French concerned about British "invasion."

Blackleaf

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 9, 2004
49,908
1,906
113
The French are concerned about the number of Brits living in France, calling it an "invasion."

But, for economic reasons, there are more French living in Britain than vice versa.

British Secretly Invade France'
By Ali Ihsan Aydin, Paristine
Published: Sunday, April 30, 2006
zaman.com



The increasing number of British citizens escaping life in the UK due and settling in France has begun to concern the French public. The number of British citizens settling in France has reportedly increased ten fold in the past 15 years.

French daily Le Figaro recently published a dossier about the issue defending that the so far, 500,000 British citizens have settled in France. “The British are setting out to conquer France,” the daily wrote. Stressing that “British provinces” have sprung up in some parts of the country, “This is a silent landing, a slowly developing colonialism and an unarmed occupation,” the daily commented. In the past, only the rich and retired made the move to France’s sunny beaches; the situation has now changed and thousands of middle-class British families leave behind their old lives and settle on the other side of the English Channel, Le Figaro wrote. The British invasion generally to small French villages and provinces has caused real estate prices in these regions to increase dramatically. Many French welcome the British immigrants settling in their regions, “Catholics share their churches with British Anglicans, the Ministry of Education sends special education experts to teach British children and services are given in two languages”, it is reported.

Despite this, the British carry their lifestyles to France, “As was the case in the old days of the British Empire, they politely call on everybody to use the language of Shakespeare,” the daily told. According to Le Figaro, the Brits have already started special flights between the UK and the regions where they settled in France. Private air company Ryanair reported that it carried 250,000 passengers between London and Bergerec in 2005. Concerns about the British invasion of France, which has frequently come to the agenda in recent years, has become the topic of a number of the books. French researcher José-Alain Fralon, who examined cities with a high population of expatriate Brits, published his study in a book titled,” Help, the English are invading.”

www.zaman.com . . .
 

Daz_Hockey

Council Member
Nov 21, 2005
1,927
7
38
RE: French concerned abou

well, let's face it, france's population is falling and britain's is rising, what, frankly in a free-moving union, do they expect?...I find it racist that they should suggest otherwise
 

Daz_Hockey

Council Member
Nov 21, 2005
1,927
7
38
RE: French concerned abou

I find that funny actually....why are they in bed with germany?....I reckon it's fear more than a mutual respect, a united germany can only be a bad thing for france
 

Roger

Nominee Member
May 2, 2006
79
1
8
Atlantic
www.exporail.org
Germany and France are teaming up to be the driving force in Europe. Why do you think the UK retained the Pound?

Germany and France have been in collusion on so many things in the past 25 years, including design of military equipment, and Airbus Industrie. Times have changed.

In the years to come, a united Europe will be a major economic power rivaling the United States. Canada, especially Quebec can take a lesson from that. As elements in Quebec seek to separate, France is uniting for the benefit of resources in a greater community.
 

Blackleaf

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 9, 2004
49,908
1,906
113
Re: RE: French concerned about British "invasion."

Roger said:
Germany and France are teaming up to be the driving force in Europe. Why do you think the UK retained the Pound?

Germany and France have been in collusion on so many things in the past 25 years, including design of military equipment, and Airbus Industrie. Times have changed.

In the years to come, a united Europe will be a major economic power rivaling the United States. Canada, especially Quebec can take a lesson from that. As elements in Quebec seek to separate, France is uniting for the benefit of resources in a greater community.

Germany and France the driving force in Europe? Don't make me laugh. Those two countries are stagnant, weak, and decaying.

The future of Europe is what Rumsfeld called "New Europe." The members of New Europe will soon break away from the EU and create their own Union - but not one that become a "United States of Europe". No - each member will keep their independence and their own currency and it'll be for free trade mostly.

And what will the member be? Well, the countries will stretch in an arc across the top of Europe - they'll be Britain and Ireland, all the Scandinavian countries, and the countries in Eastern Europe, such as Poland and the former Soviet states. Compared to "Core Europe" or "Old Europe" - France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, etc etc - all these countries have booming, fast-growing economies, who are pro-American and pro-globalisation. This New Europe will be led by Britain - its largest member - and will always outpace the dead economies of Old Europe.

As for Airbus, it wasn't just the French and Germans who were involved.

The countries involved were Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
 

Blackleaf

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 9, 2004
49,908
1,906
113
And, apparently, many Brits who go to live in France soon return back to good old Blighty as they find that France is either too boring for them compared to Britain or there is too much red tape and bureaucracy, which France is notorious for.

Compared to Britain, France MUST be deathly boring. French TV must be like watching paint dry (I doubt there is a French equivalent of Dr Who) and, when it comes to music, where is France's Arctic Monkeys or Kaiser Chiefs?


Britons forsake their French idyll over red tape and boredom
By Amy Iggulden
(Filed: 08/05/2006)



Record numbers of Britons who move to France are returning home because of bureaucracy, boredom and the language barrier. Some estate agents estimate that two out three return home after three years.

Caxton FX, one of many currency brokers handling expatriates' finances, said that more than 600 of its clients had moved back last year. It expected the figure to reach 900 this year.

Worldwide Currencies said the number of its clients returning home almost doubled between 2004 and last year, when 16 per cent sold up within the year. That was equal to hundreds of people selling their homes, it said.

Removals companies also reported an increase in traffic from France, with at least one family returning each week. However, the number moving to France still far outweighed those leaving, they said.

David Foster, the French specialist at Worldwide Currencies, said the people returning tended to be those under 50 who had underestimated the challenge of finding work and the notorious bureaucracy.

"But the main problem is the language barrier," he said.

The currency broker HIFX, which deals with 10,000 Francophile Britons a year, said the number of people selling their businesses rose by 50 per cent to 150 last year.

Mark Bodega, a spokesman, said: "Far more people are moving to France because of television programmes that make it look easy."

The number of British-owned businesses registered in the Dordogne alone rose by a third last year to 372, said Tom Kennedy, the British consul-general in Bordeaux.

Karen, 38, a businesswoman who is considering a move home to Cardiff after two years in Lille, north-east France, said: "You are never prepared for the culture shock and the language. But the main issue is employment."

Stephen Nuttall, 46, a mortgage broker in the Dordogne, said: "We are not lending against bed and breakfasts now unless there is separate income. Two years ago we would have done but the market is too full now."

Older expatriates said the pull of grandchildren and the unexpected tedium of life in rural France played a larger role than bureaucracy.

Janet Bailey, 58, a former teacher who lives in the south-western départment of Tarn-et-Garonne, said that she and her husband, Nick, were returning because of an expected grandchild and because life had not lived up to expectations.

Mrs Bailey said: "It can be exceedingly boring if you are not ready for retirement."

The Foreign Office estimates that 301,000 Britons live in France. Others estimates suggest up to 500,000.

telegraph.co.uk