Tunnel under the Alps

off the beaten track

http://tvnz.co.nz/business-news/comfy-knickers-back-sale-in-paris-4569082?ref=rss

I filled in my application on the Internet without problem. A few days later, I got a reply from the URSSAF – ALL IN CAPITAL LETTERS. It said that I couldn’t become an Auto-Entrepreneur because I was already the gerant (owner) of a company. I used to be a gerant but that company went into liquidation four years ago.

So off I set for the hour’s drive to Perpignan to put this right. I found the place without problem (though parking in Perpignan is not easy) and only had a ten minute wait. The guy
was really nice and friendly. He listened sympathetically. He read the relevant papers from the court, showing that the company had been liquidated. And then he explained that he couldn’t do anything.

It seems that the only organisation that could alter my entry on the computer was the URSSAF of Lyon. I have to contact them if I want it changed. Until then, I couldn’t become an Auto-Entrepreneur, even though anybody can see that I qualify.

I could write to them but, from long experience, I know that nothing will happen unless I go there and make a fuss.

French bureaucracy, don’t you love it?

You skirt around Lyon airport. Lots of planes. lots of noise, lots of modern life. You drive for a few kilometres. And suddenly you have gone back in time. The old town of Cremieu is full of charm. Many old buildings and old streets have been preserved. Although it is on the edge of a big city, the town is not very ‘touristy’. There are some nice restaurants but, if there are any souvenir shops, I didn’t see them.

It is a pleasure just to wander around the old streets. Lots to see and lots of atmosphere to take in. However, the real stand out feature is the old covered market. It is absolutely sensational. You find yourself transported back in time.

But we are going to go much further back in time than this. We need to get back into our car for a fifteen minute drive.

We have to climb up quite high quite quickly. Leaving the Rhone valley beneath us, we rise up to a place that would have made an impressive fortress. And that is exactly what we can find. The Romans constructed a major camp on this hill. Larina camp dominated the whole of the Rhone valley below.

The remains at Larina are well-preserved and you have a good impression of how the camp was. It is fascinating to walk around. Though take plenty of water if you go in the middle of summer.

Normally, we keep the best until last but not in this case. As you stroll around the camp, you get wonderful views of the countryside beneath you. You can see the river Ain quite clearly in the distance. But in order to see the river Rhone nestling just below, you have to go near the edge of the camp. And that is when disappointment sets in. For just under the hill is a nuclear power station. Not what you want to see.

Don’t get too worried about the language. Most doctors can at the very least read English quite well. So many medical reviews are written in English that they have to. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t make an effort to speak French. If you can, the experience of living in France will go much better. (If you can’t, look in the top right hand corner of this page and click on the link there.)

The biggest difference you’ll find compared to NHS doctors is in the length and thoroughness of the medical examination. You’ll probably be asked to strip down to your underwear, have your body examined for any obvious problems and have your blood pressure taken.

Once the examination is completed, you’ll be given a prescription for any medicine and will then be asked to pay. Normally this payment will be between 20 and 30 euros. If you have a Carte Vitale, the doctor will put this into his terminal and this starts the process to have your reimbursement of your payment made directly into your bank account. If you don’t yet have a Carte Vitale, the doctor will fill out some papers that you sign and date and send off to the CPAM.

Note that you are only reimbursed about 70% of what you pay the doctor (unless you have a long-term serious illness such as diabetes when you are reimbursed 100%.) If you want to be fully reimbursed, you need to take out additional medical insurance – what is called a ‘mutuelle’.

Visiting a doctor in France need not be a frightening experience.

However, the system in contribution based. For all but real emergencies, you have to show your Carte Vitale. This card contains a chip showing that you have paid contributions and are entitled to received treatment.

If you are a British resident visiting France for a short period of time, you need a European Health Insurance Card. You can get one here :

http://www.nhs.uk/EHIC/Pages/About.aspx

If you are newly resident in France and have found a job, once you have worked 60 hours a month for more than 3 months, you qualify for free medical treatment. You don’t have to wait until you receive your Carte Vitale (which can take a while to arrive.) In the short term, the doctor will give you a paper that you have to sign and return to the CPAM.

All this is organised by the CPAM – and you should register with them as soon as you become resident in France.

People receiving a British pension are entitled to free medical treatment if they move to France. All you have to do is to get an E121 from the NHS in the UK and present that to your local CPAM in France.

How about spending a couple of days in the city the French themselves think is the capital for food? How about staying on the edge of two different wine regions, with a chance to make comparisons between the two at amazing prices? How about being in an ancient Roman city with its own theater and with fabulous mosaics? How about wandering down narrow passages between houses, designed originally to get the bales of silk down to the river protected from the climate? How about having two of Europe’s great rivers joining together within the city? How about seeing some great paintings and sculpture without being surrounded by hordes of other vacationers? How about a short trip to the Alps?

You can reach Lyon easily from Paris by the world-famous fast train, the TGV. You can travel across a major part of France in just two hours, in great comfort. In fact, some Parisians take their business colleagues down to Lyon by train just to have lunch. Lyon is considered teh gastronomic center of France with the highest concntration of Michelin three star restaurants in the world. Many of the young cooks at these great restaurants leave to open their own restaurants, serving great food at modest prices. You are sure to find exceptional food at reasonable prices in Lyon.

I don’t know why Lyon is not included in more vacation plans. It’s a great city for tourists and a perfect stop on your vacation trip on the way from Paris to the sophisticated beach life of the South of France. For your next vacation in France, spend a few days in Lyon.

The first thing to say is that the reason that these parts of France are so quiet and rural is that there is very little industry or commerce. Such regions depend mainly on agriculture (and the famous EU subsidies.) The main reason that these areas are so quiet is because young French people don’t want to (or are not able to) live there because of a lack of employment opportunities.

So how can you find a job where the local young French population cannot? The main asset that you have that they don’t have is that you speak good English. As long as you also speak passable French, you may be able to get a job in the tourism industry, perhaps as a guide or as a waiter/waitress. Or you could get a job helping new English people who want to buy property in France. One possibility is to work for an estate agent, though this is a heavily regulated industry where you may be required to obtain qualifications. If you have building skills, many English-speaking people moving into the area (Dutch and German as well as British and Irish) will choose you over French speaking artisan. However the path chosen by many people is to run a gite – a self-catering cottage. This can be a good source of income and we’ll look more at this next time.