Britons with second homes in French towns and cities will see their council tax rates rise by hundreds of euros a year after President Hollande’s government yesterday rounded on “wealthy foreigners” in a desperate attempt to raise money.

The move is designed to generate €150 million for local councils, and will hit anyone who has a second home in 28 cities and suburbs, including Paris and Nice.

No one with a second home in rural France will be affected.

 Holiday Homes for sale like this one (GTY01287) will not be affected.

The so-called weekend tax has been sold by President Hollande as a measure to address France’s housing crisis by claiming that it will encourage property owners to rent out their second homes. However, in truth, the levy is a means of raising new revenue for hard-up local councils from a group of people, many of whom do not have the vote.

The Socialist cabinet has recently been forced to slash state subsidies for local councils to try to meet calls from Brussels to cut the French budget deficit. At the end of last month, President Hollande was rattled by a threat from Brussels that it would reject his budget because it did not reduce the deficit significantly. The government then was forced to announce a €3.7 billion cut in subsidies for next year’s budget.

However, the tax has caused fierce controversy amid signs that the government was itself split over the measure. Under the plan disclosed by Michel Sapin, the finance minister, urban councils will be authorised to levy a tax equivalent to 20 per cent of the residency tax paid by all households for anyone with a second home in one of the prescribed 28 town areas.

This will add €90 to the rates on an average flat in Paris — which are among the lowest in France — but €200 to €300 in some of the capital’s suburbs and in other cities. All households pay at least one type of council tax — a residency tax, paid by everyone, and an owner tax, paid only by those who own their property.

French press reports suggested that tourist destinations popular with the British, such as Annecy in the Alps, or Bordeaux in the southwest could also be hit by the tax.

Most of the 200,000 Britons with holiday homes in France will escape the tax rise since their properties are in rural areas. However, 10,000 Britons own second homes on the French Riviera, some urban areas of which, such as Nice, will be included by the new tax. Many Britons have also invested in property in cities such as Lyon and Toulouse.

Rural houses like this (CLS00397) will not be affected.

Cle France are French Estate agents with agents across France in most regions and with over 8000 houses for sale in all price brackets and in all styles to suit everyone. This bi-lingual service will help you find the right property for you with the minimum of fuss.

NO HIDDEN FEES: The price you pay is the same as anyone walking through the door of our agency in France, same as the price paid by the French buyer.

All quoted prices are INCLUSIVE OF AGENCY FEES (FAI): with Notaire's fees to be added (these average 7% to 8%).

OUR AGENTS: are all registered and insured in France, they are holders of the 'carte professionnelle'as required by French law.

So when you buy through Clé France: you have the benefit of a bi-lingual support team & can be confident that you are paying no more than the standard commission rates you would pay anyway.

CONTACT US: to discuss your search for property in France, or indeed for any further information you may require on French property sales.

This article originally appeared in The Times on Wednesday 5th November 2014.

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

Scotland votes "No"

Alex Salmond’s dream of Scottish independence was dashed today after voters threw their support behind the United Kingdom in a result that promises to bury the separation issue for at least a generation.

Sterling has rallied to a 25 month high against the Euro so now is a good time to buy the euros for your French property dream! who knows what will happen next? but there is bound to be some 'settling down' in the currency markets now the decision is known so today is a good day to think about your currency requirements.

For more information on the currency service I can provide please feel free to contact myself...

Rob Harold from Foreign Currency Direct follow this link or phone and ask for myself and quote "Cle France" on our Freephone 0800 328 5884.

You may email me directly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your requirement and quote "Cle France" I will explain the options that are available to you in getting the best exchange rate.

Reaction :

David Cameron immediately said he was “delighted” with the result and signalled an immediate constitutional shake-up that is set to see non-English MPs barred from key votes in the Commons.

“Now the debate has been settled for a generation, or as Alex Salmond has said, perhaps for a lifetime. There can be no disputes, no re-runs,” he said.

The prime minister said that he would ensure that a pledge to devolve tax, welfare and borrowing powers would be delivered in full, with proposals drawn up by November. It will be overseen by Lord Smith of Kelvin.

Speaking exclusively to The Times ahead of the result, Mr Salmond sent a blunt warning to Mr Cameron that he must accept his legal “responsibilities” to deliver the best deal for Scotland regardless of the outcome. The move was seen as an opening salvo in the post-referendum negotiations before the outcome was known.

Although he said he would accept the will of the people if the vote went against him, he risked inflaming tensions further in a message aimed squarely at Conservative backbenchers. He said all should accept that once “it is over, it is over, particularly politicians who are not the story in this referendum, in my estimation. But they have an obligation to lead positively.”

Although the polls had been too close to call in the fortnight ahead of the referendum, the No camp’s hopes of victory were boosted immediately after voting closed as a YouGov online survey of those who had cast their ballot suggested a shift in favour of the Union. It put No ahead on 54 per cent, and Yes at 46. It was conducted among those surveyed on Wednesday that had put “No” on 52 and Yes on 48.

As the postal votes were counted at Ingliston, Better Together sources said that they were splitting in their favour. And, as the first few councils declared for “no”, they became increasingly confident. The first declaration – Clackmannanshire – went 54 per cent no, 46 per cent “yes”, a greater majority for the Unionists than either side expected.

When half of the 32 councils had announced, the split was 44 per cent for “yes” and 56 per cent for “no”.

Three declarations at about 4.15am were dire for the Nationalists. In Angus, an SNP council and stronghold, went to the No camp by 56 per cent to 44 per cent. In Aberdeen, the split was 59 per cent to 41 per cent the same way. And in Perth and Kinross it was 60 per cent versus 40 per cent.

Nicola Sturgeon, the deputy first minister, faced the cameras when SNP strategists were already privately admitting defeat. She said the vote showed a “big appetite for substantial change” among Scots. She added: “I will work with anybody and do anything I can to deliver substantial powers for the Scottish Parliament.”

Mr Salmond had been expected to attend the Aberdeenshire count in the city of Aberdeen, and possibly fly on to Edinburgh. It emerged just after midnight that he had decided to stay in his home village of Strichen until morning.

Main points : 

• Scotland votes to reject independence 

• No wins by more than 10 per cent 

• 55.4% No, 44.6% Yes. Turnout 84.4% 

• Cameron pledges rapid action on further devolution 

• PM also vows to deliver “English votes for English laws” 

• One more council to declare 

• Salmond urges Scotland to accept result 

• Says Scotland has rejected independence “at this stage” 

• Pound rises against the dollar 

• Ed Miliband to speak in Glasgow at 9am.

Latest news :

08.00 19th September 2014:

We’re still waiting the result from Highland, where the count has been delayed due to a car crash on the A9. But even if all of Highland’s 190,778 votes go to the Yes campaign, the union would remain intact.

From an article in the Times Newspaper 19/09/2014.

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

Today, 18 September 2014, Scotland goes to the polls to vote on whether to leave the 307-year-old union with England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The consequences could be far-reaching for people well beyond the Scottish borders. Then again, they might not.

NOTE: If you have euros to buy for a pending house purchase abroad and you think it will be a "Yes" vote then consider trading your money sooner rather than later.

For more information on the currency service I can provide please feel free to contact myself...

Rob Harold from Foreign Currency Direct follow this link or phone and ask for myself and quote "Cle France" on our Freephone 0800 328 5884.

You may email me directly at  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your requirement and quote "Cle France" I will explain the options that are available to you in getting the best exchange rate.

This historic day could result in one of the most volatile days the pound has seen since Britain was forced to exit the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) on the 16th September 1992, dubbed Black Wednesday. With the polls suggesting the vote for the Scottish Independence Referendum is too close to call, the pound really could go either way.

The real risk for sterling however is a Yes vote and the consequences of such an outcome could be dire for the pound. The fact that there is too much uncertainty surrounding how a Scottish departure would take place is only adding to the volatility. There are lots of considerations especially as to the detail of how a Scottish currency would be pegged to the pound as well as how much debt Scotland would take on, which have not been established. There are no contingency plans in place. Whatever the result, it’s not just going to have short term implications.

Even a No vote will carry with it further political issues at Westminster which will go on for years. Now we await the outcome which according to the highlands Chief Counting Officer, her best estimate is for a result at breakfast time tomorrow morning. Let’s all at least hope that George Soros isn’t around, planning on costing the British taxpayer any more money.

If you have a pending currency requirement there is still time today before the outcome so be sure to speak with us to look at your requirement and the potential impact it may have on your transfer.

The suggested consequences of a vote for independence in Scotland have ranged from it being as dangerous as the murder of Franz Ferdinand in 1914 that led to the First World War, to a mild and temporary change in exchange rates. Here we bring together some potential consequences of particular interest to property professionals, both within a newly independent Scotland and in the residual UK (known as rUK) as well as in the wider world.

Scottish house values:

According to UK property portal Zoopla, Scottish independence could knock £31,000 off the average Scottish house value. They predict that a Yes vote would have the same effect as the financial crisis, which reduced Scottish prices by 17.5%. With many companies saying they will move their headquarters from Scotland to England in the event of a Yes, some agents are predicting a fall in demand for high-end housing in cities such as Edinburgh and Glasgow.

It should be noted however, that for many young Scots priced out of Scottish property, which has risen 8.3% in the last two years to an average £177,600 per home, the prospect of falling property prices would encourage a Yes vote. And wouldn’t lower prices encourage new overseas clients? Not so fast, say Zoopla, mortgages will be harder to obtain in Scotland if English mortgage companies stop operating north of the border, while existing mortgage payments may rise if they are paid in a new currency.

Zoopla’s Lawrence Hall said a Yes vote, “would almost certainly have a detrimental effect on Scottish house prices in the short to medium term. The uncertainties on employment, tax, currency, EU membership and interest rates will all play their part and if big business does head south with a ‘Yes’ vote Scotland will lose a significant piece of their service economy with nothing to replace it, leading to a greater supply and reduced demand for housing and a resultant drop in house prices.”

Savills predited: “Potential increased risk [to the Scottish banking sector] would probably mean an independent Scotland incurring higher mortgage rates, putting upward pressure on household finances and potentially driving down the value of housing, as buyers seek affordability. This might lead to the residential market stalling once again, with sellers unwilling to accept lower prices, just as they did during the recent economic downturn.”

UK house prices:

Rightmove predicts a severe slowdown in UK house prices and property transactions following a Yes. “Speculation amongst economic forecasters on topics such as upward pressure on interest rates, availability of wholesale funding for lenders, and the geographic location of major financial institutions are potentially destabilising influences on consumer sentiment,” said Miles Shipside, analyst at Rightmove. Property lawyers Moore Blatch also predict higher rental and selling prices: “If Scotland says yes, we could we see a boost in rental demand and rental inflation in London,” says George Gilpin, senior solicitor at Moore Blatch. “Similarly, as many staff will not necessarily want to move permanently, we could also expect to see demand for pied-a-terres rise. In terms of house prices it is more a possibility of halting the decline caused by the reduction in investment from overseas and therefore more stable prices.”

But isn’t it possible that these arguments are all a bit overblown? Scotland may be a large landmass but its population and its GDP make up considerably less than 10% of the UK. The Yes campaign surely has a point in claiming that the No’s are being overly negative (see poster, right). A bigger question mark may hang over rUK exchange rates and interest rates. Both of these are more than likely to be adversely affected by a Yes vote, but for how long?

One bright spot is from agents on the immediate southern side of the Scottish border who anticipate a boom. One agent in Carlisle told The Guardian: “We will be the nearest economic centre to Scotland, with the rail and motorway infrastructure, so almost perversely we could see a sales increase as firms relocate to Carlisle so that they can stay English-based while doing business with Scotland.”

Scotland and the European Union:

The No campaign has focused on the difficulty an independent Scotland will have in joining the EU, potentially blocked by Spain in an attempt to deter its own separatist movements. The Yes campaign refutes this utterly, and you can see their point. Scotland clearly is in Europe geographically and Spain could hardly block its democratic will for long. The Yes camp say Scotland will simply be able to amend the membership it had as part of the UK. However, at the same time it is looking for opt outs, such as retaining the pound sterling and staying out of the Schengen area, saying: “The Scottish Government, while endorsing the objectives underpinning the Schengen Agreement, has no plans in the foreseeable future to recommend to the people of Scotland that an independent Scotland should begin the process of joining the Schengen area.”

This would be a problem for other Europeans, as no recently joining country has been able to opt out. “The opt outs they’re pushing for would make it very difficult for Scotland to get membership,” said one MEP on the EurActiv website.

That begs the question, would Scottish people currently allowed to work in Europe under EU law be allowed to remain working there and be entitled to the health and social security benefits that being a member of the EU offers? So far, OPP has not been able to get a definitive answer.

The effect on Scottish overseas home buyers:

Richard Way, editor of the Overseas Guides Company tells OPP: “It’s more of an unknown for Scottish people than the remainder of the UK – aside from the downturn sterling might see, albeit temporarily. I’d imagine independence would stall the plans of any Scots on the verge of moving abroad, until certain things were clarified by the new Scottish government. For example, how soon Scotland became a member of the EU would be key to anyone moving within the single bloc. Estate and tax planning of UK assets would be affected by the new Scottish jurisdiction. Pensions – how would a Scottish person’s monthly pension income be affected by the new government and would they still be able to afford a new life in a foreign country? Healthcare and benefits – they’d need clarification on what entitlements they could transfer to their new country. An agent or developer with a particularly high proportion of Scottish clients might notice a quieter period immediately after independence was achieved but arguably this would settle down.”

From an article by Christopher Nye, Editor, OPP Magazine.

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

Of course we normally want to put a positive spin on buying, moving and living in France but it is important to keep clients up to date with French news and issues, so here goes another story about the woes of speeding when driving in France. 

We send hundreds of people on viewing trips each month so it only seems right to publish this article about speeding in France and the consequences of it, the article appeared in The Times newspaper on the 22nd June 2014, so hopefully our clients can take note and get to the property viewings safe and sound and with enough money left to be able to buy a house in France!

Drive safely within the limits and everything swill be fine, but break the speed limits and........

British holidaymakers in France face draconian penalties this summer as a hidden force of gendarmes cracks down on speeding, reports Dominic Tobin

IT'S 4.03PM on the A16 autoroute, which runs between the outskirts of Paris and Dunkirk, via Calais. Standing next to a British-registered Audi TT is a man with shoulders hunched like a schoolboy, receiving a dressing-down from a French traffic officer.

Hiding under a bridge on the A16 last week, Gérard Andrieux, left, and Yves Renard of the French police catch a British driver speeding in his Audi TT.

He is being asked to hand over his driving licence — which he does. It will be posted back to him, but not for weeks, and in the meantime he is told he is banned from getting back behind the wheel in France for three days. As he makes his apologies, his wife is sent to a nearby cash machine — accompanied by a policeman — to get the money to pay a 135 euros (£108) on-the-spot fine.

Welcome to speedy justice, French style. The driver has been clocked with a laser gun by a crack team of gendarmes out to catch British drivers who forget that France is not a playground. At 179kph (111mph), on an autoroute with a 130kph (81mph) limit he was lucky not to have his car seized, the authorities say. They are gearing up for a bumper summer as the annual exodus of holidaymakers begins and drivers head for holiday homes and campsites on the south and west coast of France.

This strict enforcement of speed limits is all about safety, of course, but it also yields big dividends. Unlike their British counterparts, the police in northern France use on-the-spot fines as their main weapon. Armed with laser guns and concealed under motorway bridges and in roadside hedges, they are catching more British drivers than any other west Europeans.

More than 1m British holidaymakers are expected to be driving into France this summer, mainly through Calais and down the A16, or the other major route south, the A26, and French police predict they will collect a total of 1.73bn euros (£1.38bn) in speeding fines in 2014, up from 1.66bn euros last year.

In Britain, police generally give motorists some leeway above the speed limit before they are stopped. The pelotons motorisés — the name for the traffic gendarme units — stop drivers even if they edge above the speed limit by 1kph. Neither are drivers given the courtesy of being warned that they are entering a zone where speed traps are in operation on the routes that radiate from the ferry ports and Euro-tunnel. The pelotons motorisés have taken to examining the manifests of trains and ferries, checking for high-powered sports cars that they suspect might be more prone to speeding, and deploying squads of officers to target them.

Once a car has been clocked above the speed limit there is no requirement for photographic evidence; if the policeman says the car was speeding, it is up to the driver to prove he was not. Justice, when it comes is summary and swift: as well as on-the-spot fines, drivers can receive an instant ban.

While the gendarmes insist they have no special remit to catch British drivers, they point out the temptation for Brits to take advantage of the long, straight roads in France that are relatively uncongested. Added to that is the surge in popularity of organised rallies whose participants can sometimes forget that strict limits apply, even though organisers don’t condone law-breaking.

Known as rallyes sauvages (or wild rallies) in France, these events typically follow public roads towards the sun and sea in southern Europe. They attract wealthy, speed-loving owners of rare supercars. In 2006, police seized a Ferrari 360 and Porsche 911 for the offence of reckless driving. The two drivers, both British, were travelling at more than 150mph during that year’s Cannonball Run. At a subsequent court hearing, the cars were permanently confiscated and auctioned off. The Ferrari owner bought back his car for €88,000 (then £60,000).

Sharing intelligence with Kent Police, the gendarmes now scour lists of cars booked onto Channel Tunnel trains or ferries, on the lookout for a telltale cavalcade of fast cars. “They know we react quickly and so they have started trying to cross during the evenings, at night, or around midday [when many French police officers go home for lunch],” says Captain Jean-Claude Derudder, second in command of the road safety department in the Pas de Calais region. “That doesn’t stop us from setting up speed checks quickly.”

Buying tickets for the Channel crossing at the last minute won’t help. “We only need 20 minutes to set up a speed check,” says Derudder. As it takes at least 30 minutes to cross the Channel, we have plenty of time.”

Officers have the power to seize cars for speeding alone. A staggered series of penalties was introduced in 2006, beginning with on-the-spot fines and moving on to an instant driving ban if drivers were caught at more than 40kph over the speed limit. Motorists speeding by more than 50kph over the limit could have their cars seized. It was a fate suffered by a Ferrari F355 owner last Sunday evening. Caught travelling at 191kph (119mph), the driver from London was forced to make his own way home after paying a €750 court deposit.

It is not just supercar owners who are being caught in the clampdown. Ordinary British holidaymakers are easy prey for the gendarmes.

Last Monday,we crossed the Channel to witness the French tactics as officers prepared for the summer by setting a trap for British spectators returning from the weekend’s Le Mans 24-hour race in the Sarthe deparmtent.

His wife then gets behind the wheel and is escorted to a cash machine in order to be able to pay a €135 deposit, pending a court hearing in November.

Yves Renard (his surname means “fox”) and his colleague Gerard Andrieux head to a discreet spot underneath a bridge, five miles from the autoroute’s final toll booth before Calais. Renard points the radar gun at oncoming traffic and reads out the speed of any car breaking the 130kph limit. Andrieux picks up his mobile phone and passes the details to his colleagues lying in wait at the toll booth. The first time most drivers know they are in trouble is when the toll barrier lifts and they are directed to pull over in the lay-by.

“In the past, people just raced through France at 200kph with wads of cash in their pocket, paid the fines at the roadside and then carried on,” says traffic officer François Maquinghen. “But that has stopped since the rules changed because they know that they will lose their car.”

“If you are going at 131kph you could be stopped,” says Maquinghen. “We are tougher at some points on some routes where there have been a lot of accidents. At others, you might not get stopped unless you are going faster than 150kph.”

It isn’t long before a British driver is caught. Joe Adams, 24, an engineer from Dartford, Kent, is caught travelling at 150kph in his Lexus GS and is handed a €45 fine. “I don’t recall speeding and I didn’t see the speed gun,” he says. “They’re not as visible as in Britain.”

Without enough cash to pay the fine — police accept only euros or French cheques — Adams has to hand his passport to the gendarme and drive to the nearest cash machine, then return to pay the fine.

Matthew Yates, clocked at a similar speed in his Maserati GranSport, accuses the police of using speed traps as revenue-raisers. “Doing 151kph on a wide, clear 130kph road is nothing,” says the 43-year-old from Chichester, who organises events for fellow Maserati owners. “And the 45 euros fine isn’t too bad.

“But they don’t seem to stop the French. There were French cars overtaking me but I’m the one who’s been stopped. We know it’s only for the money and I’ve come to expect it.”

In three hours at the roadside we notice only one French car being stopped and six British, but the police insist that they take no notice of where a car is registered. They just want to stop drivers who are travelling at dangerous speeds.

That said, the gendarmes think that dealing with British drivers is a pleasure. “They are very polite, they don’t argue and they always pay,” says Mégane Painset, a three-year veteran of the highway patrol. “Usually the excuse is that they were late for their ferry. But they still have to pay.”

There’s only one problem in the gendarmes’ eyes, though: they are still unable to access drivers’ details from a registration plate alone. Which means the hundreds of speed cameras across the motorway network are virtually useless in catching speeding British drivers. That is about to change. As revealed last month in Driving, a new law being drawn up by the European Commission will allow French police to track down British drivers from next May. And then there really will be no escape for British speeders.

Stiff penalties

French penalties depend on the speed drivers were travelling when they exceeded the limit. In urban areas, fines are set at 90 euros for 1-39kph above the 50kph limit. On faster roads, including autoroutes, these apply:

1-19kph (up to 12mph) over limit

45 euros (£36) on-the-spot fine.

20-39kph (12-24mph) over limit

90 euros (£72) on-the-spot fine.

40-49kph (25-30mph) over limit

135 euros (£108) court deposit and instant three-day driving ban in France only. This is followed by a court case, often several months later, when the ban could be extended for up to three years (two or three months is typical). The court retains the deposit as a fine unless the driver successfully argues it was wrongly imposed.

More than 50kph over limit (31mph-plus)

750 euros (£600) court deposit and car impounded. This is followed by a court case. If the motorist is deemed to have been driving dangerously, their car can be permanently confiscated. The court can retain the deposit and increase the fine to 1,500, or 3,000 euros for repeat offenders.

This article originally appeared in The Sunday Times on Sunday 23rd June 2014.

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

We find France’s frivolous side at its seven weirdest festivals

Tragic news: the World Pig Squealing Championships are no more. At the event, in Trie-sur-Baïse, in the Hautes-Pyrénées, competitors were called on to imitate the noises made by pigs at various stages of their lives, right up to slaughter. There’s speculation that the domination of many-times world champ Noël Jamet was discouraging entrants!

France still retains a decent number of other fêtes of heartening eccentricity, however, confirming, against much available evidence, that the French do have a frolicsome sense of fun.

Bed racing, Brittany
At the Fête de l’Insolite (“Festival of the Unlikely”), in Mahalon, beds, stripped down to their essentials, roar along a circuit around the village church. Teams of three — two pushing, one on board — compete to challenge the world record of 1 min 16 sec. The event also includes a race of delivery tricycles; egg-, beret- and pancake-throwing; 
and a contest involving the long-distance spitting of apricot stones. “The fête is intended to be humorous,” says Bernard Le Gall, the mayor, helpfully.
July 14, free; mahalon.fr

Shoe tossing, Aquitaine
For one day in August, the narrow streets of Salies-de-Béarn are devoted to the Hurling of the Espadrille, the rope-soled sandal of these parts. One euro gets you three goes — with espadrilles provided. The record is 108ft 8in, a heck of a distance for a sandal to travel.
August 15, free; piperadere-salies.blogspot.fr

Lying, Gascony
The Gascons of Moncrabeau have been at it for centuries, meeting to exchange gossip and, when real gossip ran out, invent some more. In 1972, they formalised this tradition into the Festival International de Menteries (“lies”). Texts are sent in and Academy members choose eight to be delivered — standing on the allegedly genuine 18th-century Stone of Truth. Last year, one man told of raising domestic ticks for curative uses. You can also visit the birthplace of Fujiyo Lapuce, IT consultant to Louis XIV.
August 3, £4; academiedesmenteurs.fr

Garlic peeling, Midi-Pyrénées
There’s a Laotian lady in Beaumont de Lomagne who can peel 68lb of garlic in 30 minutes. She’s the woman to beat at the 2014 Fête de l’Ail Blanc (“white garlic”). The festival also features maths-inspired games: Pierre de Fermat, of last theorem fame, was born here.
July 20, £1.60; club.quomodo.com/ fetedel-ail

Square boules, Côte d’Azur
How do you play boules on streets so steep that they might roll right into the Mediterranean? The answer: play with square boules. The good people of medieval Cagnes-sur-Mer, high on the hill, hit on the solution 35 years ago. Now the world beats a path to the Championnat du Monde de Boules Carrées. “There is skill involved, but it’s mainly luck,” says Pascal Zaccure, president of the organising outfit. Anyone can join in, and anyone does: it’s one of the Côte’s great social levellers.
August 16 and 17, £5.75; cagnes-tourisme.com, cercleamis.cagnes.free.fr

Trailer lifting, Basque Country
Imagine the Highland games without kilts, whisky and sporrans, but with berets, wine and highly impressive bellies. That’s about the size of the Festival de la Force Basque, in St Palais. Look out for burly fellows lifting a trailer and rotating it on its axis (two turns is OK, but real champs manage five), lifting 220lb bales high into the sky on a pulley — and being rocketed skywards themselves when the bales fall to earth — and straining like hell at the keynote tug-of-war contest.
August 17, £12.50 (under-12s free); saintpalais-tourisme.com

Potato mash-up, Nord-Pas-de-Calais
“It’s essentially nuts,” says Didier Roussel, the deputy mayor of Esquelbecq, where they’ve been tipping unfortunates into pools filled with mash for 18 years. Patate Feest is abundantly potato-themed, with processions and spud-inspired games. One involves picking up a single potato with a building-site crane. Relays and tugs-of-war around that mashed-potato pool invariably ensure participating youths get thoroughly lathered.
August 31, free; esquelbecq.com

This article originally appeared in The Sunday Times 'Drive' section Sunday 8th June 2014.

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