10 mars 2013

France's Brits ponder French Nationality


























For the first time since she moved from Britain to France 18 years ago, Frances Bucquet is seriously considering taking French citizenship -- and she blames British Prime Minister David Cameron.
English teacher Bucquet is angry at the premier's announcement his government would hold a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union if it wins the next elections.
"I feel a bit embarrassed that my original country could be so uninterested in everybody else. I'm pretty annoyed about it actually," she told AFP.
She said she would be happy to take on French nationality, partly because she could retain her British passport.
"I wouldn't mind taking French nationality too because I want to be part of things over here," she added.
The French statistics office INSEE says there are almost 154,000 British citizens living in France.
If Britain were to quit the EU, the status of British nationals in their adopted home country could change, raising practical questions about issues like French voting, residency and work rights.
But the rising tide of euroscepticism in the UK is also affecting British people in France on a more personal level. Bucquet and her French husband Jacques are concerned that one day their two children, who were born in France, will feel forced to choose between the two sides of their identities.
"If you're brought up with two cultures, two languages, they're part of you. You can't choose between them. You need both," she said.
The general mood in France seems somewhat ambivalent about the possibility of Britain leaving the European Union if the results of two surveys, both published at the end of January, are to be believed. One study, by pollsters BVA, found that 52 percent of French people want the UK to go. But the other, conducted by IFOP, found 58 percent were in favour of the British staying in the club.
Ken Tatham, originally from the northern English city of Leeds, is France's first ever English mayor. In 1993 he acquired French citizenship and for the past 18 years he has been at the heart of political life in the tiny Normandy village of Saint Ceneri le Gerei.
Throughout that time, he has tried to foster friendship and understanding between France and Britain and he feels the recent rise of anti-European feeling in his former home country is not making his job easy.
"I have discussions with French friends and they say, 'There you go. Britain's at it again'. And then I become a Brit again. They don't see me as a Frenchman," he told AFP.
Tatham added that he was, "upset and shocked," by Cameron's referendum announcement.
"I certainly wasn't expecting it and I don't think the UK has played the role I'd have liked it to have played. I think that Britain would suffer from leaving the European Union," he said.
"I feel that Britain is blackmailing the rest of the European Union. I wonder if they really want to leave. It's not in the greatest of shapes but if we're going to forge a European Union we've got to take the good with the bad."
The French mayor also sought to reassure any compatriots thinking of taking the plunge and opting for French nationality.
"When you take out French nationality, you don't lose your British nationality. You can't lose your British nationality unless you do something like commit high treason. So there's nothing to lose," he explained.
British national Michael Dodds is the director of Tourisme Bretagne. It's his job to try to encourage people to visit the western French region of Brittany, famed for its rugged coastlines, mysterious standing stones and proud Celtic culture. He feels Cameron's statement was a disaster.
"You can imagine that for someone trying to promote Anglo-French relations through tourism, this kind of announcement doesn't help at all," he said.
"Up until now I've never felt the desire or the need to adopt French nationality but perhaps now is the time to think about it," he added.
Dodds has a French wife and young children so, like Tatham and Bucquet, feels personally affected by the UK government's eurosceptic attitude. But he also argues that Britain pulling out of the EU would have a very concrete effect on Franco-British projects he is trying to promote.
"We're working on a scheme with partners in Dorset, Devon and Cornwall to create a network of cycle trails that would link up the southwest of England with Normandy and Brittany. It's a nine-million-euro project funded by the EU that simply wouldn't exist if the UK wasn't a member," he said.



6 mars 2013

L'UDI de l'Orne est créée

« La réunion de la grande famille centriste ornaise. » Ainsi Ludovic Assier, conseiller régional et président du Nouveau centre de l'Orne, voit-il la création d'une antenne départementale de l'UDI. Elle est officielle depuis jeudi soir. Fondé par Jean-Louis Borloo en 2012, l'Union des démocrates et indépendants se compose de huit partis, dont les principaux sont le Nouveau centre et l'Alliance centriste.L'UDI a organisé une réunion publique, jeudi soir à Alençon, en présence d'Hervé Morin, président du Nouveau centre, Alain Lambert et Jean-Léonce Dupont, présidents des conseils généraux de l'Orne et du Calvados, ainsi que le député d'Eure-et-Loir, Philippe Vigier, porte-parole du mouvement.
Le parti du centre-droit se focalise sur les prochaines échéances électorales. Notamment les municipales, en 2014. « Alençon est une terre de centristes, estime Patrick Lindet, conseiller municipal et délégué départemental du Nouveau centre. Il n'y a pas de raison que la mairie ne rebascule pas en notre faveur. » Ludovic Assier est présenté comme le candidat qui portera les couleurs du parti.
Pour Hervé Morin, c'est simple : « nous avons presque toujours raison avant tout le monde. Ça n'est peut-être pas très modeste, mais c'est la vérité. » Il fustige le gouvernement Hollande, évoque une « trahison » des électeurs, un pays devenu « totalement dépressif. » L'ancien ministre promet une politique courageuse et lucide. « Cette crise, c'est l'entrée dans un nouveau monde. Ce monde-là, pourtant, est fait pour nous. La France y a sa place. »
. Elle est officielle depuis jeudi soir. Fondé par Jean-Louis Borloo en 2012, l'Union des démocrates et indépendants se compose de huit partis, dont les principaux sont le Nouveau centre et l'Alliance centriste.L'UDI
Pour l'occasion, Hervé Morin, président du conseil national du Nouveau centre, a fait le déplacement, hier à Alençon.