Connexion Back Issues

Help for euro-hit pensioners - UK pensioners in France eligible for benefits as low pound puts them under the poverty line * Houses, loans, dogs, shops, work - all change * Ski resorts buck world financial downturn * Lycée reform delayed a year * Mass strike due for January 29 * Fines for not displaying parking tickets are illegal * Prices of new cars tumble * Race diversity drive launched - Extra tuition for scholarship candidates - many from immigrant backgrounds * Euthanasia should not be allowed, says MPs’ commission * Shops could open 10 Sundays a year * No drop in number of smokers despite ban * Funeral prices to be standardised after rises of 35% in 10 years * Ryanair Toulon flights in doubt * L’Oréal billionairess must prove sanity as she gives $1bn to artist * France forecast to enter recession in early 2009 * Level crossing speed checks a first in Europe * Google launches cinema listings * Google launches cinema listings * Senators push civil partner bill * Horror ‘art’ house must be cleaned up * How equity release works * ‘If Royal had won the party would have become her election machine’ * Bergerac Airport: The engine of the Dordogne * Buggs: Brit boost to car hire sector * An easier way to start your business * Stroll down Paris’ Cinema Street * Just don’t call it ‘French mustard’ * 2008 Review * Houses for sale across France * Portage: Employing you to work for yourself * Hedging your bets with bonds * Special offers as Livret A accounts open to all this month * Your mortgage questions answered * Pension lump sum; keep it in UK * Resident here, assessed here, taxed here * What changes lie ahead for France in 2009? * State healthcare not optional * Top-up fees rise 25% - do we need it? * Can apple-picking entitle us to care? * No more paper statements * New road health booklets launched * Reimbursements for specialists cut * New protection for the vulnerable * ‘Give us our British benefits back’ * Cat group doubles number of rescues * Cancer charity extends network further south * English AA groups tackling alcoholism * Tuning in to life in Brittany with new weekly radio show * Education minister awarded the ‘rug’  * US and France: What’s next? * Lock up offenders from 12 * The news is not just for adults * Minimum service court action ends * Parents compare notes online * Gardening queries * Heating with logs and wood pellets * New rules free up loan insurance * Evicting a non-paying tenant takes 8 weeks in UK, three years in France * Builders must not charge for work not previously agreed upon * Do I have to pay taxe d’habitation on a house I rent out? * Fight the rich expat pension myth * Aspa - help but only if you have contributed to a French pension

Pound’s record low * Aubry wins Socialist leader recount * March deadline to swap to simpler business regime * Notaires’ free advice day, Dec 6 * Cap set on niche fiscale savings * Right to work until 70 introduced * PM unveils world’s most powerful cancer weapon * Cameras to catch red light jumpers * Jobless could double in 2009 * Number plates to keep department * Record number of licences lost * ‘Casse-toi pauvre con’ returns * Senate passes pilot amendment * Drink law threatens wine tasting * Sunday opening may be trialled in big cities * School bans fruit break in obesity crackdown * Funeral costs should be lower * Clive James: I regret not moving to Paris * ‘Lazy boy’ grew to own 35 vineyards * René Cassin: 60 years since Declaration of Human Rights * Meet Mr Chocolate * Preparing cross-border healthcare * Funds to reduce cost of mutuelle * Do I need top up cover on an E121? * Free check-ups for priority patients * European schooling evolving * Jardins d’éveil could teach two-years-olds * Booster lessons help British children * Students must evaluate their university lecturers * Will your Christmas be UK or French style? * Balancing countries, traditions and families * Holiday letting nightmares * December 31 deadline for Taxe d’habitation exemption * Ways to shield your business from the economic downturn * EU secures equal rights for temp workers * Selling on eBay? New status makes it legal * 40% of business creators began while unemployed * Pension contribution period rises again * Six month deadline to contest rupture * Changes in sickness benefit timings * Wide powers for new fraud squad * Interest cut on Livret A in Feb * Cost of living 13% higher in Paris * Low market can protect savings from inflation and interest cuts * Your mortgage questions answered * Has the law been changed for age allowances? * Are we putting annuities in the right tax box? * What point do we take for calculating share losses? * Banks fined for not advising on risks * Missing money must be totally refunded * Do I have to close shutters? * Garage swapped UK lights for... UK lights * Why is paraffin more expensive in France? * How can I report abuse of an animal? * How can I find a counsellor in France? * What to expect in court * Time-limits for legal action tightened up * Income support bonus now e220 * Public service lines now cheaper * Greenhouse gas labelling in shops * You are never obliged to leave a restaurant tip * Internet shopping: Know your rights * Helping hands in hard times * Industry fights to keep low 5.5% VAT renovation rate * Push to double geothermal heating * Change to 20% social housing rule blocked * How do I get the lower rate of VAT? * Underfloor heating: what the Romans did for us * Save money on removals * OAP house-sitters can ward off burglaries * Protect yourself with conditions suspensives * Wiring check; the new diagnostic for 2009 * Ceilings increased to get zero interest loan * Find out if sale price has been reduced * Check out airport ‘noise plans’ * New pre-emptive buy rights for communes

Ryanair pulls out of Toulon in grant row - is your route safe? * Call for ‘hunting day of rest’ * 2009 budget bust before it begins * Annual €12m boost for organic * CCTV in Paris to quadruple * Matches may end if anthem jeered * Speeding foreign cars to be fined at home * Common speeding and licence myths * Shock pics for cigarette packets * Broadband access for all by 2012 * €16 billion for trains to go further, faster * New UK pension top up law could benefit 555,000 women * Sunday trading laws to be reviewed this year * 55% use relaxed working laws * New ferry on Dover Boulogne route * 30,600 jobs to go in civil service * Air cars ready for launch in 2009 * France in EU row over internet piracy laws * New rules planned for civil partners - minister * Fat people are not ‘a scourge’ * ‘Healthy’ French diet hit by rise of the ready meal * French banks to increase lending to boost activity Ideas to make your money go further * Give a home to a ‘dog of war’ * €5.3m refurb of Marie Antoinette’s hideaway * Why we must always remember * Honour for US Navy forces * Help needed for war graves photo project * WWI Verdun battlefields in Unesco heritage status bid * E-form holders at risk of high bills if CPAMs fail to backdate * Free dental treatment for children at six, nine and 15 * Tips to decipher health jargon * How to reduce medicine costs * Do I need to carry an organ donor card? * I have been refused entry to the CMU * Who can help with spinal injuries? * British influx boosts rural schools * Changes for top college * The ins and outs of the country’s media - read all about it * Our strange pastimes helped us make new French friends* Passion for skiing, France and chalets * Save 40% on taxe professionnelle bills * Start up courses in English prove popular * New investment free of taxe professionelle * Phone line to help disabled at work * Equal salaries for men and women * Book balancing still target despite crisis * Free your UK pension * Luxembourg: ahead in the guarantee game * Taxe d’habitation: Second home-owners must pay too * Gas hikes go to shareholders * Helpline costs still too high * We’re not married - Can we get a joint mortgage? * Law limits parental rights to use children’s money * Looking for a buy-to-let arrangement for a gite * Is money earned outside France still taxable here? * What are the ‘tax forms’ I needs for my villa sale? * Whoops; our sums don’t add up for health and tax * Must I pay VAT when I sell my home? * Neighbour’s noisy dog disturbs me * How noisy are air heat pump systems? * How will my assets be taxed after I die * How the court system works * Changes to highway code * How to fill out a car accident form * Free advice from avocats * Cycling accidents: who is to blame? * Good deals on trains in France and UK * High-definition TV is now available free * Embassy is asking expats to register * Check the most and least safe airlines * Internet users get longer to pay fines * Tu kiffes la zik?: Understanding French youngsters when they don’t talk proper-‘like * Changing laws on naming children * British Legion going strong in France * Support the poppy appeal * Heating home by wood saves up to 70% on oil * Find out actual sale prices of homes across France * Helping to find your perfect home * Selling fees are always negotiable * Massive healthcare shake-up in 2009 * Free state French lessons ‘popular’ * French F1 Grand Prix cancelled * SMS fraud service in operation

Free French classes for EU expats - Legal challenge allows EU nationals to attend 200 hours of lessons * Prestigious AOC label vanishing from cheese * Price lists to rank supermarkets - ‘Trolley charts’ will help shoppers compare prices * Union criticises plan for extra English lessons * Hairdressers sign eco-charter * UK police target drivers in Calais * Shop prices up 6.6% since Jan * Spending power fears halt green revolution * Row over new tax to fund income support - Cap on tax-free schemes also promised * Air France could run first AGVs * Doctors to give written quotes * France to get five-star hotels * Dog is ‘witness’ in murder inquiry * Flu jab procedure gets simpler * Legal fight over UK gay couples’ tax rights * Controversial police database is rehauled * Crackdown on health fraud to help budget * Voluntary charity work could replace service militaire * Urgent checks on SNCF cables * Disease attacks chestnut trees * France ‘defies demand to save Lascaux’ * No amnesty for union bribes * 44C summer days by end of century * English forum on farming in France * Cut queues and entry fees at museums * Discover 217 types of arts and crafts * Tap water running ahead as bottle battle continues * Picassos go on display around Paris * ‘Young UMP members are revolutionaries’ * Wine company returns to days of sail * Wine exports drop 8.7% this year * Watered-down law hits free range eggs * How to contest a CPAM decision * Own internet at flagship hospital * Can househusbands get cartes vitales? * Who can help with OAP home costs? * Can I claim a carer’s allowance here? * Lycée in the spotlight for latest reforms * How the lycée works * New student loan now available * Collège pupils ‘bored by school’ * More use of web at secondary level * Healthier schools this rentrée * WWF: Securing the future for wildlife in France * Tuna tagged to chart overfishing * Wolves regain territory from Alps to Pyrenees, to Franche-Comté * Some of the country’s most endangered species * Trials of sketching out an artistic living * Knowledge, reforms and innovation may counter downturn - Know new laws aimed to help * A conseiller juridique can advise businesses * My first year - Time to branch out across France * Employment in the private sector rising * Qualification regime overly complicated * Government to buy into last shipyard * IFA tax to go for small firms in 2009 * Credit crunch: How safe is your bank? * More banks to offer tax-free Livret As * Ministers highlight benefits of Loi Tepa * Your mortgage questions answered * Can we change UK bank without a UK address? * Foreign assets will get five year relief from Wealth Tax * What are the best ways for short-term savings? * Interest rate rises for Livret Jeunes * Take care if carrying large sums of cash * Can I heat my boiler by solar power? * Hague Convention contract challenged * How do I get a blue badge renewed? * Can I get a check done on tractor? * Does anyone help to neuter stray cats? * I’m not satisfied with fees notaire charged * UK adoption law hinders stepchildren inheritance * Agency fights discrimination * Stricter rules on dangerous dogs * Claim your UK winter fuel payment * Make sure you scrap a car legally * Confused about Sarkozy’s reforms? * How to refuse an inheritance * Make sure you have a car safety kit? * Call to take licence disputes out of court * What are the gun laws in France? * Heroes tax aims to stem US financial emigration * Gender-confusion? Look at the ending *  Learning English is important * From custard to condoms - uses of anglais(e) in French * Living in a ‘risk zone’could affect planning * Property sales plunge by 25% * Fuel allowance rises to euro 200 * Still looking for details on equity release? * Solar thermodynamic, the best of both worlds * Consider renting in France to beat low value of pound * Deadline Oct 15 to pay taxe foncière * Refunds to be given for ‘unreliable’ pool alarm * New incentives for energy-efficiency * Change in law for air pump tax rebates angers consumer groups * Measures to boost broadband in flats * Improved options for mortgages ahead * Agencies to advertise energy-efficiency * Residents have to declare their wells * Scientists up and away in flying forest study * Kitsch in Versailles an ‘affront’ * Future of La Poste to be debated as protests rise * Army barracks to house students * Plans for cheaper texts from abroad

Working in France gets easier for expats * Rocket man to cross the Channel * ‘Bonus-malus’ for bulbs TVs and computers? * Property slump could be investor’s dream * Rise of the Super-Frenchies as population hits 63 million * OK, let’s talk about French driving then * Fat tax out of the question - for now * Hotel rates up 41% since 2000 * Drug drive test passes first trial * WWI bodies to be buried separately * Road triangles fail wind tests * Family seeks embassy aid over gun-club risk to children * No one wants to drive a Paris taxi * Plans to simplify divorce across EU borders * Register to vote in US elections * Thieves damage Chagall window * One less business tax for 2009 * France becoming less religious * English health line changes number * Hunters and greens sign ‘historic’ peace deal * Tougher penalties for illegal work * 35-hour working week ended * EDF pioneers sea turbines * Pay minor traffic fines online * New bike hire scheme in Nancy * French bus link to Spanish airport * Civil partners fight for rights * Net law could sever connections * Supermarkets planning hundreds of new stores * French films criticised for being ‘too white’ * How one girl’s visions transformed a town * Creativity is driving theme behind this year’s Journées du Patrimoine * France gets pass mark for heritage protection * Where democracy meets communism - The far left still plays a major role in French politics * Cordon Bleu: the world cookery school * Disabled expats treated unfairly says watchdog * Tetanus jabs are obligatory * Cost of GP visit set to rise * Relocating with my mother, aged 87 * I can’t get a CEAM card * Degrees cost too much says union * Universities get more autonomy * EU says reading standards down * Rise in students taking up jobs * Strikes will test minimum service * Check your children have adequate cover * Buy your school equipment online * The Foreign Legion: esprit de corps in the service of France * Meeting people has never been easier * Mutual love of pubs, pool and rugby led to marriage * Half of URSAFF contrôles end in a credit to firm * Record number of portable computers sold in 2008 * One in five people work from home occasionally * New work status to come into force from January 1 * Long-term plans kept us afloat for a century * Franchising: a hand to fly solo * Protect finances from capital gains tax * Inflation and interest rates could stretch the gap between sterling and euro * Will I be taxed if I cash in life insurance bonds? * Inheritance problems and costly mobile phones * Your mortgage questions answered * Income tax can be paid in three ways * Warning on Sentinel coverage in France * Can we sell up and spend the cash? * Can we use a British registered caravan? * French Pacs or UK civil partnership? * What happens to our SCI if one of us dies? * Law offers tax advantages for making lifetime gifts * Qualifying for the aide juridictionnelle * Cheaper insurance for good drivers * Green products for cleaning your home * Help with disability - the local MDPH * New MSN France parental controls * Cancellation rights fixed for mobiles * Claiming the benefits of age * French writer slams ‘9/11 lies’ * US films stars head to Normandy * Salut to a second citizenship: Could you qualify? * Finding the right words every time * English classes in Dordogne * 9/11 made us focus on our dream * You need farmer status to exploit vineyard * Boiler computer could save 30% * Yes! We’d swap our French home for a UK one * Rent a room to a student * Notaire’s notes on swapping * Mother wins refund over 43 euro passport-helpline bill * ‘I want to avoid people having to ring’- passport chief * Fewer students studying abroad * Paris store owners report poor sales * Electricity and gas prices rise

Cancer survival rate is one of best in the world * Offers galore as property prices tumble * 1,100 security cameras for Paris * Ryanair cutbacks threaten French routes * 35-hour working week scrapped * Giant mosquitos a health threat * Snail price to soar due to shortage * Plans for a Greater Paris roll forwards * Union anger as Sarkozy taunts: No-one notices strikes any more * Ban on under-18s buying alcohol * High fuel price yields oil cash cow near Paris * Surf online to test bathing waters * France could be the country to come up with the next Microsoft, says Steve Forbes *  List names 16 French billionaires * Ch’tis most violent area outside Paris * Franc exchanges as village switches back to former currency * King Arthur and his Breton links * Pawn industry thrives as spending power hit * Unesco listing success for France’s Vauban forts * British MP for expats ‘wouldn’t work’ * PM says 32,000 civil servants to go * French FBI to spy on 13-year-olds * Our cuisine does not need Unesco, says Michelin chef * French farmers discover the versatility of ostriches * Restaurants rush to buy snail eggs * Online medical records database relaunches as voluntary scheme * Heading to UK? Get your EU health card online * Incapacity benefit gets free treatment? * How do I claim back payments? * You can home school; but should you? * Minimum service in primary schools * Carte scolaire is ‘socially divisive’* New grading plan to aid universities * Compulsory IT is too easy - pupils * University applications up by 2.5% * France/UK treaty will close expat tax loopholes * ‘France is now almost a tax haven’ * Half a million left France because of ‘punitive’ wealth tax regime * Leaving behind the 9-to-5 for something completely different * Normandy business courses in English * Why half of businesses fail after 5 years * More rights for workers on portage system * Setting up in the right ‘zone’ brings advantages * New businesses down on 2007 * Firms urged to sign family friendly chart * Medef strongly opposes union tax * Taxe professionnelle reforms in 2009 * Heating with air conditioning can qualify for 50% tax credit * Did you lose out with Equitable Life? * What do you do if you are not satisfied with your accountant * Mortgage Q&A * When must you pay social charges? * Is there any way I can reduce my Contribution Sociale Generalisée? * How will my life insurance bonds be treated by the tax man? * What tax is due if I sell my home after 16 years of ownership? * Card can double up as credit and debit * Tax-free Livret A interest rates at 4% * Website helps you predict a pension * Bonds best return over last 40 years * Can I do odd jobs cash-in-hand? * Can we disinherit our estranged sons? * How can we clean our septic tank? * Can I tow my trailer on my licence B? * Getting a carte grise de collection * Inheritance: Where there’s a will there are many ways * What to know when buying a pet * Digital radio to be available in 2009 * Censuses are more frequent in villages * Heirs can check bank accounts * Fees set to establish power of attorney * Taking your mobile with you on holiday * Single helpline for health queries * American Connexion - Online authorization to travel will be mandatory * Regional tongues are ‘heart of France’ * Regional tongues are ‘heart of France’ * Embassy passport hotline trouble * Awake under the knife - post-op support group * Emergency calls are made easier for all in Cahors * Joining forces in fight against breast cancer * House hunters buy entire hamlet * Garden sheds subject to planning rules * Help guide to build eco-friendly home * Reminder to GRL scheme landlords * 420,000 sign up to deposit loan scheme * Mortgage rates at highest since 2003 * End of electricity metres set for 2017 * Anglo-French cooperation key to restoration success * How to choose the most effective type of solar photovoltaic system * Smoke alarms to be obligatory in 5 years * Five in six pool alarms ‘fail to work properly’ * We will pay your notaire fees, offer desperate estate agents * Eco-friendly estate with all mod cons first of its kind * Cancer screening; what, when, how * ‘The best possible care is available for everyone’ * 4 x 4 pollution tax becomes annual

New law may kill off small French shops * Notaires will not formalise divorces * Minimum wage to rise again * France ‘on trial’ over bullfights * Drivers must have reflective vests * Lack of preparation lost France the Euros - World Cup winning manager * Biggest ever Channel ferries * Sellers drop house prices by 30% * Constitutional reform ‘not far enough’- ex PM * Equity release information due after summer * Excavation finds mass grave * France proposes new EU laws for asylum-seekers * Reader anger at €24 fee to call British Embassy helpline * Pets no longer ‘moveable goods’ * Paris police dogs to wear shoes * 300,000 drivers without licence * Business set up ‘to get easier’ * Passenger had to pay for snails * Ryanair fares to rise by 5% *  My dream is to be mistaken for a Frenchwoman - Joanna Lumley interview * Ending web and phone contracts becomes easier * New mobile ‘Eurotariff’ * ‘Social’ mobile rates proposed * The iconic 2CV is 60 years old this year * Education chief: Redoublement is damaging * Sounds of summer: squeals and grunts * Tour de France changes testing rules * Wanted: Astronauts to beat a path through space to Mars * Forced to be expats: what do the young think of moving abroad? * E121 dependents can apply via UK * Leaving France? Don’t forget CEAM card * 80% satisfied with hospitals * Join a chamber of commerce - you have already paid * I wanted to offer a choice, a gentler way to train dogs * MPs back equal rights at work * Borders open to Eastern Europe * APE codes have been changed * Accountants and auditors are separate professions * I have never filed a French tax form * What exceptions for capital gains? * Can I consolidate my various debts? * Cap on fines for bounced cheques * New ruling on taxe d’habitation and rent * Car maintenance costs rising rapidly *  High oil price will not affect interest rates * Loan insurance for those in ill health * Do I need a blood test to marry? * Did my lawyer charge too much? * Can we make a will covering UK property? * What happens if UK resident speeds? * Till death do us part; marriage, wills and the Hague Convention * Know your child benefit rights * Where can you fish in France and when? * Which beaches will allow my dog? * What are my rights for lost baggage? * Cheap TGV travel on late night trains * Free French lessons for expats in the Limousin * Air conditioning, a range of options available * Déjà vu for Denver’s Democrat convention * New American cuisine sets sail on the Seine * Beware of security rules with EU connecting flights * Mixed views on bullfights show polarity of opinion * Can’t find a group? - start your own * Fighting for a new law to protect horses in transit * A new skyline planned for Paris * What if new plans spoil your home views * Viager property sale scheme gains popularity * 100,000 sign up for new rent guarantee system * Homes must have electricity diagnostic * 28% drop in new build sales in the last year * Couple to build own eco-home * Choosing the best type of solar panels * Watchdog warns on dodgy diagnostiques * Police will watch your home over holidays* No lawn mowing after Sunday lunch * Nature pools replace chlorine, heaters and filters with plants * EU overturns payout ban to Briton in France

French bank overturns ban on British - Connexion contacts finance federation after readers denied loans - ‘Equity release’ opened to non-French * Embassy passport helpline charges €6 * Free help for widows hit by 35% pension fund deduction * ‘Hidden’ UK second homes tax overturned * More notaires for France with a push for greater recognition across the EU * My first bullfight - and I want to come back * ‘They’re going to kill French wine’ says drink’s defender * Unions fear 80,000 teaching job losses * Primary schools changes for new year * French racing village prepares for a ‘Classic British Welcome’ - Classic car fans will descend on Saint-Saturnin before Le Mans 24-hour - The local petrol-heads whose love of cars drive the festival - Rules for owning a classic * How and when to vaccinate your child * How to register and protect your branding * Bank satisfaction levels drop in customer surveys * Divorce solicitors win right to transfer French property * Still time to pay income tax online * My tourism job means I never earn in France * What are the capital gains implications of selling up? * What contributions to pay on UK pension? * Can I pay less for bad service? * What do the many different tourism logos mean? * Texan film festival founder hosts final show * Helping hundreds of Brits integrate into Brittany life * Ows Zat? Picking up the lingo of cricket in France * Volunteers lend an ear to isolated English speakers * Couple spurn home to explore French canals * Swap your home for a cheap holiday break * Back to Normandy beaches - by taxi * New work code is twice as complex * Drivers must have warning triangles * Impôt de Solidarité sur la Fortune - We look at the controversial Solidarity Tax on Fortune (ISF) - France’s Wealth Tax * Am I liable? What is taxed and what is not? - All the key facts *  Step-by-step: Filling the form * How much is my property worth? * An unpopular tax - Critics claim the ISF loses France more money than it makes * Strategies for reducing wealth liable to ISF * Which regions pay most ISF? * Using assurance vie to lower your tax bill

French low-cost flights to allow mobile phone use * Drivers more reckless than four years ago - and know it * Row over plan to cut state reimbursements for glasses * Pyrenees snow cover to halve by end of century * Pay your income tax by telephone * 600 euros less family allowance from May 1 * New road signs ahead * France gave medal to UK scientist - despite being at war * Primary school standards drop sharply * WWI tunnel museum opens * Expat widows ‘wrongly’ losing 35% of husbands’ pension funds * May 1968: Memories of riots, strikes and student sex * Weak pound to last at least a year - expert * Flagging UK economy hits in different ways * Sarkozy’s first year: From election hero to the next Bond villain * Bring in school league tables, says parent-association head * Maternelles seriously failing children say reports * Health fears and high demand push the boundaries of top produce labels * What makes you happy in France, asks Nobel economist * French intelligence helped us against IRA * We’re best friends with our neighbours * AVF: There to help newcomers * Pompadour: City of Horses and a certain madame * Nouvel wins ‘Nobel’ while Le Corbusier looks to World Heritage list * Trade fair for UK businesses ‘a success’ * New rules allow pharmacies and customers greater freedom * How best to manage the transition from UK tax to the French system * Why does mobile credit expire? * Tips to minimise burglary insurance problems * The association 1901 law: setting up your own club * Tax credits can cut cost of home help * Money back on your new car * Real ID deadline slips back two presidencies * Living a sweet life in Paris * ‘Real America’ in France’s last binational centre * ‘Queen Mother’ calling out for new batch of Red Hat recruits * Cancer charity wants helpers * Joining forces to keep village on tourism map * Anglophone lifesaver library encouraging new members * Singing the praises of integration * Legal challenge launched as bank blocks foreigners * Eco-architects turning to wooden homes * Check out the best mortgage deal * What are the planning laws for satellite dishes? * What is included in the m2 figure for home area? * Average house price to rise 2.7% * For sale: Former French president’s chateau * Tax breaks for workers and the residents of rural revival zones * Loan for home improvements for families * 60% of French households install security devices * Lift improvement deadline delayed by two years * Further gas price hikes from GDF * Let your house for the holidays * Which homes rent out best? * Professional renters * Arm yourself with the key facts before renting out your home * We let a 16th Century chateau - while we offer a studio * Listing as a meublé de tourisme * Give your home that je ne sais quoi * Chèques emploi - the legal way to employ *

UK’s second homes curb ‘would not happen in France’ * More deliveries and staff to conquer La Poste queues * Call for EU-wide car database * No state refund for ‘inactifs’ * France’s last poilu laid to rest * L’Oréal daughter is richest woman * Two extra weeks for shop sales * Magazine stands by 48% grocery price hike figures * Mobile phone tax set for April 1 * ‘Failed’ pilgrim asks Connexion readers to help him across France * Death banned from village as mayor loses his plots * Keypad gates and cheap cleaners threaten the traditional concierge * Bordeaux handyman is first concierge de rue * 200 years of helping Britons abroad * Strikes are last resort, says union leader * Northern stereotypes prove box office hit * Michelin Guide’s new big fish * A magical break from the daily grind * Organic food production stalls just as consumers begin to bite * Former Yahoo! chief ’s bio wine gets critics’ approval * ‘Sarkozy factor’ helped us win say mayors as towns swing to the left * Local government layers; from empty communes to the complexities of Paris * Why we became French nationals and how you can do it * ‘We’re here for life - we feel at home’ * Journalist ‘sick of not being able to vote’ * ‘UK is like a foreign country’ * Following their children’s footsteps * Will Angelina and Brad’s next child be French? * Visit from officials part of pre-EEC process * Income tax forms * Step-by-step guide to filling out the main forms * Parts, family quotients, ‘assessable’ or ‘taxable’ income - understand the system * Those who can, teach...English * Getting started as a teacher: A part time hobby or a full time work? * Go one step further - create your own school * Taking UK qualifications to France can be a minefield for the unprepared * Many CPAMs still slow to acknowledge CMU changes * Your cancer screening rights * Dentists on health phone list * Claiming disability benefits * Uni pension treated as a ‘government’ scheme * Work is always outside France - who do I pay? * Buying second home in UK * PAYE income raises more questions * Which dog breeds are ‘dangerous’? * Inheritance: tontines, usufruit and the legs de residuo * Help your facteur – ensure you address letters correctly * Collectors’ cars - new law coming in * Recuperate up to four licence points * Claim a double heating bonus * Help with settling in to a new area * Everyone in a car must have seatbelt * Responsibility in thefts from a hotel * Right to post small objects as ‘letter’* Beware - and beat - hard-sell tactics * American Connexion: Tax deadline is approaching: How to file, and fast * Leading youngsters country to country * FAWCO: Women worldwide making a difference * Volunteers offer helping hand across bridge of bereavement * Top musicians launch folk night in Cahors * Fundraising tours to discover ancient village make a return * UK scout troup looking for volunteers to help cubs * Wind turbines: clean future power or eco-spin? * Set up your own turbine and make money selling electricity back to supplier * Changes to Loi Littoral ruled out * Rent deposit halves to a month * January saw drop in price of flats * Extra help for green lifestyles * Better access for disabled * ‘French housing crisis centred on cities, unlike in the UK’ * Search engine may receive €99m state aid * Strokes among under 65s fall 15% after January smoking ban * Cheese makers await ruling