News Digest: Strikes, Property Tax Bills & New Flights to France from US & UK

Second-home owners and regular travellers to France have been disappointed to learn that low-cost airline Ryanair will stop flights to three airports this winter after disputes over the hike in French airline taxes. Ryanair will no longer fly to/from Bergerac Dordogne Périgord Airport, Brive and Strasbourg airports from October through the New Year, but it’s unconfirmed as of yet whether flights will be returning for the summer season.

It’s not all bad news for travellers this winter, as there are also plenty of new flight routes starting up in the final quarter of the year, too. British Airways has announced several new flight dates (see here) between London City Airport and Bergerac Dordogne Périgord Airport over Christmas and New Year. Book your tickets fast before they sell out.

EasyJet has also announced several new routes starting from the end of October or November, including twice-weekly flights from Aberdeen, Scotland, to Charles de Gaulle, Paris; from London Gatwick to Toulouse; from Manchester to Strasbourg; and from Edinburgh to Bordeaux and Nice. There are also weekly flights from Birmingham and London Southend to Grenoble starting in December, just in time for ski season.

There’s good news for francophiles living on the East Coast of the United States, too, as Delta Airlines has announced a new direct flight from Boston to Nice in the French Riviera. Flights will run three times a week starting in May 2026 – see here for more details.

Don’t forget, all visitors to France will need to pass through the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) as of October 2025. You can read our full guide here – Everything You Need to Know About the EU’s New Entry/Exit System (EES) – and we’ll keep you updated as we learn more.

Last week, we covered French Prime Minister François Bayrou’s shock announcement that he would be seeking a vote of confidence next week (September 8th), and with just one week to go until his fate is decided, it’s not looking good. The big issue on the table is the 2026 Budget, which attempts to tackle France’s spiralling debt crisis with a series of austerity measures aiming to slash €44 billion. Most notably, plans to cut two of France’s public holidays and freeze public spending have riled up both opposing parties and the public.

On Sunday, Bayou took part in a televised interview with journalists from four French TV channels in an attempt to defend his Budget, which he is adamant must be delivered to prevent France spiralling deeper into the debt crisis. “The issue is not the fate of the prime minister or the fate of François Bayrou or the government, the issue is the fate of France,” Bayrou stated, and he repeated that although the measures themselves were all “debatable and amendable”, he said that the condition was “for the future of the country: that we consider that we must do something.”

If Bayrou had held any hope of swaying the opposition, it doesn’t appear that his answers had much impact, and – short of a miracle – it looks likely that France will yet again lose its Prime Minister next week. Bayrou almost certainly knew this when he called the vote of confidence, but chose to call it anyway, likely to make a statement that he’s not willing to go through weeks of battles and censure motions to wind up in the same situation anyway.

So, what happens then? Well, just like last year, when Bayrou’s predecessor, Michel Barnier, was ousted, it will be up to President Macron to appoint a new Prime Minister with the hopes that they can successfully pass a 2026 Budget before the end of the year. For his part, Macron reaffirmed, as he always has, that he would not resign and fully intends to serve the next two years of his term.

With the government in turmoil yet again, an online movement has been calling for a complete “blockade” on France on September 10th – the day that parliament is due to begin debates on the 2026 Budget (if it has a government, that is). The anonymous and as-yet-unidentified group, which has been gaining traction on social media with its calls to “bloquons tout le 10 septembre”, has drawn comparisons to the gilets jaunes and has been backed by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the far-left La France Insoumise party, as well as the Green and Communist parties.

Although most of the French unions have not associated themselves with the cause, the eight principal union federations announced yesterday that they would be joining forces instead for a “major day of strikes” against the 2026 Budget on September 18th, with CFDT union chief Marylise Léon insisting that “The horror show that is the draft budget must be abandoned”. If it goes ahead, it’s expected to affect schools, travel, and public services.

French property owners should have recently received or soon receive their taxe foncière bills, one of the two property taxes payable on homes in France. For most people, this won’t be a paper bill (unless you have specifically requested one); you will find it in your personal space on impots.gouv.fr. You should receive an email notification, but it’s a good idea to check if you haven’t heard anything, as it is your responsibility to ensure your tax bills are paid. Note that those who have opted to pay in monthly instalments won’t receive their bill until at least September 20th, so sit tight!

Property tax bills are set to go up by about 1.7% across the country, but several communes have also opted to add additional levies, so you may find your bill has increased even more. In addition to that, if you declared any extensions or additions (such as a swimming pool) to your house last year, this will be reflected on this year’s bill. In this case, it’s wise to double-check how much extra you’ve been charged and for what. You can contest an unfair calculation with your local tax office or centre des impôts fonciers if required.

The deadline for payments is October 20th, 2025, if you’re paying online, or October 15th if paying by cash, cheque, SEPA bank transfers, or at a tabac. If you haven’t opted to pay by monthly payments, but you want to make the switch, it’s unfortunately too late to do so this year, but you can request this change from 2026.

The taxe foncière is payable by the homeowner(s) who owned the property on January 1st, 2025, which is good news if you bought your property this year, as you won’t be eligible until next year.

Remember, if you’re a second-home owner in France, you will also need to pay the taxe d’habitation (this bill doesn’t apply to those who use their property as their primary residence), but bills for that are usually sent out a bit later in the year.