VINGT Paris

France’s top plumber is… English

I know tons of good (Polish, Russian, Czech, Croatian......) plumbers in Paris so I can't say I was surprised to read this in the great blog Frogsmoke.

"The French won’t like it when they find out that the plumber they’ve just named as the best in their country is from Manchester, UK.

President Nicolas Sarkozy will present the prestigious title Meilleur Apprenti de France - the Best Apprentice in France - to Oliver Watson, oblivious to the fact he doesn’t even live in France. Oliver, aged 26, beat 6,000 French plumbers to the honour.

He said: “They don’t know I’m English yet because all they have is my name, so when I’m shaking hands with Sarkozy I’m going to say: `I’m an English lad, you know’.“

After claiming France’s top plumbing honour, Oliver has moved back to Manchester."

One More Reason to Love Paris: Free Bicycles

With thanks to one of our favourite apartment owners, essayist at large, Mira Kamdar for the following article.......

There are many reasons to fall in love with the City of Light but Paris' progressive mayor Bertrand Delanoë has just added one more: free bicycles. The new program is called "Vélib'" - a neologism from "vélo," bicycle and "libre," free. This from the same man who launched Paris Plage, seasonal sandy "beaches" on the banks of the Seine for Parisians unable to get away to the seashore in summer.

There are bicycle stands all over the city now, even one on my street.

"Am I allowed to buy property in France?"

By Samina Arnoult of Samina Arnoult Global Financial Services

The answer is a straightforward yes, and no strings attached. This is so true that foreign real estate companies buy French real estate every time the market plunges.

The second question that comes up is about financing property in France. Too often, foreigners do not know that they can get financing from French banks and often it is worth considering, especially when interest rates are lower in France than in their home country.

The SRU Law: Solidarité et Renouvellement Urbain (solidarity and urban renewal)

By Samina Arnoult of Samina Arnoult Global Financial Services

Voted December 13, 2000,the SRU law has come into effect June 1, 2001. It extends the buyer’s protection.

This important text sets out nearly 200 articles and modifies no less than eight codes (the public health code, planning code, habitation and construction codes, general code of regional administrative units, rural code, general tax code, civil code and state code) with great ambition: to organize the development of French cities, towns and villages, based on habitat, planning and transportation.