Clé France

Let us take a look at some day to day differences between living in France and living in Britain...

Parking is another area of great contrast...

All villages in France provide ample free parking as do a lot of the major towns. Where they do charge it is reasonably priced, in a town centre for instance, at one euro an hour. In main TGV stations it is maximum of five euros per day and in some places as little as 10 euros per week. Compare these costs with those charged in Britain where some councils have even started charging people to park in front of their own houses.

Then there is road tax...

In France this was abolished a few years ago and instead the tax was placed on fuel which although it did increase prices, is, nevertheless, a much fairer way of taxing motorists. However, fuel is still cheaper in France than it is in Britain where both it and road taxes seem to go up on a regular basis.

France is a far less consumerist society...

The French are much happier with their lot and would not dream of going out of their way to make a fast buck. In the aftermath of the 1999 storms in which a great many roofs were damaged, the roofers could have made a killing but they did not. Their quotes for repairs were no higher than they would have been for the same job under normal conditions.

Quotes normally stand for about three months before they are reviewed in Britain. However, in France you find that builders, roofers, plumbers and electricians will usually honour a quote a year later without any additions. Workers are expected to work their full hours. They may take between one and two hours for lunch but there are no further breaks for tea or coffee at any other time.

Customer satisfaction comes high on the French agenda...

At one end, having a meal in a restaurant will usually be accompanied by the waiter asking if everything is alright and if you are enjoying it. At the other end, buying a car or some other expensive object from a trader rather than a supermarket will always be followed up by a letter or at least a ’phone call to check whether everything is functioning properly.

Whilst supermarkets will be cheaper especially on items like fridges, freezers, washing machines and the like, any after sales service is hard to get and often almost nonexistent. In contrast, from a small trader it is usually excellent.

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.

Hello Sharon and David, I purchased a property in December through Clé France and found Sharon to be most helpful and informative. I am presently starting renovation work on the property as it is soon to become my permanent home. Thanks to you I am now starting a new and exciting chapter in my life. I wish you both all the best.

Kind regards, Alicia Nixon.

Alicia bought a renovation project with fantastic scope and vast possibilities in a rural setting near some of the prettiest Mayenne villages like Lassay-les-Chateaux, Ambrieres-les-Vallees and Chantrigne, which was our old neighbourhood for 12 years so we know she is going to be happy there.

We have sold many houses in the Village of Lassay-les-Chateaux and if you paid a quick visit to the village you would soon see why.

This property is 'new on the market' in recent weeks and offers fantastic value for money, good living space to enjoy from day one AND more scope to improve. Click on the photo to find out more.

One of the main reasons I love this “Petite Cité de Caractère” is because I lived 15 minutes from it for 12 years between 2000 and 2012 and it was my local centre to visit for banking, shopping and relaxing with a beer watching the world go by, a great location and not to mention the weekly markets, seasonal fairs and events as well as a annual comedy gala.

Nestled near the top of the Pays de la Loire region and close to the Normandy border is the town of Lassay les Chateaux. Surrounded by the beautiful and gentle rolling landscape of the Mayenne this medieval town offers more than just a magnificent chateau (in fact there are three!). Like elsewhere in the department of Mayenne the pace of life follows the seasons, the old rural ways and traditions don't try and keep pace with modern ways, instead the locals prefer the relaxed atmosphere.

BHJ00951 for sale with Cle France in Lassay-les-Chateaux for 38700 euros FAI.

A FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY TO ACQUIRE this perfect holiday house in the shape of this French Village House built of stone and slate roof offering:

Ground floor: Entrance to dining room / sitting room (16 m²), fitted kitchen (9 m²).

First floor: Bathroom (2.80 m²), Landing (8.37 m²) and a bedroom (7.10 m²).

Above: Loft with possibility of a room.

Oh yes, almost forgot... and a Cave!

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

EUROPEAN POLICE forces are to be given access to British drivers’ details so they can pursue fines for motoring offences committed on the Continent. It will be the first time that information, including a driver’s name, address and previous con–victions, has been made widely available to authorities outside the UK, writes Joseph Dunn.

Police officers in France have the power to impose on-the-spot fines for speeding.

The new law, being drawn up by the European Commission and due to come into force next May, will give police in 27 countries the power to demand British motorists’ details from the DVLA if they suspect an offence has been committed and has been caught on camera.

Offences include speeding, driving without a seatbelt and driving while using a mobile phone. Once the DVLA has received the demand and the car’s registration number, it will supply the registered owner’s name and address, allowing European police forces to send a penalty demand through the post. The letter will be written in English.

At the moment, British drivers can be fined for most offences in Europe only if they are stopped by an officer, who can issue an on-the-spot penalty. The new rules mean that speed and CCTV cameras can be used to capture the licence plate of the car, allowing police to trace its owner across the Channel. Parking offences are not covered by the new rules because they are not regarded as a road safety problem.

According to Brussels, the move is a response to concerns that foreign drivers were getting away with many offences when driving on the Continent. “This is the result of 10 years of frustration with blatant abuses of traffic laws,” said Helen Kearns, a transport spokesman for the European Commission. “Figures show that foreign drivers’ offences are relatively high and this measure is necessary to say: you can’t just get away with it.”

Police in most European countries have been sharing driver information since November 2013 under a European policing directive. Britain exercised its right to opt out of the directive on the grounds that the penalty notice applied to the registered owner of the car — so-called owner liability — rather than the person who was driving the vehicle at the time the offence was committed. Under British law, the driver at the time is responsible.

Earlier this month the European Court of Justice ruled that the law had been in–correctly drafted and should have fallen not under the policing directive but under the road safety directive, an area where Britain has no right to opt out. “Transport safety is part of EU rules where everyone is involved,” said Christopher Fretwell, a spokesman for the court. “There are no opt-outs. If re-adopted, it will apply across the board to member states.”

Some MEPs are furious that the directive will now be applied to British drivers: “The UK decided that on balance it was not in our interests to take part [in the previous law] because the directive prosecutes vehicle owners, rather than the offending driver, and it seeks to implement fines when other deter–rents — such as points on a licence — may be more effective,” said Timothy Kirkhope, a Conservative MEP who sits on the transport committee.

“If the commission brings forward a similar piece of legislation then we will oppose it when it reaches the European parliament.”

Experts say it is unlikely the legislation can be stopped since it would mean blocking the entire road safety directive. Foreign police forces have no powers to enforce the fine — that remains a matter for British courts — and British drivers could ignore the demand for payment. However, the next time they visited the country where the offence had been committed they would run the risk of being issued with an on-the-spot fine, or in extreme cases having their car impounded. British drivers issued with speeding fines in France have been escorted by officers to cash machines where they are expected to withdraw money to make the payment.

The new law could prove a boon for the Treasury, however: because it works both ways foreign drivers could be traced by British authorities. Although no official figures are available, the number of unpaid fines issued to foreign drivers runs into the millions. According to the most recent estimates, based on a survey of speed camera partnerships in 2012, an estimated 60,000 speeding fines worth £3.6m were written off because there was no effective way to track down foreign culprits.

This article originally appeared in The Sunday Times 'Drive' section Sunday 18th May 2014.

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

Continuing with our look at comparing France to Britain and visa versa one of the greatest differences between the two countries lies in the attitude of local government towards the individual.

In Britain it is very difficult to get past a reception secretary to see anyone in authority, or to have a complaint sorted out. It really is impossible by telephone so a visit to the town hall seems to be the only remedy. However, on arrival the problems begin. Actually seeing anyone face-to-face is purposely made difficult and all the best efforts usually lead to frustration.

In France, despite their reputation for bureaucracy it is still easy to see the person in charge for the relevant problem area. Then when he is seen, he will go out of his way to sort things out.

Although somewhat cumbersome, French local government is approachable and seems to want to help and usually has a friendly face. Another big bonus is that most local government services in France are free, because that is what the rates are for!

In Britain most, if not all, services have to be paid for as an extra, and you are left wondering where all the tax money goes! How can France give such good service on so little and Britain give so little service at such a high cost? By way of a small comparison, a little village in the French equivalent of rural Yorkshire provides mains drains, street lights, rubbish collection once a week from wheely bins, is swept regularly, has flowers planted in the summer, and generally is well-maintained.

For a three-bedroom terrace cottage with a good garden and garage and on all the ‘mains’, the rates are about £350 pa. A similar property in a Yorkshire village with similar services would cost in excess of £1000 pa., depending, of course, on which tax band the house is in.

In France these iniquitous bands do not exist, although it remains a bit of a mystery exactly how they compute the taxes, but they do keep them low. An example of band charges in an area in Yorkshire [supplied by the County Council] starts at the lowest which is property valued at up to £40k, which is band A, and the tax is about £900. Band D, is property valued at between £68 and 88k the rates are about £1350 a year. The top band, H, is property valued at £320k and over, and the tax is £2251.

The valuations were made in 1991 and are the latest the council had. As the value of property has risen considerably since then it is probable that there will be a revaluation in the near future and a concomitant rise in taxes.

These are the type of figures that you might expect in the centre of Paris, but not out in the sticks.

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.