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LIVING IN FRANCE

French summers, wine and qualifications: 6 essential articles for life in France

The good, the bad and the commuter ugly of French summers, prehistoric places you can visit, why French vintners are digging up their vines, and getting your hard-earned qualifications recognised - our must-read articles this week

Published: 11 June 2023 08:26 CEST
French summers, wine and qualifications: 6 essential articles for life in France
You may still have to get that qualification officially recognised in France. (Photo by Anna Rose Layden / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Heatwaves in France will become more frequent, more intense and longer in the summers to come as the climate crisis worsens – the French government has produced a plan to cope with the effects of prolonged heatwaves.

Sports events, SMS alerts and ‘cool maps’ – How France plans to deal with heatwaves

Summertime – and the commuting isn’t easy for Parisians. As always, it’s the time of year for routine maintenance and upgrades. But this summer is expected to be particularly difficult as the capital gears up for the 2024 Olympics. Here are the closures we know about.

Olympics prep means travel trouble for Paris commuters this summer

Speaking of summertime, it’s not all bad news. Far from it, in fact – even for people who have to earn a living, the warmer months have plenty to look forward to. Here are some of our favourite things about a French summer season.

9 of the best things about summer in France

Now, you may have seen, heard or read about the destruction of a large number of neolithic standing stones in northwest France during the construction of a Mr Bricolage DIY store. But France has many prehistoric sites that are well worth a visit – even in that area.

Six prehistoric sites in France to visit

Another issue of concern… Winemakers in the famous French wine area around Bordeaux are getting ready to uproot thousands of hectares of vineyards. But why?

Why Bordeaux winemakers are planning to uproot almost 10% of vineyards

Whether you’re hoping to move to France to continue with your studies, to further your career, or even if you’re relocating for love, having your qualifications recognised by French authorities could be essential. French bureaucracy is renowned for being fairly complex and tedious, even more so if you aren’t fluent in French, so here’s a guide to degree validation in France, whether you’re from inside or outside the EU.

How to get your foreign qualifications recognised in France

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LIVING IN FRANCE

How to prove to French authorities that you are alive

If you live in France you'll be used to official requests for all sorts of documents, but one that may come as a surprise is being asked to prove that you're still alive. Here's how to do that.

Published: 19 September 2024 15:57 CEST
How to prove to French authorities that you are alive

Official processes in France usually involve collecting together a big dossier of documents, and requests for certain type of certificate are common (the one for ‘a birth certificate issued within the last three months’ regularly baffles foreigners).

A request that is less common – but still vital – is the request for a Certificat de Vie – a certificate of life, which is basically a piece of paper asserting that you remain within the mortal realm.

Here’s how to get it and why you might need one.

Who needs it?

You only need to provide this certificate if it is requested from you.

The people most likely to get a request for a Certificat de Vie are pensioners. Pensioner providers regularly ask for proof that you are still alive, and if you don’t provide it it’s highly likely that they will stop paying out your pension.

The people most commonly asked to provide this are people living in a different country to the one paying out the pension (so for example people who have worked in France but then moved to another country, or pensioners who have moved to France) but they are fairly widespread for all types of pension.

The other people most likely to ask for it is the benefits office, especially if you are receiving a French Assurance invalidité (disability benefit) or Allocation de solidarité (top-up benefits) – as with pensions, failing to send the certificate can result in your payments being stopped.

Some people may instead be asked for an Attestation sur l’honneur de non-décès (sworn declaration of non-death). This is simpler to provide because it’s not a specific form it’s just something that you write out in formal French declaring that you remain alive, and then sign and date.

You can find templates for creating an attestation in the correct format and legal French here.

How to get it

There are two ways to obtain the Certificat de Vie – in person or online.

If you live in France, you go along in person to your local mairie and ask them to complete the form for you – it’s form Cerfa n° 11753*02, but the mairie staff will know that. Be sure to take with you official ID (ie passport or French ID card), and depending on your circumstances mairie staff may ask for extra paperwork such as proof of address.

Once you have the form, you can send it to whoever has requested it, either by registered mail or a scanned copy uploaded to an online portal.

You can find a sample copy here to show you what the form looks like.

If you live outside France, you can request the certificate at the French consulate, while some police stations will also provide it (depending on the country).

But for those living outside France there is also an online option, which now includes the option to verify your continuing life via your biometric details, meaning that you don’t even need to leave the house.

This would be useful to people who have worked in France for part of their career, meaning they get a partial French pension, but have then either returned to their home country or moved to another country.

In order to use this, you need to download the app ‘Mon Certificat de Vie’ – find full instructions on using it here.

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