July 14th (le 14 Juillet), Bastille Day, is the French national holiday commemorating the start of the French revolution in 1789. The end of the French revolution led to a series of Republics, one of the symbols of which is la Marianne.

Named for the two most common woman’s names at the time, Marie and Anne, Marianne is a national symbol of France representing liberty and the importance of reason. Her image appears on stamps, on government documents, and a bust of her appears in les mairies (the town / city halls) of France.

Early images of Marianne were based on anonymous models, however since 1969 they have been based on the features of famous woman including Brigitte Bardot, Catherine Deneuve, the model Inès de La Fressange, and more.

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

Later this week, le quatorze juillet (July 14), is la fête nationale française, known in many parts of the world as Bastille Day.

If you are like many francophiles, you may think this day celebrates the storming of the royal prison of la Bastille on July 14, 1789, and you’d be right, but only partly so...

Officially established as la fête nationale (the national holiday) by the French Assemblé in 1880, the festivities do indeed celebrate the storming of the Bastille as the start of the revolution, but perhaps more importantly the 14th is also the anniversary of la Fête de la Fédération (a celebration of the ideals of the French Revolution – la liberté, la fraternité, et l’égalité / liberty, brotherhood, and equality – and of the nation) during which Louis XVI himself (before, of course, famously losing his head later!) and other representatives of the young republic swore an oath to the constitution, promising to uphold the laws of the new nation.

The ceremonies of this first Fête de la Fédération were led by the Marquis de LaFayette (whom Louis XVI had named as commander of the troops in Paris after his return from supporting the American colonists in their recent bids to win independence from the other great European monarchy of the day, Great Britain) and took place on the Champs de mars  (named, not for the month of March, but for the Roman god of battle, Mars [Greek: Ares or Aries]) which is framed today by the Eiffel Tower at one end and Hôtel des Invalides at the other.

As today, the early celebrations of the 14th July involved local dances and military parades. In 1989, year of the bicentennial celebrations, I was lucky enough to spend juillet in Paris and to participate in three days of bals, defilies, feux d’artifices, and more (balls, parades, fireworks).

La nuit du 14 (the night of the 14th), we even went out to a night club after the final fireworks, danced till dawn, and then went back to the Champs-Élysées for le petit-déjeuner au levé du soleil! (breakfast at sunrise).

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

New Guide to Living in France - Post Brexit

Now that the UK is outside of the European Union our guide is an important and informative read.

Our popular and helpful 'PDF Guides' are free for you to download.

Essential reading for anyone looking to buy a Holiday Home or Full-Time Home in France in 2021.

Living in France now? then find out what will change.

In the guide we look at how Brits can buy and live in France in 2021 and beyond.

Get Your Free PDF Guide to Living in France - Post Brexit here

Kind regards, 
Sharon Evans 
Founder of Clé France.

The door has reopened for new French social charges claims. If you have sold your French property in 2017 or 2018 it is time to act!

Let me give you a brief summary of the French social charges saga.

Summary

In 2015, France was condemned by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the case law De Ruyter which held that taxation of social charges on French capital income of persons affiliated to a social security system of another Member State of the European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland was contrary to the EU legal principle of unity of social security legislation.

This judgement was then followed the same year by a decision of the highest French administrative Court The “Conseil d’Etat” which confirmed the ruling of the ECJ. The “De Ruyter” case led to a large number of tax claims against the French Tax Office until the budget 2016 when the French government decided to maintain the taxation of social charges on non-residents despite its controversy by reallocating the proceeds of the social charges into a new category.

However, the French government interpretation that the social levies were a tax rather than a social security contribution was rejected in 2018 by the the Court of Appeal of Nancy which ruled out that the taxation was against EU law. The French government appealed against that decision. However taking into account the ruling of a recent judgement of the ECJ of 14th March 2019, the Highest Administrative Court (« Conseil d’Etat ») upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal.

Time to act !

Therefore, if you were residing in a EU/EEA country other than France or in Switzerland and were registered with the health care system of your home country and paid social charges on the net capital gains when you sold your French property in 2017 or 2018, you can now make a claim. Under French law, any tax claim must be issued before the 31st December of the second year following the year when the tax was paid. If you sold your French property in 2017, you have until the end of 2019 to make a claim. If you sold your French property in 2018, you have until the end of 2020 to make a claim. For those who sold their French property in 2016, it is too late unless you issued a claim before the end of year 2018.

For those who are considering selling their French property in 2019, the good news is that the French government took the lead by deciding in its new tax budget that from the 1st January 2019, non-French residents affiliated to a social security of a EU/EEA social security will no longer have to pay social charges but still be subject to the tax of prélèvement de solidarité (7.5%). For those residing outside the EU/EEA, they will be subject to social charges of 17.2%.

How to claim the social charges?

A tax claim can be issued to the French Tax Office for non-residents or to the tax office where the taxpayer was registered. It must be legally motivated and include all supporting documents establishing the right to claim for a refund of the French social charges.

We have received many enquiries from concerned clients who have seen their tax claim rejected because of poor drafting or lack of evidence.

We therefore recommend that you seek legal advice to ensure that your claim has been correctly drafted and accompanied with the necessary supporting documents.

Our Firm can assist you in claiming back the social charges you have paid. We are very experienced in this area and have successfully claim back social charges for our clients since 2014.

At B&M Law LLP, we will be happy to assist you in recovering the social charges undue levied on the French property you sold.

Please contact Loic Raboteau by visiting his page on this website for a free preliminary assessment of your case and a quotation.

Disclaimer: These articles are for information purposes only and are not intended as legal advice. Professional advice should always be obtained before applying any information to particular circumstances.

For a more personal advice contact Loic today using the form above.

You may also be interested in some of our 'Buying Guides' on the Free Guides Tab Here.

For everything you need to know about French property for sale visit www.clefrance.co.uk

Before we first moved to France we would talk about moving to Paris, but then thought about getting a new job or a move to a city like Bordeaux, if you are going to buy a property in France why not buy one in a wine region?

In France, les vignerons (vintners, or winemakers) sell directly to stores and restaurants in France, as well as for exportation. In The UK and non-major wine production countries, there is a more complicated three-tier system where foreign wine is bought by importers, then distributed, and then sold for retail.

In France, wine is sold not only in wine stores (called les cavistes, which literally means 'cellermen'), but also in grocery stores like Monoprix, Franprix, and Carrefour. In larger grocery stores, there may even be an expert in wine who you can consult about what wines to purchase. However, if you really want specialised advice about wine, your best bet is to go to the caviste.

In Paris, the most well-known chain of wine stores is Nicholas. You’ll see this store in most neighbourhoods. There are also other, individually-owned wine stores that have excellent selections and fair prices.

But, if you are selecting wine on your own, keep the following tips in mind:

1. You won’t find much foreign wine in France, but you will find wine from many French regions you’ve never heard of before. Explore French wine by focusing on a particular region,like Languedoc-Roussillion or Burgundy and then trying different wines from that region to discover which you like the best. When looking at wine labels, keep in mind that 'grand cru' is the highest-quality of vineyard or area in a particular region, followed by 'premier cru' and 'grand vin' is the label each winemaker gives to its best wine.

2. Wine in France is much cheaper than in the UK because it does not go through the three-tier distribution system described above and because it is not as heavily taxed. You can find a decent bottle of wine for under 5 euros and a very good bottle of wine for 10 euros and under. Price does matter, however; if you want to get an enjoyable wine, spring for an 7 or 8 euro bottle of wine rather than one that costs 2 euros or less. Your palate will thank you.

3. If you are in a winemaking region, choose a bottle of wine made in that region. Normally, the wine stores and grocery stores stock more product from their own region and, thus, you will have a larger (and often times better) selection than if you choose wine from a different region.

À votre sante! and drink responsibily!

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.