Val totally disagrees with this as she wants to vote here rather than have a meaningless vote in a different country. She is passionately opposed to the racist and “let’s blame everything on the foreigners” policies of the Front National and UKIP which leads to the occasional “political rant”.
On integration I think Ginny and Ross are hiding their light under a bushel. Yes they do what interests them and they would probably do the same back in the UK. But they are actually doing things here and with the support of their French neighbours and the maire. How do they manage it? Because they speak French and their enthusiasm is infectious. They have the respect of their fellow villagers. They are well integrated into their community. As are many of our compatriots.
Some readers seem to think that Val is saying “let’s all speak French”, but it is actually “let’s all TRY to speak French”. The fact that a hospital doctor or a restaurant waiter wants to practice his or her English is no reason not to try and practice your French. Each having a little bit of knowledge can be recipe for misunderstandings which could be disastrous or, indeed, hilarious; but each having no knowledge can be worse. Imagine ordering chips and getting crisps!
Instead of sympathising why not try helping? Set up simple everyday French conversation groups about the weather, or at the checkout, at the boulanger; these things could be arranged by those of you (us) who have experience of teaching and a reasonable amount of French. Yes help is at hand to translate that difficult document or call France Telecom, but it is so much more satisfying if you have a go yourself.
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