Foreign Perspectives

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

If you’re interested in France, “the” show to go to is The France Show (previously called Vive la France) which consists of a massive property exhibition along with an equally massive section on various aspects of French life and is from the 18th to the 20th of January 2008.

There’s really nothing quite like it anywhere else in the UK so don’t miss it. This year Jean-Christophe Novelli is one of the many stars that will be appearing in the French culture section.

Seriously, it’s very much “the” show to go to and well worth your while if you’re at all interested in France and especially so if you’re thinking of buying a house in France.

They’ve a press release on Jean-Christophe’s involvement which you might want to read too…

Jean-Christophe Novelli, Britain’s favourite French Chef, will be one of the star attractions at The France Show 2008, which runs at London’s Olympia from 18-20 January.

He will be conducting three live cookery demonstrations each day at the show with his “mobile” Novelli Academy Cookery School, revealing the secrets that have made him one of the most celebrated Chefs in Britain.

The Novelli master classes will be among the main highlights of an already mouth-watering line-up for the Olympia show, which is expected to attract30,000 visitors. It is being organised by Archant Life, publisher of the UK’s three leading French lifestyle magazines - France, Living France and French Property News.

Miller Hogg, Regional Managing Director of Archant Life France, said: “We have had a wonderful response to the France Show so far from the public and are extremely excited about working with one of the world’s greatest Chefs.For anyone with a love of French food, watching Jean-Christophe Novelli inaction is a must.”

Jean-Christophe, who started work at the age of 14 as a baker in his hometown of Arras came to Britain in 1984. He is a Michelin and 5AA Rosette award winning Chef, whose attributes include AA Chef’s Chef of the Year,European Chef of the Year finalist representing Great Britain and the prestigious Egon Ronay Desert of the Year. He won Restaurant of the Year on numerous occasions and many other awards for culinary excellence.

In 2005 Jean-Christophe established the Novelli Academy, which was voted among the ‘Top 25 Cookery Schools in the World’ within three months and offers a diverse range of courses to suit aspiring cooks of all levels. A year ago he branched out again to open his first gastro pub, ‘A Touch of Novelli’ at The White Horse in Harpenden.

During 2007 Jean-Christophe launched Novelli Wines - “I have always been as passionate about wine as I am about food. As a chef, I know that if you serve the right wine with the right food you can turn a good meal into a truly great one. There is a wealth of small producers in France creating wonderful, and affordable, wines. The France Show is all about sharing and appreciating everything that France can offer.”

Jean-Christophe’s new recipe book “Everyday Novelli” will be available from1 February 2008, from Headline Publishing, and advance copies can be ordered at the show.

The Novelli Food Theater will be one of the main attractions at the France Show offering demonstrations of cookery to suit all palates. There will besix cookery demonstrations each day, three by Novelli, two by his protégé,Steven Kitchen and one by Franck Raymond, the head Chef of London’s oldest French restaurant, Mon Plaisir.

Other highlights of the France Show 2008 include a huge property zone,London’s largest French market and an extensive holiday travel fair, as well as insights into French culture, language and lifestyle.

Visitors who pre-register can obtain free tickets or else pay £8 at the door on the day. For your free tickets and further information about the France Show,visit the official website at www.thefranceshow.com

Popularity: 18% [?]

Whilst we had loads of housebuyers staying with us in 2004 and 2005, 2006 saw none of them at all.

Who knows why? The UK interest rates weren’t much higher than they were the year before nor did there seem to be a big difference in the UK house prices.

It’s the same this year too ie no big difference. Yet, we’re just into the main house-hunting season (usually October to March) and already we’ve had three separate house-buying families call in with us. Whether this is the sign of a major buying spree is a good question but at least it’s a sign of the start of a movement in the French market.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Schooling in France starts from age 2 or 3 (depending on the local area) with education being compulsory from age 6 to 16.

Schools generally run Monday to Friday but on Wednesday some close or only operate in the morning and in some areas schools operate on Saturday morning. The hours are generally 9am to noon, 2pm to 5pm at all ages although the 2 and 3 year olds often only go in the mornings.

There is no “supply teacher” arrangement in France so if a teacher is off sick you will frequently get a phone call to come and collect your children.

From age 2 or 3 up to 6 you can enrol your children in nursery school (ecole maternelle) although this is not compulsory. This is more of a schooling environment than the equivalent in the UK and aims to prepare the children for entry to the next level of schooling.

For enrollment you will need to bring along ID for the child (passport or full birth certificate is equivalent to the “livret de famille” that they will ask for), proof of address (sometimes), proof that the child is insured (about EUR 10 per year) and, if the school is not in your commun, a letter from the mayor. In some cases you may be asked for proof of vaccinations. Even if your children speak no French you should have no difficulty in enrolling them in the local school at this level.

The age used is based on the calendar year so in the year in which your child is 6 they start primary school (ecole primaire) in September. The documentation required is as for the nursery school and if you want to go to a school outside your area then you’ll need a letter from your mayor too. There is usually no difficulty in getting non-French speaking children into primary school.

The secondary and high schools (college and lycee) are not tied to the local comun and operate over a wider region. Consequently you don’t need a letter from the mayor if you are going to a school out of your area. Other documentation remains the same with the additional requirement of a report from the primary school or alternatively your child will have to sit a test (UK school reports usually aren’t accepted).

For the college (age 11 to 16) you may be lihe college in your local area as others can sometimes refuse to accept non-French speakers. Generally speaking, you shouldn’t have a problem if your child has previously attended primary school in France (ie they can speak French).

At age 17 pupils enter the lycee. These come in three varieties: general, management and technical which roughly correspond to UK high schools, business schools and technical colleges. This is the point at which children need to choose subjects though pupils in the French system study a much wider of subjects than they would at A level in the UK. As at entry to college, a report from the previous French school will help.

If your child does not speak French at this point, you may find that they need to attend a different school. What happens seems to vary widely across France with most areas accepting non-French speaking children at both college and lycee level whilst others refuse to do so at lycee level (see our post here).

Popularity: 19% [?]