We have decided not to move to France for the time being as we are put off by the following factors: tax and social charges that are ruinously high, property and food etc. are not as cheap as they were, and, in our opinion, French bureaucracy is out of control and would drive most sane people mad (in spite of this, we acknowledge that lots of people move to France and love it).

France is one of those places that people either love or hate: “love the country, dislike the people” is one of those hackneyed phrases that gets wheeled out at every time you speak to anybody who has been to France. 

I fall into the “I love it” camp most of the time, but have serious reservations about some aspects of France and the French. 

My wife and I spent a lot of time thinking about and planning to move to France to live permanently. We found a house we wanted to buy.  Eventually we decided to put plans to move there on hold. Currently we think it would be wiser to stay where we are. However, we may move there for a year or so before deciding one way or the other - letting our house in England and renting in France.

This diatribe explains our thinking behind this decision and may be of help to other people going through the same thinking process. 

My overall impression is that the French are extremely polite. I can think of some spectacular exceptions, but when I think of the French, I think of civility and consideration as the norm. Even in Paris, I have found people to be polite. Perhaps it has something to do with how one behaves towards other people. 

I first went to France in the late summer of 1980 and rode a bicycle 600 miles through Brittany and Normandy. It left a lasting impression. Food. Wine. Scenery. People. Weather.

In the early ‘90’s, although I was based in London, I spent time in Paris working for an American multinational. I soon realised that the French business fraternity does things differently. My job was to assess the viability of opening an office in France with a view to introduce some leading-edge technology into the French market by establishing a partnership with a French company. Ultimately, I recommended not doing so as I got the impression that the French just wanted to steal our ideas and use them independently from us. Naive as this may sound, I thought this was not cricket.

On the other hand, my generally xenophobic octogenarian English father surprised me a couple of years ago when, primed with some fine brandy, he waxed lyrical about how he admired the French. In his words they got things done regardless of what the rest of the world thought and damn the consequences. They did things their own way.

In my humble opinion, the French do do things their own way and this underpins the good and the bad in the French.

I am worried about moving to France, because we are now seeing the walking wounded struggling to get back to the UK. Those who moved there allured by cheap houses and a good life ... and lost their shirts. Bureaucracy, the language, a lack of preparation, and high taxes being their undoing. And, of course, having left the UK, they are now finding it difficult to get back onto the property ladder (not to mention that it can be very difficult to sell your French house and if you do, you may get hit with capital gains tax). 

I am worried by France’s claim to liberty in the face of mind numbing bureaucracy and (when it suits them) an obsequious attitude to authority.

I am worried by the view held in France that Napoleon was some form of lesser god, when in other countries he is viewed as the Hitler of his time.

I am worried by the idea of a European Community with France and Germany at its head.

I am worried that France is the only country in the world except for Zimbabwe, Cuba, North Korea and China where educated intelligent people look you in the eye and tell you they are committed communists and that communism is the only way forward.

I am worried by The Emperor’s Clothes. I think France is in for a nasty shock in terms of its national finances. It is yet to go through the pain and grief that Britain went through in the 1980’s. I don’t see how it can carry on with its culture of massive subsidies to its large corporations. Its reliance on the state coffers to prop-up its uncompetitive big industries and its enormous public sector. The argument goes that when the party is over, the hangover is going to lead to some unpalatable changes within the country and many of the things that the French have taken for granted for so long, the things that many consider make it such a good place to live, will be a thing of the past (first class medicine, well funded state education, welfare and the 35 hour week). 

On the other hand, France has survived major crises before and, no matter what happens, the French countryside will still be beautiful, the wine bountiful, the food delicious, and the sun will still shine.

I would be delighted to hear your thoughts about this rant, so send me an email. 

John Bradley