I just had a remarkably easy trip into Bergerac to sort out some paperwork.
First stop, the caf (the people who handle child benefit) to tell them about the recent change in our domestic situation.
The caf itself has changed a lot since 2007. It’s evolved from a hostile place, where you were made to feel like a scrounger and a burden on the state, into something far more friendly and service oriented.
My previous draconian experiences helped smooth the way, though. Instead of taking the few bits of paper I thought they might want to see (a strategy that invariably leads to multiple trips to the caf), I took all possible files in a large shopping bag. A short wait. Some confusion over the wording of a form (a form provided by them and which took three people to understand), and I was in and out of there in minutes. Job done. (Hopefully. I’ll keep an eye on the post box.)
With unexpected time on my hands, I went to the Chamber of Commerce to see if I could add a few activities to my Auto Entrepreneur (translation: self-employed) status. This wasn’t necessarily going to be easy, as the former Her Outdoors attempted this on the Internet, then over the phone, and was charged about €120 for the changes. But fortune smiled on me again and I found myself sitting in the office of the woman who helped put me on the system in 2013. She added everything I do and am planning on doing – free of charge. (More on this, later.)
Face to face with a human, I learnt that great changes are coming to the Auto Entrepreneur system. Presumably, someone will write to everyone and explain what’s going on before the form-completing deadline of December 18th this year. I also discovered that the Chamber of Commerce is being moved from Bergerac to the regional capital of Périgueux. Which means that next year, many more people will have to struggle their way through the impenetrable government websites.
I’m not sure who this will make life easier for, but I ingenuinely hope they’ll be very happy.
November 4, 2015 at 12:27 am
It’s amazing, self employment red tape there. None existent in the uk ! Chatting with a guy who is AE in France, he was told on a gov tax course that he should put half through his books and stick half in his back pocket ! Black economy rife. I am saying nothing 😉
January 25, 2016 at 8:26 pm
Have enjoyed reading your posts tonight following a demand for CFE (I became an AE in 2012 and this was the first time I had been required to pay). This is something I had been conveniently ignoring, since my earnings are so low that I persuaded myself they wouldn’t even bother with me. Now I am slightly flustered. I like your style of writing and will ‘follow’ your parallel progress. Although tonight I’m wondering how to de-register! The only consolation is that I think the whole thing makes the French want to tear their hair out as well. Short of looking for a new, very stroppy, French husband, I will carry on bravely ploughing my way through the system! And good luck to you and your strimmer!
January 25, 2016 at 9:02 pm
Thanks for the comment, Cathy. Low income seems to come with the territory here. There have been some financial demands here recently that can’t be met. Once again, it’s another make-or-break year. Unless I find myself a new, very wealthy ‘wife’.
January 26, 2016 at 11:04 pm
You are so right. But also, there have been so many pleasures here that seem to compensate very strangely. It was never a country that I had any desire to live in, but I followed my husband. I’ve found so much pleasure and a sense of being truly alive (in difficult circumstances) that I never experienced in England or Ireland, where we have previously lived. It is fascinating to have oneself ‘opened up’. How do I view authority, democracy, socialism? You’d have to come to France and experience the system (and plod your way through it!) to realise how important these questions are.