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LIVING IN FRANCE

Retirement, inheritance, and taxi scams: 6 essential articles for life in France

This week’s must-reads from The Local feature reasons to retire to France, how the residency language test is marked, important rules on inheritance, burglary rates across the country, avoiding taxi scams, and a short-term visa that some of you may find useful 

Published: 24 March 2024 08:38 CET
Retirement, inheritance, and taxi scams: 6 essential articles for life in France
Taxis in Paris (Photo by Geoffroy VAN DER HASSELT / AFP)

We’re not suggesting that anyone do this on a whim – moving to another country is a big step and one that requires some advance planning. But if you’re considering it, here are a few good reasons to retire to France.

6 reasons to retire to France

If you’re one of many foreigners in France faced with taking a French language test in order to secure residency or citizenship, it might be helpful to know how the test is marked and what examiners are looking for.

Reader question: How is the French language test scored?

France has both strict laws on inheritance and high rates of inheritance tax for certain groups – but what’s the situation if you live in France but receive an inheritance from another country?

Reader question: Do I have to tell the French taxman about an inheritance from overseas?

The number of recorded home burglaries in France rose three percent to 217,600 in 2023, according to figures from the Interior Ministry. But where in the country has the highest rate?

Which parts of France have the highest (and lowest) rate of burglaries?

When taking a taxi in Paris, it is important to be prudent in order to avoid being overcharged. These are some of the things you should be aware of.

How to avoid taxi scams in Paris

Did you know … Depending on your age and nationality, you may be entitled to apply for a one-off ‘working holiday’ visa that allows you to live and work in France for a year.

EXPLAINED: What is France’s ‘working holiday’ visa?

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LIVING IN FRANCE

What are anti-mosquito apps and are they worth using in France?

Anti-mosquito smartphone apps are something of a summer hit in France – but how sound is the science behind them?

Published: 27 June 2024 15:28 CEST
What are anti-mosquito apps and are they worth using in France?

Summer in France is mosquito season. The insistent high-pitched biting pests can be a huge frustration on sultry evenings, and are a major source of revenue for pharmacists and supermarkets selling repellents, creams and insecticide sprays, to those unfortunates who provide a tasty snack for the itch-inducing insects.

Recently, efforts to prevent mosquito attacks have moved into the app sphere. A number of smartphone applications are available that claim to repel mosquitoes by emitting low-frequency sounds from the phone’s speaker. 

READ ALSO: How to prevent the spread of tiger mosquitoes in France

The idea isn’t new. And it is based on actual science. France’s Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (Inserm) said that the apps are intended to, “imitate the sound waves produced by the wing beats of … dragonflies. Female mosquitoes, which bite humans, would be repelled by this sound”.

So far, so good. The theory seems sound enough. 

READ ALSO: ‘Put a drop of detergent in the water’ – How to deal with mosquitoes in France?

But there’s a problem. 

“The [sound]waves that could possibly be heard by female mosquitoes are too powerful to be reproduced by a smartphone,” Inserm went on to say.

Possibly to cover themselves, the Anti-moustique insecticide app, available on the App Store, states in its own description: “It has not been scientifically proven that low-frequency sounds can help repel mosquitoes. For this reason, this app should be considered a joke app”.

READ ALSO Life in France: 5 plants that (allegedly) repel mosquitoes

According to Inserm, experts advise against this type of app, “at best because they are useless, at worst because they can provide a false sense of protection”, leading users to neglect other – rather more effective – approaches to protecting themselves from bites.

Anti-mosquito advice

When it comes to repelling the horrible little bastards, the French government does have some official advice.

The main thing is to have as little stagnant water around as possible – since this is where mosquitoes breed.

This includes regularly emptying vases, flower pots, as well as watering cans and pots. If you want to collect rainwater, you could cover water butts with mosquito nets or fabric to keep the mosquitoes from getting inside.

To protect yourself, try to wear long, loose and light-coloured clothing, and use a good quality insect repellent. You might also consider wearing a mosquito net head gear.

A plethora of products exist on the market, from machines that also produce the mosquito repelling noise to scented candles or smoke coils, most of these have at at least some effect, but are unlikely to keep the mossies away entirely.

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