All posts by Rosemary Kneipp

Buying property in France

PROMESSE DE VENTE VERSUS COMPROMIS DE VENTE IN FRENCH PROPERTY SALES

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All property transactions in France take place in two steps: first, after the seller has agreed to the price offer, the seller and buyer sign a promise to sell in the form of either a promesse de vente (unilateral promise to sell) or a compromis de vente (bilateral promise to sell). This can take place privately, in a real estate agency or in a notaire’s office. Then, usually about 3 months later, when all the conveyancing has been done, both parties sign the acte de vente to close the sale.

The first time I purchased a property in France, in the early 1980s, I was told that it was better to sign a compromis de vente rather than a promesse de vente so I was surprised to learn recently, when asked to interpret during the signing of a promise to sell in a notaire’s office that it was a promesse de vente and not a compromis.

Despite my research I was not able to really determine the difference between the two so I asked the notaire, who told me that he only used the promesse de vente agreement. His explanation did not fully satisfy me, apart from the fact that the promesse de vente would appear to be in the purchaser’s favour and the compromis in the seller’s favour. Also, a real estate agent can only use a compromis de vente agreement which probably explains why I was told it was preferable. Real estate agents who have obtained the corresponding certification can prepare the compromis without going through a notaire and the price of the agreement is included in their commission. The promesse de vente is an acte authentique which means that it is always signed in front of a notaire.

After looking at my own records (my husband and I have bought or sold 8 times, 3 times with a real estate agent and 5 times privately), I discovered that there was a compromis de vente each time a real estate agent was involved and a promesse de vente all the other times. However, I have since attended a training course on the subject for court sworn translators and have updated my knowledge on the subject. Here are my conclusions.

Promesse de vente or unilateral promise to sell (the least common)

The seller promises to sell the property to the future buyer at a price agreed upon by the parties thus giving the future buyer exclusivity for a pre-determined period (usually two to three months).

During this time, the seller cannot promise to sell the property to anyone else whereas the future buyer can cancel the sale if they wish to, the only drawback being that they will lose the indemnité d’immobilisation or reservation fee (which roughly corresponds to non-refundable earnest money) if they do not go through with the sale. The reservation fee is usually 10% of the sales price.

If the future buyer does go through with the sale, the 10% is deducted from the price still to be paid.

To be valid, the promise of sale must be registered with the tax department within ten days of signature and if the reservation period is more than 18 months, it must be signed at a notaire’s office. This particular point may be changed in 2020. The registration fee, paid by the future buyer, is 125 euros. The fee charged by the notaire for preparing the agreement is not fixed by law and is usually about 200 euros. You should ask the notaire beforehand.

Compromis de vente or reciprocal promise to sell (the most common)

The seller and the future buyer both undertake to conclude the sale at a price determined jointly. Legally, the compromis is therefore a sale. If one of the parties wants to pull out of the transaction (except if the one of the conditions precedent is not met), the other party can take them to court and force them to do so, in addition to claiming damages. However this can be a very lengthy process.

When the compromis is signed, the purchaser pays earnest money (dépôt de garantie) corresponding to 5% to 10% of the sales price. The earnest money is deducted from the final sales price.

The compromis de vente does not have to be registered with the tax department. However, if there is a dispute about the conditions precedent, the parties will both be bound by the agreement, unless the dispute is settled amicably between the parties or by a court decision. In the case of a promesse de vente, both parties are released from the agreement if the future purchaser decides not to buy. The vendor cannot change their mind and the agreement is immediately enforceable without going to court.

Cooling off period for purchasers – promesse de vente et compromis de vente

Whether you sign a unilateral promise to sell (promesse) or a reciprocal promise to sell (compromis), you have a ten-day cooling-off period (délai de retractation) during which you can decide not to purchase the property. The letter stating your intent must be sent by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt to the seller. If you go through a notaire, this can be done electronically.

Whatever the reason for cancelling the sale, any amount paid by way of reservation fee (indemnité d’immobilisation) or earnest money (dépôt de garantie) during the cooling-off period will be reimbursed. The 10-day cooling-off period starts on the day following the day on which the promise to sell is signed at a notaire’s office or, if a private promise to sell is signed, at the first presentation by the postman of the registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt containing the agreement.

For example, if the letter is sent on 10th of the month and the first presentation is the 12th of the month, the cooling-off period will begin on the 13th and end on 22nd at midnight.

Conditions precedent – promesse de vente and compromis de vente

I mentioned the question of conditions precedent (conditions suspensives) earlier on. These are conditions that must be met for closure of the sale to take place.

Whether the promise to sell is unilateral (promesse) or reciprocal (compromis), the seller and buyer can agree to insert one or more conditions precedent in the agreement. This means that if events defined as conditions precedent do not take place before the final sale, the agreement is null and void.

  • Examples: the purchaser’s bank loan is refused; the municipality has a pre-emption right; a serious town planning easement is discovered. In these cases, the amounts paid by the purchaser are refunded.
  • A compromis de vente can also contain a clause called a “clause de dédit” (retraction clause) which enables the seller and/or the purchaser to cancel the sale without giving a reason, in return for leaving the other party an agreed-upon amount. However, this practice is very rare.
  • The above clause must not be confused with the penalty clause, which exists in most compromis de vente according to which the purchaser must pay the seller a fixed amount in damages if the purchaser refuses to go through with the sale.

To sum up, if you are purchasing a property in France and you want to be able to cancel the sale without giving a reason (and are prepared to lose the 10% reservation fee!) or if you want to guarantee the date of sale, then you will need to sign a promesse de vente at a notaire’s office.

If you are selling a property in France and the purchaser needs to get a mortgage loan, it is also better to sign a promesse de vente because if the loan has not come through on the stipulated date, you can simply walk away from the sale and find another buyer. If you have signed a compromis, you will have to go through the court to have the sale cancelled which can be a lengthy process.

In all other cases, you can choose either a promesse de vente or a compromis de vente, but if you are going through a real estate agent, then it will be necessarily be a compromis de vente unless you specifically ask for a promesse de vente through a notaire.

Whatever you choose, you will have to sign the final deed of sale at the notaire’s office. I strongly advise choosing your own notaire (in which case the fees are split between all the notaires involved), not because of any possible dishonesty on the part of a notaire, but simply because you will always have an unbiased opinion.

My second recommendation is to make sure you understand EVERYTHING in the deed of sale (which you can request beforehand). Some real estate agents are competent to explain all the details. Otherwise you can call on a sworn translator who can also be present during the sale.

For all inquiries, please contact Rosemary Kneipp at kneipp@kneipp-traduction.com or phone 06 76 41 99 43.

Certified translation, French customs

Exchanging an Australian driver licence for a French licence

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Updated January 2026

A driver’s licence issued by a country outside France is only recognised for one year once the person has acquired “normal residence” in France, normal residence being defined as the place in which you live for at least six months (185 days) a year due to professional or personal attachments. 

If you are not an EU citizen you need to make your application less than one year after the date on which your resident permit was validated.

If you are a foreign student in France, however, you can drive with your non-European licence during your studies.

If you are a dual national, see below.

If, because of your nationality, you have no way of proving the start of your residency in France, please see below.

Can I use my Australian licence for a short stay?

Yes, if you stay for less than 6 months, provided that:

1/ your licence is valid throughout your stay

2/ you have an international licence or an official translation. If it is translated in France, a certified translator (traducteur assermenté) must be used. If it is translated in another country, it must have an apostille. 

Cost of exchanging a licence

The exchange of a foreign driving licence for a French licence is free of charge.

For licences from countries other than Australia

Not all countries have a reciprocal agreement with France. In the case of the US, for example, only 18 states have an agreement. You can check on the following simulator (scroll down until you reach your country): https://www.service-public.gouv.fr/simulateur/calcul/PermisEtrangerPermisFrancais

Where to apply?

All applications are on-line at https://www.service-public.gouv.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F1460

See instructions below

Who qualifies?

To qualify, your licence must be valid and issued by the country in which you had normal residence at the time.

You cannot apply to have your licence exchanged if it is currently suspended, withdrawn or cancelled in the country of issue or in France.

If you have an existing driver’s licence that is less than three years old, then your newly issued French licence will also be provisional until a three-year period has elapsed.

Anyone with a driving licence issued by a State outside the European Union and the European Economic Area, must apply to exchange their licence for a French licence within a period of one year following the acquisition of normal residency in France.

Dual nationals

For anyone with the nationality of a member country of the European Union or another country which belongs to the European Economic Area, Switzerland or Monaco, including those who also have the nationality of the State that issued the licence, the date of acquisition of normal residency is defined as being the 186th day following the date of their arrival in France.

This means that if you are European with a driver’s licence issued by a State outside the EU and EEA, you must apply to exchange your licence for a French licence between the end of the 6th month of your stay in France and before the end of the 18th month.

Australian licence issued to non-Australians

If you do not have the nationality of the country in which your licence was issued, you must also prove that you were a normal resident in that country at the time of issue. For example, you only have a Greek passport but you got your licence in Australia. You must prove that you were an Australian resident when the licence was issued. The easiest proof is the declaration of arrival and departure at the consulate, but a tax declaration, pay slip, work certificate, rental agreement, high school diploma or other document proving residence can be used too. 

Anyone who has both French and Australian nationality should apply to exchange their licence as soon as possible after their arrival as the process is considered to be complex.

What about a motorcycle licence?

It is not possible to obtain an open motorbike licence (permis moto A) through an exchange. A restricted motorbike licence (permis moto A2) only will be issued (a power output of less than 35 kW). To have it upgraded to an open licence, you are required to have 2 years of practice and about 7 hours of additional training with a driving school.

Unfortunately, there is no way of getting around this as it applies to all French motorbike licences.

When to apply?

The deadlines are as follows:

1st carte de séjour : Less than one year after your card was issued.

Visa de long séjour valant titre de séjour: Less than one year after the date of validation by OFII.

No residency visa required (EU national, for example) : between the end of the 6th month of your stay in France and before the end of the 18th month.

It’s best to start the process a couple of months ahead of time as some documents may require a little time to acquire.

What do I need?

  • An Australian driver’s licence
  • An Australian driving record or traffic history 

1) An Australian driver’s licence and

2) a driving record or traffic history (droits à conduire) 

In addition to your national driver’s licence (an international licence is not sufficient) you will need an Australian driving record or traffic history (licence details) less than 6 months old, which is normally only available to the driver themselves. It can be ordered on-line but in some States, it must be sent to an Australian address, usually the last one on record. If you haven’t already done so, you’ll need to officially change your address to an address in Australia where the record can be sent. The system is different for each state. If you have a choice between an on-line version and a printed version, you can choose the on-line version. All the relevant links are given at the end of this post. The traffic history (licence details) is called “Droits à conduire” in French and must prove that your licence is currently valid. It must also give the date on which your licence was first issued. A record of traffic infringements is not enough. If you have held more than one Australian licence, it’s the last one that is needed unless the current record does not indicate the date of first issue. Then you will need a record from the corresponding State.

3) A passport photo (see below)

4) Proof of address (see below)

5) Proof of residency (see below)

Translation into French

You will then need to have your national licence and driving record/history translated by a court-certified translator. The official list can be found on the Court de Cassation website  https://www.courdecassation.fr/experts. Click on Télécharger la liste nationale des experts en pdf, then go to TRADUCTION.

This is the official list of certified translators in France. All other lists are usually agencies in disguise. Translation agencies cannot be certified themselves, only the individual translators who carry out the work which is usually outsourced.

You can have the translation carried out by a translator living anywhere in France. There are no fixed prices for certified translations in France so they can vary considerably. Depending on the translator, you will need to take your licence and history to the translator in person or send them a good quality scan by email or a colour photocopy by post. A good quality scan means that it must be done with a scanner/photocopier and not a phone unless you have a special app.

Translators usually ask to be paid in advance by bank transfer, PayPal, etc. The stamped translation is sent back by pdf. A hard copy is not required (information provided by the ANTS website hotline). 

On-line application process

All applications are  on-line at https://www.service-public.gouv.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F1460 

1/ Register on the website

2/ Follow the steps (you can use Google Translate to help you). Make sure that you are uploading your documents into the correct section.

3/ Photo:

You will need an approved passport photo with a digital code and signature so you do not have to send the actual photo. This can be obtained in most photo booths (see complete list on https://permisdeconduire.ants.gouv.fr/services/geolocaliser-les-photographes-habilites.) Look for a photobooth that says “Agrée ANTS SERVICES EN LIGNE”.

4/ Proof of address: 

The most common documents are your phone bill and electricity bill. The EDF app (and website) provide a “justificatif de domicile” in pdf form.

You can also ask your landlord to write a letter saying that you are being hosted by them (lettre d’hébergement). Don’t forget to include the date you arrived. The person should say you have been continuously living with them since a specific date. You will need a copy of their ID as well.

5/ Proof of residency:

You can use your “titre de séjour“, stamps in your passport, a letter from your landlord, lease receipts, a letter from the town hall in small towns, or anything else that will prove you have been living in France for the specified amount of time, including declaration at the Australian Embassy on arrival.

If you have no way of proving the beginning of your residency in France (perhaps you were living elsewhere in Europe before coming the France and don’t need a “titre de séjour” because you have a second passport), then you should register your arrival at the local town hall or the Australian embassy or declare that your home is your main residence with the local tax office. Then wait six months to make your application to exchange your licence.

6/ Driver’s licence

Two separate files: front and back. I suggest you name them smith_joe_permis_recto [front] and smith_joe_permis_verso [back]

7/ Translation of driver’slicence

One file with the licence and translation both stamped. Just the translation is not sufficient.

I suggest you name the file smith_joe_permis_traduction_certifiee

8/ Droits à conduire (driving history/record, etc. depending on State)

This document must prove that your licence is currently valid and state the date of first issue. It varies from State to State. NSW: driving history (you can order the on-line version) QLD: traffic history, VIC: driver history, SA: driving history, WA: Driver’s Licence Details and Traffic Infringements (2 documents), ACT: driver licence information, NT: driver licence history

I suggest you name it smith_joe_droits_conduire

9/ Translation of droits à conduire

One file with history/record and translation, both stamped. Just the translation is not sufficient. It needs to show that your licence is currently valid, the date of first issue and date of expiry. The ANTS website only allows three pages to be uploaded. In the case of the 3-page Victorian documents which means a 6-page document including the translation, it will be cut off after the translation. You can upload the full 6 pages in the Other Document section.

I suggest you name the file smith_joe_droits_conduire_traduction_certifiee

10/ Special cases – contact ANTS by telephone

You can phone ANTS (in French) on 3400 (not taxed) from within France or 09 70 83 07 07 from outside France from 7.45 am to 7 pm on weekdays and from 8 am to 5 pm on Saturdays.

What happens next?

If any documents are missing, it will be indicated on the ANTS website and you will be requested to upload additional ones. Check the website regularly. VERY IMPORTANT: if you receive a request for additional documents, you must upload a document to ALL the areas with a question mark, especially “Autres types de documents”. It’s a defect in the system. Just upload again (in both modules) one of the documents you have already uploaded. Otherwise, you will not be able to go to the next page.

You will be contacted by the authority concerned and issued a certificate of secure deposit (ADS) for your Australian driver licence, valid for 4 months.

You can use the ADS to drive while waiting for your French licence to issued, within the limit of the date of expiration of your Australian licence. If your licence is about to expire, apply for a new one first!

Once your application has been processed, you will be systematically asked to send in your original licence by registered mail together with your ADS. Your French licence will then be sent to your home address.

How long will it take?

The processing time will vary according to the complexity of your application and mainly depends on how long it takes to check your right to drive (driving history).

How can you track your application?

You can track your application on the ANTS website.

If you are asked to submit further documents and you can’t move on from “Enregistrer” after uploading your document, then upload a document into each section that has a question mark. It doesn’t matter what the document is – just upload documents you have already submitted. This is a technical hitch on the website.

If you move during the process

When requested to send in your Australian licence by registered mail, you can indicate your new address with a new proof of domicile and the ADS (i.e. interim licence) or, if you haven’t received the ADS, your birth name, given names, date of birth and nationality of the licence.

The French licence is then posted to your home address.

What sort of licence will I get?

The licence is not probationary unless the original licence is less than 3 years old.

The issue date indicated on the licence is the issue date of the French licence. The licence is valid for 15 years from the issue date (except when a medical check-up is needed, for drivers of HGVs for example).

What happens if I am refused?

If you are refused, and you cannot understand why, you can appeal to have the decision reviewed. I have noted that many people do not upload their documents under the correct headings which can lead to refusal.

If there is nothing to be done and you wish to obtain a French licence, you can go to the Bureau des Etrangers at your Préfecture and ask for an Attestation dispensing you from the obligatory driving lessons i.e. you will need to sit for the Code (theoretical examination) and a driving test only.

It is possible to sit for the Code with the help of an interpreter who must be a sworn translator or interpretor. However, having provided this service, I strongly recommend that you sit for the test in French by practising until you know all the vocabulary. During the test, the interpretor must stand with their back to the screen. The proctor reads the question and the interpretor translates it. They are allowed to repeat once. Road rules vocabulary varies enormously among English speakers so if you do choose to have an interpretor, make sure you spend at least an hour with them before the test so you can make sure you know all the vocabulary.

Will I get my Australian licence back?

No, you won’t. The French authorities will keep your licence and only give it back in return for the French one. (Arrêté du 12 janvier 2012, Article 13 modifié par l’arrêté du 19 décembre 2017, Article 9). It would seem that the NSW authorities will issue a duplicate of your licence if you declare it lost but that information is not official and not substantiated. An exchange means you surrender the original licence.

Good luck!

All information taken from the official government site https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F1460, verified in October 2025.

LINKS TO OBTAIN AN AUSTRALIAN DRIVING HISTORY/TRAFFIC RECORD

NSW https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/request-driving-record

QLD https://www.service.transport.qld.gov.au/applyformytraffichistory/public/Welcome.xhtml?dswid=-9714

VIC https://billing.vicroads.vic.gov.au/driverhistory(there are three pages; theoretically, only the first is required – Driver licence details – but sometimes the Complete demerit point extract is requested.)

SA https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/driving-and-transport/licences/drivers-licence/check-your-driving-history

WA (two different documents required) https://online.transport.wa.gov.au/ (Driver’s Licence Details) contact.centre@transport.wa.gov.au or www.transport.wa.gov.au/licensing.

Phone +61 8 9320 4656 if you are outside Australia.

https://www.wa.gov.au/service/transport/road-transport/apply-traffic-infringement-notice-record(Traffic Infringements)

TAS 

https://www.transport.tas.gov.au/licensing/requesting_information

ACT

https://www.accesscanberra.act.gov.au/driving-transport-and-parking/licences/licence-records

Flowers & gardens

Wait for the Ice Saints – Il faut attendre les saints de glace

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There is a saying in France that you have to wait until after the ice saints – 11th, 12th and 13th May (Mamert, Pancrace and Servais) before you plant tomatoes and flowers like Busy Lilies. Well my tomatoes are fine because they are still in the laundry but not the Busy Lizzies or the plumbago in the barrow. Sigh.

Cette année je n’ai pas écouté le dicton qui dit qu’il faut attendre les saints de glace le 11, 12 et 13 mai avant de faire les plantations d’été. Mes impatiences ont souffert ainsi que le plumbago dans la brouette mais pas les tomates qui sont à l’abri. Oh la la!

French customs, Sworn translation

Why must birth certificates in France be less than 3 months old?

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Most foreigners living in France are asked at some stage to deliver a full birth certificate that is less than 3 months old. Why three months?

If you’ve even seen a French birth certificate of someone who has been married, you will understand why.

French birth certificates are “annotés” which means that any change in civil status is recorded on the birth certificate itself – marriage, civil union, separation, divorce, remarriage, death … It’s like a personal history rather than a record of a single event. This is also the purpose of the livret de famille*.

As a result, the French authorities always ask for a recent certificate, which is defined as less than 3 months old. Birth certificates are obtained from the town hall of the place of birth and are free of charge. You simply send a photocopy of your identity card and a stamped addressed envelope with a cover letter saying who you are and what you want and they usually arrive in a few days. You can also go to the town hall in person. Since February 15th 2019, birth certificates can also be obtained in multilingual versions (i.e. all the languages of the European Union).

In most countries other than France, birth certificates are not annotated. As a result, there is no reason to submit a certificate of less than 3 months, nor a translation of less than 3 months. Unfortunately, a lot of authorities are not aware of this. I am a sworn translator (Orléans Appeal Court) and have just translated a UK birth certificate for a British citizen who is getting married in a neighbouring town in the Loire Valley because the local town hall simply knows nothing about the regulations and my client doesn’t want to mess around.

I have personally used the same Australian birth certificate for countless cartes de séjour, two marriages, one divorce and a successful application for French citizenship. Each time, I explained that “les actes de naissance en Australie ne sont pas annotés.”

On the French official website service-public.fr, it says:

“Un acte de naissance, de mariage ou de décès demeure valable tant que les éléments qui y figurent n’ont pas été modifiés.”  https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F10449. i.e. a birth, marriage or death certificate remains valid as long as the information given in the certificate has not been modified.

This means that, unless your name has changed (for a reason other than marriage) or there was an error in your initial certificate, you can use any full birth certificate issued since you were born. If questioned (which I very much doubt), all you have to do is quote the above sentence if an authority insists on a certificate less than 3 months old. Good luck!

*livret de famille: this is a little booklet you are given when you marry. It is added to each time you have a child. It also records divorces and deaths.

Blogging, Blois, Cycling, Cyprus, France, Germany, Poland, Uncategorized

Happy New Year 2019

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This is my absolute last chance to write my New Year post and wish you all a wonderful 2019, as tomorrow is the first day of February. I have an exciting year ahead – I am going to retire on 30th June (although I shall keep up my certified translations for a few more years). Retirement will, I hope, give me more time to blog.

The view from our rental in Senglea

Travel continued to play a big role in our lives this year, with our first trip away in February, to the island of Malta, where we stayed in a flat called Marine View in Senglea with a most stunning view both day and night. There were many interesting places to visit and the weather was wonderful, but Cyprus, where we went last year, remains my favourite Mediterranean island.

Château de Chambord in the snow

A snowfall on our return provided the occasion for my most stunning photo yet of Château de Chambord which remains high on the list of our cycling destinations in summer and a great place to walk in the winter.

The bridge between La Rochelle and Ile de Ré

In April we went to La Rochelle for a long week-end and had a truly unforgettable experience at Christopher Coutanceau’s 2-star Michelin restaurant followed by lots of cycling on nearby Ile-de-Ré. It’s a very busy and lively town and it’s a great place to shop in comfort (especially for a non-shopper like myself). There’s lots of activity at night along the waterfront which made a bit of a change from the Loire in winter.

The main square of Krakov

We spent the whole of June in Germany and Poland, on our power-assisted bikes clocking up 800 kilometers for 16 days’ cycling. As ever, Germany was a pure delight. It is just so geared to cyclists with all its bike paths and rest-stops and I adore the colourful half-timbered houses in all the little towns and villages!

Gdansk

Poland, however, was another story. Although the major cities such as Poznan, Gdansk, Warsaw, Krakow and Wraclow have an amazing network of bike paths, as soon as you get out of the built-up area, you have to take either the main road or go on mountain-bike trails for 20-year-olds in top form. One unforgettable ride through a very sandy forest had me preferring the bitumen and traffic! There are practically no pretty villages which was a great disappointment. The only exception was Gdansk which we really loved. We had an apartment outside the town and were able to cycle happily up and down the coast through the seaside vilalges as well as into the city with its beautiful baroque façades.

Miltenberg on the Main

After two weeks in Poland, we were relieved to get back to Germany and follow the Main River! Poland, despite its drawbacks, is a country on the rise economically and that was obvious everywhere we went. It was difficult to have much contact with the locals though, as they were not very welcoming on the whole.

Stunning azulejos in Porto

Our week’s holiday in autumn this year took us to Porto with Ryan Air (never again!) from the nearby city of Tours. We enjoyed the first three days in Porto, by which time we had exhausted its possibilities, including a rather hair-raising bike ride along the coast. For the next three days, we took day trains (about one-hour each way) to the very interesting historical towns of Guimaraes, Aveiro and Braga. Poland may be on the way up, but Portugal is definitely going in the opposite direction. It’s very sad to see.

A favourite view of Blois when cycling along the Loire

On the home front, we continued to cycle throughout July, August and September nearly every day, often in the evenings for a picnic on weekdays thanks to the long twilight and the amazing weather. We are now up to 5000 kms since we bought our power bikes in May 2017.

Winter walk along the Loire on a rare sunny day

The winter, so far, has been cold and rainy. I’ve been forcing myself to go for an hour’s walk every two days but it’s not very attractive. We have a yearly pass to Château de Chenonceau though which makes a welcome change.

Jean Michel kept on with the renovations at the studio flat in Blois most of the year and it is now ready for holiday accommodation on www.chatelrose.com. I amused myself with some of the decorative features but my brilliant ideas always turned out to be more time-consuming than expected. As it is in a very old building, Jean Michel had to face up to a lot of challenges as well.

Château de Chenonceau from the walking path on the other side

This coming year, especially once I have retired, we went to do more home exchanges as well. And in case anyone is wondering – we still follow the 5:2 diet twice a week and are in very good health! I miss my blog and hope that retirement really will bring me the time and energy I need to write more often! In the meantime, I would like to wish everyone a very happy and fulfilling 2019 and maybe see you over at www.loiredailyphoto.com!

French language, Sworn translation

Friday’s French – acte de naissance, extrait d’acte de naissance, copie intégrale, birth certificate, entry of births

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In my work as a sworn translator in France, the document I am asked to translate and certify the most often is the birth certificate.

In France, it comes by various names: acte de naissance, extrait d’acte de naissance, copie intégrale, extrait avec filiation, extrait sans filiation.

So first, what is an acte de naissance and why is it called an acte? An acte in French is a written document established according to certain rules. In this case, it is the official document written up by the officier de l’état civil (registration officer) in a register kept for this purpose following a declaration of birth. It corresponds to the British “entry of birth”.

Acte de naissance

An acte de naissance is thus called an “entry of birth” in the UK.

So an acte de naissance is an entry in a register. When you ask for a copy of what is written in a birth register in France, i.e. a birth certificate, you have three choices:

Acte de Naissance Copie Intégrale (or copie intégrale avec filiation) reproduces all the information in the birth register, including the following:
– surname, given names, sex, date and place of birth of the person concerned
– surname, given names, date and place of birth of the parents

THIS IS THE INFORMATION REQUIRED ON BIRTH CERTIFICATES USED TO APPLY FOR FRENCH NATIONALITY.

It can also have the following information, called mentions marginales (or endorsements) which makes it different from a regular British, American, or Australian birth certificate:

– Mention of marriage, divorce, legal separation, decease,
– Mention of French nationality (registered declaration, loss, reinstatement, naturalisation)
– Mention of the first issue of a French nationality certificate.

It is because of these endorsements that the French authorities always ask for a birth certificate of less than three months as it provides a record of a person’s civil status throughout their life. Since most of the English-speaking countries do not endorse their certificates, the date of issue of the certificate makes no difference. I used exactly the same birth certificate and its translation for all my resident visas, 2 marriages, 1 divorce and 1 naturalisation.

Extrait d’acte de naissance avec filiation

This is a summary of the information in the birth register:

– surname, given names, sex, date and place of birth of the person concerned
– surname, given names, date and place of birth of the parents
– mentions marginales if they exist

Extrait d’acte de naissance sans filiation

This is a summary of the information in the birth register:

– surname, given names, sex, date and place of birth of the person concerned
– mentions marginales if they exist

In Great Britain, the most common type of birth certificate is called “Certified copy of an entry” and provides the following information:

– NHS number (in the more recent ones)
– name, surname and sex of the person concerned
– year, date and place of birth
– names, surnames, dates and places of birth and occupation of the mother and father
– name of the informant

Its format and other details, however, vary according to the place and year of birth.

There is also a shorter version called a “Certificate of Birth” which only has the person’s given names and surname, sex, date and place of birth, corresponding to the French “extrait d’acte de naissance sans filiation”. IT IS NOT VALID WHEN APPLYING FOR FRENCH NATIONALITY, for example.

In the United States, birth certificates are county-issued documents and not standardised within a state.

In North Carolina and Utah, there is a “Certificate of Live Birth” and a “Standard Certificate of Birth” both containing the following information, with the Certificate of Live Birth being more complete:

– name, surname and sex of the person concerned
– year, date and place of birth
– names, surnames, dates and places of birth and occupation of the mother and father

Florida has a “Certification of Birth” with

– child’s name, date and county of birth and sex
– names of mother and father (but not their birth dates)

South Africa issues a document called a “Birth Certificate”

– ID number
– name, surname and gender of the person concerned
– year, dates and places of birth and ID n° of the mother and father
– endorsements

Australia has different certificates for different states and years of birth, although the information is more or less the same. The document is usually called a birth certificate (sometimes just “Birth”).

– Child (given names, surname/family name, sex, year, date and place of birth)
– Mother and Father (given names, surname/family name, age, birthplace and occupation)
– Name of informant
– Witnesses at birth
– Previous Children of Relationship; Informant/s (name, address);
– Registration Officer (name, date)

Shorter versions exist which do not include the parents’ place and date of birth. THEY ARE NOT VALID WHEN APPLYING FOR FRENCH NATIONALITY.

There are a few idiosyncrasies. More recent ACT birth certificates use the term “Person furnishing particulars” to describe what previously concerned the informant. In Victoria, there is a section called “Endorsements” which is Queensland is called “Notes”. Both the ACT and Victoria include the marriage of the parents. Examples per state can be found on https://www.usi.gov.au/about/forms-id/birth-certificate-australian.

In Canada, it is called a Birth Certificate or Certificate of Birth and comes in two forms: short or long.

The short form gives the following information:

  • last name
  • given name(s)
  • date of birth
  • certificate number
  • birthplace
  • sex
  • date of registration
  • registration number, and
  • date issued

The long form  is a certified copy of the birth registration so contains details about
the parents, informants, witnesses, etc. depending on the state.

In Ontario it comes in a bilingual version called Birth Certificate/Certificat de Naissance.

In Quebec, it is called a certificat, copie d’acte ou attestation de naissance (birth certificate or a copy of an act of birth in English) and can be obtained in either English or French but not a bilingual version. The birth certificate is the short form and the copy of an act of birth is the long form.

So, to answer the question “What is a copie intégrale”?, it is a birth certificate that provides the following minimum information:

– given names, surname and sex of the person concerned
– year, date, hour and place of birth
– names, surnames, dates and places of birth of the parents

In the UK, it is called a “Certified copy of an entry of birth”.

In Australia and Africa, it is called a “Birth Certificate” or “Certificate of Birth”.

In the US, it goes by various names, usually containing the expression “Certificate of Birth”.

In English-speaking Canada, it is a long form birth certificate and in Quebec, a copy of an act of birth.

In France, birth certificates are issued free of charge (in a multilingual version* if requested) to:

– The person concerned by the certificate, their legal representative or spouse,
– An ascendant of the person concerned (parent, grandparent),
– A descendant of the person concerned (child, grandchild),
– Or a professional authorised to do so by law (lawyer for their client, for example).
– To any person provided the entry is more than 75 years old or the person has been dead for more than 25 years.

They are obtained from the townhall of the person’s birth, either in person, by post (include a stamped addressed envelope) or on-line.

*The multilingual version is never a “copie intégrale” but only an “extrait d’acte de naissance” and does not have the parents’ birth date or age, nor their profession. They are usually used within the European Union and not accepted by the US government, for example. 

Accommodation, Malta, Mat, Sightseeing

The Akubra Saviour

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We’ve just arrived in Malta for a week of sun and exploring. It is 1°C when we leave Blois at 5.20 am and 15°C when we arrive in Valetta at 1 pm. After checking out our rental apartment, Marina View, with its stunning view of Vittoriosa across the other side of the Marina, we have an excellent meal at the Enchanté Restaurant on the waterside.

After lunch we walk down the other side of marina and over the footbridge to Vittoriosa. It’s quite windy and my trusty Australian Akubra Traveller* hat blows off my head and into the marina. Oh no!

We watch as it makes its way down the marina, hoping it won’t sink. I see a man with a little boat who ferries people across to the other side so I go down to see if he can save my hat.

He very nicely manoeuvres under the rope with his passengers on board until he is close enough to swoop down and retrieve the hat.  When he hands it up to me I tell him it’s an Australian hat. “From Sydney?”, he asks. “I’ve been to Sydney!”

The hat stands up surprisingly well to its dunking but I get sick of carrying a soppy hat after a while and strap it to the back of Jean Michel’s back pack. I won’t be wearing it near the marina again!

French language

Friday’s French – place, endroit, lieu

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Place sounds like is would be an easy word to translate from French to English and vice-versa. Well, it isn’t. Only rarely does it mean the same thing in both languages.

C’est mon endroit (OR lieu) préféré pour faire un arrêt en vélo en bord de Loire – It’s my favourite place for a bike stop along the Loire.

I can think of a couple of situations where the meaning is the same:

Si tu remets chaque chose à sa place, il y aura moins de bazar. – If you put everything back in its place, there will be less mess.

Ce parking a 600 places. – This parking lot has 600 places.

La musique tient une grande place dans sa vie.  – Music occupies an important place in his life.

But when it comes to using place in English to mean a physical spot, we no longer use place in French, but endroit.

This is an ideal place for a picnic – C’est un endroit ideal pour un pique-nique.

His coat is worn in several places – Son manteaux est usé à plusieurs endroits.

I put it in the same place – Je l’ai mis au même endroit.

BUT I put it back in its place – Je l’ai remis à sa place. Place here means where it belongs and not a specific physical location.

The word place in French can have all sorts of meanings in English.

Ce meuble prend trop de place. – This piece of furniture takes up too much room. (Note how neat the word meuble is. It literally means anything that is not fixed in place. In English, we would be more likely to say the name of the piece of furniture such as table or chair or sideboard).

Ce village a une jolie petite place. – This village has a pretty little square.

But place du marché can be either marketplace or market square.

And what if the place isn’t a square, but another shape? Sometimes we can use esplanade or piazza. You may have some other suggestions.

When place in French means an individual place in a car or an auditorium, we used seat in English.

J’ai une voiture de cinq places. – I have a five-seater car.

Ils ont un cinéma de 400 places – They have a cinema that seats 400 people or with a seating capacity of 400.

Place can also mean a job in a company.

Elle avait une bonne place mais elle a quitté la société. – She had a good job but she left the company.

Sometimes we don’t even use a noun in English:

Je ne me sentais pas à ma place dans cette soirée. – I didn’t feel comfortable at the party.

The same applies in French:

I’m not fussy. Any place will do – Je ne suis pas difficile. N’importe où fera l’affaire.

Surprisingly, place in English is sometimes rendered by part in French:

It must be some place in the house – Il doit être quelque part dans la maison.

I couldn’t find it any place – Je ne l’ai trouvé nulle part.

It must be some place else – Il doit être quelque part ailleurs.

Another word commonly used in French when we use place in English is lieu.

It’s my place of birth – C’est mon lieu de naissance.

It’s a place of pilgrimage. – C’est un lieu de pèlerinage.

The accident occurred in the workplace. –  L’accident est arrivé sur le lieu de travail.

I put it in a safe place – Je l’ai mis en lieu sûr.

So, what, you may ask, is the difference between lieu and endroit? Sometimes they are interchangeable:

This is an ideal place for a picnic – C’est un endroit idéal pour un pique-nique OR C’est un lieu idéal pour un pique-nique.

It’s my favourite stopping place. – C’est mon endroit OR lieu préféré pour m’arrêter. 

But you wouldn’t say:

His coat is worn in several places – Son manteaux est usé à plusieurs lieux. You have to use endroit.

Le lieu de rendez-vous n’est pas fixé. – The meeting place hasn’t been fixed. You wouldn’t say l’endroit de rendez-vous.

A lieu is a place where something is located physically. It comes from the Latin locus meaning location.

However, endroit comes from old French exactement. You could say it means in exactly that place.

Il se gare toujours au même endroit – He always parks in the same place/spot = in that exact same place.

Vous l’avez touché à l’endroit sensible – You trod on his corns = You got him exactly where it hurts.

And now, let’s have some suggestions from our readers!