Live in France? Join us for a gentil thread

[TheAccidentalExhibitionist]

So how about a lovely supportive, information sharing thread for us mumsnetters living in France?
I've been here for two years, this is my second time living here so 4 years in total.
I have my moans about France, the paperwork, the driving but other than that I love it

Autoentrepreneur is quite simple. There are even websites which will explain it in English for free and help set up for a fee. Earning is limited depending on whether you are selling products or services.

Changing the subject. My DD1 is speaking sentences now. Some nouns in English but setence structure definitely French. So v cute. Need to get the bilingualism under control but loving the Franco English mix :)

Hello all.
Can I join in too? Been an occasional poster over the years. I am just outside the yvelines in the 28. Been here ooh...about 10 years now and have 3 DD's. Just seen this thread and spent far too long reading it from start to now.

I too am going crazy with this school reform. Still don't know if it Saturday or Wednesday and quite frankly don't want either. The four day week and hours fit much better with the routine of the children for activities and the working rhythm of parents (especially 80% mum workers).

Nice to see so many of us here.

I have a "why I love France" anecdote.

Yesterday morning, the French mother of a French girl in DD's class at school (her French class and also her native-speaker bilingual English stream) rang to discuss various things. Her final point was to ask me whether I might very kindly give her DD some tuition in reading comprehension in English. Said little girl was at school in a British school in another country for four years and returned to France just over two years ago, so her reading/writing in English is really pretty good. This year, however, she is really struggling with things like inference and deduction when reading class novels. This is entirely understandable, since the English teacher sets homework that requires the children to know these skills but entirely fails to teach them in class. My DD is fine because she has had a lot of extra tutoring in English and because I am always there to help, and perhaps because we have a culture of those things in our home. But it is very hard for 100% French people.

I of course said I would be delighted to help and we arranged that the mother and her DD would come over this afternoon, Sunday. We had a three hour playdate + homework + added lesson in inference and deduction and analysis + goûter + more playdate, the other mother there all the while. Both girls cooperated beautifully and were happy to work together. Everyone was polite and friendly and so well behaved... and the pâtisserie we shared was delicious.

So civilised...

I've got a Christmas question. I want to make my own mince pies but using shop bought mincemeat (I have this) and I am contemplating using shop bought pastry as I made a steak and mushroom pie the other day with some bought pastry and it was really good.

I was thinking of using Marie Pâté Sablée - does anyone have any better ideas?

Watching with interest as I made mince pies the other day (thank you WH Smiths on Rue de Rivoli for stocking mincemeat). I made my own pastry using a BBC good food recipe, but it turned out too crumbly, the pies barely held together. I have loads of mincemeat left so I might try shop bought for the second batch. I think the key thing is that the pastry should be sweetened though...

Marie Pâte Sablée has sugar in it.

OK, I'm think I'm going to give it a try - it's not exactly going to break the bank if it all goes horribly wrong!

Never tried with bought pastry. My only concern would be how well you could re-roll the leftover bits after initial cutting-out of circles. Let us know...!

Can't remember if anyone is in Nantes, but there is a British Film Festival coming up: britannique.univercine-nantes.org/

I have just removed every single last bit of Christmas baking equipment / ingredients from my kitchen cupboards and every last decoration from their boxes and am feeling defeated already .

I think I need to go to Ikea and buy some new storage boxes...

I use readymade pastry - Herta. It's good, especially the puff pastry. You can freeze it too. I would go for the pâte brisée for pince pies but sablée might work, is sweeter and more crumbly though iirc.

You can re-roll leftover bought pastry.

Am far too lazy to make my own. I like cooking and baking but pastry is fickle and I honestly can't tell the difference between my own and bought. Well, when I have fucked up the pastry I can tell the difference - herta is better!

Thanks for that, PetiteRaleuse!

Let us know how they work out. I should really buy make some myself but that would involve a 50k drive to my nearest British store or ordering online. Will leave it til next year when the kids are older.

Am in full swing - have got all my equipment out and am categorising Christmas, Easter, birthdays, picnics, dinner parties as "entertainment" themes and going to put everything in one place for each type of party.

Realise this has nothing especially French about it!

I use a Herta one sometimes which is really good. I can't remember what it's called, puff pastry I think. It's only about 2 euros. Where do you buy the mincemeat from Bonsoir?

I bought my mincemeat at a church fair last Sunday, but it is readily available at WHSmith (at an outrageous price) or at M&S.

WHSmith is overpriced for everything, always was.

Am so of the M&S you have now. I remember buying my lunch there most days until they closed all the stores down. I think they need to open up more stores in the east. Do they sell sausage rolls? M&S sausage rolls cold straight from the package are one of my very many guilty secrets. When I went to the UK earlier in the year we stopped at the first service station with an m&s and I bought a pack to share with dog. DH and DD1 turned their noses up at them.

Several varieties of sausage roll are readily available at our local M&S . Ditto pork pies.

:o

Might have to plan a day trip to Paris.

No M&S or WH Smith in my neck of the woods. I will have to wait until I go home. PetiteRaleuse, I make my own sausage rolls

so do I (with ready made puff pastry) but I still love m&s sausage rolls. There is a kind of sausage roll that butchers round here make, which is good, but far too naice iyswim.

I've had a very productive morning chucking out long past sell by date stuff from my kitchen cupboards which are now pleasingly bare and artistically styled with just a few choice Christmas goodies .

IKWYM PR, you just want something plainer and unhealthier.

I had that satisfaction yesterday Bonsoir. Unfortunately I've run out of eggs so all my great baking plans have to be postponed whilst I waste time on here.

Yep. As i said, guilty secret :)

I need Christmas help too. We're hosting the French in-laws this year. What reasonably priced bubbly should we buy? It doesn't have to be champagne if it is a good crémant but has to be easily available (Intermarché, Auchan, Leclerc etc) as we won't get through enough to make it worth having it delivered direct from a 'cave'.
Dh doesn't drink, I don't have a particularly discerning palette. I was pg last time we hosted so we delegated the choice of wines.

I use ready made pâte brisée for my mince pies.

I usually make my pastry using the quick Tamasin Day-Lewis method. I use half the quantity of butter to flour, take the butter straight from the fridge, cut in pieces and blend in food processor for 20 seconds. Add a couple of spoonfuls of cold water and blend for another few seconds. Chill in fridge before use.
We find Lidl champagne at 9.99€ is very good.