THE STRONGEST ARGUE BEST, AND ALWAYS WIN

LA RAISON DU PLUS FORT EST
TOUJOURS LA MEILLEURE
(Jean de la Fontaine)

LA RENTREE
“Rentrée” means “back to school,” but for decades now the term has also covered this time of the year when France as a country goes back to work. So it is the perfect moment to name this column using a quote from one of the most well known poems of the famous French poet, Jean de la Fontaine (July 8, 1621 – April 13, 1695), the fable known as Le Loup et l'Agneau. Anyone who went to a French school has memorized about a dozen of his poems, called “fables.” A contemporary of the French King Louis XIV, Jean de la Fontaine witnessed the power that French kings had at their peak. Centuries later, considering the fact that the word “fort” means both “strength” and “winning” at the same time, its use gives this saying a very interesting twist since we all know that the one who is the most powerful does not always win.

A) - TAXES OWED FOR THE YEAR ARE DUE ON SEPTEMBER 15th
Many people talk and write about the "rentrée" phenomenon, but close behind it follows another very important day in France, September 15th. Each year on this date, which never changes, all income tax due must be paid in full. I am always surprised to see how many foreigners handle French fiscal issues without understanding the existing laws in France and in the USA, and without observing the terms of the tax treaty. In so doing, they make disastrous decisions. The little I learned in law school about tax laws convinced me that only a professional in this field can give accurate information. That said, I wanted to remind French fiscal residents of this important payment.

The payment of income taxes has three notable dates during the year: February 15th, May 15th and September 15th. The system is set up so that on each of these dates, people pay a portion of the full amount of taxes due, normally in three equal installments. I must highlight one important element here. The first two payments mentioned above equal one-third of the taxes owed the previous year, since the tax collection agency does not yet know the amounts for the current year. This entire process is handled by the "Trésor Public.” This division of the French administration deals only with the collection of income tax, never with its calculation.

B) – HARRIET STERNSTEIN – MON BON CHIEN INC.
After being forced to address some glitches with the Préfecture, Harriet Sternstein, owner of the shop “Mon Bon Chien” in Paris, can again give her full attention to doing what she does best, baking for dogs. A bakery for dogs is such a stunning novelty in France that it is not too surprising that civil servants working at the prefecture were suspicious of such an unheard-of business. But for once, common sense has prevailed and Ms. Sternstein should be able to put all this behind her. The Parisians are back in town, the website is fully operational – everything is there to make this 2008 “rentrée” another great success for this hard-working and imaginative entrepreneur.

Mon Bon Chien
The Doggie Bakery
12 Rue Mademoiselle - 75015, Paris, FRANCE
Metro: Commerce/Felix Faure (ligne 8) - Tuesday-Saturday 11:00-19:00
Phone/Fax 01 48 28 40 12 - www.mon-bon-chien-paris.com
monbonchien@yahoo.com

INCENTIVE FOR UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS TO GO BACK TO THEIR COUNTRY
Early in August, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security, started offering illegal immigrants the opportunity to turn themselves in and negotiate their own deportation. Some immigrant advocates say the new program is simply a public relations stunt, while officials say the aim is to help reduce trauma to families when police forces raid early in the morning. A similar program has existed in France for about 25 years. In the French program, there has been a significant increase in benefits during the last couple of years. In spite of this, fewer than 2,000 people ask for this help per year. The amount of money offered in addition to the payment of the plane ticket from France back to the home country is 2,000 euros for a single person, 3,500 for a couple, and 1,000 for each minor child up to the third one and 500 after that. In spite of the fact that the French program is a better deal for interested immigrants than the American program is, it has only limited success. Illegal immigration to the USA originates from Central and Southern America, which makes the benefit of the plane ticket payment moderately appealing at best. In the French situation, a free trip is much more attractive, since most of these immigrants come mostly from the African continent where the airfares are very expensive.

My personal experience in talking to numerous undocumented aliens living in France is that there is a cultural element that is often overlooked. People who have fled their country because of serious death threats will not go back whether or not they have obtained refugee status. People who have left their countries for “economical reasons” can only go back if they have been successful in France and can share their wealth with their family. Therefore, this offer does not attract either of these populations. People who make a very clear distinction between these two types of immigration miss a very important point; nobody leaves their home and family just for better wages or a faster way to become rich. My experience indicates that there is always a traumatic reason to leave, a painful sacrifice to make. Furthermore, in cultures where little emphasis is put on personal development, most undocumented aliens have either fled an authority that was crushing them or have submitted to a decision made by their elders. Going back and bringing shame to the family is unthinkable and always leads to shunning by the home community. Put in those terms, the choice offered by both the French and the American programs does not address the real issue at all. The money offered must be a lot more substantial so that those undocumented aliens can go back appearing wealthy according to the standards of their native countries.

This is a very complex issue and I admit that I can only respond to the few issues I am familiar with. In effect, this means that I cannot address the bigger picture at the national level and the related political decisions that must be made. I simply witness one thing, many politicians and high ranking officials focus on the problems related to immigrants’ living conditions in the host country and totally ignore the difficulties inherent in returning their own countries. What is the point of putting together this new policy if living as an undocumented alien is much more appealing than going back home?

NEWS REGARDING THE VISA WAIVER PROGRAM FOR TRAVELERS CREATION OF E.S.T.A. AS OF AUGUST 1st
For decades, the citizens of 27 countries were allowed to enter the USA as tourists without a visa. This was called the visa waiver program. When I was reading the French newspaper Le Monde (June 5 and August 1), I found out about a new regulation that will soon be put into place. It has been set up to begin on August 1 and uses a new system called E.S.T.A. – Electronic System for Traveling Authorization. On January 12th, this system will be totally mandatory and will be available in several languages. This procedure is free of charge at present, but a fee to process the request will be required at a later date.

Under the old visa waiver program, foreigners filled out small green cards requesting some basic information in the plane. In the airport, immigration officers finished filling them out and stapled them inside the passports. Under E.S.T.A., foreigners must go to this website – HTTPS://esta.cbp.dhs.gov and fill out the online questionnaire. The information required is about the same information as before. This must be done a minimum of 72 hours before departure time. Foreigners must then check within 72 hours to see if the request has been approved. According to the information provided by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, this authorization will be valid for two years or when the passport expires, whichever comes first. Caution - this authorization granted by the federal Government will not guarantee the admissibility to the USA at the port of entry, it only authorizes a traveler to board a carrier for travel to the USA under the visa waiver program. For more information, visit the website www.CBP.gov/travel.

NEW CODE FOR MY OFFICE BUILDING
The new code of the main door to my office will be operational on Thursday September 4th. The new code is 14683.

Best regards,

Q & A

BEING ROOMMATES IN FRANCE

QUESTION
I was a student in Paris and roomed with another student. I moved out after a few months because we were not compatible. In the meantime, I got to know the landlord who was quite nice. My problem arose when I moved out; the other tenant was uncooperative about returning my security deposit and the landlord told me that there was nothing he could do since he had no legal ties with me. How is that possible?

ANSWER
You were in a sub-lease situation when you had hoped for a co-lease one. The sub-lease can be regarded as a combination of two leases, which are in many ways independent of each other. The first contract is between the landlord and the initial tenant, in your case, the person with whom you shared the apartment. It is usually a long-term lease where the tenant rents the entire apartment. The second is between the tenant and the sub-tenant, and in that lease the tenant acts as the person granting the right to live in the apartment almost like a “landlord.” This means that there are absolutely no legal ties as such between the landlord and the sub-tenant. In order to make this legal in France, the initial lease must allow sub-leasing or the landlord must approve of it in a formal way. So, one way to start the legal relationship in the case of a sub-lease is to ask for proof that the landlord has approved this arrangement. Furthermore, if your sub-lease is illegal, it is going to be very difficult to get your rights respected since you cannot easily ask for help from any authority. You must make sure that the tenant can deliver the promises he makes in the contract. One of them is to return the security deposit asked for at the beginning of the sub-lease when you leave.

The co-lease is when one lease covers several tenants who share the rights and liabilities. All things considered, it is as if each tenant had a personal relationship with the landlord for a fraction of the apartment while all of them set up general guidelines to make the cohabitation possible. This means that all the tenants have equal rights and that all the issues related to moving in and moving out are mostly dealt with the landlord.

The word “roommates” covers both situations and indicates that several people are sharing a lodging that they almost always do not own. This situation is very common in North America and especially among students. The problem is that leases in the USA do not grant the same rights nor receive the same protection from the court and the government as they do in France. Keep in mind that it takes over two years to expel a non-paying tenant in France and under some circumstances, some people without the right to stay on the premises can also benefit from this level of protection. Therefore French landlords are very reluctant to approve sub-leasing and do not want to deal with the troubles that come from multiple tenants. The very few times I have seen a roommate situation work out in France is when the initial tenant sub-leases with the approval of the landlord in writing and acts a responsible “landlord” with the sub-tenants by drafting some reasonable rules for the rental property.

I know that renting is very expensive for many people and therefore sharing apartments is becoming increasingly popular in the general population as well among students.

I would caution everybody against sub-letting. If you must choose this solution, then the legal documents must be well drawn up and the inspection of the premises must be done exactly the same way as with a normal lease; that is, the condition of the apartment, especially the room assigned to the sub-lessee, must be accurately described. In other words, limit to a maximum any assumptions that are not agreed on in writing.

BEING COVERED AS AN EMPLOYEE BY THE FRENCH NATIONAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM

QUESTION
I arrived in France just short of a year ago and hold a student carte de séjour which will expire in the near future. My current employer helped me submit a request to become a fulltime employee for him, which is great news. On the other hand, nobody seems to know anything about registering with the French national health care system. I would really appreciate getting coverage as well as being issued a proper French Social Security number. One of my previous employers told me that everything had been done properly since I had been declared with the DUE to the URSSAF. What am I supposed to do since I never received confirmation of being registered? Could I get it now even though I do not hold an employee carte de séjour?

ANSWER
It is a common misconception to think that health insurance comes from the employer. In fact, this is not so. On one hand, YES, traditionally the most common way to get health coverage in France is to get it through working, specifically being an employee. On the other hand, NO, the employer is not instrumental as such in this process and you must be pro-active if you want to activate your coverage soon.

First of all, in order to hold a carte de séjour and especially to renew it, you must prove that you have a health policy that covers you in France. It looks as if you have never registered with any of the French student programs since you would have received your French Social Security number that way. This means that you have a private policy. Since the National Health Care System requires only that you have legal residency in France and that your student status allows you the right to work as an employee, I see nothing that would prevent your registering for French Social Security. Under the current regulation, you must work a minimum of 60 hours in one month, 120 hours in three months, or 1,200 hours in twelve months, to have contributed enough to the system to get health coverage. So it is possible that you have already met one or more of these requirements. Therefore you may be able to get registered quite quickly. To receive sick leave compensation (the equivalent to your salary) you must work a minimum of 200 hours in the three months preceding your illness.

To register for this system, you need to contact your local Caisse Primaire d’Assurance Maladie (C.P.A.M.) branch in your neighborhood and submit the following documents:

1. Your original and the photocopy of your passport,
2. Your original and the photocopy of your immigration card (carte de séjour),
3. Your original and the photocopy of your birth certificate, both the original from your country and the French official translation,
4. A Relevé d’Identité Bancaire (R.I.B.) which is your French bank ID information,
5. Your original and the photocopy of your last three pay slips (even if they have been issued from different employers, it makes absolutely no difference for your health coverage),
6. Your original and the photocopy of your EDF bill, and if the lease or mortgage is not in your name, the required documents that prove your lodging.

This enables you to submit your request, which will take probably several months to be processed. You are considered to be covered from that day on even though you will not be able to process the documents to get reimbursed until you get your Social Security number. Please keep the paperwork from your medical expenses so you can submit it later on.

Here is what will happen during the months your request is processed.

Your file will be sent to the registration division. Since you qualify, a request for a new Social Security number will be sent to the I.N.S.E.E., which is the equivalent to the Vital Statistics System in the USA. This is how this number is structured,

1. “1” is for a man, “2” for a woman,
2. two digits for the year of birth,
3. two are for the month of birth,
4. “99” to show that you were born outside of France,
5. three digits that define your location of birth,
6. three randomly chosen digits (the final three), and
7. the key, made of two digits.

You can see why submitting your birth certificate is so important!

Next, a request is sent to the U.R.S.S.A.F. to confirm that the taxes shown on the pay slips have been paid by your employers. This way, all the payments made on your behalf by your various employers will be fully identified and assigned to you. Once the registration division receives the confirmation that you have the proper credit, then they send the request to make you a “Carte Vitale,” your green plastic ID card, which is in effect your insurance card. The main difference is that this card has a computer chip which contains a multitude of information. With this card, you will pay only the co-payment, if any, to health professionals equipped with the proper computer system.

Now that I have explained all this, I would like to go back to some of the issues you mentioned in your question.

The D.U.E., the déclaration unique d’embauche, is the document that the employer must fill out and send to the U.R.S.S.A.F. to have the new employee identified. If you don’t have a record, the U.R.S.S.A.F. creates a new one and alerts the retirement and health organizations that the employer should be paying charges sociales for the employee. Payments will be made to this new account for a while without triggering anything.

The fact that this account is not associated with a Social Security number will eventually trigger a request to get this number. This should happen with the retirement organization and you will receive a request to send in your ID number. If you do nothing, the file goes back on the shelf and will stay there for a very long time.

What will really trigger the system to move is that the organization that collects for the health coverage will need to assign the credit to a fully identified person. So the information found on the D.U.E. will be used to register with I.N.S.E.E. and then sent to the C.P.A.M. near where the person is known to live, and you get a letter informing you that you need to contact that office to finalize the process. At that point, you would have your health coverage. This entire process can take years.

IMMIGRATION AND REGISTRATION ISSUED WHEN BECOMING SELF-EMPLOYED

QUESTION
I was able to get registered as a craftsman in Paris, even though I have only American experience without a formal diploma. After getting this registration, I asked for the related immigration status at the prefecture. I am getting the run-around. They seem to be obsessed with the fact that I do not have a French diploma. Is there something I should do about it?

ANSWER
This is a very interesting question which is much more involved than it may appear. You have asked for a change of immigration status at the prefecture and your right to work must comply with your immigrant status as documented by your immigration ID card. The normal procedure is that you must first comply with the prefecture requirements after which you are issued a temporary card called a récépissé which should mention the right that you have to be a registered self-employed craftsman so that you can register with “la Chambre des Métiers” and get the business ID number called “numéro SIRET.” Once you have that registration documented, then you should be able to get your definitive immigration card.

What has happened here is that you did not proceed in that order and, on top of that, the favorable treatment that American citizens sometime get has backfired against you. Now you have to clean up a situation that looks like a Catch-22. This could turn pretty ugly if you are not careful.

This is the situation you are in: You have the right to work as a craftsman from the proper authority, and therefore the prefecture has acknowledged that and, I am sure, is not disputing this. The fact is that the préfecture has some very definite requirements before issuing a immigration status. It makes sense that one of them is to see a French diploma and the prefecture will not back down about it. Therefore your mission now is to find a way for you to get that French diploma. Furthermore, I must warn you that the prefecture is not patient and the longer you wait to address the issue, the stronger the chances are that you will be denied legal residency in France.

So the only way you can get out of this trap is to get your professional experience validated in France in such a way that the prefecture gets the French diploma sooner than later. “la validation des acquits de l’expérience” could be the only feasible way to do it. To explain in a few words, this is a program under the authority of the French administration that enables an individual who has learned his profession on the job to get the equivalent diploma. Once you have found out where to register for your profession and how long it will take, then your mission is to stay on task so that you do not incur a delay. During this process, you must keep the préfecture informed of your progress in such a way that they will be patient enough for you to get the chance to get your request reviewed with the file completed. This way you stand a good chance of getting a YES.

Perhaps it goes without saying, but you must remember you must be comfortable in French. The 40-page document that must be filled out is in French and deals with the technical aspects of your craft. You need to master the French language at that level. You will be tested on your ability to perform in the shop and you should master the French techniques if they are different from the American ones. The lack of knowledge of the language and of the specific French culture in this field could be a major handicap.

This said, if it really takes too long, then you should think of a plan B very quickly. There is no assurance that this solution will work; any error on your part, any miscommunication and you will get a refusal. Under today’s legislation, I must remind you that this negative answer generates an expulsion order, which makes completely impossible to try to submit a new request to the prefecture for a minimum of one year. After that period of time, you are still faced with the fact that you do not have legal residency. There are very few grounds left that enable an undocumented foreigner to acquire French legal residency. In conclusion, you do have a chance to fix the situation, but success is far from being certain and several things could go wrong along the way. Be extremely careful that you do everything perfectly to give yourself the best chance to win.