THE French government has created a website that allows you to compare petrol prices between supermarkets.
The prix-carburants site collects data from around 8,000 shops across France, narrowing down your search via communes – unfortunately the popularity of the site means it is struggling to work at the moment.
WHEN most people start a restoration project in France they don’t usually have to learn ancient building techniques or deal with the discovery of human skeletons.
But for Harry Atterton and his wife Jacqueline these challenges are all part and parcel of bringing back to life one of the oldest castles in France.
HERE’S to a very merry Christmas and I’ll wish you all the best for the New Year.
Many thanks for continuing to drop in on This French Life and to those who have left helpful comments, posted a photo on Flickr and passed on advice in the forum.
So I’ll say Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année!!!
Regards, Craig
THE number of older Britons living abroad is expected to hit 3,325,000 – or one in five – by 2020, a new study reveals.
Figures from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) claims that currently one million pensioners, or one in 12 of Britons over 65, already live overseas.
Life in France as a disabled person is, at least, difficult.
Access, services, employment and independence are all things that are taken for granted in everyday life but for the disabled they are almost exclusively denied.
Banks that have no disabled access, lack of disabled parking spaces, few shopping trolleys that attach to wheelchairs, restricted checkouts in supermarkets and the lack of dropped kerbs are just a few obstacles that make life for the disabled frustrating and humiliating.
Eric Taffoureau-Millet has first hand experience of the problems disabled people face, being the victim of a cycling accident at the age of 17 which left him in a coma. Two further accidents compounded the problems he faced. As a previous top class cyclist he knew that he had to move on and his change of direction empowered him to take up the fight.
If you are going to be spending your first Christmas in France, what can you expect?
RELYING on just the income from a gîte can be a risky proposition, so people will often look at other options to ensure the money keeps flowing.
Here Tony Scott outlines the steps he took to register to sell fishing tackle at markets in the Haute-Vienne region.
THE Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has been highlighting the perils and pitfalls of moving abroad.
They have stressed the importance of getting your financial affairs in shape, ensuring health provision for yourself and family is set up and raising awareness of making informed decisions when buying overseas.
I have had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome since at least 2000 and it is believed it has been with me since before then. I suffered a stroke in October 2000 and I found that because I was at my lowest point after the stroke the CFS really took off in a big way.
In England I had a support network which I was able to turn to when things got bad but mainly my husband was my carer.
When we moved to France in 2004 I found that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and its associated conditions are not as readily accepted as an ‘illness’, I could find no one who really understood what the illness is or how to treat it.
For those of you thinking of living or even visiting France it can become a shock that dietary needs are not easily taken into consideration.
Naturally some areas are better served than others, but it is better to be forewarned that you could encounter problems.
I am lactose intolerant and gluten intolerant so I have had to look further a field than my local supermarket to find suitable foods. They sell Soya milk and yoghurt but I cannot find any gluten free products.