly proud of the new
house we have made. My son
put together an A-frame with
scraps of wood and we have
covered this with slates held in
place with metal clips.
We have also been trialling
different ways of dividing the
space in the enclosure.
Our latest touch has been a
removable wooden partition
with a tunnel in the middle: a
terracotta plant pot cut length-
ways and fitted into a hole cut
with a jigsaw.
Next I want to make a mosaic
feeding platform. Nothing is
too much for our tortoises.
n Next month:
Building a treehouse

Can we delay our house purchase signing?

Q: We are buying a house but most common one being
Online rental platforms muscle in on
the bank is taking time over our
housing loan. Can we delay the
final signing?
that the deal depends on
the buyer getting the
expected property loans.
In both cases it is in every-
Airbnb clients frustrated by day limits
A: In almost all cases, the one’s interest for the deal to PROPERTY owners frustrated by the rent- has branches in many student cities in
answer is yes. There is nor- go through, so if you explain al limits imposed on tourist lets are being France, has also started a web-based
mally a delay (usually three your situation to the buyer lured to new platforms that arrange more service. However, it is not aimed at people
months) between signing an and notaire before the three traditional short-term leases for furnished wanting to submit all their documents
intention to buy in France months are up, the signing accommodation. electronically. Photo: Daniel Krason_Shutterstock
and the actual sale. date can be extended. These come with a formal contract (bail) Both platforms said that some of the
There are two types of first How this is done depends for a set period, usually three months to properties on their books were previously
signings – the promesse de on the fine print. If the a year. Airbnb rentals have no contract, advertised with Airbnb.
vente and compromis de contract is extinctif, an add- except with Airbnb. Owners switched, they said, either
vente. The major difference ition must be made by the Start-ups in this area include Koliving, because they found the limits imposed
is that with a promesse de notaire extending the time founded in 2018. by some cities on the number of days a
vente a buyer can withdraw period. If it is non-extinctif, It was initially aimed at foreign students property can be rented as tourist accom- Some owners have moved off Airbnb
after the cooling-off period no addition is needed, as whose overseas families were unable to modation too low, or because they had because of limits on tourist rentals
(losing their deposit in the long as the other party does spend hours queuing to see flats or provide struggled to attract visitors in the after-
process), but in the case of not insist you sign. the references, salary slips and French math of the Covid crisis. signed, the company is no longer involved.
a compromis de vente, they What is good for the buyer bank accounts often demanded by owners Koliving uses AI-trained automated It can also take on a full-service rental
are obliged to purchase. is also good for the seller. of student accommodation. systems to analyse documents uploaded agency role on an annual basis, charging
With both sorts of con- If they have unexpected Magalie Safar, who set up the platform to the platform by lodgers or tenants, and owners 7% of the monthly rent plus a first
tracts, it is possible to put problems moving out, they with her brother Michäel, said: “We can claims to be able to process a rental every month fee of half the rent. Property own-
in conditional clauses, the too can request a delay. process the applications of students search- four minutes. ers are responsible for declaring their
ing for rentals quickly. On its landing page, the site features revenue in their annual tax returns.
Tel: 05 61 57 90 86  brightavocats.com “If it is possible to book a hotel room or mainly city locations, but it also handles Initially focused on private owners, since
vacation home in Normandy or on the rural properties such as gîtes. 2021 the start-up has been targeting prop-
contact@brightavocats.com other side of the world from your smart- Prices are relatively high – Koliving takes erty professionals too.
If you have a legal query send it to news@connexionfrance.com phone, we thought it should be possible to 36% of the first month’s rent from both the It says that tenants tend to be between 18
We select questions for answer every edition have short-term rentals too.” owner and the tenant for its basic ‘put-in- and 40 years of age and stay an average of
Traditional rental agency Lodgis, which touch-with’ service. Once the lease is nine months.
 The Connexion June 2023 connexionfrance.com Property 39

Patience rewarded with €200,000 medieval fort

THEY say good things come to those
Quirky homes in France L’Isle Fort in summer 2021
who wait and it certainly proved true
for Muayad Al-Rubeyi and his wife
Helen when they bagged a sprawling
Medieval fort
fort in Gers almost a year after making
their original “ridiculous” offer.
The couple began their property
search in 2014, looking to downsize
to a bungalow in Surrey, England.
Now 73, Muayad had retired from
his work as a contractor, while Helen,
57, had finished her job as a PA.
Both insist they were looking for a

Photo: Max Miechowski

quieter life, so what happened next
came as a complete surprise.
“Somehow, online, I came across a
medieval fort for sale in L’Isle-Jour-
dain in France,” Muayad says. “I
was intrigued.”
L’Isle Fort comprises six buildings,
including a tower, a main building in
the middle and four others attached to
it, wrapped around a central courtyard.
It was originally owned by Lord
Jordanus de Hisla, whose family had
links with the nobility and who gave
his name to the town in the 11th
century. The building was variously
used for both living and industrial
purposes until the late 1900s.
Curious, the couple arranged a visit
but quickly concluded it would be too
much work to restore.
“The building needed so much doing
to it. Machinery had been left in it
from a previous life as a sign-making
factory, and there was so much rubble,
we couldn’t properly look inside,”
explains Helen.
Nevertheless a few weeks later, in
autumn 2014, the estate agent called
to ask if they wanted to make an offer
Muayad, right, with his wife,
Helen, and daughter Sara, left
and they decided to take a punt. “We than €200,000 and took around four themselves as custodians of the build- couple, who love living in their quirky
offered a ridiculous sum – around months – and then setting to work on ing, rather than its owners. home. “We’ve got views of the water
€200,000, much lower than the asking the rest of the building. “The property was here for hundreds out of every single window,” says
price, just to see,” says Muayad. “We spent most of the early months of years before us. We aim to preserve Helen. “Our outside space is clear and
“When we didn’t hear back, we just clearing,” says Muayad. “Then we it and bring it up to a level where we’re able to really enjoy living on our
simply got on with life.” were finally able to start work.” the next owner can take it further,” own little island.”
Almost a year later, the phone rang. As an experienced builder, with a explains Muayad. The couple have even hosted
“It was the estate agent, saying the client degree in fine arts, Muayad used his The couple have spent around weddings for their children at the
was now happy to accept our offer,” know-how to make the buildings safe. €600,000 on works to the property so fort, although guests had to book
says Helen. “We decided it was fate!” So many walls and supports were far. As well as the one-bedroom flat in into nearby accommodation.
Already aware they had a big task in disrepair that this job alone took the main building, Muayad has been Locals, meanwhile, have been
ahead, the couple arrived at their new several years. Indeed, despite almost pouring his energy and expertise into welcoming. “We’ve had so many
home in spring 2016 to an unpleasant constant work, the property is still far renovating the tower. offers of help and so much interest
surprise. “In the time between our from finished today. “The tower is now 98% finished – and support,” says Muayad. “They are
buying the property a few months “We have our own accommodation, it’s an independent property with really happy that someone has taken
previously and actually moving over, which is liveable,” says Helen. one bedroom, kitchen, bathroom the building on – none of them are
a lot of the roof had collapsed,” says “A bedroom, bathroom, living area and living space,” he says. mad enough to do it!
Muayad. “Suddenly, the job had and kitchen in a small flat within the “The plan is to move into that soon “Without us, the building would be a
become enormous.” main building. and then I’ll be able to work on reno- ruin. As soon as the roof goes, a build-
However, the couple soldiered on, “While we’ve shored up the rest vating another section.” ing starts to rot inside and collapse.
getting the property reroofed by an of the property, we don’t intend to The fact that the property is unlikely “So we’ve saved what is seen as an
artisan builder –a job that cost more renovate it in its entirety.” They see to ever be finished does not faze the historically important local property.”

New declaration deadline nearing Tax form oversight could

THE DEADLINE of June 30 is approach-
ing for completing France’s new obligatory
online property ownership/usage form.
People who own property, both residents
and non-residents, are required to make
this one-off declaration by law. Failure to
do so risks a €150 fine per property but
officials have told The Connexion that there
will be leniency in this first year. Business
only premises are exempt.
The purpose of the declaration is to
confirm to the tax office how the property
is used (main or second home), whether it
is rented out or left vacant (that is, unfur-
nished and unused), and who has use of it.
Officials say they want to ensure the taxe
d’habitation is being correctly imposed
after main homes were recently exempted.
If a couple jointly owns a property, only
one partner needs to make the declaration.
Property details should be pre-filled,
although this is not always the case (see later).
In most cases, declarations should be made
in your personal space on the tax website
impots.gouv.fr by clicking biens immobiliers.
There is no paper form equivalent but you
can declare, if necessary, by calling 0809
401 401 if in France or the tax office where
the property is located if abroad.
The only requirement for a personal space
on the website is to have a French tax num-
ber, numéro fiscal and to set a password.
Your numéro fiscal can be found on any
previous income tax or property tax avis
statements. It is shown towards the top
and does not change from year to year.
People who benefit from property tax
exemptions will find the number on their
avis de taxe foncière which shows the
amount of tax due for rubbish removal.
You can enter or set up your space by
clicking on the top right of the tax website
under Votre espace particulier.
Those who have declared income to
France in previous years can then enter
using the numéro d’accès en-ligne shown
on the main printed tax return form sent
to them, plus their revenu fiscal de référence
(RFR) from their last income tax statement
and their numéro fiscal. They are invited to
create a password to use on future occasions.
People with accounts on partner sites such
as Ameli or La Poste’s Identité Numé­rique
can alternatively click the France Connect
button for further steps, but this can only be
used by people who have worked in France
or been in its healthcare system.
Residents without a numéro fiscal can
contact their tax office with proof of
identity and address. Non-residents can
apply at tinyurl.com/3c2j6vam.
If you have lost your number you can
have it emailed to you. On the right-hand
side of the espace particulier section you
will see où trouver mon numéro fiscal?.
Click this, then recevoir votre numéro fiscal
par courriel to have it sent to you via email.
Alternatively, you can call your tax office
and ask them to confirm it by providing
personal details.
Non-residents needing help with this or
setting up a space can call the the non-resi-
dents’ tax service on 01 72 95 20 42 or email
dinr.servicesenligne@dgfip.finances.gouv.fr.
If you have forgotten your password, you
can reset it. Click Votre espace particulier,
then fill in your numéro fiscal. On the
right-hand side, click on Vous avez oublié
votre mot de passe, then Vous pouvez renou-
veler votre mot de passe en quelques clics.
You will have to re-enter your numéro
fiscal and date of birth to receive a code on
your mobile phone. Input this to receive an
email link to reset your password.
If your property is owned through an SCI
(Société Civile Immobilière) then the declara-
tion should be done by a member of the SCI
via a professional space on the same website
by clicking Votre espace professionnel. If you
do not have a space yet, you will need to
insert information including the SCI’s
French Siren business code.
If you find that your property is not list-
ed, and it was not purchased very recently,
or if you believe details of the description
are wrong, contact the centre des impôts
foncier for the area where the property is
situated (details can be searched online).
However, there is no need to delay signing
the declaration – this year it is the ‘usage’
aspect that is most important and there
will be no effect on your tax.
Please note, however, that the tax service
has received many calls about ‘wrong’
descriptions where no mistake was made.
This is often due to it using a different cal-
culation of ‘rooms’ from estate agents – it
includes kitchens and bathrooms, for exam-
ple, as well as bedrooms and living rooms.
Surface area shown in the declaration will
be the ‘real’ area, which may be larger than
the Loi Carrez area used by estate agents.
Readers have also asked about the ‘entry
date’ that must be validated or completed.
Owner-occupiers (main or second home)
can leave the default date of January 1, 2023,
or enter the real date they began living there.
Where the property is rented out, the date
should be the start of the lease. If there has
been a change since January 1, such as a
new tenant, the tax office needs details of
who had use of the property on January 1,
as well as the date of the change.
explain missing details
THE NEW requirement this year for homeowners to complete
a déclaration d’occupation (see left) has shed light on another
important property-related tax declaration.
Tax authorities say that some inconsistencies in property
descriptions and surface area shown in people’s online biens
immobiliers space might stem from them having failed to
complete this other paperwork when changes were made.
Called Cerfa 10517 or formulaire 6704, the current version
of the form dates from 2016 (see tinyurl.com/tax-form-changes).
It should be filled in when extensions or swimming pools are
built, or when buildings or parts of buildings are demolished. It
also covers change of use, such as when a barn is converted into
a garage, or a shop to a home, or vice versa.
Property owners have 90 days after the change of use or work
has been completed to file the form with tax authorities.
The information is used to assess any change in the value
of the property as used to calculate local taxes, including taxe
foncière and, for second homes, taxe d’habitation.
The taxes are worked out based on the theoretical rental value
of a property so can increase if it is enlarged, or decrease if the
size or amenities are reduced.
The double-page form comes in three parts and is currently
not available in an online format.
The first part is simple enough – name, address and whether
you are the owner or a tenant. The second comprises check boxes
about the nature of the change, separated into three sections:
built property, industrial property, or land with no buildings.
After you have ticked the applicable box or boxes in Part Two,
you need to turn the page and fill in the corresponding sections
of Part Three, which describe in more detail what has been
done, including the surface area before and after changes.
Additional details, such as whether there is running water, gas,
electricity and mains sewerage should also be confirmed.
The form should be sent to your tax office.
If in doubt about how to fill it in, you can find contact details
for the tax office on avis d’imposition tax statements for the local
property tax. Alternatively, a branch of France Services should
be able to advise.
 The Back Page connexionfrance.com The Connexion June 2023

Weekend wanderers seek thrills close to home there has been a change in the demo-
‘Microadventures’ are the
graphics that certain tourist boards
latest trend among French are trying to attract.
holidaymakers. Martin “Covid instigated a certain move-
ment, and various destinations have
Greenacre looks at the continued in wanting to attract a local
origins of the movement clientele, targeting local residents first
of all,” she said.
“Websites sometimes offer specific
BUILDING a fire in the woods, 50 deals if you live in the region.
minutes from Paris, hiking and yoga “The border between tourists and
in the Alps… these are just two residents is becoming blurred – a
examples of ‘microadventures’ resident is also a tourist.”
offered by travel agencies in France. Eighty-eight per cent of French
The concept, mainly targeting those people who went on holiday in
aged 25 to 45 and living in large July-August 2022 stayed in France,

cities, lets people have unforgettable
experiences over the course of a long
weekend without flying halfway across
the globe.
The clients are “connected to nature,
and want to get away from the hurry
of their daily lives”, said Charlotte
Bocquet of Chilowé, which started
out as a newsletter and digital media
platform offering travel ideas before
becoming a fully-fledged travel agency
during the Covid lockdown.
The term ‘microadventure’ was pop-
ularised by British adventurer Alastair
Humphreys more than a decade ago.
He defines it as “an adventure that
is short, simple, local, cheap – yet still
fun, exciting, challenging, refreshing
and rewarding.”
For Chilowé, the ‘micro’ element
refers first of all to the duration of the
trip. “Two or three days, unplugging,
something slightly incredible to make a
change at the end of the week,” Ms Boc-
Chilowé’s microadventure packages include canoeing and camping (left) and climbing in the Vercors (right)
quet said. Experiences include three
days’ canoeing along the Dordogne,
and hiking in the Vercors mountains
while looking for traces of wolves.
Specific trips are organised for
families where they can learn to
survive in the wild.
For those who are less sporty,
Chilowé offers ‘micro-immersions’,
such as “living the life of a Comté
cheesemaker in the Jura.” The com-
mon themes are a change of scenery,
original activities, and learning about a that adventures can be squeezed into
new part of France with a local guide.
“We want to show that the Jura
is just as sexy as Costa Rica,” said
Ms Bocquet.
Two thousand people travelled with
Chilowé last year, although this also
includes longer trips. Other agencies
such as Explora Project, Terres
d’aventure and Helloways have
also made short, local adventures
a key part of their offering.
Then there are the websites and
newsletters that promise to inspire
readers to head off on their own
microadventures. One of them, Les
Others, has published a free guide
of 52 activities to do in nature.
Staying in France means cutting
down on the time spent travelling, so
a busy work week, and there are, of
course, environmental benefits too.
Anne-Lise Olivier, director of Acteurs sets. “It’s important to deconstruct the
du Tourisme Durable, a group of
industry professionals committed
to sustainable tourism, said: “Trans-
port makes up three-quarters of the
Photos: Chilowé
according to an OpinionWay survey
– similar to previous years.
Some of the most popular destin-
ations have even had to impose
emissions of a trip, a large majority of restrictions on visitor numbers to
which comes from travelling between preserve the natural environment and
your home and destination.” biodiversity. Recent years have seen
Even before Covid, a majority of quotas introduced in the Calanques
people chose to stay in France for near Marseille, and at major tourist
their holidays, but the term micro- sites on the island of Corsica.
adventure “reflects a real acceleration “One of the main challenges of
in the desire to go less far in search of sustainable tourism is making sure
experiences”, she said. not everybody goes to the same
“‘Experiences’ can mean adventures, place at the same time,” according
or connecting with local artisans. It’s to Ms Olivier.
about getting involved, a quest for “Microadventures can contribute
authenticity and meeting locals.” to that, as they are often out of the
Ms Olivier believes there is still work ordinary, and not necessarily going
to be done in changing people’s mind- to the most popular sites.”
While this type of travel is fashion-
image of a successful holiday as being able, it remains a small niche.
necessarily far away – to say that it’s “There will always be people who
not a failed holiday if you go 150km want to take a selfie in the most Insta-
from your home.” At the same time, grammable places.”

Focussing on the big picture.

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