Letters and comment

Letters: France's energy audit system does not work for stone properties

Readers say the diagnostic de performance énergétique system heavily favours recent properties

Letters: €24,000 is how much we need for a comfortable life in France

Connexion reader has kept a careful record of income and expenditure

Letters: France needs immigration to sustain its tax revenue

Reader argues that the country's aging population creates an unbalanced economy

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Letters: Age should not be an obstacle for adopting a pet dog in France

Reader says over-70s need to be given the chance to take care of dogs who have no home

French visas and residency card applications: Connexion readers share their experiences

The complex process is a challenge for many - including Britons, Americans and second-home owners

Comment: Uproar over Indian journalist reveals French approach to power

Prominent news anchor Palki Sharma Upadhyay 'dared' tell the president his video on AI was 'not funny'

Comment: France's far-left leader is an increasingly pointless political dinosaur

Columnist Simon Heffer looks at how the veteran leftist Jean-Luc Mélenchon has split his own party

Help! We're fed up of visitors staying too long at our home in France

Columnist Cynthia Spillman gives her advice on setting boundaries for guests

Comment: The last thing France needs is a debate on national identity

Columnist Nabila Ramdani notes the right-wing turn of Prime Minister François Bayrou's government

Has skiing in France become more dangerous? Connexion readers respond

Many wrote in after a recent article and letter about problem skiers

Letters: French food is unseasoned and bland, bland, bland

Connexion reader says it is one of the few disappointing things about living in France

Letters: French authorities do nothing about dangerous dogs

Connexion reader says the response by gendarmes was disappointing

Letters: France should ban harmful oils to curb obesity

Connexion reader says working people do not have the time to cook healthy food

Help! I feel sorry for all the stray cats in my French village

Columnist Cynthia Spillman gives her advice on what to do with abandoned - or feral - felines

Letters: The French advice to wear the same t-shirt for days is quite right

Connexion reader says people should wash clothes less often to help save water

Letters: A bande dessinée helped me understand a serious issue in France

Reader shows how the French culture of graphic novels is useful as well as enjoyable

Comment: Forget the sales - get your bargains elsewhere in France

Columnist Samantha David notes that savings can continue even though the January sales are ending

Letters: Ski resorts disfigure France's breathtaking mountains

Connexion readers share contrasting views on the winter sports industry

Letters: French people struggle to say my name - or translate it

Connexion readers share their anecdotes of cross-cultural confusion

Letters: French recycling rules just lead to more waste

Connexion readers say the system pollutes communes and attracts vermin

Letters: A tontine clause may ease inheritance fears in France

Connexion reader suggests a way of avoiding complications over the transfer of an estate

Letters: We can live comfortably in France on €15,000 a year- in a city with no car

Connexion readers share the annual budget they need to enjoy their retirement

Comment: Spat between France and Algeria opens old wounds

Columnist Nabila Ramdani tells how tempers between the countries flared after the arrest of a TikTok influencer

Letters: France needs more immigration to help its ageing population

Connexion reader disagrees with Simon Heffer calling it a problem

Comment: Jean-Marie Le Pen’s death will further detoxify Marine’s politics – but not completely

Columnist Simon Heffer looks at how the former leader's party has changed since 2007

Letters: France is getting better at providing vegetarian options

Connexion readers say that a cultural shift is underway - but progress takes time

Letters: Delivery fees make it uneconomical to receive packages in France

Connexion reader says that it is not realistic to declare the value of gifts received from the UK

Letters: French healthcare system means people have to stay informed

Connexion reader notes that the lack of structure in France forces people to access care themselves

Letters: Calls for Macron to resign do not help French politics

Connexion reader says that France should learn from its neighbours in forming coalition governments

Letters: French politics needs to veer right to cut costs

Connexion reader says that France can reverse its fortunes by following the example of the United States

Letters: Readers share their French language howlers

Malapropisms, word-for-word translations and false friends are often greeted with a chuckle

Letters: Reporting dangerous dogs is surprisingly effective in France

Connexion reader says the anonymous online form helped ease her concerns

Letters: Long-stay visas in France ‘are not as easy as minister claimed’

Senator Berthet is asking for a simplified visa process for British second-home owners in France

Letters: Saying bonjour really makes life easier in France

Connexion reader shares their experience of how a polite greeting can go a long way

Letters: Cold-callers are out of control in France

Connexion readers share their tips on how to reduce telemarketing calls

Comment: France's recycling rules are impossible

Columnist Samantha David recounts her struggles with the ever more byzantine system

Comment: Speaking French makes us do what we are told

Columnist Sarah Henshaw looks at 'the foreign language effect' and how it makes non-native speakers more pliable

Comment: Macron's Grand Débat for French 'yellow vest' protests was pointless

Columnist Nick Inman considers the outcome of France's national debate over the gilet jaune demonstrations

Letters: Retirement in France costs more than €15,000 a year

Connexion reader says she spends €50,000 for a modest lifestyle

Comment: The trial of Brigitte Macron's French internet trolls just encourages them

Columnist Nabila Ramdani says France's First Lady should not take them so seriously

Comment: France's only way forward is for President Macron to resign

Political commentator Simon Heffer questions the merit of appointing a PM who is doomed to fail

Letters: Readers give their solutions to the problem of hybrid cars and spare wheels in France

Many vehicles do not carry a spare in case of a blowout

Letters: This photo tip makes it easier to renew UK passports in France

A Connexion reader shares how to make renewing a UK passport more straightforward

Letters: Sliced bread is simply too sweet in France

Connexion reader says that UK bread is far ahead of its French equivalent

Letters: Are French disabled badges not valid in UK?

One reader has issues when visiting a UK airport, while another has had no such problems

Letters: French rail fines are so severe even for honest mistakes

Connexion reader says his relatives have been put off visiting France

Letters: How are hybrid cars supposed to carry a spare tyre in France?

Connexion reader says electric vehicles simply do not have enough space

Letters: The rules for organising a garage sale in France are ludicrous

Connexion reader says the system stifles creativity with excessive taxes and charges

Letters: Stop complaining about French bureaucracy after voting for Brexit

Connexion reader says Britons have only themselves to blame

Letters: Vegetarians need to appreciate French food culture

Connexion readers share their experiences of meat-free restaurants in France

Letters: French ski resorts always struggle outside of ski season

Readers spar over the apparent demise of winter resorts in France

Letters: The number of cold calls to French phone is maddening

Connexion readers say that measures to prevent them are not effective

Letters: France must not tolerate political corruption

Connexion reader says it is right that Marine Le Pen should be prevented from holding office if found guilty

Letters: Men’s cancers are too often ignored in France

Connexion reader says more should be done to raise awareness of prostate cancer in particular

Letters: New French visa plan may remove the worry of overstaying

Connexion readers share how their lives have changed since Brexit

Letters: France's private speed camera cars just add to pollution

Connexion reader questions the logic of mobile enforcers

Comment: Notre-Dame reopening shows France’s bizarre religious contradiction

Columnist Nabila Ramdani notes the contradictions of the secular French Republic

Letters: Why do I have to pick up my post from the supermarket in France

Connexion reader tells of his surprise receiving a card from La Poste informing him his mail was elsewhere

Letters: TLS lost my passport after I applied for a six-month visa for France

Reader shares his 'dreadful experience' dealing with the visa application agency

Comment: Trump re-election poses challenge for EU and France

French-American think tank expert says it is likely to bring ‘trade war’ and embolden far-right

Letters: The Entry/Exit System cannot stop us visiting France

Connexion readers give their views on the EU's upcoming EES

Letters: Travelling to France with pets is not that difficult

Another reader says the process is just too expensive

Comment: The decline of French winter ski resorts is no bad thing

Nick Inman says it is high time to let nature reclaim the mountains

Letters: Dismissal of French satirist shows freedom of speech is in danger

Connexion reader says comedians must be permitted to provoke our thoughts and prejudices

Letters: Vegetarian options are too limited in France

Connexion readers say French cuisine is all the poorer due to its reliance on meat

Letters: Stop moaning about French bureaucracy

Connexion reader says that foreign residents must display more self-awareness

Letters: Readers share the drôleries of getting by in French

From old false friends to the latest translation tech - sometimes everyone gets language wrong

Comment: Trump’s victory paves way for far-right win in France

Columnist Simon Heffer says French voters may look with envy at the decisive mandate of the US president-elect

Letters: French GP is charging more than he should for consultation

Connexion reader says her doctor is already asking for €30 per visit

Letters: French vets cannot check EU database for lost pets

Connexion reader points out that pets in France need to have the national ID chips or risk never being reunited with their owners

Letters: French cycling rules are rarely enforced

Connexion reader says he takes special precautions to stay safe

Letters: French banking practices are commercial nonsense

Connexion reader says that spending limits force him to turn to foreign banks

Letter: It takes too long to get a disabled parking badge in France

Connexion reader says delays due to French bureaucracy meant the card came after his recovery

Letters: Post-Brexit reset means easing UK-France border checks

Connexion reader says a reciprocal deal on the Schengen border would help everyone

Letters: Strength of the dollar is key factor for Americans in France

Reader notes that last time Donald Trump won he said he wanted a weaker dollar to boost exports