anti-british attitude in france

barbara preston · Sep 27th 2007, 8:59 am

We are seriously considering relocating from Spain to northern France, Normandy or Brittany. Our children are not too keen for us to do this and have recently reported that English newspapers are currently carrying stories of an anti-British attitude amongst the French, with property being damaged etc. Has anyone any evidence/experience of this happening? On another point, we have four cats who will come with us when we move, two days travelling by road will be very traumatic for them, not to mention difficulties with toiletting etc. Any advice on this subject would be most appreciated. Hoping someone can help.

Lionda · Sep 27th 2007, 9:05 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by barbara preston

We are seriously considering relocating from Spain to northern France, Normandy or Brittany. Our children are not too keen for us to do this and have recently reported that English newspapers are currently carrying stories of an anti-British attitude amongst the French, with property being damaged etc. Has anyone any evidence/experience of this happening? On another point, we have four cats who will come with us when we move, two days travelling by road will be very traumatic for them, not to mention difficulties with toiletting etc. Any advice on this subject would be most appreciated. Hoping someone can help.

Hi Barbara

I did hear something about this from a neighbour a couple of days ago

Can't comment though as I haven't heard anything more but I will follow this thread and hope someone can throw some light on this.

As for travelling with four cats over two days, we did this from England to Spain and didn't have any problems at all. The cats all travelled together in a large wooden 'crate' with their food and litter. We made regular stops to check that they were ok and to change their litter etc. When we arrived at our destination we fed them and they washed and settled down to sleep as though they hadn't even moved - let alone travelled through three countries

Why are you moving to France? Is it for work?

barbara preston · Sep 27th 2007, 9:29 am

No, we are retired. We currently live in Murcia province where it is getting hotter, drier, dustier, more fly-ridden and generally not as pleasant as when we arrived seven years ago. Moving to France would be a very big deal for us as my OH is now 72 and is not really too keen to move. If we could find somewhere more hospitable in Spain it would make more sense as we would not have to go through all the rigmarole of residencia, health provision etc and also, I am able to manage a reasonable smattering of Spanish. I, particularly, want to be in a much greener area, with rivers and forests etc. Can you suggest anywhere?

treskillard · Sep 27th 2007, 10:45 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by barbara preston

We are seriously considering relocating from Spain to northern France, Normandy or Brittany. Our children are not too keen for us to do this and have recently reported that English newspapers are currently carrying stories of an anti-British attitude amongst the French, with property being damaged etc. Has anyone any evidence/experience of this happening? On another point, we have four cats who will come with us when we move, two days travelling by road will be very traumatic for them, not to mention difficulties with toiletting etc. Any advice on this subject would be most appreciated. Hoping someone can help.

This question was asked (a similar one at least) a few weeks ago and received little response. If you'd like to see the thread then here is the link:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=477421

I think that anti-british attitudes do exist but not sure if this impacts much on life for British people in France. Personally I wouldn't worry about it. Surely if people were finding it difficult someone would own up! The evidence of this forum is that life is great in France but paperwork is a real hassle!

val50 · Sep 27th 2007, 11:59 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by barbara preston

We are seriously considering relocating from Spain to northern France, Normandy or Brittany. Our children are not too keen for us to do this and have recently reported that English newspapers are currently carrying stories of an anti-British attitude amongst the French, with property being damaged etc. Has anyone any evidence/experience of this happening? On another point, we have four cats who will come with us when we move, two days travelling by road will be very traumatic for them, not to mention difficulties with toiletting etc. Any advice on this subject would be most appreciated. Hoping someone can help.

Hi Barbara,
how's the baby doing? Hope all is well.
We haven't come across any anti-British sentiments here in our part of Normandy.
In fact our Mairie told us he prefers English people buying houses - otherwise it's mostly those from Paris looking for holiday homes. He reckons it's the Parisiens not the English pushing up house prices etc. In fact, we are lucky as he is really pro-English. Has made sure all the local restaurants have menus in English, wants to practice his English every time we see him.
I am sure there are problems - but then again you get that in UK

I still remember the trauma of moving from Birmingham to Oxford when I started nursing. Don't think I spoke for a month and had to tone down my accent to fit in. Have you given any thought though to moving back to UK, maybe Devon/Cornwall, especially if you are going to be needing healthcare etc.?
As for the cats. We bought ours with us from South Africa. They ended up travelling 4 days, including a 12 hour flight. They were all fine. That's the nice things about cats, pretty resilient creatures.

artemis · Sep 27th 2007, 1:31 pm

Hi Barbara, read your post about your cats. I hope that you can manage to take them with you. We have just given a new home to a beautiful long haired cream with points cat(if u know what I mean) and pale blue eyes. His owners are moving to France and then hopping back and forth so can't keep him. They are really upset to lose him and he has missed them and given quite a few very plaintive and long and deep meows at night. He is at my feet now. Luckily we are cat lovers and are flexible around our cats, but they do miss their owners and hate change. Have you ever noticed how they sniff a new piece of furniture suspiciously when it arrives in the house?

Anyway just to say that I have not had good experiences of moving with cats. Our semi-feral cat, Pandora, howled the car down for quite some time on a short move from South East London to Bromley outpost and then suddenly fell silent causing us to think she had had a heart attack. Even on short trips to the vet they go to the toilet in fright and complain miserably. I would be inclined to fly them from Spain to France although more costly a lot less miserable for them I am sure.

Cats have owned me for 25 years so I do have a lot of experience.

lindsey72 · Sep 27th 2007, 3:24 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by barbara preston

We are seriously considering relocating from Spain to northern France, Normandy or Brittany. Our children are not too keen for us to do this and have recently reported that English newspapers are currently carrying stories of an anti-British attitude amongst the French, with property being damaged etc. Has anyone any evidence/experience of this happening? On another point, we have four cats who will come with us when we move, two days travelling by road will be very traumatic for them, not to mention difficulties with toiletting etc. Any advice on this subject would be most appreciated. Hoping someone can help.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle2045323.ece

Barbara, I think the above is the piece your children will be referring to. It concerns three english-owned properties being damaged in Britanny in July.

Chris'nJulie · Sep 27th 2007, 6:54 pm

As far as the anti-British attitude in France is concerned, I can report that we've never encountered anything like that where we now live. Quite the opposite, in fact - most of the French people we've had anything to do with have welcomed us.

Cats. When we eventually moved here from the UK in March, we brought three with us via an overnight ferry from Portsmouth. The journey to Portsmouth in the evening took about an hour, plus another hour to board the ferry and get settled. The ferry crossing was about 6 hours, and the journey down to the Limousin about 7 and a half hours including stops.

We expected all sorts of problems, but in the event the journey was without incident. We were surprised (and relieved!)

The car was a large-ish estate with a top box. The inside of the car was almost exclusively for the cats, and they travelled in two large guinea pig cages (2 females in one cage, and a large tom in the other...), each with food and water dishes and a litter tray. It all went rather well.

Obviously, we couldn't carry much else, but we'd already moved the bulk of our goods and chattels in other trips.

Chris

herbie · Sep 28th 2007, 7:41 am

When my son and daughter first went to school here, age 12 and 14, they were never called by their names and always referred to as 'les anglais'. Several of the teachers were seriously unpleasant to them and in fact my daughter became so unhappy, she ended up going back to live in the UK.

I get quite cross when I come across French people who are anti-foreigners and usually they complain about us pushing up the house prices. Yet they are the first to try and rip them off by asking extortionate prices in the first place! We have been to look at houses for sale by French people that were literally falling down and they have wanted a fortune for. Ultimately, when you go back 6 months later, you find that they actually sold at a fraction of the original price which just goes to show how they try it on.

We've always tried to use locals to do any work for us yet most of the quotes we've had by French artisans have been way more than from the english. This is not relating to labour costs but material costs. For example, we bought a fosse septique for 700 euros yet one of the French artisans wanted to charge us 1900 for the same fosse!

I have many French friends and I do not sit in judgment of people but my general feeling is that some French, not all, are anti-foreigners, not just British. Then again, I think you'll find that wherever you go in the world.

jdr · Sep 28th 2007, 1:22 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by herbie

When my son and daughter first went to school here, age 12 and 14, they were never called by their names and always referred to as 'les anglais'. Several of the teachers were seriously unpleasant to them and in fact my daughter became so unhappy, she ended up going back to live in the UK.

I get quite cross when I come across French people who are anti-foreigners and usually they complain about us pushing up the house prices. Yet they are the first to try and rip them off by asking extortionate prices in the first place! We have been to look at houses for sale by French people that were literally falling down and they have wanted a fortune for. Ultimately, when you go back 6 months later, you find that they actually sold at a fraction of the original price which just goes to show how they try it on.

We've always tried to use locals to do any work for us yet most of the quotes we've had by French artisans have been way more than from the english. This is not relating to labour costs but material costs. For example, we bought a fosse septique for 700 euros yet one of the French artisans wanted to charge us 1900 for the same fosse!

I have many French friends and I do not sit in judgment of people but my general feeling is that some French, not all, are anti-foreigners, not just British. Then again, I think you'll find that wherever you go in the world.

I have lived and worked in a few countries over the last 40 years and think your last sentence hits the nail on the head.

Grand Fromage · Sep 29th 2007, 2:27 pm

We're in The Lot and haven't experienced any anti-brit attitude. I was concerened during the initial weeks of the Iraq invasion, when the French opposed the English/American position, but having discussed with French friends, they just shrugged!!!
And, by the way, it's very green and friendly in the South West, why not come here?

artemis · Sep 29th 2007, 3:38 pm

Hi GrandeFromage, Could you perhaps indicate the name of a place in the Lot as we're still in the UK, but are trying to find a greener area so I am doing lots of research. I for instance was trying to find a place called Auge, but then discovered it was an area. All very confusing and info is appreciated

barbara preston · Sep 29th 2007, 4:51 pm

Thanks everyone for your comments, it seems to me that it's the same the world over, you can't like everyone and not everyone can like you! In the main though, the vast majority of the comments are positive and we have come to the conclusion that the matter is really of little importance. A long-term resident of my area in Spain recently told me that she was convinced that the Spanish only like the Brits because they are bringing money to what were previously, very poor farming areas and that in truth, they are not too fond of us as a race at all. DON'T MENTION THE ARMADA!! Hi Val, good to hear from you again, the baby is absolutely gorgeous! With regard to a possible return to the UK, I would go back tomorrow but the OH is not at all keen as he suffered very badly at the hands of the NHS and is determined not to put himself in that position again, despite all the info. that there are numerous Health Authorities which are performing well. I was really interested to hear that you are a Brummie! I spent the first 40 years of my life in Stourbridge and did my nurse training at Wordsley Hospital!! I really like the sound of your Mayor, perhaps we should consider your town! Incidentally Val, how do you find travelling between Normandy and the UK, from what I have gathered air travel is rather difficult and ferry crossings can be lengthy and costly. We haven't been able to visit France yet as when we returned from UK there had been 2 heavy storms of 'red rain', it's sand blowing over from the Sahara. It has taken us two weeks to clean everything up and the back walls of the house are still streaked with red. On Monday, we have visitors from Uk for 2 weeks, but then we shall definitely be visiting. Thanks to everyone who has given advice on cat travel. When we came to Spain from the UK they all travelled by BA and we came across on the ferry! However, it was travelling by road which was concerning us, but from most of the comments made it seems that they will be OK. I would like to say how friendly I find the people who take part in this forum. I have not come across any snide remarks or derogatory comments of any kind, I like the expats living in France - I want to be one of them!

Grand Fromage · Sep 29th 2007, 8:43 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by artemis

Hi GrandeFromage, Could you perhaps indicate the name of a place in the Lot as we're still in the UK, but are trying to find a greener area so I am doing lots of research. I for instance was trying to find a place called Auge, but then discovered it was an area. All very confusing and info is appreciated

Hi Artemis
We are just South of Cahors, about 100kms North of Toulouse. This is a terrific place to live, it's provincial and very friendly, with great countryside and plenty of culture if you want it. Cahors wine takes some coming to terms with, but it's a pleasure trying

frenchie0005 · Sep 29th 2007, 8:58 pm

might I ask if anyone knows of any good sites for employment for english, not fully fluent in french im afraid. I am finding it difficult getting a job and have virtually run out of reserves. My place is not finished and i have gone over budget. I had hoped to rent out part of my property but have not quite got there yet..can anyone advise?

Sep 27th 2007, 8:59 am	#1
barbara preston Just Joined Joined: Aug 2007 Posts: 25	anti-british attitude in france We are seriously considering relocating from Spain to northern France, Normandy or Brittany. Our children are not too keen for us to do this and have recently reported that English newspapers are currently carrying stories of an anti-British attitude amongst the French, with property being damaged etc. Has anyone any evidence/experience of this happening? On another point, we have four cats who will come with us when we move, two days travelling by road will be very traumatic for them, not to mention difficulties with toiletting etc. Any advice on this subject would be most appreciated. Hoping someone can help.

Sep 27th 2007, 9:29 am	#3
barbara preston Just Joined Joined: Aug 2007 Posts: 25	Re: anti-british attitude in france No, we are retired. We currently live in Murcia province where it is getting hotter, drier, dustier, more fly-ridden and generally not as pleasant as when we arrived seven years ago. Moving to France would be a very big deal for us as my OH is now 72 and is not really too keen to move. If we could find somewhere more hospitable in Spain it would make more sense as we would not have to go through all the rigmarole of residencia, health provision etc and also, I am able to manage a reasonable smattering of Spanish. I, particularly, want to be in a much greener area, with rivers and forests etc. Can you suggest anywhere?

Sep 27th 2007, 1:31 pm	#6
artemis Forum Regular Joined: Jul 2007 Posts: 274	Re: anti-british attitude in france Hi Barbara, read your post about your cats. I hope that you can manage to take them with you. We have just given a new home to a beautiful long haired cream with points cat(if u know what I mean) and pale blue eyes. His owners are moving to France and then hopping back and forth so can't keep him. They are really upset to lose him and he has missed them and given quite a few very plaintive and long and deep meows at night. He is at my feet now. Luckily we are cat lovers and are flexible around our cats, but they do miss their owners and hate change. Have you ever noticed how they sniff a new piece of furniture suspiciously when it arrives in the house? Anyway just to say that I have not had good experiences of moving with cats. Our semi-feral cat, Pandora, howled the car down for quite some time on a short move from South East London to Bromley outpost and then suddenly fell silent causing us to think she had had a heart attack. Even on short trips to the vet they go to the toilet in fright and complain miserably. I would be inclined to fly them from Spain to France although more costly a lot less miserable for them I am sure. Cats have owned me for 25 years so I do have a lot of experience. __________________ Nietzsche "Battle not with monsters lest ye become one; for when you look into the Abyss, the Abyss looks into you"

Sep 27th 2007, 6:54 pm	#8
Chris'nJulie Correze, The Limousin Joined: Jan 2007 Location: Bourlioux, Correze Posts: 98	Re: anti-british attitude in france As far as the anti-British attitude in France is concerned, I can report that we've never encountered anything like that where we now live. Quite the opposite, in fact - most of the French people we've had anything to do with have welcomed us. Cats. When we eventually moved here from the UK in March, we brought three with us via an overnight ferry from Portsmouth. The journey to Portsmouth in the evening took about an hour, plus another hour to board the ferry and get settled. The ferry crossing was about 6 hours, and the journey down to the Limousin about 7 and a half hours including stops. We expected all sorts of problems, but in the event the journey was without incident. We were surprised (and relieved!) The car was a large-ish estate with a top box. The inside of the car was almost exclusively for the cats, and they travelled in two large guinea pig cages (2 females in one cage, and a large tom in the other...), each with food and water dishes and a litter tray. It all went rather well. Obviously, we couldn't carry much else, but we'd already moved the bulk of our goods and chattels in other trips. Chris Last edited by Chris'nJulie : Sep 27th 2007 at 6:57 pm. Reason: silly typo

Sep 28th 2007, 7:41 am	#9
herbie Forum Regular Joined: Mar 2007 Location: Puy de Dome Posts: 100	Re: anti-british attitude in france When my son and daughter first went to school here, age 12 and 14, they were never called by their names and always referred to as 'les anglais'. Several of the teachers were seriously unpleasant to them and in fact my daughter became so unhappy, she ended up going back to live in the UK. I get quite cross when I come across French people who are anti-foreigners and usually they complain about us pushing up the house prices. Yet they are the first to try and rip them off by asking extortionate prices in the first place! We have been to look at houses for sale by French people that were literally falling down and they have wanted a fortune for. Ultimately, when you go back 6 months later, you find that they actually sold at a fraction of the original price which just goes to show how they try it on. We've always tried to use locals to do any work for us yet most of the quotes we've had by French artisans have been way more than from the english. This is not relating to labour costs but material costs. For example, we bought a fosse septique for 700 euros yet one of the French artisans wanted to charge us 1900 for the same fosse! I have many French friends and I do not sit in judgment of people but my general feeling is that some French, not all, are anti-foreigners, not just British. Then again, I think you'll find that wherever you go in the world. __________________ http://www.cathysavels.com

Sep 29th 2007, 2:27 pm	#11
Grand Fromage Forum Regular Joined: Jul 2007 Posts: 87	Re: anti-british attitude in france We're in The Lot and haven't experienced any anti-brit attitude. I was concerened during the initial weeks of the Iraq invasion, when the French opposed the English/American position, but having discussed with French friends, they just shrugged!!! And, by the way, it's very green and friendly in the South West, why not come here?

Sep 29th 2007, 3:38 pm	#12
artemis Forum Regular Joined: Jul 2007 Posts: 274	Re: anti-british attitude in france Hi GrandeFromage, Could you perhaps indicate the name of a place in the Lot as we're still in the UK, but are trying to find a greener area so I am doing lots of research. I for instance was trying to find a place called Auge, but then discovered it was an area. All very confusing and info is appreciated __________________ Nietzsche "Battle not with monsters lest ye become one; for when you look into the Abyss, the Abyss looks into you"

Sep 29th 2007, 4:51 pm	#13
barbara preston Just Joined Joined: Aug 2007 Posts: 25	Re: anti-british attitude in france Thanks everyone for your comments, it seems to me that it's the same the world over, you can't like everyone and not everyone can like you! In the main though, the vast majority of the comments are positive and we have come to the conclusion that the matter is really of little importance. A long-term resident of my area in Spain recently told me that she was convinced that the Spanish only like the Brits because they are bringing money to what were previously, very poor farming areas and that in truth, they are not too fond of us as a race at all. DON'T MENTION THE ARMADA!! Hi Val, good to hear from you again, the baby is absolutely gorgeous! With regard to a possible return to the UK, I would go back tomorrow but the OH is not at all keen as he suffered very badly at the hands of the NHS and is determined not to put himself in that position again, despite all the info. that there are numerous Health Authorities which are performing well. I was really interested to hear that you are a Brummie! I spent the first 40 years of my life in Stourbridge and did my nurse training at Wordsley Hospital!! I really like the sound of your Mayor, perhaps we should consider your town! Incidentally Val, how do you find travelling between Normandy and the UK, from what I have gathered air travel is rather difficult and ferry crossings can be lengthy and costly. We haven't been able to visit France yet as when we returned from UK there had been 2 heavy storms of 'red rain', it's sand blowing over from the Sahara. It has taken us two weeks to clean everything up and the back walls of the house are still streaked with red. On Monday, we have visitors from Uk for 2 weeks, but then we shall definitely be visiting. Thanks to everyone who has given advice on cat travel. When we came to Spain from the UK they all travelled by BA and we came across on the ferry! However, it was travelling by road which was concerning us, but from most of the comments made it seems that they will be OK. I would like to say how friendly I find the people who take part in this forum. I have not come across any snide remarks or derogatory comments of any kind, I like the expats living in France - I want to be one of them!

Sep 29th 2007, 8:58 pm	#15
frenchie0005 Forum Regular Joined: Sep 2007 Posts: 34	Re: anti-british attitude in france might I ask if anyone knows of any good sites for employment for english, not fully fluent in french im afraid. I am finding it difficult getting a job and have virtually run out of reserves. My place is not finished and i have gone over budget. I had hoped to rent out part of my property but have not quite got there yet..can anyone advise?

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