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?

From Wikipedia:
“Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” is a song by Bob Dylan, written for the soundtrack of the 1973 film Pat Garret and Billy the Kid.

I personally prefer the 1987 version by Guns N’ Roses.
From Wikipedia
In 1987, Guns N’ Roses started performing the song. A live version of the song was released on the maxi-single of “Welcome to the Jungle” the same year.

When going through a time of despair in a foreign country, people may often wish to find a door that would open the way to escaping the misery. Every immigrant goes through this phase at least once in their new country of residence. In many ways it has nothing to do with how difficult or easy it is to integrate into the new land. It comes from almost physically feeling the pain of being torn apart inside, the “old you” just wants to go back home. From this, the new country seems barbaric – nothing works, nothing feels safe, there are moments of paranoia. Nowadays it is easy to go to another country; you can fly for a few hours and reach a different continent. If you are well off, you can quickly secure a home and the basic necessities of life, and the immigration procedure can even feel like a breeze when you are properly assisted. But even wealthier people, once they choose to immerse themselves in the new country and to be part of a new community, go through such crises. Wishing you were “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” or climbing a “Stairway to Heaven,” is then a familiar desire.

I had other reasons as well for choosing this title.

THE IRAQ WAR KNOCKED ON MY DOOR
Most of the time, I spend my day at the office going through my daily routine. Clients come in and leave after an hour or two. This is called “making a living.” I have the privilege of my living being my passion. Some days it even feels like I was called to do this. Clearly, I love what I am doing after close to 22 years.

Then come precious moments that are the experience of a lifetime.

I wrote about the terrorist attack against the magazine Charlie Hebdo right after it happened:

FREEDOM OF SPEECH – THE ATTACK IN PARIS ON WEDNESDAY JANUARY 7th, 2015
I drafted this entire issue, including the title, before New Year’s Eve, so I thought I was done. But now, for weeks France has been faced with a powerful and traumatic crisis after the attack on the magazine Charlie Hebdo. A lot, maybe too much, has been said about this.

I did not know then that I would publish the following in my September 2016 issue:

Face to face with…
Indeed face to face with what?
The answer to this question makes all the difference in the world.
It can be good but most of the time it is bad.
Foreigners are faced with all kinds of difficult situations, with doubts, misunderstandings, and this list can go on for a very long time.
“In the face of death” – for most of us, it is just an expression, which, thankfully we just about always misuse. 

In this column, I describe my encounter with one of the victims of a recent terrorist attack that occurred in France. This person came to my office and I was face to face with a reality that shook me to the bone. 

Life is rarely a bed of roses; being an immigrant too often feels like being comfortable will never happen again. 

Meeting this young man, who had such a broken body, and sharing with him more silence than words for what happened to him, was chilling and made the impression of a lifetime on me.

Then came March 2019. Once again the news is about an outbreak of violence and it feels like only slight exaggeration to say that all countries now have to deal with dangerous aggression, often mass shootings.

Just a few days after the New Zealand mosque attacks, I had the usual type of meeting, discussing a project, a business plan, the outcome of the procedure with the prefecture. I have known this client for about nine months; she is tough and has a military backbone. I know from previous discussions that she did several tours of duty, mostly in Iraq. That day, we did not get any work done. There was a lack of focus; something was wrong. Finally, I asked her what has happened. All I got is, “He committed suicide.” So I asked, “Did he make it?” A painful look and she answered, “He is dead.” A brother-in-arms, very close to her, suffering from PTSD, had killed himself a few days before. She told me, in broken words, that he had fought at Fallujah and had done several tours of duty in Iraq.

Military personnel, regardless of which of the armed forces they belong to, can share and understand the bond that often exists, and the deeply disturbing effect of learning of the suicide of someone so close. I respectfully asked her if I could write about this. I would not have dared to write anything without her approval. Here is her unedited answer:

“I would not mind at all if you’d like to write about this. I think these kinds of things can be good for people to hear, even if they are a bit depressing. The problems of suicide and the struggle of veterans after the war are always kept very quiet in everyday life, but it is a subject that can always use some attention.”

This outrageous situation rarely makes the news. When it does, we see staggering statistics about how many veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have killed themselves, and how many suffer from extreme PTSD. Behind these numbers are situations similar to this one, brothers and sisters in arms weeping, and parents, spouse and children devastated.

One needs to realize that all combat personnel go through tough training to carry out missions in which they risk their lives every single time. The ability to be an excellent trained warrior comes with a cost. The human cost becomes staggering for those who undertake multiple combat deployments. Living with the daily presence of death takes a significant toll on a person.

At the end of this discussion, each of us in our own words was saying that no matter how tough we are on the outside, it does not help a bit with the struggle against the enemy that is inside the soul. I knew I could not even remotely compare her military experience with mine. It would have been offensive, considering how she served while I never left France and knew I would not be deployed anywhere.

We were both teary when she left. That is how the Iraq war came to my office on March 18th, 2019. I would have loved it if it had not, but it came anyway.

RAM, MANAGING HEALTH COVERAGE FOR THE SELF-EMPLOYED, HAS MOVED
There has been some serious reorganization at RAM, the public organization that deals with health coverage for self-employed workers. I do not know how long it will operate before being completely be taken over by Assurance Maladie, but for now it still serves the people it covers, i.e. those who registered as independent workers before the 1st of January 2019.

The most important development is that the branch almost next door to the Paris prefecture, at 28 bis boulevard de Sébastopol in the 4th arrondissement, closed on March 18. The one at 59 rue Cambronne in the 15th is still open to the public without appointment from 9am to 12:15pm and 1:15 to 5pm Monday through Friday. There is also a new office at 11 rue Beaurepaire in the 10th, with the same hours.
http://www.laram.fr/agences?dpt=191

ETIAS VERSUS ESTA – TIT FOR TAT BETWEEN THE USA AND EUROPE
Members of the American expat community have been concerned after hearing through the grapevine that as of January 2021 a new EU regulation will oblige Americans to get a visa just to visit Europe. This is totally fake news, but let’s look at what is actually going on.

Since January 12, 2009, any citizen of a country benefiting from the US visa waiver program has been required to go through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) screening procedure, which the USA imposed unilaterally. The people concerned mostly shrugged, as this was one more measure by the USA to screen non-American legal aliens who wanted to come as tourists. For ten years, then, American citizens have had preferential treatment when visiting Europe, as they can just present their passport and enter, subject to a regulation that allows them to stay in the 26 countries of the Schengen area for up to 90 days within a given 180-day period.

Eventually, in an effort to unify EU security as a whole and enhance the security of the residents of EU countries, the European Union adopted the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS), which is simply a European replica of ESTA. The European Commission says the new system will be enforced, as an effort to upgrade international security, as of January 1, 2021.

This will have an immediate effect on the leniency of the French police regarding North Americans who stay in France past the Schengen limits. As I have repeatedly said here, that leniency is rapidly shrinking, and no one can count on it any longer. While the fines issued are low, rarely more than 30€ to 50€ for this violation alone, the bad news is that the police stamp a record of the fine in the passport. That makes strict compliance with the Schengen regulation an absolute must anywhere within the Schengen area to avoid hefty fines and maybe a ban from entering France and all the other countries enforcing the regulation.

Once there is a central data system that all European police can check when they swipe the passport, leniency becomes impossible. Every trip that involves facing a custom passport control officer will be recorded in this database. I am just speculating, but it is possible that airlines will be connected to the database for information gathering, without being able to change the information.

For American citizens who still live most of the time in France without immigration documents, this is a powerful wake-up call. We now know the deadline after which it will be impossible for them to continue, and I am sure the leniency will shrink even more as we get closer to the date.

Help fight the tall tale about visas by explaining that it is tit for tat – ETIAS against ESTA – and the obligation to comply with the law, which should be the normal thing to do.

A READER WRITES ABOUT BREXIT CONSEQUENCES AT PREFECTURES OUTSIDE PARIS 
Prefecture of Saint Brieuc in Brittany
I am a regular reader of your column and find it extremely interesting. Your piece on Brexit is correct except not all prefectures are coping with the influx of Britons applying for a carte de séjour. We live in Còtes d’Armor. The prefecture in St Brieuc has been so overwhelmed that they cancelled all carte de séjour appointments from 18th February. They have said that they cannot process the cartes until the results of Brexit are known, and those of us who applied earlier for them will have to change them if there is no deal. The rush for them has caused a problem for third-country citizens who have applied. My American grandson has been waiting since August for his. He has been here since he was 7 and is now 19, so should have his adult carte, but due to an error by the prefecture in 2006 he had the wrong carte and now his whole life is on hold until they have the time to sort it out.

The knock-on effect of Brexit is much more far reaching than was envisioned.

So please be tolerant of my inability to juggle social media outlets. Going through my website or sending an email directly is the best way to reach me, and lately just about the only way, as I have less and less opportunity to pick up the phone since I am usually in a meeting or outside the office.

Prefecture of Nanterre, Parisian suburb
FYI, I forwarded the March 2019 newsletter you sent us to a British expat friend who has lived in France for 25+ years. In that newsletter, you suggested that British expats make an appointment at the prefecture before a no-deal Brexit takes place to establish EU status for the carte de séjour. Our friend lives in Courbevoie and told me that the prefecture in Nanterre (which handles Courbevoie) will not schedule appointments for British citizens until it is known how the UK will be treating French citizens after Brexit. So, at least in Nanterre, your suggestion cannot be implemented.

Recall what I wrote last month about this: British people living in France should not be worried about their ability to obtain a carte de séjour. Even though they will be subject to the regulations for non-EU citizens, there are so many grounds on which to issue one that it is almost certain everyone will fit one of those cases.

I will keep you informed.

OFFICE CLOSED FOR MY 60th BIRTHDAY
The office will close for slightly over two weeks for this occasion. It will start on Friday June 14th evening and will reopen on Tuesday July 2nd morning. As always, I will only be reachable by email for emergencies and important matters as I will be out of France. The service I offer of receiving mail for clients will continue while the office is closed. I have not figured out how I will send the July issue considering the situation.

MY SUMMER VACATION: THE OFFICE IS CLOSED from July 19th to August 19th
The office will be closed for one month starting Friday, July 19th, reopening on Monday, August 19th. 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.

MY FEES WILL GO UP ON OCTOBER 1st 2019
I plan to change some aspects of my business when I reopen the office on Monday, August 19th. The main reason is to allow my assistant to do some tasks more systematically. One of them is to accompany the clients to the prefecture, URSSAF, CPAM and other public offices. She already handles most of the dealings with the offices where self-employed people are registered. She has also accompanied my clients to the prefecture several times. As her fees are lower than mine, this should compensate for the increase in my fees. On October 1st, I will raise my initial retainer from 270€ to 300€ and the hourly rate from 110€ to 130€.

Best regards,

QUESTION

BILLING AS A SELF-EMPLOYED PERSON IN FRANCE

I am an American and after a couple of years living in France, I got the carte de séjour linked to my self-employed work as an auto-entrepreneur. I need to renew my immigration status, but I am panicking because I have had just about no French clients. Almost all my current clients are Americans and they pay me in my American bank account. I heard that I will lose my immigration status if I make less than 25,000€ in a year. In France I cannot account for more than 3,000€ but I am close to $50,000 in the USA. Am I really in danger of having my carte de séjour taken away in a couple of months when I go to the prefecture?

QUESTION

PARENTAL AUTHORITY AND THE RIGHT OF A MINOR TO TRAVEL OUT OF FRANCE

I have been a single mother for about 10 years. My son was born in France and the father disappeared shortly after the birth. We were never married and all I could ask for was some child support, which was awarded, but the father lives in Tunisia. This means I never get anything on a regular basis. It feels more like a spurt-of-the-moment thing, he remembers he has a son and I get a gift for him and some money for a couple of months.

My problem is that I often go home to the USA and my son does not have any French ID because his father has always refused to sign the French forms, or even to put in the initial court decision, issued when our son was 2, that he was allowed to leave France at all, even for vacation. Lately, entering the USA and France is becoming increasingly difficult, not to mention the hassles I get from the airline.

I got a lawyer and took the matter to court, and sued for the father to lose all his parental rights. I thought the lawyer went too far and there would be a violent court battle, since the father shows up only once in a while in the life of his son. I was stupefied to learn that he did not retain a French lawyer, and sent a whining letter to the judge saying that I was not an honest and modest enough mother and woman for his taste so that he could not be associated with me in any way, and that France has always made it difficult for him to get a visa to exercise his parental right of a visit during vacations, as the first court ruling described.

My lawyer said that under the circumstances, we will win the case. Great, but this does not answer my problem, which is how do I get the father to sign the French form for a document de circulation for my son so I can travel with him worry free?

“Money” is an iconic Pink Floyd song, written by Roger Waters, from the 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon.

Like most of my generation, I owned the LP and listened to it endlessly. I am definitely a fan of their early albums, which include this one, although for me, Ummagumma synthesizes best what I like about their music, the atmosphere they created.

This is the last section of the lyrics:

Money, it’s a crime
Share it fairly but don’t take a slice of my pie
Money, so they say
Is the root of all evil today
But if you ask for a raise it’s no surprise that they’re
Giving none away, away, away.

Given the topics of some interesting debates right now, I thought this theme was a pertinent one to introduce this issue. Many discussions are being initiated by newly elected Democratic Representatives in the USA, putting forward policies that much of the American media sees as extremist or radical. Yet even for conservative leaders in Western European countries, similar policies are considered as givens and therefore non-political.

This is an example of how different the USA and continental Western Europe are in their government and administrative structure. I hope it will not bore my readers if I once again elaborate on the definitions of socialism and social democracy. I cannot remember how many times I tried to explain it during our 2008 summer vacation in the USA, when the words “socialist” and “communist” were applied to Barack Obama during his presidential campaign. I am pleased to see a growing number of elected officials now explaining these concepts again and outlining what they intend to do if their policies are adopted. As a Frenchman, I take no stand on whether these policies would be good or bad for the USA and the American people.

AN ICON IN PARIS HAS PASSED AWAY – PATRICIA LAPLANTE-COLLINS
When I learned in early February that Patricia Laplante-Collins had died, and read so many remembrances from people who knew her well, I checked my records. She became my client in 1999, when she was still called Patricia Collins, and I helped her with the usual administrative issues foreigners can have in France. My last assignment for her was in 2004, when she was already quite successful with her new enterprise – Paris Soirées, a series of social and networking events that she held in her home or, later, in restaurants.

She invited me a few times as a speaker. The last time was in April 2005. By then she was focusing more on art and culture, Parisian stories and history, often from the viewpoint of African-Americans in Paris. Thus my usual topics, such as immigration, were a lot more boring than those provided by other guests.

I have known steady couples who met at Paris Soirées gatherings. Over the years, I followed Patricia’s several moves from afar, watching as her business grew and she became an icon for the American community. Even though not everybody attended her gatherings, everybody seemed to know about them. With her disappeared a cultural event that will be dearly missed by many. Rest in peace, Patricia.

THE OPPOSITION BETWEEN CAPITALISM AND SOCIALISM
The so-called new Democrats or young Democrats, or even Social Democrats, depending on what media one follows, are proud to announce themselves as socialist and be known as such. Only about ten years ago, that word would have disqualified any American politician: it was considered offensive and un-American. But Bernie Sanders, an avowed socialist, ran in the last presidential campaign with a good deal of success. That showed vividly that something had fundamentally changed in American politics. This was confirmed in last November’s midterm election, when people were elected to the House of Representatives claiming to be associated in one way or another with socialism.

The word is widely being used inaccurately. Many Americans today talk about Venezuela as an illustration of socialism, when it is the Scandinavian countries that have best embodied social democratic ideals.

There are four main schools of socialism, which differ considerably.

The first was founded by 19th-century French Utopian philosophers; among the best known are Mr. François Marie Charles Fourier and Mr. Pierre-Joseph Proudhon.

The second we owe to Karl Marx, who took the work of the French philosophers and developed a historical prediction regarding the political future of the world. By doing so he established a new definition of socialism and elaborated in a new way on the historical concept of communism – a theory or system of social organization in which ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, capital, land, etc., are vested in the community as a whole.

The third version, which was in fact a perversion of the first two, was popularized by Hitler under the name National Socialism, better known by its German contraction, Nazism.

The fourth school of socialism was founded by the German Marxist reformer and social democratic politician Mr. Eduard Bernstein in the early 20th century. This is social democracy as best known today; in Wikipedia’s definition, “a political, social and economic ideology that supports economic and social interventions to promote social justice within the framework of a liberal democratic polity and a capitalist economy.” The first government to fully embrace it, in the form of what became known as the Nordic model, was that of Sweden in 1932.

The USSR was founded on Marx’s theory, with private ownership banned and everybody working for the well-being of everybody. The country ended up being a terrible dictatorship that challenged the USA, conquering space before the Americans and wielding military and nuclear power, dominance in sports, and worldwide political influence. Its successor, the Russian Federation, has never achieved this kind of leadership.

Most Northern European countries have lived for decades with social democrat leadership. At the Nordic model’s peak, the Scandinavian countries offered security from cradle to grave when it came to money and housing. Education, health care, highways are free, housing is largely subsidized and unemployment benefits are part of life and enough to live on.

Many multinationals arose after WWII in Germany, which also adopted a form of social democracy, so clearly such a regime is not the enemy of capitalism.

The fundamental question being asked now in the USA involves a choice between two very different political visions.

One arises from the iconic image of the self-made American, alone, successful, with little to no interference from the state, which is limited to guaranteeing security with the army and police and to building and maintaining public infrastructure. More recently, the state’s role has been extended to financially taking care of the elderly and poor with Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. All three are socialist by nature and were fought as such when created. Nevertheless, at this point the USA already has some socialist programs.

The other vision stems from the time of the New Deal and WWII, when the federal government got heavily involved in people’s lives, creating jobs and raising income tax to the highest level the USA has ever known. For a historical perspective on this critical issue, consider this: the top marginal tax rate was 58% in 1922, 25%in 1925 and 24% in 1929. In 1932, during the Great Depression, the rate was increased to 63% and thereafter steadily increased, reaching 94% in 1944 on income over $200,000, equivalent to $2,868,625 in 2018 dollars.

Today the American political debate is or should be about the legacies of two American presidents, Ronald Reagan and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. (I realize this debate is affected by other issues, notably certain criminal investigations.)

Here are two examples illustrating the differences between the two visions:

1 – Health care
A large portion of the French worker’s earnings finance health care programs, but an even larger portion of the American worker’s earnings finance a similar package of benefits from the private sector. The key difference is that in France, the employee and employer combine to pay social charges and taxes, while in the USA, the employee and employer pay a combination of premiums (health and retirement plans) and taxes for the basic social protection part of the costs. It is generally accepted that public health care programs, also called single payer systems, are more efficient and cheaper, and often result in more immediate treatment, especially in hospital emergency rooms.

Covering everybody, as President Obama intended to do, would make the cost of health care cheaper in the long run because the fear of medical bills would no longer discourage people from getting regular checkups. In the long run, what originally seemed to be the high cost solution would actually end up costing the least. Since 1986, most banking and insurance companies, as well as the health care industry (health insurance, pharmaceutical firms and private hospitals), have generally chosen to act from greed alone and have not served the interests of the American nation. Should the USA ever adopt a single payer program, this would not make it a social-democratic country; it would merely mean it has added one more social program to the existing ones.

2 – The 2009 GM bailout
To take just one small aspect of the Obama bailout package during the Great Recession, did the “Cash for Clunkers” program have the desired effect of getting people to buy new cars and thus help keep car makers solvent? It happened that good business news came out after the program was implemented, and this resulted in rebuilding trust in the future and in the strength of the American economy. This good news gave hope to the public that a brighter future was near. Hope and the good news that nourishes it are important variables when measuring the success of an economic policy. If getting out of the financial crisis costs taxpayer money by subsidizing so-called “poorly manufactured American cars” and deferring the consequences of the free market system of supply and demand, then this is a small price to pay compared with having the crisis last for many months or years, destroying more lives and businesses.

This and other examples illustrate that socially motivated policies aiming for the greater good of the entire population have been implemented again and again in the USA and therefore are totally compatible with what the USA stands for.

I do not believe the USA can ever come even close to the extent to which social democracy existed in Sweden. But it is possible, and even probable, that more federal and state social programs can be added to the existing ones. Today more and more American politicians are advocating free education, single payer health coverage, decent unemployment benefits, maternity leave and so on. This would be no more than following the legacy of FDR. Yes, doing so requires raising taxes. This is probably the one critical political issue that must be addressed head on. The federal government also needs a lot more methods of preventing corporate money from influencing policy. I would like to remind my readers that in March 2016, more than 40 American millionaires proposed that New York raise taxes on the wealthy, under what they called a “1% plan for fairness.” I will address this issue further next month in a discussion of the latest Davos forum. For those interested right now, here is a link.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/feb/01/rutger-bregman-world-economic-forum-davos-speech-tax-billionaires-capitalism/

BREXIT IS HERE AND FRANCE HAS RULED 
Faced with the likelihood of chaos the day after the Brexit deadline, March 29th, France seems to have put together a solution in case there is no deal. British citizens who can prove they established their residence in France prior to Brexit will have a year to go to the prefecture and ask for immigration status based on the nature of their stay in France.

This is good news for the many I know who are still undecided and waiting to see what kind of Brexit is voted on. Most analysts now think the most probable scenario is “no deal,” which means the UK and EU do not sign an agreement addressing all the pending issues linked to Brexit. Such an agreement has yet to be endorsed by the Parliament, and due to the time constraints involved in reaching such a deal, the chances of this happening are now very slim.

British people living in France should not be worried about their ability to obtain a carte de séjour. Even though they will be subject to the regulations for non-EU citizens, there are so many grounds on which to issue one that it is almost certain they will fit one of those cases.

Nevertheless, I urge British citizens living in France to secure an appointment with the prefecture BEFORE Brexit. The difference is huge. Before Brexit the applicant gets an EU card, which offers all the rights to work and is issued on the basis of fiscal/legal residence in France. I repeat: After Brexit, based on the information I have, the request will be linked to proof that the applicant falls under at least one of the grounds for issuing a non-EU carte de séjour. That is not the same thing by any means.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND BEING A PROFESSIONAL 
As time goes by, I can see how old fashioned I am. This is how I see modern communication:

Emails are professional; I write them like I would write an old-fashioned letter, maybe a tad less formal. A text message is either to state that I am on my way to an appointment, or it is a private, non-professional communication. Facebook is volunteer activity; I end up getting clients this way, and to my mind, it is the same as clients coming to me by reading my column, which is free either by email or on my website. Facebook Messenger is the same, although when the questions are too professional for my taste, I ask to receive an email so I can address the issue properly. WhatsApp is great for sending pictures when I deal with the condition of an apartment or a building; I discovered that it can be a great alternative to Skype to have this kind of meeting. But aside from that it is more a personal and private way of communicating.

I do not mind appearing as old-fashioned – I have the excuse of turning 60 pretty soon. The key reason for my choice is that I prefer working with a format and size of screen that lets me feel I am drafting a professional document that has some structure. Being French, and having gone through my entire education in France, I need to write in an orderly fashion.

So please be tolerant of my inability to juggle social media outlets. Going through my website or sending an email directly is the best way to reach me, and lately just about the only way, as I have less and less opportunity to pick up the phone since I am usually in a meeting or outside the office.

MY DAUGHTER LUCILLE HAS LEFT FOR SOUTH KOREA
My daughter Lucille has left for South Korea. I have been very open about the impressive project Lucille has been working on for years now, to live in South Korea. She has gone without any sponsor or on-the-ground support. She has studied the country for years, and her Korean is sufficient for her to be autonomous. This is a huge endeavor for a 27-year-old: she will be living there for a year. My son went by himself to Ghana for almost two months, and my wife and I travelled extensively during our 20s. As we say in French, a new page in Lucille’s life has been turned.

OFFICE CLOSED FOR MY 60th BIRTHDAY
The office will close for slightly over two weeks for this occasion. It will start on Friday June 14th evening and will reopen on Tuesday July 2nd morning. As always, I will only be reachable by email for emergencies and important matters as I will be out of France. The service I offer of receiving mail for clients will continue while the office is closed. I have not figured out how I will send the July issue considering the situation.

Best regards,

QUESTION

FILING TAXES IN FRANCE WITH THE WRONG ID NUMBER

I recently registered as self-employed through the URSSAF website. I am trying to contact Sécurité Sociale to find out how I can send them my dossier to get my carte vitale and be able to log on to my URSAFF account and pay my cotisations, but I’ve been run around to different phone numbers for three hours. One answer I got was that I’ll receive a bill, so I don’t need to declare. I really want to get this information squared away because I think I should be declaring my income and I want to make sure I’m doing everything right. I’m really frustrated and can’t get anyone to give me a straight answer about getting organized!

QUESTION

ILLEGALLY RENOVATING A HOUSE IN FRANCE

We are an American couple trying to buy a large property in the South of France. Just before signing the first contract (compromise de vente) with the real-estate agent, we learned that almost the entire main house burned and was rebuilt about five years ago, in 2013. The seller confirms that the structural work was done with contractors but without the insurance policy called dommage d’ouvrage and without any supervision of an architect. The seller also confirms the “smaller work” was done by family members throughout 2014, including:

• installing the heating system,
• upgrading the electricity network,
• creating two bathrooms upstairs,
• installing the wooden floor everywhere on the ground floor.

Finally, the seller refuses amendments stating that the seller retains the full responsibility for the complete rebuilding.

The property is perfect for running a B&B, and it would not take much upgrade to have a wonderful place to live and run such a business. Are we taking any risk going through with this purchase?

From Wikipedia
“Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child” (or simply “Motherless Child”) is a traditional Negro spiritual. It originated during the era of slavery in the United States. An early performance of the song by the Fisk Jubilee Singers dates back to the 1870s.

The song is clearly an expression of pain and despair conveying the hopelessness of a child who has been torn from her or his parents.

“Sometimes I feel like a motherless child
A long way from home, a long way from home”

Negro spirituals and some gospel songs say a lot about the suffering the slaves in the USA endured. Today they are usually sung by choirs, and too often we enjoy the concert, the performance, the beauty of the music, and overlook what the lyrics meant to the people who created these songs. It has always fascinated me to see large crowds of French people listening to this music, knowing next to nothing about the lyrics and what they convey.

This might explain why so many African-American musicians, particularly jazz and blues performers, moved to Europe and especially France. This began as early as 1925 with Josephine Baker.

Longing for home is very common among people who emigrate to a different country. The farther away they are from home, the more painful this feeling is.

Clearly the title can be linked to the topic that follows, concerning the fact that the majority of French children are born out of wedlock. When I discussed this topic with my two children, their response was that the term “out of wedlock” does not mean anything, and should be changed. They were trying to find something that would mean “children born of a stable relationship.”

I believe the title can resound further with almost everybody, especially those who have lost their parents.

THE MAJORITY OF FRENCH CHILDREN ARE BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK
When I first traveled to the USA in 1980 and 1981, and during my later stay when I got married in 1986 and lived there several years, I was surprised by the large number of teen pregnancies. The expression “babies making babies” was commonly used. One day I looked at France and saw that a growing number of children there were born out of wedlock – although the cultures of the two countries in this respect are quite different. There are several reasons for that – I would like to explain them before discussing the results of recently released data.

For a long time, almost 60 years, fewer and fewer people in France have been getting married, to the point that the legislation needed to change to follow this evolution.

1 –From the mid-1970s, city halls started to issue increasing numbers of certificat de concubinage. A couple would go to city hall, state that they were living together, and walk out with an official statement that could be used to obtain benefits that otherwise only spouses could get.

2 – The kinship law of January 3rd 1972 erased the legal difference between children born within marriage and those born outside of wedlock, as long as neither parent in the latter case was married to someone else.

3 – The PACS law of November 15th 1999 established the pacte civil de solidarité, which quickly became almost a carbon copy of the institution of marriage.

With the French state officializing stable non-married couples and giving them strong legal status, more and more such couples are having children without being married.

Teen pregnancy is virtually non-existent in France, and children are almost always born to a stable couple.

In 2017, almost 6 children out of 10 (59.5%) were born outside of marriage. In 2007 such children were already the majority at 50.7%. These numbers were published by INSEE, the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies, on September 4th 2018.

The numbers indicate that churches have almost completely lost their influence on the general population, as one must be married at city hall before having a religious ceremony. It is clear that France is a secular country and can no longer be called a Catholic country. Of course, these percentages include French Muslims. However, since France does not allow data studies to be based on ethnicity or religious affiliation, it is impossible to know how many Muslims get married, and how many of these ceremonies include religious rites.

There were 228,000 weddings celebrated in France in 2017, around 5,000 fewer than the year before. Some 192,000 PACS were recorded in 2016, up 3,000 from the year before. The numbers say it all – the trend is obvious. This clearly explains how it was possible to have 6 out of 10 children born out of wedlock in 2017.

Several years ago, I met a couple who showed that the numbers were not telling the entire story. He was French, born in France of two parents from the same African country. She was from that country as well. They chose to be PACSed rather than married. But the young woman told me she had waited to be PACSed before moving in with the man and consummating the relationship, as she was an honorable woman.

I have encountered many similar situations where the couple mixes very traditional values with choosing a PACS over marriage. This puts back in perspective the variety of choices hinted at in the title, especially for people who are not used to the French situation, which is after all not an oddity. It is just people adapting to situations and making their own decisions according to the law of the land.

https://abonnes.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs/article/2018/09/04/six-enfants-sur-dix-naissent-hors-mariage-en-france-un-record-en-europe_5350153_4355770.html

EMPLOYEE PROTECTION IN FRANCE HAS A LIMIT
French labor law is extremely protective in favor of employees. This is well known, and the scariest tales heard in the expat community have some truth in them. But recent laws sought by Economics Minister Emmanuel Macron and achieved by President Macron are taking away some of this protection. A recent court decision sheds some interesting light on this issue.

A sales representative had a company car and pretty much had all of France as his territory and therefore drove a lot. He registered with the Blablacar site to drive people during his working hours. Blablacar provides carpooling, which ensures that more than one person is traveling in a car, reducing the need for others to have to drive themselves.

The initial problem was that the car was insured only for his own use when he was using it on company business. Therefore, his action constituted a violation of the labor contract.

On top of that, even though the car did not cost him anything, he was asking for cost sharing and a tad more, which ended up making him a substantial profit – several thousand euros in a couple of years – which Blablacar does not allow.

The employee argued that the fact that his participation in Blabla-carpooling did not cost his company any extra, and therefore it had no grounds for firing him.

The Rennes Court of Appeals in August 2018 struck down the decision by a lower court in Nantes because he had driven the car in violation of his company’s insurance policy and therefore his employer’s guidelines, and because he made a profit, which did not comply with Blablacar regulations.

The usual argument that “it does not hurt the employer” does not work as well as it used to.

https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2018/09/06/les-prud-hommes-deboutent-un-salarie-licencie-pour-covoiturage-avec-une-voiture-de-fonction_5351321_3234.html

THE PARIS BRANCH OF OFII HAS MOVED
Since I started my business over 20 years ago, I have seen this division of the French administration change its name many times, since it felt like each president wanted to fix the immigration problem once and for all. The office now called OFII (Office Français de l’Immigration et de l’Intégration) has several functions:

(1) It is probably best known for the mandatory medical exam for people who come to France with a visa.

(2) In the procedure of an employer hiring a foreigner living abroad, OFII carries out the second round of investigations before sending the file to the designated consulate.

(3) In the family reunification procedure, when a foreigner sponsors a spouse and/or minor children to come to France, it carries out the initial strict investigation.

(4) It also introduces visa-holders to France, showing them an explanatory movie and testing their ability to speak French, find a job and so on.

The office used to be located at 48 rue de la Roquette in the 11th arrondissement, near the Place de la Bastille. The new location opened on September 25th at 83 rue de Patay in the 13th. It is now quite far from a metro stop, and is closest to the Bibliothèque François Mitterrand and Olympiades stops.

My guess is that this will not fix the problem of the office personnel being overworked due to the number of asylum seekers who need appointments. I have not heard feedback yet, but I will make sure to let people know how it goes.

VFS GLOBAL, A NEW PLAYER IN THE FRENCH IMMIGRATION PROCEDURE
From Wikipedia:
VFS Global is an outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide. The company manages visa and passport issuance-related administrative and non-discretionary tasks for its client governments. It is based in Dubai.

The company operates in 139 countries on behalf of its 60 client governments. It has processed over 180 million applications since it commenced operations in 2001.

There are two very different issues here I would like to raise.
1 – For the foreigner, it complicates the procedure and increases the risk of getting the wrong visa. The request for the visa is filed online but VFS does not gather enough information about the exact reasons for the visa request to ensure that the visa hoped for will be the one received. I have been seeing people who went through this procedure and thought they asked for a visiteur immigration visa but instead received a one-year non-renewable one because they chose “up to one year” instead of “more than one year.” The latter is needed to obtain true immigration status that can be renewed by the prefecture a year or so later.

2 – For the government, it means trusting a private foreign corporation to handle a national security matter. Controlling the borders includes dealing with those coming into the country with a visa. French civil servants, i.e. the French administration, have a mixed reputation but most people agree they take pride in doing their job to protect the nation’s interests. The fact that this attitude can sometimes lead them to treat private individuals with contempt does not negate this point. So hiring a private company whose employees are just there to do a job does not reassure me when it comes to those employees completely reviewing a file and understanding the nature of the request. It really feels like paper pushing. All the approved requests go to the French consulate in Washington for the visa to be issued.

A reader sent me a link to a site rating this company. Its score was 2 out of 5. Many of the negative comments sounded familiar to me. Even clients of mine who got their visas recently have not been impressed by the quality of the service. In the most striking case, the address for the meeting was wrong because VFS had moved without informing the people who had appointments.

www.trustpilot.com/review/vfsglobal.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VFS_Global

CPAM IS NOW TIGHTENING PUMA REGISTRATION AND COVERAGE
President Macron has stated a few times that the Assurance Maladie should do more to keep people who do not live in France from abusing the system. I have seen this happen; sometimes it is people do not know they are breaking the law, but others know the regulations very well. The Assurance Maladie covers only residents of France.

Thus, alongside PUMA coverage, we have seen a growing effort to identify users who do not live here but have their medical check-up when they come to France on vacation.

First CPAM suddenly refused to register foreigners with visiteur immigration status. This lasted several months until the rule changed and these foreigners regained the right. Then came a hassle in obtaining coverage for people who could not prove they had been living in France for the previous three months. The immediate assumption was that they were not residents, even people who had their immigration visa, the OFII stamp, and utility bills in their name. Such scrutiny has decreased significantly, but proof of residence from several sources is still required. Therefore, if you are one of those affected, be ready to bring your lease, rent receipts (quittances de loyer), utility bills and Internet provider bills for the last six months. If you have children in school, bring their school registration statement.

The latest development is that some foreigners are receiving very detailed questionnaires asking their whereabouts. One of my readers writes:

“The letter was received at the beginning of this week – which is not only the middle of the vacation period but includes the August 15th holiday – demanding the return of a dossier within three weeks, without which the rights to health coverage will cease and steps can be taken to recover medical expenses already paid.”

Though the vast majority of PUMA beneficiaries are French nationals from birth, it seems they will also need to prove residence in their native country each year.

There was also apparently a request to furnish a RIB in the name of the individual person, even though couples often have joint accounts. The points is that Sécu accounts are now individual. It is not clear whether the submission of a RIB in the name of the individual was optional.

I am attaching the complete letter for those who are interested.

Best regards,

QUESTION

INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR FRENCH SMALL BUSINESSES

I am an American who teaches in France with auto-entrepreneur status. My most recent client demands proof of insurance. Have you any thoughts on that? It is a bilingual school, and the manager wants me to have two separate types of insurance – one for working with children and the other for being in the actual school building. Both are very expensive and I honestly do not understand the need for two policies. Can’t I have just one insurance policy that covers me for the work I do wherever I do it? Do you have an insurance company you recommend?

QUESTION

FRENCH HEALTH COVERAGE AND BREXIT

I am British, married to an American. I understand that because of Brexit, we wil find it very difficult to get health insurance when we move to France. She received a liver transplant twelve years ago, and recently was successfully treated for hepatitis C. Am I right in my understanding or do we have to wait to see how the EU treats the Brits in the coming months?

QUESTION

IS A STUDENT IN FRANCE A FRENCH FISCAL RESIDENT?

I am an American who recently received a two-year student visa and now hold the OFII stamp. I arrived late April 2018. I have several questions to which I cannot get a straight answer:
Am I subject to French tax (income or other)?

1. If I am subject to French income tax, what is the trigger and can it be avoided?
2. Does opening a bank account in France have any impact on the answer to the first question above?
   I ask because HSBC is telling me to fill out an auto-certification tax form, and since my HSBC account is linked to my new French address, my banker is saying that the country of tax residence (currently USA) needs to match the address and be in France as well. This doesn’t seem right, considering I am just on a student visa.
3. I want to continue filing my taxes in the USA. If I cannot escape French taxes, do you think it’s best that I find a French accountant?

I ask because HSBC is telling me to fill out an auto-certification tax form, and since my HSBC account is linked to my new French address, my banker is saying that the country of tax residence (currently USA) needs to match the address and be in France as well. This doesn’t seem right, considering I am just on a student visa.

I want to continue filing my taxes in the USA. If I cannot escape French taxes, do you think it’s best that I find a French accountant?

The vote held on June 23rd in the UK is on my mind tonight and overshadows everything else. This title sums up what the EU is going through. After 40 years of being in a relationship, even a bad one, splitting is always very painful and destructive. It takes a long time to establish a new balance

So even if the latest news does not make it easy, I would like to wish all of you a great summer and a very nice vacation.

BREXIT
Normally I never react right away to current events, but this is way too big not to make an initial analysis. Most comments are extremely negative and I share the view that it is going to be a lot worse for quite a while before it gets any better. Now I also believe that it could be a blessing in disguise. The EU must move forward after decades of staying the same in terms of creating a federal country. The UK was the main resistance to this. There could be a chance once the turmoil is over to bring back the EU vision of the1970s. I remind my readers that the UK joined the EU in 1974!

The reason Brexit is so painful to me is that the British people voted without understanding what they were voting for. They did not realize how false the anti-Europe slogans were during the campaign and how strong and solid the ties were within the EU, including the UK. They have now lost so much, certainly a lot more than they will ever gain. The rest of the EU, and especially what I consider today’s beating heart of the union – Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Luxemburg, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal – will never depart.

A little background might be useful here. From Wikipedia: “The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was an international organisation serving to unify certain Continental European countries after World War II. It was formally established in 1951 by the Treaty of Paris, which was signed by Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The ECSC was the first international organisation to be based on the principles of supranationalism, and would ultimately lead the way to the founding of the European Union.” I cannot imagine what it would be like to erase 60 years of living together.

FRENCH ESTATES AND SPLIT OF OWNERSHIP
In the USA, setting up a trust is quite common when one wants to settle his or her own estate while still alive. The key to the success of this process is, I believe, the fact that the rules and the beneficiaries are clearly defined. There is great peace of mind in knowing that everything is well organized.

French law does not have the same legal tool, and tradition favors two completely different legal mechanisms: indivision and démembrement de la propriété.

Under French law all the children must get the same amount of net assets. When it is difficult to sort this out, the assets are either sold and the money is split (démembrement), or each one becomes owner of his/her portion (démembrement – indivision). I believe the weakest point of the latter set-up is that if one wants to leave, he/she has priority over the others, as expressed by the legal concept nul n’est tenu à l’indivision,meaning that no one can be forced to stay in the joint ownership. Since there are no defining rules for the daily management of this arrangement – and no trustee – it often happens that as time goes by the heirs reach a point of disagreement and if the others cannot buy out the dissenter, the property is sold.

The another way of addressing split of ownership of an estate is the démembrement. The Latin-derived word used is usufruct in English, usufruit in French (from usus, the right to use, and fructus, the right enjoy the “fruit” or benefit of the property, e.g. by collecting rent). The split is between a person who holds the title but has no other rights, a concept called bare ownership or nu-propriété, and another person who has full use of the property, which means either living in it or renting it out.

Unlike the previous situation, it is impossible to get out of this situation unless both parties agree to sell their respective rights together. That is, the bare ownership, i.e. the title, can be sold but it stays just as “bare” of other rights for the buyer. But the usufruct is attached to one designated person and cannot be passed on to anyone else.

Problems often occur when upkeep, renovation or repairs need to be done. The law states that daily upkeep and small repairs go with the usufruct, and structural repairs and renovation go with the “bare ownership”. One can immediately see that there might be some disagreement between these two people regarding the definitions of small repairs and structural repairs.

Recently the Cour de Cassation ruled on this issue, stating that, for example, changing the front door, the gutter, the WC, or the shutters is linked to the usufruct. To avoid lawsuits, the parties are now advised to draw up a contract that is very similar to a lease defining the rights and obligations of both parties, thus avoiding interpretation of the law specific to the matter.

About a year ago, the law changed and foreigners living in France now can choose the law of their country of citizenship to govern their estate. What I have described above may be a good reason to choose a legal regime other than that of France. It might also be advisable to speak to a notaire about the matter.

http://abonnes.lemonde.fr/argent/article/2016/05/07/comment-se-partagent-les-frais-d-un-bien-immobilier-en-indivision_4915320_1657007.html

NEW REGULATIONS REGARDING MANDATORY SCHOOLING IN FRANCE
As in most Western countries, there is an obligation to school children in France between ages 6 and 16. The parents are responsible for making sure the schooling occurs, but the choice of how it happens is up to them. There are in effect four types of schooling in France:

• Public school
• Private school with a contract with the state
• Private school without a contract
• Homeschooling
• Public school, as its name implies, is run by the government; the teachers and everyone else working there are civil servants. They must do exactly what the Ministry of Education rules.

Some private schools have signed a contract with the state, and therefore are more or less government-monitored. Their teachers are paid by the state and they must have education and diplomas meeting government standards. Their teaching is monitored by the state regarding the topics for each grade. The main difference is generally that religious instruction is included on top of the school curriculum, and there may be a slightly different orientation in the teaching methods, some philosophical or religious views, and so on.

Until very recently, private schools without a contract, had no interaction with the French administration. For a long time such schools had only to send a note informing the government of their establishment and that was that. Neither the teachers nor the curriculum were verified. Now, however, new regulations have changed this: the school must obtain government approval, which means presenting the teachers, the staff, the curriculum for each grade, and so on. Time will tell how much control is exercised and how rigid the requirements will be.

Homeschooling was unheard of in France until recently. I am sure it always existed but on a minimal level, and there were objective reasons for that: the authorities did not see it as a threat. Also, when it did happen, it was done through the Centre National d’Education à Distance, a division of the Ministry of Education.

On June 9th, however, the Ministry of Education, in addition to cracking down on non-contract private schools, warned that homeschooling might be limited as well. Its reasoning is that a growing segment of the population has radical views that are incompatible with the French way of life, and that children educated at home are in danger of being taught dangerous views. Many people might immediately think of radical Muslims and terrorism, but while it is true that this danger exists, today all three monotheistic religions have among them radical groups that refuse to accept the authority of the state, preferring allegiance to their religious beliefs.

My concern is that a wide range of alternative schooling methods be preserved. Some, like Montessori, are not recognized by the French authorities, which I find odd; thus, they cannot sign a contract with the government. This type of school should easily be approved. I worry that the government is taking too narrow a view of the situation and treating proven methods of education the same as schooling by religious extremists and cults only because they differ from the traditional approach. Still, the statistics make it clear that the number of parents choosing the “Montessori type” of schooling is growing, so this issue should be addressed and these schools should be fully recognized.

A BIG STEP FOR MY PRACTICE
The family-owned SARL A Survival Kit For Paris now officially exists and has a bank account. It is premature to switch my complete accounting over to this account as long as I stay in the current office at 7 rue Ganneron. Therefore I do not yet accept payment in that name, but for me it means everything is ready to transition to the new set-up.

INCREASE OF MY FEES ON OCTOBER 1st 2016
It has been about six years since my fees last increased. On October 1st, I will raise my initial retainer from 250€ to 270€ and the hourly rate from 100€ to 110€.

MY OFFICE WILL NOT CLOSE DURING THE SUMMER VACATION
Since my office situation has not been resolved and I do not anticipate being able to move before August or early September, I am not planning any vacation time and do not expect to go away for any length of time this summer. Depending on the outcome of my office search and how quickly it proceeds, this could change some – but not much, considering the fact that any changes would be last minute.

Best regards,

QUESTION

FRENCH SHORT-TERM RENTAL AND PRIMARY RESIDENCE

We moved to Paris a few months ago from the USA on a visitor visa. While staying in a short-term rental, we tried to rent long term in Paris and it ended up being a complete mission impossible. Even when we offered to set aside six months or even a year’s worth of rent, we were only offered leases that stated that this would be our secondary residence. So we gave up and agreed to sign the one that seemed to be best protecting our interests. We might be buying an apartment in a few years or even sooner so we are determined to stay in France, but can we be thrown out of our current apartment in a year or less?

QUESTION

REGISTERING A SMALL BUSINESS IN FRANCE SINCE URSSAF CHANGED REGULATIONS ON MICRO STATUS

I obtained a professional immigration visa at the French consulate in Atlanta, as I work in the advertising industry mainly for fashion companies. After a few trips to Paris, I made enough contacts to try relocating in France. After I arrived I found out that I cannot get the professional status I want. I know that my business is going to grow slowly and it might take several years before I exceed the 32,000€ billing limit of the micro BNC income tax status. But I found out by going to URSSAF that the only way I now can get this fiscal status is by signing up for auto-entrepreneur fiscal status. Then I called the prefecture and found out that my visa does not allow me to choose that status and I must stay with the traditional BNC, which means paying TVA, keeping books and therefore hiring a French CPA to do the year-end declarations and so on. I feel like I have been cheated by the system. Can this be fixed or am I really to be penalized and have to accept this full-grown business status, which is costly and cumbersome?