A notaire is a qualified lawyer, however also employed as public official.
Lawyers, as in avocats, are considerably more expensive!
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I think that was more to do with land usage
I sometimes feel that can be true, I think there is a more āflexibleā approach to some rules and regulations in France than in the UK (the trick is knowing which ones 
) but in this case I would feel uncomfortable with the arrangement. I know that doesnāt help you one iota in extricating yourself from it but if it were me Iād be concerned. There are too many issues that could go wrong (Veolia, Impots, Marie, relationship with the farmer, etc.), I just wouldnāt want the hassle if they did. I like @Flocreen suggestion the he put in a pipe to the road, or would Veolia put two meters on your supply?
If the Farmer produced a letter from the Marie saying that it was all hunky dory and I then had it on file, Iād probably feel a bit better.
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Sensible advice. I will test the water with an interim request for reimbursement as soon as I get my next water bill. If there is any āstickinessā in paying, we will simply cut off the water, after giving reasonable notice. I honestly doubt there will be a problem in that regard, though you donāt know until you actually ask for money!.The farmer has put a sub-meter on the pipe, and he canāt access the meter as itās wholly on our land, and he has no right of access to itā¦
What fascinated me was the reaction of several of my wifeās fellow volunteers at the local clothes bank, all of whom are Frenchā¦They initially couldnāt understand even why my wife was mentioning it - āis there a problem?ā etc. After she explained that the supply of water might be technically illegal, there were shrugs all round, and comments like āitās only a little amount of waterāā¦She asked them whether they thought there was a risk from the water company querying the increase in usage, eg when visiting to read the meterā¦The universal response was 'tell them itās to water those cows" and point them outā¦I guess itās not uncommon to have a few sheep or cows next door to your house and gardenā¦
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If there is a sub meter on the pipe then take photos of the reading at regular intervals, and maybe when it gets to a round number of m3 ask him for his contribution? Look at your last water bill carefully as Iām amazed that you reckon only ā¬2. For us there is the water then another 2 or three extra items that are based on the litres used.
When I am given a gallic shrug and told that the French wouldnāt bother to do X I gently point out I am not French and as a foreigner need to be extra careful. We can have our residence cards removed for (eg) employing an illegal foreign worker.
I am actually French now but as part of the naturalisation process everything is checked and people have been refused because their neighbours complained about them!
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I have a well practised such shrug and for exactly the same reasons. 
Well in that case I think on balance Iād go with the flow 
When in Rome, etc.
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I donāt agree with that Jane. I donāt break laws but I do take a lead from my friends and neighbours as to what is reasonable. Anyway, youāre French now
i think we do, there are a lot of people who are xenophobic and what they would shrug off from a French person would not be as easily accepted by a non-French person. So for example I am careful about not paying cash in hand - which French neighbours do without thinking. All it takes is one disgruntled person to mention it to the wrong person and trouble could ensue. Iām not paranoid about it, just careful.
One is also more easily identifiable.
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I have to say that was my reaction too.
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I had started to doubt myselfā¦ Iāve reconciled the stated cost of 2.08ā¬ TTC per m3 to the detail of the last bill, and surprisingly it really does stack up. The small print says, correctly, that the cost doesnāt include the standing charge/abonnement, and nor does it include an amount for redevances, but neither appear to be volume related. I agreed with the farmer heād meet the costs of the volume related charges, TTC. I will definitely check the calves meter periodically, and my own to get comfortable all is working as it should.
As an aside, I gather (from someone that knows him) that the farmer would be quite uncomfortable with the idea of not paying (ie being given the water for free) which has been creatively suggested elsewhere, as a means of dealing with possible āillegalityā of reselling water.
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I understand your concerns Jane, and maybe Iāve just been lucky, but over forty years 99.9% of the time Iāve found the French to be very welcoming and helpful and Iāve never worried about not being āindigenousā. We donāt break laws (intentionally) but we do follow local ācustomsā based on advice from trusted friends. To be honest, I think one can even get a bit more latitude than the locals as an earnest foreigner doing their best to navigate through the French bureaucratic maze. Youāre running a business of course and Iām sure that requires greater stringency than just being the retired couple down the road, like us.
On the handful of occasions that Iāve encountered anti foreigner sentiment the perpetrators have always got a lot more than they bargained for. As far as Iām concerned Iāve as much right to be here as they have
Iām not French, although lived here much of my adult life. My reaction was the same as well, perhaps us Aussies are a bit more laid back! Also as a farmers daughter understand the importance of helping out. The fact it is so little water too, hardly a huge herd.
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Remarkable. I wonder what type of neighbourly complaint would actually terminate a naturalisation process?!
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ā¦And finally, here is said newly installed cattle trough now fed from āourā mains water, coming from our house, below. In the background, behind the house is an arboretum and the forest.
Many thanks once again to everyone who has contributed to this thread, so appreciated by me.
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You have to show you are of ābonne vie et mouersā so the police examine your dossier. Neighbour complaints for aggressive behaviour or continual ātapage nocturneā could scupper your chances either entirely or lead to a two year adjournment.
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Not a term Iām (probably thankfully) familiar with.
That sounds like noise produced by Onan the barbarian, but probably isnāt.
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Or the Deathwatch beetle.
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