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France’s historic upturned boat houses offer clue to Dickens mystery
On France’s north coast lies a cluster of upside-down boats converted into dwellings. Could they explain a confusing quirk in the classic tale of David Copperfield?
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‘Round up’ banking enables people in France to save without realising
The method is seen as a way for shoppers who might normally struggle to save to build up extra cash
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Is it better for partners to have a joint bank account in France?
There are rules to consider about who owns the funds and what happens if the couple separates
Home help wage rise
People who pay workers for services in the home, such as a cleaner or gardener, can now use a simulator on the official Cesu website to check they have properly calculated a salary rise which should have been applied on October 1.

The increase is proportional to a rise in the homeworkers’ minimum wage from €8.45 net to €8.55, factoring in 10% towards paid holidays.
This came with the removal of a part of the employer’s social charges (towards unemployment benefit) and does not affect the amount of the gross (brut – before social charges) salary.
The simulator is at tinyurl.com/ycxujwux.