Find an English- speaking care home

MANY English-speaking residents in France are reaching an age when entry into a retirement home is an important consideration.

There is no single organisation offering a standard nationwide retirement home service but Connexion has identified several projects offering an English-speaking service in different parts of France.

An association in the Dordogne called Lo Paratge is looking to start a building project for people wanting to support each other in a cooperative housing project, with accommodation being built in 2010. It is meant to be finished for people to move in by the end of the year.

According to one of the organisers, Liliane Battais, (tel: 06 85 43 14 28) there is room for new people, who should contact them as soon as possible.

Some of those involved are English-speakers and more are welcome.

Each person will have their own living area, but there will be plenty of communal facilities, including chambres d’hôtes for guests. See www.loparatge.org

On the Riviera, the newly-built Sunny Bank retirement home at Mouans-Sartoux just outside Cannes, hopes to open its doors in early 2010.

They describe themselves as the only one of their kind on the Riviera - a bilingual home especially aimed at English-speakers. It is being sponsored by Sunny Bank, a charity which founded an English-speaking hospital in Cannes in 1892 and has been helping expatriates in need for over a century. See www.sunny-bank.org

Le Parc de Mougins, run by the Senior Santé group in Mougins, Alpes-Maritimes, is a privately-run retirement home with resident medical care available. Staff provide an English-speaking service for all aspects of care but do not claim to be bilingual. It is situated near the Mediterranean, in a 7,000m2 park.

The home has accommodated several English-speaking residents. Contact Bernie Boyer, tel: 04 93 48 71 48, or see www.seniors-sante.com

The Connexion publishes a helpguide, priced €5, explaining how the French care home system works and the different types of financial help available.