Clé France

Ah, the beginning of November is upon us… the season of spectacular foliage, chilling temperatures, and… particularly divisive elections.

As tomorrow, Tuesday, November 8, is the day Americans go to the polls to choose their next president, let’s go over some French election terms (no pun intended!).

Courtesy of Theresa Thompson

Le président de la République française is elected for five-year terms (called un quinquennat). Before the year 2000, French presidents were actually elected for seven-year terms (un septennat). Just as in the United States, presidents can only serve two consecutive terms (deux mandats consécutifs).

The last élections présidentielles were held in April and May 2012, when current president François Hollande was elected.

That means that the next elections will be held in April and May 2017. Because this is Hollande’s first term as president (or, you could say, the incumbent president le président sortant ou le président en exercise), he is eligible to run for a second term.

This election will most likely be pretty divisive in France, as the American presidential election has been, due to recent political divides and the raised terror threat.

Unlike in the United States, the French president is directly elected through French citizens’ votes (and not through something like the Electoral College). (Although the French president was elected by the equivalent of the electoral college – le collège électoral –until a referendum in 1962 called for direct voting).

There are typically two rounds of voting (deux tours) in the presidential election; to run in the first round a potential candidate (un candidat) must have 500 signatures from officials (called sponsorships, or les parrainages) who can only officially support one candidate. There are often many candidates for whom people can vote during the first round.

If one candidate does not receive a majority of all the votes, then it goes off into the run-off round (le deuxième tour). The elected president must be inaugurated into office in a solemn ceremony called la passation des pouvoirs (the handing over of powers).

Here are some more French vocabulary terms for this election season:

Élire – to elect

Un Electeur – a voter

Isoloir – voting booth

Un vote – a vote

Un Bulletin de vote – a ballot

Une Urne électorale – a ballot box

Dépouillement – counting the votes

Happy voting!

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

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

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

Last week currency market anxiety over the political risk of the US Election was brought to bear on price action. The FBI’s re-opened investigation into Hilary Clinton’s use of a private email server as secretary of state had damaged her lead in the polls and reinvigorated the Trump campaign. Although Clinton has again been cleared this morning, the race to the White House is still on.

Many suggest Trump is a material risk to stability and markets are nervous over the economic, diplomatic and geopolitical implications of a Trump presidency. It was no surprise that we saw the US dollar weaken throughout last week and with the Brexit high court ruling in the UK, sterling had its best week against the US dollar since 2009.

Going into the final day of campaigning a Clinton win seems more likely. If only it were that simple.

If the EU referendum in June taught us anything, it’s to be wary of political risk spilling over into financial markets. This election is too close to call, and the full extent of the discontent in regards to social inequality and distrust of the establishment will only be fully borne out when the ballots have been cast and counted. In the UK the protest vote was underestimated,  the repercussions of which will be part of the UK landscape for the foreseeable future.

The US presidential election is a risk event which has been driven by similar anti-establishment resentment to that seen in the UK EU referendum. It is possible that this week’s result could cause an upset of similar magnitude. In fact, whatever the outcome there is potential in the short term for dramatic moves in financial markets.

To discuss this in more detail, call your personal currency market expert on +44 (0)20 7989 0000.

Extended trading hours between 8 - 9 November 2016

Monday 7th November – 7.30am – 7pm

Tuesday 8th November – 7.30am – 9pm

Wednesday 9th November – 4:00am – 7:00pm

Thursday 10th November – 7.30am – 7pm

Friday 11th November – 7.30am – 6pm

Important information for all trades this election week

During the US Election period, any trades secured may be subject to increased deposit contributions and/or changes in required settlement dates. Please consult your broker for more information about how this may affect you.

In order to take advantage of any exchange rate movements during this volatile period, FC Exchange recommends that clients transfer money on account prior to the US Election result.

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.

Blog submitted by: Ben Amrany for The French Property Network - Cle France.

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

Halloween traditionally wasn’t celebrated in France and has only been exported to France is recent years from American traditions. You don't normally see children going around doing trick-or-treat in the streets of Paris or provincial France that much.

Rather, some friends would hold small Halloween parties and bars could have Halloween-themed nights. (Many people in France would indeed not enjoy being disturbed at night by children yelling, “frisandes ou bêtises”, the French equivalent of trick-or-treat, because it hasn’t yet entered French culture).

However, a national holiday that is very much observed by the French is related to Halloween and celebrated the following day (November 1). La Toussaint, meaning All Saints’ Day, is a Catholic holiday and schools and banks are typically closed in commemoration of the holiday. La Toussaint is a day that commemorates people who have passed.

Traditionally, November 1 (All Saints’ Day) would honour public figures who had died while November 2 (All Souls’ Day) would honour close friends and relatives who had passed. However, because La Toussaint is a day off, families traditionally combine these days of remembrance into one.

Typically, La Toussaint is commemorated by bringing flowers, most commonly chrysanthemums, to the graves of lost loved ones. Religiously observant people might attend a special church service or light a candle in honour of a loved one who is no longer with them. Walking around the streets of France, you can usually see chrysanthemums being sold in stores, florist shops, and out as decoration.

The tradition of laying chrysanthemums on graves for All Saints’ Day began following World War I, when the president requested on the first anniversary of the end of the war that soldiers who had died fighting for the country be commemorated by laying flowers on their graves. Chrysanthemums were the only flowers available at that time of year and so became part of the tradition.

If you’d prefer to celebrate Halloween rather than just La Toussaint, however, you can find some good celebrations in large cities, like Paris, in American bars or diners. Halloween parties can be advertised in English-language magazines such as Fusac.

However, the city that has most adopted Halloween traditions is not Paris, but Limoges. Limoges has hosted Halloween parades every year since 1996 and it is supposedly a sight to see!

Happy Halloween for the kids and Happy All Saints Day for the family!

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

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

Have a Hair-Raising (ébouriffant) Halloween!

It may be fair to say that in France 'Holloween' seems to be 'in the shops' and celebrated more so than in the UK but no where near as commercial as it is in the USA. Back in the late 90s I had almost forgotten about Holloween, not having children of a certain age but moving to France it struck me that all the local boulangieries and supermarkets would make grand displays of all their Holloween related goodies.

Even the smallest village shop will make an effort and if you are lucky you will even see a candle or torch lead procession in villages or towns where all the children [and parents] walk around the commune singing and celebrating. The following day is whay you have seen magnificaent Chrysanthemums for sale everywhere, All Saints Day on the 1st of November is when families remember loved ones that have passed away and visit to leave the fantastic plants and pay their respects.

If you are going to France on a viewing trip with Cle France over this period watch out for these things and let us know what you thought.

“Hair-raising” is a great adjective in English.

It’s descriptive and makes you understand exactly what it conveys… a fright that makes your hair stand up on end.

Some dictionaries offer “terrifiant(e)” as the French translation of “hair-raising”.

Another translation, and perhaps one that is more accurate, is “ébouriffant(e)”.

Neither of these words, however, are as descriptive as the original English word (this is one of the reasons why translations are so difficult!).

Take time and stop to see a great display even in a local village Boulangerie.

But there is an expression in French that more accurately conveys this English adjective: “faire dresser les cheveux sur la tête” means something that makes your hair stand up on end. It can also mean “to bristle,” which provides similar imagery, but conveys less a sense of fright than a sense of disgust or anger.

For example, you could say: “J’ai ecouté un chanteur hier soir. C’était une experience à vous faire dresser les cheveux sur la tête!” (I heard a singer last night. It was a hair-raising experience!). This could mean that the singer was so bad that it made this listener’s hair stand up on end.

Another word that could accurately translate “hair-raising” is the more familiar “horripiler”. This verb literally means to “bristle hairs” and usually conveys the sense that someone is incredibly annoyed by someone else’s actions. For example, you could say: “Tu m’horripiles quand tu fais ce bruit-là!” (You really annoy me/make me bristle when you make those noises!). The adjective form is “horripilant.”

Finally, another expression you could use is “hérisser le poil” This means exactly the same thing as “horripiler” except it is a more standard expression. “Hérisser” means to bristle or to ruffle. “Le poil” means “a hair”.

Normally, if you want to talk about the hair on your head, for example, you would say either “les cheveux” or “les poils” — notice how both are plural (unless you are referring to one single hair, the French refer to hair in general in the plural). Thus, “hérisser le poil” literally means “to bristle a hair.”

Once again, this is not normally used to mean that something scares you, but rather that something is really annoying or disgusting. For example, you could say: “Ça me hérisse le poil” which means “it really gets on my nerves.”

Ok, so we’ve gotten off the original meaning of “hair-raising” so just go ahead and have a hair-raising Halloween!

Passez un Halloween ébouriffant!

Happy Halloween!

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

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

Everyone knows a few but each day has a Saint and some have more than one!

After our article on St Valentines Day we thought we would take a deeper look at Saints Days in France. St Valentines Day may be the best example of where commercialism takes over what were once serious religious traditions and turns them into money-spinning opportunities. The French practice of celebrating one's "saint's day" is no exception although it is becoming less common, as people have more choice in naming their children.

The Catholic church once dictated the country's customs and this is where the tradition originated, even so far as providing a catalogue of acceptable Christian names. Of course, this practice was not restricted to France, but was common in all catholic countries. However, France is one country where the celebration of one's saint's day still persists albeit it is in decline.

In the past a French child would be given the name of the saint on whose day their own birth fell. Of course, people want not only originality but choice and so it became more common for the saint's name to be given as a second or middle name. This meant that a child would have two special days to celebrate where previously it would have been only one. 

Over the years, the tradition has evolved in France, as in most other European Catholic countries, for people to have a "name day" as well as a birthday. So for example, if you were born on July 29th which is St. Marthe's Day, but your parents hated the name Marthe or Martha and preferred to call you Terese, you would still obviously celebrate your birthday on July 29th, but your "name day" would be on August 9th, which is St. Terese's Day.

Almost every day in the calendar has a saint's name assigned to it, some have more than one (January 6 having five), so parents with a child born on January 6th could not really complain about a lack of choice compared to other days! These "saint's days" are still celebrated but are usually more low key than actual birthdays.

It's not only individuals who celebrate a saint's day. Towns and villages usually have a dedicated saint and special events are held in commemoration each year, while certain professions are linked to a particular saint and those working in that industry may mark that day in some way. Quite often the Bar in a small village will be named after the saint adopted it "Bar Saint Medard" (June 8th is Saint Medard Day) and either on that day or the following weekend the village will hold an annual Fete with celebrations running 48 hrs over the weekend.

In essence nowadays, when people are generally less religious than before, the "name day" tradition is just a nice excuse to have another day for gifts and fun, and has no more relevance than that. In France, they are not usually big gifts, more flowers or chocolates as a token. So next time you are due to go on a property viewing trip to France, check with the Catholic Calendar and see whether your name coincides with a Saints' name day during your trip. It will be another chance to celebrate especially if you find your dream home as well!

Blog submitted by: David at Cle France.