We are getting very nervous re the number of people we speak to in the UK who will vote to come out of the EU and wonder how that will affect us here in France.
Forgive me if this question has been recently covered as have not logged in for a while…
All the stats - correction - ones I have seen - say as many French live in the UK (mainly in London) as Brits live in France (wonder how many French are aware of that)? They must be as concerned as we are. Brits settled in France before the EU although I don't think vice-versa. The trend started after EU because - so I've read- the French find it easier to set up and run a business in the UK than in France. Raymond Blanc said he was only able to start his because he had a Grant from Maggie Thatcher's government!
I think for these purposes you have to assume the worst. I think the question is not what the UK government will do but what Europe will do. We aleady know that we pensioners have lost the winter fuel allowance and that IDS has promised to freeze the state pension. Under these circumstances it’s reasonable to assume he will withdraw the S1 and refuse to pay for health care. That is assuming EU countries are willing to negotiate. For the working folk you will become aliens. This will mean an immigration process. None of us will have the right to be anywhere in the EU. The outers believe they can renegoiate all the deals we have as right now. It may be possible but the consensus is that it will take some years to do so. The USA and China have already indicated they would not be interested in in individual deals. Their interest in the UK is as leader in Europe. It would seem that the UK is facing it’s mist dangerous future since 1939.
I have no idea what will happen to expats should Britain vote to leave the EU or even if the British govt. will continue a reciprocal agreement with European countries where we happen to be living for healthcare, if not for expats what about people just going on holiday ? Will they no longer participate in the Erasmus Programme which has benefitted so many students. If nothing gets put in place, then if the govt. is facing problems with an aging population and an NHS in crisis it will be nothing compared to the influx of up to 1.5 million expats returning to Britain using even more precious resources when Spain, France and other EU countries refuse them healthcare because they're not in the "Club".
Just a small note to Anthony Murphy if you are entitled to vote on the British Exit from the EU, and you indeed vote to leave you do realise it will not make one iota of difference to the bureaucracy in France who will continue to stay in the EU until it's death throws. If anything it will actually make the moving of vehicles from the UK to France even more difficult and expensive, why ? Because they can....
I would say one side has a pretty good idea and the other side is living in cloud cookoo land.
More like neither side really knows.
Interesting views and SMEs seem generally in favour of stayng in. I’m sure MNCs would have the same view. Personally I think leaving would be nuts but it may well happen if the cases for staying or leaving descend into just political spin.
I thought you might be interested in a conversation I had with UKIP Bury on social media recently. We started to debate the whys and wherefores of being in and out. I put to him 6 solid reasons as to why we should stay in such a trade, science, security to name but three. I expected to get back 6 solid reason to knock down my arguments to contra my reasons. Well... that is not quite what I got. His response was I have been reading propaganda! Ah I thought he must be better informed than me, so I asked him where he got his data from. His response "The Daily Express". We are all aware I am sure of the dubious honesty of the tabloid press.
He failed to come up with any good solid reasons as to why the UK should leave. I am only aware of two of UKIP's policies one is immigration and two stop the overseas aid budget. The former would cost the UK £1.4 billion and the second, well I leave it to your immagination the horrors for the third world if we did such a thing.
In conclusion I arrived at the realisation that it was like talking to cotton wool. There was no substance in our debate. Why these people think they know better than our business leaders in the CBI, the governor of the bank of England, our scientists who lead the world funded by the EU, etc. is beyond my comprehension.
I could go on but I can tell you if we come out as retirees my husband and I will have to go back. The DWP will rescind our S1 and freeze our state pensions. It would be too expensive for us to stay. For all you working folk you will of course become aliens and will no doubt have to go down the immigration route.
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I think there are two types of thread Ian. There are the practical ones that offer advice and assistance and are very useful and there are the discussion ones that take different twists and turns and can be quite amusing. For example, I think it’s very funny that Anthony went to all that trouble to import a French van into France. As for the UK leaving the EU, there’s no point in worrying about it in my opinion. It’ll happen or it won’t but it just might be smart for UK citizens to have a “plan B”.
One of the charms of SFN is that discussions do go off at a tangent. There are other forums that delete posts that are not directly on topic but SFN is not one of them.
Am I mistaken or was the original question in this thread about what would happen if the UK left the EU? What has importing cars got to do with it.
I’ve had it with Survive France. I can’t put up with snide (what do you you live in France and can’t speak French) brigade, they only sensible ones are the ones just trying to be helpful.
Isn’t the idea of this group to help, advise or tell of an experience to other members.
I’d no idea what a Vauxhall Vivaro was so I Googled it and found a very informative UK Auto Express road test. Turns out it’s a Renault Trafic built in Luton and if yours is a high roof one Anthony it was actually built by Renault in France because the Luton factory roof is too low. So maybe all your work amd frustration was just to bring your van back home, well done 
Antony Murphy. Nice to see that the "little Englander" and "Dell Boy" are both alive and well. The world would be a sad place without the "whinging Pomme". Hope your paying your share of taxes.
Anthony Miaowpmurphy calm down dear! Vote away! I admit to being around when East Germany, Poland etc were European countries but life was hateful, suspicious regards over shoulders, too many memories of the war all black and white. Go and find what you want. Vive la France!
Oh and Anthony I'm 5 years older than you, I can remember the pre-UK in the EU world quite well, I flew up & down from Nice to Edinburgh via London every 2 months or so, for every holiday & half-term from 4 onwards.
The ecotax is only that high because of the size of the engine, apparently.
Oops I was wrong it wasn't €1000€ it was €918, half was regional tax and the other half ecotax (there was also €4 for the paperwork). If you import a vehicle from another country that's what you expect really - it was considerably more difficult as well as more expensive ages ago when I was little. As a French/British/German person I really appreciate the EU, warts and all.
As you are so ignorant about what goes on in the ‘Public Sector’ I need take no notice of your rants. In fact my job was immersed by both differentiation and added value, I’m probably quite an expert in both those areas. As a public sector worker I worked hard and held responsible positions and probably earned less than you do on your market stall. I also paid into my pension fund throughout my working life. I don’t need people like you to tell me that I had it easy, you obviously haven’t got a clue. Back to the van, (white?), why did you bother importing it? They do sell them in France and that way they even come with the steering wheel on the correct side. No one is saying anything is your fault, it’s your choice and you have to be prepared to stand by the options you took. Overall I’m happy with mine. My French relations are perfectly happy with their lives in France and wouldn’t dream of living anywhere else. France works for them and if it doesn’t work for you why are you living and working here? You obviously have a few chips on your shoulder, I find that sad.
David Rosemount, you say "most of the exiters are realatively old, looking back to a rose coloured world which just doesn't exist any more." I would vote for exit, but I bet you I am younger that all the other contributors on this post, n'est ce pas? You say, "a ... world which just doesn't exist any more". That was my point, but NOT a world that existed in the past, NOT retrospectively, I did not know the pre-EC world, the UK joined the EC when I was 4. I meant the harmonised Europe that everyone imagined when they had signed up to, but has never happened. Perhaps the example of the vehicles? (oh no!) or healthcare? or harmonisation of tax systems? national security? like no duty on wine in the UK? You all know just as well as I do that none of this has happened! Instead, it is administrative chaos! (Oh well, lots of public sector jobs for John).
And my point is nothing to do immigration, I never mentioned it. My point is about the economy and a country's economic dynamism. France has NO dynamism, in anything. All those old grannies buying their leaks, apples, potatoes and cheese ... don't tell me I don't see or understand 'the French', the public, I work at one of France's biggest and most well attended public open air markets (Amboise), food and non-food. I see consumers, consumer behaviour and what French people want and what they buy.
All John Brian's posts have a 'it's your fault, you should have known' connotation to them. Glad to hear that Véronique Langlands has also paid vast sums of money to the French PUBLIC SECTOR to pay for the FREE MOVEMENT OF GOODS and the FREE MOVEMENT OF CAPITAL and the FREE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE. John what is free about it? (yes I know it does not mean that is does not cost anything). The EU is about harmonisation ... does this mean that there will be vast amount of jobs for people to try and harmonise things, to write legislation and another million other people to try and enforce it and interpret it? That is what it is in reality, nothing more. Have you read any of Directive John? Have you ever heard of Eur-lex or legifrance?
The cars / vans / trailers issue is a true reflection of France and how it works. France is incapable of seeing itself as the Molière farce that it is.
Farce: one of the things that the Certificat de Conformité flagged up on my Vauxhall Vivaro was the BRAND. (Do you understand Brands, John? you worked in the public sector, have you heard of differentiation and adding value? you don't have to do that in the Public Sector, you just get paid ... lots, forever, even when you stop working). Although inside the side door of the van is stamped OPEL. Thus, my van had to go for a DREAL inspection and a highly paid public sector man with a clipboard to examine the vehicle, more fees, more time, more trips to the Préfecture and to a vehicle depot, more diesel for me on useless pointless trips.
The 750 Euros was not tax but a culmination of various costs, spare parts and fees, about 200 to 250 of that being paid to the Préfecture: was that the tax you were referring to Véronique?
Not quite sure what was so unbiased about my comment, it was my opinion based on my experience.
Nice unbiased reply Anthony. I suppose there must be something good about France or you wouldn’t be living here. I don’t understand why you are making such a fuss about the vehicles that you chose to import from the UK, a few minutes research would have shown you the problems that you would have to overcome when registering them. I have imported two cars and a motorcycle. Each of the cars cost less to register than one year’s road tax cost in the UK. The motorcycle cost €16.50. I really cannot see the problem. Mind you I did work in the Public Sector so I’m probably as anti your type as you are so obviously mine. It takes all sorts.