The latest in a growing list of newspapers and magazines for English-speaking readers in France is Languedoc Sun. The first issue of the bi-monthly A5 colour magazine appeared in January 2006, but it was the result of a much longer period of gestation. The story really begins with the 10 years spent in Britain by Alès-born Laurence Boxall. Pursuing her career in sales of IT equipment in London, Glasgow and Bracknell, Berkshire, Laurence had her own first-hand experience of coping with unfamiliar customs and administrative problems as a foreigner abroad.

Now back in France, together with British husband Robin and bilingual offspring Emmerich and Lola, she readily understands the problems of British and other expats trying to find their feet here.

For that reason she and Robin founded in September 2002 the association BritNîmes, which provides a regular meeting point for such people, where they can make contacts, compare experiences and offer one another useful tips. ‘I really could have done with a network of this kind when I was in Britain,’ she says, ‘but there is virtually nothing there for French expats, apart from an occasional newsletter from the French Embassy.’

With a current membership of some 300 and growing, BritNîmes, under the presidency of Robin Boxall, has proved its value. However, it soon became apparent that it could not reach everyone. Some people are simply not joiners. ‘There are many expats who avoid contact with other British people,’ explains Laurence. ‘They want to integrate into French life and not be part of what they see as an expat clique. That’s understandable, but their lack of a network leads them to make unnecessary and sometimes costly mistakes. They choose the wrong notaire, the wrong builder and so on.’

Through BritNîmes, Laurence met up with Jacqueline Perez. London-born of Scottish and Spanish parents, Jacqui had lived in various parts of France while completing her modern languages degree, before settling in Nîmes. Together, Laurence and Jacqui debated how they could supply the kinds of information their membership shared to the non-joiners. As Jacqi explains’ ‘BritNîmes is essentially a cultural association and does not lend itself to the dissemination of this sort of information.’ By summer of last year, they had decided that a publication was the best method and six months later Languedoc Sun rose for the first time.

To put their ideas into practice, Laurence and Jacqui early decided to start a new non-profit operation under the French association system – but non-profit does not mean non-cost. The magazine is free and distributed through a select list of tourist offices, airports, cinemas, restaurants, shops and other enterprises in the area, although it can also be received by post for a modest subscription of €20 a year in France to cover mailing costs. All production and running costs have to be recovered from the sale of advertising space. This necessitates pretty much of a shoestring operation and most of the work falls to Laurence as publisher, who handles advertising sales and layouts, and Jacqui as editor, who deals with the content. They tackle the distribution of copies between them.

The publication has been warmly received. There is a steady flow of letters from readers wanting to raise or answer problems, from both the British and French communities, and many also contribute articles on such topics as local events, places of interest, language problems, traditional French cuisine and the French way of life. It makes for a lively mix of information and comment, backed up by an invaluable ‘your questions answered’ section and listings of upcoming events in the region, with ‘not to be missed’ occasions particularly highlighted.

Although some of the material is derived from contacts made with local expat groups and associations forged through BritNîmes connections, Languedoc Sun is very much more than a BritNîmes house magazine. As it has developed, from issue to issue, the publication has progressively broadened its scope to become very much a regional magazine for everyone – as its enthusiastic French readership demonstrates.

‘It is too early to be sure how many readers we actually have,’ says Jacqui. ‘We have from the start had a print-run of 7500 copies and we will keep at that level at least until the end of the year when we will run an evaluation exercise, This has meant that we have had periodically to adjust our distribution outlets – when some have closed for part of the summer, for instance. We publish a basic list of these in every issue, but there is a more comprehensive one available to people who check our website, www.languedocsun.com.’

The website also keeps people posted of the topics covered in current issues and a recent development has been to offer an e-mail service of coming events that have been notified too late to be included in the events lists.

As they near the end of their first year, the Languedoc Sun team is already thinking of further developments. One already coming to fruition is a large-scale autumn conference to be held at the imposing Château de Potelières from October 6-8. Over 20 professionals will be speaking and offering their advice on every aspect of settling into living in France, including finance, healthcare, education, setting up a business, dealing with public services, finding, buying and renovating properties and, not least, learning the language. The €750 conference fee covers two nights’ accommodation, all meals and wines, evening events and a special private concert.

And for the future? ‘We have masses of ideas,’ says Laurence. ‘We just have to find the time to organise them. We are thinking of other conferences, seminars on specific subjects and handling the PR for cultural events in the three departments the magazine covers – Gard, Hérault and Lozère. And there are plenty of other things we’d like to be doing as well!’

With no shortage of ideas and demonstrably boundless energy behind it, it looks to be a very long time before Languedoc Sun shows any sign of setting.

Contact Details:
Languedoc Sun
17 rue des Bartavelles
30132 Caissargues (France)
Tel: 0033 (0)6 85 54 68 87
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