THERE IS A WAR

November 2026

“There is a war”
There is a war between the rich and poor,
A war between the man and the woman.
There is a war between the ones who say there is a war
And the ones who say that there isn’t.
Why don’t you come on back to the war, that’s right, get in it.
Why don’t you come on back to the war, it’s just beginning.
Well I live here with a woman and a child,
The situation makes me kind of nervous.
Yes, I rise up from her arms, she says, “I guess you call this love.”
I call it service.
Why don’t you come on back to the war, don’t be a tourist,
Why don’t you come on back to the war, before it hurts us.
Why don’t you come on back to the war, let’s all get nervous.
You cannot stand what I’ve become,
You much prefer the gentleman I was before.
I was so easy to defeat, I was so easy to control,
I didn’t even know there was a war.
Why don’t you come on back to the war, don’t be embarrassed.
Why don’t you come on back to the war, you can still get married.
There is a war between the rich and poor,
A war between the man and the woman.
There is a war between the left and right,
A war between the black and white,
A war between the odd and the even.
Why don’t you come on back to the war, pick up your tiny burden.
Why don’t you come on back to the war, let’s all get even.
Why don’t you come on back to the war, can’t you hear me speaking?

New Skin for the Old Ceremony (1974) is the fourth studio album by Leonard Cohen. “There Is a War” is the first song on side two.

I am writing this section of the current issue on October 18, a Sunday. In the office, everything is quiet and has been for hours. Yesterday, there were large demonstrations in all the major cities of France and numerous instances of violence; some of them could be called riots. In the USA, all major networks showed the violence but not the peaceful and joyful demonstrations. Violence creates buzz and therefore an audience.

I hate to use a title twice, and I used “There Is a War” for the February 2020 issue, over six years ago. But so much has changed since then in our daily life and in our work. Then, we were in the middle of the COVID pandemic. Today, in the USA, critical midterm elections will be held in a few days, and in France, presidential elections will be held in 2027 on Sundays, April 18 and May 2. Most of the focus in France is on the candidates of the extreme right and extreme left, who, according to the polls, are the only ones seriously in the race. I pray that the polls end up being wrong and that, between now and then, at least one other candidate with a serious shot at winning will emerge. We are running out of time.

 

Here is what I wrote in the February 2020 issue:
“WHICH WAR, AGAINST WHOM?
The word ‘war’ is now so misused that it rarely describes a military conflict between two or more countries. Today, in all the countries I am familiar with, almost all cases of opposing interests expressed forcefully are called wars. The fact that disagreements within the population of a country are described as a desire to annihilate the other side illustrates the extreme polarization of society. Yet several countries, including the USA and France, have actual military personnel deployed in places where they have to fight enemy forces.

“I find it striking that, 46 years ago, Leonard Cohen was able to describe so vividly and accurately the situation many countries now face. Extremely violent demonstrations occurred in many countries in 2019, and some are continuing in 2020. France is one of the countries affected. Even as I write this, a massive strike is under way, involving multiple demonstrations.”

Today, the media talks about “insurrections” taking place every Saturday, and on other days there are demonstrations in city streets around France. I see no insurrections, though, and people forget that a certain level of violence occurs regularly in France, every 20 years or so. On the other hand, an underlying war between categories of people continues to exist. That is why I chose this song again today. The public discourse has gone from talking to the population in general terms about what the country aspires to achieve to identifying and vilifying other people. There was a time when broadcast networks, unions, universities, newspapers, and so on aspired to reach the general public, ignoring things like race, gender, and political and religious affiliation. Today, all these information sources are slanted, and people choose the ones they agree with. This feeds violence, fear, and suspicion of others.

I see the last two centuries as steady progress in human rights, achieved thanks to dedicated and resilient groups of people. Success is reached when the general public agrees it is right to support this cause. I am thinking of the civil rights movement, the feminist fight, and others in our recent past. In France and other Western countries, these rights are diminishing and are in danger.

Who could have predicted in 2020 that the polarization existing then would look tame compared to what we have today? We should not be fooled by what we hear and see in the media; we should be more concerned about the real attacks on rights taking place today and less about material destruction here and there, or violence in the streets regardless of who is responsible.

 

THE CURRENT FRENCH UNREST AND STUDENT DEMONSTRATIONS
Unlike the joke commonly heard in the expat community, France does not riot for no reason. Unrest here always has a valid reason by French standards, though it might feel ridiculous taken out of context.

There is a world of difference between the police forces in the early years of the Fifth Republic and today. Aside from isolated incidents in the 1960s, there is pretty much consensus that today’s police use force more brutally, more indiscriminately, and much earlier in cases of mass demonstrations in the streets. No matter what was said at the time, during the riots of May 1968, Paris’s police prefect, Maurice Grimaud, systematically enquired about the number of people being badly hurt, making sure the violence was contained as much as possible on both sides. That is not what is happening today, when the policy is to crush dissent regardless of who it is. Throughout President Macron’s two terms, this policy has been used against firefighters, doctors and nurses of public hospitals, teachers, lawyers, farmers, environmentalists, and so on. In my view, the most interesting power struggle against the government is that of the gilets jaunes (yellow vests).

President Macron was first elected on May 14, 2017. The gilets jaunes movement started in November 2018 and was said to have ended on June 28, 2020, though it continued to be more or less active until 2023 and has seen a revival with the latest unrest. Originally, around 3 million people took part across the country. The movement peaked on November 17, 2018, with about 1.3 million people demonstrating. The protestors, many wearing high-visibility yellow security vests, set up roadblocks and occupied roundabouts and toll plazas, among other activities. Eleven people died, and 25,800 civilians and 1,944 public officials were injured; 12,107 people were detained, 10,718 were held in police custody, and there were 3,100 convictions and 400 prison sentences with immediate incarceration. Many see the brutal use of police force as having started there.

Here is the explanation from Wikipedia:
“The movement was initially motivated by rising crude oil and fuel prices, a high cost of living, and economic inequality. The movement argued that a disproportionate burden of taxation in France was falling on the working and middle classes, especially in rural and peri-urban areas. The protesters called for lower fuel taxes, a reintroduction of the solidarity tax on wealth and a minimum wage increase, among other things. On November 29, 2018, a list of 42 demands was made public and went viral on social media, becoming ade facto structuring basis for the movement. The demands covered a wide range of topics, mostly related to democracy and social and fiscal justice. Some demanded the resignation of President Emmanuel Macron.”

Since none of those issues have actually been resolved, and the living and working conditions of the working and middle classes in both the private and public sectors have not improved, further unrest was bound to happen, even if it was not known who would go on strike next. It turned out to be middle and high school students, and once their revolt lasted long enough, other sections of the French population started to join in, seeing an opportunity to get their grievances heard.

This explains the brutal, indiscriminate violence against teenagers. The government hoped to crush this movement as quickly as possible, as it managed to do with previous ones. But the French government has clearly lost the first rounds of this fight. We will see how it ends, hopefully without people getting killed and with few people injured and jailed. Right now, that feels like wishful thinking, which is probably the saddest aspect of the situation. Children are being harmed indiscriminately, and the country is being impoverished.

 

HEATWAVES IN FRANCE AND AIR-CONDITIONING INSTALLATION
Over this past summer, we heard a lot of discussion about installing air-conditioning units in apartments, shops, and offices, especially in Paris. As you might expect, regulations on such units are strict: Three authorizations are necessary in most cases, since so many places in Paris are in or near national monuments.

The first step is to submit a request to the assemblée générale ordinaire (general assembly, usually annual) of a given property’s owners. The request takes the form of a motion to approve the installation, accompanied by blueprints and the AC unit’s technical characteristics in terms of noise, vibration, size, weight, etc.

Assuming the owners approve the motion, the second step is to send the request, including the meeting minutes granting permission and all documents submitted at the general meeting, to “le service de l’urbanisme” at the city hall. To simplify matters, installing an outdoor unit on a street-facing facade is prohibited. The AC unit must be discreetly integrated in a courtyard, on the roof near chimneys, in a former pantry, or in a suitable enclosure.

The third step, for buildings in secteurs protégés (protected areas), is to get approval of the Architecte des Bâtiments de France. This applies to sites patrimoniaux remarquables (notable heritage sites), which are subject to strict aesthetic requirements.

This issue will increasingly be raised as climate change leads to hotter and longer heatwaves. Most French buildings were not constructed to handle these kinds of temperatures. French media has talked about a need to drastically loosen the regulations. Air conditioning uses a lot of electricity and emits heat into the atmosphere. The idea of allowing everybody to have AC units in homes, businesses, and so on faces strong resistance in some quarters, as it is seen as making climate change worse.

The Paris City Hall will likely do everything in its power to stall any massive or widespread AC installations. It has become a political issue. The government needs to decide how to protect the population from brutal heat during the summer months. But it must also protect the historical parts of cities as well as the medieval small towns, preserving their ancient harmony, which is often what attracts tourists.

Of course, tourists want modern comforts, which help them enjoy their stay and have a great time. They expect to avoid excessive heat when they are inside buildings. But here is an anecdote that might counter the idea that air conditioning is the only way to achieve that comfort:

During a heatwave in August 2025, my father, in his 90s, visited us in Cluny and wanted to have lunch in the historical center of the town. He demanded that we find an air-conditioned restaurant due to his age. But instead, we went to the restaurant located in the portion of the 12th-century abbey that is now a museum. The temperature outside was over 100ºF, while inside was probably around 75ºF and we had a great time.

As this story shows, climate change is forcing businesses, governments, and the general public to rethink a lot of things they took for granted. Here is an idea that might at first sound idiotic: in southern Europe, hotels should advertise that they do not have air conditioning because they are in medieval buildings with thick stone walls. Spain, France, and Italy should have enough of such properties to make this feasible.

 

A READER’S COMMENTS
“I read your July newsletter with a bit of a smile. You and I engaged in almost exactly this discussion several years ago when I asked if it was actually stated that presentation of taxation information was required, explicitly in the CESEDA. The conclusion was that, well, not specifically addressed in the code, it was certainly within the rights of the prefectures to request such information in order to properly process a request for a carte de résident de longue durée-UE.

“So, in reading your question from this month’s newsletter, I think you may have slightly missed the key point. The purpose of submitting French tax filings is to prove that someone was a full-time resident in France. This flows from the definition of fiscal resident in France. Based upon the definition provided by the fisc, it is impossible to be both a full-time resident in France, meeting the presence requirements for thecarte de résident de longue durée-UE, without also being a French tax resident, and therefore being required to file taxes. The specific requirement is stated as….

“Your household (including your spouse, civil partner and/or children) remains in France, even if you are living temporarily or for most of the year in another country for professional reasons. If you have no household, then your tax residence is defined as where you have your main abode.

“So, someone who had spent a maximum of 10 months outside of France in the 10 years preceding their request for the carte de résident de longue durée-UE would, at a minimum, call into question their level of integration into French society, and such a test is permitted under the EU directive. Add on top of this the likelihood that such an applicant has been participating in the French Social Security system, and the questions become even more troublesome.

“For these reasons, someone who provides only US IRS tax filings is indicating that they may not have met the basic requirements for eligibility for long-term residence.”

 

CLUNY’S 12th CENTURY HOTEL DES MONNAIES AND 10th CENTURY ABBEY
As I have occasionally mentioned in my columns, we now have a second residence in Cluny, a town in the Burgundian countryside. Our house is located in the oldest part of town. The Hôtel des Monnaies (former mint) is located two doors away from our house. Fully restored, it is among the oldest individual houses in the town; it is publicly owned and is used for conferences and public events. Like some other historic monuments of the city, it can be visited. “Hôtel” here is used in the same sense as hôtel de ville (town hall, also known as the mairie), the official seat of local government.

Cluny is known for its abbey, about a fifth of which is still standing and is now a museum. Construction began in 910, and at its height it was the world’s largest Christian church until Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome was completed. Large sections of the town’s medieval walls have been preserved, including the entry gates that existed to close up the town as well as regulate traffic in and out.

In the Middle Ages, each independent region and town had its own government, currency, and so on. Thus, money was exchanged at the gates as people entered the town so they could buy and sell in it. The abbey had obtained the authority from the king of France as well as the pope to issue its own currency.

Currency Exchange at the City Gates
In the Middle Ages, currency exchange in the town of Cluny was conducted under the direct control of Cluny Abbey, which held sovereign rights over the town, including the privilege of minting coins.

The Monetary Context and the Role of the Abbey
• Own currency: The abbey was authorized to issue its own currency (the Cluny denier) as early as the late 11th or early 12th century.
• Seigneurial control: As lords of the town, the abbots regulated the markets, fairs, and the circulation of the currency needed by the many pilgrims and merchants.
• The exchange office: Currency exchange (the conversion of foreign currencies or coins of various alloys into local currency) was strictly regulated to guarantee the institution’s revenue and the monastery’s monopoly.

In the Middle Ages, currency exchange at city gates or in marketplaces took place outdoors or under awnings, on a simple table or bench (banco).

The Role and Setup of Money Changers
• Strategic location: Money changers often set up shop near city gates, bridges, or at fairgrounds to intercept foreign travelers and merchants before they entered the market.
• Basic equipment: They conducted their business on a table covered with a cloth, equipped with precision scales for weighing coins and ledgers.

How the Process Worked
• Assessment of Currency: Since each lordship or city issued its own currency, gold, silver, and billon (a low-grade alloy) coins varied constantly. The money changer examined the weight and fineness of the metal and identified clipped or counterfeit coins.
• Conversion and commission: The money changer converted foreign currency into local currency while charging a commission (the profit from manual currency exchange).
• Origin of the word “bank”: This wooden counter, called a “banco” in Italy, gave rise to the terms “bank” and “banker.”

 

You might wonder who would be interested in such an explanation, but more and more foreigners immigrating to France settle outside of Paris, sometimes in the countryside, where many medieval towns exist. About 400 French communes are considered to be of historical interest, many with medieval buildings. Through my clientele, I have seen a steady change as foreigners who move to France increasingly settle in the countryside, away from large cities. They are looking for a balance between modern convenience, proximity to a highway and a large airport, and traditional France in towns of a few thousand residents.

Moving to a different country is a radical change in life, which people often underestimate. Thorough planning is a must to make such a move successful. Choosing to adopt the French small-town lifestyle greatly increases the degree of this radical change. One thing is certain: it requires a good level of French and readiness to quickly get used to the accent and local colloquialisms.

 

THE SHIP STUDIO IS AVAILABLE FOR RENTAL IN NOVEMBER 2026
The SHIP studio is available as of November 1, assuming the current tenant does not extend the lease. When people contact me about renting it, I send them to the website. I hope it shows how cozy the accommodations are. The monthly rent of 1,400 euros is all-inclusive. While I continue to favor rentals lasting between two and six months, under certain conditions I have accepted one-month rentals.
https://www.jeantaquet.com/home-in-paris

 

OFFICE CLOSED FOR CHRISTMAS VACATION
The office will be closed for one month over the Christmas vacation, from the evening of Friday, December 11, to the morning of Monday, January 11. I will be in Cluny most of that time, getting involved in a few projects. As always, I will be reachable by email for emergencies and important matters. The service I offer of receiving mail for clients will continue while the office is closed, and Sarah or I will honor prefecture meetings already scheduled, as well as a few other engagements.

Best regards,