Alec - might be an idea to edit your Post and remove the offending bits, please. 
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Not humour mate, maybe an apology is in order to us French subjects on the forum ?
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After the end of WW2, Dad kept in contact with all his old crew , as well as families of crew members who had been killed in action - which included some Frenchmen from Northern France. 
…just saying…
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Who is this aimed at Mandy? It seems to be related to a comment of mine, but I have made no comment offensive or otherwise thus far about WW2.
Alec made the remark, which has since been hidden. If you look just after Mandy’s comment, you will see my post to “Alec”.
Hi Mandy, I have just picked up on this thread, so now see what you were referring to.
Yes, I agree, a sly bit of ‘British Exceptionalism’ I fear.
There’s quite a bit of it about across the Channel, I understand?
Don’t expect it to go away when Brexit happens. Rest assured in many quarters it’s all the fault of the French anyway.
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I read Alec’s comment as nothing more than a reference to a dispute from opposing sides, and nothing to do with the nationality of the people concerned. How often in your life have you heard someone say “oh FHS don’t start WW2 over this” or similar?
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Context is so important and can make all the difference. 
A post contained a remark which some folk found offensive.
Could we please NOT turn this thread into a " who does or does-not find (whatever) offensive".
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And some didn’t. And presumably are equally allowed to express an opinion or is that not permitted if you are not in the clique?
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Jane - I have no idea what “clique” you are talking about.
You replied to Mandy’s post saying that you read the “comment” differently. Fair enough.
However, you ended with a question.
I was merely hoping to avoid a situation (which so often arises) when one says this and the other says that…and back and forth it goes - so unnecessary.
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I read it in the context that the French sat back and did nothing whilst expecting the British to save their hides.
That’s why I found it offensive.
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Let’s face it, some communes are fed up with foreigners in their patch while i’m surethe the majority embrace them. Point is, if Alec was French maybe this problem would have been resolved by now ?
A village I lived in from about 1992 to 2005 was only too willing to see their old properties renovated by the Brits and Dutch etc tho’ their attitude changed somewhat when they found the majority of properties in the commune were seemingly owned by foreigners !
Exactly so Teresa. Not sure there is any other way to read it.
And I’m certainly not responding to loaded questions.
I’m out of this discussion.
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I think in any towns in the world there will always be those that get involved and sort things out and those that let others do the sorting. Regardless of nationality.
Perhaps too us Brits get overly bothered by things whereas others shrug them off. I used to worry ridiculously about anything house related, now I look at a bit of damp and think ‘it will see me out and then the kids can sort it.’
Also I find our French neighbours courteous to the point that sometimes I would welcome being told the ‘correct’ way to do something to stop me from making a cultural error but they are too polite to to do so.
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I think that was a lot of civilians as after Dunkirk there was very little french fighting for France. The french colonies were forced into fighting for them in Africa and never got any recognition for this.
Don’t mention the war it wasn’t a glorious time.
With regard to the original question , the mairies are seen as all powerful from us British, who fill in every form and get every permission. The french don’t waste their time and just do it.
Most of them dont want the hassle to intervene in problems and happy to have a quiet life.
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I think it’s more a case of, knowing when you need to cover your back. If you’ve grown up in France you tend to know instinctively what you can get away with and what’s a step too far, although even then you occasionally misjudge it and come unstuck. For incomers, we need to be here a long time and keep our eyes and ears open to get a feeling for the likely consequences. Hence, it’s as well for Brits to err on the side of caution to start with.
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There’s never anything glorious about war.
I suppose with 1.8million French men in German pow camps it would be difficult to fight. Instead they had to do the work while the German soldiers were sent to fight.
I often wonder if Brits who actually fought in WW2 would infer that occupied countries were ‘saved.’ Probably not. My uncle felt heartily sorry for the Greeks who were almost starving, him and the other soldiers gave so much of their rations away to the children that he returned home covered from head to toe in boils from extreme malnourishment. It’s not all like an adventure film.
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Hi there,
Just a tiny bit of French Public Law (although this is not my speciality) for you to understand that, given the circumstances you’ve just described, it looks like you have very little to expect from your local authority.
The Maire grants building permits indeed and he should normally enforce Laws and regulations in respect with illegal constructions.
If you witness a construction that seems to be illegal (records for local building permits is open to the general public at your local Mairie), you must write a registered letter to the Maire to summon him (or her) to stop such an illegal situation, especially if that prejudices your personal interests.
If ever the Maire doesn’t reply (or doesn’t wish to), then under French Law his silence is analised as a denial of your request, which denial you can fight in front of your local Tribunal Administratif (the only court that has jurisdiction to solve a dispute between a local authority and citizens). You have to lodge an application to the court, which aim is to force the Maire to fulfill his duty and to assess the situation as regards the illegality of the construction.
Failing to act in court, the Maire will do nothing and you’ll get exhausted with all these letters (at least your level in French may improve)…
The Maire (who has free legal assistance) will only move when you’ll do the right thing.
Welcome to France!
In case you’d like to take that route, I would be able to recommend fully bilingual colleagues of mine to help you out.
Philippe Péjoine (reads “page 1”)
Avocat
16 bis cours du Maréchal Juin
33000 Bordeaux
T: 0674284766
Courriel: philippe-pejoine@wanadoo.fr
Thank you for that very interesting and original perspective
I do not think the Maire is opposed to taking action, but given his other problems such unsafe unoccupied semi-derelict houses alongside public thoroughfares, he probably hopes lesser problems will just go away.
As I understand it the Mairie has responsibility for reviewing planning applications, subject to higher approval for construction and heritage issues. For structures built without approval and unlikely to get it, I’m still not sure if it’s the Maire who has the responsibility / obligation / burden of commencing the legal process (ie fines for non compliance) and eventual demolition (ie engaging a contractor and trying to recover costs).
Noting your comment that the Maire should not have to pay for legal advice / enforcement action, I do wonder why the Maire cannot simply pass my correspondence on to that resource, and advise me accordingly - 10 minutes work surely by an office assistant. I’d be happy at least to know that action is in hand, and what that action is.
For those interested a photo or two illustrating the problem is attached. As I may have said in an earlier post the illegal work crosses over onto my land in places, surcharges my boundary retaining wall and one his unsupported excavations has the potential to undermine both his house and mine!
In the meantime I await a response from the Prefecture’s Construction & Urbanism section.
