velcorin

A friend of wife is returning to France this summer. French national, 2 kids, recently divorced from French husband, lived in UK for the last 15 years. She has paid tax in France all the time, as she has rented out the house she bought when younger. She will get a Ewhatever from the UK to cover her initially. However, she is unlikely to get a job in the area where she will be living, so the question she is asking is regarding her qualification for CMU in due course. Anyone (Coops?) got any links, I checked vosdroits, but couldn't find what I was looking, missis looked, but she's French, therefore on the grounds of nationality excused understanding the internet. 

The BAC is an elitist exam (see the Senat report http://www.senat.fr/rap/r07-370/r07-3701.pdf ) , with few possibilities for those not having the ability, but not wanting to do a ProBac. France is one of the worst countries in Europe in respect of providing academically educated students at 18 years old and is seeing too many now take the BacPro option. However, it should be remembered that the values of this system are entrenched in French life. This is a country where your job for life is dictated by the exam results in your hand, rather than your personal qualities and future potential. Richard   There certainly is something wrong with French Education. My wife assists with an national organisation called SOCRATES, it's a new initiative. They are a quasi-state organisation (quango) that provide assistance to what were called NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) kids in the UK. In Meaux there are about 32% of 16-25 year are classified as NEET. I always sort of assumed this was because of the higher level of social housing, as you find in any French suburb. Now, I'm being transferred, so the missus has to find a new job. She went for an interview with SOCRATES in Libourne, a nice looking town, half hour commute to Bordeaux, where the L'Isle comes into the Dordogne. 48% NEET population[:-))] Quick change of opinion on Meaux[:$] For comparison, for what it's worth, we checked with a former colleague at an organisation that does exactly the same in the UK, admittedly it's Newbury. NEET population as of last Monday, 69, about 2.5%. Dog help the French kids.[:@]      

I live in a predominately Magrebi muslim suburb of Paris. The issue around the lunch table at the boule club is not that the men want women to burqas, but how Sarko chooses to spin this law. Or the issue is why the law at all. I have NEVER seen a burqa in Paris in 4 years, so I agree with them (anyone else seen one?). Even the Commission admitted that of the 1200 (yes 1200, less than the number of students in some Lycees) women who wore the burqa, 80% were white Gallic converts to the religion. What happens in other countries, be it the UK, Turkie, Belgium, is not relevant. Sarko is just handing a brilliant political hook for the fundamentalists to hang their hats on, and wind up the millions of unemployed Magrebis even further. Now Sarko is a politician, so you know he's lying if his lips are moving, if he says it's anti-burqa, it's not. I'll assume it's anti-street demo legislation, dressed up, and sold as something else.

I'll play devil's advocate here, as I 100% agree with Swissie. I'm a politician with an agenda to obtain the 5.5million muslim votes. Day 1, I get a 75 year old grandmother, a Gallic muslim convert, to walk deliberately down the Champs Elysee wearing a burqa. The police arrest her. Charged. Court. Sentenced to 3 months. Anyone want to speculate on the media attention I'll get, and the votes I'll gain? Still say it's a law to give the CRS a reason to wade into a demos for wearing balaclavas and scarves.

The text I saw a couple of weeks ago, plainly stated that the covering of the face in public places was to be banned. No mention of specific items of clothing. Putting my cynical head on. Is the nasty little drawf sneaking legislation through to prevent street demonstrations? No scarves, or crash helmets for the ados at the annual "throw bricks at the police" festivals? Is France sleep walking into the sort of regime the Grantham Milk Snatcher created? Bye-bye CGT?

Bear in mind that unlike the UK the majority of French workers have fixed holidays. Christmas and August. The National days are vital for most.

Can't avoid the c*ap dates............fixed holidays, like most worker ants. The UK is very good in that mosts worker ants can take holidays when they want. Not possible in any other country in which I've worked.  

Do ANY of you live in a french city? Or, joined the world's longest traffic jam on the A6 for the Rentree. Thought not[:D] Tends to somewhat influence the "joy of driving in France"[:D]

PET bottles don't leach or react with aquaous contents. That's what they were developed to do, unlike the older "plastic" bottles. Perrier's Benzene problem in 1990 is a standard Marketing Course Case Study on how to destroy a brand. It was used as anti-bacterial agent, to increase the shelflife of the product, and it's cheap. They didn't declare it on the bottles, and Benzene is highly carcenagentic. Then when caught, the HO gave umpteen different excuses, and refused to withdraw the product. We now make a lot of money providing the same benefits to the soft drinks/wine/beer industries with a 100% harmless product called Velcorin (Google it, if you want proof). French water quality has been an issue for decades, due to the total lack of investment by the provider companies, and the Govn, doing it's normally head up it's backside, when their Grande Ecole mates in Big Business need a good kicking. And, now kidney stones have been mentioned, I suddenly realised just how many French people I know have had this problem. I never knew anyone who'd had this problem in other countries in which I'd lived. Not very scientific, but maybe the Sante should ask some questions.

A direct criticism? You were lucky to get out alive[:D]

My repost to them was (in my defence) after they'd sent me (their boss) a spoofed 7 Day Letter (legal demand) demanding I pay comepensation for the damage caused by my greatgrandfather, to one of their greatgrandfathers' house in Koln, from 7000m up. The War is not off limits, with some areas of obvious exception, for the current generation of Germans.

Very ill judged comments. I get this all the time. They call it office banter. I don't. It is poor taste, and borderline racism. I tried a couple of times making comments about poor performances by French sports teams, less successful events in French history involving the British, French politicians, etc, my French colleagues reacted very poorly. They are very precious about any perceived criticism of anything French. It wasn't funny to them, yet I'm to take their comments as funny? I can have a laugh with the Germans in the office "football is a game where 22 players runaround, and then the Germany beats England", or back to them "Holidaying in Poland this year, or invading somewhere else?" But, it's only oneway with the French.

Thanks for the info. Weather's not bad here, dry and sunny, 15-18C.

We are having our first ever holiday, as Brits would understand "holiday", next week in Dordogneshire, near Bergerac. 15 years married, but other things have always got in the way. Dominique's never actually been on an "British-style" holiday, apart from colanies de vacances, and being shipped off with a nanny to a gite every August. The Dordogne Tourisme site lives down to every expectation of French websites, so I though I'd ask if anyone knows of an anywhere else look, or anything else. Please do NOT mention the Bergerac Jazz Festival, I will hunt you down and kill you.............that's how much I hate jazz [:D](I won't call it music). No French theatre either. In our thirties, active, no kids, 1 Frog+1 Brit who (begrudgingly) speaks French (but don't tell the MiL). Cheers    

I don't think anyone is realising just how BIG BP is, if it was a country it would be a G7 member. Only about 3% of it's business is in the UK. USD10/20/30 billion would not even be noticed. Worldwide sales were USD300 billion in 2009, and will be significantly better in 2010. It spends more money on Purchasing than the UK Government. I don't think people are comprehending just how (off the scale) big UK companies like Vodaphone, HSBC, Shell, GSK and BP are, as you're thinking UK only. The pure scale of their global dominance can be difficult to comprehend.

My point about Refinance was as per Sprogster. Continetal central banks traditional finance short 12-24 months, BofE traditionally finances long 10-25 years. If I was being brutally honest, I'd put France in the firing line as a target for the hedgies. It's a no lose scenario for them. Also, as food for thought. One topic on the agenda today (from a Belgain counterpart) was how much pressure, and what concessions wopuld be made, with the next UK Government, to join the Euro. However you count the debts the UK has still by far the best National Debt scenario, and Merkel needs them. Decry if you want, but that is the European view.

(I'm in the UK at the moment, love it!!) I'll put a defence in for businesses. We sell umpteen billions a year across 194 different countries Legal systems differ between countries. Therefore we have 194 different Terms of Business, which form the basis of a Contract. I would never allow one of our UK businesses to sell to France. One bad debt would wipe out any potential P&L gain no question. If the Worst Case Scenario happens, you have to go to Court and rely on the TOB......UK v FR forget it. I read on here about the UK banks, insurance companies, etc not providing services in France. Well I wouldn't. Different legal systems. Again WCS, how on earth do you enforce the Contract.

Merkel has a big state election next week. She can't appear to give anything to the rest of La-La-Land until after that. Hence the date of the Meeting. And Greece will just have to hang in there. NB this is mainly a Refinance issue, something the BofE doesn't have to deal with.

Totally agree with you 5E about the language issue. For example we talk English when out shopping. I never pick up on what is being said by French people behind our backs, it's too quick, or garbled, however almost on a weekly basis my wife will hear some comment directed at us in some InterClerc. Normally along the lines of "f*ing foreigners, they should all go home". She might be only 48kg and 155, but she's quite happy to give some of them a piece of her mind. Probably a bit of a shock to some of them, finding out she's French, and got all the slang/colloquial words[:D] Having said that, she used to whinge about the hoards of French, talking French in the UK....................again, I never noticed them! Case of "pot+black+kettle"[:D]

Can't be bothered to go through it with a finetooth comb, but they've included an amount to equate to the State Pension as if you had to provide for that as private pension yourself, that's GBP250K straight off.

[I]I suggest that maybe there should be an open season, when it is legal for les chasseurs to hunt ados [I]

Actually, it's similar here. The ados won't let you out of their carpark except with cash. Strange because commune de Meaux think it's theirs, and should be free. But, hey ho, got to let them keep the drog dealers in the style to which they are accustomed[:D]. If your women won't take plastic, try a check.

You use cash?, how quaint[:D]

[quote user="BIG MAC"] All the very best to the OP.....I suspect that once France is in the blood it may be hard to shake off entirely....is it because I am Scottish? [/quote] Yep, it's coz you're Scottish[:D]. The missus can't wait to leave. and we've got a queue of nephews and nieces wanting to get to the UK. NB if anyone knows of accomodation in the Newbury/Thatcham area, I've got a (very pretty!) French niece looking, already got a job lined up.

It was her that removed the link of the State Pension to average earnings, wasn't it? Bit before my time.