The Connexion 240 - October 2022 e-Paper

View All Back Issues

The Connexion 240 - October 2022 e-Paper
(€5.80 TTC)


What's inside this month's edition

On the front page

New €1,000 charge for millions of home sales

People selling older, draughty homes, such as barn conversions with exposed stone walls, as well as many character holiday homes, are soon to face new €1,000 ‘energy audits’.

French news explained 

How I gave King Charles a garden gnome

The Queen’s death brought back a wave of memories for a former Daily Mail photographer, now living in Normandy, who followed the royals between 1985 and 2000.

The American who was a ‘Schindler in France’

American Varian Fry helped save the lives of some 2,500 people at risk from the Nazis by smuggling them out of France to safer countries, including the US.

Warm wishes from French on Queen’s death

A town plans to rename its airport after Queen Elizabeth II – one of a number of tributes to the late British monarch from this side of the Channel.

Thieves steal €400,000 from TGV passengers

Police have arrested three men suspected of stealing items worth around €400,000 from passengers on TGVs between Paris, Nice and Geneva.

Shortage of vets across the country as young graduates quit the job

Staff are quitting through overwork, are unevenly spread across the country, and are not willing to accept the same conditions as previous generations.

Automatic benefits payment to be tested to increase take-up

Automatic payments of some state benefits are to be trialled next year as a third of people do not claim money they are entitled to..

Pre-Brexit free health mutuelle rights lost

Two British women who are both long-term residents in France have had their right to free or subsidised top-up healthcare insurance ended.

French job-help centre in UK shuts – after 58 years

A centre which has been helping young French people find work in London since 1964 has closed, saying post-Brexit immigration rules have made its work impossible.

Helping child victims of the 2016 Nice attack

Lawyers expect a legal challenge to a new inheritance law that seeks to enforce French rules giving a set portion of any inheritance to children.

France is experimenting with changes to how it responds to people who call the 15 emergency number.

National debate to look at legalising assisted suicide

A ‘citizens convention’ will study the question of euthanasia with a view to changing the law, President Emmanuel Macron has announced.

Sports classes prescribed for heart-disease patients

An experiment is already underway to evaluate the benefits of prescribed, reimbursed physical activity in managing chronic illnesses.

Practical advice for living in France

Clarification on right to long-term EU card

Non-EU citizens living in an EU country as a close family member of an EU citizen can acquire long-term resident status, the European Court of Justice has ruled.

Second-home market sees big post-Covid bounce

The market for second homes in France is continuing to boom after parts of France saw double-digit price rises in a year (January - December 2021) as people seek out green refuges after the Covid lockdowns.

North vs south: The rural areas where property prices have risen (and fallen) the most

Calvados in Normandy is the department where rural property prices increased the most between 2018 and 2021, according to a study from Le Figaro which looked at main and second homes.

Right location, wrong house – so I built new one

“Tom picked up a copy of a magazine that had listings for houses in France,” says Jane, 70. “We realised they were so much more affordable that side of the Channel.”

Beware Macron’s stealthy road tactics

Within months, lower speed limits and higher diesel prices had given birth to the furious gilets jaunes and he was forced to backtrack.

Regulated energy prices to be capped at a 15% rise in 2023

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, announcing the cap, said no country in Europe has protected households as much as France.

Our financial writer answers your money queries on page 33.
You can find more advice for managing your money in France in our Money and Tax section on pages 33 and 34, and online 

Reader questions answered

  • Can I register late husband’s car in my name without a steep registration fee?
  • Can I work in France with UK physiotherapist degree?
  • Which news subscriptions qualify for tax credit?
  • Showing both French and British passports
  • Will I keep my HGV categories when I exchange my licence?

Subscribers can also find answers to reader questions in the Your Questions section online.

French Living

Morte pour la France: the brave Louise de Bettignies

Louise de Bettignies (1880-1918) was a French spy who worked for the British during WW1 using the alias Alice Dubois.

The past is shaping future art

Founded in 1991, the Biennale de Lyon art fair has become one of France’s key cultural events.

‘There is a balance to be found between happiness and frugality’

Patrick and Brigitte have been self-sufficient in water, electricity and basic fruit and vegetables at their home in Moisdon-la-Rivière (Loire-Atlantique) since the 1990s.

‘I hitchhiked the world by boat, plane (the hardest) and by train’

Octogenarian globetrotter André Brugiroux talks about his amazing life on the road and how he thrived on only a dollar a day

More in the October edition

Property: We bought our house directly from the owner
Money: Can we claim French pensions now we are living in the UK?
Culture: Why you learn French can be just as important as how
Environment: Success of 12-year project to rewild river
Health: ​​Flu jabs begin this month and can be given with Covid booster
Careers: I have rats to thanks for helping me find my vocation
Food and wine: Find cheaper wine by buying from producers