Oasis in the Heart of Paris
Volume III, Issue 38
This past week we discovered yet another part of Secret Paris hidden behind the busiest of spots…the Cour Damoye — a cobblestoned pedestrian street entered onto through iron gates at either end connecting place de la Bastille with rue Daval. Along each side are three story houses anchored by artists’ ateliers and punctuated by potted plants and flowers. It is an oasis in the heart of Paris — perfectly quiet, serene, quaint, picturesque and rather surreal.
Our search consultants unearthed a one-bedroom 40 square meter apartment on the top floor of one of the most well-kept buildings about half-way down the street that had been perfectly remodeled about one year ago. Facing southeast, the two large windows and two skylights bathe the apartment in light. Both our client (a photographer from San Francisco) and I had a “coup de coeur.” I told her…”If you don’t buy it, I will!”
As you can guess, she made an offer and it was accepted. Now you can scroll down for the story on La Cour Damoye with pictures of the beautiful street and soon-to-be-owner trying out her soon-to-be bathtub for size!
This weekend some of France’s real estate industry people are heading across the English Channel to London for the French Property Exhibition now in its 16th year, including me. There will be more than 150 exhibitors — I’ll be participating at stand #182 of John Howell & Co. of Europe Law, the attorneys with whom we co-host the Invest in France Conferences. Next week, you can expect us to be laden with information gathered at the show and a full report.
Last week I met with my Notaire to prepare a French will now that I am fully resident in France. It’s about time! If you own property in France, then you should be planning for your French will, too. Scroll down for more information about preparing a French will as well as an excellent synopsis by John Howell about French tax laws.
A few tidbits of information about the demographics of Paris comes to us thanks to our liaison at the Hôtel de Ville…and be sure to read Part II of Francois’ Follies by David Downie, and excerpt from his latest book, “Paris, Paris: Journey into the City of Light.”
Until next Thursday when I have tales to tell from Londontown…
A bientôt…
Adrian Leeds
Editor, French Property Insider
Email: [email protected]
P.S. As a special thank you to our readers, we are EXTENDING the discount of $150 off every conference or seminar registration to all subscribers of Parler Paris, French Property Insider and clients of John Howell & Co. on the upcoming October Living and Investing in France Conference and Invest in France Seminar.
Living and Investing in France Conference
October 21 – 23, 2005
Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco
Invest in France Seminar
October 26 , 2005
Harvard Club, New York City
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Volume III, Issue 37, September 22, 2005
In this issue:
* The Statistic Truth About Paris
* French Will-fulness
* Tax Time in France
* French Take Flight From French Tax
* Part II: Miterrand’s Mess (Francois’ Follies) by David Downie
* Win a Trip to France
* “Welcome to France” Fair – Visit Booth #1
* Sleepless in Paris
* Cobblestone Cour au Coeur
* Upcoming Conferences
* Hot Properties: Bastille Court Life
* On the Auction Block This Month
* Classified Advertising
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The Demographics of Paris
By Adrian Leeds
Thanks to my favorite “little birdie” in the City of Paris administration who keeps me informed of what’s hot and what’s not, what’s in and what’s out, what’s on and what’s off, this week I received a report from the Direction du Développement Economique et de l’Emploi on the demographic and socio-economic structure of each arrondissement of Paris. How fascinating!
Here are a few tidbits worth sharing with you…< /p>
There are 6300 inhabitants in the 3rd arrondissement (where I live) of foreign nationality, representing 18.3% of the population of the district, compared with 14.5% citywide. I expected it to be lower than the 6th arrondissement, which is such a big attraction particularly for Americans (there are more short-term rental apartments in the 6th than in any other!). However, there are fewer — 5400 of foreign nationality, representing 12% of the district’s population. The arrondissement with the least numbers of foreign residents?…the 12th with 9.8% and the most?…surprisingly, the 2nd with 21.5%!
The report does not attempt to break down the various nationalities, but in both the 2nd and 3rd, there are many wholesalers and small factories, many of which are owned and operated by the Chinese residents. I can only guess that this contributes to the high numbers.
The most heavily populated district in Paris is the 15th with 225,360 inhabitants, 10.6% of the Paris population. Not surprising, considering it is also Paris largest geographic area with 8.5 square kilometers. The least populated is the 1st, with 16,890 inhabitants, not even one percent, in less than two square kilometers. Geographically, the smallest district of Paris is the 2nd — not even one square kilometer, followed by the 3rd with just over one square kilometer. No wonder it feels so much like a little village!
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Your French Will
By Adrian Leeds
If you own property in France, you should have a French will to go with it. The French law of succession, which governs inheritance issues, is markedly different from other countries laws. It is unlikely that your American, Canadian, English or other attorney will have sufficient knowledge in French law to be competent to make a will relating to real estate situated in France. So, you should consult a French attorney well trained in French law or Notaire to make a “testament authentique.”
If you are still a non-resident of France, then simply exclude your French property from your will registered in your home country and provide for it in your new French will. If you are a permanent resident of France, then your new French will governs all your property and possessions.
Other EU member states have different inheritance laws, and growing mobility within Europe has led to an increase in the number of people requiring wills in two or more countries. There may be changes ahead. The European Commission recently employed two academics, one French and one German, to compile a report on inheritance matters and it has now issued a Green Paper. It considers ways in which inheritance problems could be simplified. One suggestion is to publish the different countries’ inheritance laws on the Internet.
The Green Paper raises the possibility that European laws could apply to the administration of deceased’s estates in Britain. Under such rules the provisions of the will can be overridden in favor of family members who might otherwise fail to benefit.
For the time being it will be French law that governs the ultimate destination of your house in France. Inheritance taxes are high in France — as much as 55% for family members after the first 150,000 euros and 60% for non family members after the first 150,000 euros.
Editor’s Note: For assistance with your will, contact John Howell, John Howell & Co., http://www.EuropeLaw.com
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The Machinery of Tax Collection in France
By John Howell
The information contained in this article relates only to people non-resident for tax purposes in France. A person is generally resident for tax purposes if he is physically present in France for more than 183 days in any calendar year. A number of other rules can also “catch” you for tax residence. These rules are complicated.
The French Authority responsible for the collection of taxes is the “Direction Générale des Impôts.” This is organized on a national and regional basis. In each region there is a “Direction Régionale des Impôts.” In addition there are departmental and local offices “Centre des Impôts.”
There is an important difference between the way in which the French and the British collect their taxes.
In France it is your responsibility to complete a tax form, which is sent direct to the taxpayer by the “Direction des Impôts.” It is also your responsibility to calculate the amount of taxes that you owe to the State and to send off your form and payment.
Non-residents tax affairs are dealt with centrally by the “Centre des Impôts des non résidents” in Paris.
Taxes payable on the transfer of property – Taxe sur la valeur ajoutée (T.V.A.)
This is the French equivalent of VAT.
It is paid when you buy a new property before it is completed or it is sold – for the first time – within 5 years of its completion.
In addition to TVA you will also have to pay Land Registry fees of 0.6% of the net purchase price.
Land Registry Fees
These vary according to the locality, type and value of the property. They are not strictly taxes but rather administrative fees but, for the sake of completeness, are referred to in this document.
Notary’s Fees
These fees, too, are not strictly taxes but rather administrative fees paid to the Notary for the work he does in connection with the Deed of Conveyance. They are calculated according to a nation-wide scale based on the purchase price of the property.
All of the above fees and taxes are the r
esponsibility of the
purchaser of property.
Property taxes – Impôts locaux
This is the main local property tax affecting owners of properties in France.
The amount of the tax is calculated by reference to the “valeur cadastrale” (official value of the property) registered in respect of all properties in France.
The percentage of that valeur cadastrale charged as tax varies from area to area.
There are three kinds of land related tax, The Taxe d’Habitation which is a residential tax, the Taxe Foncière, payable by all home/land owners and the Taxe Professionelle, business rates payable by all traders carrying on non-salaried activities.
Personal taxes – Impôt de Solidarité sur la Fortune ISF – (Wealth Tax)
A person resident in France for tax purposes and non-residents with substantial assets in France, (720,000 euros for 2005) must, every year, submit a wealth tax return.
This must show the value of all of that person’s assets located in France. Valued as at 1st January of each year.
This will normally be the person’s house, car and the balance on his bank account.
The value to be used when declaring the value of the house is the official valeur cadastrale (see property taxes above). The basis of the tax calculation is the same as for the inheritance tax.
The tax payable are calculated according to a sliding scale between 0.5% and 1.5% of the value of the taxable estate.
The wealth tax return must be paid to the Authorities at the latest on 15th June of each year.
Impôts sur le Revenu (Income Tax)
A person not resident in France for tax purposes must still make an annual declaration for income tax.
The French Authorities are only concerned with the income you derive from activities in France, not your worldwide income.
Typical examples of this will be interest on any money you have on deposit with a French bank or income you derive from letting your apartment or house. (See also “Tax on the Notional Letting Value of Your Property” below).
As this income is part of your world wide income it will have to be declared to the British Tax Authorities but double taxation relief does exist as a result of a Treaty between the two countries.
You do not need to file a tax declaration if your earnings in France amount to less than a minimum threshold which in 2001 was typically about 143.000 French Francs in the year. That minimum amount varies every year with the new budget.
If you do have to make a return it must be made by 31st December in each tax year.
Capital Gains Taxes
The French have a sophisticated system of assessing Capital Gains Tax, which distinguishes between short and long term gains and gains realized by individuals and those made by businesses. For people resident in France for tax purposes, non-business related Capital Gains are classified and calculated according to the nature of the good sold.
For people not resident in France for tax purposes, Capital Gains Tax is payable at a flat rate 33% on the difference between the price for which the article was sold and the price paid for it. Indexation for inflation and allowances are applied to reduce the taxable gain. The first two years of ownership are not counted. The transaction is tax free (in most cases) if the property has been owned for more than 22 years.
In the typical example of the sale of property, the prices used to calculate the tax liability are those declared in the Title Deed.
If you have under declared the value in your Title Deed on purchasing property you can, therefore, build up a large and entirely artificial Capital Gain which will be taxable UNLESS YOU NOW TAKE ACTION TO REMEDY THE SITUATION.
Tax on the Notional letting value of your property
In addition to the ordinary income tax return, which you must submit in appropriate cases, you may in some cases be required to make a tax return in respect of the notional letting value of your property.
This tax return has to be made whether you have actually let the property to anybody or not.
If you have actually let the property and received money for it, then the money you have received will have been declared in your ordinary income tax return.
The amount of the tax is calculated by reference to the annual rental value of your property.
The amount to be declared in the form is 3 times the annual rental value of the property. The tax payable is then assessed according to the usual principles applicable – basis, allowances, rates – and payable by all income tax payers in France.
However, most people not tax resident in France are exempt from this tax because of dual taxation treaties between France and their country.
Taxes Payable on Death
As in most countries, in France the State likes to take a chunk of your assets when you die. How much they will receive depends largely on how well you plan your affairs.
The whole system of taxation on death is very different from the English system and so poses a real danger to English people who subconsciously assume that similar provisions will apply and arrange their affairs accordingly. Some differences are:
1. In France there is no automatic inheritance by a surviving spouse or other joint owner of the deceased’s share in any property. If it is left by will or on intestacy to the other joint owner (and there may be restrictions on your ability to do this), the gift will be taxable.
2. The amount of tax paid is determined not by the size of the whole estate – as in this country – but by the relationship between the bene
ficiary and the deceased
and by size of each individual inheritance. The tax is progressive – the more you inherit, the higher the rate of tax you will have to pay.
3. Near relatives pay tax at a lower rate than more distant relatives who in turn pay less tax than total strangers.
4. Near relatives are also entitled to receive a sum tax-free. More distant relatives and strangers are not.
5. An estate of, say, £100,000 can therefore produce a large tax bill if it is all left to one person – especially a non relative – and little or no tax bill if it is divided amongst a number of beneficiaries who are close relatives.
Putting all of these things together, there is great scope for minimizing tax payable on death. In general terms, dividing your assets between your husband/wife and children tends to produce the lowest tax bills.
Take as an example a typical case where the estate comprises a house and a small bank account – a total estate valued at, say, £150,000.
If the estate was left to a stranger – including, for this purpose, a “common law” wife or a non-related executor and trustee – tax of about £90,000 (60%) would be payable.
If the same estate was to be left in equal shares to a wife and 3 children virtually no tax at all would be payable. Those who don’t have spouses or children can use the same principles to make savings using other classes of beneficiary.
Penalties are imposed if the tax due is not paid within one year of the date of death. (6 months for tax residents).
In many cases where sizeable tax payments are going to be a problem it is possible to dispose of the assets during the owner’s lifetime much more cheaply than in his death.
VAT
As in England, most transactions in France involve the payment of VAT. The normal rate is 19.6%.
A reduced rate of 5.5% is applicable to certain transactions listed by statutes and that list is exhaustive. Certain items are VAT exempt.
Fiscal representatives
The French Law until recently required any person who had dealings within France but who was not a full time resident in France to appoint a fiscal representative.
Although this is no longer strictly necessary, we still consider that it is a step well worth taking.
A Fiscal Representative is a person who undertakes on behalf of the taxpayer all dealings with the French Tax Authorities.
The Fiscal Representative can be a friend or a professional adviser and does not necessarily need to be a French national.
The appointment of a Fiscal Representative is the only way in which you can be sure that the French Tax Authorities, unable to contact you because you are not in the country, do not take damaging and expensive action against you to collect any sums of taxes which they allege to be due.
Appeals
As in most countries, if you disagree with the amount of tax which you are required to pay you can appeal against the decision of the Tax Authority.
Editor’s Note: John Howell is the lead attorney for John Howell & Co. English Solicitors & International Lawyers, The Old Glass Works, 22 Endell Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9AD, Tel: 020 7420 0400, mailto:[email protected]. He is the co-host and main speaker of the Living and Investing in France Conference and Invest in France Seminar coming up this October in San Francisco and New York.
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Flight of the French
By Tracy McNicoll
Newsweek International
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9378523/site/newsweek/
A nation that prides itself on egalité has a tax code that is driving its richest citizens to Belgium, in droves.
The Belgians call them “fiscal refugees,” but these refugees wear Chanel. They are runaways from high taxes in France. Officially, France has lost, on average, one millionaire or billionaire taxpayer per day for tax reasons since 1997, when the government started trying to track capital flight. Privately, economists say the number is much higher. “The statistic is stupid,” holds French economist Nicolas Baverez. “It’s as if, to count contraband, you only counted what people declared at the border.”
While much of Europe has revised its tax codes, France’s fiscal inertia is virtually begging its rich to leave. Holding dear its commitment to egalité and fraternité, France has bucked the trend in the European Union, where most member states have dropped the wealth tax since the mid-1990s. France went the opposite way in 1997 by abolishing a cap that limited the wealth-tax bill, which kicks in at incomes over 720,000 euro, to 85 percent of a taxpayer’s income. The result: some pay more taxes than they earn in income.
At the same time, France joined the move to open borders in Europe, and last year was compelled by the European Court of Justice to cut its “exit tax” on departing fortunes. The result, according to a recent study by the economic weekly Challenges, is that so far, 13 of France’s 20 richest industrial families have either partially or entirely expatriated their fortunes. They include members of the Muillez family behind the Auchan hypermarkets fortune and the Halley family of Carrefour’s. Says Baverez, “All of the great families of northern France, they aren’t in Lille anymore; they’re all in Belgium.”
France’s so-called solidarity tax on wealth dates to the 1980s. It works a bit like a capital-gains tax but is actually a tax on the capital itself. Controlling shareholders and top company directors are exempt until they sell their shares. France then also charges them a 27 percent value-
added tax on the same
sale. Eric Pichet, author of a practical guide to the wealth tax, estimates that since 1998, the tax has cost France 100 billion euro in capital flight — a sum that could be expected to generate an additional 5 billion euro in annual returns. All for a tax that brings in only 2.6 billion euro a year. “Every time you touch it, the French say you’re gifting the rich,” says Pichet, but keeping it means “it’s the others paying for the rich.” Capital flight has produced a political backlash: Nicolas Sarkozy, a presidential candidate for 2007, surprised his party convention recently by diverting from his prepared speech and calling for wealth-tax reform this fall.
The fleeing rich are partial to Belgium because it is French-speaking, is only 85 minutes from Paris by train and has no wealth or value-added tax. A recent French government report on fleeing taxpayers concluded that the typical departing 55-year-old has about 15 million euro in capital and tends to choose Belgium or Switzerland; the fleeing 45-year-old with 3 million to 4 million euro will go to Britain or the United States. As Italy has liberalized, it has begun to draw exiles, too. “The effect is terrible because it is either large fortunes or people who have created businesses and are succeeding,” says Baverez. “And their taxes get paid to the queen of England or the king of the Belgians, not France.”
The wealth tax is the reason the Taittinger family will harvest their last grapes this fall. They’ve been making champagne in Reims since 1932, but reluctantly sold out to American hotelier Starwood Group in July. Champagnes president Claude Taittinger says that since the ceiling on the wealth tax was lifted in 1997, 10 of 50 family shareholders have moved abroad and others may follow. “The ISF is killing family business, but it’s extremely popular in France — people like it because they think they are making the rich pay,” says Taittinger. “But the rich aren’t paying, they’re leaving.”
Taittinger doubts that will change. He says Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin doesn’t want to be seen as “the man who suppressed the wealth tax.” Indeed, Villepin has said wealth-tax reform is “not a priority,” perhaps following the hard lessons learned by President Jacques Chirac, his political patron. Chirac is said to blame his defeat in the 1988 presidential election on his 1986 decision (later reversed) to lift the wealth tax. Now Chirac won’t touch the issue, says Bruno Gibert, a tax lawyer and former adviser to Sarkozy. “It’s no longer a tax. It’s become a symbol or a political object.”
Still, the backlash may produce changes. France is growing so slowly, it can hardly afford to lose wealthy and dynamic tycoons in droves. Yet rising property prices are lifting thousands into the rich tax class; the number of people paying the wealth tax has nearly doubled since 1997, to 335,000 in 2004. Provincial farmers and Paris pensioners are now getting billed alongside the Taittingers, broadening support for reform. Even Sen. Jean Arthuis, who was Finance minister when the cap on the wealth tax was lifted, now calls it “a fiscal anomaly” that should be abolished. That might give the fiscal refugees an opening to come home, if it isn’t too late.
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Francois’ Follies PART I
By David Downie
Excerpt from “Paris, Paris: Journey into the City of Light”
http://www.parisparisthebook.com
A ten-minute walk further east and I came upon Mitterrand’s unsung Ministry of Finance complex. It’s Europe’s longest continuous building, seemingly leftover from Stalin’s USSR, and goosesteps in an
“L” from the Gare de Lyon to the Seine at Bercy. I remember the spiel co-architects Paul Chemetov and Borja Huidobro gave the press in the late 1980s. The Bercy métro-viaduct, they said, with its double set of white stone arcades, inspired their concept. Too bad the inspiration penetrated only as far as the architects’ highly active vocal chords. Detractors dubbed the $500 million trifle “futuristic”, “Stalinesque” and “nightmarish.” Its defenses include a moat and a cubical citadel of glass (for private ministerial meetings). A hive buzzing with 6,000 pen push-ers, honeycombed with identical, modular offices, the color-coded signage is devised to get drones through a synapse-stunning thirty-five kilometers of corridors. That’s nearly twenty miles. When I first toured the building in 1989 my embarrassed PR guide lost her way on the sixth floor of Building C, panicked and had to call for help. Little has changed, though nowadays Bercy is smog-stained and seems less futuristic or “intelligent”, as it was once called (meaning 100 percent computerized). I walked through it now and was comforted to learn that the air-conditioning still turns off when windows are opened. In-house mail continues to arrive via something called “Teledoc”, a ceiling-mounted electronic shuttle system. The minister flies in by helicopter (there’s a landing pad on the roof) or splashes in by speedboat (to a high-security dock on the Seine). With synthesized voices the elevators tell visitors what floor they’re on. And countless people still get lost.
While tanking up on a restorative dose of caffeine at a café outside the moat, I asked the barkeep how the fortress complex had changed the neighborhood. Local businesses are profiting, he chortled. Real
estate values have risen. “And who cares if it could be in Moscow,” he asked, jerking his thumb eastwards. “The TGB is worse!”
Upstream I crossed to the Left Bank at Tolbiac and stood before the Incan plinth on which the National Library rises amid a forest of con-struction cranes. Local redevelopment is still underway. The library’s catchy official name is “Bibliothèque de France, Site François Mitterrand.” But everyone calls this $1 billion-plus marvel the TGB (Très Grande Bibliothèque).
Can kitsch be dangerous, I wondered? I skittered in the windswept shadows of four, 300-foot towers of glass splayed like open books framing an expanse three football fields long of slippery, buckling tropical planks. A half-hour search among
caged
holly trees rattling in the wind revealed an entrance — luckily I’d been here before and vaguely remembered the way. The site’s hidden heart is a glassed-in subterranean garden the length of two football fields, accessed via a tilted, moving sidewalk.
Like the caged hollies, the gardens’ handsome red pine trees double as contemporary bondage art, girded by steel cables so they won’t crash through the windows.
Wind is not the only problem at the TGB. I still haven’t gotten used to genial architect Dominique Perrault’s underground reading rooms, or his cleverness in storing books in glass towers, where retrofitted wooden panels block daylight. The original plan was worse: conveyor belts were to cross an open courtyard, exposing books to rain and sun. I stood now in the western atrium and had plenty of time to take in the view of leaking ceilings and plastic buckets extending almost 700 feet east.
Hours can go by while you get a computerized pass then summon a book from a tower into a reading room half a mile away. Best of all is trying to exit: if your returned loan hasn’t been scanned back into the system, as happened to me, you can’t get out. Red lights flashed. The turnstile wouldn’t turn. Librarians and security guards leapt into action. Then Big Brother pushed a button somewhere and finally I was free to go.
My explorations of Mitterrand’s megalomania had a surprisingly happy ending at La Villette in the 19th arrondissement, four “grands projets” in one. Three times the size of the Pompidou Center, the old meat-packing plant west of the Ourcq Canal has been the world’s biggest science museum since it opened in 1986. No beef here, I reflected as I hoofed through this Emerald City of hi-tech. Cast as the Wizard of Oz, Mitterrand hijacked but couldn’t ruin the project after drubbing Giscard d’Estaing at the polls, and it is Mitterrand’s name that you see writ large on a bronze plaque in the cavernous main hall full of electronic gizmos.
I crossed the canal and found the doors open to the reconverted 1860s glass-and-ironwork cattle auction hall. Now an expo and concert venue, the Grande Halle evokes Baltard’s dearly departed Les Halles, and, as with Giscard d’Estaing’s equally successful Musée d’Orsay and Institut du Monde Arab, try as he might not even Mitterrand could ruin it.
Not content with surrogate fatherhood at La Villette, Tonton commissioned the Cité de la Musique, a silly name for the national music conservatory and instrument museum. Architect Christian de Portzamparc subsequently won the prestigious Pritzker Prize and is perhaps the sole Frenchman to have fulfilled Mitterrand’s hope of global glory. He also designed classy Café Beaubourg; its counterpart here felt like a grand piano turned inside out. Like the other “grand projets” De Portzamparc’s compound shows precocious signs of gritty wear. The superfluous metal superstructures that metaphorically “bridge” the abutting Péripherique beltway and the bathroom-tiled facades seem hopelessly mired in a post-modernist aesthetic. Yet the curving indoor “street” playfully evokes an inner ear, and the museum’s displays and live music are a harmonious delight.
Before heading home I took a turn around the Parc de la Villette, a deconstructionist’s dream its American architect Bernard Tschumi termed “an urban park for the 21 st century”, meaning it rejects the
notion of a refuge. His “discontinuous building” is a sequence of 26 whimsical “garden follies” painted fire engine red, set along cobbled footpaths, lawns and the Ourcq Canal. A refuge from the city it isn’t: cars thundered by on the beltway, riverboats chuffed past. The follies
merge jungle gym, firehouse and lifeguard station. Despite “keep off” signs, kids gleefully scaled the wheel rims of Claes Oldenburg’s out-sized “Buried Bicycle” sculpture. Others hunted frogs in a bamboo-stippled marsh, unaware of their prey’s resemblance to a certain former president. It struck me that few of those happy children had lived through Mitterrand’s murky reign, and probably not a one would recognize his name.
Read Part I from last week…
https://adrianleeds.com/wp-content/uploads/newsletters/frenchproperty/insider/members/content/pastissues/FPI_September_15_2005.html
Editor’s Notes: David Downie is a leading journalist whose articles on culture, food and travel appear in top newspapers and magazines worldwide. He has lived in Paris since 1986. His latest book,
“Paris, Paris: Journey into the City of Light,” was just released by Transatlantic Press with a foreward by Diane Johnson and Black and White photographs by Alison Harris. It is available at https://adrianleeds.com/wp-content/uploads/newsletters/parlerparis/books/booksaboutfrance.html
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WIN France the Way You Like It!
The Maison de la France, French Government Tourist Office is giving away a trip to France.
Just tell them about your dream trip to France and you could win it!
It’s simple, fun and will only take a few minutes. You can also increase your chance of winning by referring a friend upon registration.
To enter, visit: http://t7.mailperf.com/r3.aspx?gv1=e6JcuPva13OcFrqJASP0
But hurry – contest closes September 30, 2005. Good luck!
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Visit Booth #1
Welcome to France October 16, 2005 Carrousel de Louvre Paris, France
http://www.expatica.com/welcometofrance/
At the Expatica Welcome to France fair you will get the information you need from companies and agenc
ies specialized
in expatriate services.
You’ll find information on house hunting, finding a job, immigration and permits, staying long-term, and much more.
Meet the people who make expat life great, including the top clubs and associations, travel agents and sports teams.
Adrian Leeds of French Property Insider and John Howell of EuropeLaw.com will be at booth #1 during the fair. Be sure to stop by and say hello!
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Sleepless in Paris
On October 1st… a welcoming atmosphere, soft lighting, new angles…La Nuit Blanche is back and more surprising than ever. The Paris City Council invites us to take a different look at the capital…
… by asking talented artists from all horizons (music, visual art, video, sound, lighting…) to deploy their skills in order to amaze and move us.
In the space of a few hours, Paris becomes home of the night-owls. Dressed in their evening finery, museums, libraries, swimming pools and churches throw open their doors. Unconventional illuminations, offbeat sounds, unusual exhibitions, original ideas… are all on the agenda for this night without sleep.
Click here for more information.
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A Brief History of La Cour Damoye
“La Cour Damoye” was built on the lands of the “grand bastion Saint-Antoine,” in a part of the old Bastille castle.
In 1780, the old King’s archers barrack, were purchased by Nicholas Damoye, administrator of the city, who rescued the doors, the windows and the chimneys. Since then, the alley is called either “passage Daval” or “Cour Damoye.”
After this time, “La Cour Damoye” had been occupied by some scrap merchants and other “auvergnats” or ragmen until 1816 when it was purchased by a family that still owns it.
In 1914, this was the place where cart wheels were repaired. The skilled eye of the photographer Atget captured this working atmosphere — the street lamps, the stored cart wheels on the paving stone, the ladders, and some workshops on the ground floor. There was also a coffee roasting shop and a restaurant. This was a small village where people used to live in harmony, and to this day retains a village-like atmosphere.
The architect Didier Drumond, who designed the renovation of “La Cour Damoye,” also restored the pedestrian area called “Montorgueil-Saint-Denis.”
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Upcoming Conferences
LIVING AND INVESTING IN FRANCE
San Francisco
October 21 to 23, 2005
Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf
Our popular three-day Living in France Conference will give you all the information you need to make your Paris dream a reality! The line-up for the conference includes seminars, discussions, dinners, cocktails with well-known Paris, Europe and U.S.-based experts. For West Coast folks, or those wanting more comprehensive information on all aspects of living in France, the San Francisco conference is a must.
INVEST IN FRANCE
New York
October 26, 2005
Harvard Club
Take just one day and learn from some of the finest experts in French real estate about the best ways to make your money and real estate investment grow. Join us at the prestigious Harvard Club for this power-packed one day event.
INVEST IN FRANCE
Paris
December 28, 2005
Chez Jenny
Enjoy your Christmas vacation in Paris, and set aside JUST ONE DAY of your busy schedule visiting museums and dining on foie gras to learn how to make your money grow, while building a portfolio of some of the most desirable real estate in the world.
For more information on The Invest in France Seminars or Living in France Conference, until we have our Web site up, contact Schuyler Hoffman, Projects Manager, at [email protected]/parlerparis to be put on a special mailing list to be notified when the details are in place (very, very soon!).
FRENCH PROPERTY EXHIBITION
London, England
September 23
– 25, 2005
National
Hall, Olympia
Now in its 16th year, the London French Property Exhibition gives you the opportunity to learn about all aspects of buying property in France. Visit the John Howell and Co. booth to meet John Howell, and Adrian Leeds of Parler Paris and French Property Insider.
FOURTH PARIS POETRY WORKSHOP
Paris
October 2 – 6, 2005
This is your opportunity to spend five days in Paris as a poet among poets. Over the past several years, the success of each Paris Poetry Workshop has contributed to the creation of an expanding international community of poets writing in English, who come together from all parts of the world to generate new work, hone their craft, share and support one another’s creative endeavors. This is your chance to become part of this exciting and vibrant community.
THE ART OF TROMPE L’OEIL SEMINAR
Paris
December 29 – January 2
Join a unique community of artists, engaging in hands-on painting and conversation with internationally renowned trompe l’oeil muralist and educator, Yves Lanthier. An award-winning artist, Yves has created large oil paintings and elaborate trompe l’oeil that adorn the ceilings and walls of many East Coast mansions and Palm beach estates, including Celine Dion’s estate in Jupiter, Florida
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FPI Property Consultation, Search and Relocation Solutions
Let French Property Insider expert property consultants find your dream home in France for you. We consult with you to help you make the best decisions, ferret out the finest properties to meet your criteria, schedule the visits and accompany you, negotiate with the agencies and owners, recommend the notaires and other professionals, schedule the signings and oversee the purchase with you from start to finish! You could never do it so easily on your own. Let us take the time and effort off your hands.
FPI Offers More Relocation Solutions!
Let our experienced relocation expert help make your move easy and hassle-free. We offer complete property and relocation services normally only provided by employer hired relocation firms…but at a price much more affordable for individuals.
Solution #1: Property Consultation and Search Services
Solution #2: Purchase Assistance
Solution #3: Getting a Mortgage in France
Solution #4: Property Appraisal Service
Solution #5: The “Après Vente”
Apartments for Rent: Long-Term
To book your services, click here:
https://adrianleeds.com/wp-content/uploads/newsletters/frenchproperty/insider/booking.html
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TODAY’S CURRENCY UPDATE
Visit the FPI Web site and click on the link on the left panel “Click Here for Currency Convertor by Moneycorp” for up to the minute conversions of all major currencies.
Compare currency values easily and quickly by visiting: https://adrianleeds.com/frenchproperty/loan/moneycorpconvertor.html
Charts http://www.Moneycorp.co.uk/members/charts.asp The charts below are updated every ten seconds.
The prices shown are “inter bank” exchange rates and are not the rates that you will be offered by Moneycorp. Your rate will be determined by the amount of currency that you are buying. Please speak with an Moneycorp dealer or your consultant for a live quotation.
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Parler Paris Après-Midi
https://adrianleeds.com/wp-content/uploads/newsletters/parlerparis/apresmidi.html
NEXT MEETING: October 11, 2005 AND EVERY SECOND TUESDAY OF THE MONTH, 3
p.m. to 5 p.m.
This is your opportunity to meet every month, often with local
professionals who can answer your Working and Living in France questions. You are invited to come for drinks and share your questions and comments about what it takes to create a life here, own property and enjoy what France has to offer. It is also
an opportunity to network with other
Parler Paris readers.
Upstairs at La Pierre du Marais
96, rue des Archives at the corner of rue de Bretagne, 75003 Paris
Métro Lines 9, 3 et 11, stations Temple, République or Arts et Métiers
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HOT PROPERTY PICKS: Bastille Court Life
Each week French Property Insider features a range of properties which we believe are on the market at the time of writing. These properties are featured in order to give readers a sample of what is currently available and a working example of prices being asked in various regions of France and districts of Paris.
As we are not a real estate agency. These properties do not constitute a sales listing. For those readers seriously interested in finding property in Paris or France. you can retain our services to do the whole thing for you. For more information, visit https://adrianleeds.com/wp-content/uploads/newsletters/frenchproperty/insider/propertyconsultation.html
*** Paris, 11th Arrondissement, 3/4 rooms, approx. 81m²
Close to Place des Vosges and Bastille, in a cut stone building, this lovely 3/4 room apartment is in good condition. On the third floor facing the road and courtyard, it has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, parquet floors, moldings, fireplace, southern exposure, gas heating.
Asking Price: 548,000 euros + 2.5% Finder’s Fee
*** Paris, 11th Arrondissement, 3 rooms, approx. 130m²
Located near Bastille, on a pretty treed courtyard, this superb loft on the main floor has 3.7m high ceilings, with 2 bedrooms, a mezzanine, and parquet floors.
Asking Price: 660,000 euros + 2.5% Finder’s Fee
*** Paris, 11th Arrondissement, 3/4 rooms, approx. 117m²
This 3/4 room renovated loft on a tree lined courtyard in the Bastille area is bright, quiet and charming. Located on the third floor, it offers lots of space with a large living room, fully equipped kitchen, 2 bedrooms, large bathroom and cellar. Northwest exposure, electric heating.
Asking Price: 945,000 euros + 2.5% Finder’s Fee
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Paris Auctions
http://www.encheres-Paris.com
Next sessions: October 4 and 11, 2005, 2 p.m.
Notaires de Paris
Place du Châtelet
12 avenue Victoria
Paris 1st
Additional information on Les Ventes aux Enchères des Notaires can be found on the website at http://www.encheres-Paris.com/ Though the site has a button for an English version, it isn’t reliable to work.
To read Schuyler Hoffman’s article about the property auctions in Paris, click on:
https://adrianleeds.com/wp-content/uploads/newsletters/frenchproperty/insider/subscribersonly/articles/auctions1.html
October 4, 2005: 2 Rooms 35,10 m² 30 rue des Saules 75018 PARIS 18th Starting Bid: 110,000 Euros Deposit: 22,000 Euros |
October 11, 2005: 4 Rooms 89,60 m² rented 87 rue de Ranelagh 75016 PARIS 16th Starting Bid: 295,000 Euros Deposit: 59,000 Euros |
Studio 25 m² rented 80-82 rue d’Avron 75020 PARIS 20th Starting Bid: 33,750 Euros Deposit: 6,750 Euros |
5 Rooms 115,80 m² rented 87 rue de Ranelagh 75016 PARIS 16th Starting Bid: 435,000 Euros Deposit: 87,00 0 Euros |
Studio 23 m² rented 80-82 rue d’Avron 75020 PARIS 20th Starting Bid: 24,084 Euros Deposit: 4,816.80 Euros |
2 Rooms 22,90 m² rented 87 rue de Ranelagh 75016 PARIS 16th Starting Bid: 67,000 Euros Deposit: 13,400 Euros |
Maid’s Room 9 m² rented 35 rue des Trois Bornes 75011 PARIS 11th Starting Bid: 13,500 Euros Deposit: 2,700 Euros |
Maid’s Room 7 m² 87 rue de Ranelagh 75016 PARIS 16th Starting Bid: 15,000 Euros Deposit: 3,000 Euros |
Studio + pièce séparée attenante 29,80 m² rented 1bis-3-4 rue Désiré Ruggieri 75018 PARIS 18th Starting Bid: 60,300 Euros Deposit: 12,060 Euros |
Maid’s Room5,70 m² 87 rue de Ranelagh 75016 PARIS 16th Starting Bid: 12 500,00 Euros Deposit: 2,500 Euros |
October 11, 2005: 2 Rooms 62,70 m² 33 rue Bonaparte 75006 PARIS 6th Starting Bid: 352,000 Euros Deposit: 70,400 Euros |
Maid’s Room6,20 m² 87 rue de Ranelagh 75016 PARIS 16th Starting Bid: 13,000 Euros Deposit: 2,600 Euros |
Pièce 12,50 m² + 2 débarras 33 rue Bonaparte 75006 PARIS 6th Starting Bid: 40,600 Euros Deposit: 8,120 Euros |
Maid’s Room6 m² 87 rue de Ranelagh 75016 PARIS 16th Starting Bid: 13,000 Euros Deposit: 2,600 Euros |
2 Rooms 25,4 m² 33 rue Bonaparte 75006 PARIS 6th Starting Bid: 113,900 Euros Deposit: 22,780 Euros |
Studio 19,8 m² rented 5 boulevard Davout 75020 PARIS 20th Starting Bid: 50,000 Euros Deposit: 10,000 Euros |
2 Rooms 14,90 m² 35-37 rue Bonaparte 75006 PARIS 6th Starting Bid: 120,000 Euros Deposit: 24,000 Euros |
4 Rooms 119,20 m² 12 rue des Nonnains d’Hyères 75004 PARIS 4th Starting Bid: 730,000 Euros Deposit: 146,000 Euros |
5 Rooms 161 m² + garage 6 rue de Seine 75006 PARIS 6th Starting Bid: 1 492,000 Euros Deposit: 298,400 Euros |
3 Rooms 64,20 m² 5-7 rue des Beaux-Arts 75006 PARIS 6th Starting Bid: 417 300,00 Euros Deposit: 83 460,00 Euros |
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SEEKING A MORTGAGE IN FRANCE?
Let us help you secure a mortgage in France with interest rates as low as 3%. Visit https://adrianleeds.com/wp-content/uploads/newsletters/frenchproperty/loan for more information.
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INSIDER PARIS GUIDES DISCOUNT FOR FPI SUBSCRIBERS
Don’t forget that with your FPI subscription you are entitled to a discount on the purchase of any Insider Paris Guides. You’ll find details of the guides at http://www.insiderparisguides.com/. When ordering, a box will pop up allowing you to enter the following username/password
Order more than one guide at a time and you will receive an additional discount!
Username: propertyinsider Password: liveinfrance
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THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
To access password protected pages: click on any of the links on the left panel of the home page of FrenchPropertyInsider.com under “Subscriber’s Only,” then type in your personal username and password.
Past issues of FPI are available on the website. You will find the
“Past Issues” link on the left under “Subscribers Only” or by going to
https://adrianleeds.com/wp-content/uploads/newsletters/frenchproperty/insider/members/content/pastissues/index.html
To receive your free French Leaseback Report or the Paris Property
Report, click on
https://adrianleeds.com/wp-content/uploads/newsletters/frenchproperty/insider/members/content/reports.html
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HELPFUL CONVERSIONS FOR REAL ESTATE
1 square meter = 10.7639104 square feet
1 hectare = 2.4710538 acres
For more conversions, refer to: http://www.onlineconversion.com/
==== CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING ===
==APARTMENT RENTAL==
Leeds Marais Apartment
Available in its entirety October 19 – 31, 2005
Located in a 17th century Le Marais Hotel Particulier, this 70 square meter two-bedroom apartment with lots of light is nicely furnished and is perfect for up to four people when rented in its entirety or a single woman in the freshly renovated guest room when owner Adrian Leeds is there.
Pictures and more details available at
https://adrianleeds.com/wp-content/uploads/newsletters/parlerparis/apartments/rentals/leeds.html
==APARTMENT RENTALS==
For all short term rental apartments in Paris, take a look at https://adrianleeds.com/wp-content/uploads/newsletters/parlerparis/apartments or https://adrianleeds.com/wp-content/uploads/newsletters/frenchproperty/insider/longterm.html for long term apartments.
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SUBSCRIBE TO PARLER PARIS
If you’re not a regular reader of the Parler Paris daily e-letter, and would like to be, simply enter your e-mail address here (it’s free!): http://www.adrianleeds.com/parlerparis
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Copyright 2005, Adrian Leeds Group, LLC
To read more, click the links below.