France has a new Prime Minister, just in time for the New Year, but how long will he last for in 2025? France does have a PM but will it get a new government in time for Christmas? A lot has happened in French politics since last week and there’s a lot more that will happen before the end of the year so we’ll break it all down for you.

Away from politics we’ll find out about some foreign residents who’ve been caught with fake French language test certificates. And we’ll run through what to expect in France this Christmas from strikes to topless firefighters.

And we’ll hear how glitches on the French immigration admin website ANEF have been causing a “crisis” for international residents in the country.

It’s another jam-packed episode of Talking France coming up.

And we're appealing to all our listeners this Christmas who haven’t become members. Please consider joining The Local, we really need new members to be able to continue recording these episodes and to be able to carry on writing the dozens of valuable articles the team produces each week about France and the issues facing residents, second home owners and visitors. So please treat yourself and your family this Christmas to a membership of The Local France. If you’re already a member you can also buy a gift membership for the francophile in your life via this link.

Extra reading:

Extra reading

• OPINION: Three reasons to be hopeful about France's new prime minister
• After budget row, French MPs pass 'special law' to keep show on the road
• Three arrested for helping foreigners cheat on French language tests
• Trains, roads and planes: What to know about travel in France over Christmas
• Foreigners in France face 'national crisis' due to glitches on admin site ANEF

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This week, we'll get the latest on the ongoing political crisis in France and President Emmanuel Macron's quest to find a government to run the country. Will he succeed in getting a Christmas truce?

We'll find out who the winners and losers are from the fact that France has no 2025 budget and look at who might be to blame for the messy end of year in French politics.

We'll find out what's so special about Paris' roof tops but why you really don't want to be living right under one. 

And we'll explore whether our personalities change when we speak French. Do we become more emotional or more likely to have an argument? 

And we'll compare how trains in France compare to rail services around Europe and whether they've become too expensive for many people.

Host Ben McPartland is joined by The Local's veritable locomotive Emma Pearson, Gen Mansfield and John Lichfield.

Extra reading:

• OPINION: French politicians are finally talking about compromise and cooperation
• Taxes, pensions and bills - What France's budget crisis means for your wallet
• UNESCO gives heritage status to Paris' zinc roofs - but is that actually a good thing?
• OPINION: Your personality changes when you speak another language, but that’s not always a bad thing
• COMPARED: The best and worst train operators in Europe

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France has been plunged into crisis this week. As widely expected the French government has fallen along with Prime Minister Michel Barnier after they lost a no-confidence vote on Wednesday evening.

What happens next? Can the under-pressure President Emmanuel Macron steady the ship or will he jump, as many are calling for. We get all the latest news and analysis on the political chaos.

Elsewhere this week we explain new rules around holiday property rentals in France, we try and understand why advent calendars have become controversial in French schools and look at whether France and the UK are heading for a border showdown.

And we also spell out why you should visit French Christmas markets on an empty stomach.

Host Ben McPartland is joined as usual will be the team from The Local France, Emma Pearson, Gen Mansfield and John Lichfield. 

Extra reading

• OPINION: Macron will move swiftly, but can the new PM succeed where Barnier failed?
• Why is Christmas 'secular' in France?
• France introduces strict new laws on renting out holiday homes
• 10 food and drink treats to sample at French Christmas markets
• UK can no longer 'sub-contract' Channel border security to France, says interior minister

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France has only had a new government for a couple of months and now it looks like it could lose it - just when it really needs one. We'll find out what's going on and what it will mean for the country and the crucial 2025 budget if the government falls.

We'll also explore how Paris has changed over the last 10 years under mayor Anne Hidalgo, who announced this week she won't run for a third term.

We'll also discuss how a mass rape trial in the south of France that has deeply shocked the country, could bring lasting change to French society and its laws.

And we'll finish by looking at the common grammar mistakes even the French make and whether we language learners really do need to remember whether a noun is masculine or feminine.

Host Ben McPartland is joined as usual by The Local France's editor Emma Pearson, journalist Gen Mansfield, politics expert John Lichfield as well as a special guest feminist journalist Megan Clement.

Extra reading

• OPINION: As court verdict looms, Le Pen now seems willing to bring down French government
• 'After Mazan': France unveils new measures to combat violence against women
• Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo announces she will not stand for third term
• Masculine or feminine: How to get the gender of French nouns (mostly) right
• 6 language mistakes that even French people make (including Macron)

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Protesting French farmers are threatening to cause chaos and the government is struggling to calm their anger. We explain the reasons for their fury and why it's causing France to lose friends in Brussels.

And could Marine Le Pen be barred from standing in the next presidential election? We look at the ramifications of what could be a bombshell court verdict.

We also talk about sex this week or more to the point the changing sex lives for the French and whether those clichés about highly active and adulterous Gallic lovers have any truth to them.

And if you still need satisfying then we've got much more, including a look at the worst airlines for delays in France and why Notre Dame's reopening has caused an unholy row over secularism.

Host Ben McPartland is joined by the team from The Local France. That means Emma Pearson, Gen Mansfield and John Lichfield will be on the mics providing the insight.

Extra reading:

• OPINION: French farmers are heading for an EU showdown in the New Year
• Will Marine Le Pen be barred from running for French president in 2027?
• Tickets and dates: All you need to know about Notre-Dame reopening
• PODCAST: Pension strikes to intensify, Vendée rebels and the myth of the 'sexy French'
• Revealed - the real sex lives of the French
• Your rights on delayed or cancelled flights in France

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This week we look ahead to winter in France, not the weather or Christmas, but the likelihood of major strikes causing disruption across the country. French farmers, rail unions and pilots have all announced protests and industrial action over the days and weeks ahead. Just how bad could it get?

We also explain why Emmanuel Macron might just have his mojo back thanks to Donald Trump but will he be able to do anything with it in the time he has left as president?

And we find out why France has a gambling problem when it comes to the horses and whether the government really could strip us all of one of our treasured public holidays?

And we explain whether it’s true that one of the many benefits of being in France when you’re elderly is that you can’t be evicted.

Im Ben McPartland your host and I'll be joined by The Local France's Emma Pearson, Gen Mansfield and politics expert John Lichfield.

Extra reading:

• OPINION: Trump's win may be bad news for everyone - apart from Macron
• Could France give up one of its treasured public holidays?
• Reader question: Is it true that over-65s cannot be evicted in France?
• Why the tabac is essential to life in France - even if you don't smoke
• French farmers plan new nationwide protests
• What's behind French rail union's threat of 'longer, stronger' strikes?

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To start this news series off we find out how the French President Emmanuel Macron and his government might be feeling about the return of Donald Trump to the White House. And with many Americans apparently taking to Google to find out how they can move to France, we explain if they actually can, and all the pitfalls to avoid if you do.

We also explain why French rail unions are threatening "long and strong" rail strikes this autumn and why the accent in the south west of France is considered sexy - and if it is worth copying if you live there?

We also look at whether Paris's new so-called car ban really is that ambitious and run through some of the key hurdles you need to overcome when buying a property in France.

Host Ben McPartland is joined by the team at The Local France, Emma Pearson, Gen Mansfield and politics expert John Lichfield.

Extra reading:

• Explained: Paris’ new limits on cars in city centre
• Why French sounds so different in the south-west
• 8 things to beware of about ‘cheap French property’ adverts
• Viager: The French property system that can lead to a bargain
• 8 things Americans need to know before moving to France
• EXPLAINED: What type of French visa do you need?

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Up for discussion this week is what's been described as "the most violent austerity plan France has ever seen." We find out just how painful the new budget will be for people in France.

And apart from the budget, there's a planned new immigration bill that could also spell bad news for foreigners in France. We find out more.

And did you know around 150 movies and TV series are filmed in Paris each year? We explain why the film industry means big business in the French capital.

We run through the many different types of parties you can get invited to in France from a dining aperitif to the burial of a young girl's life.

We also explain why doliprane - that's French paracetamol - is giving many in France a huge headache right now.

Host Ben McPartland is joined by The Local France's editor Emma Pearson and politics expert John Lichfield.

Extra reading:

• How will France's 'tough' 2025 budget affect you?
• French unions call strike over Doliprane firm sale
• Teachers in France threaten strikes until March over budget cuts
• How could (another) new immigration law affect foreigners in France?
• Why is Paris a world leader for film and TV?
• Apéro to bal: Explaining the different types of parties in France

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The big news this week in France is that the mythical golden owl, a treasure people in France have been hunting for for three decades, has finally been found. 

If you have no idea what I'm talking about please stay tuned. This week we'll also get the calculator out and find out if France's autumn budget - described as the toughest and most important in 50 years - will solve any of the country's financial problems. Or will it just give you financial problems with major cuts and tax hikes ahead.

We'll also explore the real differences and divisions between Paris and the rest of France whether it's the quality of the healthcare you receive or the salaries you can earn.

The French PM has announced a major change to the carte vitale, those green health cards we all have to carry in France. But how will foreign residents be affected?

And as more Alps ski resorts close their lifts for good, is climate change putting the French off skiing and who will lose out the most?

Host Ben McPartland is joined this week by the team from The Local France, Emma Pearson, Gen Mansfield and politics and budget expert John Lichfield.

Just a reminder that if you like the podcast, please consider becoming a member of The Local France. Not only will you be helping us to be able to continue producing episodes of Talking France, but you'll also get full access to the scores of articles the team produces each week. You can join in just a couple of minutes by visiting The Local.fr.

Extra reading:

• OPINION: 50 years of French state over-spending won't be solved in one Budget
• Golden owls to fine wines - 5 of France's biggest treasure hunts
• 9 ways Paris is different from the rest of France
• Who will be hit by tax rises in France?
• France pushes ahead with changes to carte vitale health card

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Up for discussion this week is the French PM's key policy speech and why it sounded like a wedding speech by a bride's grandfather. Plus, does the PM have a chance of getting anything done and will the gaping hole in the country's money box spell doom for us all here in France?

On a more positive note we'll put France's interior minister to rights by introducing you to some foreign immigrants who really did help make France the country it is today. 

We'll also introduce you to some dinosaurs that made Charente in south western France their home and explore whether a solution has been found to boost public transport in rural France.

And finally French kissing is a subject some of us are experts on here at The Local so we will find out whether the covid pandemic killed off la bise - the french greeting kiss of course.

Host Ben McPartland is joined by the team at The Local France, Editor Emma Pearson, journalist Gen Mansfield and politics and rural France expert John Lichfield.

Extra reading:

• 'It comes naturally now' - How foreigners in France adapt to la bise
• Immigration, debt and compromise: The priorities of France's new government
• New species of dinosaur discovered in south-west France
• Will France's rural rail networks be revived?
• OPINION: Barnier has a plan for France, if Le Pen will let him

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