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LIVING IN FRANCE

Tax form changes, residence rules, and newspapers: 6 essential articles for life in France

This weekend’s must-reads from The Local feature changes to the 2024 tax declaration, rules on foreign bank accounts, the admin to turn your second home into your main one, how to cross the road (seriously), a guide to French newspapers, and where to find France's best beaches.

Published: 7 April 2024 07:31 CEST
Tax form changes, residence rules, and newspapers: 6 essential articles for life in France
(Photo by ERIC CABANIS / AFP)

A new section has been added to the 2024 French tax declaration, the finance ministry has announced, with declarations set to open on April 11th. Here’s what you need to know.

Changes to 2024 French tax declaration

One thing that often catches foreigners in France unaware is the tax declaration requirements for bank accounts in their home countries.

Do I need to declare my foreign bank accounts to French taxman?

It’s not uncommon for second-home owners to decide that they want to move to France full time and make their life here – but there are the some admin steps that you need to take to make this happen…

Explained: How to convert a French second home into your main residence

As a foreigner in France, following French news is a great way to become more integrated into the country – but it’s not always easy to know how certain publications spin things, and what their political angle is.

Here’s a look at some of the most popular French news organisations to help you understand their news coverage and likely political angles.

Explained: French newspapers, TV and magazines

When you first see a French pedestrian stepping out into a road – whether it’s a wide open Parisian boulevard, or a narrow, bustling street in the centre of a centuries-old market town – you may well fear for them, their family, and their sanity, given French motorists’ fearful reputation.

Of all road users in France, pedestrians have the greatest legal protections – but they are also expected to obey road safety rules.

Is jaywalking legal in France?

And finally, summer is coming, you’re en route to being beach body ready (by which we mean you have a body and the beach is ready) – so all you need to know now is where to go for the best sand, the sparkliest sea, and the shiniest sun. We’ve got you covered…

Where to find the best beach resorts in France

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LIVING IN FRANCE

How to avoid the latest text message scam in France

A new and authentic-seeming text message scam is circulating in France. Here is how you can avoid it.

Published: 1 July 2024 16:21 CEST
How to avoid the latest text message scam in France

A new text message scam is making the rounds in France, according to French radio channel RMC, citing information from the website signal-arnaques.com. 

Many people with French phone numbers have reported receiving an SMS allegedly from a delivery person, telling them that the package they were waiting for “did not fit into the mailbox”.

In French, it may read something like “votre colis est trop gros pour votre boîte aux lettres” or “votre colis ne rentrait pas dans la boite aux lettres“.

READ MORE: What to do if you have fallen victim to a scam in France

Then, the recipient is told to click a link that would give them a time slot to pick up the package (“Merci de choisir un créneau via …”)

The fake link appears to take the recipient to a Mondial Relay or other similar looking package pick-up website, and then the user is expected to enter personal information, including banking details, to arrange a new delivery. 

The scam is convincing because it’s similar to the genuine messages – it’s common to get a text message telling you that a parcel has been delivered, or if you are not home the company will contact you to arrange another pick-up time or location. 

In order to tell whether the message is a scam, you should verify the delivery rules for the company you are using.

For example, if you scheduled the delivery with Mondial Relay, then the package would not be brought to your home (unless you live outside of France) but rather to a specified relay point or self-service locker. 

READ MORE: Warning: 6 of the most common scams in France to watch out for

Other companies, like Chronopost, may deliver to your home, but they include send information to show proof of the order, such as the package number and your name within the text message.

Avoiding scams

This is not the only type of text message scam in France. There are several others, and many of them are related to packages or the postal service. 

If you have any concerns about the validity of a text message, you can always consult the signal-arnaques.com website, or the French government site Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr. 

Do not click the links provided if you have any doubt about the message. A key giveaway is that the scam sites and emails tend to ask users to pay for services that would normally be free on real sites.

Similarly, pay attention to any notice of an anti-virus notification. If the website popped up with a warning that it may be dangerous to click links or that it may contain a virus, then take additional steps to verify its legitimacy before opening.

RMC reported that one person who clicked the link said: “I received an alert message from Safari saying ‘This connection is not private. This website may be trying to pass itself off as consignesinfos.com in order to obtain your personal or financial information'”.

You can also report scams or illegal content on the internet at Pharos, the government’s official portal for reporting illegal internet content.

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