News Digest: Is France Really Campaigning Against Second Home Owners?

It’s been almost a month since France’s new Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, took over and two weeks since the country’s new government was announced. Today, Tuesday, October 1st, Barnier will address the Assemblée Nationale to put forward his policy statement – the Déclaration de politique générale – as Prime Minister. “Financial debt and ecological debt” are expected to be among his main priorities, which is fitting as his first big task as Prime Minister will be reviewing the 2025 budget – discussions are set to begin on Monday, October 21st.

Today’s address comes alongside a series of strikes and protests organised by French Unions, including the CGT, FSU and Solidaires. The strikes, which are against the new government and the pension reforms passed in 2023, will likely affect public transport, including trains, throughout the day.

In related news, one member of Barnier’s new government, which is largely right-leaning (you can see the full list of ministers here), has already been stirring up controversy. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, has gone on record saying that he supports “a referendum on immigration in France” and that he“regrets” that to do so would require an amendment to the constitution. He continued to imply that he would support such an amendment, stating that “the rule of law is neither intangible nor sacred”. The comment prompted several ministers to speak out, among them former Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, who called him out for using “divisive language”, insisting that “the rule of law is sacred”.

There’s been a lot of talk in recent years about the second-home market in France, with complaints that short-let AirBnbs and holiday homes are to blame for the country’s widespread housing shortages. In an attempt to readdress this, there’s been a tightening of the rules on Airbnb rentals and an increase in the number of communes on the “zones tendues” list, which are able to increase taxe d’habitation fees (the property tax only charged on second homes).

However, a new campaign launched in Brittany by the Union démocratique brétonne (UDB) asking for the removal of the website “Madeuxiememaison.fr”, which advertises the sale of second homes, has further highlighted these concerns. While the website in itself may not be the cause of all problems, the campaign is being seen by many as a stand against the proliferation of holiday homes in the region, which sit empty while locals are unable to find suitable homes to rent or purchase. The petition, which has been signed by 7,615 people so far, states that: “Brittany does not lack housing. The truth is that hundreds of thousands of homes are empty nine months out of 12.”

So, what does this mean for foreign buyers?

As of Jan 1^st, 2023, Insee registered 37.8 million homes in France, and about 10% of these (3.7 million) are second homes. These second homes are often concentrated in popular tourist areas such as Brittany. However, it’s important to understand that these complaints concern the second home market in general and are not aimed at foreigners per se – in fact, ownership of second homes in France is largely dominated by the French. About 90% of second homes in France are estimated to be French-owned, with foreigners (most notably Brits, Americans, Germans, and Dutch) only making up about 10% of the market. So, this is more of a protest against homes sitting empty than who owns them. In addition to this, of course, this doesn’t reflect the full picture or the opinions of all locals. Tourism makes a large contribution towards many regions’ economic wealth, which many locals embrace, so it certainly isn’t all negative. If you look at the graphs provided by INSEE, it’s also clear that the second-home market post-2018 is not quite as booming as it once was – nor is the prevalence of vacant properties.

So, should you still consider a second home in France? Absolutely, and if you have your heart set on a holiday home in Brittany, this shouldn’t stop necessarily stop you. However, it does highlight the importance of diversifying your search and perhaps choosing to buy in areas where the second-home market is less-saturated. We encourage potential buyers to expand their property search outside of the most popular areas and explore other regions of France – why not start by searching our property for sale? You could also look into the wide variety of different investment opportunities available (in fact, we just did a webinar on this, which you can watch here!), many of which provide innovative solutions for those who don’t want to leave a home empty for large parts of the year.

Paris has announced the next step in its plan to ban all high-emission vehicles from the capital. From January 1st, 2025, all vehicles with Crit’Air 3 stickers or higher will be effectively banned from driving in the “zone à faibles émissions mobilité”, which encompasses all of Paris city and many of its inner suburbs. This category applies to diesel vehicles produced before 2011 and petrol cars from before 2006, and the rules will be in place on weekdays between 8am and 8pm.

Back by popular demand, we’re back next week with another free webinar devoted to retiring and moving to France. I’ll be joined by Fabien Pelissier of FAB French Insurance and French Consul Eric Donjon to bring you the latest news and advice on French visas and residency. We’ll be covering key topics such as the changing landscapes of the French visa application process, how to secure long-term residency in France, and how to get into the French healthcare system.

Sign up now and prepare your questions, as I’ll be putting as many of them as possible to our experts. See you there!