Brits in France: Escaping Brexit chaos | DW Documentary

Dordogne, Lot and Garonne. These regions of France are full of tradition and history. But they are changing, as increasing numbers of Britons move there. Attracted by beauty and lower cost of living. I'll take a pack of Cumberlands. A Cumberlands package too. Take care guys. Have a good weekend! Health! Bye bye! Newcomers are buying and renovating properties. But cultures often clash. For example, when it comes to lunch time. I just do not get it. At twelve everything stops. They will literally stop, no matter what they are doing. They will stop until two. And then they can't work because they're half drunk!

The Union Jack is slowly finding a home in the south-west of France. But the adaptation process is not without obstacles. Nicola and Graham Parker. She's an accountant, he's a handyman. They moved to France in 2022. Their picturesque country house, built in 1780, has outbuildings and a converted holiday apartment which they intend to rent out to visitors. Graham Parker's lifelong dream. He and his wife left Norfolk to start over. After 38 stressful years working in England, he now wants a slower pace of life. That was the plan. In reality, he is working as hard as ever. His "gÓte", or holiday apartment, needs another bedroom.

We currently have three, but the majority of inquiries we seem to receive are for a fourth bedroom. That's why we're building this one. It will then be a bedroom with an en-suite bathroom and direct access to the pool. I have a little over a month to build it before they start arriving. No pressure! The couple needs to start recouping the costs of the renovation soon. Most of the holiday apartment is ready to receive guests. But with which authorities should the Parkers register their companies and what taxes will they have to pay? They still have many unanswered questions.

But first they need to finish the renovations. Graham is still getting used to the fact that he pretty much has to do everything himself. The problem I have with French workers at the moment is that we ask them to come and price jobs, we ask them to come and look at jobs, but either they just don't show up, or they show up and never come back with a cost estimate or price. We wanted to bring in French, but at the moment we are fighting a lot to get them to come and do some work. The couple has 20 hectares.

Graham wants the new pool ready for summer. He and Nicola sold their house in the east of England for 1.8 million pounds, that is, more than 2 million euros. A huge barn house that Graham had lovingly converted over the years. Now that his children are older, they decided to invest in a new house in France. Nicola practices French every day. Twice a week he attends a language school in the neighboring town. The most difficult thing is the accent. Obviously, being English, there are a lot of sounds that we don't even have in English, so that's really difficult. Learning French takes up several hours of the day.

Because we arrived after Brexit, we must be able to speak A1 level French in order to keep your visa. If you have a work visa you have to take a test which is basically this book and has samples in the back. If you don't pass the exam, depending on how badly you fail, you get between 200 and 600 hours of free French lessons, but they can be anywhere, anytime. Some people have to drive an hour and a half to get to the lesson. I bring coffee. The last ten months in France have been much more stressful than they expected.

There is a small division between the British and the French. Something is going on there, I think. Since Brexit, the British have come with their money, bought all those old houses and renovated them. Many French people couldn't afford what we bought and I think that's where the divisions come from. His new house cost 1.2 million euros. They can get through the first year with their savings. Today the region is so full of Brits that it is known as "Dordogneshire." Many of its historic buildings and houses are for sale. Demand is growing and real estate agents say there is a price war.

During the pandemic, many French city dwellers also rediscovered the charms of the countryside. Steve and Hellen Robbins are butchers who originally come from near Oxford. They have been in France for more than eight years. Every Thursday they set up their stall at the market in the town of Eymet. After several decades as employees, Steve and Hellen have established their own small business here, selling traditional British meat products. Two types of loin bacon, natural or “green” as we call it in England. Smoked and the same with the striped ones. This is the kind of thing you'd have in a bacon sandwich, the English, for breakfast, with eggs and sausage.

In the spring of 2015, the couple watched a television report about southwestern France. They packed their bags, headed there on vacation, and quickly bought a house. We did it when we did it, otherwise I don't think we would be able to do it now, because we don't speak enough French to do it now. You have to speak French fluently now. We get by, but we're not fluent. Back then there was more room for maneuver, they were more lenient. As long as you could show them that you could support yourself and that you were not going to depend on the State, they welcomed you.

Because a lot of these areas here 20 years ago were really poor areas, and it was the British who came and bought the houses, fixed them up, and started bringing life back to these villages. Most of the locals are older people. There has been an exodus of young people to the cities. How do you feel about all the Brits who have made this area their home? Roman Manu says that he gets along well with them. But he speaks English, unlike many other French people. There are English shops, an English hairdresser. In many stores you are completely surrounded by English people.

Some like it, others like it less. This is Eymet now. But Eymet is a special case. Many wealthy Britons have settled in and around Eymet. Nicola and Graham Parker live just a 20 minute drive away. They moved to France because they wanted to start over, but there were other reasons too. Coming from England, we see that you are in trouble. There are strikes everywhere, the nurses' strike continues. The healthcare system here is supposed to be much, much better. I used to have to call the doctor on Monday mornings... ...all appointments ended at 8:30. 8:30, you couldn't get an appointment.

Whereas here, you know, you can call or just show up. Apparently you can go to the dentist, get your teeth done, and come home. You couldn't even get a dentist in the UK. Nicola is walking through the town with her mother, Patricia. She lives with them in the house next door. In fact, I need the key cut. Quickly. Mother? For the mailbox. Want one? I also want a key cut. Lady? Two keys please. Nicola's father died five years ago. Since then he has been taking care of his mother. Good morning, have a good day, it's one you should remember.

We need to find a hand support because I don't know what legal paperwork we need to do. We have the gÓte, but you have to register our gÓte in different government departments and you have to register to pay taxes. But it all seems... you search online to see what you need, to send for something, then you copy everything and send it... and two months later it comes back with: this is missing, that is missing. Then you have to start again. They say copy everything at least three times. It is very slow. Facebook groups for British expats are full of such stories: slow application procedures, complicated regulations and months of waiting for paperwork.

They blame the prefectures: the representatives of the State in the region. Jan SÈbastien Lamontagne is prefect of the Dordogne. In the wake of Brexit, his staff suddenly had to issue 9,000 residence permits because the British citizens living here were no longer EU citizens. A four-fold increase. We had to develop a procedure that did not penalize them too much and that simplified the process as much as possible. Of course, this did not exist before Brexit. Nicola Parker is about to start an online French class. -Good morning, Nicola. -Good morning, Franny. Do you remember what a nasal vowel sound is?

The class is practicing pronunciation. Franny, her teacher, is in England. A vowel before an N or an M is nasal, and the N or M is silent when? Are you ready? The next morning. Steve and Hellen Robbins are on their way to the butcher shop, right next to their house. After about 40 years as employees, Steve and his wife have founded their own business here. Sell ​​a little and enjoy life. Because of their savings, they do not need to work too much. After all, they did this for decades in England. Tomorrow is market day and they need to prepare.

Their supplier is a neighboring pig farm. They make everything the British love, traditional English butchery. Bacon for a classic English breakfast is always popular. French butchers do not prepare loin bacon, but striped bacon, and that's it. But they don't make it with bacon, which is what that is. We and other English people love it. An increasing number of French people are also discovering its products. Once packaged, everything goes directly to the cold store. The couple suffered a major setback in July 2020. Out of nowhere, a shard of glass in the dry grass started a fire at the butcher shop.

We lost business for a whole year, we spent all our savings trying to live that year and buying new equipment, because we didn't have enough money with insurance, so we had to use our savings for that. Graham Parker needs doors and windows for the fourth bedroom in his holiday apartment. Nicola will go with him because Graham doesn't speak French. When he was a child, he had difficulties in school. He can't learn French because he is dyslexic. There is simply no way. He will learn it eventually, but he will never speak it fluently and he will never be able to pass this test.

He often finds himself in uncomfortable situations. One of the main ones, I went to the builders' merchants and stood next to the materials I wanted and basically pointed to the roof batten and told them I wanted "deux." And the guy just looked at me and said "no, no." So I left. Bonjour. We need windows, French doors, and just a plain old front door. Do you also have the dimensions? I can do any... Just show it here. I haven't built it yet, you see... Follow me, I'll show you all the windows and doors. Oh thanks. We have doors in one open system or two open systems. .

Two please. It's almost 10 and, as expected, the painters have not arrived. The ceilings of the main house are still stained from the water that was used to put out the fire. Here we are, the three of us. years later, still not finished. The painters were supposed to return yesterday to paint the main ceiling of the house and then continue throughout the house, but they never showed up. They supposedly had an emergency. today, but who knows at what time. -I will have the last window. -Lovely, thanks Graham, he's got everything he needs! I'm slowly picking up on some of the words.

But actually this has been very easy, he has made it very easy. 50 percent of his customers, the seller claims, are the many Britons who live in the region. They are slow to learn French. Is not easy. If they had more lessons it would be faster, but it is a very isolated community. That's why we have to speak English. Otherwise we wouldn't sell any windows. Shortly after eleven, Steve and Hellen's painters finally show up. -Hello! -Hello! The damp stains will finally disappear. The painter admits that the language barrier is a problem among local Brits. It is very difficult to make yourself understood.

Explain to them that they need to clean everything, that it may take time, that there may be a delay, that we have a lot of work. They don't really understand it. Nicola? Nice to meet you. Yvonne, Aquitaine Lifestyle Solutions. Graham, how are you? I'm fine thanks. Very beautiful place! Yvonne Drolshagen is a financial consultant. She helps foreigners navigate French bureaucracy. Yesterday we were in Eymet, my mother and I, we went to see the market. And we talked to someone and she said, oh, you need a hand support, and she recommended you. Oh that's OK! She tells me that, by 2023, renting a rural house in France is, from a tax point of view, from a legal point of view, something quite special.

And I will learn you a first word in French that will be important to you. And this is: ëlocation meublÈeí. Furnished rental. The much-needed introduction to French leasing and tax law involves many technical terms and exemptions. Graham, however, mainly wants to know if he will have to take the dreaded language test. Nowadays, since you have a visa, there is no obligation to take French lessons. The biggest horror story for me was this whole learning French thing; It could have been decisive for me. Because I can not. So that has already taken a big weight off my shoulders.

I've seen people post on Facebook saying: I went and took my French exam and IThey gave 600 mandatory hours, so... You two, today you applied for a one-year visa. And the renewal will most likely be for one more year. There are people who in some situations immediately apply for three or four year visas, and then there is the question of testing. I didn't even know that existed. Things are a little more complicated than you might hear. All my life I have firmly believed that when people come to England they should learn English. Therefore, when you come to France you should learn French.

And that's the end. I totally agree with that. But you will pick it up. We will get there. So, I said, the tax return, which is quite urgent... The couple is happy to spend some money on the "hand holder". And they are confident that once Nicola passes the language test, things will be easier. That same afternoon, his French neighbor Catherine Moulinier stops by. -As? -Yes, like ca. Put your hand here... This... Just after Nicola and Graham moved in, Catherine knocked on her door and asked if she could let her horses graze on her land. In exchange, she suggested giving Nicola horse-riding and French lessons. "Today I will go out with my horse, PhÈnix." I always wanted to have my own horse, I've loved one... so this is the perfect solution for us, we can have the horses without the responsibility, that's great...

And I can speak French. In French it is ëmarcheí, to walk. Because he speaks French. Of course. When both parties are willing to do so, the Franco-English relationship can work. The town of Duras, at the end of the afternoon. RÈgine serves her regular clients. Steve and Hellen meet their English friends here every Friday. Like they used to do in pubs, back in the UK. From time to time, Steve sells bacon here. CafÈ de la Paix is ​​almost exclusively British. RÈgine says that three quarters of his clients are expatriates. We are part of his family and they are part of ours.

Here everyone knows everyone. He made the right decision and moved to France. Even with all the ups and downs, the fire and all that. No regrets. I do not regret at all. Nicola and Graham are still working hard. Nicola works five hours a day in the garden. Graham still has to prepare the house before the first guests arrive in three weeks. I don't actually see any reason why I would want to return to the UK. I'd rather be here in the sun. I'm living the dream. I really am. I love France. I love where I live.

How many people have what I have?