Latest News   8th December 2008.


FRENCH NEWS 

The full details are unknown as to the reason why, but the English speaking community across France have lost a source of news and topical information with the demise of the French News publication. Many subscribers would have been waiting for its delivery on Monday 1st December and perhaps thought that a postal strike was the reason for delay. Sadly no, it has gone into liquidation judiciare and unless a buyer comes along it will be no more. 

REFLECTIVE JACKETS

You are now no doubt used to seeing motor vehicles driving about with the mandatory yellow gilet draped over car seats. They do not have to be on such visible display, just accessible before the driver exits the vehicle. However can we just clarify two points. The first one is that the wearing of the jacket is only mandatory for the driver, when he/she gets out of the vehicle in an emergency. From a safety point of view the passengers if they do leave the vehicle, may be more visible to other road users, but wearing a jacket is not required by law. The second point to make is that there are some cheap jackets out there. They are not reflective for long, so not conforming with the legal requirements. A few weeks of being subjected to daylight and their dayglow effect disappears. To check your jacket is to the correct requirement, inside it you should see a label that displays, EN471 and also a CE mark. Check your gilet and be on the safe side.

BACK TO WORK TO BEAT FALLING INCOME?

From the 1st January 2009 there is a new status available for those who are perhaps considering doing part-time work on a self-employed basis, it is called the autoentrepreneur and this is the website link to follow for further details www.auto-entrepreneur.fr   It would be very advisable to also take professional advice, but with the credit crunch and falling £ to the € some may be thinking of supplementing their income. Remember working on the black here is frowned on.The beauty of this new regime is that unlike other regimes available in France, with this one you are only taxed on what you earn. Those on other regimes may be able to transfer to it, but the deadline is end of March next year if you want to do so, again seek professional advice. You can only earn up to 80,000€ under this regime, but it may help top up the pension.

If you regularly supplement your income by selling on eBay, be advised that as French law stands you should be registered as a business. French law does not stipulate any lower earnings limit that maybe acceptable before being considered a business, just that you earn from the action. The odd casual sale would probably be acceptable, but just be aware of the law and that eBay themselves advise that sales of 2000€ per month for three consecutive months and you are a professional person as far as they are concerned. 

CAR ACCIDENT INSURANCE FORM, in English

The British Association recently held an insurance seminar and very informative it was. All the companies attending the seminar gave their presentations in English which calmed some peoples nerves about what they should or should not do and probably made others seriously look at their present cover. As we British are not all fluent in French and certainly in moments of stress, pressure or excitement we do not fully grasp what is happening or being said, a quick trawl of the internet unearthed this little gem for you.  click here.    It is a copy of the insurance accident claim form that you should complete if involved in a road accident. The beauty of this version of the form is that it has an English translation.

Put a copy of it in your vehicle with your carte grise and the insurance form your insurer has provided. So in the unfortunate event of being involved in an accident, you will be able to complete the form correctly. You should certainly not be intimidated by a French person taking advantage of your possible naivety. As if they would of course.

HOME PAGE PHOTOGRAPH

After last month's dog in his pushchair I have now provided you with a St Tropez snowman. For those of you who don't venture to the resort, it's a splendid place out of season.  At Christmas they erect an ice skating rink in their main square. They theme the approaches with festive attractions and this was one of the large snowmen. When you are not quite four years old and your knowledge of St Tropez is a summer boat ride from les Issambres and thousands of tourists attempting to trample you under foot, discovering a much more tranquil place and this larger than life surprise certainly made peering around the next tree to see "what was next" an adventure.

SEASONS GREETINGS TO ALL.