For wine one tends to talk about le millésime, rather than la vendange (it is feminine). But could say quelle vendanges sont cette bouteille.
1 Like
Thanks. That’s what came up on google for ‘what vintage is this bottle’. Two things learned today.
2 Likes
I did a working holiday in Hungarian vineyards way back when. Camping out, so wine had to serve for water from dawn till dusk.
2 Likes
Tough job but somebody has to do it 
1 Like
I am reluctant to vear away from the happy tone this thread has taken but there is a development in the 90/180 rule that may be of interest to some
The court’s decision is final as there is no right to appeal against the Constitutional Council in France.
I can’t help wondering if current social resentments are not being stoked by attempts to exempt Brits from an EU rule.
I would doubt that, because I doubt many French people know or care about such a thing. Certainly none of my many French friends and contacts have any such knowledge. But then I do live in an area where there has never in my 32 year involvement here been any suggestion of prejudice.
3 Likes
There was an article in the comic newspaper a few days ago about the huge boom in brits surging across the channel to buy up all the empty properties for holiday homes. Maybe unfounded news articles like that have made the court change course for fear of lack of affordable housing for french nationals and not foreigners using them for a couple of weeks per year.
I very much doubt it as this is such a piece of non-news outside a tiny group of people. This article of the immigration bill rarely features in debates about it so very few even knew it existed! And it only existed for a few months anyway as was a last minute addition to the Bill.
I wouldn’t be so sure, as one of the hiking group mentioned it on Sunday, and I am the only non French member, so it seems folks may be aware.
I saw that as its fail point from what you posted way back Jane. Backdoor tactics like that are how the UK gov sneak things through in seldom attended late evening sessions.
The consensus seems to be that the “visa exemption for Brits” thing never had a chance of being passed as it is clearly discriminatory to make a special case of just one group of 3rd party nationals.
Kind of the relevant Senator to give it a go, but a non-starter it seems.
1 Like
Whilst that is the honest point, being that we were not a 3rd nation whereas others status hadnt changed, in that they have always been 3rd nations I could see the difference.
but if a 3rd nation country joins Europe… their folk will be Europeans and in clover…
You’re either in Europe or you’re out…
Incidentally, some French 2nd home owners in our commune are being urged to put their property on the market… if the property has not being used for whatever reason… over a long period of time.
One friend was in tears after feeling pressured by a local councillor…
"It’s been in my family for generations and I visit when I can. Covid and my circumstances have reduced my visits … but I love it and the commune… I don’t want to sell… "
you can doubtless imagine how I reacted… gentle supportive chat… some of my homemade chocs… all’s well. (No, she’s not selling !!)
But we “chose” to become a 3rd party nation… so the UK as an entity voluntarily gave up our rights and put us into that category - while I’m sure everybody here viewed Brexit as an abomination, there’s no escaping the fact that we jumped we weren’t pushed, so no reason for Brits to get special treatment.
Also several clauses were struck down as being “unconstitutional” not just this one.
Of course some of the idiot press are calling this “a major blow for expat Brits” or “court nixes cushy deal for rich expats” 
I’m sure it would have been nice to have for some second home owners but neither “major blow” nor “rich expats” are accurate descriptions of the situation… 
5 Likes
Yes wasnt disagreeing, just a loose justification of why we may have got a special dispensation.
2 Likes
Ok gotcha! 
believe me… I’ve looked for loopholes and loose-justifications for special dispensations in quite a few matters to do with Brexit… 
sadly, without success…
but for us permanent residents with our CdSWA… I do say a big thankyou to France.
1 Like
So do I, but I must admit to being slightly irritated by the attitude towards us permananet residents by the EU. After all we didn’t all ask for Brexit, many of us weren’t even allowed to express a choice. It wouldn’t have cost them anything, apart from a little bureaucracy, to follow Guy Verhofstadt’s opinion that we should retain our EU citizenship.
For an organisation that has at its heart, democracy, it was outrageous to deprive those, who had no say in the matter, the last vestige of it to those committed to the European ideal.