News Digest: New Residency Card Laws, Tax Refunds & a Caretaker Government

France’s new immigration law was passed back in January after many months of heated debate, and last week, parts of this law came into effect. One change that will now affect foreigners applying for all types of carte de séjour (residency card) in France is that applicants will be required to sign a “contrat d’engagement à respecter les principes de la République”, a contract promising that they will respect the principles of the Republic.

There are a few exemptions to this rule, including those with temporary residency permits and Brits covered by the Withdrawal Agreement, but, generally speaking, anyone who is applying for or renewing a carte de séjour in France will now need to present a signed copy of this contract.

The contract states your willingness and intent to uphold French values, including respect for personal freedom, freedom of expression and conscience, and equality between men and women. Other values include not discriminating against others based on sexual orientation, religion, nationality, etc, respecting the French flag and motto, and respecting the territorial borders of France and its overseas territories. Applicants must acknowledge that their residency card can be withdrawn if they are proven to take “deliberate actions to seriously undermine one of these principles”. You can find the full contract and more details here.

The full timeline for the implementation of other laws, including changes to the language test requirements and civil integration courses, has not yet been announced. We’ll keep you up to date as we learn more.

If you filed a French tax return this year, you should receive your “avis d’impôt” (your official tax notice) between 24th July (tomorrow) and 2nd August (or before 29th August if you submitted a paper form). For millions of people across France, this may also come with a pleasant surprise – a tax rebate! Those who have overpaid income tax, which typically applies to salaried employees subject to the PAYE system who are also entitled to tax credits or refunds, will automatically receive a refund for any overpaid taxes. This amount should be repaid directly into your bank account, so keep a lookout.

Of course, it won’t be good news for everyone – those who have underpaid taxes will also receive a tax bill for any outstanding payments. Amounts up to €300 will automatically be debited from your bank account on 26th September, while further outstanding payments will be split over the subsequent three months.

A week can be a long time in French politics, but despite parliament resuming its duties last week, not much has changed. After accepting the resignation of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal last week, Macron went ahead and appointed him head of a “caretaker government”, which also includes his previous ministers – also now serving as “caretakers”.

So, what does this mean in practice? Essentially, the caretaker government is a temporary measure that gives the caretaker ministers limited powers to act on current events, emergencies or issues requiring immediate action. Essentially, this covers the day-to-day running of the country, but not much else – no new laws or legislation can be debated or passed during this period.

With the impending Olympic Games, it seems unlikely that a new government will be appointed right away – especially as political parties are still in a deadlock and little progress seems to be being made on building a coalition. As always, we’ll be closely following any updates.

The wait is over! The grand Opening Ceremony takes place this Friday, 26th July, from 7.30pm (French time) to 11pm, celebrating the start of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. If you didn’t snag tickets to the star event, don’t worry – it will be broadcast live around the world. In France, you can catch it on TV channels France 2, 3, and 4, as well as on Eurosport.

Taking place along the River Seine in the heart of Paris, you can also watch the Opening Ceremony and soak up the live atmosphere in one of the many fan zones located across Paris. Almost every arrondissement has at least one, with the biggest at the Trocadero ‘Place des champions’ and the Hôtel de Ville ‘Terrasse des Jeux’. See the full list here.

Other cities across France will also host Fan Zones, including Marseille, Dijon, and Bordeaux.