Day 2762 (Monday) 30th December 2024

This is Gorges du Verdon

and this is the Old Port in Nice 

This was the sunrise this morning, it was beautiful but it was pretty cold all day.

As always on a Monday here’s What’s happening in France this week

A big crowd on Paris's Champs-Elysees waiting for the New Year's Eve fireworks. (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP)

Plenty of law changes come into force this week, as the year turns from 2024 to 2025. There’s some celebrating to do, a lucky few get their sales season started, and school-age children gear up for the end of the Christmas holidays

Monday

Mayotte visit – France’s current Prime Minister François Bayrou, and five ministers – Élisabeth Borne, Manuel Valls, Valérie Létard, Yannick Neuder and Thani Mohamed Soilihiare – are on the second day of their visit to the cyclone-devastated island département of Mayotte. MPs, meanwhile, are spending some time in their constituencies and are not expected at the National Assembly until January 13th, though Bayrou can call them back earlier

Tuesday

New Year celebrations – France, in common with a lot of the rest of the world, has a celebration on the night of December 31st to mark the end of the year and the beginning of the next. It mostly involves nice food and drink, dancing, perhaps some fireworks at midnight, and – if you’re out and about – a very visible police presence to ensure everyone can celebrate safely.

Wednesday

New Year’s Day – after the overnight celebratory fireworks, 2025 kicks off – as is right and proper – with a public holiday, meaning that most shops and supermarkets will be closed. Some tourist attractions may be open … and there’s the traditional New Year’s dip in the Mediterranean at Argeles-sur-Mer, if you’re interested. 

But January 1st  is also a big day for introductions as multiple new laws that were passed in 2024 come into force. including;

Holiday rentals – starting on January 1st a tough new law imposes various restrictions on people renting out short-term tourist rental properties in France. Certain properties – those with an energy efficiency rating of G – can no longer be rented out from this date.

Forest fires: anyone selling or renting out property in areas susceptible to wildfires in France have a legal obligation to inform would-be buyers and renters of prevention requirements from the very start of the transaction from January 1st. 

Stamps – the cost of posting a letter or parcel in France goes up an average of 6.8 percent on the first day of 2025. A lettre verte, promising delivery in three days, will cost €1.39, compared to €1.29 in 2024. 

Vaccines – a change in mandatory vaccinations for children: the previously required jab against meningococcus C will be replaced by the vaccine for meningococcus ACWY, while the previously ‘strongly recommended’ vaccination against meningococcus B will become mandatory. 

Paris car ban – owners of older vehicles will no longer be permitted to drive in Paris or the capital’s inner suburbs for most of the week from January 1st, 2025, as a repeatedly delayed car ban finally comes into force in the French capital. 

Ile de France public transport –  A ticketing revolution in Ile de France from January 1st, as flat fares are introduced, meaning a journey by metro, train and RER will cost €2.50 regardless of the distance travelled, while bus and tram trips will cost €2. Meanwhile, the cost of a monthly Navigo pass will increase by 2.8 percent.

Pensions – some 17 million pensioners in France will see their state pensions rise by an estimated 0.9 percent on January 1st, with another small increase planned for the least well-off pencilled in for July 1st. 

Disney / Canal – there’s one big goodbye on January 1st, too. After 27 years, the relationship between Disney and the French pay-TV channel Canal Plus ends suddenly as the house of mouse goes it alone. Anyone Canal Plus customer who wants to watch Disney-owned films or TV programmes will need a standalone Disney + subscription. Orange and Free customers can access two Disney channels: Disney Channel (youth) and National Geographic, and some will gain ‘privileged’ (aka reduced rate) access to Disney + .

Thursday

Winter sales – residents of and visitors to the north-eastern French départements of Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Moselle, and Vosges can get their hands on early bargains, as France’s officially mandated sales period kicks off. The rest of the country has to wait until next week before the savings hit town…

Sunday 

Holidays are (almost) over – school children pack their bags for the big return to school after the Christmas holidays, as the push towards the brevet blanc (mock exams) at the end of the month kicks in. 

Where in France do people speak the best English?

A teacher gives an English lesson in a French school, photo taken at Hérouville Saint-Clair in 2005. (Photo by MYCHELE DANIAU / AFP)

If you are looking to either visit France or move here and you are wondering how well people speak English, then you may want to consult the latest rankings on English level for different French cities and regions.

While we always recommend that people try to learn French, especially if you plan to make France your home, it's undoubtedly true that it can be easier to have a few English speakers around in case of emergency.

And the number of English speakers in France varies quite widely by area, according to Education First's 2024 report on English-language levels internationally.

The report compares non-English speaking countries based on their English proficiency, and France scored 49th globally, and third-to-last in Europe, behind Italy and ahead of Turkey and Azerbaijan.

What do these scores say about France overall?

France's average countrywide score dropped down seven points from last year - going from 531 to 524 - which means that by the report's standards, the country has a 'moderate' level of English.

Scores in this range mean that people can "participate in meetings in one’s area of expertise, understand song lyrics and write professional emails on familiar subjects".

However, within France, English levels vary widely depending on the place you are visiting, as scores tend to be higher in large cities and tourist areas.

 

French cities ranked

Grenoble, the alpine city known for its large student population and attractiveness for tech start-ups, was the best at English. The city scored 612 on English First's ranking, making it the only French city to achieve a 'very high' score.

After that, most other French cities all scored in the 'high' range, aside from Bordeaux, Nice and Marseille who were at the bottom of the list in the 'moderate' category.

Paris came in second place, followed by Brest in third, Lille in fourth, and Aix-en-Provence in fifth.

Here are the full rankings;

Grenoble (612)

Paris (586)

Brest (578)

Lille (577)

Aix-en-Provence (573)

Lyon (572)

Angers (571)

Rennes (564)

Nancy (563)

Nantes (560)

Strasbourg (558)

Amiens (557)

Metz (556)

Toulouse (551)

Tours (551)

Montpellier (550)

Bordeaux (547)

Nice (546) – I find this really hard to believe, everyone speaks some English.

Marseille (543)

French regions ranked

After French cities, the study also looked at the different regions in France. In this category, no French region managed to score above the 'moderate' level.

The Paris region - Île-de-France - was the best with 549. After that, Pays de la Loire scored 529 and Brittany was in third place with 529.

As for the worst regions in mainland France for English - Normandy and Burgundy tied for last place with 496 points, placing both regions in the 'low' category.

Here are the rankings for all regions (including France's overseas territories and Corsica);

Île-de-France (549)

Pays de la Loire (529)

Brittany (529)

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (525)

Hauts-de-France (524)

Centre-Val de Loire (522)

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (521)

Occitanie (515)

Grand Est (509)

Nouvelle-Aquitaine (509)

Normandy (496)

Burgundy (496)

La Réunion (488)

Guadeloupe (487)

Corsica (476)

Martinique (446)

I’m sure this has been photoshopped but it’s very entertaining.