Clé France

After all this time... Yes, you read that title correctly, it is finally going to happen!

If you haven't heard the latest from the House of Lords, Theresa May's government was defeated after the House stated that Ministers should guarantee EU national's the right to stay in the UK after Brexit.

The good news is the House of Lords has now passed an amendment that will guarantee rights of EU citizens, the bad news is that this amendment can be removed by the time it reaches the House of Commons, so unfortunately, this could all be for nothing. 

Even with everything that is happening from all angles, the British Prime Minister, Theresa May is still confident that she will be able to push through legislation to allow her to trigger 'Article 50' on the 15th March. 

So now I bet you are thinking...

"What will happen to the Pound once Article 50 has been triggered?"

If you weren't thinking this then okay but at the moment this really is the 'Million Dollar' (sorry... Pound) question!

Analysts from all major banks across the world have thrown in their predictions, and the general consensus seems to be that the Pound will continue to weaken even after Article 50 has been triggered.

Danske Bank is expecting the GBP/USD exchange rate to be at 1.19 by the end of March, Deutsche Bank is expecting the Pound to fall to 1.14, and others believe we will see the rate at 1.05. 

There is of course the counter argument that the Pound will bounce after Article 50 has been triggered as this will give investors certainty in the situation of the UK & Europe. This viewpoint is credible but the main issue is that Triggering 'Article 50' will start at least 2 years of negotiations, so whatever way you look at it surely that means even more uncertainty to the situation.

Remember, unless you have a crystal ball, if you are trying to predict what happens on March 15th, you are trying to predict how both human and robotic algorithmic traders will react to the news, which if history tells us anything that is tough to do. 

In the USA the Fed is expected to do an interest rate hike this month as well, it is the possibility of this happening which has strengthened the Dollar and caused the GBP/USD exchange rate to fall by around 2.5% this week. It is also difficult to consider what 'the Trump effect' will influence next.

In Conclusion

At Cle France we know how to get the best property for you at the best price so if you are likely to be trading currency with the Pound over the next month or so, I would suggest you register for an FC Exchange account (If you haven't already).

FC Exchange have access to many financial tools such as forward contracts (learn more about them here), limit orders and stop losses to ensure that you are mitigated from dramatic fluctuations.

For more information on the currency service or if you have any questions or would like further analysis leading up to the 15th March then please feel free to contact Ben at FC Exchange...

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

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 3rd March 2017 at 17:30

£1.00 GBP = 1.1606 EURO

£1.00 GBP = 1.2249 USD

£1.00 GBP = 1.6198 AUD

£1.00 GBP = 1.7464 NZD

£1.00 GBP = 1.6426 CAD

£1.00 GBP = 16.0514 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

Recently, we’ve gone over French idioms and other common French expressions. But now let’s go over some funny French expressions that will have you laughing out loud.

Avoir le cafard

One of the most common French idiomatic expressions is a funny … if not odd… one that you’ll hear all over the place if you have an ear tuned to it. Avoir le cafard literally means to “have a cockroach.” But what it translates to is: “to have the blues/to be feeling a bit melancholy.” Interestingly enough, while cafard can mean “cockroach,” it has several other meanings in French as well as “the blues” or “melancholy,” including a “tattletale.”

Il ne fait pas beau et j’ai le cafard aujourd’hui, alors je n’ai pas envie de sortir de ma chambre!

(It isn’t nice out and I’ve got the blues today, so I don’t want to leave my room!)

Les carottes sont cuites

Les carottes sont cuites literally means “the carrots are cooked” but it really means that “it’s all over” or “what’s done is done.” A similar idomatic expression in English would be something like “the goose is cooked,” or “the jig is up.”

Ne vous inquietez pas. De toute facon, les carottes sont déjà cuites.

(Don’t worry about it. Anyway, what’s done is done.)

C’est la fin des haricots

C’est la fin des haricots literally means “it’s the end of the beans.” It most likely has a sad origin: the end of food supplies during periods of famine; so, while this expression sounds “funny,” it might be more fitting on a “sad” expressions list!  C’est la fin des haricots means “it’s the end of it all” or “there’s nothing left.” While this expression is similar to les carottes sont cuites, it has a stronger connotation.

Il a cassé avec moi. Je crois que cette fois c’est la fin des haricots.

Devenir chêvre

Literally meaning “to become a goat,” this expression means “to get worked up” or “to lose one’s cool.” If you’ve ever become so enraged you can’t keep it inside, well, according to the French, you’ve become a goat!

Il m’a fait perdu toute ma patience et je suis devenu chêvre!

(He made me lose all of my patience and I completely lost my cool)!

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

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

Most native English speakers are familiar with the eight or nine English parts of speech (nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, interjections, and articles). All English words fall into one of these general parts of speech.

Luckily, French follows the same basic organisation of parts of speech that English does.

Called les classes de mots, French parts of speech are categorised as follows:

Les noms

Nouns, or les noms, are one of the most important parts of a French phrase. As in English, French nouns identify a person, place, or thing. However, unlike in English, all French nouns have a gender. You can further divide French nouns into les noms propres, or proper nouns (names), and les noms communs, or common nouns (general nouns).

Les déterminants

Determiners, or les déterminants, consist of articles (les articles) and certain kinds of adjectives (les adjectifs non qualificatifs). These words precede nouns and determine the gender and number of the noun that they modify. Les articles include le, la, and les, and les adjectifs include words like mon, ma, mes, ce, cette, ces.

Les adjectifs

As in English, adjectives modify nouns. In French, most adjectives follow the nouns that they modify although this depends on the adjective (For more about adjective word order in French see this post.)

Les pronoms

Pronouns in French replace nouns, just as they do in English. French pronouns include je, tu, il/elle/on, vous, nous, and ils/elles. 

Les verbes

Verbs are another integral part of speech in each French sentence. They must always be conjugated to match with the person or thing (noun) that is performing the action. In French, verbs also change based on gender, number, tense, mood, and voice.

Les adverbes

Adverbs modify a verb, adjective, or another adverb. In French, adverbs do not change based on gender or number and are typically recognisable by the ending –ment. Check out this post for more information about French adverbs.

Les prépositions

Like adverbs, French prepositions are invariable, which means that they do not change based on gender or number. This makes them, along with adverbs, an easier part of speech to use in French. Prepositions link nouns and phrases to other parts of a sentence. They include words like après, à, and chez, among others.

…and finally…

Les conjonctions

Conjunctions in French are also invariable.

As in English, conjunctions are words that link a group of words together.

Conjunctions in French include et, car, mais, or, ou, and donc.

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

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

The French are very big on manners and following the rules of étiquette. You can read here about the rules for gift giving, here for proper greetings, and here for the rules for kissing (yes, they even have rules for that!). But do you know where the rules come from?

The rules of French etiquette, from the French word étiquette (literally meaning a tag or label*), are often attributed to the period of Louis XIV as ways for the king to both accommodate and control the vast number of nobles whom he compelled to join him at the palace of Versailles (Louis believed in keeping his friends close, and his enemies closer!).

Over time, the rules of courtly etiquette spread throughout society as people sought to appear more sophisticated and “noble” themselves.

* Une étiquette can be the label on a bottle (like on a wine bottle), the tag in a shirt, or a sticker (though the French word for the English ‘sticker‘ is ‘autocollant‘ which literally means ‘self sticking‘ from the verb ‘coller‘, ‘to stick or adhere‘. ‘Coller‘ also gives us ‘la colle‘ which is French for ‘glue‘ . . . and the expression ‘être collé(e)‘, ‘to be in detention (at school).

And if someone ever calls you ‘un vrai pot de colle‘ (‘a real pot of glue‘) you should think about spending less time with them / giving them some space. This expression refers to someone who follows you around all the time or sticks too close.

Society is generally less formal today, but many people still follow the rules of etiquette and view good manners as a sign of “good breeding”. I still know some families in France where the children vouvoient leurs parents and where whole pieces of fruit are only eaten at the dinner table with a knife and fork (next time you’re in the mood for une belle pomme / a nice apple or une poire juteuses** / a juicy pear, try eating it on a plate, peeling it using just your knife and fork!)

Shifting gears just a bit: Did you get to see the Oscars ceremony this weekend?

It was a fun event – though not without controversy – at which France was particularly well represented.

From Best Actress nominee Isabelle Hupert and Best Animated Feature Film nominees My Life as a Zucchini and The Red Turtle, to nominations for Best Documentary, Best Costume Design, and Best Achievement in Visual Effects, French artists were up for a total of 9 awards.

If you liked La La Land, why not check out one of the French films often cited as inspiration for the film, look up and find out more about Les demoiselles de Rochefort (The young girls of Rochefort) and Les parapluies de Cherbourg (The umbrellas of Cherbourg)!

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

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

Hi Sharon,

A successful day and thanks again to the excellent work of your Cle France agents and UK office staff.

Offer made and accepted today, as usual you all did an excellent job as well.

Best regards, and thanks again, Kenny.

This client has just had an offer accepted today through Cle France, You can do the same, it is easy as we will guide YOU through the French Property Buying Process from the very start to completion and beyond!

And as several of our clients say "Follow your heart and make the move"!