There’s something happening here
But what it is ain’t exactly clear
There’s a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware
I think it’s time we stop
Children, what’s that sound? 
Everybody look, what’s going down?
There’s battle lines being drawn
Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind
It’s time we stop
Hey, what’s that sound? 
Everybody look, what’s going down? 
What a field day for the heat (Ooh ooh ooh) 
A thousand people in the street (Ooh ooh ooh) 
Singing songs and they carrying signs (Ooh ooh ooh) 
Mostly say, “Hooray for our side” (Ooh ooh ooh) 
It’s time we stop
Hey, what’s that sound? 
Everybody look, what’s going down? 
Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you’re always afraid
Step out of line, the men come and take you away
We better stop
Hey, what’s that sound? 
Everybody look, what’s going down? 
You better stop
Hey, what’s that sound? 
Everybody look, what’s going down? 
You better stop
Now, what’s that sound? 
Everybody look, what’s going down? 
You better stop
Children, what’s that sound? 
Everybody look, what’s going down? 

Wikipedia
“For What It’s Worth (Stop, Hey What’s That Sound)” (often referred to as simply “For What It’s Worth”) is a song written by Stephen Stills. Performed by Buffalo Springfield, it was recorded on December 5th, 1966.

I believe that I heard this song for the first time played by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and discovered Buffalo Springfield much later.

Clearly, I really liked the reference to the noise heard. It is obvious to me that there are a lot of things in common between the Civil Rights era and what is happening today in the USA when it comes to demonstrating, political gatherings, divisiveness and so on.

More generally, immigrants frequently experience frustration and discouragement for all kinds of reasons. Lack of security, including just the feeling that bad things could happen, is widespread. To be able to help them, I usually need to debunk their fears about a lot of things, such as being deported.

For what it is worth! At one point, one has to say that it was worth it. It meant going after dreams, personal goals. In the eyes of many it might not look like much. For them, it was not worth the effort. “For what it is worth, it was worth it for me.” This is what I like to hear. Immigrants often never regain the social status or comforts that they had in their home country, but many tell me nevertheless that it was worth it. Let’s leave it at that.

DEMONSTRATING WITH COOKWARE AGAINST PRESIDENT MACRON

Wikipedia
A cacerolazo, cacerolada or casserole is a form of popular protest which consists of a group of people making noise by banging pots, pans, and other utensils to call for attention.

The first documented protests of this style occurred in France in the 1830s, at the beginning of the July Monarchy, by opponents of the regime of Louis Philippe I of France. According to the historian Emmanuel Fureix, the protesters took from the tradition of the charivari the use of noise to express disapproval and beat saucepans to make noise against government politicians. This way of showing discontent became popular in 1832, taking place mainly at night and sometimes with the participation of thousands of people.

…One of the largest and most recent cacerolazos occurred in Argentina during 2001, consisting largely of protests and demonstrations by middle-class people who had seen their savings trapped in the so-called corralito (a set of restrictive economic measures that effectively froze all bank accounts, initially as a short-term fix for the massive draining of bank deposits).

Since President Emmanuel Macron’s speech on Monday, April 17th, official outings by government members have been greeted by “casserole concerts.” These demonstrations have been peaceful, with the police keeping demonstrators far away from the visit sites. But the protesters make so much noise that it affects the visit anyway. It is also audible when news outlets cover the events, drawing even more attention to such protests. President Macron’s reactions indicate that this is an effective way to protest, as it diminishes his efforts to get close to people and seem attentive to them by making such visits. It will be interesting how the French government handles this form of demonstration.

Earlier, during more traditional demonstrations on the streets of Paris and other major cities, the police arrested people possessing anything that could be used as a weapon, including scissors, rulers and so on. So far, pots and pans have not been considered potential weapons, thus limiting the actions of the police, as these are considered peaceful demonstrations.

The casserolades are an old tradition in French political life and a type of protest used almost exclusively in Latin countries.

THE PARIS APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS FORMER PRESIDENT SARKOZY’S JAIL SENTENCE
On Wednesday, May 17th, the Paris Court of Appeals upheld the sentence of former president Nicolas Sarkozy in the so-called Bismuth case, involving corruption and influence peddling. The new ruling was more severe than that sought by the prosecutor, who had asked for only a suspended sentence. The former president’s sentence is now three years, of which two are suspended and one will be spent under house arrest with an electronic monitor. He was also banned from politics for three years.

If one were to compare the US and French judicial systems, it might appear that the French system took too long to reach this ruling, especially knowing that the former president will appeal it to the French Supreme Court. The legal proceedings in the case started in 2014.

Mr. Sarkozy is linked to eight other cases that are still pending, and is expected to be charged in some of them. The common sense opinion that I often hear and like quite a lot is that the Bismuth case shows that French democracy worked reasonably well in the past ten years to reach this result. Another comment I have heard is that even though the French judicial system is less independent than the American one, through the years it has shown that it can function fairly independently. I remind my readers that the government nominates all judges, that their careers depend on government decisions and that the prosecution strictly obeys the Garde des Sceaux, the French equivalent of attorney general or justice minister, who in turn obeys the prime minister and president.

CELEBRATING FRENCH LABOR DAY ON MAY 1st
The history of Labor Day
On May 1st, 1886, hundreds of thousands of American workers went on strike to demand an eight-hour workday. The unions had begun working toward this demand on May 1st, 1884. The date of May 1st was chosen because it was the first day of the accounting year for many companies.

A bitter victory
After the 1886 strike began, violent clashes broke out. In Chicago, a worker was killed on May 3rd and on the following day in Haymarket Square a bomb killed seven policemen. Eight workers were convicted of murder, of whom four were hanged and another committed suicide in jail. The three survivors were later pardoned due to uncertain evidence.

On May 1st, 1890, French unions commemorated these events by demonstrating in the streets to ask for an eight-hour workday. May 1st became a national holiday in 1948. The day is so protected by French law that any employee who is required to work that day gets three times the normal wage. Over the years, the holiday has been celebrated in various ways but it always ends with people marching down one of the large avenues or boulevards in Paris and most other cities in France.

Wikipedia
International Workers’ Day, also known as Labor Day in some countries and often referred to as May Day, is a celebration of laborers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labor movement and occurs every year on 1st May, or the first Monday in May.

Traditionally, 1st May is the date of the European spring festival of May Day. … The 1st May date was chosen by the American Federation of Labor to commemorate a general strike in the United States, which had begun on 1st May 1886 and culminated in the Haymarket affair four days later. The demonstration subsequently became a yearly event.

This year
The French people have a well-deserved reputation for demonstrating often and for what may seem to be futile reasons. The French media, police and unions scrutinize the number of people attending demonstrations to evaluate the unions’ popular support in their efforts to twist the arms of the government and sometimes employers. Therefore, weekly demonstrations, large crowds in the streets and substantial damage by thugs do not shake the government. The current crisis regarding the French presidency has deeper roots, illustrated by the fact that President Macron, not the government as such, is attacked and slandered personally during the demonstrations.

The French title of the American movie Airplane! (known in some countries as Flying High!) has become a common French expression: “Y a-t-il un pilote dans l’avion?” conveys the impression that there is no leadership, that an organization is going astray. I increasingly hear this kind of comment regarding Mr. Macron. Even before May 1st, he was a hated president. His approval rating was just 32% in late May, although that was a slight improvement from earlier in the month.

I hear a lot of people questioning whether he is capable of leading the country when a majority of the French deny him the authority to lead. During his first term, there were also violent demonstrations, notably during the gilets jaunes movement. But few people then felt that there was a vacuum in the French presidency. The president was implementing a policy and had sufficient support, possibly because the policy had some merit.

Many have predicted that if the French government cannot get the legislative job done through negotiation, it will end up in gridlock. I believe we have reached that point.

FRENCH BANKING AND AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP
Ever since the FATCA regulations went into full effect, American citizens have had a hard time opening bank accounts in France and most other countries.

Recently one of my American clients, who is a partner in a French corporation, asked a French expert-comptable (the equivalent of a CPA) which bank that firm worked with. I had explained that French banks’ secrecy rules prevent anybody who is not the client or another signatory on the account, or an authorized member of the French administration, from obtaining account information. But accountants work with their clients’ bank statements, so the French accountant in question mentioned a couple of banks specializing in the small business market.

That advice was exactly right – for a French client. But this client is an American citizen, and the banks mentioned, like all others, evaluate the issues they face, and having American clients is a major one. Being able to tailor services to the needs of small businesses does not really enter their evaluation. The partners in this client’s French corporation are having serious problems opening an account. France’s favorable banking legislation applies exclusively to private individuals residing in France. This means the partners could each open an account following the Banque de France procedure, but the business might not be able to do so.

I see a growing number of Americans organizing their life in France without even opening a French SEPA bank account. Many are so discouraged by what they hear that they do not even try. In the old days, when one went to renew any immigration status at the prefecture, the civil servant asked to see monthly statements from a French bank account. If there were only American ones, the file was not even reviewed until, ideally, the applicant explained their lack of compliance with the law, sometimes writing a letter describing their situation. If such cases were properly handled, with sufficient contrition, the prefecture would give a three-monthrécépissé and a new appointment to submit an updated file, preferably with a couple of French bank statements.

Now that many immigration procedures are completely online, the review is apparently more lenient regarding this matter. It would appear that one can submit three months of American credit card and bank statements showing spending done in France to have the visiteur status renewed. I would take this statement with a grain of salt; it is what is being said in the expat community, but I do not yet have proof. Still, I believe it is possible that several Americans have been able to renew their immigration status this way. The Paris prefecture shows significant leniency toward Americans in such matters. Nevertheless, exercising leniency is not the same as applying a new regulation issued and signed by the proper authority.

I understand why so many are choosing this option. But I still advise everyone to do whatever it takes to get a SEPA bank account, especially now that banks like the Belgium-based Wise Europe and some German online banks are more readily accepting American clients.

A MESSAGE I RECEIVED FROM AMERICAN EXPRESS FRANCE 
I have no intention of advertising for this company. I just hold their debit card and thus, as one of their clients, received the message below. Of course, they are communicating in their own best interest. At the same time, I find it interesting that the message primarily details the obligations French businesses have regardless of size. So here is my translation of it.

We remind you that:
– The use of your American Express Business Card is for business expenses only.
– Your American Express Business Card must be linked to your Business Bank Account.

With your American Express Business Card, your administrative management is simplified:
– Your detailed monthly statement of expenses can be accessed on your computer or tablet, or from your smartphone.
– You can export this data to Excel® in just a few clicks, to facilitate accounting reconciliation.
– Access your expense history for 10 years at no additional cost.

In addition, to simplify the management of your employees’ expense reports, equip them with additional American Express Professional Cards to centralize all their expenses in a single card account. These expenses will then be debited to the company’s bank account.

Depending on the status of your company, you may be required by law to record all your business transactions in a business bank account and thus keep independent accounts.

USE OF FRENCH REAL ESTATE MUST BE DECLARED BY JUNE 30th 
Reminder, the French tax office requires owners of property located in France to file about the use of each property by the end of June.

Even for non-French residents, the procedure is quite simple, since the tax office has created accounts usingtaxe foncière and taxe d’habitation information. Problems can arise when these taxes are issued to a corporation, such as an SCI or an LLC, which means the private individual who uses the place and owns the corporation is not registered as the owner. There is a 150€ fine per property for defaulting on this obligation.

www.impots.gouv.fr/particulier/questions/quelles-informations-sont-declarer-le-nouveau-service-en-ligne-gerer-mes 
www.impots.gouv.fr/formulaire-de-creation-dacces-lespace-particulier-non-residents

SHIP WELCOMED ITS FIRST TENANT IN MAY
The first tenant of the Survival Home in Paris moved in on May 5th. This renter exactly fits the profile I had in mind. Their VLS-TS visa request was processed with the rental contract. The initial procedures are done using the rent receipts. So far we have the studio rented through August 2023 with confirmed tenants and I have candidates for a rental after that. It may even be rented until the end of 2023.

OFFICE CLOSED FOR SUMMER VACATION 

The office will be closed for six weeks over the summer holidays, starting on Friday, July 7th, in the evening and reopening on the morning of Monday, August 21st. 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

SELLING REAL ESTATE WITH A FLAW IN THE TITLE

I am contacting you with a rather urgent question. I bought an apartment in 2005 with the landing toilet annexed and integrated into the apartment by a former owner. The right to use it was approved in 2001 and she recently told me that the work had been done several years before that. Thanks to the current syndic, I now have the minutes of this 2001 General Meeting granting her the usage of the WC.
Now I wish to sell it and the notaire in charge of the transaction is blocking it for two reasons:
(i) The right of usage mentioned in the minutes is nominative. Therefore it was not transferred to me when I purchased the apartment.
(ii) There is no trace of any purchase of this common area, which is now part of my apartment.
His position is that I cannot sell something that I do not own!
So my only choice is to either get the co-ownership to grant or sell me the right to use my WC or to purchase this portion of the common area that is located inside my apartment. I have been living there for almost 20 years and this feels like insanity.
I cannot wait for the 2024 general meeting, and if I ask to convene an exceptional general meeting to approve one of these two solutions it might cost up to 3,000€. Indeed I must pay in full all the costs related to holding this meeting and it might occur in a couple of months at best. I am sure I will have lost my buyer by then. Help me get out of this insanity.

QUESTION

PROCEDURE FOR THE SPOUSE OF A PASSEPORT TALENT HOLDER

I am contacting you with a rather urgent question. I bought an apartment in 2005 with the landing toilet annexed and integrated into the apartment by a former owner. The right to use it was approved in 2001 and she recently told me that the work had been done several years before that. Thanks to the current syndic, I now have the minutes of this 2001 General Meeting granting her the usage of the WC.
Now I wish to sell it and the notaire in charge of the transaction is blocking it for two reasons:
(i) The right of usage mentioned in the minutes is nominative. Therefore it was not transferred to me when I purchased the apartment.
(ii) There is no trace of any purchase of this common area, which is now part of my apartment.
His position is that I cannot sell something that I do not own!
So my only choice is to either get the co-ownership to grant or sell me the right to use my WC or to purchase this portion of the common area that is located inside my apartment. I have been living there for almost 20 years and this feels like insanity.
I cannot wait for the 2024 general meeting, and if I ask to convene an exceptional general meeting to approve one of these two solutions it might cost up to 3,000€. Indeed I must pay in full all the costs related to holding this meeting and it might occur in a couple of months at best. I am sure I will have lost my buyer by then. Help me get out of this insanity.

Well, I’m a gonna raise a fuss, I’m gonna raise a holler
About workin’ all summer just to try an’ earn a dollar
Everytime I call my baby, to try to get a date
My boss says, no dice, son, you gotta work late
Sometimes I wonder what I’m gonna do
‘Cause there ain’t no cure for the summertime blues
Well, my mom an papa told me, son, you gotta make some money
If you want to use the car to go ridin’ next sunday
Well I didn’t go to work, told the boss I was sick
Now you can’t use the car ’cause you didn’t work a lick
Sometimes I wonder what I’m gonna do
‘Cause there ain’t no cure for the summertime blues
Ow
I’m gonna take two weeks, gonna have a vacation
I’m gonna take my problem to the United Nation
Well I called my congressman and he said quote
“I’d like to help you son, but you’re too young to vote”
Sometimes I wonder what I’m gonna do
‘Cause there ain’t no cure for the summertime blues
Well, I’m a gonna raise a fuss, I’m gonna raise a holler
About workin’ all summer just to try an’ earn a dollar
Sometimes I wonder what I’m gonna do
‘Cause there ain’t no cure for the summertime blues
Yeah, sometimes I wonder what I’m gonna do
‘Cause there ain’t no cure for the summertime blues
No, there ain’t no cure for the summertime blues

The song “Summertime Blues” was recorded by the American rock and rockabilly artist Eddie Cochran and written by Cochran and his manager, Jerry Capehart. It was released in August 1958, originally as a single B-side..

Out of all the weeks I was supposed to be on vacation, I was away from Paris only during the last one. I saw and heard about calamities occurring in the USA, France and pretty much all over Europe this summer. My awareness of these tribulations made me choose this song. While my office was closed, I also had to deal with some hardships of my own.

Instead of information about how many people spent time in seashore resorts and how warm the sea was, this year we heard about wildfires all over France, and in many parts of Europe, as well as in areas generally not affected in the USA and Canada. We also heard about deaths from flooding and storms, as well as serious droughts. And this is just the news about the climate! The rest of the news, regardless of the topics, has been pretty gloomy, and one needs to scrutinize the media to find good news that inspires cautious optimism.

THE TAIWAN CRISIS
In my November 2021 issue, titled “Cloudy,” I described my longtime interest in the modern history of Taiwan. As often happens with old civilizations, to understand what is happening today one needs to go back several centuries, and I have researched Taiwanese history from the 17th century up to the present. With some Far East nations, exploring history for several thousand years is necessary to decipher current situations, and I almost never see such an in-depth perspective in either the French or American media reporting about the current situation in Taiwan. Suddenly everyone has discovered the conflict that exists in the China Sea, yet the origins of the impasse began in 1949 when General Chiang Kai-Shek and his armies and followers found refuge on the island known as Formosa. Tensions were high in August 2022, with the media talking about war being imminent. But I doubt armed conflict will break out any time soon. The hope that journalists covering this situation will go back to 1996, the year of the first-ever direct and de facto democratic presidential election in Taiwan, is perhaps not very realistic in today’s environment, but should diligent journalists cover those events, people today would be better informed and take sensationalist journalism with a grain of salt. Nevertheless, I believe that Nancy Pelosi is well acquainted with the history of Taiwan in the past 26 years, and probably even longer, as she was militant about the Tiananmen Square protests held in Beijing, which occurred in 1989.

THE FINALIZATION OF THE “A SURVIVAL HOME IN PARIS” PROJECT 
The closing on the property on August 11th almost did not occur, as few of the parties concerned were in town except our family. Based on the situation as of August 31st, it would be quite optimistic to envision the first guest moving in on November 1st. The renovation should be completed in September but the delivery of the furniture is going to take about two months and, as my regular readers know, whatever is done in August does not count, as the factories are closed. I will use my Facebook account and the October issue to keep people informed about the exact date when everything will be ready.

I remind my readers of the kind of project I have in mind. The studio should ideally serve as temporary but comfortable lodging for someone who has either secured a long-stay visa or is submitting a request for one. It could also be for someone who wants to “test drive” living in France while on a 90-day Schengen regulation before taking the plunge – or not – to buy or rent somewhere on a more long-term basis. After 25 years of offering “A Survival Kit for Paris,” I will soon be able to propose “A Survival Home in Paris” to those who need it, as an extension of my services.

These are the guidelines to accommodate this project:

Rentals will be for a minimum of two months, maximum of six months. This is meant to be the first step toward settling in Paris, or for people who have a serious interest regarding France.

The monthly rent is 1,200€, all included (internet access, utilities and so on), with payment for the duration of the rental period due when the reservation is made.

The security deposit of the same amount, 1,200€, is added to the rent payment.

This is a no-smoking, no-pet place.

My website should soon have a section dedicated to the apartment so that reservations and payment can be done online.

Given the size of the studio – 329 square feet (30 square meters) – and the way it is set up, it is ideal for a single person. It might be considered a tad too small for a couple by American standards: there is just one room, which includes the kitchen, and only the bathroom is separate.

The two walk-throughs cost 150€ each and the initial one includes as such a one-hour session with my assistant, Sarah, for advice and guidance to help with the stay aside from showing the studio, its appliances, and other things.

While this rental business is totally separate from my consulting business, I expect many of the guests will have been my clients earlier, so the two lines of service can coexist.

EU INFORMATION FOR VISITORS: ETIAS AND STAYING AFTER PERMISSION EXPIRES
I discovered two breakthroughs have come from the EU administration.

ETIAS
What I believe to be the more important of the two concerns the planned European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS).

Currently citizens of 63 countries that are not in the European Union (EU) can enter the EU’s Schengen area without a visa. The USA is one of these countries.

ETIAS will be a completely electronic system that allows and keeps track of visitors from these countries. It resembles the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), which serves a similar purpose in the USA.

The legal process to create ETIAS started in 2016. The system is expected to be fully operational in May 2023, but not mandatory until the following November. Currently there is still some uncertainty regarding the timing of its implementation. 

ETIAS will make a detailed security check of each applicant to determine whether they are allowed to enter a Schengen country. This procedure applies to those who do not need a visa for travel of up to 90 days in the EU. ETIAS will gather, keep track of and update information to make sure they are not a security threat. It will also monitor precisely who is overstaying the 90-day limit inside the Schengen area.

People who are applying for or renewing an immigration status do not need to request ETIAS.

www.schengenvisainfo.com/etias

Staying after a visa or other permission has expired
I am often asked about this second issue. My answer has always been that at the end of the immigration right documented by a visa, carte de séjour or other document, the illegal stay starts. At the same time, especially in France, there is a certain tolerance for stays beyond that date. The European Commission has issued a statement that recognized this right to overstay the expiration date of an immigration status at the EU level, which I have been calling “tolerance”.

Here is the statement given by Dimitris Avramopoulos, then EU Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship. on behalf of the Commission on March 13th, 2015, to an EU Parliament question:

“The Commission confirms its reply of 16 December 2014 on the same issue (E-007775/2014). Consecutive stays beyond 90 days in a Member State (such as a continuous stay without interruption right after the expiry of a long‐term residence permit) are not regulated by the Schengen acquis.

“According to Article 5(1a) of the Schengen Borders Code, the periods of stay authorized under a residence permit or a long-stay visa shall not be taken into account in the calculation of the duration of short-stay on the territory of the Schengen Member States (when assessing the compliance with the 90 days in any 180-day rule provided by the EU/Schengen acquis). This provision thus allows visa-free third-country nationals (such as US citizens) legally to remain in the Schengen area and visit the other Schengen Member States than the one that issued the residence permit; they can start ‘consuming’ their 90 days visa-free ‘tourist’-stay without leaving and re-entering the Schengen area.

“However, this provision does not allow for a continuous, uninterrupted stay in the Member State that issued the residence permit. As already stated, that would require a successful application for the prolongation/extension of stay from the Member State that issued the permit, which is obviously to be arranged before the expiry of the permit. Finally, it is to be noted that the EU/Schengen acquis does not prevent the Member States from prolonging the stay (extending the validity of the permit) for less than 90 days. The overall duration of stay matters, when, as is the case in the example discussed here, this is more than 90 days, national law applies.”

www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-8-2015-000886-ASW_EN.html

The parliamentary question, reference E-007775/2014, to which the first paragraph refers, was as follows:

“In the Commission’s view, is it possible for a third‐country national residing in an EU Member State based on a long‐term residence permit to then, once that permit has expired, remain without interruption in that same Member State based on the rules on staying in the Schengen Area — i.e., 90 days out of 180 days? If not, would it be necessary for that foreign national to leave the Member State of residence as soon as possible and then re‐enter since the relevant provisions connect the right to remain on the territory with the ‘arrival’ in that territory?

“This question mainly concerns third‐country nationals (i.e., non-European) for whom compulsory EU visa programs are in place.”

THE RIGHT TO OPEN A FRENCH BANK ACCOUNT IS NOW EASIER TO ENFORCE
As of June 13th, 2022, people who apply for a bank account and do not receive a reply within 15 days of their application can turn immediately to the Banque de France, which will designate a bank close to the applicant’s home. This procedure is open to any person residing in France or other EU country, any French person residing abroad and certain applicants who are not allowed to use a bank.

A decree published on March 13th, 2022, in the Journal Officiel simplified the procedure for people who do not have a deposit account and cannot obtain one from the institutions they have applied to. The objective is to modify the deadlines in the procedures concerning the right to an account and improve follow-up.

A person without an account who has not received a response from the bank contacted within 15 days may refer the matter to the Banque de France by providing proof of their application in the form of an acknowledgment of receipt of the registered letter sent to the banking establishment or a receipt for hand delivery of the request.

The implicit refusal system that came into force on June 13th, 2022 replaced the certificate of refusal to open an account that the bank concerned had to produce. It was sometimes difficult or even impossible to obtain this certificate. Now one only has to refer the matter to the Banque de France to assert one’s right to an account.

Within one working day of the referral, the Banque de France designates a bank near the applicant’s home or other place of their choice. Within three days of this designation, the bank chosen must provide the customer with the documents required to open an account.

The designated institution is not obliged to open an account, but it must inform the Banque de France of the reason for any refusal. It must also inform the Banque de France if it subsequently terminates the account management agreement opened under this process.

The designated bank must provide the following basic services:

• – opening, maintaining and closing the account,
• – issuing bank identity statements on request called RIB, which has the IBAN of the account,
• – effecting direct debit of bank transfers,
• – sending a monthly statement of transactions on the account,
• – carrying out cash operations,
• – providing checkbooks and bank transfers,
• – carrying out cash deposits and withdrawals at the counter or ATMs,
• – making payments by direct debit, interbank payment orders or bank transfers,
• – providing a means of remote consultation of the account balance,
• – furnishing a bank card and authorizing its use,
• – providing two bank check forms per month or an equivalent means of payment offering the same service..

Established by article 58 of the law of January 24th, 1984, on the activity and control of credit institutions, the right to a bank account is open to any individual or legal entity residing in France, to any individual requesting an account for non-business purposes and residing in another EU country and to any French person residing abroad. Applicants who are banned from banking, registered in the file of personal credit incidents or the central checks file, or in an overdraft situation may also exercise this right.

www.service-public.fr/particuliers/actualites/A15560

MY FEES ARE INCREASING ON SEPTEMBER 1st, 2022
1st meeting/1st work: 350 euros for 2 hours 
Extra per hour: 150 euros 
Handling mail in my office: 50 euros per month 
Handling mail at my home: 60 euros per month 
Surcharge for out-of-office meetings: 80 euros, assuming less than 30 minutes’ transportation 
Surcharge for meetings and phone calls at the client’s request after 7PM weekdays, all weekend, on national French holidays and during vacations: 30%.

QUESTION

MOVING BELONGINGS TO FRANCE AND FRENCH CUSTOMS REGULATIONS

After completing my two-year master’s at the University of Rennes next month, the university has helped us obtain a two-year extension to our passport-talent visas from the prefecture.
Now that my immigration situation is under control, my wife and I would finally like to move our household possessions to France – they have been in storage in the United States since I started living in France.
We have started working with an international moving company who will handle processing the container through French customs, but they need us to provide an Attestation de non-cession and to get a Certificate of Change of Residence from the French Consulate, if I understand correctly.
We need to explain to the consulate/customs authorities that, even though we have been physically in France longer than 12 months already, it has not been our résidence normale as defined by Les franchises douanières et fiscales de droit commun à l’importation, which states that La fréquentation d’une université ou d’une école n’implique pas le transfert de la résidence normale.
This said, we understand that the French consulate via the process of requesting a Certificate of Change of Residence should deny us such documents, based on the fact that I am holding a passeport talent visa. I also studied the document issued by French customs called Les franchises douanières et fiscales de droit commun à l’importation.
We have avis d’impots and have paid the taxes d’habitation for each of the three years during which I had passeport talent immigration status. Based on my research, these French fiscal documents would be refused by the French consulate as part of processing my Certificate of Change of Residence.Please let us know if you can provide that type of assistance, or if you need more information.

QUESTION

EMPLOYEE IMMIGRATION STATUS

I am looking for some advice regarding my immigration status. I moved from the USA a couple of years ago with an employee/salarié visa. I am currently holding a carte de séjour salarié I got last year. I have still the same employer who sponsored me in the first place. I now have a CDI, and I am renewing to receive a four-year carte de séjour salarié. I would like advice regarding changing employers once this new carte de séjour salarié has been issued.

First, I would like to wish you all a very happy and prosperous 2022! There is a point at which we need to fill ourselves with optimism, regardless of what is happening around us.

Happy New Year!

I believe that many of us, and probably all of us, are thinking that the year 2022 has to be better than 2021, which, in some ways, was just as bad as 2020 for a great number of us.

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.

Sad Lisa
She hangs her head and cries on my shirt
She must be hurt very badly
Tell me what’s making you sad, Li? 
Open your door, don’t hide in the dark
You’re lost in the dark, you can trust me
’Cause you know that’s how it must be
Lisa Lisa, sad Lisa Lisa
Her eyes like windows, trickle in rain
Upon the pain getting deeper
Though my love wants to relieve her
She walks alone from wall to wall
Lost in her hall, she can’t hear me
Though I know she likes to be near me
Lisa Lisa, sad Lisa Lisa
She sits in a corner by the door
There must be more I can tell her
If she really wants me to help her
I’ll do what I can to show her the way
And maybe one day I will free her
Though I know no one can see her
Lisa Lisa, sad Lisa Lis

Tea for the Tillerman was the fourth studio album by singer-songwriter Cat Stevens (Yusuf), released in November 1970. “Sad Lisa” was the fourth song on side 1.

For days I searched for a title, not knowing what angle of life I wanted to share. These days, life feels like a roller coaster. Bad news keeps coming after good, and this is happening too often for a lot of people and destabilizing many. I increasingly hear about people who have been deeply disturbed by nearly two years of a never-ending pandemic that has changed everybody’s daily life. A great many have been hit hard and are really struggling to hang in there. Some have lost jobs, others have lost self-confidence, and some have sought psychiatric help. Many are going through what the lyrics of this song describe. Professionally and personally I know people who have been greatly affected.

So yes, we can be optimistic that the end of the pandemic, the end of several crises, will occur this year. We need to be optimistic to be at our best against adversity, and some of us can manage to do this. But let’s not forget the ones who have a hard time getting through the day and who need tiny rays of sunshine in their eyes.

REINSTATING JOSEPHINE BAKER’S AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 
It is commonly noted that French troops fought on the American side during the War of Independence and that American troops helped liberate France during WWII. This illustrates the strong bond between the two countries. Many American towns and landmarks are named after the commanders of the French troops in the War of Independence, “Lafayette and Rochambeau.” These names are familiar to many but I am not sure everybody knows who they were and why streets and towns are named after them.

Wikipedia
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette, was a French aristocrat and military officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War, commanding American troops in several battles, including the siege of Yorktown. After returning to France, he was a key figure in the French Revolution of 1789 and the July Revolution of 1830. He has been considered a national hero in both countries.

Wikipedia
Marshal Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau (1 July 1725 – 10 May 1807) was a French nobleman and general whose army played the decisive role in helping the United States defeat the British army at Yorktown in 1781 during the American Revolution. He was commander-in-chief of the French Expeditionary Force sent by France to help the American Continental Army fight against British forces.

Interestingly, in my day little time was devoted to them in French schools. I learned a lot more about how decisive their actions were once I lived in the USA.

I started to think about all this when Josephine Baker were inducted into the Panthéon on Tuesday, November 30th. Only a few exceptional French people get this honor. In a way, the monuments in Washington, DC named after American presidents serve a similar purpose. Hence it is interesting that this American-born French citizen, remarkable in so many ways, is so little known in the USA.

Wikipedia
Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald, naturalized French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French entertainer, French Resistance agent and civil rights activist. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted France. She was the first black woman to star in a major motion picture, the 1927 silent film Siren of the Tropics, directed by Mario Nalpas and Henri Étiévant.

During her early career, Baker was among the most celebrated performers to headline the revues of the Folies Bergère in Paris. Her performance in the revue Un vent de folie in 1927 caused a sensation in the city. Her costume, consisting of only a short skirt of artificial bananas and a beaded necklace, became an iconic image and a symbol both of the Jazz Age and the Roaring Twenties. …

She aided the French Resistance during World War II. After the war, she was awarded the Resistance Medal by the French Committee of National Liberation, the Croix de Guerre by the French military, and was named a Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur by General Charles de Gaulle. Baker sang: “I have two loves, my country, and Paris.”

Some American groups in Paris have expressed interest in having Baker’s American citizenship reinstated; she lost it when she married a Frenchman. Such a move would make sense: The USA would recognize that this French heroine born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1906 and who moved to France as a young adult, also had a significant impact on strengthening the ties between the two countries. Sadly, it would also be about the Jim Crow era at the time, when she had to move to France to be able to have a career as a performer.

The metro stop Gaîté was renamed after her at the time of the Panthéon ceremony. There are streets, a swimming pool and other places named after her throughout France.

There will be those who think that Baker, after leaving the USA at the young age of 18 and spending her life and career in France, did not retain enough ties with the USA to be recognized this way. But I find it interesting that on February 6th, 2016, a transport station named for Rosa Parks was inaugurated, even though the civil rights activist never came to France or had any interaction with Paris.

Until 2011, the station was to be called Évangile, after the rue de l’Évangile and the wayside cross from which the street takes its name. The name Rosa Parks was first given to the nearby tram station in 2012. “We wanted at least 50% female names. There was a lot of debate, in particular with the RATP, which favors existing place names, but for Rosa Parks, there was a consensus: this is a must for a tram stop, it is a strong symbol,” recalled Annick Lepetit, Mayor Bertrand Delanoë’s deputy in charge of transport. People living in the nearby Curial-Cambrai social housing project were asked to vote on a list of ten names; their top choice was Bernard Tétu, a local doctor who died in 2003. But Rosa Parks ran a close second. “We then had the idea of changing the Évangile name to that of Rosa Parks, which gained a consensus and made sense,” said a spokesperson for François Dagnaud, mayor of the 19th arrondissement. The Syndicat des Transports d’Île-de-France, now called Île-de-France Mobilités, agreed. The name caught on and was also given to the Rosa-Parks/Macdonald neighborhood council and a community center opened in 2016.

I find all these juxtapositions interesting. I believe the Franco-American friendship still exists and can be seen in multiple ways.

ETHNIC NEIGHBORHOODS IN CITIES AND INTEGRATION
A reader recently wrote to me:
“Dear Jean, your newsletter was excellent. This quote stuck in my mind. I like your word “fascinate”, which could be written ‘I don’t understand how’” Americans can live in a foreign country, learn computer skills (to renew their Carte de Séjour Temporaire) yet not speak or try to speak French. It is beyond me and makes Americans look (in my book) not so good. I am here to experience France, to learn to communicate and to speak French. When I lived in NYC, Puerto Ricans (a very close-knit people) would live in NYC for 40 years and still not bother to try to speak English. I know this, not only by living in NYC but also from teaching English in Puerto Rico. Stubborn and scared. A great letter! Thank you.”

I professionally help foreigners with their French immigration issues. After all these years, I am familiar with the numerous reasons why foreigners settle in France. It can be a short-term assignment by an employer, which gives little motivation to do the hard work of getting deeply acquainted with the French lifestyle and culture. As I was an immigrant when I lived in the USA, I understand the trials, tribulations and hardships one goes through when starting a completely new life in another country. This reader talks about a different issue, which I would like to address.

I rode Greyhound buses across the entire country, starting in New York and going to Los Angeles CA, Spokane WA, Cheyenne WY, Birmingham AL, Indianapolis IN, Montpelier VT and back to New York before I lived for a few years in the USA. For historical reasons, ethnic neighborhoods are often found in large cities. I had a heartbreaking experience walking for an entire day, pretty much from dawn to dusk, all over southern Chicago in the summer of 1981. The walk took me through block after block of rundown African-American neighborhoods but also through Chinese and Italian areas, as was to be expected, as well as Spanish, Greek, Irish, Polish and Russian enclaves. The last was the one that surprised me the most, with signs written in Cyrillic. I could visualize the different waves of immigration coming to the USA. In those days being part of such a community helped with getting a place to live, a job, starting a new life. This was imperative; it was a matter of survival. With some imagination, after seeing pictures and stories of immigrants just off the boats at Ellis Island, I could visualize their lives decades ago, living and working in a new land.

France never used to have anything like this long tradition of ethnic neighborhoods. It was said, and for centuries it was true, that French cities, especially Paris, had neighborhoods defined by profession. One of the best known is the rue du Faubourg Saint Antoine, where artisans specialized in woodworking and producing furniture opened shops. That is why French people always used to say that ethnic neighborhoods could not and did not exist in France, until the evidence of such areas became glaringly visible. The first one started in the early 20th century, just north of the metro station Barbès, located in Paris’s 18th arrondissement. The adjoining neighborhood is now world famous for its North African identity. Algerians were the first to move there in the 1920s, on and around the rue de la Goutte d´Or, which is a couple of streets north of the Boulevard de la Chapelle. Gentrification has greatly diminished their presence.

There are two Chinatowns in Paris. The older one, in the 13th, was located historically between Porte de Choisy, Porte d’Ivry and Place d’Italie. It was begun by Vietnamese boat people who fled to their former colonial power, France, after the Vietnam War ended in 1975. Such migration peaked in 1978-79 but was still going on in the early 1990s.

It is difficult to determine whether the existence of concentrations of immigrants helps or deters their acceptance into the general population. In the USA, integration came about haphazardly in the work place, while France focused on encouraging assimilation through the education of schoolchildren, although both countries used both methods.

In France and the USA alike, as in many other countries, if surviving as an immigrant who has arrived with nothing necessitates staying in the ethnic community, nevertheless this strong connection with the other immigrants from the home country can considerably delay integration into the general population, especially because it makes it so difficult to learn the new language. My initial comment was never meant to describe such immigrants.

Furthermore – and to a certain extent I will contradict myself from one issue to the next – while all immigrants have a story, they do not always tell it fully. When they are sent by their employer, they leave their country for that reason. Another reason may be a romantic partner waiting for them. Or they may be leaving behind a traumatic life: perhaps in the USA they lived through a traumatic divorce or the death of a parent or other loved one. Does it really matter what made them come to France? Some manage to rebound as they create a new life. Some carry hidden emotional scars and do their best to get by and adapt to this new world.

I admit that the statement I made in the December issue might seem harsh and insensitive when seen from that angle. I was talking about how not speaking some French is a severe handicap for people living in France. It often has a compounding effect, not only making it harder on them and thus creating cultural misunderstandings, it also leads them to do the wrong things. But this is the life some have chosen, and the best thing is to be there, walking along with them. This is the part of their life that is deeply buried. We never know their entire story, even if we get a glimpse of what brought them to France. I feel privileged that several have confided in me.

BANKING IN FRANCE 
Another reader has this to say:
“I was interested to read that article in the Q&A section of your newsletter from the person who had a bank account closed. You hooked me up with Barclay’s in 2005, which later became Barclay’s France, then Milleis. I also got the 60-day closure of the account letter.

The entire process was a three-month disaster. They blocked my account and CB and would not return my calls.

Fortunately, I was able to open a new account at BNP Paribas and all is OK now I have gotten my balance back from Milleis.

It took two months from the first visit to receive a checkbook and a CB from BNP – they said the delay was because I was American.

All of my direct debits (SFR, EdF, Orange, AmEx, etc.) were rejected, and since I had no approved account from BNP I was making transfers from my US bank and paying extra fees. The long nightmare is now over.”

I understand and respect your initial reflex, starting with disbelief that the decision is final and therefore thinking some explanation to the bank will fix the problem. It is quite common for banks to give no warning signals that the client can pick up. The exchange with the bank often drags on for days or even weeks before the client realizes the decision is definitive. Since the client does not know the reason for the decision, they are destabilized, which often further delays looking for another bank. Opening an account takes a long time, so in such situations there is a long wait between the closure of the old account and the moment the new one becomes fully operational. This reader’s experience underlines my advice: Do not wait or argue. It is essential to realize the bank’s decision is final. Contact other banks as soon as possible and get a new account opened without delaying. This may make it possible to have a smoother transition and avoid cancellation of services such as cell phone and internet because monthly payments are not wired when due, as this reader testified. There may also be fees or fines linked to the lack of payment.

AMERICAN NOTARIZATION IN FRANCE 
For a long time, the only way to get documents notarized by an American notary public was to go to those working at the US consulates in France. The one in Paris is expensive at $50 per notarization, and sometimes the schedule is such that the first available appointment is weeks away, while the need that expats have is often urgent. Lately, however, online notarization services have appeared, making the task much easier.

A French notaire is a completely different professional from a notary public, but some of them accept to notarize documents. The problem is that, increasingly, American entities asking for notarization do not recognize the French process of notarizing documents, even when they are in English.

Here is the website of one of the many online notary services: www.notarize.com.

THE LATEST ON FRENCH HEALTH REGULATIONS: FROM PASS SANITAIRE TO PASS VACCINAL 
I should have learned by now not to write about this. The policies stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic change from one week to the next. It takes me a long time to draft this column: I often start as much as three weeks before it is published. When I was writing this, the French Parliament was discussing whether apass vaccinal should replace the pass sanitaire (the answer was yes, in the end). The key difference is that under the new policy only fully vaccinated people (who may be required to have booster shots, depending on the dates of their prior inoculations) and the recently COVID-recovered are allowed access to a variety of public places.

CREATION OF SÉCURITÉ SOCIALE, THE FRENCH SOCIAL SAFETY NET 
All European countries have some form of universal public health care covering their nationals and foreigners. In light of the debates, discussions and talk shows broadcast in the USA and France, I believe it might be useful to talk about how France came by its system of universal health coverage, retirement and robust, far-reaching family subsidies.

France came out of World War II with Charles de Gaulle at the head of the two distinct factions who had fought the German occupation: the Communists and the Gaullists. De Gaulle put the country back on its feet. He named members of his own party as well as members of the Communist Party to his cabinet. In those days, the French Communist Party followed the Soviet Communist Party line. Thus in April 1946, the minister of Labor and Social Security, a communist named Ambroise Croizat, introduced his plan for a humanist utopia, which he called social security. As described in the program of the National Council of Resistance, it had three divisions, which still exist:Assurance maladie is the health coverage, Assurance vieillesse is retirement and the Caisse d’Allocations Familiales provides subsidies for families and the poor.

That was 76 years ago. French people are notorious for criticizing everything in France, and it is true that some aspects of the French social safety net are indeed inadequate for the 21st century. But the fact is, none of these programs has collapsed, and the local Caisses Primaires d’Assurance Maladie (CPAM) are handling a very challenging pandemic. I talked earlier about naming public places; it is important to note that many cities have named some streets, etc. after Ambroise Croizat. In Paris, Place Ambroise-Croizat is in the 14th arrondissement.

To learn more:
www.franceculture.fr/histoire/a-lorigine-de-la-securite-sociale .

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

Best regards,

QUESTION

PICKING UP THE CARTE DE SEJOUR AT THE PARIS PREFECTURE

My carte de séjour is waiting for me at the prefecture in Paris but I am unable to make an appointment to pick it up. I am currently in the USA and cannot access the site. I will be back in late March and will be able to go at any time of any day to pick it up. My récépissé will still be valid. Is it still possible to book an appointment on this site? Thank you for any help you can provide. When I try to access the site from the USA, I get a message saying “Interdit. Service surchargé. Le service que vous avez demandé est actuellement surchargé et/ou il n’y plus de créneaux de rendez-vous disponibles pour le moment. Veuillez réitérer votre demande ultérieurement.”

QUESTION

WHAT IS THE OFII MEDICAL VISIT?

When I had the medical exam at the OFII medical office in November, the exam disclosed some issues that were of concern to the doctor. He told me to have a scan done and he wanted to know if I had some pre-existing respiratory conditions. I had the scan in December which disclosed that the spot was an old scar. However, this scan disclosed an abnormality on an artery. The OFII doctor told me to seek a private doctor and have it scanned, which I did quickly. The doctor performing the scan told me that I did not have an aneurysm, and that the artery was enlarged a little and should be checked periodically. My doctor also set up a test for the middle of March for a routine hospital scanning procedure. This doctor said to have the OFII doctor call him. The OFII doctor tried to call my personal doctor from the office when we returned with the latest medical information. He could not reach him. He then told me that he would not sign off because he was unable to talk to my doctor. We have now made three trips seeking the sign-off and each time a new requirement arises. While we were there, he checked to see how much time my husband and I have before we have to apply to continue our long-stay visa. (We have to apply soon, as our year ends this summer.)
Each time I have returned to his office, there is a new reason for not signing. This provokes questions about this process: If he refuses to sign, do we have to leave when our visa expires? If his sole purpose is to find any contagious diseases and check immunizations, why is this process continuing? or is he seeking to protect France’s medical system from reimbursing the costs of extensive medical treatment? Do I have to have a Carte Vitale to apply to continue our long-stay visa or can we continue to pay my medical expenses ourselves and apply? Can we be forced to return to the U.S. because of my medical issues? Needless to say, this has caused a lot of anxiety for us. We spent three years planning for a permanent move here including living in a hotel for so many months during France’s lockout of visa applications. I would like to anticipate what we can do and put a plan in motion in preparation for a return to the U.S if all this is leading to a visa rejection. Thank you for your time in this matter.

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?

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.

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?

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?

From Wikipedia:
“(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” is a song by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult from the band’s 1976 albumAgents of Fortune.

Also from Wikipedia:
Death is frequently imagined as a personified force. In some mythologies, a character known as the Grim Reaper causes the victim’s death by coming to collect that person’s soul. Other beliefs hold that the Spectre of Death is only a psychopomp, serving to sever the last ties between the soul and the body, and to guide the deceased to the afterlife, without having any control over when or how the victim dies.

I have been listening to Blue Öyster Cult since my first year in high school and probably have most of their albums. I find their music a lot more eclectic than the vast majority of hard-rock bands.

The world is now looking with great fear at the rapid spread of the coronavirus from one country to the next. Those who have some historical perspective might think of the Black Plague, the terrifying bubonic plague pandemic that swept through Asia, Europe and Africa in the 14th century, killing an estimated 50 million people. The termla Grande Faucheuse, French for the Grim Reaper, dates from that time. It has been over a century since the last major pandemic: the Spanish flu at the end of World War I, which lasted from January 1918 to December 1920.

The American presidential campaign is now in full swing, with one pundit or another saying the USA will be doomed if President Trump is reelected or Mr. Sanders or now Mr. Bloomberg becomes president. All this hyperbole sadly corresponds to the current American political debate. To such commentators in the media, I would like to say, “Don’t fear the reaper.” Clearly a lot is at stake when choosing a presidential candidate, but extreme statements do the country no good.

By contrast, some speak of global warming and the accompanying destruction of life in similar terms. In this case, though, showing how scary the situation is and how much worse it will become if nothing is done is the right thing to do, as climate change poses a serious risk that must be addressed: a future with human life wiped off the face of the earth. This said, describing the Reaper harvesting whatever is left, seems excessive to me.

“(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” is a love song, which I find very interesting. One reason I like the band is that they come up with some interesting twists. In a moment when fear seems to be the prevailing emotion in many countries, we need a message of hope and love, a promise that we can get involved and build a better future.

From the lyrics:
All our times have come
Here but now they’re gone.
Seasons don’t fear the reaper,
Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain.
We can be like they are.
Come on, baby, don’t fear the reaper.
Baby, take my hand, don’t fear the reaper.
We’ll be able to fly, don’t fear the reaper.
Baby, I’m your man.

INTERESTING STATISTICS ON FRENCH IMMIGRATION
In many countries, when the government wants to reduce the immigration flow, more undocumented aliens are expelled from the country and fewer foreigners are granted immigration status. Both liberal and conservative governments can favor increasing or decreasing the immigrant population. Right now in several countries, including the USA, immigration policy is a political issue. President Reagan was strongly in favor of the American tradition of welcoming immigrants. In France, the conservative government of General de Gaulle and his successor, Mr. Pompidou, opened the French borders wide before the rules became much stricter under the Socialist government of President Mitterrand.

In 2019, France increased both the number of immigrants allowed to stay and the number of expulsions. There were 276,576 first-time immigration cards issued, representing a slow but steady increase; in 2015, for instance, around 217,500 new cartes de séjour were issued. The 2019 total included some 31,200 undocumented aliens who obtained the legal right to live in France.

Also last year, 18,900 foreigners were physically expelled from France – a 20% increase from 2018.

I am not sure there is an obvious conclusion to draw from these figures, other than that at the national level the system is working. This statement is not true at the prefecture level, where the procedures are more and more complex. For example, most prefecture websites barely give such basic information as when which office is open to the public and whether procedures need an appointment or not. In other words, it is increasingly difficult to get accurate information, so several trips to the prefecture are often required when one would have been enough if the information were readily available.

www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2020/01/21/en-2019-la-france-a-delivre-un-peu-plus-de-titres-de-sejour-et-expulse-davantage_6026754_3224.html

A NEW APPROACH TO UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS LIVING IN FRANCE
For several months, a radical idea has been under discussion within the French government, although nothing is likely to happen with it for a long time, given the current political climate. Media reports indicate that the government is looking at the situation of undocumented aliens living in France who, under French law, cannot be deported and cannot be regularized yet.

It costs France at the national and local level, a huge amount to pay for hotels, medical expenses and so on for such people. The radical idea is that if they had legal status in France, they would work legally and thus contribute to the national and local budgets, and might even rent in the private sector.

For strictly financial reasons, then, some in government want to change the conditions for regularizing such undocumented aliens so that it could be done sooner and more easily. Politically, implementing such a policy today would be suicidal and the French government has many more pressing issues. But I find it interesting that a conservative policy looking to cut costs reaches a conclusion that is now considered to be liberal.

www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2020/01/23/immigration-sortir-les-sans-papiers-de-l-impasse_6026978_3232.html

www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2020/01/21/l-hebergement-d-urgence-sature-faute-de-regularisation-de-sans-papiers_6026693_3224.html

FEWER BANK LOANS ARE BEING ISSUED IN FRANCE
For what many consider to be an excessively long time, interest rates for loans have been much too low and interest earned on saving accounts has been barely above zero. This is a radical way to put people off saving money and forcing them to invest in the economy, especially the stock market. On both sides of the coin, time is money, whether you borrow or invest it. To encourage a more sustainable real estate market and banking industry, the French government has issued guidelines to secure the banking system by increasing its reserves. It has also increased the benchmark interest rate. This has been done while the economy is doing well enough to handle this increase without slowing growth too much.

What we are hearing about the French economy is that there is no bull market or strong and sustained growth in GDP. Hence the government considers it more important to strengthen the banking industry and maybe moderate the real estate market than to protect the current sluggish growth.

This new policy is likely to have an effect on the Parisian real estate market, including lowering the value of some properties.

www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2020/01/21/immobilier-les-banques-durcissent-les-conditions-de-pret_6026677_3234.html

CREATING A DATABASE OF BAD FRENCH TENANTS?
One often hears tall tales in the expat community about French tenants having more rights than owners when it comes to real estate. The reality is that French tenants are indeed better protected than in many countries. Expulsion of a non-paying tenant can easily take three years, and it is virtually impossible to collect the back rent.

This situation explains why there are so many Airbnb-type rentals in France and why owners and agencies subject prospective tenants to scrutiny that can almost amount to stalking. Since France does not have credit ratings and there is no database of who is a bad payer, French real estate agents are promoting the idea of listing defaulting tenants so it will be a lot more difficult for them to rent with another agency.

By American standards this makes sense and would facilitate everybody’s job. It would allow agencies to rent to people with more peace of mind, while good tenants would have an easier time being approved and have to meet far fewer requirements. The main demand, which is punitive for many expats, is to find a guarantor. This means an individual or corporation joins the tenant in the obligation to pay rent on time. Many foreigners have to ask their bank to act as guarantor.

So much has changed in recent years, especially under President Macron, that I cannot state that the agents’ project will never come to fruition. But gutting the protection of French tenants in this way would face enormous opposition. The first objections have come from the government, which already has enough troubles without adding another big one.

At the same time, common sense says such a database would lower the risk of renting to bad tenants. So although it would be highly unpopular, a bill allowing it is likely to be submitted to the National Assembly and voted on. The real question is how it will take. As we know, it can take decades to get such a project completed in France.

www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2020/01/16/les-agents-immobiliers-envisagent-la-creation-d-un-fichier-des-locataires-mauvais-payeurs_6026037_3224.html

THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE CORDON BLEU
In the expat community, the name of this school comes to everybody’s mind when the topic turns to learning French cuisine. Recently a client who had taken courses there insisted it had always been a school but might have started as a restaurant. All one needs to do is go to the website and read the history page. It started out as a magazine, which invited subscribers to take cooking classes.

Here is what the website says about the early days of this adventure, before WWII:

XIX Century
Paris, 1895 • French journalist Marthe Distel publishes a culinary magazine, “La Cuisinière Cordon Bleu”. In October, subscribers are invited to the first Le Cordon Bleu cooking classes. 
1897 • Le Cordon Bleu Paris welcomes its first Russian student.

XX Century
1905 • Le Cordon Bleu Paris trains its first Japanese student. 
1914 • Le Cordon Bleu operates four schools in Paris. 
1927 • The newspaper « The London Daily Mail » dated November 16 relates a visit to Le Cordon Bleu Paris school. 
1933 • Rosemary Hume and Dione Lucas, who trained at Le Cordon Bleu Paris under the guidance of Chef Henri-Paul Pellaprat, open the school L’Ecole du Petit Cordon Bleu and the restaurant Au Petit Cordon Bleu in London. 
1942 • Dione Lucas launches Le Cordon Bleu School and Restaurant in New York. She also authors the bestseller “The Cordon Bleu Cook Book” and becomes the first woman to have a televised cooking show in United States.

www.cordonbleu.edu/paris/our-story/en

For me this illustrates how old some French businesses are, and how they often started in unusual circumstances.

WRITING A FRENCH INVOICE
There is a fine line between the desire to protect people and intrusion into people’s freedom. I make this generic and almost philosophical statement to introduce a discussion of the way French invoices must be written to be considered legal. My American clients are surprised when creating proper templates for invoices and receipts is on the agenda for our meeting. They think there is no need for it, and they want to continue doing what they have always done, maybe translating into French if their clients do not speak English.

One thing that should be obvious is that a French invoice should be written in French first and foremost. It can be bilingual if the client is Anglophone, but only the French wording is legal. The invoice must quote an amount in euros; it can indicate how much is expected in a different currency but only the euro amount is considered legal.

Aside from those obvious points, there are other rules that surprise many people:

• 1 – All French legal documents must have a date and location. The date especially is of huge importance because of the way invoices are issued.
• 2 – The complete mailing address of the client must be mentioned.
• 3 – The word facture must always appear, because the way to issue a receipt is to write facture acquittée (bill settled)
• 4 – The name of the business owner or independent professional is mentioned with the business address, and the SIRET number and APE/NAF code must also appear.
• 5 – There must be a libellé (description) of what is being invoiced, which gives details of what the product is, how much it is per unit, how many units are invoiced, and the total. If a teacher charges 40€ an hour and the session was three hours, the total is 120€.
• 6 – There must be a line without TVA (VAT), then what is charged in terms of TVA, then the sum of the two, even when the TVA amount is zero.
• 7 – The obligatory invoice number works like a meter, adding this bill to the previous one. That is why the date is so important, as the numbering must be chronological. This is the simplest way to make sure that the payment received after the invoice is issued does not disappear from the bookkeeping in an attempt at tax cheating.

As if all this were not enough, on October 1, 2019, two more obligations took effect: 
1 – If a purchase order was issued, its number must be mentioned on the invoice. 
2 – If the billing site of the buyer or the seller is different from the headquarters, then both addresses must be clearly mentioned.

The fine for not complying with these regulations can be as much as 375,000€ for a corporation and 75,000€ for an individual. I am sure many find these amounts out of line with the offense, and wonder how this can be considered to be a serious offense. But look at it from the French administration’s point of view: Omitting or falsifying any of these required items can be an easy way to cheat taxes by hiding income or cost.

Now you see why I always add “French invoice” to the agenda of the meeting in my office either before or after the registration of an independent business with URSSAF, including for auto-entrepreneurs (which are the majority of the cases).

www.flf.fr/actualite/1er-octobre-2019-deux-nouvelles-mentions-obligatoires-sur-les-factures

Best regards,

QUESTION

CHOICES OF IMMIGRATION STATUS WHEN RUNNING A BUSINESS

I run my own business, consulting to big companies, and I manage my portfolio with a very decent return. I would like to continue doing the same in France at the beginning, and maybe later build a company in IT. I can show up to EUR 1.5 million in my own funds, which I will be ready to invest in France.
Our questions are:
1. Do I have a chance to get an entrepreneur/profession libérale visa or passeport talent créateur d’entreprise if we live exclusively on the returns of my own funds? Or do I have a chance if I want to provide consulting to French companies? What is the difference between entrepreneur/profession libérale and passeport talent?
2. In case the above does not work, can I come to France under the visitor VLS-TS, live for two years in France on income from abroad, and convert to entrepreneur/profession libérale or passeport talent when I am ready to start my business? Will we be allowed to do preparation for starting my business while on visitor visas? Will the time under the visitor VLS-TS count towards the five-year naturalization time? Can we convert to entrepreneur/profession libérale or passeport talent quickly (e.g. after five or six months as visitor, if business moves quickly)?
3. If we come to France under the visitor VLS-TS and then our IT business does not start successfully, can we stay under visitor VLS-TS for five years? Is it renewable for five years? Can we get naturalization after five years?
4. If none of that works, is there any other way that could help us achieve our priorities? These priorities are a) live, b) do business, c) get naturalization in France.

QUESTION

IS AN INTERN AN EMPLOYEE IN FRANCE?

I started as an intern in September. Initially I was working on my tourist visa. I recently graduated with a master’s degree in Paris, and I got an internship visa using a contract from the company and also from my French university.

The company was horrifically unprofessional. The working hours were flexible, and the two bosses championed the “startup” culture. Initially I was promised housing and 600 euros a month. It didn’t work so I stayed at a co-worker’s family home until I could move on my own. I was told there was another 250 euros that they would take as a subsidy in order to pay for some of the things in my house, which I never got in writing.

I stayed with my family in Arizona waiting for my visa to be processed. The company paid for my tickets, and I worked remotely. There were many communication and task allocation problems. I reported on my work once a week, but I was also required to have a daily Skype call with the CEO. I was shouted at and scolded. I was even threatened once by the CEO, who told me to stop arguing with him when I was asking for clarification. The delays in the visa were due to improper preparation on their end. Finally, I was flown back to Paris.

Now that I am in Paris, the verbal abuse in the office has become unbearable. They often call me names and blame things on me unfairly. I reported it to HR several times. It backfired against me. I was scared to go to work on Monday. All of my co-workers can corroborate that the management is harassing me. I do not speak French, and I am very alone without any resources. Help me, please.

From Wikipedia
“ The Wall is the eleventh studio album by English rock band Pink Floyd, released 30 November 1979. It is a rock opera that explores Pink, a jaded rock star whose eventual self-imposed isolation from society is symbolized by a wall.”

I much prefer the first part of their career when Syd Barrett’s influence was significant, even when he was not there anymore. I often prefer the lesser-known, so my favorite recording is Live at Pompeii, a 1972 concert documentary.

I often thought of choosing it when the border wall policy was making the news for months on end, but that would have been too easy. A very long time ago, I used the Bee Gees song “How deep is your love?”, but adding “how tall is the wall?”, illustrating the fact that when people’s absolute despair pushes them to flee, no barriers, regulations or military border enforcement will deter them: many of them will make it to the other side.

In recent weeks a different wall has been in the news – the Berlin Wall, and with it what was then called the Iron Curtain that split Europe in two. Of course the division of Germany through the creation of Eastern Germany under Communist rule scarred Europe for almost 40 years. Very few were able to get through the Iron Curtain alive in order to escape these Communist regimes. At the same time, many managed to defect during official trips to the Western countries as athletes, musicians, scholars, and they asked for asylum in the countries where they found themselves. They obtained it right away with virtually no procedure.

Remembering my youth growing up in Europe and being aware of the alienation created by this physical wall were reasons for me to choose this title. This album is about a man suffering from mental alienation, isolating himself, suffering from paranoia. Having this idea that the wall protects him also played a role in my choice, as it resonates with the news I am getting.

THE 30th ANNIVERSARY OF THE TEARING DOWN OF THE BERLIN WALL 
From Wikipedia
The Berlin Wall was a guarded concrete barrier that physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. Construction of the Wall was commenced by the German Democratic Republic on 13 August 1961…. After several weeks of civil unrest, the East German government announced on 9 November 1989 that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin, ultimately resulting in the demise of the Wall.

Many have written about and commented on the 30th anniversary of the fall of this wall. Many have published articles, videos, testimonies from that time to commemorate this groundbreaking event, which certainly reshaped the Western world, and in my view most if not almost all the international political crises that exist today. This belief stems from the fact that there was a balance of power between two superpowers – the USA and the USSR, which had the capacity to involve their allied countries. This balance, dangerous because it was backed up by nuclear arsenals, forced those two superpowers to refrain themselves from going too far in the direction of declaring war and invading countries. From the American side the Vietnam War can be looked at from this standpoint. I believe that the invasion of Afghanistan shows the same on the side of the USSR side. At the risk of sticking my neck out too far, I might add that the more recent invasion of the Ukrainian provinces of Crimea and Donbass might not have taken place, had such a balance continued to exist in a different form. Indeed Ukraine has been asking to be part of the EU and is allied with the USA.

The vast majority of the people living in the USA, as well as many Europeans, have never experienced what it meant to face that wall. In reality the vast majority of those who had a personal experience were those who lived where these Soviet walls existed. The wall was not a tourist attraction as such until it was torn down.

It so happens that during the summer of 1975, travelling with my parents, our family experienced first-hand what it meant to face this wall. We were all visiting my uncle and aunt who lived for over a decade in Helsinki in Finland, from where we made several day-trips by car. So one day we were driving East in very thick Finnish forests until we saw road signs telling us to turn around, because the road led to the border with the USSR, which today would be Russia. For miles and miles, my father ignored those signs, which were in just about all the languages that one can think of, with very explicit images. He drove until we met Finnish army personnel holding their machine guns horizontally in shooting position. We could see the tall concrete wall with barbed wire all over it. We could see the Red Army military personnel on top of several watchtowers who spotted us, pointing their machine-guns at us. Very politely the Finnish soldier explained to us in perfect English that we had to turn around immediately and leave the premises. We did!

The USSR was governed by one of the bloodiest and all-around worst dictatorships that modern world history has known.

I did not plan the coincidence between this anniversary that so many have been celebrating, and receiving the following testimony. It truly feels like I have come full circle regarding the topic of refugees, undocumented aliens, and immigrants struggling all their lives in their new countries. So this is a story about the Iron Curtain/Wall as it was called then – about refugees fleeing for their lives and managing to get to a Western country alive. I first met such a person, an American citizen, as a client about 20 years ago. We have stayed in contact on and off, as he has continued giving me small tasks to do. Given his name, I suspected Eastern European origin or descent. Until I received this email, I did not know anything about this.

This concludes my digressions about these topics, or maybe just one topic with several facets. I had no idea that I would be receiving so many testimonies, most of them heartbreaking, but never bitter or angry. I believe that they shed a very interesting light on the two very different narratives told by each side of the argument. I fully agree that there is a need for policies, for enforcing laws, and therefore the establishment of a comprehensive immigration policy. This is true for all the Western countries faced with both an influx of asylum seekers and a large number of undocumented aliens. The truth is that this policy deals with people who are deeply scared by what they went through in their own country, as well as by what they have experienced following their arrival in the West.

TESTIMONY – “I FLED MY COMMUNIST COUNTRY”
An excellent discussion of the rights to residency and the rights of « sans papiers », about whom most of us know very little, and even that filtered through the eyes of the media. Your objective view of such situations impresses me quite often when reading your newsletter; the fact that you are helping similar situations gives your answers the sense of « du vécu » and lends them humanity.

I was never a « sans papier », but I got out of my country as a stateless person, an « apatride », which was a kind of polite term for « political refugees » used at the time by communist regimes; as one who was never involved in politics I couldn’t be called a « political refugee ». « Apatride» probably seemed a safer choice. To this day I get panicked whenever I have to deal with “official papers”, so I can only imagine what it might be to live for years without papers.

FROM THE DEFUNCT IRON CURTAIN TO THE 2019 AMERICAN CONGRESS 
I just want to add something about this testimony. All the networks in the USA are fixated with just one word: “Ukraine”. The entire political spectrum is talking about this nation, which was one of those countries under Communist Party rule, as it was located behind the “Iron Curtain”. Such rulers were taking orders directly from Moscow. This is why they were dictatorships that were about as bloody and inhumane as the USSR in those days. After the Wall disappeared, all such Eastern European countries wanted to be linked to Western Europe, which they had been part of for centuries, and at the same time they feared that Russia would continue its control over their countries. Their economic dependence – specifically, their dependence on oil and gas energy – that built up during those decades was at first enough to cripple their desire for independence. The most Western of them quickly joined the EU, including Poland, former Czechoslovakia, and Hungary. Today the EU is reaching out to countries that share a border with Russia. Two things must be said here. These countries historically have had very weak ties with Western Europe. Russia, then the USSR, and finally Russia again, has always considered them to be within its zone of influence, a buffer zone protecting them from an invasion from the West, such as the Napoleonic campaign that conquered Moscow, together with WWII and the German invasion, to mention the modern Russian era. This Russian fear of Western Europe countries is therefore many centuries old.

This is maybe a controversial comparison. I believe that one can measure the fear induced by such a change as similar to the fear growing today regarding Ukraine’s desire to be Western and part of NATO. I see this as similar to the crisis in the Kennedy era with nuclear missiles being installed in Cuba, so close to the USA. This is the historical and the cultural explanation for why Russia is trying absolutely everything it can to keep Ukraine within its influence, including a military invasion of the Ukrainian provinces of Crimea and Donbass, and being constantly present in its political life with pro-Russian political parties. The pro-Western parties are crucially counting on Western and specifically American foreign policy to help their country free itself from the Russian influence it has been under for about 75 years.

The rest is American politics and I stay away from it. I have not heard this historical and cultural explanation expressed by any American networks. Viewed from the USA, this Russian visceral fear of an invasion, and the absolute need to protect its immense territory, can be seen as unreasonable and artificial. I believe that to get an in-depth understanding of this Russian “trauma under siege” one should study the Battle of Stalingrad during WWII and attempt to understand the influence of the Russian iconic image of these Soviet soldiers heroically defending each building from the German Army with close to no logistical support in order to allow the final victory to happen. This victory came with the entire 6th German Army being taken prisoner. Occasionally I re-study it, sometimes from the perspective of military strategy, sometimes from an historical and political point of view. The narrative is that the entire nation was ready for the ultimate sacrifice to protect what they call “the Mother country.”

AN INTERESTING RESPONSE TO MY NOVEMBER ISSUE
Less than a day after sending my November 2019 issue, I receive this email as it is copied-pasted: “On 1 Nov 2019, at 00:17, this person wrote:

”I’ll be aroun’ in the dark. I’ll be everywhere-wherever you look. Wherever there is a fight so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there. Wherever there is a cop beatin’ up a guy, I’ll be there…I’ll be in the way kids laugh when they’re hungry and they know supper’s ready. An’ when our folk eat the stuff they raise an’ live in the houses they build—why, I’ll be there.”

So it looked familiar but I could not place it and there were no references that I could use in the message. So I did some research and found this.

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7444096-i-ll-be-all-around-in-the-dark-i-ll-be
And this is how I found the exact quote from the novel “The Grapes of Wrath”

“I’ll be all around in the dark – I’ll be everywhere. Wherever you can look – wherever there’s a fight, so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there. Wherever there’s a cop beatin’ up a guy, I’ll be there. I’ll be in the way guys yell when they’re mad. I’ll be in the way kids laugh when they’re hungry and they know supper’s ready, and when the people are eatin’ the stuff they raise and livin’ in the houses they build – I’ll be there, too.”

As a matter of a fact, I could have used a lot more than just the title to express this analysis. I immediately and sincerely thanked this reader who is a true fan of Steinbeck as well as of the movie on this book made by John Ford and released in 1940.

HOW CAN THERE BE A FRENCH BLACK FRIDAY?
I have already been writing about this for the last two years, and this year is even worse in terms of the advertisements. The novelty this year is that local shops are promoting their special sale on Black Friday and not just the major retail chains. At this point, I am no longer amused that some French outlets are promoting Black Friday week. It was somewhat cute last year when it showed up for the first time, documenting in this way their complete ignorance of what they are promoting. Alongside the wishes of many to get rid of Columbus Day, I like the fact that the narrative of Native Americans is increasingly being heard regarding both celebrations.

I AM THE SPEAKER FOR ANGLOPRENEURS ON DECEMBER 17th 
At the AAWE event, Patricia Smith Zraidi who runs the Anglopreneurs’ Monthly Evening Event asked me to be the speaker for the Tuesday, December 17, 2019 event. It starts at 7 PM until 10 PM and is held at: HD Diner Opéra (downstairs), 25 Bvd des Italiens, 75002 Paris. For more information check the page https://www.facebook.com/groups/anglopreneurs/

OFFICE CLOSED FOR CHRISTMAS
The office will close for three weeks over the Christmas holidays, starting on Friday December 20th in the evening and reopening on the morning of Monday January 6th. 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

DIVORCE AND COMMUNAL BANK LOANS

I was married to a French woman and we moved to Lyon, France in 2015 and I completed the full-time MBA in 2017. I partially funded my studies with a student loan with a French bank, which required my in-laws to co-sign, and I took the insurance covering the cost of the loan should I be unemployed.
My wife and I ended up with an “amicable” divorce and I have been on my own trying to secure my immigration in France. I was on a spouse’s visa and not a student one. In 2017 I started working and now have a work permit from Belgium. My French bank requested proof of income and residence when I informed them of this change.
At the time of the divorce the bank refused to separate our joint loan account. It did not matter as I was making all loan payments.
In 2019 I lost my job and qualified for Belgian unemployment subsidies; I managed to continue paying my loan. Later on I lost my Belgian immigration status and therefore all Belgian social rights including unemployment subsidies. I then notified my French bank that I wanted to reinstate my unemployment insurance, which was refused on the grounds that I did not live or work in France and was therefore not entitled to coverage. I paid my loan payments and I was never told that the unemployment insurance was void once I lived out of France. The bank is now going after my ex-wife and my former in-laws while I am still charged for the insurance.
I feel that this situation is unfair and that I can perhaps at least have the insurance payments stopped and refunded so I can cover loan expenses while looking for a job. How I can best handle this? As far as I am concerned this is plain robbery!

QUESTION

MY RIGHTS AS THE OWNER OF A PARISIAN APARTMENT IN A SO-CALLED COPROPRIETE

I have been looking to buy an apartment in Paris. The wording of those ads is totally cryptic to me even though I am fluent in French otherwise! For example I see this wording on some properties that look interesting. What does “co-ownership” actually mean?
“To visit Co-ownership of 42 lots (No procedure in progress). Annual charges: 1587.00 euros.”