I would like to start today’s blog by mentioning my dreams for world peace, an end to hunger and by suggesting it would be nice to all hold hands and solve problems with global warming. Hopefully these good intentions are sufficient for the Nobel Prize committee to send me a nice medal and, more importantly, [...]

From 1 July 2009 the VAT rate on restaurant meals was reduced in France from 19.6% to 5.5%, in an effort to encourage us to all eat out more and bring prosperity to the catering industry.
Many restaurants haven’t actually passed on the reduction to their customers, and it is very doubtful whether we will all [...]

Well, one day left to decide who to vote for in the European elections – and frankly I haven’t the first idea. So if you’re here looking for guidance you’re likely to be disappointed. because that’s what I’m looking for as well.
When I was young and angry I always knew exactly who to vote for. [...]

Recently I’ve avoided politics on this blog because (1) I know nothing about it and (2) it makes me and everyone else miserable just thinking about it. But a headline just caught my eye that I can’t stop myself commenting on.
The headline was in the BBC and read ‘France threatens G20 walkout’. Seemingly M Sarkozy has made [...]

The tourist industry is very important in France, although this year it is going to have a difficult time – so I am hoping that M. Sarkozy will announce soon that he will compensate us, and all the thousands of hoteliers and gite owners and travel agents in France, for the slowdown in business. It [...]

If you are in France you might be aware that M Sarkozy is having a much publicized TV interview this evening (5/2/09) where he will answer many of the concerns of the ‘man in the street’ about the current economic woes. Here is one I hope gets tackled…

Would Joe Public be more likely to buy [...]

This is a guest entry by Alasdair Smith – a keen Scottish Francophile who blogs wistfully about moving to France at French Obsession. On the basis that you are almost certainly sick of my continual grumblings, it should be nice to hear from someone who still sees France through rose-tinted spectacles…and Scotland is my second [...]

The leaders of Europe are to meet to discuss ways to deal with the financial crisis. Socialist leaders in Britain have cut taxes, much to the distress of the conservatives; right-wing leaders in France are to support thousands of state-funded employees and perhaps bail out the car industry. What a topsy-turvy world we live in.
But [...]

I read the other day that homeaway – the largest group of holiday rental listing sites in the world that includes, among others, VRBO.com, holiday-rentals.co.uk, ownersdirect.co.uk and abritel.fr – had raised an additional $250 million investment. And that was just for a minority stake.
I can’t for the life of me imagine what they will spend [...]

A century ago, France was having difficulty attracting tourists because of competition from Germany and Austria and because, as they recognised, the standards of their tourist facilities were often not very good.
So in 1910 the French Government had an idea. Introduce a tax on tourists – called a taxe de sejour – and spend the [...]

France, like much of the world, has experienced a boom in property prices over the last few years – overall house prices have roughly doubled in the last ten years.
A visitor to the site yesterday asked if I knew what was happening at the moment with house prices in France. Based on living here and [...]

OK complete trivia, and I don’t have much to say about it but I love this advert – I don’t know if it is only shown in France or if there is an English language version. Perhaps it’s just me – Mrs B wasn’t impressed. Perhaps I watched too many of these Russian processions on [...]

Saw an off-putting programme on the television last night, about the world, the environment, and agricultural practices. Curiouly the USA didn’t come out too well, due in part to the fact many Americans like to drive enormously large cars, live in vast houses, and never turn a lightbulb off whan they can turn two on [...]

Well, aren’t you all the lucky ones…Gordon Brown sitting on the throne (or is it ‘in the high-chair’?) after all these years. Perhaps he’s changed during the last few years, I’m a bit out of touch with things, but my failing memory doesn’t have him down as a very suitable prime minister.
Still, if Tony made [...]

If you are concerned that a slightly drunk president will accidentally fall on the nuclear button and spoil your summer holiday in Saint Tropez, I am pleased to tell you that the immediate danger has passed.
You might get sunburned, turn lobster red, and regret your holiday 20 years later when you have a terrible skin [...]