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It is a Bank Holiday Weekend in France [of sorts] so whilst most are enjoying their well earned rest and spending time with family and friends we wanted to ask a favour of you, yes that's right, you...

We want you to connect with us, subscribe, follow us, give a thumbs-up to our social media activity.

Did you know we have more than 10 times website subscribers than Facebook followers for example?

So there must be more of you out there on social media!

We share more about France and French lifestyle there, as well as property listings and how to buy and sell property.

We also try to make it fun and entertaining, so come and join us where ever you prefer.

Hope to see you soon!

Kind regards, 
Sharon & David Evans 
Founders of Cle France.

There has been a lot of news in the past few days about the future of Travel to Europe from the UK, will there be new rules, a possible visa to apply for etc.

I hope I can help ease the confusion over what is actually changing and when with this timeline, hope it helps you understanding.

- 10th November 2024 (confirmed)

EU entry-exit system comes into effect, requiring British Passport holders to be fingerprinted and provide a facial biometric on entry to the European Union and wider Schengen Area 9but not Ireland or Cyprus).

- May 2025 (not confirmed, but no earlier):

Etias online permit becomes available, with a transitional period of at least six months during which Etais is optional.

- November 2025 (not confirmed, but no earlier):

Etias transitional period ends. A period of grace begins this gives travellers without an Etias a one-time only pass.

- May 2026 (not confirmed, but no earlier):

Grace period ends and all British passport holders must have an Etias.

I hope this helps.

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Blog submitted by: David at The French Property Network - Cle France.

No Hard Sell, No Pressure, just a Heads-Up For You.

Now is a good time to...

Read our Property Guides, Why ?

Have you seen the Pounds strong performance today?

The exchange rate is topping 1.19 Euro to £1.00 today.

Some reasons could be -

New UK Government?, Inflation dropping?, Interest rate cut on the cards?, Banks looking to reduce mortgage rates?

There is a lot happening so as you are thinking about buying property in France in the future then our popular and helpful Property Guides are free for you to download, they are in plain English and ideal for people who want to Buy, Sell, Holiday and of course Live in France Post Brexit.

Get expert advice about the Buying & Selling process in France, Post Brexit rules, Healthcare, Currency Exchange and much more.

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Perhaps you are planning a viewing trip soon or thinking of making an offer on a property.

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Kind regards, 
David Evans 
Co-Founder of Clé France.

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France, just like every other country, has many holidays throughout the year.

It is best to leave the planning of your viewing trip to the experts at Cle France but if you are going to plan your trip and see multiple houses then be careful to avoid les jours fériés as these may catch you out. Estate Agents in France work so hard they are keen not to miss the opportunity of a Bank Holiday day off and making the bridge is a common practice for most business so let us explain.

With the creation of new holidays every year (such as National Doughnut Day — faites une croix dans vos calendriers [mark your calendars]! It’s June 2nd this year!), it seems that there’s something to celebrate every day. Whether you believe in celebrating doughnuts or not (and let’s be honest, you should as you only live once!), there are certain holidays that are nationally recognised.

Image courtesy of Eric Rocheblave.

These holidays, called les jours fériés, are public holidays, and public servants, employees in the public sector, and students generally have the day off!

This year, France has 13 public holidays. Can you name them? Answers are at the bottom of the post!

Of those 13, 5 take place in May. That’s a lot of days off! That’s almost 40% of days off in one month. Do you know the expression faire le pont? It literally means “to make the bridge,” but it refers to the idea of going from one end of something to another more than actually making a bridge. What it means is to make a long weekend. If a holidays falls on a Tuesday or a Thursday, the French “make a bridge” to the next week.

For example, if the holiday is on Thursday, it doesn’t make much sense to come to work Wednesday, have off Thursday, return to work Friday, then have the weekend off. So what they do is have off Thursday AND Friday, plus the weekend. A four-day weekend! They font le pont from Thursday to Monday.

So what are the holidays this month? Let’s take a look!

Le 1er mai – La Fête du Travail – Labor Day

This holiday is sometimes called La Fête du Muguet. Le Muguet (lily of the valley) is picked and given to loved ones. Don’t want to pick any, or don’t have access to a field ? Don’t worry – there are stands on the road where you can purchase them. There are even regulations that allow organizations to grow and sell these flowers without taxes.

In the streets, you’ll see parades celebrating workers rights.

Le 8 mai – La Fête de la Victoire / le Jour de la Libération – Victory Day

This holiday is to celebrate the end of the Second World War and freedom. Freedom’s not just an American value :-p On this day in 1945, Charles de Gaulle announced the end of the war.

Many people attend church services on this day, and they watch the parades after. The atmosphere is generally quite happy.

Le 9 mai – Ascension

This is the 40th day of Easter and marks the day that Jesus Christ ascended to heaven after being crucified.

Some Christians attend special church services, but most people don’t do anything specifically related to the holiday. Since it’s a four-day weekend, many people may take a mini vacation.

Le 19 mai – Pentecôte – Pentecost Sunday or Whit Sunday

This is another religious holiday in May. Since it’s on a Sunday, the fact that everything is closed is nothing new. Some Christians will attend church services. Traditionally, trumpets will be blown during the service. This represents the wind that blew when the spirit descended into Jesus’s followers.

For many others, it’s just like any other weekend, except they don’t have to go to work the next day.

Le 20 mai – Lundi de Pentecôte –Pentecost Monday or Whit Monday

This day follows Pentecost Sunday. Much like the previous day, not a lot is done anymore. In fact, the French government decided to remove it from their list of national holidays around 10 years ago.  It was reinstated again after the death of many elders during a heatwave. The new holiday, called the Day of Solidarity, is to bring awareness to elderly people with disabilities. Some people do work on this day for no wages, and their money is donated to organisations. Not everyone does this, though.

Happy Holidays!

1. Jour de L’an (1er janvier)

2. Pâques (le 9 avril)

3. Lundi de Pâques (le 1 avril)

4. Fête du Travail (1er mai)

5. Fête de la Victoire 1945 (le 8 mai)

6. Ascension catholique (le 9 mai)

7. Pentecôte (le 19 mai)

8. Lundi de Pentecôte (le 20 mai)

9. Fête nationale (le 14 juillet)

10. Assomption (le 15 aout)

11. Toussaint (le 1er novembre)

12. Armistice 1989 (le 11 novembre)

13. Noël (le 25 décembre)

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.

Actually it is not that different to Easter celebrations in other mainly Christian countries, the French however as you would expect also have their own individual Easter traditions. Perhaps it may come as no surprise that given France's obvious culinary talents, many of the Easter traditions include and involve food.

Easter is an important holiday in France and there are lots of traditions that go with Easter so be sure to wish all your friends and colleagues an enthusiastic 'Joyeuses Pâques' (Happy Easter) !

Easter Weekend:

Good Friday is typically not recognised as a Bank Holiday in France and it is business as normal. Easter does however consist of a long weekend, and in some sectors, a week or two of holidays but generally it is only the Easter Monday that stands out as different to the normal run of things because every Sunday is still a rest day in France where most large shops and business are closed, unlike the UK these days. In addition to having the chance for a holiday, the French also take the opportunities of Easter to include visiting family and friends, and relaxing.

French Easter Morning:

French children have Easter egg hunts on Easter sunday morning. Eggs are usually chocolate ones and not hard-boiled ones, although the French also play games with raw eggs at Easter. A few Easter games exist, such as competitions throwing and catching eggs and seeing who can toss and catch an egg the longest without breaking it. Another game with raw eggs stems from the Catholic tradition in France. In this game, children each take a raw egg and roll them down a hill (simulating the stone rolling from Jesus' tomb). In this symbolic game, the child whose egg travels the farthest without breaking is the winner.

Easter egg hunts are usually for small chocolate eggs. However, French chocolatiers also have a long-standing tradition of creating oversized ornamental chocolate eggs that are given as gifts. These eggs, like most products from French chocolatiers and patissiers, often look too beautiful to eat!

How Do the French Celebrate Easter with Food:

In addition to the sweets, French families often make very special meals on Easter Sunday. As with all special French meals, it will usually consist of several courses, be accompanied by wine, and finish with a cheese plate and a delicious dessert.

French Easter Menus:

There is a French Easter tradition of serving lamb as the main course on Easter Sunday. While this is not necessarily always the case, many families still observe this tradition by making a rack of lamb braised with an herb rub or sauce. Other main courses would typically be meat, for example a ham or other choice cuts of meat. Turkey, which is very typical of Christmas, would not often be chosen as an Easter main course.

Preceding the main course, a lighter dish is usually served. This may be something like a quiche or perhaps a salad. Though soup is possible, a cold first course is more typical of a traditional Easter menu. Some families may eat both a salad and another first course.

Following the main course, expect a short break in which everyone remains seated at the table drinking wine. This break is usually followed with a traditional cheese plate with baguette. If you are making a French-style Easter dinner outside France, you'll have to rely on a local supermarket for some French cheeses (get a variety: one bleu, one camembert or brie, one harder cheese, and a goat's cheese if you can find it). In France, expect a few popular French cheeses, as well as a few local ones that you may never have seen or heard of before.

Lastly, Easter dinners are topped off with dessert. Very often, the dessert will include some chocolate, but may not be exclusively chocolate, such as a chocolate berry tart or an almond cake drizzled with a chocolate sauce. If you are in France, expect to spend a long time over Easter dinner, it is meant to be enjoyed slowly.

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.