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LIVING IN FRANCE

Travel documents, classic desserts and energy ratings: 6 essential articles for life in France

This week’s must-reads from The Local include access an exclusive Paris Olympics survival guide, documents you need to travel around France and Europe, what those property energy ratings mean, the lowdown on Monaco – and classic French dessert recipes for you to try.

Published: 18 February 2024 08:29 CET

Travel documents, classic desserts and energy ratings: 6 essential articles for life in France

Preparatory work at the Stade de France for the 2024 Olympic Games. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP)

Will you be in Paris for the Olympics or Paralympics this summer? If so, then sign up below for our new weekly newsletter, which will give you all the practical guides you need – including insider tips on travel, logistics, tickets and accommodation.

Sign up for all the practical guides you need about the Paris Olympics

If you are a foreign resident of France then you might be wondering what paperwork you would need to travel within the EU or Schengen zone.

What paperwork do I need as a French resident to travel in the EU?

Speaking of documentation, if you’re a non-EU citizen making your home in France then sooner or later you will be issued with a residency permit known as a ‘carte de séjour’ – but do you have to carry the card when you’re out and about?

Do foreigners in France have to carry their residency permits?

If you’re buying, selling or renting a property in France you will need to get an energy rating, and the score given to the property will affect how or even if you can sell or rent it.

What do energy ratings mean for French property owners?

Think Monaco, think glamour, Formula 1, think of the casino, think wealth. But what’s it really like?

‘East Germany with sunshine and millionaires’ – France’s special neighbour Monaco explained

Good news for non-cooks, buying your desserts at the pâtisserie is actively encouraged and if you visit any bakery, you will see French people leaving with large cardboard boxes containing the dessert they intend to serve at their dinner or lunch party.

But for people who enjoy getting cuisine life, here are some delicious and timeless French classics.

8 of the best French desserts (with recipes)

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Can I use my French carte de séjour for travel?

Travel within the EU’s Schengen zone is usually a fairly slick business with reduced or no checks as you cross borders – but that doesn’t mean that you can leave your passport at home.

So integrated is the Schengen Area that if you’re travelling by car or train you may not even notice that you’ve crossed a border and entered another country until you start to see signs in a different language – and that’s the intention of the zone of free movement, created in 1995.

But while EU/EEA citizens can move freely within the zone, it’s a different story for non-EU/EEA citizens.

The rules

Borders between countries in the EU/Schengen area still exist and in order to cross an international border you will need a valid travel document – for EU citizens this can be a national ID card, but for non-EU citizens that means a passport.

France’s carte de séjour residency permit is neither of these – it is not a valid travel document and nor is it an ID card (although it can function as proof of ID in non-travel scenarios such as picking up a parcel from the post office). Technically the card is a ‘titre’ – title – which acts as proof of your status as a resident.

If you try to cross a border without a valid passport you can be turned back.

The carte de séjour acts as proof of your right to live in France and your right to re-enter the country if you have left, so it’s a good idea to have this with you. If you travel without it, you may have your passport stamped as a visitor when you re-enter France.

If your passport is stamped in error this may cause delays and questions when you next cross a border, but you cannot be penalised or denied entry provided you can show a valid carte de séjour.

On the ground

As is often the case, there’s a difference between what the rule book says and what happens on the ground, and this is particularly apparent for travel within the Schengen area.

In practice, it’s common to cross a border with no checks at all – although things tend to be stricter if you are travelling by plane.

Cars and trains often pass through with no checks, or with checks when guards will happily accept a carte de séjour.

However checks do happen – sometimes this is in response to a security alert, for example after a terror attack, but sometimes it’s random or when the border police are training their new recruits. We regret to say that there is often an element of racial profiling, so travellers of colour are more likely to be asked to produce their travel documents.

Cars can be pulled over at border checkpoints while if you’re travelling by train, police will often board the train close to the border and check passengers.

If you are asked, you will need to show your passport – so don’t forget to take it within you when travelling within the EU and Schengen zone.

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