What happens if Britain exits Europe

[Quillan]

[quote user="NickP"]So Idun your assuming that everybody on this forum is a newcomer to France. Looks to me like you've joined Normans " I'm more integrated than you club". I'd love to see the agenda for the next meeting, I would imagine the first item would be the self congratulation proposal, followed by a discussion on how to to impress others with your Frenchness.[/quote]

Have to say  find that's a bit harsh, especially when aimed at Idun. I suspect she can 'fight her own battles', well I know she can but I would like to say a couple of things.

She has been on the forum for years, probably about 15 at least. Firstly using one name and then another. She used a phrase "And in some ways those that made those comments were right, as my life felt like it was in a completely different country or was that on a different planet.". Well to be quite honest there have been times when I have read her comments and wondered if I were in the same country as her. But then like her over the years I have learnt that France is a big place and France is not the same wherever you go, just like the UK isn't. Things are different where I am to where she used to live and of course also the opposite way round. Things are also different here to things up northern France and also Central France. It's a bit like a comment I have made once or twice that my experience of the NHS in that it was extremely bad but move to another area and people cannot say enough good things about their experience. I believe it is often refered to a "post code lottery" and clearly I got the losing ticket. The same can be said of France having been here a while and hearing peoples health problems except this time I seem to have the winning ticket.

There is also a big difference between those that have holiday home, have retired here and those of us that live and work here. Because of these different groups on the forum a lot of good information can be gained by those starting out on their 'adventure' in France for whatever reason. I happen to know that Idun came because her husband got a job here and without being sexist she is in a minority group on the Forum because of this.

I have had in the past many guests and just recently more have started to appear (because of better exchange rates) from the UK looking to buy here either as a holiday home or to move perminantly. "I am going to start a business here and have an idea for it that nobody has ever thought of before", well sorry I have a list as long as your arm of ideas that people have tried and that never worked mainly because of the cutural differences between 'us and them', something some seem to ignore, the French are not the same as us. There is also the fiscal system to work through which is not the easiest in the world. If you try and explain that things are not quite as they read, well not round here they are not, they as much as call you a liar so in the end you give up. It's their problem and if they don't want to listen and fall flat on their face, which they often do, then it is up to them, I could sit and gloat but I don't.

I benifited a lot from this forum, from people like Idun and others that are no longer here (Miki if anyone remembers him), and have saved thousands of Euros and for that I am very gratefull that I found the forum, the people and got the advice I did. BUT at the end of the day none of them ever said they were experts, they simply gave advice based on their experience of having lived here for quite a while. I know a lot more than somebody that arrived last week and Idun knows a lot more than me, we all learn by sharing our experiences but nobody has ever clamed to be an expert, well not that I can remember.

Gosh what a lot of thread drift today.

PS. I just noticed Idun has posted, she has been here longer than I thought.

[YCCMB]

It's funny, too, that with some exceptions, forums were always much more used by people planning a move or recently moved and looking for advice than by people who had already got the T-shirt. To a large extent that's still true. Although now, fewer newcomers pop up and even fewer stay after having asked the question they need answering.

As such, these places aren't, and never have been, I suspect, representative of anything but a tiny sample of the several hundred thousand British migrants in France.

If you speak good French it's often just as easy to ask a question in person and sur place than to come onto a forum and ask it.

Over the past few years, this and other forums have become much much less of a p£&,%#ing contest than they once were. Jeez, I remember the golden years of "I'm more inteRgrated (sic) than you" and frankly, Norman's regular attempts to rekindle some of that spirit pale into insignificance next to that.

I remember with a certain wistful fondness the days -before Norman was even around, for yes, there was a time Before Norman - when someone would pop up here saying "we are thinking of moving to France" and a massive ding dong would ensue where loads of people who had moved the previous month would hand out their expert advice, whilst those like Idun and some of the other long departed and much missed members would try to inject a note of caution, usually getting royally shouted down and insulted for their trouble. Yet they stuck around and kept adding bits of common sense.

Nowadays, strangely, the vast majority of members here who have stayed the course are dishing out the same sort of common sense advice that the likes of Idun have been dispensing since forever.

Obviously, we are all adults on here, and nobody forces anyone to take any advice, but at least most of what's said is done with the best of intentions...it stopped being a p?!£'ing contest years ago. Although there are still occasions where it might appear that Norman didn't get the memo. ?

[nomoss]

The "I was here before you" syndrome has been around for a long time, long before forums.

I overheard an amusing example in a hotel in Algiers, where our company used to put up new arrivals, and where I occasionally stayed overnight en route to the desert from our house in the country.

A young Canadian arrivee was benefitting from the advice of a rather older American, who had been there for some months.

After outlining some of the more interesting places to visit around the town, the American said "Of course, you have to learn French"

"Wow. Can you speak French?"

"Sure I can"

"Say something in French then"

"OK" (beckoning to a waiter) "Garkon, encore kief-kief la whisky!"

[idun]

LOL Betty and even if one, well me, couldn't really speak french, then  there was no choice, one had to dive in and get info and get things sorted out, who else was going to?

I never came on this board to have a  pi55'ng competition, never, but I would not accept the nonsense that was being said either. I was too often called negative, but I remained true to my self and stuck with realism..... didn't always go down well, did it[Www]

[YCCMB]

I also remember with a wistful smile the many times that comments about realism and reality were met with the answer "well, your reality isn't my reality"

But then, I am not sure Specsavers are selling rose tinted specs any more, either ?

[idun]

[:D][:D][:D]

[ebaynut]

Q wrote,

 

So all the Muslims in the UK turned up in

Luton for this demostration then? I have seen Brits behave far worse in other

countries not that I think these peoples behavior is bad just making a point

using free speech something Winston Churchill wanted to defend as did my uncles

and great uncles who faught (and died for) in WW2.

 

 

 

My family also fought in WW2. One of my uncles

had a trip to France on 6th June 1944. He was one of the first to land, how he

survived is, by his own admission a miracle as most of his friends who he had

known for a few weeks at best, perished. He is adamant that they

did not die for freedom in Europe, or for people to have free speech rights,or

to free people from concentration camps. These were a side effect

of the actions he helped with. His main aim, as was all those that fought, was

to keep ‘Johnny foreigner’ out. of the UK. In their training they were told

quite clearly what would happen to the UK if they failed, how their mothers,

sisters and wives would be raped and murdered by the enemy, just like so many in

LBF had.

 

No, he died to keep the UK as it was, not

to let anyone from around the world to be given the right to live

in it .

To make a UK which was better for his family and  its citizens, not

so anyone who wanted to come here could.  But clearly Tony Blair,

just gave away all they had fought for at the stroke of a pen when signing the

Lisbon treaty.

Thing is, if these Muslin ‘ people’ come here

to live, they should be grateful for our way of life, if its so bad here they

can always  FO back to where they come from. We in the UK cant, as this is our

home, they come and live in it, and some even kill  us

for letting them live here.

 

BTW, thanks for deleting my post

yesterday.

[Quillan]

My point is that however racist you are nothing will change in that respect if the UK leaves the EU and that the UK is not overrun by Muslim extremists as some would like people to believe.

To be honest I would have thought you would have mentioned Denmark who are part of the EU and who are halving the social payments that immigrant asylum seekers (not EU migrant workers) receive in an attempt to reduce the number of those that enter the county. Currently single asylum seekers get 1,594 Euros per month, As somebody said if you come from a country where the normal wage is 400 Euros a month then 797 Euros per  month for doing nothing is a lot.

[YCCMB]

Ebaynut...your poor old uncle must've been royally hacked off by the Polish resettlement act of 1947, then.

[Quillan]

[quote user="You can call me Betty"]Ebaynut...your poor old uncle must've been royally hacked off by the Polish resettlement act of 1947, then.[/quote]

Funny enough I thought of that as well but I thought it would be lost on him so didn't bother.

Just in case he wants to know about it the Wiki info may be easier to understand but if he feels brave he can read the original (still in power today as it happens) using the link below.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo6/10-11/19/contents

 

[ebaynut]

[quote user="Quillan"]

[quote user="NormanH"]Firstly what makes you think that people living here do not take an interest in what is going on around them at both local and national level? That's a very big assumption.

1) The lack of knowledge about and  response on this Forum to such issues is one clue

2) The British immigrant community in the town where I have my résidence secondaire is comprised  in large majority of people who don't speak (or worse understand) French and depend UK TV  and the gutter press for their knowledge of events.

Their basic errors of comprehension are only equalled by the confidence with which they express their ignorance.

[/quote]

Well fortunatly I don't live in your town. I am not and never have been a member or want to be member of any English/British community/group in France. Likewise I personally do speak some French, enough for an understanding and to hold my own and I watch both UK and French TV depending whats on and what interests me. I also find the comments in the English press about France and events here often quite different from how things really are. The absolute classic was when the British press said France had banned Muslim women in France from covering their faces and failing to mention that that nobody was allowed to cover their faces. I am as likely to believe the French press as I am the British as both have been very wrong at times. I further doubt that I am not the only one who acts and thinks this way. I don't concider my self an expert on France and I have yet to meet an expat who is.

[/quote]

---

Les Eaux Tranquilles Chambres d’hôtes

Well no doubt Norman thinks how fortunate he

is also on your choice of location.

 

 However, I am struggling a bit with the next

part, you say you have never been a member or wish to be a member of any

English/British community/group in France, how is it then, you are happy to post

over 12000 messages on a forum for well, an English/British  community/group

with an interest in France??

[ebaynut]

[quote user="nomoss"]WTF has the above got to do with Britain exiting Europe????

[/quote]

Please let me explain WTF this has to do with

Britain exiting the EU, for its not physically possible for the Britian to leave

Europe, YDF.

Abdul  is on the beach in Libya, has FA in the way of

possessions or money, then he gets a call on his iphone 6 from Mo who has made

the crossing to Italy or Greece. ' jump on the next floating bit of wood you

can, the stupid English send boats out to take you most of the way into Europe,

when you get off the boat, you get given food and medical treatment, then you get

processed, ( which is where you have to tell them that you are a refugee and

want to play the asylum game, say you were forced into the boat by people

smugglers, and they took all your money, you are just a victim) 

 Dumb 5hits then give you papers and then you go where the *uck you

like in Europe'.

If we were not in the EU and had proper

border control, we could stop these ‘people’ entering the UK unless they were

needed here, ( highly unlikely, as we have enough muggers and murders already

thank you)  and if they tried to enter illegally, we could just return them to

their point of exit from Europe, and not have prove where in the world they had

originated from.

[Quillan]

[quote user="ebaynut"][quote user="nomoss"]WTF has the above got to do with Britain exiting Europe????
[/quote]

Please let me explain WTF this has to do with Britain exiting the EU, for its not physically possible for the Britian to leave Europe, YDF.

Abdul  is on the beach in Libya, has FA in the way of possessions or money, then he gets a call on his iphone 6 from Mo who has made the crossing to Italy or Greece. ' jump on the next floating bit of wood you can, the stupid English send boats out to take you most of the way into Europe, when you get off the boat, you get given food and medical treatment, then you get processed, ( which is where you have to tell them that you are a refugee and want to play the asylum game, say you were forced into the boat by people smugglers, and they took all your money, you are just a victim)   Dumb 5hits then give you papers and then you go where the *uck you like in Europe'.

If we were not in the EU and had proper border control, we could stop these ‘people’ entering the UK unless they were needed here, ( highly unlikely, as we have enough muggers and murders already thank you)  and if they tried to enter illegally, we could just return them to their point of exit from Europe, and not have prove where in the world they had originated from.

[/quote]

Those that are coming to Europe from Libya (and Syria) are not as I explained immigrants, they are refugees and there is a difference. The issue is not with the EU but with our own border force which is not doing its job properly. All the regulations and laws are there they just need to be used.

There is also an issue with the French police at Calais as it is their job to search lorries etc for illegal’s before the lorries move to the UK border force area (which incidentally is defined as British territory) which is why so many drivers are being fined, incorrectly so, when they find these refugees in the lories etc.

Now the British drivers are using a different tactic in that they arrive in the French police area and refuse to move until the French police open up the lorries and look for refuges.

Ten there is the issue of what the French do when they catch them during the inspection, they simply throw them back out the gate. Again though this is not an EU problem.

Being in or out of the EU will make absolutely no difference. If you want something to change then start bombarding your MP with letters asking him to get more money and resources for the border force. Under the Hague agreement which is none EU but European (there is a difference) and the ECHR (again nothing to do with the EU) no country is allowed to send them back if the are genuine political refugees seeking asylum.

The problem YOU have and many others of your ilk is that you do not understand the difference between ECHR, EU, refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, to name the most immediate things. You also have a complete lack of knowledge about the law and make no attempt to find out the truth for yourself but would rather sit and watch highly biased YouTube videos and listening to Farrage speeches which do not explain why people are doing what they are doing.

As to me being on this forum, well it isn’t a club it is a resource for those moving to, buying and visiting France. The rest you claim to not understand is very obvious but you chose not to understand it because it shows peoples bigoted, racist and naive mentality.

 

[andyh4]

Ebaynut

That would be such a strong argument if it were true.

Freedom of movement is granted to EU citizens only. It would not apply to non-EU migrants until they had successfully applied for and received citizenship of an EU country.

Although I am sure you will want to tell me how easy that is, I can assure you it is not easy. Extended residence in a country is generally essential, as is a very good knowledge of the language and frequently an in depth knowledge of the history and culture of your newly adopted country.

[lindal1000]

As others have pointed put Ebaynut, the UK did not sign up to Shengen and is perfectly free to provide whatever border controls it feels are necessary. What is so difficult to understand about that? I can see how confused people might get when even the BBC, in a news report last week, talked of the Calais migrant problem and the EU referendum in the same breath, but they really are two very different issues. Then you have the mayor of Calais saying the UK benefits system is too generous, when in fact refugees (ie migrants who have been granted political asylum) will be financially better off in almost any other EU Country other than Britain. However a little bit of independent research will easily clarify things. If you don't believe me look up the rules for claiming political asylum in all EU countries, and the rules regarding benefits for illegal immigrants, asylum seekers, refugees etc

[idun]

I am confused about this free movement thing. A week or so ago I remember hearing that the italians were threatening to issue ID cards to all these people and that would mean that they could move where ere they wished in the EU.

So IF someone turns up at Dover with one of these, are they allowed in?? I have travelled with french friends and they do not have passports, just their french ID cards.

[woolybanana]

Yes, idun, millions of the little ruggers, with their extended families, all demanding free housing, free health, child allowances and the whole glorious panoply that they can get their sticky little paws on, thanks to the generousity of the Big White Father who provides all.

It is a sort of Pilgrim's Progress arrival in the Promised Land.

[Quillan]

[quote user="idun"]I am confused about this free movement thing. A week or so ago I remember hearing that the italians were threatening to issue ID cards to all these people and that would mean that they could move where ere they wished in the EU.

So IF someone turns up at Dover with one of these, are they allowed in?? I have travelled with french friends and they do not have passports, just their french ID cards.
[/quote]

They havn't actually done it. The reason they went down this route of threatening behavior is that France had closed the border with Italy to these asylam seekers. Italy needs help with dealing with these people because they can't cope so they told the EU to do something else they would issue ID cards and there was nothing the EU could do about it. The result of this was that the EU agree to resettle 60,000 of them in other EU countries over the coming year. However the UK not being part of the schengen agreement is not obliged to take them and has in fact refused. This was initially proposed in May 2015 and was for only 40,000 but a lot has happend between then and now.

[woolybanana]

Could it be remotely possible that the French are using the seamens' strike in Calais as a means of putting pressure on the UK govt to do something about the illegals that haunt the place?

Me, suspicious, nahhh!

[ebaynut]

Q wrote,

 

As to me being on this forum, well it isn’t a

club it is a resource for those moving to, buying and visiting France. The rest

you claim to not understand is very obvious but you chose not to understand it

because it shows peoples bigoted, racist and naive mentality.

 

 

 

No, you have got me on this, I cant see the

difference in a forum which is, as you say,  a resource for those moving to,

buying and visiting France, and one of these English/British community/groups in

France which you  say you would not want to join??

What happens at these group

meetings, are they not a resource for the

English/British community to find out about their new country and

meeting their neighbours??

 

You were happy, you say to join

the freemasons, which really did surprise me. My ‘poor old’ uncle was into

freemasonry. I have attended several dinners/do’s at their lodge in London over

the years. Being in London there were several Metropolitan  police officers

attending ,and my goodness, talk about racist, and the men were just the same.

Still I guess with what they had to endure each day in their line

of work in the city ,they would be.

[ebaynut]

[quote user="andyh4"]Ebaynut

That would be such a strong argument if it were true.

Freedom of movement is granted to EU citizens only. It would not apply to non-EU migrants until they had successfully applied for and received citizenship of an EU country.

Although I am sure you will want to tell me how easy that is, I can assure you it is not easy. Extended residence in a country is generally essential, as is a very good knowledge of the language and frequently an in depth knowledge of the history and culture of your newly adopted country.[/quote]

Do you not read the 'Bulldog' then??????  [Www]

[lindal1000]

I don't read the Bulldog. What kind of publication is it? Is it actually about the breed? And what relevance does it have to this discussion?

[Loiseau]

I think, seeing this is a French-related forum, it must be this, Linda! ?

http://www.frenchiefancy.com/about.php

[Quillan]

[quote user="ebaynut"]

No, you have got me on this, I cant see the difference in a forum which is, as you say,  a resource for those moving to, buying and visiting France, and one of these English/British community/groups in France which you  say you would not want to join??

What happens at these group meetings, are they not a resource for the English/British community to find out about their new country and meeting their neighbours??

[/quote]

 

Nope they tend to be, as they have in Quillan, The Pudding Club as in make a pudding and bring it along to be judged (open to Brits only), a curry club, same idea, the cricket club (well as most Brits don't understand cricket your not going to find many French either) and of course their is the Brits anti hunting group. Of course Quillan is not alone in these types of groups. I heard from a friend of mine that they are looking to start a darts team and then to teach the French how to play so they can have a competition. What they really do is create an environment in which they can slag of others in the group who are out of hearing range. If, like me, you don't join then you must be anti British. The real issue is they thy have to much time and nothing to do. There is a very good French retirees club in Quillan that organises events, holidays, walking, gym days etc as well as handicrafts in the winter evenings but of course you need to speak some French to join.

 

As to freemasonry, well I don’t have a clue what that’s got to do with all this and the price of fish. I just think you ‘pop’ in the forum from time to time just to drop a few stupid comments and be cantankerous. I also noticed that you border on abusive comment when your proved wrong.

[NickP]

 Is the Greek debacle  another reason for Brits to vote for the exit. Borrow money, don't pay it back; blame everybody else; take no responsibility for the actions of your own population. If the Greeks get away with this, there is an election coming up in Spain that could be interesting?

 Quillan accusing someone else of being abusive when proved wrong, sounds a bit ironic? Poor old "ebaynut" will probably go the way of a few other ex members of this forum.[6]