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We find France’s frivolous side at its seven weirdest festivals

Tragic news: the World Pig Squealing Championships are no more. At the event, in Trie-sur-Baïse, in the Hautes-Pyrénées, competitors were called on to imitate the noises made by pigs at various stages of their lives, right up to slaughter. There’s speculation that the domination of many-times world champ Noël Jamet was discouraging entrants!

France still retains a decent number of other fêtes of heartening eccentricity, however, confirming, against much available evidence, that the French do have a frolicsome sense of fun.

Bed racing, Brittany
At the Fête de l’Insolite (“Festival of the Unlikely”), in Mahalon, beds, stripped down to their essentials, roar along a circuit around the village church. Teams of three — two pushing, one on board — compete to challenge the world record of 1 min 16 sec. The event also includes a race of delivery tricycles; egg-, beret- and pancake-throwing; 
and a contest involving the long-distance spitting of apricot stones. “The fête is intended to be humorous,” says Bernard Le Gall, the mayor, helpfully.
July 14, free; mahalon.fr

Shoe tossing, Aquitaine
For one day in August, the narrow streets of Salies-de-Béarn are devoted to the Hurling of the Espadrille, the rope-soled sandal of these parts. One euro gets you three goes — with espadrilles provided. The record is 108ft 8in, a heck of a distance for a sandal to travel.
August 15, free; piperadere-salies.blogspot.fr

Lying, Gascony
The Gascons of Moncrabeau have been at it for centuries, meeting to exchange gossip and, when real gossip ran out, invent some more. In 1972, they formalised this tradition into the Festival International de Menteries (“lies”). Texts are sent in and Academy members choose eight to be delivered — standing on the allegedly genuine 18th-century Stone of Truth. Last year, one man told of raising domestic ticks for curative uses. You can also visit the birthplace of Fujiyo Lapuce, IT consultant to Louis XIV.
August 3, £4; academiedesmenteurs.fr

Garlic peeling, Midi-Pyrénées
There’s a Laotian lady in Beaumont de Lomagne who can peel 68lb of garlic in 30 minutes. She’s the woman to beat at the 2014 Fête de l’Ail Blanc (“white garlic”). The festival also features maths-inspired games: Pierre de Fermat, of last theorem fame, was born here.
July 20, £1.60; club.quomodo.com/ fetedel-ail

Square boules, Côte d’Azur
How do you play boules on streets so steep that they might roll right into the Mediterranean? The answer: play with square boules. The good people of medieval Cagnes-sur-Mer, high on the hill, hit on the solution 35 years ago. Now the world beats a path to the Championnat du Monde de Boules Carrées. “There is skill involved, but it’s mainly luck,” says Pascal Zaccure, president of the organising outfit. Anyone can join in, and anyone does: it’s one of the Côte’s great social levellers.
August 16 and 17, £5.75; cagnes-tourisme.com, cercleamis.cagnes.free.fr

Trailer lifting, Basque Country
Imagine the Highland games without kilts, whisky and sporrans, but with berets, wine and highly impressive bellies. That’s about the size of the Festival de la Force Basque, in St Palais. Look out for burly fellows lifting a trailer and rotating it on its axis (two turns is OK, but real champs manage five), lifting 220lb bales high into the sky on a pulley — and being rocketed skywards themselves when the bales fall to earth — and straining like hell at the keynote tug-of-war contest.
August 17, £12.50 (under-12s free); saintpalais-tourisme.com

Potato mash-up, Nord-Pas-de-Calais
“It’s essentially nuts,” says Didier Roussel, the deputy mayor of Esquelbecq, where they’ve been tipping unfortunates into pools filled with mash for 18 years. Patate Feest is abundantly potato-themed, with processions and spud-inspired games. One involves picking up a single potato with a building-site crane. Relays and tugs-of-war around that mashed-potato pool invariably ensure participating youths get thoroughly lathered.
August 31, free; esquelbecq.com

This article originally appeared in The Sunday Times 'Drive' section Sunday 8th June 2014.

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

BORROWERS will find it easier to fund a property purchase on the Continent as the falling cost of mortgages and strong pound boost their buying power but buyers must beware of the threat of deflation.

The European Central Bank (ECB) last week cut its main interest rate to a record low of 0.15% from 0.25% in an effort to stimulate the eurozone economy. This will push down borrowing costs and make mortgages in the eurozone more affordable.

 Chez nous: France offers top deals (Sipa Press/REX) - read more on the Cle Mortgages page - click here.

The cheapest 20-year fixed-rate mortgage in France has already dropped from 3.75% to 3.45% since the start of the year, according to International Private Finance (IPF), an overseas mortgage specialist. Over the same time, sterling has strengthened from €1.20 to €1.23, cutting the monthly cost of a €250,000 repayment mortgage from £1,249 to £1,186.

As a result, the number of British buyers looking for a European bolt hole has been growing. IPF said it had seen a 24% increase in inquiries for French mortgages in the first three months of the year, compared with the same period in 2013.

Simon Conn, a broker specialising in overseas mortgages, said: “Over the past 12 to 18 months I have seen a steady increase in demand for the most popular countries, such as Spain, France, Portugal and Italy. Lenders have been lowering rates and also accepting smaller deposits.”

Of all the eurozone countries, France offers the best borrowing rates and accepts the smallest deposits — the cheapest being 2.3% for a 10-year fix with a 20% deposit. In Italy, the lowest rate available is 3.4% for a 20-year term and a 20% deposit, according to IPF. In Spain, the cheapest rate is higher at 4% over 20 years and the minimum deposit is 50%, while Portugal is even tougher for borrowers as the lowest rate is 5.28% spread over 30 years with a deposit of at least 60%.

Simon Smallwood of IPF said: “Mortgage rates for international borrowers are becoming more competitive. Expectations for interest rates in the eurozone are now lower than they were and this makes it likely that mortgage rates are going to stay lower for longer.”

Capital Economics, the consultancy, expects the ECB rate to remain at 0.15% until at least 2016.

However, Danny Cox of the adviser Hargreaves Lansdown urged potential buyers to be cautious. He said: “The eurozone economy is stagnating and heading towards deflation, when prices are continually falling. This could cause house prices to fall further and potentially extend the financial problems across the Continent.” Germany’s inflation rate almost halved last month to 0.6% from 1.1% in April.

Buyers should research their target country’s tax system, as there is a variety of property-based levies across Europe. Smallwood said: “Annual wealth tax in France and inheritance tax in Spain are calculated on the net value of the assets you hold in the country.”

This means buyers would be taxed less on a French property if they bought it using a mortgage, rather than by remortgaging their home in Britain and paying in cash. “It can therefore be beneficial to buy with a mortgage as this reduces its net value,” said Smallwood.

However, borrowers considering a foreign currency mortgage need to be aware of the exchange-rate risk. The pound may be getting stronger against the euro, but any reverse in this trend could leave buyers struggling to cover higher repayments.

The investment bank UBS has forecast the pound will strengthen against the euro to €1.33 in three months but drop to €1.25 in a year.

Buyers nervous about currency fluctuations may want to consider arranging a “forward contract” through an exchange specialist, to lock in a rate.

Kathleen Mackinnon-Helm is our specialist Overseas Mortgage Broker, she says between April 2013 and April 2014 borrowers in France have seen a drop of around 10% in the cost of their loan. Rates on ten and fifteen year terms dropped last month but currently rates are stable.

If market observers agree that an increase in rates is to be expected in the months to come – namely because of the FED’s monetary policy which will certainly have an impact on the European money markets - for the moment the mortgage market in France remains very attractive, even if the banks are very cautious and go through loan applications with a fine tooth comb.

In conclusion, given the historically low rates, borrowers now have a window of opportunity which will very likely not last.

Save time and money when sending or receiving international payments with Cle France. Go to our dedicated Currency page here.

Part of this article originally appeared in The Sunday Times 'Drive' section Sunday 8th June 2014.

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

Hi David,

Just wanted to say thanks for helping make our dream come true, we got the keys to our dream house in Normandy on the 28th May. We love the country, the food, the people, can't wait until we can live there full time; another 8 years to go!

Janet & Steve.

Congratulations to Janet & Steve who had there offer accepted in late February and moved-in at the end of May this year. Their stunning rural Farmhouse in Calvados department of Lower Normandy, we wish them many happy holidays leading up to the time when they move to France permanently.

Family ties are far more important to people in France than is the case in Britain.

Children and grandchildren visit their parents and grandparents on a regular basis and always seem to enjoy these visits. It never comes across as a chore.

On Mother’s Day, in particular, families expect to get together and have a party always accompanied by plenty of flowers for mum. Even in the case of the departed, graves are visited regularly and flowers placed.

On All Saints Day every cemetery in the country will have crowds of visiting people and again flowers are placed on graves, typically chrysanthemums. The French are a lot more tactile than the British.

When people meet friends or acquaintances they always shake hands and male and female friends will always kiss on the cheek. Children up to the age of about ten are expected to kiss the adult friends of their parents when they meet. These things go a long way to making the whole society friendly, more cohesive and definitely more laid-back than is the case in Britain.

Tied-in with the above is the lack of a yob culture throughout France.

French youths never go out with the intention of getting plastered or looking for a fight in the evenings. In Britain you can find this thriving not only in the big cities but in rural areas too. You can see graffiti and vandalism throughout the country, whether in big cities, towns or small villages.

Along with this is the ‘lager-lout’ culture that gets British youth such a bad name both at home and abroad. This does not happen in France. There are occasions when French youngsters get a bit tipsy but this always seems to be tied-in with a special occasion.

They may get a bit loud but it never seems to end in any sort of violence or yobbish behaviour, and very seldom do girls get involved.

Fraser Blake, 70, author of 'Dear Chips' and 'A Rant Too Far?' grew up in Africa, was at school in Scotland, and worked for the British South Africa Police in Southern Rhodesia. He has taught English in Saudi Arabia and sold and renovated hundreds of properties in Northern France.

In 1998 Fraser was selling houses in the Mayenne department of the Pays de la Loire region and so was the obvious choice, when Cle France was started, to be their first agent on the ground in France. In retirement he writes, blogs, cooks, drinks wine, and hosts to dinner unlimited numbers of ex-pats.

Always on hand with a viewpoint, Fraser is going to share his views on France, the French and the British, and other people who buy in France. Sometimes informative, sometimes funny, painfully true, outrageously opinionated but always entertaining so we hope it adds a slightly different dimension to the usual normality of searching through the fantastic properties for sale on the Cle France website.

If you want more? then follow the links above where you can buy Fraser's published books.

Sometimes I think that the rural French Farmhouse is over-rated as a catch-all option when buying in France, do not get me wrong they offer so much and I lived in one in the Mayenne for 12 years until recently, but the maintenance can be a chore when you should be just enjoying things.

I think 'the French' have the right idea sometimes as they tend to go for the much bigger and much more practical Traditional house, I am not keen on the 'Modern' versions but the traditional house build before the mid 1980s have a lot to offer in terms of sheer size, scope for family accommodation and day to day living.

CXZ00413 is on the market for only 146,280 euros FAI in the Correze department of the Limousin region and is exactly what I mean - This place would be great for a gardening loving retired couple looking for a bungalow to enjoy the french way of life.

This is a move into and enjoy property with no work to be done, just enjoy!

Fantastic value property located in a quiet corner of a sought after village in the mountains Monedieres. With 140m2 of living space, this spacious house is in great condition throughout and boasts a beautiful garden with wonderful views of the countryside. This house with its beautiful garden is at the end of a very quiet cul-de-sac at the edge of a beautiful village.

A nice gravel path leads you to the entrance to the house, and there in the hall welcoming porch. The quality modular kitchen is on your left, and so why advance hallway directly in the charming lounge / dining room open plan. With a cozy fireplace and direct access to the terrace of 70m2 with doors, this area is bright and inviting. A corridor leads to the vestibule conveniently three rooms on the ground floor, a family bathroom and toilet. 

An entrance staircase leads down to the basement, where the living accommodation is further enhanced by a private guest suite consisting of a 4th bedroom, a living room and a bathroom with toilet. The basement also houses a large storage room, workshop and garage. 

Placed at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac, the house is surrounded by a lovely garden in the middle of its 1600m2 of land. A private driveway provides good off-road parking and leads directly to the large garage basement, which is large enough to accommodate up to 3 vehicles. 

The large terrace overlooking the pretty rear garden, complete with a fish pond, a vegetable garden and a gravel path with wooden bridge, and there are fabulous views of the open countryside and mountains. 

This property offers superb value in a competitive market - book your visit now by appointment.

It is such a nice house and well price but you could always try an offer as well.

This place would be great for a gardening loving retired couple looking for a bungalow to enjoy the french way of life. This is a 'move into and enjoy' style property, there is no work to be done to move in.

The department of Corrèze is located in south central France, Corrèze belongs to the Limousin region. Corrèze is the name river running through the department. The population is around 240,000 inhabitants and is split into three arrondissements (Tulle, Brive and Ussel), 38 cantons and 285 towns and villages. Landscapes in this department are mountains, plateaus and valleys. The highest mountain is the Mont Bessou at 978m. 

Corrèze has many pretty villages or towns. It has six villages belonging to the ‘Prettiest villages of France’ category, so watch out for Collonges-la-Rouge, Curemonte, Saint-Robert, Ségur-le-Château, Treignac and Turenne.

Limousin is often described as one of the cheapest French regions in terms of property. It will depend of course on the location and your personal expectations but in general you get a lot for your money.

Less than 12% of the properties in Corrèze are second homes but the number is climbing as it is really sought after for quality holiday homes and setting up a B&B style business.

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

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