Clé France

EUROPEAN POLICE forces are to be given access to British drivers’ details so they can pursue fines for motoring offences committed on the Continent. It will be the first time that information, including a driver’s name, address and previous con–victions, has been made widely available to authorities outside the UK, writes Joseph Dunn.

Police officers in France have the power to impose on-the-spot fines for speeding.

The new law, being drawn up by the European Commission and due to come into force next May, will give police in 27 countries the power to demand British motorists’ details from the DVLA if they suspect an offence has been committed and has been caught on camera.

Offences include speeding, driving without a seatbelt and driving while using a mobile phone. Once the DVLA has received the demand and the car’s registration number, it will supply the registered owner’s name and address, allowing European police forces to send a penalty demand through the post. The letter will be written in English.

At the moment, British drivers can be fined for most offences in Europe only if they are stopped by an officer, who can issue an on-the-spot penalty. The new rules mean that speed and CCTV cameras can be used to capture the licence plate of the car, allowing police to trace its owner across the Channel. Parking offences are not covered by the new rules because they are not regarded as a road safety problem.

According to Brussels, the move is a response to concerns that foreign drivers were getting away with many offences when driving on the Continent. “This is the result of 10 years of frustration with blatant abuses of traffic laws,” said Helen Kearns, a transport spokesman for the European Commission. “Figures show that foreign drivers’ offences are relatively high and this measure is necessary to say: you can’t just get away with it.”

Police in most European countries have been sharing driver information since November 2013 under a European policing directive. Britain exercised its right to opt out of the directive on the grounds that the penalty notice applied to the registered owner of the car — so-called owner liability — rather than the person who was driving the vehicle at the time the offence was committed. Under British law, the driver at the time is responsible.

Earlier this month the European Court of Justice ruled that the law had been in–correctly drafted and should have fallen not under the policing directive but under the road safety directive, an area where Britain has no right to opt out. “Transport safety is part of EU rules where everyone is involved,” said Christopher Fretwell, a spokesman for the court. “There are no opt-outs. If re-adopted, it will apply across the board to member states.”

Some MEPs are furious that the directive will now be applied to British drivers: “The UK decided that on balance it was not in our interests to take part [in the previous law] because the directive prosecutes vehicle owners, rather than the offending driver, and it seeks to implement fines when other deter–rents — such as points on a licence — may be more effective,” said Timothy Kirkhope, a Conservative MEP who sits on the transport committee.

“If the commission brings forward a similar piece of legislation then we will oppose it when it reaches the European parliament.”

Experts say it is unlikely the legislation can be stopped since it would mean blocking the entire road safety directive. Foreign police forces have no powers to enforce the fine — that remains a matter for British courts — and British drivers could ignore the demand for payment. However, the next time they visited the country where the offence had been committed they would run the risk of being issued with an on-the-spot fine, or in extreme cases having their car impounded. British drivers issued with speeding fines in France have been escorted by officers to cash machines where they are expected to withdraw money to make the payment.

The new law could prove a boon for the Treasury, however: because it works both ways foreign drivers could be traced by British authorities. Although no official figures are available, the number of unpaid fines issued to foreign drivers runs into the millions. According to the most recent estimates, based on a survey of speed camera partnerships in 2012, an estimated 60,000 speeding fines worth £3.6m were written off because there was no effective way to track down foreign culprits.

This article originally appeared in The Sunday Times 'Drive' section Sunday 18th May 2014.

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

Continuing with our look at comparing France to Britain and visa versa one of the greatest differences between the two countries lies in the attitude of local government towards the individual.

In Britain it is very difficult to get past a reception secretary to see anyone in authority, or to have a complaint sorted out. It really is impossible by telephone so a visit to the town hall seems to be the only remedy. However, on arrival the problems begin. Actually seeing anyone face-to-face is purposely made difficult and all the best efforts usually lead to frustration.

In France, despite their reputation for bureaucracy it is still easy to see the person in charge for the relevant problem area. Then when he is seen, he will go out of his way to sort things out.

Although somewhat cumbersome, French local government is approachable and seems to want to help and usually has a friendly face. Another big bonus is that most local government services in France are free, because that is what the rates are for!

In Britain most, if not all, services have to be paid for as an extra, and you are left wondering where all the tax money goes! How can France give such good service on so little and Britain give so little service at such a high cost? By way of a small comparison, a little village in the French equivalent of rural Yorkshire provides mains drains, street lights, rubbish collection once a week from wheely bins, is swept regularly, has flowers planted in the summer, and generally is well-maintained.

For a three-bedroom terrace cottage with a good garden and garage and on all the ‘mains’, the rates are about £350 pa. A similar property in a Yorkshire village with similar services would cost in excess of £1000 pa., depending, of course, on which tax band the house is in.

In France these iniquitous bands do not exist, although it remains a bit of a mystery exactly how they compute the taxes, but they do keep them low. An example of band charges in an area in Yorkshire [supplied by the County Council] starts at the lowest which is property valued at up to £40k, which is band A, and the tax is about £900. Band D, is property valued at between £68 and 88k the rates are about £1350 a year. The top band, H, is property valued at £320k and over, and the tax is £2251.

The valuations were made in 1991 and are the latest the council had. As the value of property has risen considerably since then it is probable that there will be a revaluation in the near future and a concomitant rise in taxes.

These are the type of figures that you might expect in the centre of Paris, but not out in the sticks.

Fraser Blake, 70, author of 'Dear Chips' and 'A Rant Too Far?' grew up in Africa, was at school in Scotland, and worked for the British South Africa Police in Southern Rhodesia. He has taught English in Saudi Arabia and sold and renovated hundreds of properties in Northern France.

In 1998 Fraser was selling houses in the Mayenne department of the Pays de la Loire region and so was the obvious choice, when Cle France was started, to be their first agent on the ground in France. In retirement he writes, blogs, cooks, drinks wine, and hosts to dinner unlimited numbers of ex-pats.

Always on hand with a viewpoint, Fraser is going to share his views on France, the French and the British, and other people who buy in France. Sometimes informative, sometimes funny, painfully true, outrageously opinionated but always entertaining so we hope it adds a slightly different dimension to the usual normality of searching through the fantastic properties for sale on the Cle France website.

If you want more? then follow the links above where you can buy Fraser's published books.

I just love this house, I know it would be difficult to not like it but there is something about it that just whispers quality and style over just its sheer size. The style 'Arts & Crafts' which grew in Britain around 1860 in reaction to the industrialisation of Victorian England was not a unique movement, it was international. 

For a short period this style was very popular in France but originated from Belgium, in the Pays d'Auge area of Lower Normandy where this property is situated there are only a few examples left and this just may be the finest available, certainly the best I have seen ever.

The period was short lived but the houses still left today offer a slice of history.

Situated near to Pont l'Eveque and only 15kms from Deauville (also close is the city of Lisieux)we have this exceptional property composed of a main house and a guest house, with indoor swimming pool and boasting 230m2 of living space. The house offers bright and spacious accommodation with excellent facilities and equipment, decoration is simply stunning.

TRE00407 For Sale at 927,000 euros FAI - Want to see inside? then click here...

The house offers bright and spacious accommodation with excellent facilities and equipment, decoration is simply stunning.

A large hall with elegant wooden staircase in central location serves 2 very beautiful living rooms with fireplaces and a bay window opening onto the terrace, a fully equipped kitchen completes the ground floor. The first floor starts with 2 x master bedroom suites each have a bathroom and Italian style shower plus a dressing room.

In the guest house (110m2 living space) there is a space dedicated to relaxation on the ground floor: gym, steam room, bar and office. First floor: 2 bedrooms each with bathroom or shower room en-suite.

The pool (15m x 5m) installed with a beautiful wrought iron / glass roof extends form the guest house. The plot of approx. 1 hectare is bordered by river, you can swim and fish in the river and it is renowned locally for its Trout fishing. A quality property with many good features. 

A stunning Colombage luxury house that I would call in the style of 'arts & crafts' mixing character and history with sumptuous luxury and with very good income potential from the guest cottage with swimming pool.

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

This is what I like about this business, every day there is something new and some properties that range from stunning to interesting to sometimes a bit odd? but there is always one that stands out from the crowd.

Today I was doing some property searching for a client and this is one I will be recommending, it has it's own Golf course for goodness sake! and the client going viewing is golf crazy.

Longere with own 9 hole golf course! How cool is that? BVC00164 for sale 735,000 euros FAI.

Sorry about the image quality of the fairway (there are 37 images on the main listing - click on the photos), I am going to try and get some better ones soon but this property is superb, it is a truly stunning Longere with own 9 hole golf course! has been renovated to a very high standard throughout the property and grounds. There is still scope to develop living accommodation further particularly with the outbuildings on the grounds, and is only 10 minutes from Vannes in the countryside of Theix. 

Just 10 minutes from Vannes, 5 minutes from quaint historic centre of Theix, with all shopping and modern amenities, located in a peaceful hamlet of 5 houses, this large traditional Brittany long-house (Longère) sits on 12 hectares of land (around 30 acres), of which 2.5 hectares (approx. 6 acres) are currently used as a rustic compact golf course. 

This 18th century farmhouse was entirely renovated to a very high standard. It has its own electric gated entrance and is in a hamlet of 5 other properties but you do have privacy. 

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

so many agents don't seem to respond to us (you are an exception!)

Kind regards, 

Jayne & Graham

At Cle France we pride ourselves on our communication, response times and follow ups so our clients are kept informed at the right time, nice to hear that others may not be as good as Cle France.