News Digest: Forest Fire Warnings, Tax Notices & Last Call for French Property Declarations

As heatwaves and wildfires continue sweeping Spain, Italy, and Greece, Météo France has been closely monitoring the rising temperatures in southern France in recent weeks. Today (July 25), it’s been announced that the southern department of Bouches-du-Rhône has been put on red alert (the highest level) for wildfires, with the neighbouring departments of Vaucluse and Var on orange level.

Although temperatures have fallen in the region, they remain high (around 30°C), and this, combined with high winds, has created the perfect conditions for wildfires. If you are living or travelling in the region, it’s even more crucial than ever to follow fire prevention guidelines when in woodland areas, which include refraining from smoking, lighting any kind of fire, camp cooker, or barbecue, or using any kind of mechanical tools or machinery.

You can check the alert status of your region here.

If you filed a French tax return this year, keep a lookout for your tax bill this week. Paper versions of the annual tax notice or avis d’imposition started arriving yesterday (July 24^th), while online tax notices will be available from tomorrow (July 26^th). If you owe any taxes or are due for a refund, you will be notified within the next week, but returns will be processed up until August 2^nd, so don’t worry if you don’t receive yours immediately.

What about if you realise that there’s been an error? Read our French Tax FAQ: What If I’ve Made a Mistake & Need to Amend My Tax Return?

The deadline for France’s new Declaration d’Occupation, which must be filled in by all French homeowners, is next Monday, July 31st, 2023. The deadline was initially set for June 30^th, but was extended after a number of technical issues and confusion over the requirements.

It’s unlikely that the deadline will be extended again, and this one-off declaration is mandatory for all property owners(including non-residents and second-home owners), so here’s your final reminder! Fines of €150 are set to be issued for non-compliance.

If you need help filling in your Declaration d’occupation, check out our handy step-by-step guide.

Finally, a word of caution for anyone travelling in France this weekend, July 28^th-30th. The final weekend of July is notoriously one of the busiest weekends on French roads, nicknamed the ‘chassé-croisé estival’ (the summer crossover) as it’s when July holidaymakers  (or juilletistes) return to the cities, and August holidaymakers (or aoûtiens) head out to the coast or countryside.

If you can, it’s best to avoid travelling at all over this period, but if you do, consider making an early (or late) start to avoid peak times, and be sure to leave extra time to account for traffic if you have a flight or ferry to catch. You can monitor traffic alerts and disruptions here.