Christmas is around the corner and my office will be open for another two weeks or so before closing for the holidays.

I would like to wish you all the usual season’s greetings. Like last year at the same time, we can hope for a better year in 2022 or fear that worse is coming. Many of us are just tired of the never-ending COVID crisis. Nevertheless, I hope that we all can find a way to set aside such worries and I wish you all

A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

Perhaps some of you agree with me that 2021 was harsh and unsettling, at best. With the end of the year near, I was hoping to have a glimpse of light soon. May things improve in 2022.

MEXICO
Owsley and Charlie, twins of the trade
Come to the Poet’s Room
Talking about the problems of the leaf
And yes, it’ll be back soon
There used to be tons of gold and green
Comin’ up here from Mexico
A donde esta la planta, mi amigo, del sol? 
But Mexico is under the thumb
Of a man we call Richard
And he’s come to call himself king
But he’s a small-headed man
And he doesn’t know a thing
About how to deal for you
How to deal for you
There are millions of you now
I mean it’s not as if you were alone
There are brothers everywhere
Just waiting for a toke on that gold
And God knows how far it can go
But thanks Uncle Charlie
For your Mexican smoke
You’re a legend Owsley
For your righteous dope
There were a half a million people on the lawn
And we sang to the faces in the dawn
How long must that damn race
Wait for the jailer’s time to end? 
How long must the Panther race
Wait for the iron bars to bend? 
No no no no no nobody waits.

“Mexico” is a single released in May 1970 by Jefferson Airplane, and written and sung by Grace Slick. I have always been a fan of Jefferson Airplane and have used their songs several times. I chose “Mexico” to illustrate something about a country that sounds and represents something really foreign, very different. When I read the lyrics I was reminded how political this band was and how much they pushed a revolutionary agenda. I am sure people who lived through the ’60s and ’70s will have personal memories associated with this song.

After all these years, I continue to be surprised by the large number of people who hold a carte de séjour and manage to renew it by themselves but continue to call it a visa and consider themselves tourists because the category of the card is visiteur. What does it take to feel like an immigrant? What does it take to realize, in their daily life in France, that this is not Kansas anymore and of course not the USA? Crossing the border with Mexico instantly gives one the feeling of entering a different country, where a different language is spoken. What is it about living in Paris that enables Americans to enjoy this slightly exotic atmosphere without changing much in their life? After 24 years in business, this continues to fascinate me.

RIGHT ON THIS SIDE OF THE BORDER, WRONG ON THE OTHER SIDE
« Vérité en deçà des Pyrénées, erreur au-delà »

Blaise Pascal (19 June 1623 – 19 August 1662)
French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, writer and Catholic theologian.

I got a lot of reactions on the topic of having money put in an escrow type of account to secure the rental of a house or an apartment in France. The information that two readers sent me is so valuable that I am sharing it with you.

It is true that the escrow solution comes with significant costs in all possible ways. I might add that this is not the only situation where a foreigner has to weigh the desire to live in France against the cost and sacrifices needed to be able to stay here. I have yet to meet one expat receiving the full expat package – salary paid in the USA, extra compensation for the cost of living in France – who would be willing to lose more than half their compensation to stay in France with a local labor contract. I hear the same kinds of comments about estate taxes and the social charges on all work compensation affecting employees and the self-employed pretty much alike. We should be rational and accept the entire system as one, and go with the saying “France: love it or leave it.” When I immigrated to the USA as a newlywed it was clear to me that living in the USA meant getting used to everything that comes with living in the USA.

At the same time, I understand where the frustration is coming from, as modern life makes it possible to have the best of both sides for a few years.

This discussion, which is a lot more complex than it appears, always takes me back to the first car trip we made in the USA. We were having dinner on a terrace on the main street of Corning, NY. I was enjoying a beer with the meal. My son was about seven years old and asked to taste the beer. This would have been commonly accepted in a similar setting in France. It was absolutely inconceivable in the USA. I still remember his temper tantrum. He could not understand that in the USA it was illegal. Growing up in France and spending my summer vacations in Denmark also led to situations where I was punished for doing the wrong things there.

Moving to a foreign country and being an immigrant means being torn between the old life and the new. Americans immigrating to France are often able to ease the process by delaying some difficult choices. So I am sharing these readers’ messages and valuable advice here.

OWNING FRENCH MUTUAL FUNDS AS AMERICAN CITIZENS 
1st READER
In your answer about a guarantor for renting, you wrote, “Then you invest this money in a mutual fund account with your bank after discussing and reviewing with your banker the financial products most compatible with your needs.”

The problem is that mutual funds are the worst kind of investment for Americans and should absolutely be avoided. The reason is that almost all are what are called Passive Foreign Investment Companies (PFICs) and they consume monstrous time and high costs for an accountant or tax lawyer each year to declare to the IRS. In addition they are taxed heavily.

PFICs are reported using Form 8621, and the IRS estimates the following time requirements for completing that form:
Recordkeeping 16 hr., 58 min. 
Learning about the law or the form 11 hr., 24 min. 
Preparing and sending the form to the IRS 20 hr., 34 min. 
https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i8621

I am of course not a tax specialist, but the reason seems to be that with French mutual funds you declare a gain or loss upon its sale, whereas in the US the dividends and capital gains of the components over the course of each year generate a payment to the holder of the fund, on which tax is paid annually. (This is usually reinvested and becomes part of the base cost, so you are not double-taxed when selling.) My understanding is essentially that Form 8621 wants to know what went on inside that fund all year.

2nd READER
Just a small item to point out in this excellent newsletter. … you should be careful recommending European bank products to US citizens, because they cannot buy them without huge US tax implications. The banks try to sell these products all the time, and they do not know US tax law. These products are known as PFICs and have drastic tax consequences to US taxpayers. Also, I believe there are now insurance companies which do this much better, such as https://www.garantme.fr/fr

BTW, the issues involving Americans are getting more and more complex; now that the banks are actually turning their American clients in (FATCA), the challenges have become increasing complicated.

—–

I am fully aware of the complications involved in opening and managing a French bank account, especially if the American citizen holds financial investments, even when these are French mutual funds invested in French instruments.

I explained the consequences of choices made by Americans as they decided to immigrate to France and settle for good. If you want a secure, long-term lease, you need a guarantor. To avoid this they can choose a less secure lease. The new insurance set-up will drastically change the situation. None of my clients has used this policy, so I do not know if the market (agencies and private owners) accepts this kind of insurance products. Also, I do not know how reliable the service is when it is asked to deliver the guaranty purchased from it. Everything is ready for the private sector to come up with the right solution, as there is clearly a valuable service to offer since I am sure neither French rental law nor IRS regulations will change any time soon.

A READER’S EXPERIENCE OBTAINING THE FRENCH HEALTH PASS
Another of my readers writes the following:

I read your periodic emails regularly and appreciate all the information contained in them. I was happy to see the reference in your current commentary on obtaining a passe-sanitaire if you were vaccinated outside France, as I and my wife were in February 2021. This summer, in anticipation of my November-December stay in Paris (I arrived yesterday!) I knew I should get started on mine.

I began the process of obtaining a passe, which documents the conversion of my Center for Disease Control (CDC) Vaccination Record Card into a Certificat Covid Numérique UE with accompanying QR code, on September 1, 2021, by submitting the application online, along with the three PDFs needed for the application (my CDC card, my passport and my airline itinerary). I received my passe and QR code on September 21, after a processing time of 20 days.

Once I was familiar with the process, it was easier to submit my wife’s application on September 23; she received her passe-sanitaire on, I believe, October 21. The processing time had expanded to 28 days by then.

My nieces, visiting us in Paris during the third week of November, submitted their applications on September 26 and I believe they’re still waiting for their passes after 36 days. In other words, the processing time has expanded a lot over the past two months. I advise anyone who is planning a trip to France to apply ASAP for their passe-sanitaire. It was not a particularly difficult application, especially if scanning and PDF usage is within your ken. But the expanding delay concerns me.

And by the way, my passe-sanitaire QR code works perfectly! I used it twice today and no problems. Well done, Ministère des Solidarités et de la Santé!

Christmas is around the corner and my office will be open for another two weeks or so before closing for the holidays.

I would like to wish you all the usual season’s greetings. Like last year at the same time, we can hope for a better year in 2022 or fear that worse is coming. Many of us are just tired of the never-ending COVID crisis. Nevertheless, I hope that we all can find a way to set aside such worries and I wish you all

A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

Perhaps some of you agree with me that 2021 was harsh and unsettling, at best. With the end of the year near, I was hoping to have a glimpse of light soon. May things improve in 2022.

MEXICO
Owsley and Charlie, twins of the trade
Come to the Poet’s Room
Talking about the problems of the leaf
And yes, it’ll be back soon
There used to be tons of gold and green
Comin’ up here from Mexico
A donde esta la planta, mi amigo, del sol? 
But Mexico is under the thumb
Of a man we call Richard
And he’s come to call himself king
But he’s a small-headed man
And he doesn’t know a thing
About how to deal for you
How to deal for you
There are millions of you now
I mean it’s not as if you were alone
There are brothers everywhere
Just waiting for a toke on that gold
And God knows how far it can go
But thanks Uncle Charlie
For your Mexican smoke
You’re a legend Owsley
For your righteous dope
There were a half a million people on the lawn
And we sang to the faces in the dawn
How long must that damn race
Wait for the jailer’s time to end? 
How long must the Panther race
Wait for the iron bars to bend? 
No no no no no nobody waits.

“Mexico” is a single released in May 1970 by Jefferson Airplane, and written and sung by Grace Slick. I have always been a fan of Jefferson Airplane and have used their songs several times. I chose “Mexico” to illustrate something about a country that sounds and represents something really foreign, very different. When I read the lyrics I was reminded how political this band was and how much they pushed a revolutionary agenda. I am sure people who lived through the ’60s and ’70s will have personal memories associated with this song.

After all these years, I continue to be surprised by the large number of people who hold a carte de séjour and manage to renew it by themselves but continue to call it a visa and consider themselves tourists because the category of the card is visiteur. What does it take to feel like an immigrant? What does it take to realize, in their daily life in France, that this is not Kansas anymore and of course not the USA? Crossing the border with Mexico instantly gives one the feeling of entering a different country, where a different language is spoken. What is it about living in Paris that enables Americans to enjoy this slightly exotic atmosphere without changing much in their life? After 24 years in business, this continues to fascinate me.

RIGHT ON THIS SIDE OF THE BORDER, WRONG ON THE OTHER SIDE
« Vérité en deçà des Pyrénées, erreur au-delà »

Blaise Pascal (19 June 1623 – 19 August 1662)
French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, writer and Catholic theologian.

I got a lot of reactions on the topic of having money put in an escrow type of account to secure the rental of a house or an apartment in France. The information that two readers sent me is so valuable that I am sharing it with you.

It is true that the escrow solution comes with significant costs in all possible ways. I might add that this is not the only situation where a foreigner has to weigh the desire to live in France against the cost and sacrifices needed to be able to stay here. I have yet to meet one expat receiving the full expat package – salary paid in the USA, extra compensation for the cost of living in France – who would be willing to lose more than half their compensation to stay in France with a local labor contract. I hear the same kinds of comments about estate taxes and the social charges on all work compensation affecting employees and the self-employed pretty much alike. We should be rational and accept the entire system as one, and go with the saying “France: love it or leave it.” When I immigrated to the USA as a newlywed it was clear to me that living in the USA meant getting used to everything that comes with living in the USA.

At the same time, I understand where the frustration is coming from, as modern life makes it possible to have the best of both sides for a few years.

This discussion, which is a lot more complex than it appears, always takes me back to the first car trip we made in the USA. We were having dinner on a terrace on the main street of Corning, NY. I was enjoying a beer with the meal. My son was about seven years old and asked to taste the beer. This would have been commonly accepted in a similar setting in France. It was absolutely inconceivable in the USA. I still remember his temper tantrum. He could not understand that in the USA it was illegal. Growing up in France and spending my summer vacations in Denmark also led to situations where I was punished for doing the wrong things there.

Moving to a foreign country and being an immigrant means being torn between the old life and the new. Americans immigrating to France are often able to ease the process by delaying some difficult choices. So I am sharing these readers’ messages and valuable advice here.

OWNING FRENCH MUTUAL FUNDS AS AMERICAN CITIZENS 
1st READER
In your answer about a guarantor for renting, you wrote, “Then you invest this money in a mutual fund account with your bank after discussing and reviewing with your banker the financial products most compatible with your needs.”

The problem is that mutual funds are the worst kind of investment for Americans and should absolutely be avoided. The reason is that almost all are what are called Passive Foreign Investment Companies (PFICs) and they consume monstrous time and high costs for an accountant or tax lawyer each year to declare to the IRS. In addition they are taxed heavily.

PFICs are reported using Form 8621, and the IRS estimates the following time requirements for completing that form:
Recordkeeping 16 hr., 58 min. 
Learning about the law or the form 11 hr., 24 min. 
Preparing and sending the form to the IRS 20 hr., 34 min. 
https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i8621

I am of course not a tax specialist, but the reason seems to be that with French mutual funds you declare a gain or loss upon its sale, whereas in the US the dividends and capital gains of the components over the course of each year generate a payment to the holder of the fund, on which tax is paid annually. (This is usually reinvested and becomes part of the base cost, so you are not double-taxed when selling.) My understanding is essentially that Form 8621 wants to know what went on inside that fund all year.

2nd READER
Just a small item to point out in this excellent newsletter. … you should be careful recommending European bank products to US citizens, because they cannot buy them without huge US tax implications. The banks try to sell these products all the time, and they do not know US tax law. These products are known as PFICs and have drastic tax consequences to US taxpayers. Also, I believe there are now insurance companies which do this much better, such as https://www.garantme.fr/fr

BTW, the issues involving Americans are getting more and more complex; now that the banks are actually turning their American clients in (FATCA), the challenges have become increasing complicated.

—–

I am fully aware of the complications involved in opening and managing a French bank account, especially if the American citizen holds financial investments, even when these are French mutual funds invested in French instruments.

I explained the consequences of choices made by Americans as they decided to immigrate to France and settle for good. If you want a secure, long-term lease, you need a guarantor. To avoid this they can choose a less secure lease. The new insurance set-up will drastically change the situation. None of my clients has used this policy, so I do not know if the market (agencies and private owners) accepts this kind of insurance products. Also, I do not know how reliable the service is when it is asked to deliver the guaranty purchased from it. Everything is ready for the private sector to come up with the right solution, as there is clearly a valuable service to offer since I am sure neither French rental law nor IRS regulations will change any time soon.

A READER’S EXPERIENCE OBTAINING THE FRENCH HEALTH PASS
Another of my readers writes the following:

I read your periodic emails regularly and appreciate all the information contained in them. I was happy to see the reference in your current commentary on obtaining a passe-sanitaire if you were vaccinated outside France, as I and my wife were in February 2021. This summer, in anticipation of my November-December stay in Paris (I arrived yesterday!) I knew I should get started on mine.

I began the process of obtaining a passe, which documents the conversion of my Center for Disease Control (CDC) Vaccination Record Card into a Certificat Covid Numérique UE with accompanying QR code, on September 1, 2021, by submitting the application online, along with the three PDFs needed for the application (my CDC card, my passport and my airline itinerary). I received my passe and QR code on September 21, after a processing time of 20 days.

Once I was familiar with the process, it was easier to submit my wife’s application on September 23; she received her passe-sanitaire on, I believe, October 21. The processing time had expanded to 28 days by then.

My nieces, visiting us in Paris during the third week of November, submitted their applications on September 26 and I believe they’re still waiting for their passes after 36 days. In other words, the processing time has expanded a lot over the past two months. I advise anyone who is planning a trip to France to apply ASAP for their passe-sanitaire. It was not a particularly difficult application, especially if scanning and PDF usage is within your ken. But the expanding delay concerns me.

And by the way, my passe-sanitaire QR code works perfectly! I used it twice today and no problems. Well done, Ministère des Solidarités et de la Santé!

THE CARNET OF METRO TICKETS WILL SOON NO LONGER EXIST 
The very first line of the Parisian metro was inaugurated on July 19th 1900, which is also the birthday of the metro ticket. Shortly thereafter, a new job was created: the ticket puncher, or poinçonneur du métro parisien, a man who made a hole in the ticket to allow travelers to get on the metro cars. He sat at the bottom of the stairs and people lined up on the stairs to have their tickets punched.

The most iconic tribute to this profession was the song “Le Poinçonneur des Lilas” by Serge Gainsbourg, released in September 1958.

In October 2021, the RATP began phasing out the classic carnet (book, or actually bunch) of 10 magnetized metro tickets and will eventually almost eliminate these bits of cardboard with the brown strip down the back. They have existed for 121 years of travel between more than 300 metro and RER stations in the Ile-de-France region.

The goal is to stop selling even individual tickets by 2025. In their place are digital alternatives, supposed to be more advantageous and practical, according to the RATP. Here are three things to know about the end of the metro, bus and RER ticket, which was initiated in 2016 and given final approval last April by Ile-de-France Mobilités.

1. Total disappearance of carnets by March 2022
Ile de France Mobilités has decided to make this transition gradually. The ticket machines of 106 small RER and metro stations stopped selling 10-ticket batches in October. It is still possible to buy them at the guichet (ticket office). In January, 176 additional stations will stop carnet sales, whether at the ticket office or via the machines.

By the end of December, carnets and even single named origin-destination tickets will no longer be available at RATP-approved merchants such as tobacconists. And in March 2022, the sale of ticket books will end for good in all metro and RER stations. The single paper ticket, at 1.90€, will continue to be sold at ticket counters. And it will still be possible to validate the individual cardboard “t +” tickets at the entrance to stations until 2025, according to the RATP.

2. One in ten tickets are wasted, on average
Each year, nearly 5 million tickets are demagnetized by proximity to keys or coins, the RATP points out in its effort to steer travelers toward a digital solution. The network estimates that one ticket in ten, on average, ends up not used because lost, damaged or forgotten. The RATP reckons it is more useful to group tickets together in one place on a pass or telephone.

3. Navigo “à la carte” pass and purchase via smartphone
In the spirit of gradual transition, in 2019 the RATP started selling “Navigo à la carte”, a rechargeable pass costing 2€ that allows the purchase of up to 30 entries to the system. Smartphone purchases are also available. These were rolled out initially only on Samsung phones but should now be available on all newer Android phones, with certain services available on iPhones and all of them being extended to newer model smartphones eventually.

Finally, for the bus, users can buy a single ticket for 2€ by SMS. Even with so many digital alternatives, the network still has to convince a lot of RATP users, many of whom still buy one-off cardboard tickets.

MY BUSINESS HAS A NEW FACEBOOK PAGE
Over the holidays, my assistant, Sarah, took an interesting initiative and created a new Facebook page. It is a good move for her since she and I both moderate it. She can show off her expertise and her ability to give good advice and clearly explain solutions. She does this in French, leaving the queries in English to me.

Since I am already active in a few Facebook groups and my website is my main showcase, I did not feel I needed such a page. On the other hand, it will no doubt benefit her. I do not have the time to monitor this forum and so far, it has been fairly quiet. Sarah is still figuring out how to handle this new task, being quite busy herself. I am sure it will be a great space for exchanges and hope it will pick up soon.

You are welcome to join:
https://www.facebook.com/rattachement

OFFICE CLOSED FOR CHRISTMAS
The office will close for three weeks over the Christmas holidays, starting on Friday December 17th in the evening and reopening on the morning of Monday January 3rd. 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. Of course, Sarah or I will honor prefecture meetings already scheduled, as well as a couple of other engagements.

I would like to remind everyone that there is no January issue.

Best regards,

QUESTION

FRENCH BANK CLOSES AN AMERICAN’S ACCOUNT

I’m writing to ask what you might know about French banks getting rid of American clients. My French bank is Milleis, before it was Barclays, and suddenly I received a letter saying I had 60 days to find a new bank. I called and found out that they are closing American-held bank accounts. I spoke with a friend and she said the same thing is happening with her at her bank.
After numerous phone calls and letters and emails, I finally spoke with someone who agreed to keep my account open until the end of the year. My Visa card was to expire at the end of September and she said that I would receive a new one before the end of the month. I did not.
My online account was blocked. I just spoke with someone who saw the note that my account is to remain open until the end of the year and she unblocked my account, but I have no access even to see the balance in my account. I have access to 6 months’ worth of monthly statements, but no access to the activity in my account or, as I have said, the balance.
Have you heard anything about this happening to anyone else?

QUESTION

AT THE PREFECTURE, EMPLOYEE AND SELF-EMPLOYED PROCEDURES ARE NEVER COMPATIBLE

I came to Paris in 2015 on a titre de séjour étudiant and completed my studies in 2019. At that time, I converted to a Recherche d’emploi/Création d’entreprise carte de séjour, which lasted one year and was not renewable and expired in November 2020.
Back against the wall, as I never got a job offer, I made a “plan B” appointment at the prefecture to change my status to entrepreneur/profession libérale. I had a business plan and I had registered with URSSAF as an auto-entrepreneur. The prefecture granted me one carte de séjour; I am still in shock that my request was approved.
At first, I did not make enough to pay rent. I withdrew money from my American accounts to support myself here while I looked for work. They wanted to see that I made at least the SMIC for the year in an account in France, so a girlfriend of mine got me a good waitress job that paid twice the SMIC.
A few days ago I was at the prefecture showing all the work I did. I saw an unhelpful woman at the guichet who told me to write in “Salarié” on the form, indicating my change of carte de séjour. I am concerned that this will interrupt my ability to do my freelance work. I wanted to add salarié, like my French boyfriend has done. I learned the other day that my future employer has since gone online to submit the 8-step form.
I have been in France for six years now, got my master’s here and have now, finally, found an employer. I want to work as an employee and I would like to have my business helping anglophones relocate here to Paris at the same time.
I am looking for any feedback, good or bad, about being able to keep both statuses.

Cloudy
The sky is gray and white and cloudy
Sometimes I think it’s hanging down on me
And it’s a hitchhike a hundred miles
I’m a rag-a-muffin child
Pointed finger-painted smile
I left my shadow waiting down the road for me a while
Cloudy
My thoughts are scattered and they’re cloudy
They have no borders, no boundaries
They echo and they swell
From Tolstoy to Tinker Bell
Down from Berkeley to Carmel
Got some pictures in my pocket and a lot of time to kill
Hey sunshine
I haven’t seen you in a long time
Why don’t you show your face and bend my mind? 
These clouds stick to the sky
Like a floating question, why? 
And they linger there to die
They don’t know where they are going
And, my friend, neither do I
Cloudy
Cloudy
Cloudy
Cloudy
Cloudy.

“Cloudy” is the third track of Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, the third studio album by Simon & Garfunkel, released on October 24th 1966.

Choosing such a title for a November issue while living in Paris is virtually a given. The weather here is cloudy nearly every day, and will be for months to come. Cloudy vision can mean an absence of clarity about what is going to happen. I believe the future of the USA and France can be seen as cloudy. Once again we are entering an era of uncertainty at the domestic level. Election campaigns have pretty much started in both countries, with high stakes and a lot of uncertainty. In France, almost all political commentators talk about labor and social unrest while President Macron pushes his agenda in hopes of being reelected on a track record of successes. He will certainly emphasize what he considers his success in fighting the COVID pandemic. Many think the majority of the French disapprove of his overall policies, and his record may not help him win the April presidential elections.

A total of 469 seats in the US Congress (34 Senate seats and all 435 House seats) are up for grabs on November 8th 2022. That is a year from now, but the elections are on many people’s minds now when it comes to votes on bills. To many, the next several months in the USA look cloudy. Is the country entering a major crisis, as both sides of aisle repeatedly claim? Each side looks at its own agenda and what should happen to fix the problems it sees, and how urgent it is to implement its policies.

I continue to deal with cloudy weather when I ride my bicycle, donning a poncho when it rains too much. After so many months of uncertainty and last-minute changes of policy, usually related to the pandemic, I believe we are getting used to uncertainty and making the best of things in our daily lives.

NEW RHYTHM OF WORK 
After two months of my new appointment policy, I finally have enough breathing space to better manage my email. Messages are almost always answered within five days. This still is not great, and I plan to improve it further. But I have a calmer life, which was absolutely needed. My next achievement should be starting to draft my column in mid-month to avoid the final week’s panic attack in the rush to get everything done. As I have often said, the pleasure of writing such a column is to craft it. This requires having time to get back to it a few times until it feels smooth and easy to read.

THE FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION AND THE HEALTH PASS REGULATION 
The first round of the 2022 French presidential election will be on April 10th 2022, with the runoff between the top two candidates on April 24th. Meanwhile, the regulation allowing the government to require the use of the health pass (passe sanitaire) could be extended to July 31st 2022. The government has emphasized that the regulation only offers the possibility of extending the requirement; it is far from certain that it will be needed so long. As in the USA, pressure is mounting for more and more people to be vaccinated and some people are losing their jobs for refusing.

The French administration has also established a procedure for issuing the health pass to people who were vaccinated outside France. Many of those affected complain that the procedure is too long and complicated. First you have to create an account on the www.demarches-simplifiees.frwebsite, then enter the specifics of your vaccination. The stories I have seen on Facebook vary greatly, so I cannot estimate how much time it takes or how easy it is. One thing is certain: the administration did not think beforehand about this being needed, and thus had to fix the situation rather urgently. For a while, it was known that several pharmacies in Paris could carry out the procedure. Now everything seems to be settled. www.demarches-simplifiees.fr/commencer/passe-sanitaire-francais-de-l-etranger.

MY TAIWANESE EXPERIENCE 
At the end of a business meeting, a couple of weeks ago, a client gave me a copy of the book he had recently published in the USA, with this inscription: “For Jean Taquet with great esteem. Note: To the keen observer who saw the Taiwan crisis years ago.”

I was surprised and deeply moved that this couple remembered so vividly our discussion at a Parisian café in early 2018 after leaving the rue Truffaut branch of the prefecture. I have never been good at small talk, so I spoke of my interest in geopolitics and particularly the politics of Taiwan, Japan and mainland China, which has lasted for some 20 years.

I remember with emotion where and when this interest started. On Monday, December 24th 2001, I held a free advice session, as I had done for the previous few months, at a soup kitchen near Belleville. The last person I saw had lost her immigration status earlier that year. She went back and forth between calling herself Chinese and saying she was from Taiwan. When I mentioned Taiwanese citizenship, she rebuked me. Then I suggested she had Chinese citizenship and she got even angrier. Nothing made sense. I thought I had some understanding of the situation after President Nixon changed US policy regarding China during his visit there on February 21st 1972. But I had totally failed to understand the situation of someone who clearly was going through serious hardship.

From that day on, I became seriously interested in the history of Formosa Island, from the large-scale Han Chinese migration to western Taiwan in the 17th century to the 1949 retreat to Taiwan by Chiang Kai-shek after Mao Zedong’s communist regime took power on the mainland. Then came the democratization of the political system, moving away from a dictatorship, with the second election of President Lee Teng-hui in 1996, as the final step in this process.

Having followed their presidential elections from then on, I saw the evolution of the Taiwanese population toward further independence while escaping from mainland China’s influence. Then it became inevitable that there would be a clash, given the aggressive international policy of Beijing. In March 2013, the Chinese Foreign Ministry published a four-page spread claiming Okinawa and the other islands in the Ryukyu chain were Chinese territories! I do not need to remind my readers that the US military has one of its largest bases on the island of Okinawa, which is part of Japan.

So the current crisis should not be underestimated, and it is clear the Chinese policy will not change and could end with a direct military confrontation with the USA.

STEPHEN HEINER’S NEW PROJECT 
Stephen started as a client and today we share several common interests. This is what he recently published on Facebook about his new project, which,

“.. started eight years ago as a way to document and share my move to Europe and as time went on it took on a life of its own.

“This week I’m excited to announce that The American in Paris Blog is no longer a one-man show but a team effort, building an on-the-ground database of information for those who want to build a life in France. If you want to learn more, click through to read the article.

“If you’d like to support Molli Sébrier and me as we grow this project, please give the FB and LI pages a like and follow when you have a moment!”

I fully support Stephen’s growing business and the diversification it induces. Interestingly enough, I have never seen it as competition. He has drawn a lot of attention as a helper for people who want to settle in France.

www.linkedin.com/company/taipblog/about

MORE AND MORE FAST-TRACK PROCEDURES WITH PARIS PREFECTURE
In my September issue, in the section titled NEWS ABOUT IMMIGRATION: ONE PAGE OF THE GOVERNMENT WEBSITE FITS ALL THE PROFESSIONAL CHANGES OF STATUS, I mentioned the move towards more and more professional carte de séjour procedures going through a dedicated website and the email address pp-dpg-6b-changement-de-statut@interieur.gouv.fr. I can now confirm that this process is complete for all types of status grounded in a professional activity.

Furthermore, the visiteur immigration status also has its own procedure, going through this website:https://administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr/particuliers/#/espace-personnel/connexion-inscription

There are several glitches, however: the system requires the applicant to create an account with an email address and password. It often happens that this kind of thing is done on the spur of the moment, but it gets quite complicated to go through the procedure necessary to recover your password should you ever have the misfortune to forget it! Having experienced this with a few clients, I advise you to make sure you make a note of this information. The website also requires an ephoto, a new kind of passport picture. The photo comes with an ID Nº that goes into the uploaded file. One can have this ephoto taken in most “Photomatons”, the self-serve photo booths found in public places including many metro stations in Paris. This means that the applicant must be physically in France to get this done …a complication for many people. The only benefit of the site is that you can submit all the documents needed. We will see if this simplifies the meeting at the prefecture to confirm the request.

MY BUSINESS HAS A NEW FACEBOOK PAGE
Over the holidays, my assistant, Sarah, took an interesting initiative and created a new Facebook page. It is a good move for her since she and I both moderate it. She can show off her expertise and her ability to give good advice and clearly explain solutions. She does this in French, leaving the queries in English to me.

Since I am already active in a few Facebook groups and my website is my main showcase, I did not feel I needed such a page. On the other hand, it will no doubt benefit her. I do not have the time to monitor this forum and so far, it has been fairly quiet. Sarah is still figuring out how to handle this new task, being quite busy herself. I am sure it will be a great space for exchanges and hope it will pick up soon.

You are welcome to join:
https://www.facebook.com/rattachement

OFFICE CLOSED FOR CHRISTMAS
The office will close for three weeks over the Christmas holidays, starting on Friday December 17th in the evening and reopening on the morning of Monday January 3rd. 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. Of course, Sarah or I will honor prefecture meetings already scheduled, as well as a couple of other engagements.

Best regards,

QUESTION

HOW TO REGISTER WITH CPAM FOR HEALTH COVERAGE

I am an American holding a carte de séjour “visiteur” and I have a question about the application process for the Carte Vitale and the French social security number. Is there an order or scheme to follow to have everything in place? We have read various accounts of procedures but can’t quite put it all in perspective. Where do we start? I need to get on board ASAP with my present situation.

QUESTION

THE PARIS PREFECTURE PROCEDURE FOR SPOUSES OF EU CITIZENS

I am an American citizen and I had my titre de séjour convocation on October 5th with my EU wife at the Parisian prefecture “en qualité de conjoint d’un citoyen de l’UE”. The location mentioned on the document was on Rue Truffaut in the 17th district.
We arrived with all of our documents and translations, etc., and were told that “we only assist foreigners from Morocco, Algeria, etc.” We were turned away and told that we needed to get another appointment, which they created for us, for December at the prefecture in Place Louis Lépine.
I believe we were rejected at our original appointment for the wrong reasons, and that there was no reason why they were not able to help us.
We followed all the guidance and links online and booked at the correct prefecture for where we live (8ème). It led us to Rue Truffaut and they told us they could not help us because I am an American citizen and not from northern Africa.
Can you explain what our next course of action should be?

QUESTION

RENTING AN APARTMENT IN PARIS

We are an American couple and we are experiencing great difficulties in renting an apartment in Paris, probably because of our employment status. We have ample means in the USA and even though we are both artists, our steady income can easily cover the rent on the apartment we are looking at. We think that we have an excellent profile even though we do not have a conventional employer. Is there a way for us to rent in Paris, outside the Airbnb market?

This month’s title song is by the Beatles, from their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The following year, Joe Cocker’s soul-style cover became a hit single and was further boosted by his performance of it at the Woodstock music festival.

Like many people, I am always mesmerized by Joe Cocker’s performance of this song, even though I am not a true fan of his. It is always fascinating to see the level of energy among the artists who played at Woodstock. They seem to be carried by a force that unites them not only with one another but also with the public.

THE FRANCO-AMERICAN RELATIONSHIP 
For much of the past few weeks, the French media has talked about France’s loss of a submarine contract with Australia and how the USA “stabbed France in the back”. It has turned into a diplomatic incident, with the French ambassador in Washington DC being called back to Paris for the first time ever. To me, the notable thing about the situation is what happened after that. Both countries’ presidents talked on the phone and agreed to schedule meetings between their diplomats and between them personally. I liked seeing this. President Biden is known to be Francophile, and President Macron’s English is excellent, but I am not sure that alone explains how quickly the crisis de-escalated. Maybe the long-lasting Franco-American friendship has something to do with this.

UNIFICATION OF THE FRENCH SOCIAL SYSTEM CONTINUES 

One consistent policy of President Macron since he took office has been to unify the entire social system known as the Sécurité Sociale, which includes such well-known divisions as the Assurance Maladie (health coverage) and the Assurance Vieillesse, with the Caisse Nationale d’Assurance Vieillesse as the equivalent of the US Social Security Administration.

To give a little background: the Régime Social des Indépendants (RSI), which supervised the health coverage of the self-employed, was terminated in 2018, and since January 1st, 2020, the self-employed and employees have had exactly the same coverage, issued by the Caisses Primaires d’Assurance Maladie (CPAM). Everybody was happy about this, since the self-employed were getting better service.

Many living in France will remember the government’s attempts to unify all retirement regimes. After strikes and huge demonstrations, COVID happened and the plan was put on hold. It had been controversial largely because of the choice to put everyone on the self-employed regime, which is significantly worse than that enjoyed by employees.

Recently another aspect of unification occurred, which did not make headlines anywhere: the system of employee sick leave has been duplicated for the self-employed.

This is a huge breakthrough that goes against a long-standing French tradition. The organization of labor into employed and self-employed, the division of the latter into the categories of profession libérale, artisan and commerçant, and the establishment of the legal concept of a corporation as a personne morale all date back to Colbert, the prime minister under Louis XIV from 1661 until his death in 1683. Ever since, there has been a sharp distinction between employees, the good guys who need state protection, and business owners, the bad guys, legally assumed to be potential crooks requiring state oversight and auditing. More than 300 years later, a lot has finally changed. With the newer fiscal status of micro-entreprise and auto-entrepreneur, the stigma has significantly diminished. Yet owners still had to accept the risk of being in business and covering themselves against illness or loss of the business. President Macron wanted to give them the same protection all workers in France had and erase this distinction. The stimulus payments given to business owners probably helped in implementing this new policy. Now the self-employed get some compensation when they go on sick leave. Below is my translation of the guidelines in an email I received from URSSAF on September 24th.

“As of July 1st, 2021, people with profession libérale status can receive daily sickness benefits in the event of work stoppage. All information on the terms and conditions of this benefit is available on the https://ameli.fr website.

The introduction of this benefit entails an increase in the rate of social contributions of between 0.1% and 0.2%, depending on your situation. All information relating to the change in the contribution rate is available on the autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr website.

Your new contribution rate will be applied automatically at the time of your turnover declaration for the 3rd quarter of 2021, available online from October 1st, 2021.

WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA FOR BEING COMPENSATED IN THE EVENT OF ILLNESS?
Craftsmen, traders, entrepreneurs, micro-entrepreneurs and spouses who collaborate with their mates can benefit from daily allowances under certain conditions. To be able to claim sickness compensation for your professional activity, you must prove at least 12 months of continuous participation in this activity.

Note: if the 12-month requirement is not met, your sick leave may, under certain conditions, be eligible for compensation due to the maintenance of rights from your previous activity: check with your CPAM.

To receive daily sickness benefits during a work stoppage, you must meet three conditions:
• you are temporarily unable to continue or resume a professional activity due to illness;
• you have a work stoppage (arrêt maladie) order from your attending physician, who has noted this inability to continue or resume a professional activity;
• you have stopped your activity.

DAILY ALLOWANCE: WHAT IS IT?
A daily allowance is paid to you by your CPAM to compensate for your loss of income during sick leave. Under certain conditions, you can receive daily allowances after a three-day waiting period. They are calculated from your assessed income and are paid every 14 days on average. Please note: your daily allowance statements also validate your retirement rights. Keep them indefinitely.

HOW MUCH WILL YOUR DAILY ALLOWANCE BE?
The daily allowance you will receive during your sick leave is equal to 1/730th of your average annual activity income (RAAM). This is calculated on the average of your assessed income for the three calendar years preceding the date of your work stoppage.

Your income is taken into account within the limit of the annual social security ceiling (PASS) in force on the day of the medical finding of incapacity for work, i.e., 41,136€ gross (as of January 1st, 2021). Even if your average annual activity income is greater than 41,136€, your daily allowance cannot exceed the maximum amount of 56.35€ gross set on January 1st, 2021.

If your RAAM for the three calendar years preceding your work stoppage is less than 10% of the average of the annual value of the PASS in force during the years considered (4,046.40€ in 2021), the amount of your daily allowance is zero.

For the self-employed, the MICRO annual taxable income corresponds to the annual turnover less the standard allowance (71% for the activities of BIC Vente, 50% for BIC Prestations, 34% for BNC).

PAYMENT OF DAILY ALLOWANCES
Daily sickness benefits are due from the fourth day of sick leave. Your reimbursement statement can be viewed in your Ameli account.

During the first three days of your sick leave, no daily allowance is paid to you; this is called the waiting period. It applies at the start of each work stoppage except in the following cases:
• if you benefit from an extension of your work stoppage after resuming activity for up to 48 hours between the end of your initial stoppage and the start of the extended stoppage;
• your stoppage is due to a long-term illness, in which case the waiting period is retained only for the first work stoppage (valid for three years).”

https://www.autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr/portail/accueil/sinformer-sur-le-statut/toutes-les-actualites/creation-dun-dispositif-dindemni.html

ANOTHER AIRBNB COURT DECISION IN PARIS
I have translated this article to remind my readers that the Airbnb fight in Paris is not over. While the pandemic stopped tourism for two summers in a row, tourists have started coming back to Paris, though the numbers are still low. I am sure it will take a year or two for the French tourism industry to get back to where it was before COVID.

This court decision concerns a situation that began in 2017. The pandemic took many apartments out of the short-term rental market, which may be one reason average Parisian real estate prices lost about 1% in a year.

THE ARTICLE
“The noise of rolling suitcases being dragged in the middle of the night by tourists looking for their ‘furnished Airbnb’ haunts the residents of some apartment buildings. But how can one oppose this nuisance if the condo bylaws do not expressly prohibit seasonal rentals?

That is the question that recently arose for co-owners of a Haussmann building in Paris’s 8th arrondissement.

On June 5th, 2017, the general assembly of co-owners agreed to allow the division of the fourth floor into six lots for use as offices. On January 3rd, 2018, the SCI that owned the lots sold them to two other companies, which decided to list them on tourist rental sites (Airbnb, Hotels.com, Booking.com, etc.) Soon the residents were complaining of incessant comings and goings, noise at night, and the ‘guests’ parties.

On June 20th, 2019, the general assembly decided to take the matter to court in an effort to obtain an order against hotel activity.

The case was heard on September 8th, 2020. The co-owners’ file included several documents showing evidence of the complaints: photos of suitcases piled up in the entry and corridors and damage done to the staircase by suitcase wheels, along with letters and certificates. In a letter dated February 1st, 2020, a co-owner mentioned ‘display of panties and bras on the balcony,’ damage in the elevator, and ‘regular vomiting’ in the common areas.

Several people reported having filed complaints up to the beginning of the 2020 lockdown. The concierge testified that she could no longer sleep, that she was insulted by tourists when she protested their incivility but that the manager of one of the SCIs forbade her to speak to them. He even complained to the co-owners’ group of ‘serious misconduct’ on her part.

The co-owners argued that the six disputed lots were meant to be used as offices and that the hotel operation contravened the co-ownership regulations. The SCIs countered that under the terms of the regulations as amended in 2008, when online rental platforms already existed in France, that ‘each apartment can be assigned to bourgeois, professional or commercial use’ and that this meant that commercial activity was allowed.

The co-owners then argued that the regulations prohibited the nuisances generated by this activity, as they stipulated: ‘Each co-owner will have the right to enjoy, use and dispose of their premises … , provided that they do not harm the owners of the other lots’ and that their use of the premises ‘must not be dangerous or annoying for the other co-owners through, among other things, the noise of the reception of many customers.’

The by-laws further specify that ‘no co-owner or occupant of the building shall encumber the entrances, vestibules, stairs, landings, corridors, or any other common parts of the buildings.’

The presiding judge ruled on May 12th, 2021, that ‘authorized commercial activity is framed by the co-ownership regulations’ and could only be allowed if it was ‘not inconvenient for the other co-owners.’ As it appeared from the documents submitted that it ‘causes repeated nuisances,’ with the occupants of the rented lots ‘disturbing the other occupants, in violation of the stipulations of the co-ownership regulations, these facts constitute a manifestly unlawful disturbance.’

The judge put an end to the ‘manifestly unlawful’ disorder by ordering the SCIs to cease their activities ‘for a period of sixteen months,’ or roughly the waiting period for a judgment on the merits; … the order states that ‘the final ban … requires an interpretation of the co-ownership regulations falling solely within the power of the trial judge.’ In the meantime, the residents can sleep again.”

https://www.lemonde.fr/argent/article/2021/06/19/un-juge-interdit-la-location-touristique-dans-un-immeuble-de-standing-a-paris_6084777_1657007.html

MY BUSINESS HAS A NEW FACEBOOK PAGE
Over the holidays, my assistant, Sarah, took an interesting initiative and created a new Facebook page. It is a good move for her since she and I both moderate it. She can show off her expertise and her ability to give good advice and clearly explain solutions. She does this in French, leaving the queries in English to me.

Since I am already active in a few Facebook groups and my website is my main showcase, I did not feel I needed such a page. On the other hand, it will no doubt benefit her. I do not have the time to monitor this forum and so far, it has been fairly quiet. Sarah is still figuring out how to handle this new task, being quite busy herself. I am sure it will be a great space for exchange, and hope it will pick up in the near future.

You are welcome to join:
https://www.facebook.com/rattachement

OFFICE CLOSED FOR CHRISTMAS
The office will close for three weeks over the Christmas holidays, starting on Friday December 17th in the evening and reopening on the morning of Monday January 3rd. 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. Of course, Sarah or I will honor prefecture meetings already scheduled, as well as a couple of other engagements.

Best regards,

QUESTION

RENTING A SUBSTANDARD PLACE AND GETTING THE MONEY BACK

We are trying to get our money back in the amount of 593€. The owner of a gîte cheated us and caused us a great deal of stress as we had to search for another gîte in July for my daughter and our grandchildren, who had already booked their flights and were so excited to come.
I asked the owner, who ignored us after having been abusive to us in a long email, if we could please have our money back as soon as possible because we had to search for another gîte and needed the money for it and he ignored that communication, too.
Also, we found this owner through a site and we told them and sent emails to ask if they would help us, but they would not. When we emailed him, we also forwarded and emailed all the correspondence to that site.
We were not allowed in the house before making a payment, but he insisted we give him 600€ (7€ got used in the bank transfer, which is why the amount he owes us is 593€). We went to France on June 9th and saw the property on June 10th as arranged, and we did not want to rent his property because it was unsafe for our grandchildren. As agreed, we had the right to say no, but he kept the money because he said he had to prepare.

QUESTION

RENTING A SUBSTANDARD PLACE AND GETTING THE MONEY BACK

I left my partner in Paris to go back to Indonesia to get an immigration self-employed visa. We lived together in Paris for over a year but it was not enough to secure any viable immigration status. During the initial appointment with VFS Global, they were very firm and truly rude, stating that this visa did not exist or at least was not currently issued. The French consulate in Indonesia confirmed that they were processing all types of visas again, so the application for the profession libérale visa should go through this time. We continue to be very worried. Would the visa long séjour “visiteur” 4 à 12 mois be a better choice? After that, once in Paris, I could apply at the prefecture for profession libérale status. When the visa request was filled in, the https://france-visas.gouv.fr/en_US/web/france-visas/ai-je-besoin-d-un-visa the visa application wizard for profession libérale generated a long list of documents that do not seem relevant: lease-management agreement, credit guarantee, etc. Should we worry about those?

QUESTION

A NEVER-ENDING WATER LEAK IN A PARISIAN APARTMENT

For a long time I have owned an apartment in Paris which has given me very little trouble throughout the years. Suddenly, there are water leaks coming from upstairs and neither the tenant nor the landlord is willing to comply with the French insurance procedure. As I live in the USA, the situation becomes even more difficult when my helper does not get any answers from either of them. Since one of the leaks was major and went throughout the apartments all the way down to the bottom of the building, the syndic sent its plumber and fixed that leak. Since then the landlord of the apartment above has been accusing the syndic of being responsible for the rest of the leaks. Bottom line, my apartment needs repair. My insurance company is waiting for the estimate from the contractor, and the last thing I want is a new leak as soon as the repairs are done. Is there any solution to avoid this?

Dreamboat Annie was the band Heart’s first album. A reader challenged me to use this title for the September issue. Two ago, with the July 2019 issue, I faced a similar challenge with the title “Father and Son” by Cat Stevens.

Before going on vacation, I had a few ideas about what to write in order to rise to the challenge. Now the summer vacation is over for many, including for myself. During those weeks, I never thought about sailing a boat, being able to have that kind of leisure. When I thought of a boat, it was as a way to escape, especially to get away from continuing uncertainty. This summer was a time of good and bad news about COVID-19 in both the USA and France; on TV, the news programs managed to give both a few seconds apart. What is most unsettling for people is the uncertainty, not knowing what will happen or what to expect. Maybe this is the kind of dreamboat a lot of people think about. 
As the lyrics state:
Warm wind caress her, her lover it seems
Oh Annie, dreamboat Annie
Ship of dreams
Oh Annie, dreamboat Annie
Little ship of dreams

The song has nothing to do with an actual boat. It is about going away with a lover. Aside from what is happening in Afghanistan, the main preoccupation once again in many parts of the USA as well as in France is going back to school. This is what I wrote in my September 2020 issue titled School’s Out. It was the fifth studio album by American rock band Alice Cooper, released in 1972:
“The issue of whether to reopen schools was covered by the media every day in July. ……..

As is common these days, school reopening has become a binary issue: one side says it is completely safe and children do not get sick; the other side sees schools becoming centers of infection, propagating the virus throughout the community. Children, whether they become sick with COVID-19 or not, can pass it on to teachers and parents, and thus to the community at large. Students of all ages do indeed congregate, and classrooms make it difficult for them to stay away from each other.”

This applies almost perfectly to what is happening today, as if nothing has changed in one year. So many things have changed. To state some obvious, the USA has a new president and France is getting into the presidential election campaign things. In both countries, today, vaccination is readily available.

NAMING THINGS 
French language has a couple of words for a common type of mixed-race people: mulâtre and Eurasien(ne). This vocabulary might seem like a tiny detail of no consequence. The word mulâtre is first recorded in the French language in 1544. A related word exists in English. As Wikipedia notes:

“The English term and spelling mulatto is derived from the Spanish and Portuguese mulato. It was a common term in the Southeastern United States during the era of slavery. Some sources suggest that it may derive from the Portuguese word mula (from the Latin mūlus), meaning mule, the hybrid offspring of a horse and a donkey. The Real Academia Española traces its origin to mulo in the sense of hybridity; originally used to refer to any mixed-race person. The term is now generally considered outdated and offensive in non-Spanish and non-Portuguese speaking countries, and was considered offensive even in the 19th century.”

In 1858, France began founding colonies in Southeast Asia. French Indochina, at its peak, included Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. The word Eurasien(ne) appeared at about that time. When writing this issue, I discovered that a similar word, which I had never before heard nor read, exists in English: “Eurasian.”,

In the most recent French census, at least 40% of respondents reported having at least one grandparent born as a foreigner. This indicates how much France continues to be a melting pot. France is experiencing racism on several levels. I could describe countless situations illustrating this problem. One small way to illustrate it is the story of the father of Alexandre Dumas, author of The Three Musketeers. Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, a general in Napoleon’s army, was of mixed race. Wikipedia has this to say about him:

“Born in Saint-Domingue, Thomas-Alexandre was the son of Marquis Alexandre Antoine Davy de la Pailleterie, a French nobleman, and Marie-Cessette Dumas, a slave of African descent. He was born into slavery because of his mother’s status, but his father took him to France in 1776 and had him educated. Slavery had been illegal in metropolitan France since 1315 and thus any slave would be freed de facto by being in France. His father helped him enter the French military.”

And in French Wikipedia:
“Mulâtre de Saint-Domingue, il est le premier général de l’armée française ayant des origines afro-antillaises. Il fit la campagne de Belgique, la guerre de Vendée (1793-1796), la guerre des Alpes, la campagne d’Italie (1796-1797) et la campagne d’Égypte (1798-1801).”

Today in French the word métis refers to mixed-race people in general. I have an interest in languages, and I find it interesting that in the USA there is no equivalent word to describe mixed-race people, even though there have been several different terms for African Americans in the past 60 years or so.

Having such a word would almost certainly not improve the situation, but does its absence reveal any differences between how race is regarded in France and the USA? Maybe to a few people. If there were an accepted word for people of mixed race, would it help the situation? Considering the growing number of mixed-race couples having children, it might be time to think about it, unless I misunderstand the issue.

THE NEW LOGO FOR MY PRACTICE 
Sometimes something good comes out of a bad accident. I moved to my new office near Nation almost five years ago, in mid-September 2016. At the time, my son gave me a stele he had carved all by himself. It has been in the courtyard near the entrance door of my office. This spring, it fell and about a third was shattered, making it impossible to repair.

My son had set aside a week or so in August to redesign the stele and make a new piece of art. After having drawn his motif, he worked in the courtyard for an entire week. He had noticed that in my previous issue, I expressed a desire that starting in September I would have a workload more compatible with my age. Now the new stele stands close to my office door, which should make it a strong reminder of this good resolution. Currently, I am managing to maintain somewhat stricter control over my schedule, which I have filled up to mid-October. My office has only been open for two weeks and I have kept my lunchtimes clear of meetings.

When Eric finished the stele, I published the picture of it on Facebook, where it got a lot of reaction. I also received an email about it from a client, who drew my attention to the word “kit” and recalled the idea of a military kit and the expression kit and caboodle. The email continued, “I liked the word ‘kit’. And I thought it was nice how the words were truncated to look nicer. Like Sur viv al kit made it poetic. I think it is truly a wonderful piece. And the part I am curious about is the flower, a certain kind of flower or an imaginary flower? Anyway, I thought the sculpture was great.

I answered:
“He has been following the evolution of my business as well as my desire to make those changes. So this sculpture illustrates or even symbolizes my future aspiration. Also, there is a lot of wordplay between French and English here. His first idea was to carve four feathers to symbolize writing as an author. Its translation in French isplume, which in French refers to a writing tool, often a fountain pen as well as a feather. So this sculpture evokes my desire in the future to write and maybe get published. As he was looking for inspiration, he saw the plants we have in the courtyard and they also look like leaves. In French, the translation isfeuille, the word for a sheet of paper. So this is another way to symbolize the desire to write more as well as my everlasting love of writing. As for the choice Eric made in how to write the name of the corporation, he used the small space below the sculpture and was forced to dismantle the words.”

https://www.facebook.com/jean.taquet

NEWS ABOUT IMMIGRATION: ONE PAGE OF THE GOVERNMENT WEBSITE FITS ALL THE PROFESSIONAL CHANGES OF STATUS
In the May 2021 issue, I detailed how the procedure had changed regarding immigration applications for getting a job as an employee. About two months after the new regulation went into effect, the immigration authorities decided to also put requests to become self-employed and obtain the passeport talent status on the same platform. I do not have enough of a track record with those procedures in the new system to say whether it is easier or harder to be approved, or whether the small number of initial documents requested is all that is needed or whether they will get back to you and ask for more. Here is how the procedure now goes:
1. Submit the request.
2. Get it approved and send the approval to a special email address: pp-dpg-6b-changement-de-statut@interieur.gouv.fr.

This is the site where you now carry out this procedure: https://administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr

CURRENT REGULATIONS ON THE FRENCH HEALTH PASS
I am almost afraid to write anything about this, as it feels that even with the vaccination program and the health pass, the regulations seem to change daily. That is an exaggeration, but it definitely feels that way.

I translated the guidelines the government issued in mid-August, on the various situations allowing one to obtain a pass sanitaire. I just hope some of it will still be pertinent when I send out this issue.

1. The first way to get the health pass is to be fully vaccinated. Vaccination is considered complete for those in one of the following situations:

• 7 days after the second injection for double injection vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca).
• 28 days after injection for a single injection vaccine (Johnson & Johnson, aka Janssen).
• 7 days after a single injection of vaccine for people who previously had COVID-19.

The certified vaccination certificate, or pass sanitaire, can be obtained by going to this site: https://attestation-vaccin.ameli.fr

Since May 27, all vaccinated people have been able to collect their vaccination certificate from this site. In addition, any healthcare professional can find a vaccination certificate and print it upon request.

2. Proof of a negative test result fewer than 72 hours old (or 48 hours for antigen tests in the context of trips to certain destinations, such as Corsica, French overseas communities and the European Union)

All RT-PCR, antigen tests and now self-tests under professional supervision generate proof as soon as the result is entered by healthcare staff in SI-DEP, the new système d’information de dépistage, or COVID screening information system. The test result can be printed immediately for antigen tests and self-tests, under supervision of health professionals, and can also be made available to the patient after an email and SMS notifies them to retrieve it from the SI-DEP portal.

The patient then imports the results to the TousAntiCovid app. You can either scan the QR code located on the paper or PDF document issued by SI-DEP to accompany the test result, or click on a link in the SI-DEP portal, which allows the test result to be imported directly into TousAntiCovid.

The time limits of 72 or 48 hours for test validity, depending on the type of test, are supposed to be strictly observed when, for example, one enters the site of an event requiring a health pass.

For trips to Corsica, overseas communities or EU countries, self-tests under professional supervision are not admissible. Only RT-PCR and/or antigen tests are accepted.

3. A positive result from a RT-PCR or antigen test, attesting to recovery from COVID-19, dated from at least 11 days and less than 6 months previously. Such results indicate a limited risk of reinfection with COVID-19.

The health pass has been used in France since June 9, 2021, and makes it possible to check the holder’s vaccination status, test result or the certificate of recovery.

Here is the website where I found this information: www.gouvernement.fr/pass-sanitaire-toutes-les-reponses-a-vos-questions.

MY BUSINESS HAS A NEW FACEBOOK PAGE
Over the holidays, my assistant, Sarah, took an interesting initiative and created a new Facebook page. It is a good move for her since she and I both moderate it. She can show off her expertise and her ability to give good advice and clearly explain solutions. She does this in French, leaving the queries in English to me.

Since I am already active in a few Facebook groups and my website is my main showcase, I did not feel I needed such a page. On the other hand, it will no doubt benefit her. I do not have the time to monitor this forum and so far, it has been fairly quiet. Sarah is still figuring out how to handle this new task, being quite busy herself. I am sure it will be a great space for exchange, and hope it will pick up in the near future.

You are welcome to join:
https://www.facebook.com/rattachement

Best regards,

QUESTION

HOW DOES MICRO SELF-EMPLOYED STATUS WORK?

A few months ago someone in Australia hired me in a very “casual” way, i.e. no contract, etc., to help her find and buy items and furniture to be sent to her in Australia. She offered to pay me €30 per hour, on an eight-hour-a-week basis. Instead, I chose to be a self-employed trader – a second-hand dealer in France. I pay for each purchase and then I resell them to her for a small profit.
The problem is that with my auto-entrepreneur status I can only report the total I charged and I cannot deduct the amount I spent. How can this be normal? I need a solution urgently, as I have some shopping for my employer and I want right now to deduct this from my taxes. For example, if she puts money in my account and I pay for the purchases with her money and I ask for the invoice in her name and not mine, I imagine that might work.

QUESTION

WHO PAYS THE TAXE D’HABITATION: THE TENANT OR THE LANDLORD?

I came to Paris in 2015 on a titre de séjour étudiant and completed my studies in 2019. At that time, I converted to a Recherche d’emploi/Création d’entreprise carte de séjour, which lasted one year and was not renewable and expired in November 2020.
Back against the wall, as I never got a job offer, I made a “plan B” appointment at the prefecture to change my status to entrepreneur/profession libérale. I had a business plan and I had registered with URSSAF as an auto-entrepreneur. The prefecture granted me one carte de séjour; I am still in shock that my request was approved.
At first, I did not make enough to pay rent. I withdrew money from my American accounts to support myself here while I looked for work. They wanted to see that I made at least the SMIC for the year in an account in France, so a girlfriend of mine got me a good waitress job that paid twice the SMIC.
A few days ago I was at the prefecture showing all the work I did. I saw an unhelpful woman at the guichet who told me to write in “Salarié” on the form, indicating my change of carte de séjour. I am concerned that this will interrupt my ability to do my freelance work. I wanted to add salarié, like my French boyfriend has done. I learned the other day that my future employer has since gone online to submit the 8-step form.
I have been in France for six years now, got my master’s here and have now, finally, found an employer. I want to work as an employee and I would like to have my business helping anglophones relocate here to Paris at the same time.
I am looking for any feedback, good or bad, about being able to keep both statuses.

I would like to wish you all you a great summer and a very nice vacation, enjoying the freedom of the moment.
I will start mine in ten days 

When I get older, losing my hair,
Many years from now, 
Will you still be sending me a Valentine, 
Birthday greetings, bottle of wine? 
If I’d been out till quarter to three
Would you lock the door? 
Will you still need me, will you still feed me, 
When I’m sixty-four? 
You’ll be older too
And if you say the word, 
I could stay with you. 
I could be handy, mending a fuse
When your lights have gone. 
You can knit a sweater by the fireside, 
Sunday mornings go for a ride. 
Doing the garden, digging the weeds
Who could ask for more? 
Will you still need me, will you still feed me, 
When I’m sixty-four? 
Every summer we can rent a cottage
On the Isle of Wight, if it’s not too dear. 
We shall scrimp and save. 
Grandchildren on your knee: 
Vera, Chuck and Dave. 
Send me a postcard, drop me a line, 
Stating point of view. 
Indicate precisely what you mean to say, 
Yours sincerely, wasting away. 
Give me your answer, fill in a form, 
Mine forever more. 
Will you still need me, will you still feed me, 
When I’m sixty-four?

Well, not quite – I just turned 62, the ripe age to retire in France. Some days I feel as old and in as bad shape as the song states. By the way, we do not have grandchildren yet! My birthday was yesterday.

After over two difficult years, I am seriously looking forward first to my vacation, starting in a few days on July 9th, as well as decreasing my workload starting in September so it is compatible with my age. One thing needed is stricter control over my schedule. Way too often I meet clients at lunchtime so I can accommodate their urgency. In retrospect, I realize this is no longer sustainable.

Even though there should be no more curfew or confinement in the foreseeable future, I have enjoyed getting home in time for dinner, and will make sure I continue to do so.

I am happy that I continue to have projects I want to do and the desire to get a few things done, both personal and professional. I have no intention of retiring but I have come to terms with the fact that I need to slow down. I also count on the pandemic being pretty much behind us: even though it will be a new normal, things will likely settle down to the extent that I can put together robust plans for my clients, knowing the rules and regulations are no longer liable to change overnight.

EXPECTATIONS ABOUT BEING OLD 
Another song sung by the young about being old and at the end of a career, like “When I’m Sixty-four,” is a French one. “Quand j’étais chanteur” (when I was a singer) came out in 1975, when the artist, Michel Delpech, was only 29 years old. It is a bold move by young artists, early in their career, to sing about its end. The vast majority of people do not like to think about getting old and what it means in terms of staying fit physically and mentally.

Western culture glorifies youth, being athletic, having a perfectly toned body. Asian and African cultures, by contrast, traditionally value older age, which they associate with knowledge, wisdom, authority.

HANDLING CULTURAL DIVERSITY 
I have been a fan of John Oliver since his debut with The Daily Show. His Wikipedia bio states:

“John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British-American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. Oliver started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom. He came to wider attention for his work in the United States on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart as its senior British correspondent from 2006 to 2013. … Since 2014, Oliver has been the host of the HBO series Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.”

I watch this program online the Monday after it airs, when it becomes available on YouTube. Recently Oliver addressed two topics that resonated with me personally.

“hair, specifically black hair” on May 10th 
The first was “hair, specifically black hair.” I have been a member of the African Fellowship of the American Church in Paris since 2003. I have learned a lot and continue to be honored to feel I belong there. This connection has led to many interesting situations stemming from cultural differences and my need to quickly adapt. Oliver’s commentary in his May 10th segment called “Hair” was 100% right: Either you were born with it or you have no idea what it means, unless you have been personally confronted with the issue. I was amazed how balanced the program was. Although this white, British-born man admitted he had no grounds for addressing the issue, he managed to explain its many facets in a caring way.

Like him, I am a complete outsider. I had no idea about this issue until I was faced with it. About 15 years ago, I met with a friend from Zimbabwe one Saturday afternoon in Paris’s Chateau Rouge neighborhood, which is largely African. Most everything from the continent is available, and almost as much business is done on the sidewalk and even the street itself as in the shops. Eventually we went into beauty product shops. She went in first and I followed. What I was used to seeing, regarding hair care, was not there. Instead, I discovered a new world. Even the topics of discussions were different.

Eventually, I walked into one such shop first, momentarily blocking my friend from view. “A fish out of water” would be a major understatement. I was met by the saleswomen with total disbelief. It was inconceivable that I could have any business there. Clearly, I did not belong. A few seconds later, my friend stepped up and the situation went back to something more normal.

That is how I became familiar with this issue and with the huge disconnect between the standard hair care industry in the Western world and what it means to have black hair. 
You can watch the segment here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf1c0tEGfrU

“Asian Americans” June 7th 
About a month later, Oliver’s main topic was Asian Americans. My wife and I used to be active members of the Multicultural Couples group at the American Church, which was started about 15 years ago. The members were often Franco-American couples, but not always. I remember a Spanish-Russian couple who had to do everything twice – wedding, baptisms – since their families were traditional and religious, so the ceremonies had to be first Catholic and then Orthodox. Stuck in the middle, this couple had to deal with all kinds of issues, the most obvious being juggling how and when to celebrate Christmas and Easter.

Another couple who caught my attention were both East Asian. Their story was a true eye-opener, and still fascinates me all these years later. In both cases, their parents came from the area of Wenzhou, a port city in Zhejiang province, China. Thus they spoke the same dialect, ate the same food, were raised with similar parental styles in the same culture and traditions. During their courtship, they felt they had everything in common and there were no cultural differences for them. Only after they married and had lived together for a while did they realize how far apart they were culturally. The husband was born and raised in Canada and the wife in the Belleville neighborhood of Paris. One was a Canadian citizen, educated in Canada, with Canadian reflexes. The other was French, with French schooling and everything that goes with it. Unlike the other couples in the group, they had never expected to have to adapt to each other’s culture and deal with obvious differences.

On June 7th, John Oliver’s segment titled “Asian Americans” dealt with the diverse population in the USA with origins in Asia, especially Southeast Asia. Along with Chinese immigrants, with whom they are often conflated, these people have been the victims of racist aggression in recent years, especially since the beginning of the pandemic. John Oliver discussed the stereotypes associated with Asian Americans. Regardless of whether they reflect reality, stereotypes are hurtful. 
Once again, I was impressed by how easy he made it seem to explain complex issues in detail:www.youtube.com/watch?v=29lXsOYBaow

Recalling these episodes of Last Week Tonight was an attempt to choose some lighter topics and stay as far as possible from the political issues of the moment. It is aligned with my job which is, among other things, to adapt to the cultural differences, which I face while trying to help foreigners living in France.

FRENCH LOCAL ELECTIONS
On consecutive Sundays, June 20th and 27th, France held elections for the regional and departmental levels. Turnout is always lower in local elections than in national ones, which involve presidential elections. This time, the vast majority of eligible voters stayed away, setting a record low of 33.28% voters. Of course, everybody has an explanation and blames others for the situation. I do not believe there is just one reason or one person to blame. But a particular reason I have heard makes sense to me, although I am sure it is not the only one and may not be the most important.

France’s regions have their roots in provinces that were formed after the fall of the Roman Empire. They have always had strong cultural identities. Even today, some have their own languages, not always with Latin roots. Law No 2015-29 of January 16th, 2015, turned 22 historical provinces into 13 regions, thus aggregating areas that often had little in common except being next to each other. In American terms, it would be like joining Texas and Louisiana in a single unit just because they share a border. True, Brittany and Corsica were left alone in the reorganization. Both had suffered terrorist attacks in the 1970s in campaigns for independence from France. This may have deterred the central government from changing their status. These two exceptions could make my comparison with Texas and Louisiana less pertinent.

The real issue is that one motivation for voting is to feel engaged in matters. Ideally, it is things like knowing the candidates personally and having an opinion on local projects that draw people to the voting booth.

Also, there were two elections at the same time, as the one for thedépartements had originally been scheduled during the pandemic. The structure of the départements has scarcely changed in 200 years. I cannot remember France ever conducting elections for two levels at once, though this is the norm in the USA, with multiple ballots.

Many think the French democratic system is in crisis. If the low turnout in June proves to be an isolated incident, COVID-19 may be one of the main reasons. But I am not convinced of it.

ALL TYPES OF VISA ARE NOW AVAILABLE
For a long time, I was asked almost daily when the French consulate in Washington, DC, and VFS Global’s offices would fully reopen. Now information I am getting through my clients indicates that things started to move after June 9th, and it seems that everything was back to normal by the 21st. That is so recent that I do not know how easy the visa issuance is, the timeframe for each type of visa, and so on. Overall, though, this is going to facilitate my work a lot, making it much easier to help clients plan their immigration projects.

CONSEQUENCES OF BREXIT AT THE PREFECTURES
Advice on French administration websites says if you could prove you settled in France before December 31st, 2020, you had to file your request for an EU card by June 30th, 2021. Then the actual carte de séjour must be available before September 30th. Those who settled after December 31st have no EU card available and they have to prove grounds for residency as defined by the six types of cartes de séjour:

• – visiteur
• – étudiant
• – salarié
• – vie privée & familiale
• – commerçant & artisan
• – passeport talent

Hence, I strongly advise British people to ask for immigration status immediately by booking an appointment with VFS Global. The challenge is to put together a file corresponding to one of the choices above. In my experience, many British people got used to coming and going, having part of their life in France, while never establishing solid roots that would enable them to obtain a carte de séjour. It will be a rude awakening to find out that they need to ask for a visa and give a reason in order to spend more than three months in France!

TENANTS LEAVING AN APARTMENT UNOCCUPIED CAN LOSE THE LEASE
The tenant of a primary residence is well protected and almost nothing can be done to jeopardize the right to stay there. As almost everybody knows, it can take about three years to expel a non-paying tenant. I have reported on a case where a tenant lost their right for running an Airbnb rental business, and common sense indicates that engaging in criminal activities and living in deeply unsanitary conditions would also affect the right to stay.

Now a court decision has shed light on a more obscure provision: occupying the premises. One would think it is evident that a person would only pay rent for a long time if they live there. But the pandemic led to situations where people left their rented lodgings vacant for a year or more. Even if such a pandemic occurs only once a century, situations where rent is paid for months or even years, without anyone staying there, exist more often than one would think.

The tenant of the main residence must occupy it “effectively and continuously,” i.e., at least eight months a year, failing which the lease may be terminated. The Cour de Cassation, the French Supreme Court, in a ruling on May 6th, 2021, shed some interesting light on this issue. It involves the terms of the standard lease, which state that the tenant must occupy the lodging. This is also a provision in French law.

Obligation du locataire d’occuper effectivement et personnellement le logement. Lorsque le logement est occupé à titre de résidence principale, le locataire est tenu d’user paisiblement des locaux loués suivant la destination qui leur a été donnée par le contrat de location (loi du 6.7.89 : article 7).

In other words, “The tenant is obliged to effectively and personally occupy the dwelling. When the dwelling is occupied as a principal residence, the tenant is obliged to use the rented premises peacefully according to the purpose assigned to them in the rental agreement.”

Here is a summary of the case in question: In 2014, the landlord wondered if the tenant still occupied the premises, even though the rent was paid. He went to court to obtain the right to verify the tenant’s presence. A bailiff forced the lock and observed that the apartment “had not been inhabited for a long time.” This was confirmed by the minimal water consumption and the presence of unopened mail dating back to 2008. The tenant lost the lease as a result.

I am sure it is extremely rare for a tenant to pay rent on an apartment left empty for years. Still, many foreigners are unaware of the importance of the primary residence, and therefore of choosing one. The primary domicile address is the cornerstone of a large part of the French legal system, despite the fact that in 2021 hardly any postal mail is still delivered.

www.lemonde.fr/argent/article/2021/06/05/immobilier-le-locataire-qui-s-absente-trop-risque-l-expulsion_6082950_1657007.html

MY BUSINESS HAS A NEW FACEBOOK PAGE
Over the holidays, my assistant, Sarah, took an interesting initiative and created a new Facebook page. It is a good move for her since she and I both moderate it. She can show off her expertise and her ability to give good advice and clearly explain solutions. She does this in French, leaving the queries in English to me.

Since I am already active in a few Facebook groups and my website is my main showcase, I did not feel I needed such a page. On the other hand, it will no doubt benefit her. I do not have the time to monitor this forum and so far, it has been fairly quiet. Sarah is still figuring out how to handle this new task, being quite busy herself. I am sure it will be a great space for exchange, and hope it will pick up in the near future.

You are welcome to join:
https://www.facebook.com/rattachement

SUMMER VACATION: THE OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED JULY 9th to AUGUST 23rd
The office will be closed for a month and a half, starting Friday, July 9th, and reopening on Monday, August 23rd. As always, I will be reachable by email for emergencies and important matters. My service of receiving mail for clients will continue while the office is closed.

THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE ALREADY HAS A TITLE
Dreamboat Annie was the band Heart’s first album. A reader challenged me to title the next issue this way. Two years ago, for the July 2019 issue, I was faced with the same challenge with “Father and Son” by Cat Stevens. This time the challenge is much more difficult.

I would like to remind everyone that there will be no August issue.

Best regards,

QUESTION

IS SELF-EMPLOYMENT IN FRANCE & EMPLOYEE IN THE USA COMPATIBLE?

Following your answers read on Facebook, I’m just asking a follow-up question. With a micro-entrepreneur permit in France, as a consultant, I leave France for a year or two to take up a job in country X. During that time, I pay micro-entrepreneur related taxes to France and job-related taxes to X. At this time, I’m a fiscal resident of France but since I don’t have a physical residence in France, will that be a problem if I want to count this time of absence towards my applying for residency (= ten-year card) in France? I noticed that in your answer, you mentioned legal and fiscal residency is needed even though one lives abroad. So what constitutes legal residency?

QUESTION

OWNING AND SELLING REAL ESTATE IN FRANCE: CAPITAL GAINS AND PRIMARY RESIDENCE

I own an apartment in Paris in full. I finally got in there after almost two years of being blocked. I never want that to happen again. I need to secure my stay in France once and for all. My apartment is quite spacious and therefore great for a family of three children in the 16th arrondissement. Now that I am single and an empty nester, I need to downsize some and get to a livelier neighborhood. My children want to keep a place to stay in Paris, but I am afraid of French estate taxes. Right now I am even more afraid of the capital gains tax I will pay when I sell the apartment

Thunder awoke me I sat up my feet on the floor
Silver the lightning that shattered the lock on my door
Feel like I’ve lived my life long
Just waiting for this day to dawn

Racing through time toward the light
We just do what we must
We’re more than just ashes our spirits are more than just dust
Ancient we stood in the sun
Older when time first began
Now by the light shining through from within
We’ll find our way back to the stars once again

“Awakening” is the fourth song on Freedom at Point Zero, the fifth album by Jefferson Starship, released in 1979.

I could have chosen the similarly titled Alice Cooper song, “The Awakening,” from the album Welcome to My Nightmare, released in 1975. But since I wanted to allude to the almost overnight revival of Paris and France in general, the latter was surely not the right choice. I believe there is a lot more to say by juxtaposing “Awakening” and Freedom at Point Zero. In our current context, this should spark some interesting discussion.

On May 19th most lockdown limitations were lifted and, in a matter of a couple of days, Paris woke up and was alive again. Such a radical change in such a short time made a significant impression on me. As I rode my bicycle home in the northern part of the 11th arrondissement, people crowded the cafés, the sidewalks and, in some places, even the streets. Earlier in the day, the shops had opened again. I have seen and heard many people use the expression “Paris woke up,” and it describes exactly what I saw.

France’s vaccination campaign is gaining in momentum and it is possible there will be no new wave of infection as the number of vaccinated people increases.

FRENCH BORDERS ARE SLOWLY REOPENING – IT IS A START!
Considering now how close it is, it can be assumed that on June 9th vaccinated Americans will be allowed to visit France using only their American passport with proof of vaccination and other sanitary documents that might be required. The French authorities refer to accueil des touristes étrangers avec passe sanitaire. This applies to all non-EU foreigners and not just to Americans. In the USA and other countries, people talk about a vaccine card or vaccine passport. Governments are promoting – and, in France, implementing – the principle that to regain total freedom of movement, travelers must be able to prove they have been vaccinated. Some see it as a form of coercion, which it is. In France, this is a common way of implementing policies.

This is a significant change in immigration policy and I believe it signals that French consulates are likely to resume handling all types of visa requests sometime this summer. I do not have a specific date – unfortunately, as I am asked about this almost daily.

I should be able to give more details in the July-August issue, just before vacation.

THE UK, BREXIT AND PROOF OF LODGING 

There have always been two ways to provide an affidavit of lodging when submitting a visa request for France: 
1 – a document signed only by the person making the request or 
2 – a document issued by the town hall where the person will be staying.

Recently, questions arose regarding a communication from the UK government on foreign travel advice for France at www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/france/entry-requirements . The Foreign Office put out this alert about the post-Brexit, post-lockdown rules for short visits by British nationals to France. In addition to advising British visitors to consult information on travel requirements posted on French governmental sites, it notes.

“At French border control your passport may be stamped on entry and exit. You should also be prepared to … show proof of where you intend to stay for example, a booking confirmation or proof of address if visiting your own property (e.g., second home).” It specifies that if staying with friends or family, “you may be requested to provide an ‘attestation d’accueil’ (welcome invitation) from your host,” and links to www.demarches.interieur.gouv.fr/particuliers/attestation-accueil.

There is a considerable difference between the affidavit of lodging (attestation d’hébergement) and theattestation d´accueil. The affidavit of lodging(attestation d’hébergement) comprises at least three documents: 

• a statement signed by the person hosting.
• a copy of an official ID, such as a passport or national ID card
• a proof of address less than three months old, usually a utility or internet provider bill or a home insurance statement.

This set of documents is commonly used at the prefecture and the consulate when asking for a long stay visa, regardless of type.

The ‘welcome invitation’ or ‘attestation d´accueil’ is a document issued by the local town hall in France after inquiries about the premises where the visitors are staying. It has to be requested in advance, and can be denied. It is used for short stays in private homes by nationals of countries not benefiting from the Schengen visa waiver program, which allows travel in the EU without a visa.
www.thelocal.fr/20210519/attestation-daccueil-why-you-may-need-to-register-your-british-guests-at-your-local-french-town-hall/.

MOST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES HAVE LESS BALANCE OF POWERS THAN THE USA
Since the publication of my first column in March 1994, I have received my share of critical responses. Sometimes people get angry regardless of how hard I try to stay neutral in what I present. I often remind my readership that I am French, living and working in France, and one of my main objectives is to share my analysis on issues I find striking to illustrate the differences and similarities between how things work in France and elsewhere, hoping to encourage better understanding.

In recent years, a lot of issues have deeply polarized the US population. Addressing some of them can bring vehement responses. Across the entire spectrum of US news media, something they all refer to frequently is the balance of power between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. Many consider this the best structure to ensure the most democratic system possible. But it is also an oddity compared to much of the world, where the executive branch usually has more control over the other two.

The US political system uses the constitution the Founding Fathers drafted, with only slight modification over the centuries. By contrast, in the same period most European countries have changed their political regimes several times. The only French attempt to have such a perfectly balanced set-up was during the Second Republic, from February 24th, 1848, to December 2nd, 1852. It ended when President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte staged a coup and became Emperor Napoléon III, whereupon the French democratic system disappeared once again. The current system, the Fifth Republic, was established by General de Gaulle on October 5th, 1958. The leader of the opposition at the time, François Mitterrand, wrote a book about the new system called Le Coup d’État permanent – which can roughly be translated as “ongoing military coup,” and indeed so it appeared to many.

Thus, France’s attempt to duplicate the US balance of powers lasted less than five years. Throughout most of its history, France has either had a visibly strong leader or was longing for one. One possible reason the Fifth Republic has lasted so long is that it took this preference into consideration and established a presidential regime in which the scales are heavily tilted in favor of the president.

As a Frenchman, I took great interest in studying the 45th US president, who differed considerably from his predecessors, seeming closer to a French president in his approach to power. It had nothing to do with being liberal or conservative, or trying to position myself on the American political spectrum.

Below, in two parts, is a message from a reader, which is what triggered my desire to explain my vantage point when I titled my April 2021 issue “Magic Man.” Receiving this type of message reminds me how wide the spectrum of my readership is. Again, I do make a conscious effort to address issues in a non-partisan way.

MY READER’S MESSAGE – part 1
Your choice of word “idolatry” describing the Trump followers made me pause. Since Hillary Clinton’s comments characterizing the Republicans as “a Basket of Deplorables,” I am aware of the left contempt for the right. They have attacked them physically and verbally, they have ridiculed and called them stupid, not sophisticated, mid-westerners, and other insults. Just putting this idolatry aside for one moment, how do you call the millions of people who elected a feeble, senile, lying career politician as Commander in Chief who mumbles, “I don’t know what I am signing, but I’m gonna sign these Executive Orders”? On top of everything he can’t take his hands and his lips off girls and women (just watch the videos of women trying to get away from his embraces). Magic Man would not work for Biden, creepy old man will do! This guy should be in assisted living not the President of the United States! Trump seen as a Magic Man is ridiculous. He was not a politician for sure, he is a builder, and that’s what people who voted for him wanted: 1. No more corruption from Washington. 2. Rebuild America. 3. Treat it as a business, in which Trump excelled at. 4. Give a voice to the hard-working Americans or any hard-working average guy who just want to achieve the American Dream: raise children, have house in the proverbial white picket fence around it for the dog. Let’s assume that Trump supporters idolized their man because he put America first and back to work with the lowest unemployment in decades (including minorities). Where is Obama advocating for Black people not to resist arrest and just calmly comply with the police, show a license and proof of insurance instead of a gun or a knife or running away?

THE US POLITICAL SPECTRUM IS ABOUT HALF AS WIDE AS EUROPE’S, ESPECIALLY ON THE LEFT
Each European country has a different political spectrum. One determinant is which political party has elected representatives at the national level. This makes an especially significant difference when there are only two main parties, as in the UK, as opposed to the situation in, say, Italy with more than ten. The political spectrum of the countries in continental Europe is a lot more like the Italian model than the British one. Recent developments throughout Europe have shattered the old model of two alliances, conservatives versus progressive, so it has become more difficult to position political life in these countries along those lines.

One thing that seems obvious to me is that the US spectrum, as exemplified by Congress, is about half as wide as that typically found in continental Europe. The left side of the US spectrum, compared to that of western Europe, is nearly non-existent. This is nothing new; even the more liberal US presidents have fallen between moderate conservatives and centrist liberals by European standards. The fact that all European countries have a strong social net fundamentally changes which issues separate conservatives and progressives.

The American expat community in European countries seems to alternate between criticizing European bureaucracy and applauding the astonishing benefits all residents get. Both of those aspects are the consequence of widespread social programs. Europe no longer has prominent political parties espousing Marxism, but it did between 1950 to 1980. I have yet to identify any US political leaders even remotely connected to Marxism in the sense of the political philosophy defined by Karl Marx.

MY READER’S MESSAGE – part 2
Last year incidents that caused all this unrest and Marxism uprising in the US (what the left call peaceful protests) involved Black people who had warrant arrests, criminal charges, and were known drug addicts and/or traffickers. Hopefully, the above will give you another perspective of some stories – not the ones that you might get (by design) on the French liberal channels and newspapers. I am not sure why and how you get your inspiration of writing your professional, legal comments on your otherwise very interesting subjects from some songs. Just curious. Is it where we are in France? No intellectual curiosity anymore? How about philosophical, historical quotes? “Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And weak men create hard times” would be very à propos.

LENDING MONEY TO A FRIEND IN FRANCE
French banks have a monopoly on lending money to the public, so the legal requirements regarding loans between friends and relatives are not widely known. When the debtor borrows over 5,000 euros, he has to report it to the tax office. (Before September 27th, 2020, the limit was 760€.) It does not matter whether the loan is recorded in writing or whether interest is expected. If a notaire or lawyer draws up the loan contract, they take care of the declaration.

A person can lend more than 5,000 euros as a global amount through small loans i.e., less than 5,000 euros each to multiple individuals in a given year. Because each debtor has borrowed less than the limit, he/she does not have the obligation to declare. Now because the total of these sums comes to more than 5,000 euros, the creditor must declare all those loans, and must include the names and addresses of both parties; the date; the amount and the loan conditions, particularly the duration; the interest rate, if any; and the terms of repayment.

If the loan is granted at interest, the lender must declare the interest received on the annual tax return. Except in the case of a global option for the progressive income tax scale, interest payments are subject to the single flat-rate deduction of 30% (12.8% for income tax and 17.2% for social).

This described the fiscal obligation. There is also a legal obligation. For any amount greater than 1,500 euros, the civil code requires submission of a written document to prove it is a loan and not a gift. This document can be an acknowledgment of debt (I.O.U.) signed by the borrower or a formal loan agreement signed by both parties. It is registered at the local tax office and costs 125 euros. The main purpose is to certify the date of the transaction, which makes it more difficult to contest.

www.lemonde.fr/argent/article/2020/10/13/faut-il-declarer-aux-impots-l-argent-prete-par-un-proche_6055800_1657007.html.

MY BUSINESS HAS A NEW FACEBOOK PAGE
Over the holidays, my assistant, Sarah, took an interesting initiative and created a new Facebook page. It is a good move for her since she and I both moderate it. She can show off her expertise and her ability to give good advice and clearly explain solutions. She does this in French, leaving the queries in English to me.

Since I am already active in a few Facebook groups and my website is my main showcase, I did not feel I needed such a page. On the other hand, it will no doubt benefit her. I do not have the time to monitor this forum and so far, it has been fairly quiet. Sarah is still figuring out how to handle this new task, being quite busy herself. I am sure it will be a great space for exchange, and hope it will pick up in the near future.

You are welcome to join:
https://www.facebook.com/rattachement

SUMMER VACATION: THE OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED JULY 9th to AUGUST 23rd
The office will be closed for a month and a half, starting Friday, July 9th, and reopening on Monday, August 23rd. As always, I will be reachable by email for emergencies and important matters. My service of receiving mail for clients will continue while the office is closed.

Best regards,

QUESTION

EVALUATING PASSEPORT TALENT CATEGORIES FOR CREATING A FRENCH BUSINESS

We are a family of 6 people with four kids. We would like to apply for the passeport talent for creating a business, with our history of creating and owning here in CA a successful fitness and wellbeing studio. We would like to move to France and open a studio there under the same business name. I would love to know what the process is looking like now with COVID. Is that passeport talent for creating a business available to apply for as of now?

Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Into this house we’re born
Into this world we’re thrown
Like a dog without a bone
An actor out alone
Riders on the storm
There’s a killer on the road
His brain is squirmin’ like a toad
Take a long holiday
Let your children play
If ya give this man a ride
Sweet family will die
Killer on the road, yeah
Girl, ya gotta love your man
Girl, ya gotta love your man
Take him by the hand
Make him understand
The world on you depends
Our life will never end
Gotta love your man, yeah
Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Into this house we’re born
Into this world we’re thrown
Like a dog without a bone
An actor out on loan
Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm

I have already used this title for the November 2016 issue. “Riders on the Storm” is a song by The Doors from their 1971 album L.A. Woman.

I am sure I am not the only one feeling that we are riding a storm. There are many reasons for that. Among them are issues raised by the Covid vaccines and constant changes in the sanitary guidelines. We are being given so much information so rapidly that it can seem that people are contradicting themselves. I am fully aware that the situation is evolving quickly. Pausing a vaccine rollout to check the health implications makes perfect sense and should be very reassuring; I just wish it actually felt that way.

Now some people feel they no longer have to worry and can resume having a more normal life. They are riding the storm with confidence. Things are still rocky here and there, but they are staying on top.

Others still feel like the storm is sweeping them off their feet and they are being carried away, still not controlling much in their life and feeling like they are getting contradictory information that makes it seem the country is doing better and worse at the same time. They get financial assistance but still no job in sight.

It is clear that in the USA things are moving, with both sides of the aisle adopting policies at the federal and state levels. From afar it seems like a race in which each side is hoping to score enough points to secure the lead.

For different reasons, I, too, am dealing with uncertainties, making it difficult to have a smooth work environment, due to the continual, eleventh-hour modifications to my schedule. The prefecture can be quite unpredictable and this is not always for the better. Between last-minute changes by the French government and the uncertainty over what the rules will be next week or next month, it is complicated to plan the next visa request or upcoming change of status, whether for those going to the USA or coming to France. In my experience, even when the rules are very harsh, one can adapt if it is that way for a long time because it is predictable. When the environment starts to change, especially for the better, it often creates a lot of emotional trouble as hope and fear collide inside people.

This is a different kind of storm that is always difficult to deal with. Let us hope that the current changes take us all to a more secure and safer world overall. Right now, being patient may be the hardest thing to do.

RIDING A BICYCLE IN PARIS AND OTHER MAJOR FRENCH CITIES
For over a year, I have been using my bicycle to travel almost everywhere in Paris and its immediate suburbs. Since the beginning of the pandemic, I have seen a steady increase in the number of cyclists, especially those I consider professional people.

Many, like me, get to work by bicycle. There are also food delivery people on duty day and night. A new phenomenon is the cargo bikes that compete with small delivery trucks. They are big in all directions, as much as 153.5 cm (5 feet) high and 200 cm (6.5 feet) long, weighing some 20 kg (44 pounds). With cargo volume of around 570 liters (20 cubic feet), they can carry 60 kg (132 pounds). I remember seeing such vehicles for the first time in Copenhagen, delivering cases of Tuborg beer, in the early 1970s.

Any significant change in Paris leads to animated debate on the part of both public and elected officials. I see major improvements regularly being made to the areas of the streets dedicated to bicycles of all sizes. While Paris for bike riders is not yet comparable to any small city in a Nordic country, I still enjoy the fact that it is increasingly safer to ride. At the same time, so many people are cycling that traffic is catching up with the improvements. At rush hour in some parts of the city, I have seen what I call cyclist traffic jams with 15 or more bicycles stopped at traffic lights. On the Right Bank, what was meant to be an inner-city expressway was opened in December 1967 but has been limited to pedestrians and cyclists since September 2016. Every day I ride up and down the streets flanking the Canal St-Martin, which are closed on Sunday to the regular traffic, and now there are hardly any cars, even during the week.

My appreciation of this trend is in contrast, of course, with the strong opposition of people who drive in Paris, who are disadvantaged by the situation. But the trend is here to stay, so people have to adapt to an environment they may not like. The car has symbolized so much for so long that a world or just a city without cars is unthinkable to many. One change is already visible in the way the car industry advertises new models. When I was young, it was all about power and speed. Then it was about comfort, safety and fuel efficiency. Today, finding the right message is complicated. Should one push electric cars or hybrid models? Can one promote huge SUVs without backlash on social media?

The thoughts that I have when I am cycling are much more mundane: I am aware of the traffic around me, hoping to be on time for my next appointment, and so on. This travel time has become one of reflection, planning my day, thinking about various clients’ cases. Occasionally my thoughts wander here and there.

A NEW PROCEDURE FOR THE EMPLOYEE WORK PERMIT 
To explain the recent radical change, I need to describe the previous procedure, how it is different now and what the consequences can be.

I – BEFORE
There were two procedures, depending on whether the foreigner already lived in France or did not yet have a French immigration status.

For a foreigner living in France
1 – The applicant was responsible for putting together the file asking for the work permit and submitting it to the prefecture. Such files were often considered sensitive, as they gave details of the company ownership and the payroll, amounts of sales tax and social charges paid, and so on.

2 – After the first appointment, the prefecture could sit on the file for anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months, even though the regulations assumed that action would be taken right away. That aspect of the procedure was already bad even before the pandemic brought horrendous, disproportionate delays in issuance of the permits, leaving the foreigner incapable of getting things moving. Often the prefecture would say, “The file is not here anymore; check with DIRECCTE,” and DIRECCTE would answer, “We never received the file – the prefecture has it” because the file, being on standby, was technically not with the prefecture anymore.

3 – DIRECCTE (the Direction Régionale des Entreprises, de la Concurrence, de la Consommation, du Travail et de l’Emploi) had two months to answer but there were no consequences if it took longer. Some branches were known to stay more or less on schedule but others were notorious for taking way too long.

For a foreign applicant outside of France
1 – The employer would submit the file to DIRECCTE and the answer would come more reliably.

2 – The file would end up at the French consulate nearest where the prospective employee lived, and the visa would be requested.

II – NOW
Before, there was a DIRECCTE in each département. On April 1st, 2021, they were replaced by DREETS, which stands for Direction Régionale de l’ Économie, de l’Emploi, du Travail et des Solidarités. The new body resulted from a merger of DIRECCTE and the services chargés de la cohésion sociale.

DREETS does not include the office called Main d’Oeuvre Étrangère, which formerly issued the right to work as an employee. As a matter of fact, this department no longer exists! Currently a different office in the French administration is in charge of issuing employee work permits. Now it is only the employer who submits the file through a national website. This change could be excellent news, as the employer is in charge from A to Z. This means there should be a lot less resistance to giving out these documents. Of course, some employers distrust the administration and will never volunteer to give this kind of information to an office in charge of reviewing the situation, as it is too much like an audit.

However, on paper at least, the change fixes two of the issues that most affected prospective foreign employees. True, there is no track record yet on how the new procedure works, especially in regard to the length of the wait for a response. It would be good to know whether the guidelines have changed, as it can be assumed that the employees of DIRECCTE were not transferred to the new division of the French administration.

Here is how it is supposed to go on now:
1 – The employer requests the work permit on a dedicated web page (see below).
2 – An automated email is sent to the employer confirming that the request has been submitted.
3 – If the answer is favorable, the employer and future employee receive the work authorization by email.
4 – The future employee attaches the permit to the long-stay visa application or carte de séjour request.

These are the main pages concerning the procedure.
https://administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr/particuliers/#

VACCINATED US CITIZENS SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO TRAVEL TO EUROPE SOON
At the time of publication, all I know is that the French government plans a May 3rd announcement on several changes regarding travel restrictions, following a decision taken at the EU level.

Below is a translation of the beginning of a Le Monde article about the current state of affairs. Covid-19: European Union ready to open its borders to vaccinated American tourists This is a “recommendation” from Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, which has yet to be approved by member states.

Tourists from the United States will be allowed to visit the European Union (EU) in the coming months provided they are vaccinated against Covid-19, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday April 25 in an interview with The New York Times.

https://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2021/04/26/l-union-europeenne-prete-a-ouvrir-ses-frontieres-aux-touristes-americains-vaccines_6078051_3244.html

BRITISH CITIZENS ASKING FOR A CARTE DE SÉJOUR
Something that happened this month at the prefecture illustrates a change I had not seen coming. Since the prefectures reopened in May 2020, the trend has been to rely heavily on email exchanges and pages on the official website, in Paris and virtually all over France. I have grown used to sending a complete file, or sufficient documents to secure an appointment, as attachments. I also make sure the documents are printed and ready in the file when the meeting starts. The rule has always been that the applicant comes with the complete file.

I have already mentioned that since January of this year, the procedure for British people has been a lot simpler and they get a five-year residency pretty much automatically. The documents sent must prove their identity, address and the date when the residency in France began. As I noted earlier, this can be problematic since many live in both countries.

With one recent client, the appointment came soon after we sent the request by email. I assumed that the client understood that what we sent needed to be in the file the day of the appointment. But the person showed up at the prefecture with only passport and pictures, no file. I became quite anxious, trying to figure out how we could get all the documents we were going to be asked for. Our number was called, and the conversation started with a request for the passport. That was all, for the moment. The prefecture had printed everything and considered it sufficient. The meeting continued with fingerprinting and signing of the form. Then we were asked to provide a document proving residence at the Parisian address in 2020 (i.e., before Brexit took effect). We went back to the waiting room and spent some time finding access to utility accounts. Finally, we got a couple of documents, which were accepted. I honestly admit that I felt unsettled the entire time we were in the prefecture. I still strongly advise my British clients to have the file ready, including proof of presence of about one year. But be aware that you might leave the prefecture with your file unopened.

MY BUSINESS HAS A NEW FACEBOOK PAGE
Over the holidays, my assistant, Sarah, took an interesting initiative and created a new Facebook page. It is a good move for her since she and I both moderate it. She can show off her expertise and her ability to give good advice and clearly explain solutions. She does this in French, leaving the queries in English to me.

Since I am already active in a few Facebook groups and my website is my main showcase, I did not feel I needed such a page. On the other hand, it will no doubt benefit her. I do not have the time to monitor this forum and so far, it has been fairly quiet. Sarah is still figuring out how to handle this new task, being quite busy herself. I am sure it will be a great space for exchange, and hope it will pick up in the near future.

You are welcome to join:
https://www.facebook.com/rattachement

SUMMER VACATION: THE OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED JULY 9th to AUGUST 23rd
The office will be closed for a month and a half, starting Friday, July 9th, and reopening on Monday, August 23rd. As always, I will be reachable by email for emergencies and important matters. My service of receiving mail for clients will continue while the office is closed.

Best regards,

QUESTION

WHAT IS FRENCH IMMIGRATION STATUS?

I am seeking your advice or counsel on the French visa process, having attended the Nomadic Network events featuring your recommendations about moving to France in the past.I came to Bordeaux on a tourist visa to reunite with my French “life partner” after Covid separated us. We have since applied three times for the Formulaire 1 visa found on www.gironde.gouv.fr to acquire a long-term stay visa. Based on the responses we have received, it appears I do not fall under the currently allowed categories.At this time, I am still employed full-time in the United States and meet the financial requirements to support myself, but I just cannot seem to figure out the perfect combination to stay here.Ultimately, I want to acquire a visa so I can live with my partner and ensure free travel back and forth between the United States and France, as France is now becoming my home country.Do you know of an agency, counselor, or lawyer who could help advise me and my partner on the best course of action? Do you know of other options?

Cold, late night so long ago,
When I was not so strong you know, 
A pretty man came to me. 
I never seen eyes so blue. 
You know, I could not run away it seemed
We’d seen each other in a dream. 
Seemed like he knew me, he looked right through me, yeah. 
“Come on home, girl” he said with a smile. 
“You don’t have to love me yet, let’s get high awhile. 
But try to understand, try to understand
Try, try, try to understand, I’m a magic man.” 
Winter nights we sang in tune, 
Played inside the months of moon
“Never think of never let this spell last forever.” 
Well, summer lover passed to fall, 
Tried to realize it all. 
Mama says she’s worried, growing up in a hurry, 
“Come on home, girl,” Mama cried on the phone. 
“Too soon to lose my baby yet, my girl should be at home.” 
“Try, try, try to understand, he’s a magic man, Mama, ah, 
He’s a magic man.”

Wikipedia:
“Magic Man” is a song by the American rock band Heart released as a single off their debut album, Dreamboat Annie. Written and composed by Ann and Nancy Wilson, the song is sung from the viewpoint of a young girl who is being seduced by an older man (referred to as a Magic Man), much to the chagrin of her mother, who calls and begs the girl to come home. In an interview, Ann Wilson revealed that the “Magic Man” was her then boyfriend, band manager Michael Fisher, and that part of the song was an autobiographical tale of the beginnings of their relationship.

I saw this band in the summer of 1981 at Radio City Music Hall in New York, and I believe I own just about all their albums. As I was going through the biography of the band recently – which in effect means the lives of these two sisters – I realized how autobiographical and intimate the lyrics were.

Nevertheless, the lyrics are timeless, describing a situation that must have occurred time and again ever since the origin of the human race.

The choice of “Magic Man” as a title has nothing to do with romantic love. Rather, I am following with great interest the way former President Trump is still seen as a magic man. The American tradition has been that the former president disappears from the media and starts a new chapter of life as a private citizen. Both Mr. Trump’s decision to stay in political public life and the idolatry I see with many Trump followers are unusual departures from the past. Note this statement made on March 14th 2021 by Dr. Anthony Fauci on the “Fox News Sunday” program. Asked whether vaccination numbers among Republicans would increase were Trump to encourage inoculation, Dr. Fauci said: “I think it would make all the difference in the world. Trump is a such a strongly popular person … it would be very helpful for the effort for that to happen.”

Since the March issue, titled “Lean on Me (Tonight),” I have continued to be interested by the evolution of politics in the USA, France and several other countries: Policies, long-term visions for the country, political stands – in short, what used to fuel the political debate – seem to be declining. Today, way too often, I hear world leaders saying things like, “Trust me, I know what I am doing and I am taking care of you, I am protecting you.”

Considering how low the ratings of politicians and journalists are, it is clear that public trust is at an all-time low. Many believe this is a direct effect of the Covid-19 pandemic. Although it is true the pandemic has greatly corroded people’s confidence in their representatives and politicians in general, I think the problem has existed for a long time.

People should not believe in a magic man – or magic woman, for that matter. The only exception might be teenaged hearts beating with romantic love for the first time: young people are entitled to live this kind of love at least once in their life. That is why I find Heart’s lyrics so vividly depict that reality.

THE PARIS PREFECTURE IS REFUSING THE PUMA CPAM STATEMENT
The issue regarding PUMA and CPAM has never been properly solved. It stems from what was clearly an error in drafting the law. The basic rule is that people insured under PUMA currently pay a premium of 6.5% of worldwide income. But for some reason the law excludes foreign retirement income. The system does not charge anything if the declared income is less than 9,032€.

The very popular visiteur immigration status requires proof of either income or assets equal to at least minimum wage, which is 14,772€. So it would follow logically that all foreigners with visiteur status should pay something toward their health coverage. However, almost all of them are retired people receiving pensions and Social Security as the majority of their income, and those sources of revenue are excluded from the calculation, sometimes with the addition of royalties, rents, trust funds and the like. As a result, the income from earned income rarely exceeds the 9,032€ limit, even though the global income is considerably over this limit. So the system puts them in the same category as indigent people and both groups pay nothing for health coverage.

The prefecture requires proof of payment of the related health coverage premium to be submitted in the file. In normal circumstances this is a totally legitimate request. As I have explained above, if the foreign retirement income were included in the calculation, there would be no problem.

Since PUMA has existed, the Paris prefecture has vacillated between accepting and refusing the Assurance Maladie coverage issued by CPAM. The visiteur immigration status is issued when the applicant complies with the legal requirements, providing proof of sufficient means as described above, plus the address of the primary residence in France and comprehensive health coverage valid in France. When it is impossible to prove that the applicant is paying for such coverage, the request is refused.

That is what is happening at the moment. Concerned applicants then have to purchase a private policy duplicating the coverage they already have. Since most are retired and hence usually over 65, the premiums of such policies are expensive by French standards and few insurance companies issue them. Furthermore, what the prefecture is asking applicants to do is illegal: once a person is covered by Assurance Maladie, French law forbids their being covered by a private policy. It is also illegal to terminate public coverage in order to take out a private policy.

A few times over the years, the prefecture has demanded proof of termination of Assurance Maladie coverage, which impossible unless one moves away from France permanently and therefore loses the French immigration status.

For the time being, there is no good solution; the best thing is to purchase a private policy and make sure it can be cancelled once the carte de séjour is retrieved. In the past, the prefecture’s refusal to grant visiteur status in such cases has seldom lasted for long. Thus, when it is time to renew the card a year later, chances are that the policy have once again been reversed. I saw this latest change occurring in September 2020. I have no idea what triggered it.

THE LATEST ON BREXIT’S CONSEQUENCES AT THE PREFECTURE
Both common sense and a communication from the prefecture held that it was better to request French immigration status before the end of 2020, when the UK was still in the European Union, than in 2021. Last year after the prefecture reopened, I accompanied British citizens and helped them submit files showing whether they had been in France for more than five years or less. This was sometimes difficult to establish, as many people went back and forth, never really securing the status of France as their primary residence.

Since January 2021, the procedure has radically changed. The prefecture asks for the usual identification, proof of address and proof of means. There is no longer any question of proving seniority in France. Before, the issue was whether the carte de séjour would be valid for one or five years, but today everybody gets a minimum of five years. Furthermore, the carte de séjour is issued free of charge, as if the British citizens were still in the EU. That being the case, the card is sent in the mail by registered letter.

What surprises me the most is how easy the procedure has become. One reason is that now, to get an appointment at the Paris prefecture, the applicant sends the basic documents by email, so when the appointment is given, the documents are put in the file the prefecture prepares. Still, there is often a need for an update, so it is critical to bring all the documents requested just in case. I have no idea what will happen on July 1st 2021 when the current six-month transition period is over.

FRENCH INCOME TAX: IT IS ALMOST TIME TO DECLARE!
Regarding the more mundane topic of income tax, I would like to remind everybody that paper versions of the 2020 income declaration must be filed in France by 20th 2021midnight. The declaration forms are available at www.impots.gouv.fr on April 8th. That is also the day you can start filing your declaration on the same website. To do so, you need your tax ID number (numéro fiscal) and some access codes.

First-time income declarations to the French tax office should be prepared using the paper form, and the “first time” box on the CERFA #2042 form where it says Vous déposez une déclaration pour la première fois cochez” must be checked. It is possible to obtain the needed information from the tax office to declare for the first time electronically, but I tend to advise against this, because it is a lot easier to see and hence understand how the system works if the filer is looking at paper documents.

Note that if you file online, the deadline is later. The schedule depends on your postal code:

• départements 01 to 19 must file by midnight on May 26th.
• départements 20 to 49 by J by June 1st.
• départements 50 or higher by June 8th.

An important reminder: If you are a French fiscal resident (i.e. if you hold acarte de séjour or an immigration visa validated with an OFII stamp, and comply with the requirements), you must declare your worldwide income to the French authorities even if you have no income in France and do not have the right to work in France. There is no penalty for neglecting to file, but not meeting this obligation is illegal and can have consequences.

You are a French fiscal resident if you: 

• stay in France 183 days in a calendar year, whether you have legal immigration status or not
• have immediate family members (spouse and/or minor children) living in France
• have a French employer
• run a French business, even something like tutoring schoolchildren in English.

Reminder: if you are self-employed in France, the quarterly declarations sent to URSSAF do not constitute income tax declarations, which must be sent to the tax office. Many foreigners are convinced that the quarterly declarations are their only fiscal obligation.

Now that income tax is deducted at the source, the amount owed is often low, sometimes even zero. But a problem may arise because the prefecture wants to see the income tax bill from the tax office, the avis d’imposition sur le revenu, before issuing almost any immigration status.

Unfortunately, the tax office is slow to send the avis, mainly because :
1 – The page dedicated to the declaration on the website is not open all year long, so very late declarations must be done on paper, slowing down the process.
2 – Once tax season has ended, if no tax is owed, there is no incentive to prepare the avis quickly.

WHAT IS A FRENCH BANK?
Until recently the answer to this question had a very easy answer. A French bank corporation was registered in France with headquarters in France; was a member of the Association des Banques de France; had physical locations where clients could go; had an International Bank Account Number (IBAN) starting with FR; and so on. Then two things happened.

SEPA
The first was that all EU countries became members of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) on February 1st 2016.

Wikipedia: The aim of SEPA is to improve the efficiency of cross-border payments and turn the previously fragmented national markets for euro payments into a single domestic one. SEPA enables customers to make cashless euro payments to any account located anywhere in the area, using a single bank account and a single set of payment instruments. People who have a bank account in a eurozone country can use it to receive salaries and make payments all over the eurozone, for example when they take a job in a new country.

In other words, there is now a European banking system using the same currency, the euro, which allows transactions, mainly automatic payments and wires, to occur throughout the system automatically, without banking fees. This involved French utilities in 2016, asking clients to sign new SEPA-compatible forms to enable automatic payments to continue.

Internet banking
The first online bank, the Dutch bank ING Direct, was established in France in 2000. Over the years, more and more online banks have opened. Some are subsidiaries of traditional banks, but not all. They give French residents access to full online banking services from non-French banks. They are all in the private sector, with healthy competition regarding service quality and costs.

The IBAN of an account is linked to where the banking corporation is registered. It starts with the country code – FR for France, DE for Germany, and so on. The French administration was not ready for that, and it has created a serious problem whenever the administration needs to make a payment to the bank account of an individual living in France. Their system is so antiquated that it blocks all payments to any accounts that do not have IBANs starting with FR.

With online accounts having become so popular, the consequences are catastrophic, especially for those unfortunates who are dependent on their regular payments from the Caisse d’Allocation Familiales. The administration is doing its best to fix this situation but is having trouble because the requirement of French residency prevails. With all European countries in the SEPA system, an IBAN not starting with FR is seen as an indication that the account holder lives in a different country, even if the entire file shows French residency and a French physical presence. Unlocking the system after verification could be possible.

The position of the prefecture
By definition, the prefecture is concerned about where an applicant lives. As everybody knows, virtually the first document asked for is proof of address dated less than three months back. So the issue of non-French online banks is again a problem. For many types of immigration status, applicants have to show bank statements. For visiteur status, for instance, the applicant must prove that he/she spends at least the amount of minimum wage in France, and this sum has to be deposited in the French account from a foreign source. A similar requirement holds for all types of immigration status based on self-employed activity registered in France. Payments received must match amounts invoiced, and the prefecture asks for the transactions to be highlighted on a copy of the statement, submitted in the file, to make them easier to identify. For a profession libérale status the applicant must show a minimum of 23,000€ in annual billing, of which 65% is taxable: 23,000 x 0.65 = 14,950€. (The minimum wage is 14,772€, so 23,000€ is an easy target to keep in mind.)

All this is easy to demonstrate as long as it is shown in a French bank account, which brings us back to the same problem. I have never asked the Paris prefecture which banks are accepted and which are not, although I recently found out that TransferWise, now called Wise is not considered a French bank for theprofession libérale immigration status. The current rules significantly narrow the choice of banks for opening a professional account since it will be scrutinized by the prefecture. Sooner or later I will have to ask the prefecture for a list of acceptable internet banks, given the problems this issue causes!

GUIDELINES ON LOCKDOWN AND INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL
I wish the available information on lockdown and international travel would remain valid long enough for me to give my readers reliable advice. We are living through challenging times, and almost all Western countries are prone to rapidly changing their policies order to better fight the Covid-19 pandemic. On March 18th, the French government announced a strict lockdown, with complex rules on what activities gave inhabitants the right to be outside. This policy was pretty much abandoned on March 20th, the day after it went into effect. The restrictions no longer constitute a lockdown, since there is no limitation on travel within a radius of 10 km (6.2 miles). The government announcement on March 18th envisioned these restrictions stopping on April 20th if the infection rate was under control by then. But in the current situation, reaching that goal seems unlikely in the Paris region and several other areas.

International travel has also been severely affected. The official governmental position is that the borders are sealed unless you can show exceptional and truly compelling reasons to leave or enter. But I know of large numbers of non-French people who have been leaving or returning to France, none of whom had problems at the airport, so I question how well this policy is enforced. I am aware of just one case, in which a 20-year-old Tunisian national and Italian legal resident, coming to France to visit his father for spring break, was denied entry. The reason was that he had no proof of means, i.e., he was traveling with hardly any money. He did not have valid proof of the address where he planned to stay and could not prove that it was his father’s residence. In short, it had nothing to with to do with the restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Under normal circumstances, any EU resident (which he was) has an automatic, undisputed right to travel to another EU country. Travel within the Schengen zone is supposed to be equivalent to domestic travel.

So, please take the following information with a grain of salt:

Guidelines issued on March 12th:
1 – It will no longer be necessary to have a compelling reason to travel to or from Australia, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea or the United Kingdom.

For travel to and from those countries, other restrictions on movement remain in force: among other things, it is still necessary to present a negative PCR test result done less than 72 hours before departure.

2 – The list of compelling personal reasons has been extended to include all family relationships and add new situations linked to family separation for:

• married couples and couples in civil partnerships (PACS), where one member lives abroad for professional reasons.
• minors attending school in France whose family home is abroad.
• separated couples with children where adult lives in France and the other abroad.
• students taking competitive examinations and those returning to their main residence in France.

Templates for exceptional international travel declarations will be updated at 

www.interieur.gouv.fr/Actualites/L-actu-du-Ministere/Attestation-de-deplacement-et-de-voyagewww.interieur.gouv.fr/Actualites/L-actu-du-Ministere/Attestation-de-deplacement-et-de-voyage

MY BUSINESS HAS A NEW FACEBOOK PAGE
Over the holidays, my assistant, Sarah, took an interesting initiative and created a new Facebook page. It is a good move for her, since she and I both moderate it. She can show off her expertise and her ability to give good advice and clearly explain solutions. She does this in French, leaving the queries in English to me.

Since I am already active in a few Facebook groups and my website is my main showcase, I did not feel I needed such a page. On the other hand, it should no doubt benefit her sooner than later.

You are welcome to join:
https://www.facebook.com/rattachement

SUMMER VACATION: THE OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED JULY 9th to AUGUST 23rd
The office will be closed for a month and a half, starting Friday, July 9th, and reopening on Monday, August 23rd. As always, I will be reachable by email for emergencies and important matters. My service of receiving mail for clients will continue while the office is closed.

Best regards,

QUESTION

COMING BACK TO FRANCE LEGALLY WITH A VISITEUR VISA

I am an American and I have always intended to get some kind of long-term permission to stay/reside in France. Sadly, I procrastinated… and I am now kicking myself.

I want to apply for a carte de séjour. Have you heard anything about the border opening to allow Americans to travel to France in the near future? Pre-Covid, I traveled to France 3-4 times a year to stay in my Parisian apartment, but since I never overstayed the 90-day limit visitor, I didn’t concern myself with getting a visa.

If it seems that France is ready to open her borders to Americans, I might take a chance and book a ticket soon, knowing I might have to cancel it. Or should I wait until you feel it is time to go over everything I need to do to prepare for my arrival? For example, friends have told me in the past that they had to register as much as six months in advance for their in-person appointment to apply for the carte de séjour. I would like to secure an appointment by August or September at the prefecture after my arrival on the ground in Paris.

Would it be worth trying to get an appointment before I travel? Or would I be able to make an appointment only after I arrive in Paris?

Also, I would like to know what the difference is between a long-term visitor visa and a carte de séjour. And what is the difference between a carte de séjour visiteur and a carte de séjour residence? These are the questions that are causing me to hesitate.

1. Do any of these residency or visitor status change the holder’s right to travel into and out of France?

2. Fiscal residence – does the carte de séjour residence make one an automatic fiscal resident? And for the visiteur

3. Is the carte de sejour visiteur a prerequisite to applying later for the normal carte de sejour residence?

4. Applying for visiteur: is it likely that France would open to tourists before the consulate started accepting applications for the visiteur visa? Or would it be automatic that they would occur at the same time? If the consulate is not accepting visa applications, and France opens its borders to US citizens (I am now 65 and fully vaccinated) would I then just travel on my US passport and hope that I can apply for the visiteur status when I am on site in France?

Lean on me
I’ll be there
Whenever you need someone
To share in every prayer
In every dream
You’ve left somewhere
Till tomorrow
Will be just like it was when we were young
‘Cos tonight
I’m gonna take you where
I’ve never taken you before
Lean on me
I’m everywhere
Wherever you look I’ll be
Forever yours
The northern lights
The southern cross
I’ll give to you
Till tomorrow
Will be just like it was when we were young
‘Cos tonight
I’m gonna take you where
I’ve never taken you before
If you’re lonely
You know where you can find me
You know there’s no escape when you are on your own
And if you’re worried
And you can see your world slip through your fingers
I’ll reach out for you in my heart
There’s no more dancing in the dark.

I remember listening to the Moody Blues ever since my cousin Pierre brought their album A Question of Balance to our family home. That could also have been a pertinent title for today’s world. I want to promote a caring message, which is indispensable for a population desperately in need of healing.

Both in France and the USA, I sense a desire to lean on someone for protection. In some cases this desire is fulfilled, while other people feel they are left stranded, unattended. I can be completely cynical when it comes to political leaders, questioning the real motives behind what they say and do. During the weather crisis the state of Texas recently experienced, there were people you could lean on and people who were absent. In France right now, more and more professions feel totally abandoned, including musicians and performing artists in general. A foreigner new to France and feeling lost may be longing for a reassuring presence, a person who protects and guides, whom one can lean on and feel safe with. Too often, the quest for reassurance leads to horrendous situations, with such people falling victim to crooks.

PREFECTURE SCHEDULES AND LUCRATIVE APPOINTMENT TRAFFICKING
For several years there have been complaints about appointments with prefectures regarding immigration status being difficult to secure. The CODIV-19 pandemic has forced all prefectures to restructure their system for handling the public and issuing appointments. The system is quite complicated, for several reasons. Schedules are established at the last minute, so the first available appointment is often after the expiration date of the document needing renewal. Prefecture websites may work well with a particular browser one day but not the next. For example, I have stopped using Safari to get on these websites, as Firefox seems slightly more reliable.

Furthermore, appointments for some types of immigration status seem to be harder to secure than others, perhaps because the number of people trying exceeds the website capacity. People working at the Paris prefecture acknowledge that this is the case. Someone determined to get through may need to block a couple of hours for the task.

Beyond these issues, the current design of the system has led to a particular situation that often makes it impossible for an individual to get an appointment. An article in Le Monde explains that well-informed crooks snatch all available appointments as they are released. Then they sell them to individuals. Undocumented aliens (sans-papiers) may be especially vulnerable; under French law, some of them have the right to submit a request for a legal stay in France if they meet strict guidelines. They may not have the hours it takes to get an appointment, or they lack access to a computer, and so on. Of course, the crooks offer their services to anyone who cannot get an appointment any other way.

In my July-August 2019 issue, titled Father & Son, I wrote about a similar criminal scheme. Such situations make me really angry. I help people who fully qualify for procedures at the prefecture. They often spend about six months trying to get an appointment before giving up and paying for one. I strongly condemn the crooks who steal appointments to sell. And yet I fully understand that some foreigners feel they have no choice but to use such a scheme, given their risk of being caught by police – especially now, with a pandemic curfew being strictly enforced and people often working odd hours. Getting a legal stay sooner rather than later is critical for such people.

A full translation of the Le Monde article is attached, in hopes that the information will circulate as much as possible. Here is the link to the original article published on February 13th 2021: 
www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2021/02/13/titres-de-sejour-le-trafic-lucratif-des-rendez-vous_6069858_3224.html

Lucrative-appointment-trafficking-translation-PB.doc

URSSAF AND THE TAX OFFICE INCREASINGLY SHARE INFORMATION
The French and US tax systems are so different it can be difficult to explain to Americans how the French one works.

I will not go into the history of the French social system that was set up after WWII, with endless variations on health coverage and retirement per profession. President Macron has pushed a general policy of unifying the retirement program, which has led to violent demonstrations in the streets of Paris for the last three years or so.

Retired foreigners living in France saw one change quite vividly, as it affected them directly. When covered by the public system in the old days with theCouverture Maladie Universelle (CMU), the insured person would file an annual declaration with URSSAF so the 8% premium on worldwide income could be calculated.

In 2016, the Protection Universelle Maladie (PUMA) was set up to replace the CMU. One of the most problematic differences with the old system was that URSSAF now gets its information from the tax office to calculate the 8% premium. The way it was calculated also changed, which resulted in a difficult situation for many foreigners living in France.

It is a huge oversimplification, but I tell my clients that the centre des impôts is like the IRS and URSSAF is like the Social Security Administration. They are always amazed, as they are used to seeing the two American organizations working together, while their French equivalents pretty much ignored each other until recently – and that was better than the old days, when they distrusted each other to the point of never sharing information

A milestone will soon be reached in this regard. In May 2021, when it is time to declare income in France, self-employed people will only declare their income once, to the tax office. Starting with 2020 revenue, URSSAF will get the information from the tax office and there will no longer be any need to make two declarations. In short, the Déclaration Sociale des Indépendants (DSI) is no longer needed.

A recent URSSAF statement says: “A partir de cette année, vous n’aurez plus qu’une seule déclaration à faire pour la déclaration de vos revenus 2020 sur impots.gouv.fr. C’est cette déclaration unique qui sera utilisée pour le calcul de vos cotisations et contributions sociales personnelles et de votre impôt sur le revenu.”

Here is a translation of the complete press release:
“From this year, you will have only one declaration to make to declare your 2020 income on impots.gouv.fr. This single declaration will be used to calculate your personal social contributions and your income tax. The income that serves as the basis for personal social contributions will be entered directly in your personal income tax return (declaration No. 2042). It will be supplemented by a specific “social” component. In the 2020 income statement, specific sections have been provided to allow you to declare your eligibility for contribution reductions set up in the context of the health crisis (first period of health emergency in spring 2020 and second period of health emergency in autumn 2020). Once your tax return has been validated, the necessary elements will be sent automatically by the tax administration to your Urssaf or Cgss. As in previous years, upon receipt of the elements of your 2020 tax return, your Urssaf or Cgss will adjust your 2021 provisional contributions and regularize your final 2020 contributions. It will also send you a payment schedule update, which will take into account the exemption from contributions under the reduction mechanisms put in place in the context of the health crisis, if you are eligible. Urssaf or Cgss remains your contact for the management and payment of your personal social contributions.”

WIDESPREAD USE OF TEXT MESSAGES FOR SECURITY 
I remember when my bank first added a second level of security for access to accounts online – issuing a payment, transferring money – by sending a text message to my cellphone so I could be identified a second time. I particularly like this feature when I make purchases on a website, as it reduces the chance of fraud. It might make sense to force as many merchants as possible to include this feature on their sites. I fully understand that this is as much an issue with the bank as it is with the merchant, except the bank has an interest in limiting fraud, which costs it money.

Many merchant sites now also have this feature to enter the site if you have a personal account with them. It would be an exaggeration to say it is becoming a standard feature, but it feels like it is nearly one. Maybe I will get used to it someday, or manufacturers will find a way to have the computer and phone talk to each other automatically – who knows?

Recently this mundane procedure took on epic proportions because of a last-minute change of policy and COVID-19 preventing people from traveling. One of my clients was on a mission in Eastern Europe. The COVID-19 pandemic caused the stay to be extended for many months past the client’s scheduled return to France. This client, like several of my American clients, does not have a French cellphone, as their American phones can be used worldwide. Pretty much overnight, their bank added the text security feature for access to their accounts. This meant the client had to buy a French phone or at least a SIM card, and give the French number to the bank.

To make a long, complicated story shorter, about this client, I bought a pay-per-use SIM card and activated the number so any phone could use it. Then I mailed the SIM card across most of Europe so the client could put it in his phone when connecting with the bank. Registering the phone number with the bank was the true challenge, but finally it got done. The final episode would be laughable if it had not been a serious problem. My client needed printed bank statements, and he could not have access to them due to some technical glitch with the SIM card. His CPA needed them to prepare tax declarations. The bank demanded an original signature on a letter requesting that the statements be printed, and charged a hefty price for this service. The last straw was that it would only send them to the client’s Paris address. Thus I had to pick up that letter, scan the documents and send them to the client. Some rules to safeguard clients’ interests take us back a century!

Another bank offered a different solution to the cellphone problem. It agreed to send the security text messages to a US phone number, for an extra charge of $5 a month. The client concerned has a French cellphone but it does not receive text messages from France. I can see this becoming a serious problem for clients who are outside France most of the time, and the many who are stuck abroad because of the pandemic.

As my client said to me, “with the continued need to use a double verification process for banking and other accounts, this might be worth mentioning … in one of your next columns. Not everyone who does banking in France has a French phone and can receive text messages from other countries without adding this feature to their accounts. Granted it is $5 extra per month but worth it.”

UPDATE ABOUT THE FRENCH SANITARY STATE OF EMERGENCY
Note that the state of emergency due to the pandemic has been extended until June 1st: “Face à l’aggravation de la propagation de l’épidémie de Covid-19, l’état d’urgence sanitaire en place depuis le 17 octobre 2020 est prolongé jusqu’au 1er juin 2021 inclus. Initialement, il devait prendre fin le 16 février 2021. La loi prorogeant l’état d’urgence sanitaire est parue au Journal officiel le 16 février 2021.

(Faced with the worsening spread of the Covid-19 epidemic, the health state of emergency in place since October 17th, 2020 has been extended until June 1st, 2021, inclusive. Initially, it was to end on February 16th, 2021. The law extending the health state of emergency was published in the Journal officiel on February 16th, 2021.

FOREIGN RENTAL INCOME DECLARED IN FRANCE
Paris being one of the touristic hubs of the world, there are numerous foreigners owning apartments here and renting them through Airbnb and similar organizations. I have referred to this many times in past columns: rental income earned in France is declared and taxed in France even when the owner is not a French fiscal resident. It is then declared to the IRS as income already taxed.

One of my clients, however, has properties she rents in the USA and declares in France as income already taxed. She lives and files in France as a French fiscal resident. She recently received a letter from URSSAF that stunned me. It took me some time to understand what had happened.

The letter asked for her SIRET number, a French ID number for a person running a business. My client is retired, holds a visitor’s carte de séjour and has never registered a business in France. The request had to have originated somehow with the French administration. My client’s American rental income had surged last year, to the point that it went over the threshold that would force this type of registration if the rentals were in France. The system must have undergone a serious malfunction, taking the American income as French, and acted accordingly. Once identified, the problem was easy to fix.

I am more familiar with a different computer bug, whereby the French tax office tries to collect the CSG-CRDS taxes on American income declared in France. That bug was identified well over 10 years ago and is now rare. I still see it, but much less frequently.

CESC PARIS HAS INVITED ME TO SPEAK ON MARCH 1st VIA ZOOM
The Council for the English Speaking Community in Paris (CESC Paris) first invited me to speak in September 2003. Then and now the topic is “Non-profits in France.” I will cover the legal and practical issues that non-profits [often] encounter. My experience as a member of several non-profits, including holding the post of vice-president for one of them, adds first-hand knowledge to my training as a juriste droit économique and to what I have learned while advising non-profits as part of my consulting activity.

Here is the announcement the CESC put out:
Dear CESC Paris Community,
Are you the head of a non-profit association? Our guest speaker will be Jean Taquet and our next meeting is going to focus on the loi 1901, questions about running non-profit associations and some of the current or ongoing issues we are experiencing due to the fallout from Covid 19 pandemic. We won’t be able to answer all your questions, but the idea is to gauge areas of interest and concern and then organize further discussions with more experts within and outside of the CESC community to help facilitate these discussions in the coming weeks and months.

MY BUSINESS HAS A NEW FACEBOOK PAGE
Over the holidays, my assistant, Sarah, took an interesting initiative and created a new Facebook page. It is a good move for her, since she and I both moderate it. She can show off her expertise and her ability to give good advice and clearly explain solutions. She does this in French, leaving the queries in English to me.

Since I am already active in a few Facebook groups and my website is my main showcase, I did not feel I needed such a page. On the other hand, it should no doubt benefit her sooner than later.

You are welcome to join:
https://www.facebook.com/rattachement

SUMMER VACATION: THE OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED JULY 9th to AUGUST 23rd
The office will be closed for a month and a half, starting Friday, July 9th, and reopening on Monday, August 23rd. As always, I will be reachable by email for emergencies and important matters. My service of receiving mail for clients will continue while the office is closed.

Best regards,

QUESTION

ASKING FOR A VISA DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

There appears to be much discrepancy between VFS Global and the Washington DC embassy regarding requests for the passeport talent visa. This status appears to be the only way to obtain a real immigration visa that is renewable, and valid up to four years, with work permits from the get-go. VFS says one thing; the embassy says something different. For example, many individuals who are choosing between all the “flavors” of passeport talent might be self-employed, working as authors, artists, sometimes with a national or international reputation in a specialized field, and often holding high-level degrees, diplomas, etc. Yet it appears that the embassy wants French contracts, French employment by French companies with French clients, etc. If you do not have any of these, you can apply for a long-term visitor visa… but this visa is not currently available due to COVID restrictions. On the other hand, VFS says that those who can prove sufficient funding through forms, documents, etc. and who are working on a project that benefits France in some way, can apply for the passeport talent.
What happens if your visa is rejected? All that work and time preparing your move – selling cars, furniture, looking for lodging in a country that appears to have an incoherent visa policy. If France is serious about accepting talented folks to improve the community, then perhaps the administration needs to take these passeport talents visas seriously and get to work vastly improving their horrendous ‘system’.

QUESTION

WHAT DOES A PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENT COVER?

I moved here for my French fiancé, and in doing so, I gave up a very lucrative career. My fiancé owns a company and some real estate in France. His real estate company owns the home in which we plan to live in after the marriage. He wants me to sign a marriage contract stating that all property before and after the marriage remains separated. I am not in agreement after giving up a really well-paid job to relocate and I know I will not be able to earn nearly as much in France without speaking the language.
My fiancé owns 99% of real estate company; the other 1% belongs to his mother. Is there a way to write up a contract to have equal “shares” of our future family home? Can we transfer the real estate company in part into my name to avoid having to purchase shares?
Is there a way to edit the marriage contract to say that I would not get any of his principal business but just half of the family home? Can any of the three types of marriage contracts in French be adjusted or they are straight boilerplate documents with unchangeable terms?
My next question is whether it would be possible to draft a separate document that would provide some sort of financial security – an agreement to get a sum of money in case of divorce or the transfer of half the family home in spite of the fact that it is owned by the company rather than by my fiancé – simply for investing sweat equity in building a family with him and making improvements towards the family home, etc.

First of all, I would like to wish all of you a very happy and prosperous 2021!
It has to be better than 2020, an annus horribilis by just about everybody’s account.

French custom dictates that New Year’s wishes can be expressed until the end of January, 
so I have managed it a few hours before the deadline.

Now that Joseph Biden has been sworn in as the new US president, tension has considerably decreased. For many, Senator Bernie Sanders stole the limelight: the picture of him trying to stay warm at the inauguration ended up pretty much everywhere on social media. To me he looked like a family elder, the grandfather figure looking over the ceremony with what appeared to be a grumpy face.

This reminded me of The Muppet Show – specifically, Waldorf, one of two elderly men sitting in the balcony constantly criticizing and mocking what is happening onstage.

Wikipedia:
Statler and Waldorf are a pair of Muppet characters known for their cantankerous opinions and shared penchant for heckling. The two elderly men first appeared in The Muppet Show in 1975, where they consistently jeered the entirety of the cast and their performances from their balcony seats.

Of course, it might just be my imagination but I had the feeling that Senator Bernie Sanders was not just there as the elder, happy to be present as he celebrated the installation of President Biden, but that he was also checking him out in case the Biden policies were not to his liking. The senator is known for passionate speeches that often sound a little like a parent scolding children.

None of this is meant to express my political opinions. It was truly refreshing to be able to experience humor and irony while watching the Biden inauguration. Also, I am not sure when my caustic mind will have another opportunity to play like this when so many dramatic situations need to be fixed. I just hope the situations in the USA – and France, for that matter – significantly and rapidly improve.

It is obvious to me that, even once the pandemic is completely under control, none of us will be able to return to what the life was before. I just hope that a new normal comes sooner rather than later, and that major world economies do not collapse.

THE GOOD THINGS I GOT FROM 2020
This past year was terrible in many ways and I went through some pretty difficult moments because of the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences in several aspects of my life. Like many, I could list those and complain about them. But instead I would like to talk about the benefits I got from the year. I am not a masochist; some really nice things resulted from the strict regulations with which we have had to live.

Spending time with my daughter
Lucille came back from South Korea a couple of weeks before the first lockdown began on March 17th. After missing her for about a year, my wife and I managed to live in close company with her, without going out much. Thus we got an extended time with her before she left for the UK, from where she will probably go back to South Korea. We knew her plans and thus did as much as we could to make the most of our lockdown time together.

Being in better physical shape
As soon as I realized the first lockdown would last several weeks, I knew if I did not have the discipline to do some exercises every day, I would gain weight and might not be able to handle the strict confinement that well. This activity gave some structure to my day and I managed to alternate work and family time. Even though I did not leave the apartment the entire time, I lost some weight.

After that lockdown ended, I decided to ride my bicycle everywhere and no longer take public transport, which also had the benefit of avoiding a possible source of infection. More important for me was that, even though I am 61, I managed in a few days to regain enough energy and strength to enjoy this new lifestyle, as so many Parisians were doing at that time. Hence I am starting 2021 feeling physically much better and weighing significantly less than a year ago.

Taking advantage of an early curfew
With the kind of work I do, leaving the office at 5:30PM is unsustainable, so I do my best to work some when I am at home. This radical change has led to a complicated situation professionally. But, at the same time, it means dinner at home every day and a different rhythm of life, which I welcome at my age. For quite a while I had looked into various ways to spend more time at home, but without much success. Yet this desire, combined with the strict regulations, means I now enjoy more family time.

I am fully aware that I am quite fortunate to have the means to do this. I have been helping people in very bad situations, which ended up being even worse either because of being isolated for so long or having survived COVID-19 but in worse physical condition than before. I make sure to count my blessings and stay aware of what others are going through.

THE VACCINATION CAMPAIGNS
Over the holidays, so many topics addressed in the media, both in France and in the USA, mingled public health and political issues, which in my view should stay separate. Now the discussions about vaccination and the campaigns going on in the USA, France and other countries involve heated debates. When I was a child, vaccination programs were part of the school system and there was never any discussion about it. Even in the 1990s, when my children were born and vaccinated in France, there was no discussion in the media. I do not intend to address the many reasons the debate is now so heated. I saw a meme on Facebook in which 2020 was represented by a mask and 2021 by a syringe. The fact that it was posted by so many people shows how important the topic is. Still, a vaccination campaign could be illustrated in many ways, so the choice of the syringe is symptomatic of the fear people have about what is going to be put inside their body.

That made me think of a couple of songs from artists I like:

Wikipedia
“The Needle and the Damage Done” is a 1972 song by Canadian-American singer-songwriter Neil Young. The lyrics describe the effects of heroin addiction on musicians Young knew, including his friend and Crazy Horse bandmate Danny Whitten, who would die of an overdose the same year the song was released.

“The Needle and the Spoon” is found on Second Helping, the second studio album by Lynyrd Skynyrd, released April 15, 1974. It featured the band’s biggest hit single, “Sweet Home Alabama”, an answer song to Neil Young’s “Alabama” and “Southern Man”.

Of course, these songs are about heroin addiction, not vaccination. What drives the global push to get the coronavirus vaccination done as quickly as possible is the hope of freeing people from a deadly pandemic. Yet at the same time sadly there is widespread fear that what is being put in the body could be deadly, like heroin.

I have yet to see anyone else address the issue from this angle. Coming up with those songs says a lot about my taste in music.

I wish that scientists, those in the medical profession, and drug manufacturers had the same weight and authority in serving the public interest as in the 1960s when I was getting all my shots. Vaccination will almost certainly dominate the media discourse in 2021.

I promised myself that this year I would stay even farther away from politics, especially US politics. Yet on the night of the inauguration, just for a second, I had an image of all those people standing before the Capitol listening to fans of Neil Young and Lynyrd Skynyrd singing their old tunes about how hard life can be for the working class. It was a very refreshing vision, totally unrealistic yet soothing to my soul, especially after the horrendous images of the Capitol a week earlier.

A MESSAGE FROM LA POSTE 
For a long time the French post office required a tiny green form to be filled out whenever a package was sent outside France. Basically it listed the contents, their weight and value, and perhaps most importantly, whether they were a gift. This form, glued to the box, was the only document needed to clear customs inspection.

This declaration, like so many other government forms, must now be done online and much more information is required to fill it out. Among other things, packages consisting of gifts or property belonging to the recipient must be identified as private, not business, transactions. Packages sent by private individuals are not supposed to be subject to VAT and customs duties. I wonder, if one buys a new product and sends it in its original wrapping as a gift to a family member, is it still seen as private shipping? So, yes, now instead of a green sticker there is a four-page online form, but it may make it easier to avoid paying unjustified taxes.

FROM LA POSTE
“We inform you that any customs declaration must henceforth be made online so as not to expose yourself to a customs blockage of your goods. You can access the customs declaration form via this link:
www.laposte.fr/formulaire-douane 

“You are required to complete these formalities for your shipments outside the European Union but also to Great Britain and Northern Ireland from January 1, 2021.

“We thank you for your understanding.”

A READER’S ACCOUNT OF COMING TO FRANCE DURING THE PANDEMIC
I wanted to elaborate on what happened at the Chicago airport. We flew Air France and they called us July 31st, the day before we were scheduled to fly, and said F., our fourteen-year-old son, needed a French passport. So many people wanted a French passport because of travel restriction that we were unable to get an appointment until September 24th. It took four weeks for his passport to arrive. While we were at the French consulate, I was told that I needed a visa also. I called the appropriate center to request a visa. I left ten polite messages over the next two weeks and never heard back. I was told by the French consulate staff that the center’s personnel took several months to return a call. So I essentially gave up. I was reassured that by having a livret de famille and a carte de séjour, even an expired one, I could travel. At Air France the woman in charge told me I could not travel. A French man overheard the situation and said that he was satisfied with my documents. I was very relieved. I was asked again for a visa at customs, but ignored the question and I was not asked again. The official just stamped my American passport and F.’s French passport. So, I was extremely lucky, including for my expired carte de séjour. Note: during our flight, we were asked for Covid-19 negative test results, which we had. I was asked for these negative test papers four times: at Air France, at boarding, at customs and in a random check outside customs. I would say the majority of the French passengers did not have a test and had to wait in a huge long line at customs before entering. Also the flight appeared to be only about 40% full. Anyway, we were really lucky. So, I think I might have needed a visa, but that I was able to travel because a nice Air France agent took pity on me. I had made arrangements to stay another month in our apartment in the USA in case we were turned away but we made it through. I am very grateful to be back with my husband and our son F!

MOVING TO THE OTHER FRANCE
Many foreigners are settling outside the Paris region and some choose some very rural places. It used to be that people living in farm country were hostile to newcomers, that it took decades before one could bond with the rest of the population. Now some of those places have so few inhabitants that they welcome those from the city, even foreigners. The Dordogne region has long been known for having a lot of British residents. I had this exchange recently with a reader who lives there.

READER
Jean, a very interesting letter. I was taken by your description of the ‘Bones’ series, particularly the episode about the Chinese women. The Chinese, also the Vietnamese, but particularly the Chinese, bring over illegal women and young people to work in their ‘Chinese’ restaurants. They have their very own mafias. They have been in existence for as long as they have been in the US. We call it ‘people laundering’. The immigrants live in small quarters amassed mostly with women, usually young women. I have been to many restaurants in the US where this is true, not only in the big cities. Their importation supposedly gives them a start in life, but I do not know how much money they ever see from waiting on tables and washing dishes. I stopped going to the restaurants, as it was all too obvious and terribly sad. They treat their own this way. Not Americans. By the way, not all Chinese restaurants do this. There are many upstanding Chinese in America who have brought their culture to share with us. They are respected.

Jean, I really understand what you are saying. In the West, many just write a check and think they have done their duty. It helps, but not in the long run. I guess my not going to Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants was my protest. It was the best I could do at the time that was continuous and not giving up.

I also see the young Moroccan population entering our towns, many staying together, and having their own slogans, such as Berber vs Islam. Can you explain this? I have a man who picks up cartons of things arriving at my apartment. He is a Berber. It is fascinating. He came today to help a man deliver a large carpet to me.

M., my Berber handyman, asked me to go on eBay for him and order a silver Berber cross. I did. It has arrived and I will give it to him this week. They live here under the radar, no papers, etc., but work very hard and have great senses of humor! There is so much to learn about France that a trip to Paris does not give you. I love it here.

ME
Thank you for your message. There are many different topics to address.

Our family church, the American Church in Paris (ACP), has had a Filipino Fellowship for about 30 years. When I was just a new member without any responsibilities, I attended their lunch and meeting every Sunday for about two years. I raised their awareness of the risk their undocumented members faced in those days.

Once this was done, I proposed a project to protect them from bad employers. They were against this. The reason was that they needed the employers so as to earn money. I was often told that you do not bite the hand that feeds you. They explained that their solution was to inform the community about the bad employers so they could be avoided. It took me a long time to come to terms with the situation, but I finally did so by acknowledging that they had found ways to handle the consequences of moving to a Western country and that they accepted their plight.

Unfortunately, undocumented aliens are exploited even more than legal immigrants. So this shifted my attention, and caused me to address and sometimes get involved in extreme cases involving those without papers. Very early on, as part of this group, I became aware of the existence of modern-day slavery in Western countries on an individual basis.

I remember vividly the reaction of a woman from Mauritius to the 1995 World Conference on Women, which was held in Beijing that year. Many Western feminists were upset due to China’s poor record on women’s and human rights. This woman was elated that the meeting took place in China; she thought that was wonderful! She said many developing countries would attend without facing the massive criticism they encountered in the industrialized countries where meetings had been held previously. The developing countries’ national medias would cover the conference, she said, and added that this could be the first time many women learned about the existence of women’s rights. Her reasoning pierced my heart, and gave me a different way of looking at things. Meetings under these conditions could potentially lead to more progress than just bringing awareness to developing countries as well as developed ones.

One point that should not be overlooked is that there are exchanges occurring alongside the official agenda at such conferences. A common criticism of aid to developing countries is that the reality of their societies is ignored and Western methods are used, often doing more harm than good. The changes the industrialized world wants to see in developing countries can only occur from inside and therefore through voluntary and progressive policies. A country alone, or an alliance of countries, or, at a lower level, one person, cannot suddenly impose change, which is almost always unwelcome and lead to resentment. The most recent trend is to provide resources and guidance tailored to local conditions. That way countries can build their own infrastructure meeting their own specific needs.

This woman’s reaction illustrated for me the disconnect between human rights legislation and the dialogue surrounding it in developed and developing countries and taught me to listen more before proposing any solution. I have concluded that developed countries and activists often miss the point when dealing with situations outside what they consider normal.

I take no issue with patronizing a Chinese restaurant, for example, even though I know there is a chance of human rights violations occurring in the kitchen. Also, I have come to terms with the fact that only the community in question can change the situation. Therefore, my mission has become to find people in these groups and help them address such situations their way.

It is only quite recently that I have been involved with people from North Africa. I took a crash course in their history and culture, which existed before the Roman Empire. The historical situation is complicated. In French, the term “Berbère” can designate tribes, an ethnic belonging, or a culture called Amazigh, which is found in the Kabyle region of Algeria. This term comes from the ancient Greek language (from βάρβαρος, which is also the root of “barbarian”). It literally meant “people who say blah blah” (i.e., people whose language the Greeks could not understand).

At its peak, the Berber kingdom extended over all of northern Africa, from Morocco to Egypt. It became Muslim when the Arabs went to conquer Spain and passed through Berber territories in the 7th century. Today, around 90% of the people of Morocco, Algeria. and Tunisia are ethnically Berber, but a majority of them speak Arabic and consider themselves Arab and Muslim. However, in the last twenty years there has been growing demand to have the Berber-Amazigh language, culture, heritage, and religion recognized. In 2011, Morocco made Amazigh an official languages alongside Arabic. Algeria followed in 2016. These late dates show how much the rulers of these countries resisted recognizing their own cultural diversity. This is currently a problem in both Algeria and Morocco. My assistant is Algerian and she taught me the essentials on this subject.

One thing I discovered that was a true eye opener regarding the complexity of this situation is that it is generally agreed that Saint Augustine of Hippo, one of the first great Christian theologians, was a member of a family that had been Berber at the time Rome conquered Numidia.

Wikipedia
Augustine of Hippo (Latin: Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian, philosopher, and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings influenced the development of Western philosophy and Western Christianity, and he is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers of the Latin Church in the Patristic Period. His many important works includeThe City of God, On Christian Doctrine, and Confessions.

MY BUSINESS HAS A NEW FACEBOOK PAGE
Over the holidays, my assistant, Sarah, took an interesting initiative and created a new Facebook page. It is a good move for her, since she and I both moderate it. She can show off her expertise and her ability to give good advice and clearly explain solutions. She does this in French, leaving the queries in English to me.

Since I am already active in a few Facebook groups and my website is my main showcase, I did not feel I needed such a page. On the other hand, it should no doubt benefit her sooner than later.

You are welcome to join:
https://www.facebook.com/rattachement

Best regards,

QUESTION

THE RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT FOR THE CARTE DE RESIDENT

One question seems to come up repeatedly on a Facebook forum to which I cannot find a definitive answer, although I have tried searching online. One requirement for obtaining a carte de résident is implied in the statement: « Après 5 ans passés en France, de façon légale et ininterrompue. »
So, here is the question. What is the definition of ininterrompu? Perhaps the core question is even more basic. If a person holds a short-term/temporary titre de séjour, such as a VLS-TS or a carte de séjour temporaire “visiteur,” is there a limit to the amount of time they may be out of France during 365 consecutive days and still qualify for a renewal?

QUESTION

HOW THE FRENCH WELFARE SYSTEM WORKS

I have gone through some serious rough spots while living in France. Lately I got a job paying minimum wage for 32 hours a week. It is not much but I am hanging in there. Suddenly my CMU has expired and I cannot renew it, and I want my 75% discount on my Navigo. What should I do?