Deimos

I remember ages ago I posted a response to somebody commenting that, whilst there is a lot of bureaucracy in France, the French are actually quite good at it.  I was wrong. Ian

[quote user="Gluestick"] Get a big wood chipper and invest in a chip-fed fire to power the central heating! Just a thought. [/quote] On a tangent, do you have any idea how much a wood chipper costs (ball park).  Reason is, I have quite a decent area of forest (and am starting more) and have been considering wood powered central heating, etc.  The cost of the boilers seems to be dropping, just with the wood available for free but in the wrong format (i.e. unchipped) seems a shame. Of course, I suppose I might need a pellets - my (maybe wrong) impression is that some boilers like/need pellets and others chips. Ian

I had loads and loads of offcuts of wood (mainly pine stuff).  I was intending to burn it (in my wood burner) and thought I would check before hand with the guy when he came to sweep the chimney - and he said definitely not.  Maybe use a little to start it going but avoid it for general burning due to the resin (even though it was really old and dry).  He was not selling anything so had no "vested interest". Ian

To make a complete fool of myself and embarrass my self beyond recovery: Area of a triangle is half of the base multiplied by the height. Easy if the triangle is right angled.  If it does not have any right angles then you have to use trig to find the height.  Construct a right angles triangle by extending the "base" and then right angle up to the 3rd point (i.e. the one not lying on your "base").  This line up from the projected base to the 3rd point is the height.  You know one side (the hypotenuse) - as it is one side of your actual triangle, plus you know all the angles so you the trig:     Sine(angle)=Opposite side/Hypotenuse or     Cosine(angle)=Adjacent side/Hypotenuse or     Tan(angle)=Opposite/Adjacent (Now I will go and hide in a corner with shame at having forgotten so much school maths and having got the above all wrong (so please do correct my ignorance). Ian

The question is what will it come to ? Those of us here at the moment (i.e. already resident) will probably not be looked at too closely but those people requiring the new residence certificates will probably be the first to experience difficulties. From what I have picked-up it will be the Mairie who check the paperwork and some will be easy going others (particularly as its new) will double check things (maybe some even look for reasons to reject more British moving into their commune). That may be where the problems with non-compliant private insurance will start having effects and cause problems. When I look back through my career, if I had done anything even close to such a glorious mess as the French gov. have done I would have been sacked long before this stage and others would have stepped-in and immediately sorted everything out. These people are running a country yet they seem total amateurs. Ian

[quote user="LisaJ"] Feels very hard on those of us on E106s, though .... [/quote] Seems to me that the new possibility is still retrospective, just not to quite as many people.  As you say, if you moved to France "in good faith" having done all your research, etc. then you may now be well stuffed.  Given that the 5 year rule applies (which they have little choice about as there is no way they can make a "special case", giving the non-French EU citizens a better deal than the French), then all this they have gone through is to put a few people in a difficult position for generally 3 years, issuing a Carte Vitale, taking it back just to re-issue it a few year later.  Seems more grief than it is worth. If they really wanted to stop people using the CMU then I would have thought the best way would be to introduce it for people yet to move here and with the new residence certificate things - maybe too sensible for the French government.  This issue and the way the FR gov. are handling it really has made me appreciate that France really does not have much of a future.  It's economy will continue to stagnate, etc. and just gradually decline. I'm still on the E106 cover until Jan, but then only have one year before permanent residency so, if they ever publish PHI requirements that can be met, I've only got to have private cover for a year. Ian [EDIT: My post crossed with SD's]

So I'm now on the search for PHI policy that covers contraceptives.  Does anybody know of a private health policy that includes all the contraceptives you might require ?  (pour l'assuré et les membres de sa famille, au sens fixé par l'article L. 313-3, y compris la couverture des médicaments, produits et objets contraceptifs ...  - or have I mis-translated; which is very possible). And of course it must cover the ambulance taxi service thing (La couverture des frais de transport de l'assuré ou des ayants droit se trouvant dans l'obligation de se déplacer pour recevoir les soins ou ...) And when it comes to 4º) La couverture des frais de soins et d'hospitalisation afférents à l'interruption volontaire de grossesse effectuée dans les conditions prévues  - I personally resent having to insure myself for that (as I do not intend becoming pregnant and if I did I think insurance would be the least of anybodies concern). And do may policies include preventative treatments and checks (6º) La couverture des frais relatifs aux actes et traitements à visée préventive réalisés dans le cadre des programmes mentionnés à l'article L. 1411-6 du code de la santé publique, et notamment des frais relatifs aux examens de dépistage et aux consultations de prévention effectués). On the (maybe incorrect) assumption that my translations are OK'ish I would doubt there is such a private policy offered/available anywhere.  That the case then this rule change is effectively expulsion from France - which definitely breaks EU law. Mr Ian (whose poor French causes all sorts of embarrassing mis-understandings)

Sorry, but to sidetrack things a little - based on the title of this thread; something struck me the other day. I have no health problems, so when I fill in my health insurance application form I can say "none" to everything.  But then we come to the "Family history" questions and the fact that my father has had triple heart bypass surgery has to be declared.  In the past when I have had private health insurance (in the UK and provided by my employer and NOT my choice) this had raised questions and I understand has resulted in conditions of exclusions of the resulting policy.  Thus, when I apply for Private Health Insurance I would not be surprised if there were not caveats and limitations applied by the insurance company meaning that, whilst in practice it is fine, it would not be "comprehensive". Actually this is more of academic interest and does not bother me as, provided the insurance policy is thick enough and has loads of small print, the French will never read it to verify it (add to that a policy document in some language other than French and one is "in the clear"). But it does raise the question about people who are here completely legally one minute and then effectively become illegal immigrants because of their family history. Then when you have the issue of chromic and long term illness and throw in the pre-existing conditions and me thinks the French have opened quite a can of worms in trying to apply this to those already resident (even before their 5 years are up). And, as Londoneye comments, take out a policy one day and then have the French decide its not "up to their standards" (though they have never published "their standards", etc. These people are meant to be running a country !!!  (Piss-ups and breweries seem relevant). Ian

[quote user="Framboise"] Have not used French paint yet - OH gets a good deal through his supplier in UK so we use that.  Also we have been told the quality of Renoulac etc is not as good as UK paints and the colour range is limited.  [/quote] My experience re: the "French paint is expensive and rubbish" rumour is that it is wrong.  You can buy expensive and rubbish paint in France (and in the UK as well).  However, you can relatively easy find very reasonably priced good paint (sometimes different brands and/or shops for different types of paint). I'm a bit out of date with UK prices (not purchased any there for over 4 years) but paint I buy now is cheaper that in the UK and same quality (i.e. I don't buy the rubbish stuff as it is too much work).  In France, most expensive is not always the best. As for colour range - in France they have these machines that will mix up the exact colour you want (wonders of modern technology) - so you can have whatever colour you want.  Take in a sample and they will scan it or select from vast ranges of colour cards.  Amazing stuff !!! Ian

[quote user="LEO"][quote user="Graye"]OK, I give up.  If it is so hard to comprehend why I asked the question this is obviously not the forum for me.  I'll find myself another one where contributors aren't so bloody-minded.  Enjoy![/quote] Hi Graye, I thought your original posting was sincere and I hope you stay with the forum . I did not understand the two posts that were negative as , I am aware decent sized dressed pine is not available at French builders merchants and brico stores . Kind regards, Leo [/quote] Not negative, just that I made the same assumptions as others.  You so often see people wanting to bring out cement, paint, plasterboard, sand, etc., etc. from the UK - like they are assuming France is so backward such things don't exist.  I thus made an assumption that this was the same type of question.  You can buy stuff in France.  Nothing negative, but if people cannot tollerate a couple of incorrect assumptions them maybe the right forum has not yet been invented. Seems weird to walk out of a forum over such a trivial issue - but then it takes all sorts. Ian

[quote user="Glyn"]So are they now saying that EU 'inactifs' cannot access the CMU whislt non EU 'inactifs' can? If so, does anyone have access to the official documents that state this is the case? [/quote] It is not only US people who can carry on as before but quite a lot of other nationalities (non-EU countries).  These changes seem to be only applied to EU countries. Ian

I have no idea and no experience so these are my thoughts: When I am unsure about signing something I don't - instead I write a letter saying (e.g. in your case) that the visit will be fine and you will be available and access will be no problem. Also maybe commenting that you will try and turn-out the plans, etc. That way you have signed nothing official, agreed only to what you state in the letter, been pleasant and cooperative, etc. Does the geometre establish ownership of boundaries (e.g. who has responsibility for maintaining walls, etc. as well as the actual boundaries ? Personally, with new neighbours such a letter would surprise me and I would have expected them to mention something in advance (but they are Parisians). Could be their main concern is one of the boundaries not adjoining you property - might be worth checking with their other neighbours. (Just thoughts, not experience nor knowledge). Ian

The chemical de-humidifiers will not extract much moisture from the air.  Just look at the size of the containers (and they can max fill the containers).  If you are away from the house for any time and have a humidity "issue" the chemical ones would be pretty ineffective. Ian

One thing to watch if you run de-humidifiers is how they are controlled and what happens to the water collected. I have been told that running a reasonably powerful de-humidifier continuously can do quite a lot of damage to a building moderately quickly (as it can really draw the water out and dry out the walls/wood far too much ->cracks, etc.).  Whenever I have run a dehumidifier in an enclosed space (building or boat) I either make sure the de-humidifier has a humidity sensor on it (thus wont "over dry everything") or put it on a timeswitch so it only runs for a couple of hours per day. Some de-humidifiers have a built-in water collection tank.  These will probably fill quite quickly and the de-humidifier will automatically switch itself off.  Thus, leave it running and a week later it switches itself off permanently because its tank is full.  Get one where you can attach a pipe to the water outlet and put the pipe down e.g. the sink (making sure the water drips straight down the plug). Just my thoughts and I'm no expert. Ian

[quote user="Graye"]Why should it be a windup? [/quote] I think people (myself included) thought it was a wind-up because France has wood available.  Its a civilised country and you can generally get most things.  One thing that often surprises people who live in France is how hard some people moving here find it to give-up the UK - and they want to bring everything with them.  Sort of "Should I bring my washing up liquid from the UK " (either because they are unsure if you can but it in France or it might be a bit expensive ...). Whilst I was not the one who raised the "Is this a wind-up" question, I had assumed it actually was.  Sorry. Ian

Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi (but definately NOT Naqoyqatsi) - quite amazing, stunning and should definitely be seen (and can be watched again and again). Dr Strangelove - classic, funny and still relevant. Almost Famous - maybe because its my era and really captures the spirit, the music, the attitudes, everything. Meet Joe Black - despite the subject matter, always leaves me feeling calm and with lifted spirits. Brazil K-Pax Dogma - just a shame the (unnecessary) continual bad language which really adds nothing.  But if you can get past that some excellent ideas, script, etc. (But then the list would probably be totally different tomorrow) Ian

I think a lot of PCs these days come without setup CDs. When I got my IBM (some time ago now) it had no set-up CDs and no means to make your own. What quite a few manufacturers seem to do is to put the "return to factory" thing n a special hidden part of the hard disk with a magic startup key sequence to get to it. Thus if your hard disk goes awol you cannot pop-out to your local PC supplies shop and buy a cheap disk but have to order a spare part at great expense and long delay from the manufacturer. I had a big argument with IBM who wanted to charge me for the "return to factory state" CDs but sent them for free in the end. However, they don't even have the Windows XP set-up disks available, just to restore the hard disk to its factory config (i.e. does the Windows set-up when you "first" switch-on). Ian

I appreciate its a bit of a sidetrack but I thought the option to cancel (within whatever was said before) only applied if the premium had increased (or increased by more than a certain amount or more than by official inflation or something). Never actually used this, nor researched but it it what I thought. Please please do correct me if I am wrong. Ian

[quote user="Cat"]And, in connection with existing conditions... Mme Gaillard said: "It will take perhaps two weeks to decide what to do here. This will be a decision for the minister and his advisers." [/quote] Does this mean it will take them 2 weeks to decide whether to honour EU law or just ignore it. Do you knwo when the above statement was made (i.e. is the 2 weeks up yet) ? Ian

[quote user="Ron Avery"]Coops unless you are raking in a mint, the CRDS payment on income of 0.5% payable unless you have an E form is not a significant amount.  I donated mine towards filling the black hole in the French finances, as I was not aware as many were not at that time, that could opt out of paying it. One question this does raise however, is do you still have to pay this 0.5% with PHI or are you only exempt whilst another country is picking up up your tab. I think the answer is you do have to pay but thought I'd ask anyway. [/quote] There is also the emotional issue.  Some (not so much here) go on about "how you expect full state health cover yet have not contributed in France" (and they ignore the 8% CMU charge).  Anyway, I have not contributed to the massive French finances "black hole" (they had it well established before I arrived here - so I really don't see why I should contribute towards paying it off).  It is interesting that some might say "well you live here so you should contribute like everybody else" - but they why can't I join the CMU "like everybody else".  They cannot have it both ways.  Previously I would have adopted a similar attitude to Ron, but now, with the FR gov. current approach  I will be adopting a different attitude - I will be saving every penny I can and taking everything I can (legally).  I will thus be avoiding CRDS if allowed when I next complete a tax return.  Not worth going back over previous years though. Ian

Re: joining the State Health System - as derf says.  Even if coming as an inactif it it looking increasingly like you would only need private insurance between the end of any E106 and the 5 years residency point anyway.  It is an important issue and people are quite rightly pursuing it but it sounds like it will not affect you. As for property prices - I doubt it will have any impact.  British buyers are small in number compared to French buyers.  Then a percentage of those British will be coming over to start companies, etc. (i.e. no choice but to be in the State Health System).  More will be retired (and thus on E121 forms).  Quite a few will be purchasing holiday homes.  Then for others it would only be 3 years private insurance - which, as people are moving then can plan and budget for.  Just look at the No 10 petition.  Around 1000 signatures - and then remember that some will have voted more than once, some will have voted once for each partner, etc..  And the details of the petition have been pretty widely circulated. Ian

I think so much depends on you income and the sort of costs for your PHI (i.e. age, health risks, cover required, dependants, etc.). Then we come to the "how many in different incomes bracket" question - raised before and a lot of disagreement and nobody (myself included) knows except the French authorities. I think the cost aspect would not present a strong argument to the various officials (MEPs, etc.).  Things like "many will not have adequate income to afford PHI" whilst true and significant for those people, will probably not raise much sympathy with many MEPs. My own opinion is that in the short term many will not be radically affected financially - but that is based on my assumptions about people moving to France and their income sources.  Either way I think cover obtainable, chronic and existing conditions and EU residence rules are the stronger points to gain MEP support. Ian

[quote user="Martinwatkins"]Without trying it I can't say for certain,  but I suspect your Sony WOULD decode Secam correctly if it was fed in as a base-band signal via the Scart socket. ... [/quote] I never actually tried it. I only ever plugged it into the roof ariel, never got a French VCR/decoder so never tried it on the SCART. I quickly purchased a French TV for the terrestrial channels. But then I found them "not to my taste" so put the better Sony back and moved the French TV upstairs - and watch UK TV when I watch anything. Ian

When I moved here I checked the instructions for my quite "high-end" Sony TV (tube not LCD/Plasma thing) - and they listed that it decoded SECAM.  But it did not.  I believe there are actually two versions of SECAM (?) one used in France and one elsewhere4.  Thus my TV either only does the wrong sort or just does not work (or the instructions lied).  But I purchased it before thinking about moving to France so "thats life". If I'm wrong about the different types of SECAM then please do correct me - I am no expert and this is just what I have picked-up Ian

[quote user="FionaV"] Le Monde reports that social contributions will increase from 21.15% to 50% for the early retired from January 2008 onwards. [/quote] My understanding is that this relates to the social contribution charges paid by a company when they allow an employee early retirement and is not something private people will be paying each year.  It is part of Sarkozy's plan to discourage companies from allowing people to retire early. People need to keep things in balance.  No good being critical of the magazines and estate agents for underplaying the impacts when ... Ian