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Photo: French police stop driver over car covered in Christmas lights
Officers were appreciative of the decorations and took photos - but demanded that they were all removed
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Aer Lingus to begin Bordeaux-Ireland flight route
The three flights per week will replace a service previously offered by Ryanair, which has now stopped all flights to and from Bordeaux
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Cash, cheque, bank cards: What can shops legally refuse in France?
There are clear rules on how, when and why businesses can refuse to accept payment
Americans risk French bank shutdown
Increasingly tough demands by US tax authorities for information about American clients of French banks have led to fears that tens of thousands of accounts could be closed by the end of the year.
The problem relates to Fatca, a US regulation against tax evasion, and French banks are calling on the Finance Ministry to find a solution.
Americans must declare their income to the US wherever they live in the world, though, depending on double tax treaties, not necessarily for it to be taxed again.
Due to Fatca and an agreement signed between France and the US, French banks are required to pass to US officials the American Tax Identification Number of American clients.
This can be hard for them to obtain, especially for “accidental Americans” – those who have US nationality by birth but have lived most of their lives in France.
The banks have been able to pass on the client’s date of birth if they have no access to the number but this option expires at the end of the year and the French Banking Federation says 40,000 accounts are at risk.