NEWS
A WARM WELCOME FOR THE FRENCH PROPERTY EXHIBITION
B
ack after a pandemic-enforced absence of three years, the French Property Exhibition held in London in January
was warmly welcomed by visitors and exhibitors alike. The organiser France Media Group – publisher of French Property News – was delighted to see long queues of visitors eager to meet the exhibitors when the show opened on Saturday morning, while the queues for
the ever-popular free seminars at times snaked around the stands! These included talks on visas and residency, an overview of the French tax system, understanding the legal side of the buying process, where to live in France, French planning regulations, FAQs, French inheritance rules and wills, and how to manage your budget when buying a French property. The new venue, London Novotel West, was also widely praised.
TRAVEL NEWS
France has abolished Covid restrictions for international travellers (except those from China) and masks are no longer required on public transport.
A new direct Eurostar train from London to Bordeaux could be in service as soon as 2026. At present, travellers need to change at Paris, which requires getting from Gare du Nord to Montparnasse station. Don’t get too excited though as it’s very much early stages in the planning. Wouldn’t it be great though if it does go ahead – we’ll be first in the queue for tickets!
France’s national railway company SNCF has announced that Tenergie, a renewable energy specialist, will install 180,000m2
of solar
panels in 119 station car parks by the end of 2024.
MORE RENTAL CAPS IMPOSED F
ollowing in the footsteps of Paris, Lyon, Lille, Bordeaux, Montpellier and most recently Marseille, the city of Rennes is in line to join
the roster of urban centres to impose a maximum cap on rental prices within high-demand districts. Letting fees have experienced a 7.5% increase in 2022 in the capital of Brittany, according to French daily Le Figaro, raising concerns about the availability of affordable housing for lower income residents who live and work in the area. Contrary to its predecessors, however, Rennes does not qualify as a ‘high-tension area’ for housing, which is a requisite to adopt the measure, so officials are looking into possible exceptions that could apply to their case. In related news, the city of Paris has
recently tightened its grip on rental caps after a study published by humanitarian organisation Abbé Pierre revealed that one in three rental contracts fail to respect these maximum levels.
The planned launch of the Entry/Exit System (EES) has been postponed again until the end of 2023, sparing Brits travelling to France extra border checks for a little longer. EES will involve taking biometric data (e.g. fingerprints) from non-EU visitors, rather than stamping passports on entry and exiting the EU. The new digital system was due to come into place in May 2023.
Rennes in Brittany is the latest French city to impose a maximum cap on rental prices
Meanwhile, Etias – the European Travel Information and Authorisation System – is still scheduled to be operational from November 2023. All visa-exempt travellers to the EU, including British passport holders, will need an approved Etias application, which can be viewed as a visa waiver, when visiting EU member states, including France. There will be a €7 fee for adults and the Etias form will remain valid for three years or until your passport expires, whichever comes first.
4 FRENCH PROPERTY NEWS: March/April 2023 13
©ERWAN CORRE | WIKICOMMONS
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