THE online petition to stop the UK government's plan to end winter fuel payment for expats in countries seen as too warm, including France, has reached more than 12,000 signatures. Having gone beyond 10,000 signatures the government will have to reply to the petition, however for the issue to be... Read more →
« August 2013 | Main | October 2013 »
Record number of forced evictions of Roma by French authorities
The French government has failed to end the vicious circle of repeated forced evictions of Roma which have now reached record numbers, Amnesty International said in a report published today. The organization is calling for a ban on all forced evictions. More than 10,000 Roma were evicted from informal settlements... Read more →
|
|
French budget: tax rises and spending cuts
France is raising taxes and cutting government spending, in an attempt to lower its deficit next year. As predicted, next year's budget will include €15bn of cuts to public spending, and €3bn from tax rises and a clampdown on tax evasion. That's on top of a planned increase in the... Read more →
|
|
Hollande first to break the ice with Iran’s Rohani
French President François Hollande became the first Western leader to meet newly-elected Iranian President Hassan Rohani on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, in what could signal a modest thawing in relations between the Islamic Republic and the West. Heading into the closed-door meeting,... Read more →
|
|
France set to end up-front GP fees
THE French health minister, Marisol Touraine, has announced that by 2017 up-front payments to GPs will no longer be required. Changes are set to be brought in from next year for those on low incomes, and will be extended to all by the end of 2017, so that direct payments... Read more →
|
|
Harry Shindler's votes for expats case blocked by European Court of Human Rights
HARRY Shindler's flight to ensure that UK expats retain their right to vote in British parliamentary elections beyond 15 years has been dealt a blow. The European Court of Human Rights has notified his solicitor, Oliver & Partners, that a panel of five judges of the Grand Chamber decided on... Read more →
|
|
Rising prices have an impact on more UK expats in France
AN increasing number of UK expats in France say that life is proving increasingly difficult as rising prices have an impact on their day-to-day lives. In a survey by the Post Office, 14% of respondents in France said they were unaffected by increasing prices, this compares to 24% in 2012,... Read more →
|
|
France moves to ban child beauty pageants
Parliament in France has voted to ban child beauty pageants on the grounds that they promote the "hyper-sexualisation" of minors. Senators adopted the bill by 196 votes to 146 on Tuesday evening after it was passed by the National Assembly, and it will now become law. Organisers of such pageants... Read more →
|
|
Government's new business support website goes offline soon after launch
CLEARLY launched with the best intentions, a new government website to help in the registration of new businesses has had to be taken offline a few hours after its launch. Guichet-Entreprises.fr has come out of the office of Sylvia Pinel, minister for small business and artisans, and the author of... Read more →
|
|
Paris’s Louvre falls victim to Chinese fake ticket scam
Thousands of high-quality fake tickets to the Louvre Museum in Paris were seized by Belgian customs officers at the end of August, French daily Le Parisien reported on Wednesday. The tickets appear to have been manufactured in China and sold to Chinese tour guides accompanying groups through the museum. The... Read more →
|
|