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Marine Le Pen tries to reassure worried Brits in France (but they’re having none of it)

French far right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen praised the UK Brexit voters and said as long as Brits in France were not criminals and did not dispute the French way of life then they'll be fine to stay. But her words have failed to reassure many.

Published: 16 March 2017 10:35 CET
Marine Le Pen tries to reassure worried Brits in France (but they're having none of it)
Photo: Twitter/Nigel Farage

Marine Le Pen, who firmly believes she is on course to become the next French president, praised the UK's “honourable” Brexit voters who freed Britain from a “huge prison”.

She was speaking in an interview with Nigel Farage, one of the key leaders of the pro-Brexit campaign.

The National Front leader said those who have suggested the future rights of Brits in France and of the French in the UK would be threatened by Brexit or even a Frexit were engaging in fear-mongering.

“This is another strategy of fear,” Le Pen told Farage as part of an interview for his UK radio show to be aired on Wednesday.

“After Brexit, nothing will happen to French citizens living in Great Britain and nothing will happen to British citizens living in homes in France. 

“When people live on our territory and are not criminals, they do not dispute our laws or our way of life, our customs, our values.

“I see no reason why we should not continue to welcome them in the French style.”

Le Pen is hoping the same populist momentum that brought Donald Trump to power and pushed a majority of British voters to back Brexit will help her defy the odds and the opinion polls to become French president.

That prospect is worrying Brits living in France who fear the double whammy of Britain leaving the EU and nationalist Le Pen, who once said she wanted to “explode the EU”, taking charge in France.

“I'm waiting to see what happens with the French elections, because I don't fancy being thrown out of the EU, then being told I'm not welcome here either,” said one worried British member of the Remain in France Together Facebook group.

It's unlikely Le Pen's words will reassure many who fear what she would do if she gained power.

“I wouldn't believe her if she was the last one on earth just look at the company she keeps… Farage,” said another member of the Remain in France Together group.

Another said: “She could give no more assurances than a chocolate fireguard.”

READ ALSO: 'French First': What a 'President Le Pen' has in mind for France

'French first': This is what a 'President Marine Le Pen' has in mind for France

If elected Le Pen will seek to regain certain powers from Brussels including economic and legal sovereignty as well as control of France's borders.

If she fails then she will hold a referendum on whether France should leave the EU.

If she succeeded in persuading the French to vote for Frexit she says Britain and France could agree their own trade deal once they were out of the EU.

“I see no reason why France and Britain should not have excellent relations – we are old allies”.

The anti-EU Le Pen was speaking to Nigel Farage, who as Ukip leader had refused to unite with Le Pen’s National Front in the European Parliament deeming the French right wing party “prejudiced and anti-Semitic.

But Farage appears to have softened his stance with images showing him smiling and joking with Le Pen as he interviewed her for his UK radio show.

Le Pen criticised UK Prime Minister Theresa for refusing to meet with her, despite the fact she had made time to meet her presidential rival Emmanuel Macron when he visited London.

The National Front leader said May was “inconsistent” for accepting pro-EU Macron “a key sales person of globalisation and mass immigration… because these are the opposite of what Brexit stands for and the choice made by the British people.”

“I do not understand this inconsistency, this contradiction.” 

 

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LIVING IN FRANCE

5 things Brits in France need to know about swapping driving licences

Now that the dust has settled from the somewhat chaotic post-Brexit period, the system for swapping a UK driving licence for a French one seems to be running fairly smoothly. There are, however, some things that UK licence holders need to know.

Published: 3 May 2024 17:20 CEST
5 things Brits in France need to know about swapping driving licences

This article is aimed at holders of a UK or Northern Ireland driving licence who are living in France – tourists, visitors and second-home owners can continue to drive in France on a UK licence and do not need an international driving permit.

British students who are studying in France on a student visa can continue to drive on their UK licence during their studies – if however they settle in France afterwards, they need to follow the below process for swapping their licence. 

1 You’re special

Well, maybe special is over-stating it, but the system for holders of UK and NI licence holders is different to that of other non-EU nationals, and also different to the system for EU licence holders.

The reason for this is that a pragmatic post-Brexit agreement was (finally) reached between France and the UK, in order to avoid the chaos that was triggered when thousands of Brits in France all tried to swap their driving licences at once.

Unlike almost all other post-Brexit agreements, this one applies both to people who moved to France before the end of Brexit transition period in 2021 and those who have moved here since. 

The below terms apply to everyone who has a UK or NI licence, regardless of their nationality or when they moved to France. 

2 But you still have to swap

It was technically always the case that Brits who were living in France should have swapped their licence for a French one, just as other EU licence holders do now, but in reality many people lived here for years or decades without ever exchanging their licence and there was little or no enforcement of the rule.

That has now changed and you must swap according to the following timetable;

If your UK licence was issued after January 1st, 2021 – you must swap within one year of moving to France.

If your UK licence was issued before January 1st 2021 – you only swap when you meet one of the following conditions;

  • The licence itself or the photocard is within six months of its expiry date. For more people the photocard expiry will come around first, but UK licences also require renewal when the holder reaches the age of 70
  • Your licence has been lost or stolen
  • You have been ordered to exchange your licence by a gendarme after committing a driving offence

For people who are exchanging because the licence is about to expire, it is important that you don’t start the process until your licence is within six months of the expiry date – early applications will simply be rejected.

3 It might not be as much of a nightmare as you think 

Unlike the old days when licence swaps were done by préfectures, the whole process has now moved online and is run through a single, central system.

The online portal for requesting a swap is known as ANTS and you can find it HERE.

If you haven’t used it before you will need to create an online account, or if you already have online accounts for French government services such as Ameli or tax declarations you can login by clicking on the France Connect button.

Once logged in, select Je demande l’échange ou l’enregistrement de mon permis de conduire étranger (I request the exchange or registration of a foreign driving licence) and fill in the details requested on the form such as name, address etc.

You might be pleasantly surprised by the fact the form itself is relatively straightforward (as French admin forms go), asking basic questions such as your personal details and the details of your driving licence.

You will have to upload supporting documents, but these are likely to be things that you already have to hand including

  • Proof of ID (passport or carte de séjour)
  • Proof of address (a recent utility bill or attestation from your utility provider)
  • If your driver’s licence is in a different name to your passport, you will need to supply your full birth certificate

You will also need to supply a photo – you can either use the internet-enabled Photomaton booths – find your nearest here – to create a digital photo with the required security code, or you can use the normal photo booths to print out a physical photo and send it by post after you have made your application. 

Once completed, you can use the ANTS site to track the progress of your application and upload any other documents that are requested.

4 But don’t leave it too late 

If you’re applying because your licence is about to expire then you cannot apply until you are within six months of the expiry date.

But it’s a good idea not to leave it until the last minute as the whole process does take time – things have improved massively since the dark days of 2020 and 2021 when people were waiting for years and their licences expired while they waited.

But it still takes time – the current average for a straightforward application with no extra documents required seems to be between four and five months, although processing times can vary, especially over holiday periods.

It’s therefore a good idea to make the application fairly soon after you enter that magic six-month window.

Once you make the application you should get an automated response acknowledging receipt – this is usually sent by SMS and/or email, it’s a good idea to check your spam folder if you don’t get the email.

Don’t panic if you don’t then hear anything for the next few weeks or even months, this appears to be normal. If your application is complete and there are no outstanding queries or other documents required, the next step will be a request to send in your old UK licence.

You send this by post (recorded delivery with a signature is strongly recommended) and at the same time you can download an Attestation de Depot de Permis de Conduire (certificate of deposit of driving licence) – you can use this to prove your continued entitled to drive in the period between sending in your old licence and receiving your new one.

Your French licence is then sent by registered post, and the window between posting the old licence and receiving the new one is usually not more than a month, you 

5 Help is out there 

If your application runs into problems or you have an untypical situation or find the ANTS website hard to use, don’t panic – help is available.

The Facebook group Driving in France – French Licence Applications is a good place to start with comprehensive guides and knowledgeable admins who are quick to respond to questions.

You can also chat to others in your situation and get updates on how long processing times seem to be.

If you have problems using the online system, your local France Services office may be able to help.

You can also head to The Local’s reader questions section, or email us at [email protected] if you have questions.

Digital licences

You might have heard about France’s new digital driving licence – unfortunately this is only available to people who have French citizenship (including dual nationals).

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