News Digest: Who is France’s New Minister & Is There a French Residency Permit Crisis?

The biggest news this week is, of course, the appointment of France’s new prime minister – the fourth Prime Minister this year and the sixth under Macron! After much suspense, Macron announced last Friday that François Bayrou, the 73-year-old head of the centrist Mouvement démocrate (MoDem) party (part of Macron’s centrist coalition), will be taking over from Michel Barnier after he lost the vote of no-confidence following attempts to push through the 2025 budget.

Bayrou is now tasked with forming a new government, which is expected to be announced in the coming days. As part of his campaign to take on the PM role, he has promised to seek a compromise between the highly divided parties – something that all parties aside from the far-right and far-left seem now to be on board with – and pledged that he will not use the notorious article 49.3 that led to Barnier’s downfall.

With just a week until Christmas, there won’t be a 2025 budget passed until the New Year, but yesterday (Monday 16th), the Assemblée Nationale did vote through a minimalist bill to avoid a financial shutdown and roll over the 2024 budget as we move into 2025 without a budget. The bill was voted through by a majority of 481 MPs, with only Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s far-left La France Insoumise party abstaining, and will pass to the Senate tomorrow.

Will we have a new government appointed by Christmas? We’ll keep you updated as we learn more.

With Christmas just over a week away, the annual Prime de Noel – a government aid of up to €442 issued to low-income households – will be paid out today (December 17th). It’s typically paid directly to your bank account, just in time for some last-minute gift shopping.

This Friday (December 20th) is also the last date for kids to post their letters to Santa Claus in France. Address a letter to “Père Noël” and post it in any postbox around France, and you’ll receive a letter from Santa courtesy of La Poste (you can also do it online here).

Schools across France break up for the Christmas holidays this week, too, with children enjoying a two-week break from December 21st to January 6th. With that in mind, there’s likely to be plenty of traffic on the roads this weekend as families travel home for Christmas, so make an early start and avoid travelling unless it’s absolutely necessary.

The ANEF (Administration Numérique des Étrangers en France) website, the online platform responsible for handling carte de séjour/titre de séjour applications, as well as French nationality applications, VLS-TS long-stay visa validations, and work permits, has come under fire for what is being dubbed a “national crisis” regarding the issuing of residency permits. It’s unfortunately not news to us at FrenchEntrée. We’ve already noticed a steep increase in questions and complaints over delays regarding the issuing of French residency permits, so we’re glad that this is finally being taken seriously. (I also experienced difficulties with the website when making my own application for French Nationality, although thankfully this was resolved by their technical support.)

Last week, the French human rights organisation “Défenseur des droits” published a 40-page report detailing the problems faced by foreigners in France, many of them regarding technical issues when using the ANEF website, delays and lack of support. Such issues include not being able to submit a new application because a previous application has not been properly closed by the administration, problems resetting passwords, an inability to make simultaneous applications, or submitted documents such as change-of-address applications not being received.

The report not only lays out the problems (of which there are many more than we’ve listed above), but also some potential solutions and action points. It’s not yet clear whether action will be taken, but this is certainly a good start to resolving the administration woes facing so many of our readers.

You can read the full report (in French) here.

If you’ve spent 2024 dreaming of buying a French property or one day making the move to France, and you’re ready to take those dreams to the next step, don’t miss out on our French Property Exhibition in London this January. Packed with expert stands, live seminars and free goodies, it’s the place to get inspired and put your questions to the experts.

 The French Property Exhibition, London, will be held on the 25th and 26th of January at the Novotel London West in Hammersmith. It’s our longest-established property show and has been running for over 30 years. Of course, I’ll be there along with the whole team from FrenchEntrée, French Property News, and France Media Group, and I’ll also be hosting our first-ever FrenchEntrée Members panel interview featuring a hand-picked selection of experts to answer your frequently asked questions LIVE!

Tickets are free, so sign up for free tickets here.

Here’s a look at last year’s event:

We’ll be taking a little break from the News Digest over Christmas and New Year, but don’t worry – you’ll still receive your weekly newsletter packed with everything you need to see you through until the New Year. We’ll be back in 2025 with all the latest French news and updates.

To everyone who celebrates, have a wonderful Christmas and New Year!