French Signpost is a help and information page for anyone thinking of buying a French property

Opening a French Bank Account - House Insurance - Electricity - Telephone - Paying the Bills online - Car Hire - Autoroutes and Roads - Driving Licence - Health - Dentists - Optician - Vets - French Public holidays 2008

If you have information that will be useful to others living or thinking of moving to Indre or Limosin please email me here and we will add it to this page.

Opening a French Bank Account

To open a bank account in France can seem a little daunting but in reality no more so than in the U.K. only problem you may say is the language. Lots of banks in France now have someone on hand who speaks English and will help you complete the form filling process. All the bank will need for residents and non-residents is your passport (valid) a utility bill showing your main residence, within the last 3 months phone, gas or electricity bill. The French bank Crédit Agricole Centre Ouest has useful page on it's web site to help english speaking customers which includes a list of its branches with an english speaking representative.http://www.ca-centreouest.fr/Vitrine/ZoneLibre/P_ZoneLibre_ENGLISH_INTERNET_SITE.jsp

House Insurance

House insurance is a must take it from us we bought a property for investment on the outskirts of La Souterrain in April 2005 after two months of renovation work it was almost ready for letting.

Then on the evening of 13th June 2005 we had phone call to say our house was on fire. We drove to the house to find it surrounded by fire men and neighbours. The house had been struck by lightning setting the roof alight.

We were stunned and shocked a neighbour asked if we were insured I replied maybe the truth was I was not sure I know we had faxed our insurance agent with the house details and we had received a contract to sign and had returned it, that was in April and as far as we were aware we had not received an invoice so had not paid a penny. After a sleepless night we were on the door step of our insurance agent at 9 a.m. armed only with our copy of a two month old contract, after explaining what had happened we were whisked away by him to inspect the damage at the house he then explained that we were not to worry it would all be taken care of you have a contract. It was September before we received the invoice for the premium it came to 108.00 euros the cost to rebuild 63000.00 euros. All of our insurances are with Axa our local agent is Julien Fick 13 Bd. Jean Moulin 23300 La Souterraine telephone 05 55 63 90 67 ask for Julien Fick he has excellent english.

There is no obligation to take out insurance cover on your french property if you are paying cash but why take the risk.

If you are purchasing your French property with the aid of a mortgage the house insurance must be in place before you finally sign for the property. Take a copy of the insurance contract with you to the notaire on signing day.

Changing Insurance companies - you must give at least two months notice to change your insurance company and you must send the notification of termination to your insurance company by registered post.

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Electricity

If the property you are buying has electricity supply connected and working all it should take is a phone call from the previous owner to EDF to cancel their account and to change the account to your name is phone call from you to your local EDF office with the meter reading and the address you would like the account sent to. www.edf.fr France electricity web site with English content

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Telephone

Installing a telephone line will be high on your list when you first move into your French home.
There is an English speaking help line available on 0800 364775 (toll free) that is open Monday to Friday from 09h00 to 17h30.
To have a new line installed you must prove that you are the owner and if you are taking over the line ensure the previous account is closed on the day you take possession.
You pay you’re monthly line rental to France Télécom, which is called an abonnement, and your bill will show this along with an itemised list of calls plus value added tax (TVA) at 19.6%. Peak times are Monday to Friday 08h00 to 19h00 with off peak at all other times.
France Télécom bills customers every two months and options for payment are on the reverse of the bill these include posting a cheque, direct debit or going to the post office.
It is possible to have an account with an alternative provider who may provide cheaper calls but you will still pay your line rental to France Télécom. If you are likely to be making a large amount of international calls if may be worth while looking at other providers, it is a competitive market.

For more info: www.francetelecom.com

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Paying the Bills online

For those of you who have not set up a prélèvement (direct debit) to pay your French utility bills they can now be paid online.

Many utility bills can be paid online with a payment card without the need to first subscribe to a special service. Telefact provides this service free of charge for several utility suppliers, namely France Télécom (telephone), EDF (electricity), and GDF (Gas), and for several water boards – Eaux du Nord, Eaux de Douai, Sevesc and Générale des Eaux, now called Veolia Eau. www.telefact.fr (you will need the invoice reference number and amount).

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Car Hire

If you are coming to France and intend to hire a car please be aware that you will need a credit card so that the car hire company has some security to obtain any excess charges.
Do book your car hire for 24 hour periods from the time of arrival. If you go over a 24 hour period they will charge an extra day!

Lots of garages in France now have 24/7 pumps, as in UK, designed to serve yourself and pay by credit card. You cannot use these pumps without a 'PIN' number you can in some garages now use UK credit card with 'PIN' numbers at some of the more up to date 24/7 pumps. Whereas most (relatively inexpensive) French shop card machines have been replaced or updated to accept UK cards I imagine integrated petrol pump systems are a lot more expensive to update. So it is pot luck best to carry a spare can of petrol that will get you to a garage that is open and manned.

The cheapest places for fuel are supermarkets, and as in UK, the most expensive fuel is on the autoroutes.

Unleaded petrol is 'sans plomb' and diesel is 'gazoil'.

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Autoroutes and Roads

Autoroutes - In France it is usual to pay to travel on the autoroute (motorway). You enter through a booth called Péage where you either collect a ticket and pay as you exit or you may be asked to pay a fixed fee all the Péages accept major credit cards. It may seem expensive to UK visitors but the autoroutes are well maintained and an easy and quick way to travel long distances. The traffic is not usually as heavy as in UK although it can be busy around major towns.

Speed limits are 130kph in good weather and 110kph in bad weather and head lights on. D roads 90kph - 70khp going down to 50kph or even 20khp in towns and villages.

Do not be tempted to go above the speed limits. The French police are very 'hot' if you are over the speed limit it will be an on the spot fine cash or French cheque, if you do not have either but offer a credit card they will escort you to the nearest ATM Also on the spot fines for not wearing a seat belt for failing to stop at a stop sign even though it maybe clear or not having any vehicle documentation with you and so on.
Do not drink and drive. You can be stopped in the middle of the smallest villages and breathalysed!

Do invest in a Michelin map book for finding your routes. Expensive, but worth it.

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Driving Licence

Drivers who take up residence in another EC/EEA country no longer have to exchange their driving licence, but may continue to drive using their own national licence for as long as is remains valid. You should however check with the appropriate driving licensing authorities where you will be residing for information on any conditions that the host member state may stipulate.

National licences may only carry an address from the country which issued that licence. We are therefore unable to re-issue your British licence with a foreign address. It is accepted that drivers who move to another part of the EC/EEA could be holding driving licences showing an incorrect address. This is permissible under the terms of the EC Directive on Driving Licences.

www.direct.gov.uk

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Health

If you are thinking of moving to France and need to know more about French heath system and UK reciprocal heath care read Forward Planning your Healthcare in France. Article by Peter Owen www.expathealthdirect.co.uk. Our comment Peter Owen is extremely up to speed with most if not all of the heath, pensions and incapacity issues we English will need to know if we are moving to France. His advice was invaluable to to us.

English speaking help line for medical cover in Limousin - www.cpam87.fr/siteweb/anglais

CPAM de la Haute Vienne, 22 ave Jean Gagnant, 87037, Limoges

International help line - Tel 05 55 45 87 35 or 05 55 45 87 31
MEDICATION AND MEDICAL PROBLEMS - whether you are just traveling France, renting, house hunting or coming to live for the first time carry with you details of any medical conditions you may have and a list of your medication, preferably prepared by a doctor in the UK. If your stay in France is extended for any reason and you are not carrying enough medication it would make it easier for a French doctor to prescribe for you.

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU Dupuytren), 2 av Martin Luther King, 87000 Limoges Tel: 05 55 05 61 23

Centre Hospitalier Jacques Boutard, Place du 4 Septembre - BP 5187500 Saint Yrieix La Perche Tel: 05 55 75 75 75

Even if we speak French, we can all have problems when visiting the Doctor, Dentist, Vet or other health professionals.

If you know of a health professional, who speaks a little English or is helpful towards non-French speakers,

please let us know.

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Dentists

Dentist - Dr Thanh Nguyen, Station de Bussiere Galant, 87230 Haute Vienne. English spoken. Tel 05 55 78 82 78

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Optician

English speaking Christophe Dufraisse, Optometrie et sciences de la vision

Thiviers 05 53 55 02 30 Nontron 05 53 56 06 51

Open Monday 2 pm to 7 pm, Tuesday to Saturday 8.30 am to 12.30 pm and 2 pm to 7 pm

Very good and very thorough.

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Vets

Vétérinaires Lecat-Del Pino Monge-Formesyn-Stalmans (SCP) 10 bd Jean Moulin 23300 LA SOUTERRAINE Perfect English Spoken 05 55 63 03 09 fax : 05 55 63 92 70
Clinique Veterinaire Vanteaux, 69 Rue Vitorien, Sardou, 87000 Limoges. Mon-Fri 7.30am to 8.00pm, Sat 8.00am to 6.00pm. English Spoken. Tel 05 55 50 71 90

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Leisure

If you want to go to the cinema and wonder if the film will be in French, look for VO after the title which means it is the original version so will be in the original language.

If music is your thing look out for posters advertising events and if it says 'gratuit' entry is FREE!

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French Public Holidays 2008

Easter Sunday Sunday the 23rd Mar 2008

Easter Monday Monday the 24th Mar 2008

Ascension Thursday the 1st May 2008

Labour Day Thursday the 1st May 2008

1945 Victory Day Thursday the 8th May 2008

Whit Sunday Sunday the 11th May 2008

Whit Monday Monday the 12th May 2008

Bastile Day Monday the 14th Jul 2008

Assumption Friday the 15th Aug 2008

All Saints' Day Saturday the 1st Nov 2008

Remembrance Day Tuesday the 11th Nov 2008

Christmas Day Thursday the 25th Dec 2008

New Year's Day Thursday the 1st Jan 2009