Newsletter: Paris Metro goes paperless and grape thieves target French vineyards

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In Paris we're going paperless on the Metro. Sort of.

The city's transport authority has introduced a new app that will let Metro, bus and tram users buy tickets and swipe their smartphones to access the transport network. Sounds great, and certainly less messy than all those thousands of little cardboard tickets, but it only works with certain types of phone. 

A large section of the famous Mont Blanc glacier is at risk of collapse, experts have warned. Some roads around the mountain are closed due to the risk of the falling ice.

French police are patrolling vineyards after a spate of thefts of ready-to-harvest grapes in the famous Burgundy wine region. Did you know that stealing grapes from a French vineyard carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison?

Police are also warning about a spate of fake online bank sites set up by scammers to mimic the sites of genuine French banks. So if you do online banking in France, check first that you are definitely on the right website.

And the woman who launched the #balancetonporc (expose your pig) hashtag, France's equivalent of #MeToo, has been ordered to pay damages to a man she accused of sexual harassment. Sandra Muller (below) published the comment on Twitter in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein revelations.

Now we're sure that it won't come as a surprise that there is quite a lot of bureaucracy in France, but it seems that the French are just as fed up with the system, which they have declared too slow and too complicated.

Apart from the endless forms, another hazard of French life is the increasing presence of wolves. They're now found in a third of the country and some farmers have been pretty vocal about the problems they can cause. That said, there might be a bit more to this tale of two campers who say their tent was attacked by wolves . . .

French president Emmanuel Macron has unveiled a tough new stance on immigration in an attempt to head off his far right political rivals.

And in Brexit news, the British government says it is hopeful about reaching a deal with France to cover healthcare costs for pensioners.

We are obviously big fans in general of the idea of upping sticks and moving to another country, but we know that it's not without its challenges. France is beautiful and fascinating and the French are in general a friendly bunch, but that doesn't mean there aren't some low points for every newcomer. We've had a chat with the people who run SOS Help, a support line for English speakers in France, about the great work they do offering a listening ear to people who need a bit of help.

And the legendary World War II codebreaker Alan Turing has been honoured by having a square named after him in Paris, 65 years after his death.


Thanks for reading,

Emma 
Editor, The Local France 
[email protected]

 

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