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LIVING IN FRANCE

Second home rules to flu vocab: 6 essential articles for life in France

A real mixed bag in this week’s must-reads from The Local – there’s everything from the prospect of second-home visas to reader suggestions for fine spicy dining … via work permits, rail travel, bed bugs, and flu vocab

Published: 12 November 2023 10:08 CET

Second home rules to flu vocab: 6 essential articles for life in France

Cold and flu remedies at a pharmacy in France. (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP)

The French Senate has voted in favour of loosening visa rules for Brits who own property in France – but is this likely to become a reality? And what about other non-EU nationals who own property in France?

Will France loosen the rules for second-home owners?

It’s November, and that means it’s the season when the horrible bugs strike and have us all spluttering into a tissue, so here’s the vocab you need to deal with coughs, colds and flu in France.

Coughs, colds and flu: What to say and do if you fall sick in France

If you are looking to come work in France, you might be wondering whether you should seek out jobs of a certain salary to qualify for a work permit. Here is how the system functions in France and what to expect.

Is there a minimum salary for a French work permit?

If you’re a fan of so-called ‘slow tourism’, are worried about your carbon footprint, or just prefer train travel as opposed to flying everywhere, the coming year will offer some rather significant opportunities for you to travel across France – and around Europe.

EXPLAINED: The big changes for train travel across Europe in 2024

France has recently been the subject of alarming news reports about a ‘plague’ of bed bugs. Clinical psychologist, Paris resident and recent victim of a bed bug infestation Francis Merson advises on how to separate the facts from the panic and stay calm.

How to not freak out over bed bugs in France

Last week’s essential articles round-up included a link to an article about the French and spices and how you rarely see them in a kitchen at the same time. This week, here’s an article in which our lovely readers help anyone on a quest for a decent curry in France…

Readers recommend: The best Indian restaurants in France

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What are anti-mosquito apps and are they worth using in France?

Summer in France is mosquito season. The insistent high-pitched biting pests can be a huge frustration on sultry evenings, and are a major source of revenue for pharmacists and supermarkets selling repellents, creams and insecticide sprays, to those unfortunates who provide a tasty snack for the itch-inducing insects.

Recently, efforts to prevent mosquito attacks have moved into the app sphere. A number of smartphone applications are available that claim to repel mosquitoes by emitting low-frequency sounds from the phone’s speaker.

READ ALSO: How to prevent the spread of tiger mosquitoes in France

The idea isn’t new. And it is based on actual science. France’s Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (Inserm) said that the apps are intended to, “imitate the sound waves produced by the wing beats of … dragonflies. Female mosquitoes, which bite humans, would be repelled by this sound”.

So far, so good. The theory seems sound enough.

READ ALSO: ‘Put a drop of detergent in the water’ – How to deal with mosquitoes in France?

But there’s a problem.

“The [sound]waves that could possibly be heard by female mosquitoes are too powerful to be reproduced by a smartphone,” Inserm went on to say.

Possibly to cover themselves, the Anti-moustique insecticide app, available on the App Store, states in its own description: “It has not been scientifically proven that low-frequency sounds can help repel mosquitoes. For this reason, this app should be considered a joke app”.

READ ALSO Life in France: 5 plants that (allegedly) repel mosquitoes

According to Inserm, experts advise against this type of app, “at best because they are useless, at worst because they can provide a false sense of protection”, leading users to neglect other – rather more effective – approaches to protecting themselves from bites.

Anti-mosquito advice

When it comes to repelling the horrible little bastards, the French government does have some official advice.

The main thing is to have as little stagnant water around as possible – since this is where mosquitoes breed.

This includes regularly emptying vases, flower pots, as well as watering cans and pots. If you want to collect rainwater, you could cover water butts with mosquito nets or fabric to keep the mosquitoes from getting inside.

To protect yourself, try to wear long, loose and light-coloured clothing, and use a good quality insect repellent. You might also consider wearing a mosquito net head gear.

A plethora of products exist on the market, from machines that also produce the mosquito repelling noise to scented candles or smoke coils, most of these have at at least some effect, but are unlikely to keep the mossies away entirely.

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