A new accreditation scheme will recognise communes that look after their elderly people well

English-language theatre group in the Deux-Sèvres has five performances planned for March

March 27 trade show in the Lot will allow English-speaking businesses to network and meet potential clients

Free series of seminars for anyone in the area with questions about making the most of their retirement

We tracked down the Dordogne conman and asked him why he was not in jail. He has now begun his two-year sentence

CONMAN Graham Templeton is in prison starting his two-year jail sentence for defrauding a group of Dordogne expats out of ?2 million, The Connexion can reveal.

French prison authorities said that th…

MPs in the French national assembly have been told that pornographic websites are now blocked on their office computers.

Parliament has implemented a new web filtering system that aims to block any i…

DRIVERS have started queuing for petrol in parts of France as oil refinery workers extend their strike.

Six refineries owned by Total have been closed since Thursday in protest at plans to close the …

AIR passengers are facing delays at Orly airport in Paris today ahead of a nationwide air traffic controllers’ strike that starts tomorrow.

Ground-handlers called a sudden strike at the weekend over…

THE RELIABILITY of French cars has been called into question in an international survey of drivers.

Almost a quarter of a million motorists in France, Germany, Switzerland, Brazil and China were aske…

STARBUCKS, BP, Glaxo SmithKline and Toys R Us are among the companies accused of failing to deal with employee stress in a new government report.

The Work Ministry has published a list on its websit…

A NEW generation of hidden speed cameras is to begin appearing on French motorways in a bid to stop drivers suddenly braking to avoid being caught.

Prime Minister François Fillon has announced that …

A MOTORCYCLIST who filmed himself speeding through the Midi-Pyrénées at up to 175kph has been caught by police ? after he accidentally dropped the camera on the roadside by a police station.

Offic…

SECONDARY school teachers across France are planning a one-day strike on March 12.

Eight teachers’ unions have backed the action, which will bring disruption to collèges and lycées nationwide.

The…

TWELVE wine producers and dealers in the Languedoc have been convicted for selling more than 18 million bottles of fake Pinot Noir to the US.

The scam, which judges believe netted about ?7m, went un…

TAXI drivers in Paris are planning to hold up traffic around Orly and Charles de Gaulle airports and parts of the city centre next Thursday.

They are staging a go-slow protest after a group of MPs dr…

A FREE telephone advice line is running this week to help anyone with questions about family life, buying a property or inheritance in France.

The service is part of the annual Semaine d’Information …

A GROWING number of French people say they miss the franc and would like it to return.

A survey by Paris Match magazine found 69% would like the old French currency to come back in place of the euro….

A BENEFIT scheme designed to help unemployed people nearing retirement age has been temporarily saved after the government abandoned plans to get rid of it.

Nicolas Sarkozy has agreed to keep the all…

CRECHE workers around France are holding a one-day strike today which will affect both municipal and private services.

Four unions have called the day of action to protest against work conditions and…

FIVE trade unions have called a nationwide day of strike action on March 23 in protest at the French government?s proposed pension reforms.

The CFDT, CGT, FSU, Solidaires and Unsa are planning the i…

UGC has admitted sending armed police in to a busy cinema auditorium to confront a customer who had brought in her own food and drink - the third case of its kind in as many weeks.

The woman was visi…

EVERY school in France should be equipped with high-speed internet and digital teaching equipment by 2012 to catch up with the rest of Europe, a report commissioned by the government has urged.

Educa…

A RETIRED British woman has been found stabbed to death at her French Riviera home.

Sixty-five-year-old Carol Hagues, who lived in Cagnes-sur-Mer on the Côte d’Azur, had been stabbed at least three …

Our guide to the options available when transferring pounds sterling to euros in France

A FORMER Société Générale trader accused of losing the bank billions of euros in unauthorised deals is to stand trial this summer, two and a half years after the incident came to light.

Jérôme …

IN THE past two years, unprecedented volatility in the currency markets has seen the value of sterling fluctuate by over 30% against the euro.

It is therefore especially important that when you tran…

WORKERS at a Philips factory in the Eure-et-Loir have been sent letters telling them not to turn up for work today ? and inviting them to apply for jobs in Hungary instead.

The technology firm annou…

FRENCH national rail operator SNCF has announced it is changing its definition of “on time” in a bid to improve this year’s punctuality stats.

Almost one in five long-distance train TGV services fail…

HOMES in France are beginning to benefit from a significant drop in the cost of water, as competition in the market is forcing prices down.

New figures from the Fédération Professionnelle de l’Eau …