What we love about France (and Europe)

Today is a historic day in that it is the first time any country has left the European Union. Some people will be celebrating but there are many millions who will not. There are 3 million EU citizens in the UK and over a million British living and working in the EU, not to mention the 16+million who wanted to remain. For us, today is not just a very sad day but brings with it much uncertainty too. However instead of worrying about what will happen we want to celebrate and share what we LOVE about living in France and the European Union.

So in no particular order really (as we LOVE France for all these reasons) .......

Chris and I moved here in 1996. We just packed our bags and jumped on the ferry. No Visa, no return ticket, no real
plan ! If it wern't for Freedom of movement we wouldn't be here. We love the four principles of the European Union - free movement of goods, services, capital and labour. It's allowed us to come and go as we please, take loads of wine back to the UK and bring lots of cheddar cheese back here ! It also allowed my parents to be resident in the UK but spend over 6 months at a time in France in their second home and watch their grandchildren grow up. We LOVE that France is in the European Union.

We LOVE French food ! France is renowned for having the best food, the best cheese and the best wine in the world and that's not just according to the French !

It's not just the food though, it's the way it's served. We live in a rural location, far from takeaways and deliveroo .  Our friends and neighbours are all amazing cooks and we love nothing more than spending a long lunch under the shade of a tree tasting simple homemade delights that they produce with (it appears) no effort at all. 

There's no standing on ceremony; the plates and cutlery are mismatched;If someone turns up unexpectedly, another place is quickly laid and they sit down and join in, the host pops to the garden for a few more tomatoes; need mayonnaise ? they will just get up to make it, one pouring the oil the other whisking, all while chatting effortlessly about other things. It's all so relaxed.

The food is so varied too. Oysters, lobster and fruit de mer; tartiflette and raclettes, chasseurs and bourguignon, snails and frogs legs, We LOVE how France has it all when it comes to food.

If you've never noticed, France looks like a hexagon ! You understand why the French (and we) LOVE to holiday within this geometric country when you realise it has everything ! It has the Mediterranean sea and the Atlantic ocean with over 3000km of coastline ; it not only has the Pyrenees and the Alps for skiing in winter or walking in summer but also the Vosges, the Jura, the Massif central and the Cevennes mountain ranges; It has great rivers such as the Loire, the Seine, the Garonne and the Rhone, as well as canals linking some of those together (canal du Midi and canal du Rhone). It has cool weather in the north and hot in the south and just perfect in the middle weather just where we live ! There are beautiful cities like Paris and Bordeaux, stunning countryside, small towns and villages and a history going back 10,000 years. 

It also borders Italy, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Spain and Switzerland as well as Monaco and Andorra, so has influences from all those countries so no wonder they love being European too. We LOVE how diverse France is.

The French people are so proud of their history, culture and language, Being a strong member of the European Union hasn't stopped this. They have always been a huge supporter and leader in the protection of individual European cultures yet are also at the forefront of pushing for a stronger and more integrated Europe - you can have both.

All French children are taught about the importance of Liberté, égalité, fraternité and laicité. French history is taught in detail starting in primary school with the 'pre history' (lascaux caves etc) the Romans, Clovis (unification of the kingdoms)then in secondary school about Jean d'Arc and the 100 years war, the kings and then the revolution, the colonial empires and the various republics, all through to the world wars and modern day with the treaty of Rome and the formation of the European Union - they are taught and know it all ! I certainly never had anything close to this with British history when I was a child. 

Children are also taught about democracy, their rights and their responsibilities as citizens; the French language is taught right up to the age of 18, by which time they of course know how to read and write but they move on to studying french literature,  Guillaume  Apollinaire, Victor hugo, and Charles Baudelaire to name just a few of the ones Benjamin is studying right now.

They are also taught about Frances place in Europe and the world and about the European Union and their importance within it. We LOVE how proud the French are of their culture.

How many teenagers in the Uk would open the door to the dinner guests and automatically kiss them, ask how they are  and take their coats ? French teenagers are (certainly the ones we've met) so polite ! They are happy to sit around the table for hours over dinner and participate in the conversation. They are always offering to help clear the table and wash the dishes.

It can be a bit complicated knowing how many kisses but you soon get used to it. As a rule, with young children it is only ever one and the adult kisses the child; in the north (especially Paris) we have been told they are cold, so it's just one ! On the south coast, where the people are 'warmer' it's often 4, and here in the middle it's between 2 and 3 ! It does depend on how well you know them too. The main thing is let the French person lead and remember they get it wrong sometimes too ! But 2 is a safe bet ! 

Of course kissing isn't unique to France, it's quite a European thing introduced by the Romans but however it started we LOVE it !

As we mentioned previously, France has so much culture but we LOVE the cultural heritage of the whole of Europe. In just a few hours we can be in the heart of Paris looking at the Mona Lisa; in Amsterdam cycling to Anne Franks house; in Spain at the Guggenheim museum or taking a selfie in front of the leaning tower of Pisa (and we've done them all) Being able to travel over the whole of Europe, driving, by train or flying, without borders is such a privilege. So many beautiful countries to visit, so many languages to practice, so much history to devour and so many stunning cathedrals, castles and museums both old and new to visit. Europe is such an amazing and diverse place. My brother lives in Australia which has it's own beauty but pales in comparison to what Europe has to offer in the same size area. We LOVE Europe and it's cultural heritage.

It's the language of love and we LOVE it ! Oddly though the French say Italian is the language of love ! Actually they both are, as is Spanish. They are Romance languages which means they are all derived from the 'popular' Latin language of Romanice ie that spoken by the general populationrather than the 'upper class' pure Latin .  

We love that through living here our kids are completely bi - lingual. French is spoken by 275 million people in the world, with that and English too, they'll be able to communicate all over the world. We LOVE the French language and the above expression expresses perfectly why Chris and I have been together for 34 years !

France is fantastic at their 'grand projets' . They have an amazing rail and motorway system which pretty much covers the whole country including the longest 'domestic flight' in the world from Paris to the French overseas department of La Reunion in the Indian ocean. The Millau bridge is simply stunning. The Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Louvre pyramid were a couple of Mitterands many grand projets which were likened to the ambitious constructions of Louis 14th . We also LOVE  the French National health service, it is second to none, they cared for both my parents during their terminal cancers and have nursed us through lung operations, kidney stone treatments and child birth to name just a few ! 

Since Chris worked all his adult life in the wine industry before we moved here then wine certainly has to feature as one of the things we LOVE about France (and Europe as we love all good wine not just French !) 
Champagne of course is an absolute favourite and we've visited the region many times; but also, of course all the wines of Bordeaux since it is on our door step and some of the best and most famous wines in the world come from vines just an hour away from us.

Of course there are many others too but we also LOVE the local wine producers. Eric and Marie Cartaud were the first French people to welcome us into their home and show us what real French life was like, it's where we learnt pretty much all our French. We also were invited to join in the Vendange (grape harvest) every year with them and now we offer guided walks to our guests through their vines and for tastings of their wines at their chai, which are just a short stroll from our home.

We've lived here for 24 years. In not too many years, I will of lived in France longer than I ever lived in the UK. Benjamin and Thomas have lived here all their lives, all their friends and ours are French. We are already permanent residents and because of the withdrawal agreement most of our rights to continue to live and work here have thankfully been protected by EU law. Thomas is already French as he was born here, but the rest of us have applied for French nationality.

 It's not just so we will retain freedom of movement throughout the European union, it's not just so we can continue to vote for our local mairie, for our MEP (which as of tonight we will no longer have a right to do as British citizens) but we also want to be able to vote for the president, to have a say in our future, to have a say in the future of France and the European union but most of all it's because France is our home and we LOVE living here.