News Digest: Who Will Be the New Prime Minster & France’s Favourite Village

All eyes have been on the French parliamentary elections in recent weeks, but there was also another vote of interest for property buyers and travellers to France. Last week, the popular TV show “‘Le Village Préféré des Français” – the most popular village in France – announced its 2024 winner.

The TV show has been running since 2012 (now on France 3) and features 14 nominated villages – 13 from each of the French regions and one from the overseas territories. The public is then invited to vote for their winner.

Past winners have included the idyllic hilltop villages of Cordes-sur-Ciel and Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, the half-timbered Alsace village of Kaysersberg, and the winemaking village of Sancerre in the Loire. Typically, the top-placed village sees a notable boost in tourism, but we also think it’s a great way for potential property buyers to uncover some of France’s most beautiful corners.

As of last Thursday, the votes are in for 2024 and the top spot – drumroll, please! – goes to Collioure in the Pyrénées-Orientales département. Hemmed in between the Mediterranean and the Albères mountains, the pretty town has a medieval castle, a pebble beach, and magnificent coastal views.

In case you’re wondering, here’s the full list of candidates (in no particular order):

*Winner* Collioure (Pyrénées-Orientale, Occitanie)

Grignan (Drôme, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes)

Cléron (Doubs, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté)

L’Île-Tudy (Finistère, Bretagne)

Saint-Dyé-sur-Loire (Loir-et-Cher, Centre-Val de Loire)

Aregno (Haute-Corse, Corse)

Deshaies (Guadeloupe, Outre-Mer)

Monthermé (Ardennes, Grand Est)

Mers-les-Bains (Somme, Hauts-de-France)

Thomery (Seine-et-Marne, Île-de-France)

Ry (Seine-Maritime / Normandie)

Villeréal (Lot-et-Garonne / Nouvelle-Aquitaine)

Sallertaine (Vendée, Pays de la Loire)

Gassin (Var, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur)

We reported on the shock turnaround of France’s parliamentary elections last week, but celebrations over the defeat of Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National (RN) party were shortlived. The reality is that there was no overall winner in the elections, and no single party or coalition achieved the 289 seats required for a majority, which leaves France with a hung parliament.

In the immediate aftermath of the elections, President Macron asked current Prime Minster Gabriel Attal to stay in position during the transition period. Following this, he published an open letter in which he recognised the divided results of the elections and the “need for democratic expression in the country”. He went on to urge “political forces to engage in a sincere and loyal dialogue to build a solid, necessarily plural majority for the country”, to “live up to the moment”, “work together”, and to embrace “the invention of a new French political culture”. You can read Macron’s full letter here.

The Nouveau Front Populaire, the alliance of leftist parties that received the largest number of seats, is insisting that it has a “democratic right” to form a government but currently can’t agree on a Prime Minister. The first proposed candidate, Huguette Bello, withdrew last Friday, while the most recent candidate is the head of the European Climate Foundation, Laurence Tubiana, although it’s not yet sure whether she will receive the support of all the coalition parties.

According to the French constitution, the President has the right to select the Prime Minister of his choice, and there is no obligation to choose a candidate from the group with the most MPs. In the case where the opposition has a clear majority, Presidents will often enter into a cohabitation, whereby a Prime Minster will be appointed from the opposing minority, but even this is not a legal obligation. It’s still not clear what direction he’ll choose to take.

The time to make decisions is looming, though. Parliament will return this Wednesday after a break for the elections, and several appointments need to be made. A new president of the National Assembly will need to be elected, along with the “Bureau”, the highest rung of the National Assembly, which includes six vice-presidents, 12 secretaries, and three quaestors. Following this, they will need to elect presidents of finance, culture, economy, foreign affairs, social affairs, sustainable development, law, and national defence.

Time will tell how – and if – such a disjointed parliament with no majority will manage to elect these officials and who Macron will end up appointing as Prime Minister. As always, we’ll keep you updated as we find out more.

After the Olympic Flame arrived in Paris this weekend – coinciding with France’s Fête Nationale – preparations are in full swing for the 2024 Paris Olympics. As of yesterday, several roads in and around Paris (including parts of the A1, A4, A12, A13, and the périphérique) will have special lanes reserved for use by Olympic and Paralympic Games vehicles – €135 fines apply for non-certified users. From this Thursday, July 18th, areas of Paris around the Olympic Games’ sites will only be accessible to Olympic athletes, personnel and residents, who must present a special QR code to gain access (read more about that here).

From Friday, public transport prices in Paris will be bumped up for the course of the games – to almost double – a standard ticket, typically €2.15, will now cost €4, while a book of 10 tickets, previously €17.30 will now cost a whopping €32! If you’re in Paris, we suggest bulk-buying BEFORE Friday!

The Olympic torch will continue travelling around the French capital over the next two weeks – follow its progress here – until the grand opening ceremony, which takes place on July 26th. Held for the first time in the city, rather than in a stadium, it’s set to feature a boat parade along the Seine River. The Seine is also set to host Olympic events, including the triathlon and the open water swimming, with officials declaring it fit for swimming over the past week – France’s Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera even jumped in for a swim this past weekend as proof!

There’s lots to think about if you want to retire to France and next week’s FrenchEntrée webinar aims to cover all of your most frequently asked questions. Host Sylvia Edwards-Davis will be joined by a panel of expert advisors to talk about visitor visa requirements and the road to retirement in France, your options for receiving your overseas pension in France, the French healthcare system and health insurance for retirees, and what you need to know about French inheritance law, estate planning, and Wills.

If you want to join us for the free live event, you can sign up here or click the link below. If you have a question you’d like us to answer, you can also get in touch at [email protected].

Retiring to France: Healthcare, Pensions, Inheritance

Tuesday 23rd July
4pm UK / 5pm France / 11am USA (EDT)