News Digest: Storm Ciaran Aftermath, Second-Home Tax Bills Sent Out & Armistice Day in France

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News Digest: Storm Ciaran Aftermath, Second-Home Tax Bills Sent Out & Armistice Day in France

Western France is recovering from the damage caused by Storm Ciaran, it’s tax bill time for second-home owners in France, and we’ve got the answers to your French visa and residency questions. Here are the French news stories you need to know about this week.

1. Storm clear-up continues

Storm Ciaran and Storm Domingo swept the west coast over the weekend, causing damages and disruptions throughout western France. The Normandy, Brittany, and Hauts de France regions were among the worst hit, with record-breaking winds of 193 km/h recorded in Brittany, but almost all of the west coast was affected. Power outages affected some 1.3 million properties across the country, and around 126,000 homes were still without power yesterday morning (Monday). Many schools in Brittany also remained closed yesterday due to damages.

The storm’s devastating effects also sadly claimed three lives, including an Enedis engineer in Brittany, a truck driver in Aisne, and a 70-year-old man in Le Havre. Homes were also evacuated in Brest when a nearby crane was broken in two during the storm, and there remain many incidents of damaged buildings, uprooted trees, and train cancellations due to debris on the tracks.

Thankfully, the worst of the weather looks to be behind us, but eight departments (Pas-de-Calais, Deux-Sèvres, Vienne, Charente, Charente-Maritime, Dordogne, Corrèze, and Gironde) remain on high alert for flooding.

2. Taxe habitation bills sent out

If you’re a second-home owner in France, then you should receive your annual Taxe d’habitation bill today. The tax bills will be available online from Tuesday, November 7th for those who pay annually or November 20th for those who pay monthly, while postal bills will be sent out tomorrow (November 8th) for those who pay annually or from November 20thfor those who pay monthly. The deadline for payment is December 15th.

From this year, the Taxe habitation is no longer payable on any properties serving as a primary residence. Homeowners were asked to submit a mandatory Declaration d’Occupation earlier this year stating whether their properties were being used as a primary residence or as a second home.

3. Armistice Day

As the Toussaint holidays come to a close (schools reopened across the country yesterday, November 6th), it’s time for the penultimate jour férié of the year. Armistice Day, also known as Remembrance Day or Veterans Day in anglophone countries, marks the end of World War I and is commemorated on November 11th. Unfortunately for French residents, it falls on a Saturday this year, so there’s no day off work, but the event will be marked by wreath-laying ceremonies, most notably the grand ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Paris.

Read more about Armistice Day in France.

4. Ask us your visas and residency questions!

Don’t forget to send in your questions in advance for next week’s visas and residency webinar! I’ll be joined by Richard Hammond, founder of French Connections HCB, and Fabien Pelissier, founder of Fab French Insurance, on Thursday 16th November, at 2pm (London time) or 3pm (French time), and we’ll be devoting as much time as possible to answering your questions, so now’s your chance!

You can send your questions directly to me at [email protected], and don’t forget to register for the free webinar, too – you can do that here or click the button below.

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FrenchEntrée's Digital Editor, Zoë is also a freelance journalist who has written for the Telegraph, HuffPost, and CNN, and a guidebook updater for the Rough Guide to France and Rough Guide to Dordogne & Lot. She lives in the French countryside just outside of Nantes.

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Comments

  •  Stuart
    2023-12-16 08:25:31
    Stuart
    Zoe, clarification please on tax d'habitation. Received tax bill for the above last week. My understanding, is this is not required to be payed , if you are resident. Being resident, for some years now, i sent a letter to local tax office, (cannot access website for some unknown reason) Letter asked to review tax bill based on my understanding above. Today, received reply, basically stating i have to pay it, as i have not paid tax in France. Presumably they mean income tax. I have of course paid tax elsewhere for years, foncier, habitation, TVA. I have not paid tax (direct?) as i have been retired for years, and have not been employed here in France. Your thoughts, advise please.

    REPLY

    • Zoë Smith
      2023-12-19 15:07:30
      Zoë Smith
      Hi Stuart, The Taxe d'habitation is due on secondary residences only. As a French resident, you should have declared your property as your primary residence and you should be submitting annual tax returns in France (even if you aren't actually liable to pay taxes in France). If you are tax resident and haven't been submitting tax returns (which is a legal requirement in France), I imagine this is where the problem is, and I suggest going into your local tax office as soon as possible to rectify the situation. The French tax authorities are generally quite lenient if a genuine mistake has been made and the individual comes forward of their own accord. Kind regards, Zoe

      REPLY