A multi-national group on the border of the Aude and Ariège départements in south-west France is seeking to set up a non-profit volunteer-run befriending project to help English-speakers in the area who may feel socially isolated – and wants to hear from anyone interested.
Jessica Wanamaker, who lives near Mirepoix, Ariège, is one of the driving forces behind the project.
“Befriending is fairly common in the UK,” she said. “There’s a whole befriending network there, which I think brings together nearly 200 organisations, if not more.”
The idea is to offer outreach by phone, video and/or in-person to English-speaking people aged around 65 or above with limited French, in the area surrounding Mirepoix.
Wanamaker said that the group was aware that a number of English-speakers of a certain generation living in the picturesque part of south-west France may be lonely or socially isolated, for a number of reasons – and may not be aware of the help available from the French social care sector.
The New Yorker said that isolation may be common among older people who moved to France from a number of different countries.
“What we’re seeing anecdotally is a particular generation in their mid 70s losing their companions or all of a sudden not feeling comfortable about driving,” she said. “
“A lot of British people, in particular, tend to live in the countryside, in villages or just outside and some of them never really mastered the French language.”
The nascent group includes people from Germany, Netherlands, Ireland and Britain – all of them keen to help others who may feel ‘cut off’ from their communities and their support network.
Some English-speakers in rural south-west France may not be aware of the help they may be able to receive.
“[They’re] often not known to the authorities and even where the authorities do know, while they do their best, they don’t [necessarily] have people able to speak English. And that’s the core of it – there isn’t a common language, apart from sign language.”
She said that the group also hopes to build long-term links with communities, “with outreach to the local mairie, to the commune”.
“When we last contacted them, French services said, ‘well, we don’t get that many calls from the English’. That’s partly because they probably don’t know what’s there, but also because of this barrier of communication.”
Anyone who thinks they might benefit from such a project, or who can volunteer their time – and language skills – is invited to email befriendinfrance@gmail.com
Please whitelist us to continue reading.
I learnt most of my French as an adult, et encore je parle cette langue comme une vache espagnole. but my advice is pop into the local café, and don’t be afraid to say. ‘Bonjour’ ‘ça va, or both. In my experience I have often found that people will warm to you, they are often pleased to hear an ‘anglais’ and where you go wrong, they will try to correct you in the nicest possible way. Little phrases like ‘je veux’, are not difficult to say, and they help break the ice, or glaçons.
Much better to offer courses in the French language. English speaking people are disliked in France because they tend to be in groups with only English speakers. The key to acceptance and integration is language.