The Bugle Dordogne - May 2020

Passenger accidentally ejects from fighter jet

book direct book

The defence company executive accidentally pulled the ejector handle of the jet whilst on a flight arranged as a surprise

>> Page 9

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Dordogne

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New rules for postlockdown France

>> continued on page 8

Exactly how far from home is 100 km? - pg 4

The free Republic of Le Saugais - pg 14

© Suleman Zaki (WikiCommons)

I

need for de-confinement to be progressive and tailored to each area. To that end, departments will be classified as either green or red when confinement finally ends, with stricter measures in place for those in red.

Although the lockdown is now widely expected to end for much of the country on 11th May, the government has stressed that this situation will be reversed if key conditions are not met, most notably that the number of new cases per day does not exceed 3,000 - the daily number has been below this figure on average since around mid-April.

The new de-confinement rules unveiled represent phase one of a longer-term plan and will run from

Contactless limit raised to €50 - pg 3

The French Grand Prix has been cancelled... for now - pg 9

With the end of lockdown in sight for many, the government has unveiled what a post-confinement France will look like and what you will soon be able to do again. t began at midday on 17th March and now, following confirmation in a televised address

by Prime Minister Eduoard Philippe, the lockdown will finally end for many from Monday 11th May, although life will not be the same as before.

While there will no longer be a need to carry a form when you leave the house, certain travel restrictions will remain in place and not all of the country will end confinement in the same way.

The prime minister explained that the deconfinement strategy would be based on three principles: test, trace, isolate. Hailing the lockdown as a “success” which has saved as many as 62,000 lives in France, he also emphasised the

INSIDE > > >

The Bugle Business Directory - pg 16-19

2 ♦ IN THIS EDITION

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ MAY 2020

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Welcome to

The Bugle

F

inally there is some light at the end of quite a long tunnel.

After eight weeks of lockdown, it looks almost certain that the majority, if not all, of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine will begin the de-confinement process from 11th May (see our lead story and the map on page 8). Some will have to endure restrictions beyond this date and whilst our region has been left relatively untouched by Covid-19, most of us will know people affected by the virus, either directly or indirectly.

That should not stop us looking to the future, however, and what will almost certainly be a “new normal” with as much positivity as we can muster. Part of me thinks that people in general are quick to forget and this time next year we will probably all be happily shaking hands and doing the kissykissy with friends and family. Will Covid-19 become a thing of the past like Swine Flu and SARS? Maybe, but a bigger part of me thinks that this won't be the case this time around, given the sheer scale of the pandemic in Europe and the realisation of how fragile our societies have become. Early on in the outbreak I read an article explaining why the Chinese as a population were better equipped to handle lockdown than your average European. It basically revolved around the fact that

China has a much more established culture of saving, so whilst many had relatively little, they did have money and possessions squirreled away for a rainy day.

Although western Europe has had some rough times since World War Two, life in general has been pretty peaceful and stable and the vast majority of working-age adults will not remember a time when you were left to fend for yourself, so to speak. I know for a fact that I grew up in a generation where if you couldn't afford it – and most couldn't – you didn't save, you just borrowed to get it today. Very few of the people I knew skimmed the top 10 or 20 per cent off their income for a rainy day. Much more likely they were borrowing a tenner from a mate for a trip to the pub the night before pay day.

I can honestly see that changing now. In the future I for one will always have in the back of my head the question: “What happens if the plug is pulled and I have no money for the next three months?”

I am one of the lucky ones in that my family will get through this, although without the help being offered by the government, things may have been far tighter.

The rest of the year will be tricky for sure and we have had to put a few projects on hold, but we have some big plans for The Bugle in the short and medium term and hope to be delivering the paper

for many years to come. But once there is any money left over at the end of the month, I very much hope I will be putting it to one side and not simply upgrading my phone because I can.

For some people under lockdown - and I do so wish this was a problem I had - saving money has been forced upon them.

For those on reasonable salaries who have not lost their jobs, or people on substantial pensions, it has simply not been possible to spend all their money under lockdown. In fact, one study estimated that the country as a whole has been “forced” to save around €55 billion... and that was with three weeks of lockdown to go!

I have seen plenty of people predicting that it could be this well of disposable income that will hold the key to the speed of any future economic recovery. It may seem like a huge contradiction given my previous musings on saving, but if you are lucky enough to be in a position of having a slightly larger bank balance than you might typically expect, going out and spending some of that with a local business could make all the

difference to that person. There are hundreds of advertisers in these pages and many will be experiencing tougher times than usual at the moment. So even if you are buying now for a product or service that you will be claiming later, you will be ensuring that that business is still there for you in a year's time when you need it.

I knew a very wise man once who used to talk about what he called “kisses from heaven”. He was a man who lived in the moment, day to day, and was not one to plan too far into the future, or even worry about it. As far as I know he always worked for himself and had been through some very tough financial times. But every time he neared the bottom, a kiss from heaven would arrive in the form of some unexpected business or a commission from out of the blue.

I remember him telling me that when his kids were young, he had a particularly bad period, was down to his last few pounds and had to choose between putting a tenner in the petrol tank so he could get to work the next day, or buying food for the family for that evening. Pulling up at the pump he opened the door... and

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INSIDE this edition

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3-12 French News

stepped on a roll of notes that had been dropped. Kissing the sky, he filled up the tank - and the kitchen cupboards - and was soon back on his feet again.

Here at The Bugle we have been busier than ever under lockdown.

We have launched a brand new website including a section where we are busy uploading past articles from the last ten years as well as news updates throughout the month. We also have a fledgling Facebook page, so please feel free to take a look around, sign up to receive our monthly newsletter and maybe even give us a Like or Follow on Facebook. All feedback is, as always, more than welcome!

Until next month!

Steve Martindale, Editor www.thebugle.eu articles.thebugle.eu facebook.com/The BugleFrance

13 French Life 14 Feature 15 Practical 16-20 Directory

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15th May for June's edition

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FRENCH NEWS ♦ 3

MAY 2020 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

Contactless New medical centre opening in Ribérac limit raised to €50 Credit: Thierry MAZIERE

T

he government has accelerated plans to raise the limit for contactless payments to €50. The move was originally planned for next year, but the French Banking Federation (FBF) has confirmed that this will now be done by 11th May, the day when France comes out of lockdown.

For those that have been out during the coronavirus confinement, paying sans contact has been an important step in reducing physical contact.

Bank notes and coins are known to be able to carry the virus and the keypads of payment terminals are an obvious point of contamination between members of the public.

“The French banks have responded to our call to raise the limit for contactless payments,” said Bruno Le Maire, minister of the Economy. “It is good news and will greatly simplify the everyday lives of French people.

But above all, it is an important step to protecting both consumers and retailers.”

When the limit was previously raised from €20 to €30 in 2017, many people reported problems with contactless payments, or had to change their cards before the new limit would come into effect. This time, although the move represents a major change for the banking industry, the vast majority of people will not need to do anything other than use their card with the pin once to update the limits. ■

A

fter a stupid accident, I have spent almost two years attending physiotherapy at Gagnepot, in Villetoureix, just outside Ribérac. I had two operations for multiple fractures of my ankle and leg and spent seven months in a wheelchair. The climb back to mobility has been very hard going. My physiotherapist, M. Thierry Mazière, has been a tremendous help, not just physically, but also mentally.

Oh, I forgot to mention, I am a senior coach in Chinese martial arts, and have been running classes here since moving to France four years ago.

So, to say I was devastated with having this accident is an understatement.

Imagine my surprise then, when M. Mazière invited me to teach in the new physiotherapy clinic he was moving to, given that I was still in a wheelchair at the time. Looking back, I don’t think I took his proposal very seriously, but thought it was nice of him to ask me.

Over the following year, little by little, I learnt about the new health centre that M. Mazière and some of his colleagues were building. The plan was to create the new centre in the former Netto store, on the avenue Guy de Larigaudie (D709) in Ribérac. The offer for me to teach there remained and, as time went on, I found out more about this exceptional

venture.

The site where the Netto stood has been doubled in size and converted into an amazing building, where a large physiotherapy unit will run, complete with a hydro pool for its patients. There will be two osteopaths on site and five nurses will have offices there, along with two midwives, a psychotherapist, a hypnotherapist, and a sophrologist (relaxation and breathing therapy). Three GPs also have surgeries in the complex. At the front of the building, there is a blood dialysis unit and parking for some eighty cars. To put it mildly, this new health centre is really quite something.

M. Mazière believes in ‘whole’ recovery treatments and activities, and this is where I and others come into the frame. There is a purpose-built hall within the centre where qualified coaches offer activities to promote aftercare, re-

covery aid, and general health and well-being, such as Hatha Yoga, Pilates (also a specialised Pilates for cancer recovery), Tai Chi Chuan with sessions for the over-seventies, Tai Ji Juan (sword) and Qi Gong. In addition, there is to be Reinforcement, a School of the Back, Soft Gym and Relaxation, Fitness, Body Balance, Physical Activity for all and for children with disabilities, obesity or behavioural problems, Body Balance, Re-education, TRX circuit training and Sport training.

We all went along to the centre recently to see how the building is progressing; it was due to open in early May this year, but this has obviously become dependent on the current confinement. Any Brits reading will know what I mean when I tell you that the inside of the complex is like the Tardis. I was totally amazed. As well as all the halls, treatment rooms,

surgeries and offices, the large corridors are quiet, light-filled areas, where beautiful trees will reach up to a completely glass roof.

Gagnepot has been a lifeline for me during my slow recovery. The staff are professional, caring and courteous, and have never made me feel like a foreigner. Indeed, most of the physios speak English; very helpful for us Brits who are still learning the French language.

M. Mazière tells me that there will be even more therapists (possibly eight in number) working in his new centre. So, keep a look out for the Espace Sport Santé of the Pôle Santé du Ribéracois opening this year and come and say hello.

I will be there, along with my colleagues, taking classes. ■

by Jan Sofair For more information, visit: www.polesanteduriberacois.fr

4 ♦ FRENCH NEWS

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Exactly how far is one hundred kilometres?

F

rom 11th May, “it will once again be possible to leave your house, without an attestation, except for journeys of more than 100 kilometres, which will only be possible for professional reasons or family emergencies” said Prime Minister Edouard Philippe in his address to the nation on 28th April. But exactly how far is 100 kilometres when travelling by road?

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FRENCH NEWS ♦ 5

MAY 2020 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

New driving licence exchange site goes live

E

xchanging your British driving licence for a French one is a rite of passage that has until now caused administrative headaches for generations of expats. The situation was not made any simpler by the confusion surrounding Brexit, but a new online service launched recently has finally made the whole process much easier.

Expats who wish to convert their British driving licence can now do so via the Agence Nationale de Titres Sécurisés (ANTS) website - https://ants.gouv.fr by clicking on Demander un permis de conduire (request a driving licence). You will be required to create an account if you don't already have one, then fill out the online form and upload any supporting documentation, including photo ID, proof of address and your current driving licence, all of which can be scanned and uploaded directly to the site. You will also need to provide a photo, although this can also be sent digitally if taken at a government approved photo booth.

“CERT are continuing to process the old applications which is great as the long standing ones are also being processed,” explained Kim Cranstoun, founder of the Facebook group Applying for a French Driving Licence, which has more information on the application process. “Those

that we have seen come through recently have mainly been old ones, but we have had a couple already arrived through the new system. The actual process is so much easier, no forms to fill in and only documents to upload at the end. And if

you are able to get to the digital photo booth then no postage either until you get the final email asking for you to send in your original licence, which also includes the link to download the attestation.”

The attestation de dépôt form is valid for

four months, during which time the new licence is then delivered to your home. Be patient, as the new online system is taking a little longer under the current lockdown.

Initial advice in the wake of the Brexit vote was that all French-resident expats would eventually need to exchange their driving licences. This led to a huge backlog in requests, many of which are still being processed. If you have an ongoing application, then the advice is that you should wait for this to come through and not apply again.

In reality, it is not yet known whether or not expats will be able to use their British driving licences at the end of the transition period; this is one of the issues that remains to be negotiated over the coming months. You do, however, need to transfer your licence if you are permanently resident in France AND: • Your licence has been lost or stolen.

• You have added a new category to your licence.

• You are specifically instructed to exchange it by a gendarme or police officer following a driving offence.

• Your licence or photo card is due to expire within six months - anyone turning 70 must exchange their licence and photo licences typically need renewing every 10 years. ■

6 ♦ FRENCH NEWS

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W

hen the government initially announced that the country would be placed under lockdown, many second homeowners took the opportunity to flee from their city centre houses to their country retreats. There has always been friction between rural communities and so-called “Parisgots” from the capital, but the recent coronavirus has brought this tension once again to the fore, but perhaps also hinted at a permanent demographic shift in the country.

The lockdown officially began at midday on Tuesday 17th March and, according to geolocation data recently revealed by the telecoms company Orange, an estimated 1.2 million Parisians left the city between 13th and 20th March and headed to the countryside. Residents of the country's capital were not the only ones to seek rural refuge during the lockdown, however: a similar exodus was seen in Bordeaux, where many headed for second homes in the Bay of Arcachon; the Lyonnais decamped to the shores of Lake Annecy; and city dwellers from across France headed for holiday homes on the islands off the west coast.

Initial tensions grew around fears that second homeowners would bring the disease with them from the city hotspots and that swelling the population of rural areas would put extra pressure on local health

services should outbreaks occur. There followed numerous, well-publicised reports in the press of Parisians treating the lockdown as an extended holiday in the countryside, and whilst this behaviour did little to improve relations between the two communities, the numbers did not seem to back up the fears. So far, according to the figures, city dwellers have transmitted relatively few cases to the countryside. “They have not really contaminated their rural neighbours because frankly, in their second homes, they don't really mix with them,” explained sociologist Jean Viard, a researcher at Sciences Po. The smaller the community, however, the greater the potential risk for the health system.

In the early days of the lockdown, the prefecture of the Vendée banned access to the remote Île d'Yeu, which has only seven doctors for its 5,000 residents. Following an influx of second homeowners, locals demanded action from their mayors, leading to a decree which stated: “Access to the Île d'Yeu is now limited to locals with a carte de passage (permanent residency permit), and to people carrying out essential healthcare or work for the continuation of life and activities on the island.”

“Those who confined themselves in their second home here on the first day are perfectly within their rights,” said Jean-Marc Peillex, a mayor near Mont-Blanc in the Haute-

Credit: swanseagarages.com

Lockdown city exodus raises age-old tensions

Savoie. “It's the irresponsible people who come and go on weekends that worry me. That said, the risk of the overloading of our hospitals remains.

We know how to handle the usual increase in broken bones during the skiing season, but ventilators and resuscitation is another story!”

Whilst many decry the “injustice” of the super-wealthy being able to run away to safe countryside locations, this stereotype of second homeowners is not necessarily always the case. “In France, 60% of second homes are in remote, rural areas,” explained JeanDidier Urbain, sociologist and author of Paradis verts : désirs

de campagne et passions résidentielles. “This also explains why the relatively remote Yonne, Eure and Orne departments have welcomed so many of these Parisians. Half of the owners of these country houses are just normal employees, workers or those on modest pensions, although it is true that this is not the case on the coast or in the mountains.”

Although rich Parisians will probably always keep a second home on the coast or a chalet in the mountains, many are starting to argue that it will be the less wealthy workers who may reshape the demographics of the country in the coming years and decades.

After a series of recent terror attacks in the country's big cities and now the obvious danger of communicable diseases in built-up areas, there is a growing belief that the trickle of people moving out of urban areas in recent years may become a flood. “Those who have left the big city centres in recent times may become the vanguard of a new exodus from built-up, urban areas,” predicts Jean Viard, who argues that many tele-workers have long been looking to the countryside for their family's safety and to be closer to nature, and that “this crisis has shown them that this is indeed possible”. ■

FRENCH NEWS ♦ 7

MAY 2020 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

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16th century riverside property in a peaceful setting with a 3-bedroom main house (former watermill) and two 2-bedroom guest houses.

15 x 8m swimming pool on 11.55 acres of tree-lined meadows.

5-bedroom architect-designed stone house, 2 mins from a Bastide.

Large living room with a fireplace, a bay window and terrace offering a superb view of the countryside. Heated pool and 600m² land.

Taux d’honoraires 33,178€ (5%) inclus à la charge de l’acquéreur

Taux d’honoraires 25,200€ (6%) inclus à la charge de l’acquéreur

Taux d’honoraires 27,750€ (6%) inclus à la charge de l’acquéreur

Ref: 6938-MO 224,700 € HAI DPE: E

Ref: 4080-EY

381,600 € HAI DPE: E

Ref: 4716-VI 247,250 € HAI DPE: Vierge

Restored 3-bed stone house in a small hamlet. Kitchen, living room, en-suite bedroom with shower & bath, 2 large bedrooms, shower room, storeroom and cellar. On 914 m² land with an 8x4 pool and views.

On the edge of a village with all amenities this water mill with 3 bedrooms, living room, kitchen, office and 80 m² garage (conversion possible). Small one bedroom gîte. Set on 3/4 acre of gardens.

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Taux d’honoraires 14,700€ (7%) inclus à la charge de l’acquéreur

Taux d’honoraires 21,600€ (6%) inclus à la charge de l’acquéreur

Taux d’honoraires 17,250€ (7.5%) inclus à la charge de l’acquéreur

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5 bedroom house with 4 gîtes on 10 acres of mature garden, wood and meadow. Pool & tennis court. Peaceful setting only 5 mins from Bergerac. Self-financed property in need of refreshment, with huge potential. DPE: E

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TO REFRESH: 2 Lakes + 175 m² Périgourdine incl. a stone gîte of 75 m².

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8 ♦ FRENCH NEWS

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www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ MAY 2020

Government unveils de-confinement rules >> continued from pg 1 11th May to 2nd June. Details for the next phase will be outlined at a later date and will depend on the relative success of phase one. “I will address the French people at the end of May to evaluate the conditions in which we organise the next phase of the easing of restrictions and we will also then make decisions on the rules for cafés, restaurants and holidays,” Philippe told the nation.

For the time being, the majority of Nouvelle-Aquitaine has been given green status, although at time of publication the Gers department is currently orange, a third indicative status being used in the daily briefings leading up to 7th May, the date on which a definitive decision will be taken. The status for each department will then be reviewed daily thereafter based on a rolling average of figures from the past seven days. In red departments “there will be the possibility of closing schools if necessary, or of closing a certain number of shops and outdoor places,” Health Minister Olivier Véran explained when revealing

the first indicative maps on 30th April.

For those areas classified as green, the major changes will be as follows: Shops, bars, restaurants Shops will re-open, but bars, cafés and restaurants will remain closed for the time being. Shopping centres of more than 40,000 m² will remain closed, however, except for food sections. Markets will re-open unless local authorities judge them not to comply with social distancing measures. All businesses will be required to take certain safety steps such as markers to indicate queueing distances, limiting the numbers of shoppers at any one time and providing masks and hand sanitiser for employees. Local officials will have the power to prevent a shop reopening if they judge it cannot operate in a safe and socially distanced way.

Businesses The majority of the 10 million employees currently unable to work will be able to return,

although anyone who can work from home is being asked to continue doing so for the weeks ahead. For those who cannot work from home, employers must put in place social distancing measures in the workplace, which will include operating staggered shifts or bringing people back on a parttime basis initially.

Departmental statuses at time of publication

Travel and socialising Private social gatherings, inside or outside, will be permitted but will be limited to 10 people. You will no longer need an attestation when you leave the house, unless you are travelling further than 100 km, which can only be for urgent family or work reasons. Simply visiting family will not qualify as a reason to travel more than 100 km and people are being urged to continue to protect elderly relatives by not visiting them.

Individual sports may be practised outdoors, but not team sports, contact sports, or physical activity in enclosed spaces such as gyms. Parks will re-open in departments classified as green. Beaches will remain closed until at least 1st June. Small museums and libraries will re-open, but not larger museums, cinemas, music venues and theatres.

Public transport capacity will increase, but remain at a reduced service. Masks will have to be worn on all forms of transport including taxis, and people will have to practise social distancing, for example, by using only one out of every two seats. Travel between departments will be discouraged

and seats on trains will have to be booked in advance.

Healthcare

The government has committed to providing enough masks for everybody who needs one and 20 million re-usable face masks will be available from 11th May. Most major supermarkets have agreed to sell the re-usable masks for between €2-3 and single-use disposable ones for €1. Masks will also be available to buy online via the La Poste website.

France aims to test 700,000 people every week postconfinement, with the cost fully covered by the Assurance Maladie healthcare system.

Those who test positive will be contacted and asked to selfisolate either in their homes or in requisitioned hotels.

Schools

Schools will re-open progressively and on a voluntary basis from 11th May, starting with primary schools (maternelle and primaire). In green departments, secondary schools (collèges) will open from 18th May starting with sixième and cinquième students (eleven and twelve-year-olds).

No decision will be made for lycée students until 1st June.

Classes will have no more than 15 students.

Crèches will re-open, but with groups of no more than 10 children, and staff will be required to wear masks. The children of single parents, key workers and those who cannot work from home will be prioritised in crèches where spaces are limited. ■

Sadly, due to low levels of sterilisation and low standards of welfare for cats in France, we are again soon to be flooded with calls about abandoned kittens.

If you can give a good, forever home to a kitten and would like to join our waiting list, contact Lynda on 05 53 81 30 44 or associationacorn@gmail.com

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CONFORELEC

A

64-year-old executive narrowly avoided death when he accidentally ejected himself from a fighter jet, according to an accident report released by the French investigation bureau for aviation safety. The report revealed a catalogue of catastrophes in the build-up to the accident, including the fact that only a system malfunction prevented the pilot from being ejected with his passenger!

The drama began when colleagues surprised a defence company executive with the “gift” of a flight in a Dassault Rafale B military jet. According to investigators, the man had never expressed any desire to fly in a fighter jet and had no previous military aviation experience. Once he arrived at the Saint-Dizier air base in northeastern France in March 2019 and realised what his co-workers had arranged, he began to feel extremely stressed. The investigation report, which makes for shocking reading, reveals that his

heart was racing at between 120 and 145 beats per minute before the plane took off.

The report details a series of errors in the build-up to the incident, including ignored medical warnings, loose straps and an ill-fitting helmet. Rather than go through the usual medical procedures, the civilian was merely checked over by a doctor a few hours before the flight and cleared, “under the condition that he would not be submitted to a negative load factor”.

Unfortunately, this information was not relayed to the pilot, who levelled off abruptly soon after take-off. As a result of loose straps, the man was “subjected to a negative load factor of about -0.6G”, which in turn caused him to lift out of his seat. Panicking, he reached the nearest thing he could get his hands on... the ejector handle!

Ironically, the next error would save the plane and potentially also the life of the pilot and others on the ground.

“The fighter jet was set up to, under normal conditions, eject

Tim Felce (WikCommons)

Passenger accidentally ejects from fighter jet

both the pilot and his passenger when one of them pulls on the ejection handle,” the report summarised. “But in this case, the last stage failed and, although his canopy ejected, the pilot remained in his seat.”

In spite of the missing canopy and the minor injuries

caused by the accompanying explosion, the pilot was able to safely land the plane.

Meanwhile, his passenger was floating back to earth still strapped to his chair and made a relatively soft landing, sustaining only minor injuries, despite losing his helmet in

the process.

Investigators concluded that the error was caused by an involuntary reflex, prompted by stress and the jet's sudden movement. Judicial and internal defence investigations into the demonstration flight are continuing. ■

French Grand Prix cancelled... for now

Artes Max (Flickr)

T

he French Grand Prix has become the 10th race of the Formula 1 season to be cancelled due to the ongoing health crisis. The cancellation of the race, which was due to take place on 28th June, had been seen as inevitable following the government’s announcement of a ban on all mass gatherings until mid-July.

The statement calling off the race said that organisers “take note of the impossibility to maintain the Formula 1 Grand Prix de France on 28 June”, and French Grand Prix managing director Eric Boullier said in a statement that eyes “were turning towards the summer of 2021”.

Despite the bad news for racing fans, there is growing speculation that the French Grand Prix could be rearranged for August or September as part of a delayed start to the racing season, potentially behind closed doors. Many believe that F1 may return with a Grand Prix in Austria, which was one of the first European countries to end lockdown, and Silverstone is known to have been in talks over holding the British Grand Prix behind closed doors.

“Our view is probably a European start will be favourable and that could even be a closed event. We have a race with no spectators. That’s not great, but it’s better than no racing at all,” said F1’s motorsport director Ross Brawn. “We have to remember there are millions of people who follow the sport sat at home. A lot of them are

isolating and to be able to keep the sport alive and put on a sport and entertain people would be a huge bonus in this crisis we have. But we can’t put anyone at risk.”

“Travel for the teams and travel for everyone involved is going to be one of the big issues,” Brawn continued. “You could argue once we get there we could become fairly self-contained.”

Under the sport’s regulations, eight

races are needed to make a full championship and Brawn said that means the cutoff date for starting the season is October.

“Eight races is the minimum we can have for a world championship, according to the FIA Statutes,” Brawn added. “We could achieve eight races by starting in October. So if you wanted a drop dead point it would be October.”

Elsewhere, F1 bosses have taken a series

of measures to try to further protect the sport from the worst effects of the global health emergency and help the teams get their cars back on the track. These include two-day race weekends – with Friday practice being abandoned – to allow teams to race on consecutive weekends, as well as postponing a major rule change by a year from 2021 to 2022 and forcing teams to race the same cars next year as this. ■

10 ♦ FRENCH NEWS

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ MAY 2020

T

o solve some crimes, it takes patience, the painstaking collection of information and a detective's intuition... but others simply solve themselves. In April, three men took advantage of the quiet of lockdown to rob the shop at a wine estate in Pian-sur-Garonne, near Saint-Macaire in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine; the trio escaped with the money, but they left something rather important behind.

While two of the thieves diverted the seller's attention by pretending to be interested in buying some wine, the third entered an adjoining room where the cash register was kept and stole the 40 euros he found

Credit: UFC-Que Choisir

Bungling crooks caught Paris Mint launches fundafter dropping attestation raising thank you medal for front-line workers

inside. On being surprised by the owner, the three men fled, but in the panic, one of them dropped his attestation de déplacement the document required when you leave your house during lockdown.

Although there is currently no option on the form for “committing a crime”, the crook had correctly filled in the rest of the information correctly. All that was left for the gendarmes to do was pay a visit to the address in Saint-Pierre-d'Aurillac listed on the form, where they found the three amateur thieves and promptly arrested them.

After being placed in police custody, the trio have been given a date to appear before the Criminal Court of Bordeaux. ■

T

o thank the country’s frontline workers, the Paris Mint has designed a new collectable coin, with the majority of profits being donated to charity. The Merci Medal is available via the website of the Monnaie de Paris and costs €8, of which €6 will be donated to the Fondation de France initiative “Tous unis contre le virus”, which aims to finance research projects as well as to support local social professionals and charities working with the most vulnerable.​ The medals are already being struck and will be sent out from mid-June, although the Monnaie de Paris has already promised that the first 1,000 will be do-

nated for free to the Assistance PubliqueHôpitaux de Paris and the CHU de Bordeaux, two institutions at the forefront of the coronavirus fight.

The 34 mm wide medals pay homage to the country’s front-line workers with the word MERCI emblazoned across the top, with a silhouette of a doctor, a firefighter and an ambulance driver underneath. The three central characters are surrounded by pairs of clapping hands and a number of symbols representing other key workers such as farmers, retailers, pharmacists, postal workers and bin collectors.

For more information or to buy a Merci Medal, visit www.monnaiedeparis.fr ■

€12 billion bailouts for Air France and Renault

© Anna Zvereva (WikiCommons)

T

he French government has put together unprecedented financial rescue packages for two of the country’s largest employers. Announcing the loans, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said they would help carmaker Renault and flag-carrier Air France through the crisis caused by the coronavirus, but that they would come with strings attached, most notably regarding improvements in green credentials.

Air France has been given a €7 billion loan – €4 billion in bank loans guaranteed by the State and a further €3 billion loan direct from the State. “We need to save our national company and the 350,000 direct and indirect employees affected,” Le Maire said, while denying that the loans were a first step to nationalisation. “We are behind Air France, behind the employees of Air France to guarantee our independence and save jobs.”

Since the coronavirus crisis began, Air France’s fleet of aircraft has effectively been grounded, putting the airline’s future at risk. The French State currently holds a 15 per cent stake in the company.

Le Maire was keen to stress that the loan did not represent a blank cheque, and in exchange for the bailout, the government will set conditions of profitability and the development of more environmentally sustainable, less polluting policies. “Air France should become the most environmentally respectful airline on the planet,” he said, urging the carrier to “present a plan for reducing CO2 emissions and transforming its fleet to be less polluting.”

Car maker Renault will receive a €5 billion loan

guaranteed by the State. “Renault represents over a million jobs linked to the automotive industry across the country,” the minister said. “That is what is at stake. It is our automotive industry, it’s an industrial flagship that is part of our history and our culture.”

The car giant claims that it is still solvent, despite seeing a 20 per cent drop in turnover in the first quarter this year and burning through €5.5 billion in cash reserves so far in 2020. The current crisis came at a bad time for Renault, which last year posted its first annual loss in over a decade. ■

FRENCH NEWS ♦ 11

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Tax return dates extended for 2019 income declarations

D

espite the ongoing coronavirus crisis, you do unfortunately still need to submit your annual income tax return, although the deadlines have been extended to give people more time to do so. The vast majority of us are required to fill in our tax returns online and the website officially opened for submissions on Monday 20th April.

The deadline for tax declaration varies depending on the department in which you live, and following the extension, the 2020 deadlines for declaring your 2019 income are: • Departments 01 to 19 (zone 1) & non-residents – Thursday 4th June at 23:59 • Departments 20 to 54 (zone 2) – Monday 8th June at 23:59 • Departments 55 to 974/976 (zone 3) – Thursday 11th June at 23:59 If you are unable to declare your income tax online – if you do not have an internet connection, or are unable to access the website for other reasons – you can still submit a paper declaration. The deadline for this is Friday 12th June.

For the first time this year, 12 million households will have very little to do to declare their income tax. Following the introduction of taxation at source last year, employees who have not had a change of address or family situation, and who have no additional income to their salary, will have their income tax “tacitly” submitted; this

will be familiar to anyone who has lived and worked in the UK. “If people believe that the information held by authorities is up to date and correct, and they have not had any changes in their revenue streams between 2018 and 2019, then they have nothing to do,” explained Gérald Darmanin, the Minister of Public Action and Accounts. “If this is not the case, or if any information is incorrect, people

can correct their declaration online.”

Many people visit their local tax office each year for advice or help, but these buildings will remain closed until at least 11th May. The government has advised that extra capacity has been made available to answer queries by email or phone and that physical appointments will be available as soon as possible when the lockdown period ends. ■

© Aqqa Rosing-Asvid - Visit Greenland (WikiCommons)

Amazon ordered to close Rare fin whales spotted its French warehouses off south coast of France

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French court last month ordered Amazon to stop selling all but the most essential items while officials assessed the safety standards at its warehouses. Fining the online retailer €1m per day and per offence for failure to comply, the court said Amazon had “failed to recognise its obligations regarding the security and health of its workers” and restricted the company to selling food, hygiene and medical products direct from its warehouses.

Amazon has previously said that it abides by health and safety guidelines and immediately announced it would appeal the ruling. That appeal rapidly failed, however, when a court in Versailles upheld the original decision, although it did widen the list of items the retailer could sell to include digital products, office goods, pet supplies, groceries, drinks and personal care products as well as the essential health and food goods allowed in the previous ruling.

The appeal court also reduced the fine Amazon faced for non-compliance from €1 million to €100,000, but the company said that even this meant they could not operate in France, saying on Facebook that “an unauthorised order rate of 0.1 per cent could result in a penalty of more than $1 billion a week”.

After the ruling Amazon announced that its warehouses would remain closed until at least 5th May, with all its staff being sent home on full pay. “Unfortunately, this means we have no choice but to extend the temporary suspension of activities at our French distribution centres while we evaluate the best way to operate in light of the Court of Appeal decision,” the company said in a statement. “Our distribution centres in France and around the world are safe.”

Business has boomed for Amazon during the current coronavirus pandemic and the company has hired thousands of extra staff worldwide in recent weeks in countries where shops have closed and lockdowns have been imposed. The company has faced criticism, however, for allegedly forcing employees to work in close proximity to each other. There have been staff walkouts at some facilities and in March, the country’s finance minister Bruno Le Maire said that Amazon was putting “unacceptable” pressure on its workers by refusing to pay them if they didn’t go into work. ■

O

ne consequence of the coronavirus lockdowns in place across the globe has been the re-emergence of wildlife in unexpected places. Social media has been awash with images of usually wild animals wandering through deserted urban settings. Few in France, however, can match the sighting off the south coast of the second largest animal on the planet, the fin whale.

Two whales, second in size only to the blue whale and measuring over 20 metres in length, were spotted by coastguards in the

Parc des Calanques, a national reserve off the coast of Marseille. The waters form part of a protected maritime area in the Mediterranean and during lockdown only the coastguard boats have had the right to sail there.

Crews have noted an increase in several species during the confinement period, including dolphins, rare sea birds and schools of tuna, but no one expected to see the pair of fin whales so close to the French coastline. A spokesperson for the park said the whales’ visit was almost certainly “one of the effects of confinement”. ■

Tour de France postponed

F

ollowing the government’s extension of a ban on mass gatherings due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, this year’s Tour de France has now officially been postponed. This year’s edition of Le Tour had been due to run from 27th June to 19th July, but will now take place between 29th August and 20th September, although this date is also now in doubt since Prime Minister Edouard Philippe confirmed a ban on gatherings of more than 5,000 people “until September”.

No announcements have been made by the major teams, but Britain’s Chris Froome had been due to join the peloton, one year after breaking his neck, femur, elbow, hip and ribs in a crash, as had previous winner Geraint Thomas who was pipped to the title last year by teammate Egan Bernal. “It’s the pinnacle of cycling,” said the Welsh rider following news of the postponement. “It represents the sport and certainly it’s the thing that’s keeping me going at the minute. You’ve just got that target down the line.” ■

12 ♦ FRENCH NEWS

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ MAY 2020

Bugle columnists win international cookbook award

T

his year’s Gourmand International award for World’s Best French Cookbook has been won by The Bugle’s wine and food columnists, Julia Watson and Martin Walker, the husband and wife team behind Brunos Garten Kochbuch, first published in German last year.

The prize was to have been presented in June at the Louvre in Paris, where this year’s Paris Cookbook Fair was scheduled to be held. Because of the Covid-19 lockdown, however, the Paris Fair has been postponed. The award will instead be presented at the Beijing International Book Fair later this year and a special ‘Best in the World’ sticker will now be affixed to new copies of the book.

This is the second time Martin and Julia have won this prize. The first time was in 2015 for the first Bruno cookbook.

“It is a great honour to win this award, in the face of enormous competition from professional chefs around the world,” Martin told The Bugle. “And we are just as pleased to learn from Penguin Random House, my publishers in the USA, that they will be bringing out an English-language version of the Bruno cookbook.”

The cookbook emerged from Martin’s popular series of the Bruno detective novels set in the Dordogne region, which have now sold 4 million copies worldwide. Germany is his biggest market, and last year his novel Menu Surprise topped the German, Swiss and Austrian bestseller lists in the same week.

“We are delighted not just that two Brits have won the prize but also that it recognises the extraordinary range and quality of the classic cuisine of the Périgord,” Martin said.

Martin’s Bruno novels feature, as well as crime stories, long and lavish meals cooked by the hero, local chief of police Bruno Courreges, along with wines from the Bergerac vineyards.

“We’re not professional cooks,” said Julia. “We insisted there should be no stylists tweaking the dishes or applying cosmetic tricks for the camera. Everything was cooked in our kitchen and photographed as it came out of the oven, untouched. We wanted an honest representation of the home cooking and top ingredients for which the Périgord is renowned. So that anyone who cooks the recipes will find their versions look just like the pictures in the book.”

The winning cookbook features eighty recipes covering all the seasons of the year and stem mostly from Martin and Julia’s vegetable garden, their fruit trees and their chickens, on the outskirts of Le Bugue. Prize-winning German photographer Klaus Einwanger took the photos of the food and the region, the vegetable garden and the lunches and dinners with friends that illustrate the book.

Bugle Editor Steve Martindale and his family were among those photographed in the book at a picnic Martin and Julia prepared for friends, along with the families of winemakers Caro and Sean Feely of Château Feely, and Humphrey and Sue Temperley from Château Lestevenie. ■

Take part in an online national bird survey

O

ne of the many challenges of lockdown has been finding fun activities to keep our minds and bodies active.

The country’s bird protection organisation, the Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux (LPO) is encouraging people to get out into their gardens and help in a national bird survey.

Participants in the study are being asked to spend a set amount of time – ten minutes is plenty – studying the same area of outdoor space every day and making a note of the birds that they see. Only those which land in the area should be counted. You can then input your findings on their website.

To help you recognise the most common species you might expect to see, the LPO has released a fact sheet which includes drawings of each type of bird, characteristics to help you identify them and typical feeding habits. There is also a summary sheet for keeping track of your findings.

To download the documents, visit their website: https://www.oiseauxdesjardins.fr/.

Alternatively, use the links in the online version of this article on our new site: https://articles.thebugle.eu ■

O

Muguet - Lily of the valley

n the first of May, there is a tradition in France to give and receive small bouquets of muguets, or lily of the valley. You will see them on sale all across the country around this time. Today the flower has become associated with Labour Day, which is the official status of the May 1st public holiday in France, as well as across much of the world.

However, the flower was first given on this date by Charles IX, nearly 500 years ago, long before Labour Day existed.

Muguets flower in the month of May, a time that symbolises the rebirth of spring and the promise of a prosperous season ahead.

Charles IX gave muguets to those around him to bring them good luck for the coming year and the tradition soon became popular across France.

The modern tradition is to give your friends and loved ones bouquets of these fragrant flowers on this date to wish them luck and happiness. This custom has become so popular that the flower is widely farmed, especially in the region around Nantes, specifically for this date. There is even a law in France that allows any member of the public to sell the flower commercially, free of taxation and without a licence. The only rule is that they must sell the flowers more than 100 metres away from the nearest florist. ■

E

The Bugle thanks local French teacher, Sophie Arsac, for the translation of the following article on a topical aspect of Franco-British culture. Find contact details for Sophie and how she can help you learn French under lockdown on page 5.

n France, le 1er mai, il est de tradition d’offrir de petits bouquets de muguet. A ce moment de l’année, ils sont en vente dans tout le pays. Aujourd’hui, la fleur est associée à «la Fête du travail», statut officiel du jour férié qui tombe le 1er mai en France, comme dans beaucoup d’autres pays. Cependant, il y a environ 500 ans, Charles IX offrait déjà cette fleur, bien avant que la fête du travail n’existe.

Le muguet fleurit au mois de mai, une époque de l’année qui symbolise la renaissance au moment du printemps et la promesse d’une saison florissante.

Charles IX offrait des brins de muguet à ses proches, comme porte-

bonheur pour l’année à venir.

La tradition est rapidement devenue populaire dans toute la France.

La tradition moderne est d’offrir à ceux qui vous sont proches des bouquets de cette fleur parfumée afin de leur souhaiter du bonheur et de la chance. Cette coutume est devenue tellement populaire que le muguet est cultivé à grande échelle, notamment dans la région de Nantes et spécifiquement pour le 1er mai. Il existe même une loi en France qui autorise les particuliers à vendre le muguet, sans imposition ni licence obligatoire.

La seule réglementation impose qu’ils vendent leurs bouquets à plus de 100 mètres du fleuriste le plus proche. ■

FRENCH LIFE ♦ 13

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Maintaining a lockdown store cupboard

I

by Julia Watson

f we listen to the scientists and the medical profession, we are in for a much longer Covid-19 haul than the politicians would prefer us to believe. Three to four months ahead of us now, followed by a brief autumn break before a further period of quarantine, is the science community’s prediction.

I don’t want to be the harbinger of that depressing news. But if this is the case - and even if it isn’t - we should brace ourselves in a practical fashion. We hear about the UK hoarding loo paper and pasta, an intriguing combination. My email inbox is crammed with videos of strangers’ children doing unbelievably dangerous things indoors without apparent parental intervention because Maman or Papa is busy holding the camera, and video entreaties to join online ballet lessons (what?) or send a thoughtful poem to a chain of 20 people, and invitations to virtual cocktail and dinner parties. (Sorry, not dressed for it.) I don’t plan to come out of this proficient in a pirouette or having memorised the Bhagavad Gita. But I do think it could alter my approach to stocking the kitchen.

Four years in Moscow during the Soviet period of deprivation taught me never to throw out any leftovers but to convert them into another meal. When a glut of fruit or vegetables appeared in a battered cardboard box tied in twine and hauled by some smallholder from the countryside to sell on a city pavement, we bought as much as we could fit in our shopping bags and worked out only later how to preserve the treasure for the barren months.

It’s back to a blitz existence.

Although it doesn’t have to be. We are assured by supermarkets there is plenty of food. We do not need to hoard more than we can use immediately ourselves. The problem is logistics - how to sort and stack it on shelves when self-isolation is affecting staffing numbers. Working in a food bank, I notice the food we are being sent by supermarkets, growers, and restaurant suppliers is all fresh, not dried or tinned. Crates of excellent vegetables, fruits, cuts of meat, fillets of fish, are all being

delivered because their Best Before dates - the confusing indicator that doesn’t mean the food has become dangerous to eat but only that it's no longer at its peak condition - are about to expire. But we aren’t being sent any tinned or boxed or bottled provisions. There aren’t any of those going spare. Even before it needs to, the general public is filling every household nook and cranny with non-perishable products against the future.

In this critical time, if we don’t support now the people who work to provide us with fresh produce by buying it in the measured manner we do in normal times, they won’t survive this crisis to supply us with fresh vegetables, fruits, meat and dairy goods once it’s over.

However, I suspect that some won't take the slightest bit of notice of this entreaty. So here is a shopping list for an emergency store cupboard of ingredients that if you don't stray from it, will help create delicious meals, will prevent the shelves from being unnecessarily stripped of everything, and will leave grocery supplies for others to buy. Then you can hunker down in self-isolation, emerging only to buy fresh food from those dedicated people producing it: One tube each of tomato paste, anchovy paste, and garlic paste; tomato passata and tinned tomatoes; basic spices like black peppercorns, fennel and coriander seeds, and cinnamon sticks; curry powder, turmeric and coconut cream if you like a curry; instant coffee (for drinking in extremis - but can you make tiramisu without it?); cocoa powder; pruneaux d’Agen and dried apricots; oat flakes; flour (learn to make your own pasta - it’s easy and passes the time); mustard; oil and vinegar; salt, sugar, honey; capers; tinned tuna; dried pulses and legumes, from chickpeas and lentils to butter beans and flageolets; rice and couscous; Knorr’s jellied bouillon pots.

Julia Watson has been a long-time Food Writer for newspapers and magazines in the US and the UK.

Drying tomatoes and mushrooms

You can make a personal contribution to your store cupboard by drying your own tomatoes and mushrooms. Both cheer up a soup or stew with their intensity of flavour. Drying often tasteless supermarket tomatoes makes more of them, and of the summer glut about to arrive.

Take the oven racks out of your oven and preheat it to 50C or the lowest setting possible. Remove the stems of the tomatoes and slice them in half lengthways. Lay the halves side by side, cut side up, on cake racks, making sure they don't touch each other. Set the cake racks on top of the oven racks. Sprinkle very lightly with salt. Bake until the tomatoes are shrivelled and feel dry but flexible. You don't want them brittle. This will take from 6 to 12 hours, so keep checking. Once dried, take them out of the oven and let them cool completely on the cake racks, then store them in clean glass jars or in ziplock plastic bags. They should last indefinitely.

The same principle works for mushrooms, especially cèpes. But check them regularly as they contain less water for their size than tomatoes.

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14 ♦ FEATURE

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ MAY 2020

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The area has always had a strong sense of local identity.

So much so, that when the prefect of the Doubs department came to Montbenoît to attend an official event he was asked: “Do you have a permit allowing you to enter the Republic of Saugeais?”

“My father Georges ran a restaurant next to the abbey in the village of Montbenoît,” the republic's current president Georgette Bertin-Pourchet explained. “One day he was cooking lunch for some officials.

When the leader of the Doubs region, Louis Ottaviani, arrived, my father, who was a bit of a joker, asked, ‘Do you have a permit to come into the territory of Le Saugeais?’ Louis also liked a laugh, and after asking my father about the history of Le Saugeais, replied, ‘Well, it sounds like a republic, and a republic needs a president, and therefore I name you the President of the Republic of Le Saugeais!’”

The republic that was founded on a joke did not initially take itself too seriously. For example, when Georges Pourchet died in 1968, the presidency passed to his wife Gabrielle in an 'election' that was decided with an applause meter. Gabrielle took her role as a leader more seriously, however, and worked tirelessly to promote the area and raise money for the restoration of the local abbey until her death in 2005 at the age of 99.

After her mother's death, Georgette was reluctant to take on the presidency, despite pressure from the republic's government, which today includes a prime minister, secretarygeneral, two customs officers and number of ambassadors. “I swore to myself I’d never do it,” Bertin-Pourchet said. “I used to have a go at her, saying, ‘We never have any family lunches or dinners because you’re always out doing things’. After

Credit: Léo Delafontaine

S

choolchildren in France typically have to learn the names of the 96 departments of metropolitan France as well as the five overseas departments. For the more advanced students there are also a number of semi-autonomous overseas collectivities to commit to memory. Fewer children, however, will have heard about the Republic of Saugeais, a selfproclaimed micro-nation on the Swiss border with France that has its own president, border posts and even a postage stamp.

Consisting of eleven communes with its capital at Montbenoît, the modern-day republic is based on an ancient settlement that grew up around an 11th century abbey. Unlike many breakaway micro-nations, citizens of the République libre du Saugeais are not troublemakers and have never actually sought independence from France.

Rather, they can trace their independence back to a simple joke told in a restaurant in 1947.

Credit: Léo Delafontaine

The independent Republic of Le Saugeais

she died, they asked me to take on the role, but for six months I resisted. They told me, ‘You’ve been unanimously elected’. I said to them, ‘I haven’t seen any election results!’ But they carried on begging me to do it.”

After six months of persuasion, Georgette relented and remains president to this day, although with no children of her own, the presidency may have to pass outside of the BertinPourchet family for the first time when she retires from the position.

While the republic is not officially recognised by France, or any other nation for that matter, its status has been acknowledged by former French presidents, most notably Nicolas Sarkozy, who invited Georgette Bertin-Pourchet to several official functions at the Élysée Palace during his tenure.

Much of the area's sense of identity comes from its location.

Situated in a wooded valley, one thousand metres above sea level, the area was uninhabited for centuries until around one thousand years ago, when medieval hermits settled there in search of solitude. One of these was a religious fanatic called Benoît, who established a small hermitage that would eventually become

the Abbey of Montbenoît.

In 1150, the area was gifted to the bishop of nearby Besançon by a local nobleman and monks from the Valais region of Switzerland and a handful of workers from the neighbouring Savoie area of France began thinning out the thick spruce and pine forests to make the land more hospitable. Although a small community did begin to establish itself around the abbey, the harsh mountain conditions meant that inhabitants were often cut off and had to be self-reliant. Many of today's residents are descended from the original hardy Savoie settlers, with the same surnames echoing down the generations.

The isolated nature of the valley led the locals to develop a distinct culture, different even from that found in villages at

either end of the same valley.

The Saugeais also had their own patois dialect, although this has now all but died out.

This sense of identity continues to this day. Under the tenure of Georgette's mother, the republic established a coat of arms, which was designed in 1973.

Four years later a flag was created, based on the old colours of the region of Franche-Comté to which the area belongs. In 1987 a postal stamp was unveiled and visitors today are given a signed “laissez-passer” - a Presidential permit - when they enter the area via the border posts.

To be Saugeais means you can believe you’re a little bit more than just French.

The citizens of the Republic of Saugeais continue to take pride in their history and culture and have embraced the independence that was neither fought nor asked for. There is no separatist movement, and no nationalist politics. In the words of their national anthem: “To be Saugeais means you can believe you’re a little bit more than just French.” ■

PRACTICAL ♦ 15

MAY 2020 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

Income tax return season – are you declaring UK income correctly? - Blevins Franks

L

ife may be very different at the moment, but some things do not change and we still need to complete our annual French income tax returns as usual. The government did postpone the declaration timetable due to the coronavirus situation, but only by eleven days, with the online portal opening on 20th April.

As always, take care to include all your worldwide income as required by French tax legislation.

Income tax return deadlines Everyone should submit their declaration online, on the government portal www.impots.gouv.fr, unless they have a valid reason for needing to file a paper return (e.g., no internet connection, disability or advanced old age). The deadline date is based on where you live, as follows: Depts

Midnight on

01-19

Thu 4th June

20-54

Mon 8th June

55-976

Thu 11th June

The deadline for non-residents earning French source income is 4th June.

The deadline for paper income tax returns (for residents and non-residents) is 12th June, to allow time for postal delays caused by the lockdown. Allow plenty of time if posting your return.

If you submitted an online return last year, you will no longer receive a paper one in the post.

Automatic declarations For the first time, some taxpayers will

not need to submit an income tax return this year. In general, this applies to those who last year were only taxed on income pre-filled by the administration (primarily employees who have income tax deducted at source) and provided there has not been any change in their situation.

If you fall in this category you will receive an email advising you to check your details on the online portal. If everything is correct you do not need to do anything. If anything needs changing or updating you will have to complete and submit your tax return as usual.

Most British expatriates are probably not eligible for the automatic declaration, particularly if they are retired and/ or have bank accounts and investments outside France.

Income tax rates Income tax is payable on earnings, pensions and rental income, and you are taxed as a household rather than an individual – the parts familiales system.

The rates for 2019 income (which you are declaring now) are: Income

Tax Rate

Up to €10,064

Nil

€10,064 to €27,794

14%

€27,794 to €74,517

30%

€74,517 to €157,806

41%

Over €157,806

45%

There is an additional 3% for a single person where income is between €250,000 and €500,000 per part (nothing is due from a family) and 4% for income exceeding €500,000 per part for

an individual, reduced to 3% for a family (up to a limit).

Various deductions are available, so make sure you are using all the ones you are entitled to.

Tax on investment income Investment income – interest, dividends, capital gains and gains from life insurance policies/non-French assurance-vie – is taxed at a special fixed rate of 30% (including social charges).

Lower earners can opt to apply the scale income tax rates, plus social charges.

Income to be declared Many British expatriates with UK source income get confused over where they should declare and pay tax. Note that you need to report all your UK source income in France, even if you pay tax in the UK. French tax authorities automatically receive information on their taxpayers’ overseas assets and income through the global Common Reporting Standard.

They compare this information with that declared on the annual tax returns, so make sure you understand what income should be declared in France.

UK government service income – This remains taxable in the UK. But although it is not taxed directly in France, you must still include it as part of your taxable income and a credit equal to French income tax and social charges is given.

UK rental income – This is taxed in the UK, not France, but must be included on your French declaration.

Capital gains on UK assets – As a

The wines of Bergerac

T

his is usually the time of year when I visit three or four vineyards each week seeing old friends and making new ones as I taste the wines that will be bottled later this year. The virus has denied me and many others that simple pleasure so far this year and some of the big wine fairs have already been cancelled or postponed.

Some of the familiar faces and bottles are still to be seen in the local markets, and it seems to have been agreed that, this being France, wine merchants are understood to be an essential service. So Julien de Savignac, whose main store is conveniently close, remains open. And more and more of the Bergerac winemakers have arranged delivery systems so that you can usually select and buy online.

However, although I am missing my vineyard trips, I have my map of the vineyards and guide to the wine route. They can be found for free at the Maison des Vins in Bergerac or at the tourism of-

by Martin Walker

fices around the region. The Maison is well worth a visit, particularly at lunchtime when the 1st floor tasting bar also offers plates of charcuterie, cheese and snacks to be enjoyed on the terrace overlooking the river or in the cloisters.

So I’m planning my next vineyard tours, and I’m determined to visit the far corners of the region. I won’t post any prices in this article since I prefer to get the latest prices from the vineyards directly when I visit them. And be sure that any wine I really like, you’ll read about in future issues of The Bugle.

One contender for the title of most westerly is the Château of Montaigne in the Montravel, which I know well, not only for the tower where Montaigne wrote his famous essays but also for the very greatly improved wine they now make in his name.

But north of the Montravel appellation there is a place a few hundred yards further west, Château La Plante at Minzac, which is officially in

the Bergerac region. No website is listed so that’s the first new place to visit.

Nearby at Domaine des Trois Saules is the most northerly vineyard of our region, at Villefranche-de-Lonchat.

Again new to me and no website so that’s a second visit.

And it gives me the chance to call in again at Château Le Raz, which has been a vineyard for four centuries. They make a splendid sparkling rosé and a very sound Montravel red and an excellent cuvée Grand Chêne Montravel white. I’m told they are producing an interesting new wine called Socius which they make outside usual appellation rules so that will be worth trying.

I’ll need a second day to explore the most southerly vineyards of the region, down in the south-east around Issigeac and Eymet. That will give me the chance to call in to say hello to Mitch, the friendly and very knowledgeable woman who runs the Cave d’Eymet and has tirelessly promoted bio and organic wines.

French resident you need to declare and pay tax on gains made on the sale of UK property and moveable assets (shares, etc.) Real estate gains are liable to tax in both countries, but you receive a credit in France for UK tax paid. Moveable assets, however, are generally taxed in the country where the seller is resident.

UK savings and investments – Interest or dividends from the UK must be declared within 15 days of the month end and 30% tax paid. This is then offset against the tax due on your tax return.

ISAs and Premium Bond winnings are fully taxable in France in the hands of French residents.

This article is a brief summary covering the basic elements of income tax in France. It is important to seek personalised, professional advice. For questions about completing your tax return, speak to a tax accountant. For advice on effective tax planning in France, to lower liabilities on savings, investments and pensions, speak to a cross-border tax and wealth management specialist. ■ Tax rates, scope and reliefs may change.

Any statements concerning taxation are based upon our understanding of current taxation laws and practices which are subject to change. Tax information has been summarised; individuals should seek personalised advice..

Keep up to date on the financial issues that may affect you on the Blevins Franks news page at: www.blevinsfranks.com Tel: 05 53 63 49 19 Email: bergerac@blevinsfranks.com

I have drunk with great appreciation some of the wines of Domaine du Siorac. I also enjoyed at a friend’s home a rabbit that had been cooked in verjus from the Domaine, and I sometimes like to make a salad vinaigrette with verjus rather than vinegar so it will be a pleasure to make their acquaintance. The most southerly vineyard seems to be the Clos du Pech Bessou, of which I know nothing but it will be interesting to explore.

That far south will also take me to the most westerly vineyard of the Bergerac region, my old friends at Le Clos du Breil, who were the first to explore the use of new grape varieties like Saperavi from Georgia in the Caucasus, home to the world’s oldest vineyards. Their red wine L’Odyssée is really excellent.

Then there will be the pleasure of exploring the Duras, now that this region has become an associated part of the wines of Bergerac-Duras.

Like the Montravel region of the Bergerac, the terroir is a natural extension of the geology of the neighbouring Bordeaux region. I know their excellent Maison des Vins, since it was there that I served last year on the jury to select (in

a blind tasting) the wines we would send to Paris for the big exhibition. Some of the wines I know and have enjoyed, like the Domaine du Grand Mayne and Domaine Les Bertins and I look forward to exploring more.

I will never forget my first taste of a dessert wine that was neither a Sauterne nor a Monbazillac. It was made in 1998 at Domaine des Allegrets in the Duras and I drank it fifteen years later at a dinner party and was blown away. I very much look forward to trying it again. So even through this Covid-19 lockdown, there are things which we can anticipate with pleasure to our senses and profit to our souls. ■

Martin Walker, author of the best-selling ‘Bruno, chief of police’ novels, is a Grand Consul de la Vinée de Bergerac. Formerly a journalist, he spent 25 years as foreign correspondent for The Guardian and then became editor-in-chief of United Press International. He and his wife Julia have had a home in the Périgord since 1999 and one of his great hobbies is visiting the vineyards of Bergerac.

16 ♦ DIRECTORY

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ MAY 2020

Business Directory

Your indispensable guide to finding local businesses & artisans CHARTERED STRUCTURAL ENGINEER

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DIRECTORY ♦ 17

MAY 2020 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

Building Services Plumbing & Heating

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NEDWA - North Eastern Dordogne Women’s Association Come along and meet us at our regular Coffee Mornings at Auberge du Pont in Cherveix Cubas.

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18 ♦ DIRECTORY

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ MAY 2020

ADVERTORIAL

Investing in Volatile Times

Rosemary Sheppard, International Financial Adviser drops in market values (high volatility) investors get twitchy, which can make the situation worse and even less predictable.

So here are six principles to follow to ease the ride:

A

s you will no doubt be aware, markets have continued to be volatile.

The price of oil moved negative on Monday 20th April for the first time in history. The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the benchmark for US oil, fell as low as minus $37.63 a barrel.

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3. It's time in the market that counts, not timing the markets - the sooner you start investing and the longer you invest, the more likely you are to have the potential for healthy returns regardless of short-term

downturns.

4. No Risk, No Reward - leaving your money in cash isn’t an option if you want at least the potential to outperform inflation.

5. Take advantage of advice - the role of a financial adviser is to go through the various investment options with you and to tailor your investment to meet your needs and attitude to risk and to manage your investments and expectations.

6. Don’t get greedy and fall for a scam; if something sounds too good to be true it usually is.

In these testing times getting advice from a financial advice company that has weathered more than one or two financial downturns is essential for your financial well-being and peace of mind. Blacktower Financial Management has been established

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Blacktower will be by your side both now and in the future, we are here to help you weather the potential storms ahead.

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This article is based on the opinion of the financial adviser and author, and does not reflect the views of Blacktower. The above information was correct at the time of preparation and does not constitute investment advice and you should seek advice from a professional adviser before embarking on any

financial planning activity.

Blacktower Financial Management Ltd is authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority. Blacktower Financial Management (Int) Ltd is licensed in Gibraltar by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) through whom we have a registered branch and passport for financial services in France.

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ADVERTORIAL

“SolarVenti”- the solar solution to damp and humidity

A

simple solar energy system that runs on its own, even when you are not there! – And provides a free heat supplement in winter.

The Solarventi air panel was invented more than 20 years ago by Hans Jørgen Christensen, from Aidt Miljø, with the backing of the Danish government. He wanted to use the sun’s energy for airing and ventilation of the thousands of holiday homes on the West coast of Jutland, - houses that were left empty and unheated for long periods - houses with damp problems, mould and bad odours - houses that left their owners with discomfort, lots of work and expense. He wanted a system that would be safe, simple, without the need for radiators, water and/or mains electricity. Slowly but surely, the first Solarventi model came

together.

How it works The principle behind Solarventi is simple: a small, builtin, solar cell powers a 12V fan that is connected to an air vent, a control unit and an on/ off switch.

Whenever the sun shines, the air in the solar panel is heated and the fan, receiving power from the solar cell, introduces warm, dry air into your home at the rate of 20 to 100 cubic metres per hour.

The initial models were more than capable of keeping the cottages dry (and ventilated), even with the limited sunshine hours available in Denmark during the winter season. Since that time, the technology has really come along in leaps and bounds. Now, more than 20 years later, the 3rd and 4th generation Solarventi have exceed-

ed all expectations.

In Southern Europe, Solarventi is not only used for ventilation/dehumidification purposes; with far more winter sunshine hours, it also provides a substantial heating supplement. Several technical and governmental studies show that incoming air temperature can be increased by as much as 40°C. A DIY Solution?

The installation process is very straightforward and should only take two or three hours. All that is needed is a drill, hammer and chisel to make a hole in the wall. Roof installations are also possible. In fact, the Solarventi was originally designed to be a DIY product - in Scandinavia it still is.

There are no electrical or water connections and it can be safely left running, even when

the property is empty. Solarventi requires no maintenance - if the property is unoccupied during the hot summer months, then it can be left running at low speeds for ventilation and dehumidification purposes or simply switched off.

With a range of panel sizes, and the option for wall or roof mounting, Solarventi is suitable for all types of buildings, caravans or even boats!! Following the patenting of its design in 2001, Solarventi has only recently been actively commercialized. Over the last six years, Solarventi units have been installed in more than 24 countries and demand is increasing rapidly. From Greenland to Australia, Solarventi is finally getting the recognition it deserves. ■ Units start from €490 TTC.

SOLARVENTI - Available in the Dordogne From Harlequin Developments Mobile: 06 06 60 46 97

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It’s at times like these that we realise what’s important, and while I would love to sell and install Solarventi units for you, there are more important things to think about at the moment. So please stay safe and follow the government's advice about precautions to be taken during this crisis.

But, use the telephone, call your families and friends, keep in touch with those who are important to you, these are the more important things.

When we get through this, and make no mistake, we will, then maybe we can talk about Solarventi, but for the moment, stay safe, keep in touch with your loved ones, and see you on the other side...

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Get in touch today to find out how we can put your business in front of The Darquinn Animal Rescue Association is a vibrant and new Association founded by Leanne Berry and Teresa Duro and named after their first two precious rescue horses, Darcey and Queenie.

Leanne and Teresa have a great love for animals and their welfare and they originally started off by rescuing horses as Leanne has a particular passion for them and she did this whilst working in the nursing sector, caring for and managing a home for vulnerable adults with complex and critical mental health needs. However, both ladies have always had a dream to move to France where they could purchase a property, which could accommodate the needs of the rescue animals they would be taking with them and in time, offer them the chance to save more animals in need.

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each month

They have now been in France for five years and have run a very successful boarding kennel but more and more, they are being asked by their community to take in and help more animals in need.

In the past, they have used their own resources and expertise to take care of the animals, however recently, with the number of animals who need help increasing, they decided it was time to take the final step and become a fully registered Association.

As an Association, they aim to: - Rescue animals in their community and provide a permanent or temporary sanctuary until a loving home can be found.

- Rehabilitate and train those animals in need, giving them the love and care to enable them to be re-homed successfully.

- Offer guidance and support to people in their search for a companion and also in matters of reporting cruelty or welfare concerns.

If you would like to help Leanne and Teresa continue to make a difference to the lives of animals in need you can do so please by donating, getting in touch, volunteering, adopting, helping to organise fundraising or using their boarding kennel and livery services.

They receive no state funding and so rely heavily on voluntary donations. Any donations will be gratefully received.

For more information visit https://darquinnanimalrescue.fr Thank you.

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