https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from France in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed France has some strict rules on inheritance, especially when it comes to children. But there are also clear provisions on leaving money to charity, especially any charities outside France, as well as special tax rates. https://www.thelocal.fr/20240924/french-inheritance-law-what-are-the-rules-on-leaving-money-to-charity Tue, 24 Sep 2024 14:03:47 +0200 french-inheritance-law-what-are-the-rules-on-leaving-money-to-charity Figuring out French admin can be tricky - especially as more and more procedures move online - but you might be able to get your questions answered with in-person assistance at a 'France Services'. https://www.thelocal.fr/20231205/what-is-france-services-and-how-can-it-help-foreigners-in-france Tue, 05 Dec 2023 13:40:08 +0100 what-is-france-services-and-how-can-it-help-foreigners-in-france Stuck in a loop on a French administrative website that won't let you submit your request? This simple hack might help. https://www.thelocal.fr/20231113/why-99-is-the-magic-number-for-french-admin-sites Mon, 13 Nov 2023 14:56:53 +0100 why-99-is-the-magic-number-for-french-admin-sites Bureaucracy has its own language and when applying for French residency there are some words and phrases that it is important to know. https://www.thelocal.fr/20230721/french-residency-vital-vocabulary-for-the-carte-de-sejour Fri, 21 Jul 2023 14:22:32 +0200 french-residency-vital-vocabulary-for-the-carte-de-sejour If you're stuck in a French bureaucracy quagmire, there is one document that might be able to get you out. Here's how the attestation works and how to get one. https://www.thelocal.fr/20230717/attestation-the-magic-key-to-french-bureaucracy-problems Mon, 17 Jul 2023 14:00:50 +0200 attestation-the-magic-key-to-french-bureaucracy-problems You may have heard that you need to carry your ID card with you at all times in France - but is this actually true and what can happen if you don't have any?  https://www.thelocal.fr/20230509/do-foreigners-in-france-need-to-carry-proof-of-id Tue, 09 May 2023 12:58:52 +0200 do-foreigners-in-france-need-to-carry-proof-of-id Looking to give back to the community in France? Here is what you need to know about volunteering in France and the rules for doing so. https://www.thelocal.fr/20230104/volunteering-in-france-what-are-the-rules-and-do-i-need-a-special-visa Wed, 04 Jan 2023 17:59:15 +0100 volunteering-in-france-what-are-the-rules-and-do-i-need-a-special-visa Opening a bank account in a new country is always confusing, and even more so if you’re not fluent in the language. The types of accounts, fees and jargon are likely to be different, and there are extra challenges for newcomers in setting up an account in France, as Jill Starley-Grainger explains. https://www.thelocal.fr/20210323/everything-you-need-to-know-about-setting-up-a-bank-account-in-france Tue, 23 Mar 2021 13:31:29 +0100 everything-you-need-to-know-about-setting-up-a-bank-account-in-france When you're navigating French bureaucracy, or more recently the Covid-related rules, you often come across the 'déclaration sur l'honneur' - but what does this actually mean? https://www.thelocal.fr/20210201/what-does-it-mean-when-you-swear-on-your-honour-in-france Mon, 01 Feb 2021 12:57:37 +0100 what-does-it-mean-when-you-swear-on-your-honour-in-france I used to do a joke on stage and it went like this, writes Ian Moore. “As far as I can tell the aim of Brexit is to end the freedom of movement for British people but continue the freedom of movement for British goods and services. https://www.thelocal.fr/20210129/opinion-the-terror-of-french-bureaucracy-and-why-its-good-to-have-a-friend-at-the-local-mairie Fri, 29 Jan 2021 11:11:34 +0100 opinion-the-terror-of-french-bureaucracy-and-why-its-good-to-have-a-friend-at-the-local-mairie A 58-year-old French woman, who was wrongfully declared dead in a long-running dispute with a former employee, goes to court on Monday in the city of Lyon to try resurrect her existence. https://www.thelocal.fr/20210111/frenchwoman-who-was-declared-dead-goes-to-court-to Mon, 11 Jan 2021 14:28:49 +0100 frenchwoman-who-was-declared-dead-goes-to-court-to France has a longstanding reputation for being a nightmare for bureaucracy and red tape. But is it deserved? Our readers told us whether they think it's just an old, tired cliché or if there really is truth to the stereotype. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190118/cumbersome-and-unwieldy-is-france-really-that-bad-for-bureaucracy Fri, 18 Jan 2019 17:45:45 +0100 cumbersome-and-unwieldy-is-france-really-that-bad-for-bureaucracy The French inventor of a record-breaking jet-powered hoverboard (see amazing video) says he will reluctantly have to leave France after being summoned to a local police station and informed he must stick to the rules (which haven't actually been written yet). https://www.thelocal.fr/20170315/stifling-bureaucracy-threatens-to-push-hover-board-master-out-of-france Wed, 15 Mar 2017 17:41:45 +0100 stifling-bureaucracy-threatens-to-push-hover-board-master-out-of-france The French government is set to announce a whopping another 30 new measures to simplify life in France. https://www.thelocal.fr/20161026/france-lays-out-new-measures-to-make-life-simpler Wed, 26 Oct 2016 13:14:55 +0200 france-lays-out-new-measures-to-make-life-simpler The French government’s efforts to make our lives easier stepped up a pace on Wednesday as dozens of further measures were announced as part of a “simplification shock”. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160203/heres-how-lives-in-france-have-become-a-little-bit-simpler Wed, 03 Feb 2016 18:52:18 +0100 heres-how-lives-in-france-have-become-a-little-bit-simpler As France has just rung in the new year, The Local offers readers a glimpse of what changes came into force on January 1, 2015, from energy bills and ticket prices to welfare benefits and wages. https://www.thelocal.fr/20141230/new-year-in-france-change-2015-electricity-tax-salary Tue, 30 Dec 2014 16:25:00 +0100 new-year-in-france-change-2015-electricity-tax-salary France, notorious for its jungle of red-tape, has apparently been undersserving of some of that criticism. A new report ranks France as the best country in Europe when it comes to online government services. https://www.thelocal.fr/20140919/red-tape-france-tops-un-e-efficiency-list Fri, 19 Sep 2014 20:10:00 +0200 red-tape-france-tops-un-e-efficiency-list In a long-awaited proposal to trim France’s notorious bureaucracy, President Francois Hollande unveiled on Tuesday a plan to cut the number of French regions by a third. But will the reform actually help a struggling France? https://www.thelocal.fr/20140603/president-release-reform-of-frances-regions Tue, 03 Jun 2014 12:14:00 +0200 president-release-reform-of-frances-regions A decades-old plan to cut the number of French regions in half has once again reared its head and prompted a fierce row. The Local talks to two experts to find out whether a seemingly sensible move to cut bureaucracy will ever happen and whether it will do any good. https://www.thelocal.fr/20140414/french-regions-we-have-to-redo-everything Mon, 14 Apr 2014 12:37:00 +0200 french-regions-we-have-to-redo-everything The agency behind France's census was left red-faced this week after sending out a letter to a French citizen who died almost 200 years ago. As if that wasn't bad enough, the recipient was none other than Napoleon Bonaparte himself. Click here to see for yourself. https://www.thelocal.fr/20131211/french-bureaucrats-sends-letter-to-napoleon Wed, 11 Dec 2013 14:06:00 +0100 french-bureaucrats-sends-letter-to-napoleon