My daily newspaper… is Sud Ouest and every day there is at least one article on UK politics… today it’s Liz Truss in the limelight… I studiously turn the page … 
I presume that there are sufficient Sud Ouest readers who are interested in UK politics… otherwise that paper wouldn’t waste time and space…
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How nice. 
However, I was give a jolt by a friend yesterday saying “Come another day. I have strong [sic] Covid” It’s still out there … 
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I am still extremely careful… and when I say hugs… it can be a real hug with those I know are safe to do so… or a wild waving of arms in mock-embrace, touching ones heart… blowing kisses… et al… and, of course, this all takes place in the open air… and, yes, I still carry a mask in my pocket and I do use it as and when appropriate.
For all the horrors of Johnson, Truss et al, UK is still #6 in the world economy, with France at #8, with India in between.
According to the UN COMTRADE database France’s exports to UK look like this
The 2021 figure is a final total, so right up to date. The implication is that Brexit has significantly effected Franc adversely.
The interesting question is - are those imports now being sourced from elsewhere or not being bought at all?
I’m sure there’s someone out there who can tell us what it was France used to export to UK… which it no longer does (or does in a much reduced quantity)…
anyone… ??? (I don’t think it’s mustard…)
Report in Shropshire Star today about Telford firm with lots of vacancies. Have also read recently about manufacturing boom in West Midlands. Possibly to do with diesel price/transport difficulties.
This question was covered in this presentation during a recent conference by UK in a Changing Europe. Essentially imports from non-EU countries have replaced imports from EU countries. Whereas before the implementation of the TCA patterns and trends were similar for both, there’s a visible divergence since 2021. The upshot is that, for example, food prices in the UK have increased by 6% as a result. The video below goes into great detail and is well worth watching.
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Oddly enough, Stella, it is! I was in Tesco, Weston-super-Mare, a couple of weeks ago and was astonied* to see the mustard shelves well stocked with the usual faves from France - Maille and all.
My local Eric the Cleric is so down on mustard stock that they have closed up the gap of empty shelves where the mustard used to be with other stuff.
This page has a comprehensive list of 97 varieties of goods. United Kingdom Imports from France - 2024 Data 2025 Forecast 1993-2022 Historical
Top comes vehicles, excluding railways and trmways $3.76B. Bottom comes ‘vegetable plaiting materials, vegetable products’.
So when you see ropes of onions on sale in the posh delis on Holland Park Avenue W8, it’s probable only the ‘plaiting material’ that’s actually French.
2 friends that are fully vacced and boosted, very careful and dodged it throughout,just got it in the UK.They relaxed a bit over the summer and then he went on a war graves trip via Dunkirk with 2 pals. One pal"s wife was found with Covid on their return. Nuff said. Then my friend turned out to have it also on his return. She isolated him upstairs but too late she has it now as well.
Hopefully, they are well enough protected to get through with a minimum… (fingers crossed… )
but I admit it’s not always certain and must be very worrying for all concerned.
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W11 
W8 is Kensington,though there is some W14 in what is socially W8/W11
Hello Mr Plod,
I live near Lyon in France with my French husband and our kids. I moved over here 25 years ago. I have dual nationality and a mixture of French and a few English/Irish friends who are all married to French-born citizens. I am a fully integrated citizen of France and its working population and absolutely not part of an ex-pat community. I extensively watch French and English news channels and read French and English press articles. Boris Johnson was a joke, people in the UK are suffering much more than people over here, I have heard lie after lie from the UK government about both the UK and France/Europe (which many people in the UK seem to believe because they do not follow French/European news). The UK is in a bigger mess than over here and it’s been very much caused by Brexit (with all its incredible lies) and a government which doesn’t really seem to care much about its non-rich population. People often seem to chose what they want to believe as the truth is too painful!
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Let me say I am in complete agreement with you about Johnson and the current government.
I do not anticipate anything better from Truss.
I used the word ex-pat rather tongue in cheek as I know there have been debates about its usage. My point is that most of the posters on this site are, I imagine, relatively affluent and live in the French equivalent of leafy towns and villages. A lot of French people don’t share that good fortune. I also read the French press and the stories of families who have nothing left at the end of the month - a situation which spawned the gilet jaunes movement. I think France is in a better place in general than the UK at the moment, let’s hope that we catch up. I have no desire that the UK become superior. An end to Tory government would help!
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well, better than being bathed in effluent
I certainly think this describes my financial position!
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you’re just shit at talking about money 
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Any of us with a LEP savings account… is certainly not affluent… but not destitute either (happily).
Most of the people who have ‘nothing left at the end of the month’ over here do have the French social safety net. I find that this phrase has a less serious meaning in France. There are certainly not 1.5 million (a number I’ve heard about the UK more than once) children who are under-nourished in France - they’d all get free meals at school. Of course this social help does mean that the French debt is huge and when you have your own business (as my husband and I have) you pay a lot more tax, even if you don’t earn excessive amounts. Strikes are also much more common here, so much so that they are often not taken that seriously. For example the ‘yearly’ train strikes. Trade Unions are still very much active over here. In general, people don’t accept things as easily as in the uk, which is why I find the government heads in France don’t have the same level of separation from the people they represent, unlike the bunch at Downing Street who sometimes appear to literally live on another planet. No doubt the legacy of the French Revolution still accounts for some of this in France .
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The UK’s population lives on credit card debt and overdrafts.
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True - but also important in shaping post-war French society was the Programme du Conseil national de la Résistance. Because of the key role leftist groups, especially the Communists had played in fighting fascism in the 30s and in the wartime resistance, they were very influential when Jean Moulin etc unified the different resistance groups. There was a determination across much of the political spectrum to create a unified nation very different from the Vichy government, so many broadly socialist policies - such as a plan complet de sécurité sociale, visant à assurer à tous les citoyens des moyens d’existence - were for a time embraced by much of the population, even by the centre-right.
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