BJSLIV

All the big sheds such as Castorama , Leroy Merlin , and especially Brico Depot have them 99% of  the time.

You could open an account with ING Direct in France (www.ingdirect.fr)  , in your name, move the money into that and get a bit of interest. If you are still living in the UK they will pay it tax free, and if its in your name you would pay tax in the UK at your rate. When you need to pay the builders you can transfer it as and when online. You won't get very much interest (3.05% gross) but as the saying goes , every little helps.

Q:When do they have to pay this bill? A: One in October the other in November.

From the LeroyMerlin Site Construire un abri de jardin : permis de construire ou déclaration de travaux ? Avant tout projet de construction d'un abri de jardin, des démarches administratives auprès de la mairie de votre ville sont obligatoires. Si la construction est d'une surface de plancher inférieure à 20 m², il faut faire une déclaration préalable de travaux. Si la construction dépasse les 20 m², il est impératif de faire une demande de permis de construire, et de respecter les règles de distance de construction entre deux parcelles différentes However as you say that the plot is "detached" from the house you may find that a full permis de construire is required, unless there is already some sort of construction on the site. Equally this being France you may well be told not to bother with anything.

  Does anyone know how the taxe d'hab is worked out?  Is it a percentage of your income or what?   The taxes  fonce and  habitation are just like the old rates system in the UK. They calculate a notional rental value for the property and then apply a charge based on that notional figure. In fact, being France its many many different pots, which taken together can add up to a sizeable amount. I almost expected to find a specific charge to pay for the food for the Mairie's cat! The bigger, more modern, the more facilities the property has the higher the value will be. So swimming pools, second bathrooms all weigh heavily in the computation and are bad news! We have just received the computation for our new place

The point made by the article is that she is the first black presenter of the main news bulletin. However I note that it for Fr3 not Fr2 or TF1. Now when the irreplaceable PPDA come up for retirement.....

http://www.chezjallot.com/ Impressed by Programme.  Impressive site. Bit of a shame that so many of the materials were  UK sourced? Were they sponsored?  

I note that P&O have said that they will be going "up-market" on the Dover-Calais route, cutting passenger capacity on each ferry , improving the quality of the experience, discouraging the cheap and cheerful end of the market.

Its Universal only in the sense that it is a branding by Universal Records aimed at the younger end of the market. Costs from 17 euros a month for 45 "French" minutes, 0.6 Euros a minute for calls to the UK. Its USP is that you pay a fixed sum each month for a fixed amount of time, so no risk of spending too much without buying more time. So its a bit like a PAYG but by subscription. http://www.universalmobile.fr/offre/ou_trouver/index.php  

I don't think a date has been announced. Various comments have been made  from January to Mid 2005. It will all depend on negotiations, transfers to BrittanyFerries, clearance from Brussels...

As you might expect our organic friends take this matter very seriously. "Prior to artificial fertilisers, human waste was the main source of replenishing soil fertility. Collection and composting of urine from urinals is another option. The high nutrient value and sterility of urine makes it a high grade organic waste" They even have a name for it "Humanure" So all those Frenchmen at the side of the road, they weren't p*****g in the wind, or even posing as I Spy targets, they were just delivering nutrients for French agro-industry

Its funny how we all have our own perceptions. In 17 years of crossing, perhaps 6 times a year, I have always found P&O reliable, and have never arrived more than half an hour late. The staff were always pleasant perhaps a little  dozy, but never surly. Now if I was voting in the messed about stakes then what about Hoverspeed?,  but thats probably more to do with the general operational problems that go with Seacats, and as for surly what about Transmanche- service with a smile!. Organisational competence, that must be trying to get through the tolls at Eurotunnel on a Bank Holiday. Perhaps we will all have to hope that Condors new owners have something special to offer on The Western Channel.    

Does anyone have any idea of how much a pool adds to the "valeur locative" and hence the local taxes?

So thats it then . P&O are closing all their routes from Portsmouth, apart from the route to Bilbao. I assume that means that Brittany ferreies will have a free hand in future. They are also reducing services from Dover.

What happens when the e106 expires?

Of course with the introduction of the inspection visits that Val has mentioned elsewhere, one of the things that is checked is that the tanks have been emptied in accordance with the rules:’  Elle sont indiquées par l'arrêté du 6 mai 1996 fixant les prescriptions techniques applicables aux systèmes d’assainissement non collectif : " au moins tous les quatre ans dans le cas d'une fosse toutes eaux ou d'une fosse septique ; au moins tous les six mois dans le cas d'une installation d'épuration biologique à boues activées ; au moins tous les ans dans le cas d'une installation d'épuration biologique à cultures fixées ".

A thought: If you shift the balance of residence the travelling partner  spends the majority of time in France, then our Super-commuters' would surely fall into the regime of contributing to the French health system in addition to any contributions in the UK. Logic : they would no longer be temporary visitors to France hence the E109 would not cover them. The presence of the family in France would add further weight to this argument. Hence the cost would be health cost (8% less allowances), mutuelle, and any levies on unearned income, this on the assumption that any income tax liability would be covered by the higher deductions in the UK.  Worst of Both Worlds? Any thoughts?

They  could even  pull out of Cherbourg and Le Havre then  centre everything on Caen, two ferries supported by the fast-craft, perhaps just the two ferries. The presence at Cherbourg must be quite costly in terms of fixed costs for a pretty patchy service since it dropped to one ferry operation.  The leaked stories in the press talk of 1000 job losses, how many ferries would that represent?

As the previous reply hints you are asking loads of grief. If you don't fully understand French how can you possibly be aware of the quirks of of tank installation in France?. However good a technician your husband is in the UK there are bound to be some little local differences. Qualigaz will be  just as unforgiving of an "amateur" installation as their opposite numbers for electricity the famous Consuel. Find a local installer , it will be much easier  in the long-run

Rather depends how many you want to send, and which operator you are with. Some offer cheaper rates for a subscription.

Plus Tours (Indre et Loire) planned for early 2006. Soon we will all wonder why we bothered to move !

Daft question: Do you have to subscribe to SFR-Vodafone Live? I note there are all manner of charges listed on their website.

If you order books for delivery to France from a major EU supplier such as Amazon.co.uk, they will add VAT (5.5%), which they would not  charge for deliveries to the UK..

"You only pay the 'mutuelle contributions'...... " As opposed to pre retirement when you pay both contributions..... Eats shoots and leaves Who said punctuation etc doesn't matter.  

Our experience was much as other have mentioned. Water connection £800, Phone Connection £700, EdF £900, Planning Tax (D'equipment) £700, Insurance Cover £2000, Drain Connection £700, Misc Odds and Sods over and above basic spec (Tiles, heaters, heating controls,plumbing etc) £10000. The important thing was that they were all planned , I think the unforeseen extras were about £150 for some additional foundations.