Emma Pearson

1 week ago | thelocal.fr | Emma Pearson

Why do I need to know bleuet? Because it's a symbolic flower that is very important on two dates of the year - May 8th and November 11th. What does it mean? Un bleuet is the small blue flower known in English as a cornflower. It's a common and rather pretty wildflower often seen on grass verges and in gardens.

1 week ago | thelocal.fr | Emma Pearson

Back in 2023, French tax authorities introduced a new requirement for anyone who owns property in France - including foreign second-home owners. This is the Déclaration des biens immobiliers, also known as the déclaration d'occupation. Completing the one-off declaration has been compulsory since 2023, but while the new system was bedding in, fines have not been issued.

1 week ago | thelocal.fr | Emma Pearson

It's a truth universally acknowledged that a French politician in possession of presidential ambition must be in want of something to Get Tough on. And if you come from the right of the political spectrum then Getting Tough on some aspect of the immigration system is a sure-fire winner. Does it matter if you end up announcing that you're going to Get Tough by introducing rules that already exist? It seems not, judging by French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau's announcement on Monday.

2 weeks ago | thelocal.fr | Emma Pearson

France's 2025 Budget - finally passed in February after much political drama - contained a provision that would have a big impact on France's self-employed people registered under the micro-entrepreneur scheme. The budget proposed a big drop in the VAT threshold, bringing many freelancers, contractors and sole traders into the VAT threshold for the first time.

2 weeks ago | thelocal.fr | Emma Pearson

The town of Pau, close to the border with Spain, has been experiencing a series of bizarre thefts for more than three years, and now the thief has struck again. Valérie Lenoble, owner of the lingerie store Bulle (bubble), arrived one morning to find that the U in the shop name had disappeared overnight. She told TFI Info that the crime would not have been difficult or time-consuming, saying: "He probably just used a crowbar, dislodged the letter and caught it.