Let’s face it, 2020 was a bad year for everyone, with cancelled holidays, visits and get-togethers, when life in general seemed to be on hold. With the roll-out of vaccines, we can all hope that 2021 will be a big improvement – especially if you are considering visiting France, or buying your dream holiday home […]
One of the many things we associate with France, along with wine, has to be cheese. With no fewer than 650,000 dairy farms throughout France, and a whopping 20 kg of cheese consumed per capita, per year, the French really do take their cheese seriously. As President Charles de Gaulle famously said in 1962, ‘How […]
Whether you like it or not, hunting, or La Chasse, is a popular and much-valued way of French life, with over 1.5 million holding a hunting licence, and an estimated 37,000 new licences issued each year. So what are the general rules about hunting, and how do you go about getting a licence? We’ll also […]
Many of us dream of moving to rural France, inspired perhaps by the books of Peter Mayle or films like Chocolat. The fantasy of spending days sipping coffees at pavement cafés, picking up fresh vegetables in cobbled street markets and enjoying a pastis as the sun sets is certainly an alluring one. While a slower […]
They say that moving house is one of the most stressful times in a person’s life, but moving house to another country is even more so. With so many things to think about it can be hard to keep track, so here’s a handy checklist of the main things you’ll need to bear in mind […]
In a previous article detailing the French inheritance system, the issue of entering into a PACS, or civil union, to avoid death duties was raised. So what is a PACS, what are the benefits and who can enter into one? The PACS, or Pacte Civil de Solidarité, was created in 1999, as a means of […]
If you’ve got your heart set on buying a property in France, the thought of having to deal with the French tax system probably fills you with dread – but it’s just one of the many things you’ll simply have to get to grips with. Don’t worry, it needn’t be scary. While we strongly recommend […]
Summer Holidays? Why The Future is France Despite all the current uncertainties – from Covid-19 to Brexit – France’s future for tourism is looking pretty healthy, which means that now could be the perfect time to invest in a property with holiday rental potential. Whether it’s a holiday home you’d be willing to let out, […]
Many film buffs rate the French film industry for being bold and evocative, largely thanks to the Nouvelle Vague movement of the 1950s, which rejected traditional film-making conventions in favour of a more experimental style. Certain French films, however, can be credited with popularising the locations in which they’re set, introducing new areas both to […]
In the popular BBC series Rick Stein’s Secret France, the Padstow-based celebrity chef takes a personal road trip around France, from Dieppe to Cassis, meeting restaurateurs and specialist producers, hoping to find that France is still the home of fine food, particularly if you look off the beaten track. The series is a glorious road […]