Due to the high tax rates and general human greed there is a number of people from many nationalites that work "on the black" as it termed in France. No invoice, they don't pay tax etc. It is heavily frowned upon by the French but it does go on. There is a perception from the French that British people move over to already heavily UK populated areas in france offering their "services" quite often they are unskilled and leave many unhappy customers with bigger problems on their hands. All for the sake of trying to save a few quid.

That sort of thing goes on in every country, I'm sure, but it's not just immigrants who are responsible.

Correct that is what I said, people from many nationalities

It wasn't clear from what you said whether you were including the French or not. I was just clarifying.

[quote="Mintball"]

So let's try again: where is the evidence for your assertion that "thousands" of Britons go to France to 'sponge' – and, indeed, many other immigrants to the country?


so,let's try again - over the past twenty years brits (and dutch & germans) have bought lots of properties- I know because I personally sold a few hundred myself - in the case of the brits it's about half a million who have taken the plunge apparently - there have been many advantages to the french economy and french society,like giving work to french artisans and helping to keep alive dying 'communes' or parishes but also some negatives like pricing the young french buyers (first time buyers) out of the market but that's just tough I suppose.Now a small minority of the half million brits which still adds up to many thousands over the past twenty or so years are less than honest so many try to fidle the system by such things as receiving Child Benefit or Invalidity Allowance or Disability Allowance plus other benefits in BOTH countries which is illegal and most unfair to us honest folk - then of course we have the illegal workers who are occasionally taken on by french employers 'on the black' for cash with great risk to both parties but the main problem is 'cowboy' artisans from the UK (as well as Holland,Greece et al) who try it on.Most get caught eventually as they are denounced by the local artisans and some have been to prison or just deported.Now this fact and common knowledge to all and sundry - we even had an english couple who moved into the village who used to sneak out at night a pinch wood from the piles on the side of the road belonging to the locals - we later found out they had a scam going in Brittany concerning illegal Sky cards.You really would not believe some of the scum that comes over from the UK and other countries and believe France is a 'soft touch'


You mix with some nice people, then? Perhaps you should try changing the company you keep. Perhaps you should also ...

I try not to mix with the riff raff you know ? just like you on your holidays in France

perhaps I should '.......' - would be a pity because I would not have the enjoyment of debating with people like yourself - and i'm not being sarcastic !

So you're not reporting them? You whinge and whine and complain and make sweeping generalisations, but will not provide the relevant authorities, in the country where these people are allegedly 'sponging', with the details yourself? So much for your concerns!




you're joking,i've denounced my fair share either directly when I know the source couldn't be traced and by helping the french artisans working legally who have lost a lot of money (myself included) through the cowboys etc I even denounced a french notaire who was cooking his books and was ripping off his clients,many of them brits.He was struck off and went to prison.I have denounced an ex boss an english guy who was ripping the company off to the tune of £100,000 or more,it took six months but we nailed him.I am currently sueing (suing ?) the same company (brits & dutch) for breaches of the law - they have already paid out some damages but will face more pain in january when more breaches of french company law will be proven.Needless to say this has made me unpopular even leading to dismissal but I just couldn't kep quiet about the way they were cheating the system.I took a risk especially at my age and with the high unemployment etc but I found another job fairly quickly despite my age and have found a company who are brill and do everything by the book which makes life easier.

[quote="Rock God X"][quote="sanjunien"] Flaunting the rules? What on Earth are you talking about? sorry,I meant flouting,excuse me. Workers from every country in the EU (barring Bulgaria and Romania) may work in France without restriction. So what rules are those 1 in 10 or 1 in 20 employers 'flaunting' (I think you mean flouting, by the way)? It's hardly 'black labour' (I think you mean 'black market labour') if they are legally entitled to work there, is it? they may work 'legally' without restriction yes,of course,paying their french taxes and contributing to the french economy.I would prefer that immigration legal and of course illegal be severly restricted hence my support of Marine le Pen So what you're saying is that most French employers favour French applicants and between 5% and 10% (anything to back up these figures?) employ some legal workers from other EU countries. If you're ok with people coming there to work, this shouldn't bother you one bit. i'm not 'ok' with foreigners coming to France but have to respect the laws in force at the time.What I am against,just as you should be in the UK is the passage of illegal workers and spongers who have no intention of working who are taking advantage of the system me and you are subsidising. an interesting article (badly translated from the spanish or portugese) http://eddycabreralawservices.com/web/e ... s-ilegales

[quote="Rock God X"][quote="sanjunien"] Flaunting the rules? What on Earth are you talking about? sorry,I meant flouting,excuse me. Workers from every country in the EU (barring Bulgaria and Romania) may work in France without restriction. So what rules are those 1 in 10 or 1 in 20 employers 'flaunting' (I think you mean flouting, by the way)? It's hardly 'black labour' (I think you mean 'black market labour') if they are legally entitled to work there, is it? they may work 'legally' without restriction yes,of course,paying their french taxes and contributing to the french economy.I would prefer that immigration legal and of course illegal be severly restricted hence my support of Marine le Pen So what you're saying is that most French employers favour French applicants and between 5% and 10% (anything to back up these figures?) employ some legal workers from other EU countries. If you're ok with people coming there to work, this shouldn't bother you one bit. i'm not 'ok' with foreigners coming to France but have to respect the laws in force at the time.What I am against,just as you should be in the UK is the passage of illegal workers and spongers who have no intention of working who are taking advantage of the system me and you are subsidising. an interesting article (badly translated from the spanish or portugese) http://eddycabreralawservices.com/web/e ... s-ilegales

That sort of thing goes on in every country, I'm sure, but it's not just immigrants who are responsible.


yes,we know it happens in every country but we are talking about France which is a special case maybe along with Spain who have suffered from cowboy workers for decades from the UK as well as local cowboys of course.
peggy is spot on when she/he said about many unhappy customers who have been conned by these people.As I said in an earlier posting many of these cowboys get found out or denounced by the french tradesmen who pay a lot in Social Charges (NI etc) to be legal - most of the cowboys don't last long but others move around the country until they have nowhere else to go but usually end up getting their just desserts.Many of the people working illegally aren't always bad tradesmen but they still get caught out and still creates a big headache for the victims/customers when something goes wrong usually when the planning laws have been ignored resulting in hefty bills afterwards to repair the mistakes made.