Orange is currently the largest mobile phone provider in France and it is a brand that is largely owned and operated by France Telecom. It operates using a number of universal network technologies and this included high speed 3G networking with HSPA connectivity for unrivalled mobile internet access and seamless downloads. Orange provides a number of deals for customers and it is a key partner for smartphone manufacturer Apple, bringing the iPhone to consumers before any other network. A variety of price plans including pay monthly and pay as you go options are available from Orange and if you are after entry level mobiles rather than high end smartphones it has great value handsets on offer.

SFR is France`s second largest mobile phone provider and it is partially owned by Vodafone, which means it acts as a partner network for any UK customers arriving on the continent. It supports 3G networking for high speed data transfers via mobile phone and it champions a number of different smartphones, including those which use the Google Android operating system. Amongst its price plans of the pay monthly variety you can pick up deals which give you the first few months of the service free of charge and this is applied across a wide range of contracts as long as you sign up for a minimum of 12 months. Delivery on all of its new mobiles is free of charge and if you are not satisfied with your purchase or service there is a conditional money back guarantee.

Bouygues Telecom currently services the third largest mobile user base in France and it has competitive pricing and offers which allow it to stack up against its larger rivals. Its motto is that the mobile user should not only have freedom of movement, but also freedom of choice and as such it has a number of customisable packages and price plans to examine. Many of its offers are exclusively open to online transactions, so it is worth keeping tabs on its website if you want to get the best possible deal. Each package includes a set number of inclusive minutes and texts each month, starting with one hour of talk time on the cheapest deal and going right up to 40 hours or more depending on your needs. you can choose either a 12 or 24 month contract and the longer commitment period will get you a cheaper monthly price.

Choosing one of these three major French providers or one of the smaller alternatives can be difficult, particularly if you are looking to make cheap calls abroad by picking up a locally sourced mobile phone and contract. However, if you use price comparison online you will be able to seek out the ideal plan for you.

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Throughout the rest of France, climate and temperatures vary by region and altitude. In Lyon, for example, with an elevation of 200 metres, average July temperatures are 21 degrees. Bordeaux, at an elevation of 47 metres, averages 19 degrees in July. The coastal areas are the most moderate, due to the sea breezes. The rainiest area is in Brittany, which receives a lot of rain from October to December.

In the south, along the Mediterranean coast and encompassing the cities of Nice, Marseille, and Cannes, rain falls more in the spring and autumn than it does in the rest of the year. In the summer, it is generally hot and dry. Strong winds, each with their own characteristics, are particular to many areas. In Provence, the strong winds are known as Le Mistral, which blow in from the north and bring with them dry and often clear weather. The wind can be felt throughout the Rhone Valley and along the Cote d’Azur; it also affects parts of Italy. Other strong winds in the area include the Sirocco, which is a violent wind that comes from the Sahara and brings dusty, dry weather with it.

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The French have always taken advantage of the sea’s bounty and the rich soil, which produces colourful and tasty produce as well as some of the world’s finest wines.

National favourites include steak and fried potatoes, chicken in wine called coq au vin, goose liver known as foie gras, and a rich fish soup known as Bouillabaisse. Common French desserts include chocolate mousse, a rich broiled custard called crème brulee, rich fruit tarts including a caramelised apple tart known as a tarte tatin. While French food has a national history and shared characteristics, regional differences add interest while travelling and dining in France.

While much of French cuisine incorporates potatoes, mushrooms, leeks, chicken, beef, veal, apples, cherries, and oranges, many regional specialties treat these raw ingredients differently.  For example, in Bordeaux, the local red wine enhances many of the area’s special dishes, as do the locally produced ewe’s milk cheeses. The Loire Valley is known for its delicious fruits and mushrooms, and Orleans is well known for its speciality vinegars. Lyon is famous for its locally produced sausage.

Wine is a specialty in France, with each region claiming its own local variety. In addition to the wines from Bordeaux, there are Burgundies and Champagnes from those regions.

France is also well known for its bread and the skills of the pastry chefs. The long skinny baguette, with its soft interior and crusty outside, is known throughout the world as French bread.

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However the recent drop in strength of the British Pound against the Euro has made many people in the UK think twice about taking a holiday on the European mainland. That said aside, longer term lets are still sought as even with the economic downturn many Brits attracted by the slower pace of life and lower general living costs continue to house hunt for a property of their own in France.

Another problem facing gite owners today is that due to the influx of Brits over the last few years (many of whom decide on running gites in France or a chambre d’Hote B&B) within the most sought after regions there is something of an over-abundance of holiday gite accommodation.

As soon as you add to this excess of gites the short length of the peak tourist season it quickly becomes clear why the majority of gite and villa landlords are struggling to continue to keep their business feasible let alone profitable.

Offering long term lets of a month or more can give owners the ability to get the most out of their properties earnings potential. By opting to offer short term, holiday gite rental in the summer months and then long term lets off-peak and even over the winter period a property owner in France can begin make the most from their gite.

The potential of renting out a property purely for longer term rental can be attractive to many owners. Even with the downturn in the pound, the market for long term lets in France remains a healthy one, popular not only with house-hunters looking to rent a place before they buy but with French nationals too. Many young French families choose to rent long term, often for periods of two to three years and in some cases, much longer.

A long term let could indeed become a regular income source for a landlord coupled with less work due to numerous changeovers involved when providing short term, gite accommodation.

I would strongly advise property landlords and prospective tenants alike to seek relevant, professional advice from a French Notaire before entering into any form of rental agreement or contract.

Steve Ellis runs LetsRentPropertyInFrance.com, a website offering a wide range of properties available for long term lets or holiday gites/villas in France. He is unsure why he is writing about himself in the third person.

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The France Show 2009 continues to sign up the best Chefs, wine experts, travel writers, tour operators, property developers, estate agents and financial experts to accompany the array of features including live cooking demonstrations by Jean-Christophe Novelli, Can Can dancers, live musicians and caricaturists.

Other attractions on show will be a single storey green Oak timber frame construction by S.Harlow Period Oak, a ‘free-to-play’ Petanque court which has been sponsored by legendary French drinks brand Ricard, and a luxurious mobile home from Siblu Exclusif which proved very popular all weekend last year.

As you would expect, food at the show will be nothing but the finest, prepared and served on site by London’s oldest French eatery, Mon Plaisir and modern cuisine specialists Café des Amis.

There are some great competitions to be won at the show including a boating holiday on France’s rivers including ferry crossing from Le Boat and Brittany Ferries; with lots more exciting promotions detailed on the website at: www.thefranceshow.com/visitor-promotions.asp.

The official show website is www.thefranceshow.com.

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Going to Gascony this summer? You might be interested in this new book by Martin Calder.

Martin Calder’s A Summer in Gascony evokes the spirit, sights, smells and sounds of this still relatively unknown and unspoiled ‘other South of France’. It is a perfect read for summer. Calder, a senior lecturer in French at the University of Bristol, has a PhD in eighteenth-century French literature. He is a true Francophile who has come to know the people of Gascony and understands their way of life.It is a tale of two love affairs: an idyllic summer romance with blond-haired Anja and and a lifelong love affair with Gascony, with its village festivals, dusty roads and sun-baked wine country, which endures to this day.

In the tiny hamlet of Péguilhan, Martin Calder is introduced to the Gascon way of life: working in the fields, shepherding and slaughtering sheep, feeding the cattle, harvesting the wheat, watering the crops. He discovers a unique people, fiercely proud of their independent heritage.
As an Englishman, he finds himself more welcome than he expected. Old affinities exist between England and Gascony: they fought for years against a common foe – the French! – and Gascony exported huge quantities of wine to slake the thirst of mediaeval Englishmen.

Told with charm and gentle humour, A Summer in Gascony is full of colourful characters: the charismatic and convivial Jacques-Henri, the hardworking farmer whose family take Martin into their home; Anja, the German student who steals Martin’s heart: the yoga-practising Germans; Pattes, the mischievous stray dog; Madame ‘Parle-Beaucoup’, the town gossip and Monsieur Fustignac, whose pride in his Gascon heritage is unforgettable.

But the real star of the book is Gascony itself, with its strong spirit of independence and the simple pleasures it provides.

“This engaging recollection of an unforgettable summer… replete with regional culinary delights, smells, sights and sounds of Gascony, is a sensory feast. Highly recommended.”
Michelle Dixon, French Magazine Book Club

“A charming and nostalgic account, written in an accessible and down-to-earth style, this book offers an insider’s perspective of Gascony. I felt entirely satisfied with this read and keen to sample Gascony’s rural pleasures for myself.”
Becci Sargent, French Magazine Book Club

“A Summer in Gascony accurately describes what it is like to live in this wonderful part of France. Characters like Jacques-Henri and Madame Parle-Beaucoup can be encountered in many of the small villages and hamlets scattered across Gascony – proud, warm-hearted people who welcome visitors into their hearts and homes. Martin’s experiences and vivid descriptions allow his readers to travel, eat and drink their way through a summer in Gascony from the comfort of an armchair.”
Nick and Karen Kitchener, Domaine do Lauroux Winery

To enter the competition all you need is to sign up for our destination france newsletter. Competition closes midnight 8 August 2008.

If you can’t wait to see if you win, you can purchase the book by clicking on the link below:

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• They have married either a French citizen, or any other national of European Union.
• There has been an inheritance of dual citizenship through parents of theirs.
• They are efficient professionals sent to French office of their company for achieving a specified task.

The current situation

The present scenario is such that France has ‘Working Holiday Agreements’ according to which citizens from New Zealand, Australia, and Canada having ages between 18 and 30 are entitled of undertaking paid employment up to around an year. The options regarding citizens of the US are somewhat complicated. As per the logic, the first option to be resorted to is applying for the work visa. As per the rules of French Embassy, citizens of the US are allowed to live in France, that too, without working, for around 3 months on the tourist visa. Work visa is to be applied for if you intend to prolong your stay. The crux of the matter is that you should acquire a job prior to applying for the work visa.

Self Employment

An American working in France in any field that too without marrying a French citizen would find it virtually impossible to acquire a job with any of the American or French company any more. French authorities would be requiring justification that concerned person possesses the skills which just don’t exist anywhere in France. This is, of course, a rare thing.

The only option left with people falling in the above category is of starting a company by themselves and be self-employed. This would definitely be requiring the typical minimum amounts which should be justified and also the payments of local levy from which exoneration won’t be obtained. There’re certain restrictions if you intend of coming over and employing yourself without seeking the permission of the government of France for anything.

Student Visas

The most well-known alternative to work visa is applying for student visa. You need to be a learner at one of the official universities for being eligible to work for around 19.5 hours/week on the student visa. Many foreigners actually get themselves enrolled in one of the university programs, which cot around 300 Euros/year, just for obtaining the right of working in France. They never even bother to attend the classes once the right of working is obtained on the official basis.

The flip side of this scheme is that it is being used as well as abused since long. That’s why, majority of applications regarding student visas are being turned down by the government of France. If official hoops do not happen to have any rewards returned, and you have travel bug still left, you can come down in the from of a tourist (for 3 months) and then travel to and fro between France and England for around 7 days for resetting the tourist visa in France.

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