Motorists in much of France will soon be
able to drive at up to 90km/h on secondary
roads again, after 48 councils scrapped the
new 80km/h limit. The French government
has left it up to department councils to decide
whether or not to keep the lower speed limit
introduced a year ago after pressure from
campaigners and the Yellow Vest movement. Brittany Ferries has expressed an interest
in buying Condor Ferries, a passenger and
freight service that runs between the UK,
France and the Channel Islands. The sale,
which could be in the region of £300m,
would see the company expanding its
services and seeing off competitors.Travellers in Paris can now pay Métro fares
via a plastic top-up card. The ‘Navigo Easy’
costs €2 and replaces the old cardboard tickets
while travel fares remain the same. In the
future, passengers will be able to top-up their
cards via smartphone.Drivers risk fines of up to €150 for using
a vehicle horn in town centres for non-
emergencies, the Supreme Court of Appeal
has reminded road users. The fine starts at
€35, rising to €150 after 45 days.A fleet of 43 fully electric buses have taken
to the road in the northern town of Amiens.
The buses offer an environmentally-friendly,
cost efficient and silent mode of transport, and
are the first of their kind in Europe.Flights within France could be outlawed
where suitable rail services exist, under
environmental proposals put forward by
MPs. The draft of the Loi d’Orientation des
Mobilités proposes that short-haul internal
flights be banned by 2021 if an alternative
rail journey would take no more than
2h30. Meanwhile, the French government
is pushing for heavier taxation on the air
industry across Europe in a bid to reduce
carbon emissions.As we go to press, a budget train service is
due to make its maiden Toulouse voyage from
Paris, enabling rail passengers to cross France
for half the usual price. The fare with Ouigo- the no-frills subsidiary of SNCF – will be €
for the 450-mile journey.
Travel news
A
n artist whose work has been collected
by Elton John and exhibited in the V&A is
selling his family home and studio in the
south of France.
Howard Raybould is an established figure in
the London art scene and his sculptures and
paintings have appeared all over the world,
from Roman Abramovich’s yacht to Heathrow
Airport and from the Royal Festival Hall to
Toronto International Art Fair.
Now his beautiful eight-bedroom village
home and atelier on the edge of the Cévennes
mountains is on the market for €590,000 and
could be yours. Howard moved to the elegant
property on the outskirts of Cazilhac 18 years
ago with his wife Yuka and their young family.
The couple were immediately drawn to the
culture, climate and lifestyle of France and in
particular to northern Hérault where they could
be within an hour of both beaches and skiArtist’s idyll up for sale
Fancy selling dream homes in the Dordogne valley?
resorts. “North the mountains. South the sea, all
mixed up with vineyards, woods, villages, two
good cities, Montpellier and Nîmes close at
hand and roads to dream of,” recalls Howard.
After a two-year search they found this
elegant four-storey village house close to the
market town of Ganges and waterfall beautyspot
St-Laurent-le-Minier. “So many properties were
dark and dingy, so when I visited this house,
laid out simply with ample windows, good
views, generous volumes, a large terrace and
private access to the river, the decision to buy
came easily,” said Howard. “Being just a walk
over the bridge into town meant we could easily
get to market days, amenities, restaurants and
school.” The home also has a garage and vaulted
cave storage. Now that the children are all
grown up, Howard and Yuki are planning to
downsize but still stay in the area.
laresidence.co.ukNEWS
10 French Property News August 2019 http://www.completefrance.comA
British-run property agency is seeking to
recruit an enthusiastic agent to sell homes
in the Dordogne valley.
Peter and Bridget Elias founded Allez-Français
after moving to France in 2001 and have been
helping buyers ever since. After 18 successful
years, Peter is now taking a step back from
selling, although he will stay on as the
company’s managing director and oversee
marketing and PR while Bridget will remain
as secretary.
“This means that there is a golden opportunity
for an enthusiastic, hard-working person to take
on my portfolio of properties in the Dordogne
valley,” said Peter. “Currently, there is a quality
portfolio of 24 properties, with exactly half of
those in exclusivity to our agency.”
The successful candidate will be working from
the company base near Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne
in Corrèze and will manage properties that are
mostly within 30 minutes’ drive, covering the
southern tip of Corrèze and northern Lot.
As well as his replacement, Peter is also
“open-minded” about the possibility of an agent
joining the team in the following areas: Sarlat /
Montignac (department 24), Bergerac (24),
Cahors (46) and Gourdon (46).
“This is not a typical 9-5 job, far from it,” he
stressed. “But an organised individual can create
for themselves a great business within abusiness, with dedication and hard work. The
skill sets are pretty obvious, but in particular our
team has a focus on good people skills, and
camera work (requiring a good quality digital
SLR camera and software). Candidates need to
be very competent, though not necessarily
fluent, in French.”
Allez-Français is not an estate agent but
a marketing company, registered under
the auspices of the national group
JeSuisAgentImmobilier.com, with whom all
its agents have a card authorising them to
work as agents commerçials.
To get in touch visit allez-francais.com,
email [email protected] or ring
0033 (0)5 55 28 46 40.€175,000: From Allez Français’ Dordogne Valley
portfolio, a handsome four-bed half-timbered home
with stunning views, near Beaulieu-sur-DordogneThe house has large windows, high ceilings and
generous volumes as well as a private river beachFabrice CabaudParis underground stationCould this house on the edge of the Cévennes
national park be an artistic idyll for you too?