THE FRENCH TERRITORY

The French Republic (also known as Republique Francaise) is located in Western Europe, and includes several islands and territories found in other continents. What is called “Metropolitan France” stretches across the Mediterranean Sea, leading to the English Channel, and along North Sea, then winds around the Rhine before reaching the Atlantic Ocean. The region is shaped like a hexagon causing the French people to call this particular area L’Hexagone (The “Hexagon”).

On the borders of the region lie several countries, including Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Monaco, Andorra, and Spain. France also shares some of its land borders with the countries of Brazil, the Netherlands Antilles, and Suriname. France also shares a connection to the United Kingdom through the Channel Tunnel, which snakes below La Manche (also known to the rest of the world as the English Channel).

POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC INFORMATION

France is the sixth-largest economy in the world. It has a democratic political system, following the principles and structures of the unitary semi-presidential republic.

One of the European Union (EU)’s founding members, it also boasts the distinction of owning the largest land area among all the countries belonging to this group. It was also a founding member of the United Nations. France is also considered to be a key member of the G8, the Lation Union, and La Francophonie. It is one of the five countries that have permanent seats in the United Nations Security Council, where it has veto power. France is also one of the world’s known nuclear powers.

HISTORY

The name “France” comes from the Franks, one of its first inhabitants. This Germanic tribe lived in the area after the end of the Western Roman Empire. Their communities centered around the region now known as Paris. They called it called Ile-de-France, which became the first royal demesne.

Today, France is one of the world’s most renowned tourist destinations. It has about 75,000,000 visitors every year.

LANGUAGE

The official language of France is French, and is used by the government on the local and national languges. It is one of the few EU countries that has no protected regional languages—of which there are many, thanks to the influx of other cultures and the steady stream of tourists. These include Alsatian and Lorraine, Gascon and Provencal), the oil dialects like Picard and Poitevin-Saintongeais), Catalan, Corsican Basque, Breton, and Franco-Provencal. You will also hear many people speak Polynesian, Amerindian, Creole, Comoronian and Caledonian. The large immigrant communities have also led to these languages spoken in the major cities: Maghreb Arabic, several spoken variants of Chinese (most notably Wu, Cantonese, Teo Cheow, and Mandarin), Turkish, Vietnamese, and Khmer Portuguese, several Berber languages, and several languages of Sub-Saharan Africa.

While French is the only official language many French spea more than one language. According to a study done in 2005, nearly 50% are very fluent in another language. This is particularly true in border cities like the Alps, Alsace, and the Pyrénées, Alsace, or the Alps. They usually speak English (34%), followed by Spanish (10%), German (7%) and Italian.

If you are thinking of buying a vacation home, look no farther than France. This beautiful country not only has one of the most amazing arts and culture, but the scenery is beautiful especially in the provinces.

But how do you know if you should buy a second home? True, everyone dreams of having one. It seems so perfect to be able to escape to the countryside any time you wish, or spend your vacations in a real house instead of a hotel room. Others think that having a second home is part of “the good life” and that it’s a sign of success and prestige But before you grab your car keys and go off on a frenzied search for a good real estate agent, sit down and think things through. What do you really want? Are you prepared for the investment? And if you look at all the detaild involved, will this second home be a source of joy…or unforeseen stress?

The first thing to consider is the reason you wish to invest in a second home at all. If all you’re after is a fun and enjoyable vacation by the sea or in the countryside, or a chance to work off the stress at work on the ski slopes, wouldn’t just renting do? There are plenty of properties for rent which are very affordably priced. Do you really want your own property?

Does everyone in your family want a second home? Does everyone agree what part of the country it should be located? It’s pointless if you want the provincial cottage with a rose garden in front while the teenagers prefer Paris’ discos. Even just a couple may have conflicting needs and expectations. You may dream of enjoying the quiet country life, but what if your husband has hay fever? And would you be content to hold many of your holidays in one place?

Other obvious considerations are time and money. You will need time to search for property, negotiate, sort out the details. These are not stressful if you don’t rush the process or high very good real estate agents who can help you look for the newest property. And of course, with the huge number of available loans, as long as you have a good credit history it won’t be too much of a problem to find financing. Set a realistic budget and include costs like decorating and repairs. Don’t forget purchasing fees and taxes.

The payments involved in buying a second home doesn’t end with the notary fees. Just like any other house in any other country, you’ll have to think about bills. Common payments include insurance premiums, local taxes and utilities, as well as any fees given to local tradesmen.

What happens when they arrive and you’re not there? What if they get there after your vacation’s over and you’re back in your “regular” home? What can you do to avoid the fines that are slapped for late payments? (Most won’t take the excuse “but I was in another country!”

One of the things you can do is to set up your own bank account. This is an excellent first step. Almost any French bank will provide really good service but some foreigners prefer working with those that are known for having a very good English speaking staff. This includes Britline, run by Credit Agricole. This, and some other banks that specialize in servicing foreigners, don’t require you to have a French address. (Useful when you’re still finalizing the details of your home purchase). However you will need to show documents like birth and marriage certificates, passports, bank account statements from your banks at home. With hardly any fuss or bother you can set up a French Bank account.

You can also open a deposit account to keep any extra money in. For your convenience you can make transactions from your home country. It also helps to get a debit card.

Do keep track of the withdrawals and the checks you issue because you will incur very heavy penalties in France if the account is overdrawn. You can handle this in many ways. One is to create an arrangement for money to be regularly transferred from another account, though this will incur some kind of transaction fee (sometimes up to £30 per transaction). You can also go through a specialist foreign exchange broker which gives you the advantage of a more favourable rate.