Census - the forms are on their way!

If you reside in France, you might get a form called ‘Recensement de la population’ in your letterbox. It is a census done in France every 5 years. Our village of Evran was surveyed last year and in 2005.

Don’t just bin the form; you have to fill it in!!

You will be asked for the names of the people who live with you, dates of birth, nationality, qualifications, how long you have lived at your present address, where you lived before, your occupation, if you are retired or unemployed, what job you previously had, etc.

A person will either fill the form with you or drop the form in your letterbox and pick it up later that day or the day after so don’t just leave it, do it straight-away!

If you require assistance with the census, don’t hesitate to contact me here.

Electric cars for La Poste

The French postal service (La Poste) is testing electric cars. The tests are starting in Brest and Rennes in Brittany with 22 cars. Postmen and post women get a short training of 15 minutes, (they need to get used to the 2 pedals and not to change gears!). The staff who have already tried the cars are amazed how quiet they are.

At the moment, an electric car can only do about 50 km, so it can’t be used in rural areas.

Each car will save 3 tons of CO2 per year and per car.

Other French companies have followed this environmental friendly idea and have ordered altogether 50 000 cars for the future.

Who knows? We will all be driving an electric car soon!

French school holidays 2011

If you run a gite in France, you might be interested to know the French school holidays. Here they are:

	Zone A	Zone B	Zone C
Winter/hiver	26/02/11-13/03/11	19/02/11-06/03/11	12/02/11-27/02/11
Spring (Easter)/Pâques	23/4/11-08/05/11	16/4/11-01/05/11	09/4/11-25/04/11
Summer/ été	02/7/11-05/09/11	02/7/11-05/09/11	02/7/11-05/09/11
Autumn (Toussaint)	22/10/11-02/11/11	22/10/11-02/11/11	22/10/11-02/11/11
Christmas/Noël	17/12/11-02/01/12	17/12/11-02/01/12	17/12/11-02/01/12

Zone A: Brittany, Pays de la Loire, Lower Normandy, Lorraine, Midi Pyrénées, Languedoc-Roussillon, Auvergne and the Rhône-Alps.

Zone B: Provence, Alps, Côte-d’Azur, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Picardy, Higher Normandy, Champagne-Ardennes, Poitou-Centre, Charente, Alsace, Burgundy Franche-Comte and Limousin.

Zone C: Aquitaine and Ile-de-France (Paris + around Paris).

The snow is back!!

They have been forecasting snow for a dew days in Brittany and it arrived yesterday!!

It doesn't usually snow very often in Brittany but this year it is the second time in 2 weeks and the winter has not even started!!

I just enjoy walking round and taking photos!!
i hope you will enjoy them...

This photo represents our gite and its garden.

How to pay the taxe d'habitation online

You can pay the taxe d'habitation online prior to 20th December for holiday homes. You are now to late if you reside in France (the deadline was 15/20th Nov).

See on your tax (avis d'imposition) the different reference numbers (numéro fiscal, Référence de l'avis, etc) and the web site. It is rather straight-forward.

Follow this link here
Click on:

Click on « Payer en ligne »

Numéro fiscal : enter your fiscal number which you will find on your income tax form or any other taxes

Click on “Payer en ligne”

Enter the reference number of the tax you are paying.

(référence de l’avis)

You will have to enter your French bank details. Once the tax is paid you will receive an email confirming your payment. Keep it for your records.


Please note you won't be able to pay your tax online once you have missed the deadline.

More information here. 

Please send me an email here if you require assistance with paying your taxe d'habitation online or after the deadline.

Firework display in Quevert this Friday 17th Dec 2010

Quevert is having a pre-Xmas party tomorrow night from 8pm. Hot drinks will be served.


Quevert is next to Dinan in Brittany.

Quevert summer firework display is exceptional so I guess this one will be too!

Free admission.

Smoke alarm regulations in France

Smoke alarms in France are compulsory in buildings that welcome public (hotels for example) but they will only be compulsory in 2015 for private houses.

Why wait so long?

When you think 10 000 people are injured and 800 people die each year in France in a fire... They could easily be saved.

Smoke alarms can be purchased from DIY shops or supermarkets in France.

They are about 10 euros each. Quite cheap when you think they can save your life...