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57 years of French life

A British native, I have been living in France for the last 57 years. Before that, my home was in the north of England but when I was 15 I did an exchange with a girl in Alsace where I met the family.

Eight years later, we got together again and I began a relationship with her brother, whom I married and I then came to stay here.

I have dual nationality, a British passport and a French ID card. My husband is French, coming from Alsace.

I live 6km from Germany and so do most of my shopping across the Rhine where I find many British products.

Before the Schengen agreement, we had to go through customs to get there over the border both on the outward journey and return but now there are none.

So you may realise what I think about Brexit – a shame.

I know we are an island and I am proud to have been born in the north but I am happy to live in this beautiful region which combines German cleanliness and order with the French way of life.

Kathleen Dick, Bas-Rhine

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