EXPATS can get 200 hours of free French lessons, worth more than €3,000, following an anti-discrimination ruling.
France’s top equality watchdog La Halde has ruled against regulations barring EU citizens from a national government-subsidised programme of lessons for immigrants. This followed an application to La Halde from an unemployed Irishwoman.
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Relocating to France
Relocating to France
Moving to France
State will pay for French lessons
How to apply for dual nationality
If you are an American, over 18 years of age, residing and working in France for over five years, you may be eligible to apply for French naturalization. Americans, along with the British and Australians, are allowed dual citizenship. You do not have to relinquish your American passport to become a French citizen, and therefore a member of the European Community.
There are no history or cultural tests; you do not even have to be able to sing La Marseillaise - just weather the French bureaucracy. The most commonly travelled roads to French citizenship are via family relations, having a French parent or spouse, and by residency - making the leap from carte de residént to citizenship. Family related applications go through your local small claims court or Tribunal d’Instance and usually take about a year to process if there are no major complications.
Towards Retirement Part II
Our second trip to France, to find the region, town or village that would best suit us in retirement, we did by train.
Last Updated ( Monday, 20 October 2008 12:56 )
Read more...Bringing Family Pets to France
For many of us, the thought of moving abroad and having to leave our pet behind is unthinkable. Happily, France is not a quarantine country, and, as a consequence does not require an animal to be quarantined for any length of time. You may bring up to 3 dogs or cats (but only one puppy or kitten from 3-6 months old) into France. Larger animals are subject to special regulations.
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 03 June 2008 18:09 )
Read more...Towards Retirement I
The aim of our trip was to scout the southern region of France to see whether we would like to live there and if so, where. ‘We’ comprises a couple in their late 50s looking to retire in a friendlier, sunnier climate. We decided to concentrate first on the respective surroundings of an area between Perpignan - Carcassonne – Narbonne. Our aim is to live within reasonable distance of a town or city with the usual amenities, easy accessibility, and good medical care in order to be secure about ageing with creature comforts at hand.
Last Updated ( Monday, 14 July 2008 10:06 )
Read more...
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From our archives
Villa Le Rêve
For the past ten years Villa Le Rêve has been used as an artists’ house where art, cultural and creative activities, health and well-being courses are held throughout the year. As part of our research on Matisse and his life here on the Côte d'Azur, we contacted Joëlle Audry, Villa Le Rêve’s charming caretaker, and asked if we could visit his old home. Much to our delight she accepted and we arranged our visit.
Notre Dame de la Garoupe
If you’ve ever visited the Grimaldi Museum in Antibes and strolled along the narrow Promenade Amiral de Grasse that hugs the contours of the coastline down to Saint-André bastion and its archaeological museum, it’s a safe bet you would have noticed the verdant Cap d’Antibes peninsula - and one of France’s most powerful lighthouses (with a range of 70 kms for boats and 200 kms for planes) perched on top of La Garoupe Hill: Phare de La Garoupe.
They really do say 'oh la la'
It is in the nature of neighbours to squabble, and notwithstanding the official cordiality of the past 100 years, Anglo-French relations have been known to suffer sporadic minor ruptures. These are rather stimulating occasions, traditionally marked by name-calling and foot-stamping on both sides of the channel.
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