News Digest: France’s Fishing Woes & French Residency FAQ

The last few days have seen heavy rainfall across much of France, with orange and red alerts being issued across 22 départements over the weekend. School closures and a red alert for flooding were in place in the Bouches-du-Rhône département in the south of France yesterday, while Nantes, in the Pays de la Loire département, received a record 98.3mm of rainfall in just 24 hours. It was this time last year that floods, caused by Storm Alex, devastated parts of the Alpes-Maritimes département.

While the weather seems to be calming down for the rest of the week, the coming month brings further worries of heavy rain and flooding. If you live in an area at risk for flooding, be sure to keep an eye on the latest announcements from Météo France (France’s weather agency), and make sure you know what to do in an emergency in France.

In our September 21^st News Digest, we promised to start answering all your questions relating to visas and residency in France, especially for British property buyers and second-home owners still unsure of their rights and options post-Brexit. Head over to our Moving to France zone, where our new Visa & Residency section will talk you through the different visa options available and how to apply, as well as answering many of your FAQs on EU spouse visas, sufficient funds, and healthcare.

We’ll be adding more Essential Reading articles in the coming weeks, so keep checking back for the latest or get in touch with any questions we haven’t covered.

Ongoing tensions between the UK and France over fishing rights (a key and contentious issue during the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement negotiations) may have reached breaking point. Just last week, it emerged that the UK government had granted new fishing licences for a mere 12 boats out of a total of 47 applications. There were also a further 75 French boats rejected for their applications to fish in Jersey waters due to ‘not meeting the criteria’.

All of this has provoked French Maritime Minister Annick Girardin to speak out, saying: “This new kick from the British is the demonstration of their unwillingness to respect their commitments [of the Brexit Agreement]. I now appeal for European solidarity to move towards a balance in our relations with our British neighbours.” See the full story in The Guardian here.

In our September 21^st News Digest, we promised to start answering all your questions relating to visas and residency in France, especially for British property buyers and second-home owners still unsure of their rights and options post-Brexit. Head over to our Moving to France zone, where our new Visa & Residency section will talk you through the different visa options available and how to apply, as well as answering many of your FAQs on EU spouse visas, sufficient funds, and healthcare.

We’ll be adding more Essential Reading articles in the coming weeks, so keep checking back for the latest or get in touch with any questions we haven’t covered.

Last month’s FrenchEntrée webinar was the first in our three-part Destination France webinars, where we look to answer all your questions about buying French property and moving to France in 2021 and beyond.

Next week, I’ll be hosting the second instalment, joined by a panel of experts including our partners at MoneyCorp, Stone King, and Blacktower. Learn how to safeguard against economic changes and currency fluctuations, what you need to know about French law and inheritance, and how protect your financial future when buying in France.

Join us on October 14th, 2021 at 10am (UK time) and put your questions to the experts. Sign up here.