This week we'll find out why pensioners are to blame for all of France's problems, well not quite, but they are perhaps to blame for all the new prime minister's troubles. 

We'll also examine some major travel changes for south west France at a time that could spell both bad and good news for residents there.

We'll get to the bottom of a new driving law in France that's finally come into force this week and look at whether days are numbered for France's tourist information centres as the last one in Paris shuts up shop.

We'll also explain why your carte vitale health card might have stopped working and what you can do about it if it does get refused.

Ben McPartland your host is joined on the Talking France dance floor this week by The Local France's Emma Pearson, Gen Mansfield and French politics expert John Lichfield. 

Extra reading:

• 15 reasons Clermont-Ferrand is the best place in France
• France legalises motorbikes and scooters weaving through traffic
• EasyJet confirms Toulouse base closure as half of summer flights cancelled
• The alternative travel options to get to south-west France
• Ten reasons to visit France's Auvergne area
• 7 reasons to visit France's 'top city of 2025'
• What you can do if your French 'carte vitale' stops working
• Read more from John Lichfield

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This week we bring you all the latest on some big changes in France for drivers and look at where in the country you’ll wait the longest for a response from your prefecture. We will of course bring you the latest on the plight of France’s latest government and remind you who the PM is these days.

We also explain the 12 Gallic complaints you’ll need to get through the year in France.

And it’s 10 years since the Charlie Hebdo and HyperCacher supermarket terror attack in Paris. We’ll look at what happened next to the Charlie Hebdo magazine and explain a bit about France’s thirst for satire.

Host Ben McPartland is joined once again by editor Emma Pearson, journalist Gen Mansfield and French politics expert John Lichfield.

Extra reading:

• OPINION: Pensioners, not immigrants, are wrecking France
• OPINION: Sadly, the new year in France won't bring an end to 'la zizanie'
• MAP: The French cities with Crit'Air low emission zones in 2025
• Revealed: The waiting times at French préfectures
• Podcast: How did Jean-Marie Le Pen change France? (from April 2024)
• Quiz: Can you decipher all 12 of these French complaints?

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This special episode is dedicated entirely to looking ahead so you know a little about what to expect in France in 2025.

We'll try and answer some of the big questions about what lies ahead. Such as... How many Prime Ministers will France have in 2025? More or less than the 4 it had in 2024? We'll also look at whether there will be more elections this year and more protests and political crises.

We'll look ahead to some big travel changes in Paris, in France and indeed in Europe.

And just as Notre Dame reopens another huge Paris tourist attraction is set to close!

Stay with us and you'll be well prepared for 2025 in France.

Host Ben McPartland is joined underneath mistletoe by our team from The Local France Emma Pearson, Gen Mansfield and politics expert John Lichfield.

To catch up with everything happening in France in 2025 you'll find all our articles under the topic France in 2025.

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In this special episode of Talking France in which we answer some questions about France from listeners of the podcast and readers of The Local.

These questions will cover everything from whether Donald Trump being back in the White House means Marine Le Pen will soon be in Macron’s house - the Elysee palace.

We’ll answer a question on how could France have an energy crisis when it’s got so much nuclear power and whether the country simply spends too much on protecting its population?

We’ll try and explain how Americans can look more… well French in the way they dress and whether foreign residents in the country can get by without speaking French.

And finally we’ll try and answer a good question from a reader about what makes France so great, although we’ll first try and find out if it is actually that great.

Host Ben McPartland is asking the questions on behalf of listeners and to answer them we’ll have the three wise men and women from The Local : Emma Pearson, Gen Mansfield and John Lichfield.

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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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