Life in the fast lane

Thursday was a full on day. Driving up the - work in progress -  motorway from Hendaye to Bayonne in the pouring rain with a half-functioning Tom-Tom (no sound – cant get the speaker to work– its not talking to me – like the prelude to a divorce) to  visit the Chamber of Commerce (CoC).  It’ hard to focus on narrower than normal lanes, lots of big trucks and my -  only visually working - Tom Tom simultaneously when in a  fog of  rain and mist. 

The toll booths on this section of the motorway don't take notes and foreign transactions on my UK card (the only one the French péages accept) always incur a surcharge even if it si only a few eurocents its still annoying.  So I have started thinking half-like a local and always keep large amounts of change in the trays of my car.  (To be a full local one should get a telecharger – but one needs a resident’s permit to do that and that’s not yet within my grasp).

I‘m early for my appointment at the CoC and I realise to my embarrassment that I don’t have a name for the person I’m meeting.  Confusion follows as I am asked about all different types of acronyms of organisations that I don’t understand.  I have 45 minutes to kill and try to pass it with an impromptu English language table with the receptionist – who also happened to be VERY pretty – in a Dutch kind of way.   Her colleague was a bit miffed at me distracting ‘V’ from her work and suggested I take a seat in the reception area and wait there.  Message taken!

I get a very informative presentation on all the options of setting up a company in France.   Like many French things it’s a bit philosophical and theoretical at the outset – but we soon get down to nittty-gritty  and identify the most appropriate legal structure for registering my business in France.   We identify the most appropriate legal model and then discuss the financial implications (the levels and thresholds for tax and social security / health insurance contributions).  They’re not as a Draconian as I had been led to believe.   

I leave with the flow chart. 

I ask a few non –related questions before leaving. One of them is where to get French coaching. Henri suggests I ask V at the reception desk as she co-ordinates that work in the mornings.  So  leave the CoC with her (work) phone number and a business project to work on.  Game on!

I rush back to Hendaye again along the motorway -  for a flat viewing that doesn’t happen. “Hellas, my colleague rented the appt out three days ago”.  I realise that it’s a sellers/renters market here (the population of Hendaye has grown by 10% in the last 15 years).   I do a tour of every estate agent in Hendaye Plage (there’s a lot of them) and get a spontaneous viewing of one flat.  Superb views over the harbour, south facing balcony, mezzanine area for an office.      The next day I go back for second viewing and say I want it.  This weekend I have been putting together a portfolio of references, tax statements and declarations of earnings.  Game on?