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LIVING IN FRANCE

Mortgages, drinking and Nice: 6 essential articles for life in France

The strict rules on getting a mortgage in France, passport changes that may affect second home-owners, making your French second home your main one, public drinking laws, language tips from the boss, and secret locations in Nice. These are The Local’s must-reads this week.

A customer buys bread from a bakery in France
A customer buys bread from one of the smallest bakeries in the world, in La Rochelle. (Photo by XAVIER LEOTY / AFP)

France has fairly strict rules for those seeking a mortgage, including tight limits on minimum income and maximum loan length – here’s how it works.

French property: How to get a mortgage in France

No doubt, you have already heard about the EU’s new Entry and Exit System (EES) which is due to come into effect later in 2024 – if you have questions about it, send them to us and we’ll do our best to find the answers.

Tell us: What are your questions about the EES passport control system?

It’s not uncommon for second-home owners to decide that they want to move to France full time and make their life here – but what are the admin steps that you need to take to make this happen?

Explained: How to convert a French second home into your main residence

Public drinking is relatively common in France – you’ll see people sipping wine and beer in public parks and on the banks of rivers – but even so, you might wonder what is technically allowed by the law.

What are the rules for drinking in public in France?

From the pointlessness of ‘je voudrais’ to the absolute requirement of ‘bonjour’ – and a sneaky future tense hack – our editor Emma Pearson explains crucial differences between school French and actual, real, proper, street French…

6 things I wish my French teachers had told me

Nice, on the French Riviera, is one of France’s most-visited cities, but there’s a lot more to it than the beach and the Promenade des Anglais. Author and Nice resident Jeanne Oliver shares some of her favourite off-the-beaten-track spots.

French Riviera: 10 hidden gems in Nice that tourists miss

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LIVING IN FRANCE

Passports, blood, and the Moulin Rouge: 6 essential articles for life in France

What the EU’s new Entry and Exit System means for dual nationals, good news for Britons who want to move to France post-Brexit (you still can), property taxes, what the grand-sounding ‘attestation sur l'honneur’ actually is, donating blood and Moulin Rouge facts. They’re all in this week’s Local must-reads 

Passports, blood, and the Moulin Rouge: 6 essential articles for life in France

The EU’s Entry & Exit System (EES) of enhanced passport checks will usher in big changes for travellers – here we answer readers’ questions on the position for dual nationals.

What will Europe’s EES passport checks mean for dual nationals?

We’re not going to lie to you – there’s no doubt that Brexit has made moving to France more complicated for Brits. Importantly, however, it is still possible, and popular, according to France-based estate agents who deal very regularly with British clientele. Here are some of the things you need to know before making the move.

9 things Brits need to know about moving to France since Brexit

Speaking of moving to France, here’s something anyone with property here will need to know. With the deadline to have completed the property tax declaration approaching, here’s a look at all the vocabulary you will need to fill out the form.

Vocab guide for the French property tax declaration

At some point during your life in France, you will probably be asked to write a grand-sounding ‘attestation sur l’honneur’ – here’s what this document is for and how to write one properly.

How to write a French ‘attestation sur l’honneur’

Donating blood can help save lives – and authorities often issue appeals for donors around holiday periods, including the public holidays in May. If you want to donate in France, here is what you need to know … especially, and this is important, if you’re a Brit of a certain age….

How to donate blood in France

And finally… it has been in the news over the past few days, because the sails fell off. Here’s a look at the wild history and the turbulent present of Paris cabaret the Moulin Rouge.

5 things to know about Paris’ iconic Moulin Rouge

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