Is there much demand for english craftsmen?

[Richard & Tracy]

Hi everyone, this is our first of probably many posts. We are keen to live and work in France, possibly but not necessarily Brittany, in the next 12 months or so. I have my own business in the UK as a wall and floor tiler. Is there much demand for this type of 'artisan' in France?

[Val_2]

If you aim for the home market there is always call for a good registered artisan here and the french will pay for a job well done whereas we have found now in the past couple of years SOME british clients will quibble over the work completed, then take weeks and weeks to pay and/or plead poverty even with the latest 4x4 outside their holiday home and refuse to pay the full amount owing even with them having signed the legal standing devis to pay. Get your language upto a good standard and you can find work locally especially if you advertise in pages jaune and then your reputation begins to grow,its certainly the way to go these days.

[Will]

There are certainly a lot of British clients as Val describes - France seems to attract the tight-fisted types for some reason - but we are not all like that. Also, I think that it comes as a bit of a shock to a lot of British just how high the labour rates are in France, and how French registered tradesmen usually insist on high quality fittings and materials rather than the cheap junk from the B&Q equivalent that the customers have picked out. There are good reasons for this of course.

If you become reasonably proficient in the language and working methods, and, even more importantly, appreciate the way French people think and what they want, then you can do well with French clients. Good tradesmen are in short supply. We have a friend who is doing very well decorating restaurants etc down south (he is a very talented artist, so not quite your normal house painter). Also, I have just been reading about Jean-Christophe Novelli, who, even back in the mid-1990s and a confirmed Anglophile by then, when he opened his restaurant in Normandy, imported British builders to do the conversion on his mill, as they were more reliable than and had a different work ethic from the French. In fact a lot of French are beginning to appreciate the way that British tradesmen like to finish each job quickly, not disappearing for the traditional two hour lunch or going off to other jobs all the time. So get a good reputation and market yourself to everybody, not just the English-speaking community.

 

[Richard & Tracy]

Thanks for the encouraging replies. I have always gone about my work in a professional way, being reliable, concientious and produce high quality work. So, taking Brittany as an example, where would be a good place to start researching for an area to live and work. I dont mind a bit of travelling for work and was thining of Vannes as a starting point. We will be coming over for a few days for an initial look round in the next couple of months.

[Val_2]

Definately not out in the sticks miles from any large town as you need to source supplies and clients. Being closer to a large city or town affords you an advantage of working more for local people than the odd farmer or holiday home owner in the middle of nowhere. Also depends on what you have to spend on buying a property - cheapest areas are from Carhaix towards Pontivy in the centre and the coastal regions the most expensive. Don't forget that you will have register at the local Chambre de Metiers and do the five day course in french so any paper qualificatons you have may be demanded. I also suggest you take time to take a look at the building materials here and get used to what they are in french and what you should use with what.

[Russethouse]

Vannes is lovely, but I think its fairly pricey because its a popular area, on the other hand that could mean lots of potential clients.......

Good Luck....

[Richard & Tracy]

Thanks. I think Vannes or somewhere similar will be the start point of our research. Out in the sticks sounds nice but obvously I need to be near to plenty of potential customers. Vannes has a population of around 50k so this would be the minimum size of town.