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Tax, private pools and TV shows: 6 essential articles for life in France

Tax residency, private swimming pools and movie titles, via a quick look at the cultural significance of la rentrée - here are six articles to help you navigate life in France.

Published: 28 August 2022 09:04 CEST

Tax, private pools and TV shows: 6 essential articles for life in France

Photo by GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT / AFP

Let’s start with an important list in time for la rentrée. Fuel prices, back-to-school bonus, heritage days and of course the return to school and work – here’s what is happening in France in September this year.

What changes in France in September 2022

In fact, speaking of la rentrée – we explain here why it’s so much more than just the ‘back to school’ that it’s often translated as.

In France, it has a cultural significance that goes much deeper.

Why ‘la rentrée’ means so much more in France than a new school year

Whether it’s a pension paid by a home country or rental income and earnings in more than one country, it’s common for people to have assets in both France and their original country.

But what can be less simple is working our your ‘tax residency’ – here’s what the rules say.

EXPLAINED: The rules on tax residency in France

MP Julien Bayou of France’s green party Europe Écologie Les Verts (EELV) raised a few eyebrows when he apparently suggested that France should ban swimming pools in private homes.

This got twisted into reporting that it was about to happen. So we took a closer look.

No, France isn’t about to ban private pools because of drought

The international image of French culture tends to veer towards the highbrow.

But there’s more to it than that, and watching some TV here – despite its poor reputation – is a good way to get some insight into a country’s culture, as well as improving your language skills and giving you something to chat to neighbours and colleagues about.

7 TV shows that will help you understand France

Sticking with the – high and, occasionally, lowbrow – cultural theme, if you’ve ever browsed French cinema listings or Netflix, you will instantly notice that the titles of English-language movies often have quite unexpected translations. Like these…

Puns, sex and urban legends: How English movie titles are translated into French

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5 tips to have the best possible night at France's Fête de la musique

First, a caveat – this is an entirely personal manifesto based on the things that I have enjoyed over my Fête de la Musique outings over the years. It’s not intended as any kind of hard-and-fast rule and plenty of people will have different experiences.

Feel free to disagree and/or share your festival tips in the comments section below!

1 Ignore the big-name artists

There are always a few big-name artists or concerts in major venues on the Fête de la musique (which happens every year on June 21st).

Ignore them. Sure, stadiums gigs can be great and huge venues can have a wonderful atmosphere – but you can do that any night of the year. It’s not what Fête de la musique is about.

The true spirit of the Fête is the smaller acts who play on street corners, in bars and community venues. They’re free, you can wander between them and stay as long as you like – and there is always something else around the corner.

2 Ignore the big towns

You might think that the big cities have the best music, but if you have the choice, go for a small town or a suburb.

I’ve enjoyed some good Fêtes in Paris, but the best experiences had have been smaller towns or the Paris’ suburbs (Montreuil is good – a commune that carefully cultivates a small-town / village vibe, albeit a very diverse small town where everyone is a hippy, a leftist, or both).

It’s partly a practicality thing – in big cities the acts are spread out and you have to make plans to see something and meet up with friends. In small towns, you just wander along to the main square, then when you’ve seen the acts there, you can saunter up the side streets, each of which will have dozens of bands playing, pausing only to grab a beer and snacks.

But it’s also the vibe; in big cities you can hear good live music all the time and the population is consequently complacent – small towns truly appreciate the Fête de la musique and properly go wild.

Once, in Paris, I was watching a blues band play in the street when a woman tipped water on their heads from her apartment window because she was tired and wanted to go to sleep. Small towns appreciate it when bands play for them.

3 Experiment

There’s a lot of variety on the night, so take advantage – this is your opportunity to hear all kinds of live music from rock to swing, jazz to classical, choirs to DJs.

Didn’t think that a five-piece oud band is your thing? Fête de la musique may change your mind. It’s the night of the year when anything goes, musically, so it’s also the night to try something new.

If you hate it – well it’s free and there’s another band down the street that might be more your thing. But you might discover a lifetime passion for oud music – in fact, by this time next year you might be playing in the oud band. Thanks to the Fête de la musique.

4 Don’t insist on quality

You’ll hear some great bands, but you’ll also hear some that are more about enthusiasm – and that’s all part of the fun.

You’re going to be hearing everything from classic rock to reggae to blues to the above-mentioned five-piece oud band, and as well as the styles the quality may be variable to.

For me, the true spirit of Fête de la musique is the 50-year-old accountant rocking out on his guitar and enjoying the one night of the year when he can dream that if only he hadn’t given up on his high school band, he could now be rich, famous and selling out stadiums, as opposed to filing tax declarations in an office above the florist.

5 Dress comfortably

Some people like to dress up for the Fête and that’s great – it’s a party after all – but the key thing is to wear something that is comfortable and allows you to shake your stuff.

Yes, you will be dancing – you’ll be dancing on street corners, in parks, cafés and perhaps on street furniture if things really get going, and you’ll be dancing with kids, dapper 70-year-old gents and everyone in between.

You need comfortable shoes and clothes that you can really move in.

Dance like no-one is watching. They may be watching, but they won’t be judging. Much. It’s Fête de la musique.

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