Clé France

Of all the people of Gaul, the Belgians are the bravest.

"De tous les peuples de la Gaule, les Belges sont les plus braves"

– Jules César (Julius Cesar)

After les attentats hier matin (the attacks yesterday morning), all our hearts are with la Belgique (Belgium). La capitale (the capital) is known as le Coeur de l’Europe (the heart of Europe), with many of the most important parts of l’Union européenne (the European Union) finding their home in Bruxelles (Brussels).

La Belgique is also an important part of la francophonie and contributes many of the most famous chanteurs (singers) like Jacques Brel and Stromae.

However, not all of le pays (the country) speaks French, and that can lead to some confusion as to what language you should speak en Belgique.

The country is split between les Flamands et les Wallons (the Flemish and the Walloons). Les Flamands speak Dutch and live in the Northern half of the country while les Wallons speak French and live in the Southern half. There is also a small part of la Belgique that speaks German!

En fait (in fact), le pays is officially trilingual and le français, le néerlandais et l’allemand (French, Dutch, and German) are all official languages!

Pourquoi parle-t-on français en Belgique alors ?

Then why do they speak French in Belgium?

La Belgique entered written history in the year -57BC with the Roman conquest of Gaul by Jules César. Les Romains (the Romans) divided Gaul into different provinces, including Gallia Belgica, an area in Northeastern Gaul populated by the Belgae, which is where la Belgique gets its name.

Les Romains brought their language and culture, which had a huge impact on the history of le pays, and led to une partie de la Belgique (a part of Belgium) speaking French today.

Mais les Flamands ne parlent pas français ?

But the the Flemish do not speak French?

After the fall of l’empire romain (the Roman Empire) la Belgique passed between many different kingdoms and empires falling under the influence of both their French neighbours in the West and their Germanic neighbours in the East.

It wasn’t until 1830 that la Belgique gained independence after passing under French and Dutch control a few more times. All that had a lasting impact and gave la Belgique the trilingual status that it has today.

En plus de cela (on top of that), Bruxelles is a French speaking city, but is located in the Dutch speaking part of le pays!

While there are often many fun things to say about les Belges (Belgians), they are an important part of la francophonie, l’Europe et le monde (the francophonie, Europe, and the world). Les atentats have everyone looking at la Belgique, and it’s a good moment to learn more about ce pays formidable (this wonderful country).

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

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

EU referendum

Two expats are challenging a decision to bar British citizens who have lived elsewhere in Europe for more than 15 years from voting in the EU referendum.

Harry Shindler, a 94-year old World War Two veteran and Jacquelyn MacLennan say June's vote will directly affect them.

They argue that they have taken advantage of EU rules allowing freedom of movement and could lose these rights if Britain votes to leave the union.

The government said the franchise was agreed by both Houses of Parliament.

The campaigners say up to two million expats are being denied the right to take part in the referendum.

Their lawyers will file papers at the High Court on Wednesday requesting a judicial review which, if successful, could force the government to pass emergency legislation before the EU vote on 23 June to change the franchise.

Under current rules, British nationals who have lived abroad for more than 15 years are unable to vote in UK elections.

The Conservatives have pledged to scrap the 15-year rule, but this has not yet been delivered.

A Cabinet Office spokeswoman said:

"The franchise for the EU referendum was debated, considered and agreed by both Houses of Parliament and is set out in legislation.

"Scrapping the 15-year rule for overseas electors is a manifesto pledge which the government remains committed to delivering.

"It is not connected to the referendum."

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

In this Blog you can find information about the upcoming EU referendum.

The referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union is on Thursday 23 June 2016.

What is the referendum about?

A referendum asks you to vote on a question.

For this referendum the question is:

Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?

Can I vote in the EU referendum?

You can vote in this referendum if you are registered to vote in the UK, are 18 or over on 23 June 2016 and are:

A British or Irish citizen living in the UK, or

A Commonwealth citizen living in the UK who has leave to remain in the UK or who does not require leave to remain in the UK

A British citizen living overseas who has been registered to vote in the UK in the last 15 years

An Irish citizen living overseas who was born in Northern Ireland and who has been registered to vote in Northern Ireland in the last 15 years

How do I register to vote?

If you want to have your say at the EU referendum, you must be registered to vote.

In England, Scotland or Wales, you can register to vote online at gov.uk/register-to-vote.

If you are a British citizen living abroad, you can register to vote online in the same way.

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

Wednesday 16th March at 16:30 - £1.00 GBP = 1.2722 EUR

This afternoon, George Osborne outlined his 8th budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer, one that aims to target the ‘next generation’. There are many suggestions that this was Osborne’s most difficult budget to date, as some believe it is also acting as a pre-cursor for his shot at the Conservative party leadership. This has been made even more problematic by the slowdown of the UK economy, combined with the government’s split over Europe. Indeed, Osborne warned against Britain leaving Europe in his speech.

The highlights of his budget included a downwards revision to UK growth forecasts, with 2016 being downgraded to 2.0% from 2.4% and 2017 also being revised down to 2.2% from 2.5%. Starting from 2020, corporation tax will also be cut to 17% and importantly for many UK SMEs, he announced that 600,000 small businesses would be exempt from business rates, saving them up to £6,000 per year.

For individuals, the higher 40% income tax barrier was raised to £45,000 from next year and he announced that ISA allowances would reach £20,000.

Following his speech, the FTSE 100 was impressed, rising to 6171, while the pound was less so. Sterling hit fresh daily lows against both the euro and the US dollar reaching GBP/EUR 1.2676 interbank (IB) and GBP/USD 1.4051 (IB). Sterling clearly was not happy by Osborne revising growth forecasts downwards.

Overall it seems that it his speech had many of the elements of a traditional Conservative budget and that Osborne has adopted a Thatcherite approach by championing small business.

Do you want more information ?

So if you need to buy or sell sterling and would like to be kept up to date with all the latest data releases and exchange rate movements then feel free to contact myself Ben Amrany. If you are buying or selling a house in France we will make sure your monies are in the right place at the right time, we work hand in hand with you and Cle France.

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

Ben Amrany from FC Exchange follow this link or phone and ask for myself and quote "Cle France" on 020 7989 0000.

You may contact me directly using this form (click here) with your requirement and I will explain the options that are available to you in getting the best exchange rate.

Blog submitted by: Ben Amrany for The French Property Network - Cle France.

For everything you need to know about French property visit www.clefrance.co.uk

Hi Cle France,

We have seen several properties and we are going to weigh up the pros and cons, our second viewings / revisits helped and we will let you know our thoughts ASAP. The agents we met were professional and friendly.

Thanks T&A

If you are looking to view and buy a house in France, let Cle France guide YOU through the French Property Buying Process!

And as several of our clients say "Follow your heart and make the move"