Clé France

1st round French election produces market friendly outcome with Macron & Le Pen progressing...

There were 3 winners of this weekend's French election, not only did Macron and Le Pen win enough support to progress to the final round but French opinion polls found themselves calling the results spot on.

After last year's EU referendum and US election, opinion polls have clawed a little bit of trust back with market participants. With opinion polls as accurate as could be, we'll now see Macron and Le Pen go head to head across the next 2 weeks which will culminate in a final round of voting on the 7th May.

Financial market's response to this news was a case of risk-on. The euro has gained over 1% versus the pound and US dollar and over 2% against the yen which has weakened across the board with participants not requiring its safe haven status for the time being.

Stock markets have rejoiced at this weekend's outcome with European bourses firmly higher across the continent. 

This week's focus is likely to remain within the eurozone with further campaigning from Macron and Le Pen taking place, additionally we have a European Central Bank announcement taking place on Thursday. With the first stage of the French election out the way with no market unfriendly surprises, will Draghi see it fit to deliver a hawkish surprise? No doubt, eurozone data has been improving these last few months, the question is whether Draghi will acknowledge this or choose to keep participants guessing for another few months.

Elsewhere, the Bank of Japan will hold a monetary policy meeting and announcement while 2017 Q1 GDP preliminary GDP estimates will be released from the UK and US on Friday.

Al in all an interesting week ahead.

Guidance on Sending Money Internationally

Frequently Asked Question: 

Hi Cle France, we are already registered with a currency exchange firm and we do seem to get a few other FX companies phoning us saying they are the best? they cannot all be the best surely? as we have viewed with many agents and visited many websites do you have any advice or guidance on which one we should use as our date for paying the 10% deposit looms, exciting times!

Regards, Chris.

'Cle France' Answer: 

Of course you must use whoever you see fit, but I explain quickly why we recommend Ben Amrany of FC Exchange.

He handles the transfers for virtually all of our clients, and the reason for that is so that we keep everything in house: Ben, myself, the Notaires and the Agents in France all work together, so we know at any point in time where the money is, which can relief the stress for our clients.

For instance if a Notaire says the money hasn't arrived, I can pick the phone up to Ben, get the tracking details and speak to the Notaire directly to tell him to look again, and how to identify the transfer. But where we have another currency company involved I can't work for the client in the same way, and we have to depend on the client to resolve the problem, which can be very stressful, especially when the currency trader tells the client "the money has been sent", and the Notaire says "he hasn't received it"!

Sadly this has happened a fair bit when other currency companies have done the transfer. 

So the benefit of using Ben Amrany and FC Exchange is that... Yes, he will beat other companies' rates as he has a Best Rate Guarantee, but also that he pays careful attention to our clients so things quite literally never go wrong, and funds never go astray, and I can't say that about other companies I have encountered.

You don't even have to by buying a house with Cle France to use Ben for your currency exchange, indeed some clients who have viewed with us may actually buy a property with another agent, sadly we can't win them all, that does not stop them still using Ben and FC Exchange to get the best deal on for their money.

So hopefully I have given you a bit more detail, and feel free to give Ben the chance to at least give you a no obligation quote, but of course I stress again, you can of course use whomsoever you wish.

Thanks, Sharon Evans - Director of Cle France Ltd.

Current rates:

Monday 24th April 2017 at 08:50

£1.00 GBP = 1.1833 EURO

£1.00 GBP = 1.2857 USD

£1.00 GBP = 1.6942 AUD

£1.00 GBP = 1.8234 NZD

£1.00 GBP = 1.7246 CAD

£1.00 GBP = 16.5562 ZAR

Do you want more information ?

So if you need to buy or sell sterling and would like to be kept up to date with all the latest data releases and exchange rate movements then feel free to contact myself Ben Amrany. If you are buying or selling a house in France we will make sure your monies are in the right place at the right time, we work hand in hand with you and Cle France.

For more information on the currency service I can provide please feel free to contact myself...

Ben Amrany from FC Exchange follow this link or phone and ask for myself and quote "Cle France" on 020 7989 0000.

You may contact me directly using this form (click here) with your requirement and I will explain the options that are available to you in getting the best exchange rate.

For everything you need to know about French property visit www.clefrance.co.uk

A busy end to the week, all eyes on France's general election

The week ends on a busier note with key economic figures seen out of the UK, eurozone and US. This week has been one to remember for the pound after it broke out of multi-month trading ranges against a number of its major peers. Sterling isn't out of the water yet but many are now calling for a new chapter in the currency's post-Brexit life.

This morning sees UK retail sales data crossing the wires at 0930. While economic numbers have generally taken a backseat to Brexit related developments, these data points are still important as they're what the Bank of England will use when devising monetary policy.

Retail sales are a key indicator of the health of the consumer within a nation. As a result, this morning's release could have a notable impact on the pound which has already gained a huge amount of ground these last few days. Elsewhere, eurozone manufacturing and services PMIs are scheduled for release this morning as well as similar releases from the United States in addition to existing home sales data this afternoon. 

Over the weekend, France will host its 1st round general election vote. For all clients exposed to the euro, whether it's buying or selling, please be aware - prices could see significant swings as markets reopen on Sunday evening depending on which candidates make it through.

The candidates which markets would be most fearful of and who would cause the most euro volatility with negative implications are Marine Le Pen and Jean-Luc Melenchon.

All the best to our French clients, agents, partners and friends for this weekend.

Eyes Turn to the French Election

The euro had a fairly positive day yesterday gaining against many of the majors after a new opinion poll in France suggested Emmanuel Macron was ahead in popularity. The single currency spiked to a three-week high against the USD and recovered some of its recent losses against the pound and was trading up by around 0.3% at the close of trading. The first round of voting in France will get underway on Sunday and the poll by Harris Interactive placed Macron with 25%, ahead of Marine Le Pen with 22%. If Le Pen does not get off to a good start and drifts early on in the voting process, the euro could continue to strengthen against all of the majors early next week.

This morning we will see a host of manufacturing and services purchasing managers’ indexes (PMI) released across the euro region at 9.00am to cap the week off, but all eyes will be on the French first round of voting this weekend which will shape next week’s movements for the currency.

Guidance on Sending Money Internationally

Frequently Asked Question: 

Hi Cle France, we are already registered with a currency exchange firm and we do seem to get a few other FX companies phoning us saying they are the best? they cannot all be the best surely? as we have viewed with many agents and visited many websites do you have any advice or guidance on which one we should use as our date for paying the 10% deposit looms, exciting times!

Regards, Chris.

'Cle France' Answer: 

Of course you must use whoever you see fit, but I explain quickly why we recommend Ben Amrany of FC Exchange.

He handles the transfers for virtually all of our clients, and the reason for that is so that we keep everything in house: Ben, myself, the Notaires and the Agents in France all work together, so we know at any point in time where the money is, which can relief the stress for our clients.

For instance if a Notaire says the money hasn't arrived, I can pick the phone up to Ben, get the tracking details and speak to the Notaire directly to tell him to look again, and how to identify the transfer. But where we have another currency company involved I can't work for the client in the same way, and we have to depend on the client to resolve the problem, which can be very stressful, especially when the currency trader tells the client "the money has been sent", and the Notaire says "he hasn't received it"!

Sadly this has happened a fair bit when other currency companies have done the transfer. 

So the benefit of using Ben Amrany and FC Exchange is that... Yes, he will beat other companies' rates as he has a Best Rate Guarantee, but also that he pays careful attention to our clients so things quite literally never go wrong, and funds never go astray, and I can't say that about other companies I have encountered.

You don't even have to by buying a house with Cle France to use Ben for your currency exchange, indeed some clients who have viewed with us may actually buy a property with another agent, sadly we can't win them all, that does not stop them still using Ben and FC Exchange to get the best deal on for their money.

So hopefully I have given you a bit more detail, and feel free to give Ben the chance to at least give you a no obligation quote, but of course I stress again, you can of course use whomsoever you wish.

Thanks, Sharon Evans - Director of Cle France Ltd.

Current rates:

Friday 21st April 2017 at 10:55

£1.00 GBP = 1.1956 EURO

£1.00 GBP = 1.2798 USD

£1.00 GBP = 1.6987 AUD

£1.00 GBP = 1.8258 NZD

£1.00 GBP = 1.7232 CAD

£1.00 GBP = 16.8583 ZAR

Do you want more information ?

So if you need to buy or sell sterling and would like to be kept up to date with all the latest data releases and exchange rate movements then feel free to contact myself Ben Amrany. If you are buying or selling a house in France we will make sure your monies are in the right place at the right time, we work hand in hand with you and Cle France.

For more information on the currency service I can provide please feel free to contact myself...

Ben Amrany from FC Exchange follow this link or phone and ask for myself and quote "Cle France" on 020 7989 0000.

You may contact me directly using this form (click here) with your requirement and I will explain the options that are available to you in getting the best exchange rate.

For everything you need to know about French property visit www.clefrance.co.uk

All Eyes Turn to French Presidential Election

Yesterday the eurozone’s inflation readings came and went without event as they hit forecasts of 1.5% and 0.7% for final CPI y/y and final core CPI y/y, respectively. This makes it unlikely that the European Central Bank (ECB) will increase interest rates any time soon.

There is no high-tier data out for eurozone today; however, all eyes will be on the French presidential election. This is now a very tightly contested race with only 5% separating the top 4 candidates. The polls are as follows: 

Macron – 23.8 %

Le Pen – 22.8 %

Fillon – 19.3 %

Melenchon – 18.8 %

Regardless of who wins, there is significant anti-EU sentiment in France. Data compiled by Bloomberg suggests 22% would like to leave the EU and a further 33% would like to stay in but reduce the EU’s powers.

With the election on Sunday, there is bound to be some unexpected news and therefore volatility in the EUR ahead. 

Guidance on Sending Money Internationally

Frequently Asked Question: 

Hi Cle France, we are already registered with a currency exchange firm and we do seem to get a few other FX companies phoning us saying they are the best? they cannot all be the best surely? as we have viewed with many agents and visited many websites do you have any advice or guidance on which one we should use as our date for paying the 10% deposit looms, exciting times!

Regards, Chris.

'Cle France' Answer: 

Of course you must use whoever you see fit, but I explain quickly why we recommend Ben Amrany of FC Exchange.

He handles the transfers for virtually all of our clients, and the reason for that is so that we keep everything in house: Ben, myself, the Notaires and the Agents in France all work together, so we know at any point in time where the money is, which can relief the stress for our clients.

For instance if a Notaire says the money hasn't arrived, I can pick the phone up to Ben, get the tracking details and speak to the Notaire directly to tell him to look again, and how to identify the transfer. But where we have another currency company involved I can't work for the client in the same way, and we have to depend on the client to resolve the problem, which can be very stressful, especially when the currency trader tells the client "the money has been sent", and the Notaire says "he hasn't received it"!

Sadly this has happened a fair bit when other currency companies have done the transfer. 

So the benefit of using Ben Amrany and FC Exchange is that... Yes, he will beat other companies' rates as he has a Best Rate Guarantee, but also that he pays careful attention to our clients so things quite literally never go wrong, and funds never go astray, and I can't say that about other companies I have encountered.

You don't even have to by buying a house with Cle France to use Ben for your currency exchange, indeed some clients who have viewed with us may actually buy a property with another agent, sadly we can't win them all, that does not stop them still using Ben and FC Exchange to get the best deal on for their money.

So hopefully I have given you a bit more detail, and feel free to give Ben the chance to at least give you a no obligation quote, but of course I stress again, you can of course use whomsoever you wish.

Thanks, Sharon Evans - Director of Cle France Ltd.

So if you need to buy or sell sterling and would like to be kept up to date with all the latest data releases and exchange rate movements then feel free to contact myself Ben Amrany. If you are buying or selling a house in France we will make sure your monies are in the right place at the right time, we work hand in hand with you and Cle France.

For more information on the currency service I can provide please feel free to contact myself...

Ben Amrany from FC Exchange follow this link or phone and ask for myself and quote "Cle France" on 020 7989 0000.

You may contact me directly using this form (click here) with your requirement and I will explain the options that are available to you in getting the best exchange rate.

For everything you need to know about French property visit www.clefrance.co.uk

If you are planning a family in France and have had pregnancy and birth on my mind a lot lately, then read on. I’ve always loved the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s use of birth and pregnancy in his writings to denote giving birth to ideas in philosophy. In one famous example, Nietzsche wrote, "What saved me then [from madness]? Nothing but pregnancy. And each time after I had given birth to my work my life hung suspended by a thin thread."

For Nietzsche, philosophy was the process of giving birth to ideas.

This got me thinking about expressions in French that similarly play on the meanings of pregnancy and birth.

In French, birth is l’accouchement and pregnancy is la grossesse. It might be somewhat easy to understand how la grossesse denotes pregnancy, as it references "largeness," or the growing belly of a pregnant woman. For the word accouchement, the term developed from women in labor being accouchée, or lying down in bed during childbirth.

Indeed, in Old French the verb accoucher just meant to lay down in bed or to put in bed.

Here are three French expressions that play upon notions of pregnancy and childbirth:

1. La montagne a accouché d’une souris

This expression, which literally means “the mountain gave birth to a mouse,” comes from a fable by Jean de la Fontaine called La Montagne qui accouche, which goes:

Une montagne en mal d’enfant

Jetait une clameur si haute

Que chacun, au bruit accourant,

Crut qu’elle accoucherait sans faute

D’une cité plus grosse que Paris.

Elle accoucha d’une souris

A mountain in the pains of childbirth

Threw out a high a clamour so high

that everyone, with the sounds of running,

thought that she would give birth without a problem

to a city even larger than Paris.

But she gave birth to a mouse.

This expression—and the proverb it comes from, simply means when something large or impressive is expected or promised, but in actuality something small is delivered instead.

2. Accouche!

Very simply, accouche!, which literally means "give birth," is a popular expression that means "Out with it!" or "Spit it out!"

3. Accouche, qu’on baptise!

This is a Québéçois expression, which literally means "give birth, so we can baptise [the child]," means something like the French expression "accouche!" It is used when someone is taking too long to say something or to tell a story, and is used with humoir to urge someone to “spit it out.”

Like other Québéçois expressions, it is based on French Catholic belief.

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.

Counting In French Helped Me Remember Les Nombres.

Les nombres (numbers) are difficult for me to remember in French. If I’m not forgetting the words for chaque nombre (each number), I’m trying to figure out if we’re talking about four twenties or eighty!

I have a hard time remembering les nombres in any language other than ma langue maternelle (my native language). I think it is related to how les nombres lack any context that helps me remember them. It feels like nothing but a list of random sounds to memorise!

It is also frustrating when most of the time numbers are not written out so you can see how they are pronounced. You are much more likely to see 80 than you are eighty or quatre-vingts.

This only gets worse if you’re dealing with des grands nombres (large numbers):

1 577 289 393,31

Un milliard cinq cent soixante-dix-sept millions deux cent quatre-vingt-neuf mille trois cent quatre-vingt-treize virgule trente et un

One billion five hundred seventy-seven million two hundred eighty-nine thousand three hundred ninety-three point thirty-one

Being able to understand a large string of numbers that sometimes use words milliard and billiard is un casse-tête (a headache). On top of that une virgule is used instead of un point for the decimal point.

C’est tellement difficile à retenir !

It’s so hard to remember!

The solution for me was to find a way to make les nombres so embedded in my brain that I knew them par coeur (by heart). I would never have to remember les nombres, I would just know them.

In order to have les nombres solidly placed in my memory I began counting anything I could en français. Les pages d’un livre, mes crayons, mes pas, etc (the pages of a book, my pencils, my steps, etc).

Where I made the most progress was during mon entraînement matinal (my morning excercise). Compter (counting) would keep my mind distracted and help me practice les nombres en français!

Un, deux, trois…

One, two, three…

It wasn’t easy and I would often get lost, repeat numbers, or skip numbers, especially with the 70s and the 90s:

Soixante-huit, soixante-neuf…. Euh… sept… soixante-dix, soixante-onze…

Sixty-eight, sixty-nine… uh… seven… seventy, seventy-one…

Eventually that daily practice made it easier to remember les nombres en français. I could remember les números de telephone and follow mes cours de comptabilité (my accounting classes) without any problem!

I wasn’t doing un milliard de pompes (a billion push-ups), but the practice made it easier to remember all French numbers!

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.