This French Life

Holiday home website tips

AT this time of year there are often a number of jobs to do around your holiday home, but have you taken a look at your website to make sure it is up to scratch?

As more and more people turn to the internet to track down a place it is vital that your site at least has the basics right to ensure you have a fighting chance of securing a booking.

Basic residency rules for France

ALTHOUGH Johnny Halliday may have fled to Switzerland to dodge the French tax authorities, it is not an option open to many.

So issues concerning tax are likely to be high up on many people’s agendas when they are thinking about a move to France.

Paris to adopt bike scheme

PARIS is to go ahead with the installation of a cycle rental scheme to help cut the problems of increasing traffic congestion.

Similar to Lyon's Vélo'v, the scheme will eventually see around 20,000 bikes available for hire with a thousand self-serve points set to be installed by the summer.

Jacquou le Croquant

I RECENTLY saw mention on France 3 Perigords television of a film about a peasant revolt in the Dordgone produced in the region.

The film, Jacquou le Croquant, is set in the early 19th Century and tells the story of a young man who turns against the ruling classes.

French website links

HERE is another collection of news stories and articles about France that you may not have seen, covering everything from the winter chill to property sales.

The Holy Grail of foie gras? (BBC)
Spanish firm claims to be able to produce foie gras without force-feeding.

The taxman cometh (Telegraph)
Battling a red-tape nightmare when selling a property.

Pampered in Paris (The Times)
The luxuries of a fine Paris hotel, with the children in tow.

Surviving winter in the Aude (Aude France)
The preparations one has to take even when living in the south of France as the winter chill draws in.

Come and join us! Nièvre

The Nièvre, by the sheer fact that it is the department with the largest proportion of the Morvan, is less populated than the other departments in Burgundy.

Morvan is a Celtic word and it means Black Mountain. But don't be put off, because it is the sparsely inhabitated plateau of granite and woodland which appear from hills and farmland that give it such an appeal.

The highest point in the Morvan, for you cannot talk about the Nièvre without mentioning the Morvan, is Haut-Folin; standing at 901 metres (2,928 ft.) on the slopes of Mont-Beuvray.

Cote d'Or, a visitors guide to the region

The Cote d'Or covers an area from Chatillon-sur-Seine in the north to Beaune in the south. What links Chatillon and Beaune are wines, as both are famous for their vineyards.

Burgundy has revelled in its fine wines for centuries since the fame of the region's wine spread throughout Europe in the 14th century.

Following the French revolution the Napoleonic laws of equal inheritance split vineyards into tiny fractions, which has resulted in a bewildering number of appellations, which even today results in a dauntingly complex clasification system.

Come and join us! l'Yonne

Burgundy is one of the largest regions of France and covers four departments l'Yonne, Nievre, Cote d'Or and Saone et Loire.

Burgundy is also a rich region historically, cuturally, gastronomically and economically with each department having something different to offer visitors.

Once Burgundy was France's most powerful rival with territory extending well beyond its present boundaries.

For today's visitor there is something for everyone, centres of medieval religious faith at Vézelay, Fontenay and Cluny, the massive Morvan National Regional Park that covers all four departments, and Dijon, the capital of Burgundy as well as the Cote d'Or with its wealth of art and splendid grat palaces relating to the old Burgundian nobility, to name but a few.

Take a trip to the sky

IF it has been a busy week for you then drift off into the blue sky with this photograph from the site's Flickr album, taken by regular contributor threejumps.

Business outlines election hopes

FRENCH business leaders laid out their wish list for the forthcoming presidential elections, with demands for a lighter touch at the top.

Laurence Parisot outlined the hopes of Medef, the employers' union, which included a call to make it less expensive to employ people and not to look to increase taxes.