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Building Work in France

August 31, 2009 by tony · 2 Comments 

 

I try to answer all mail I get, a lot is asking me about moving to France or getting work in France – when there is something which may be of interest to others, I publish them in my blog. This came in today.

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Hello Tony and Family,
 I would be grateful if you could tell me what are the possibilities of work for an  53 yr old ‘fit’ carpenter. I have a wide experience of house building gained over the many years of living and working in the UK and Ireland and even a short spell in Brittany. I am very capable at brickwork , block work stonework, I can roof almost any type of house and finish carpentry is my trade anyway. I am very experienced in Groundworks from setting out for excavations to laying all services and pipeworks.
My wife and 11 year old girl(who absolutely adores dogs ,and has 3 little terriers) are probably less enthusiastic than I, but given the right area(we live in the countryside ) the may be for turning.
We have our own house here which we would have to sell or rent, but could look at that down the road.

I would be very much appreciate any advice you have to offer.

Yours sincerely
Michael
Ireland

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Hello Michael,

I have write a lot about working in in my newsletters and blogs, you can see these notes in the archives at http://www.nizas.com/newsletters/archives/
There is building work in France and skilled trades are valued – the techniques are substantially different to the UK, but this i not a problem for a craftsman.
The problem is the need to register with the authorities - penalties for illegal working or not issuing invoices can be high and working illegally has many risks and will not get a good wage. However – getting a job with a building company is very difficult as most builders are very reluctant to have employees due to the high social charges and employee benefits imposed.
There are a large number of “general” builders and “odd-jobbers” in France – most are voslute rubbish and many are dangerous – the good ones are in high demand and it is all “word of mouth” in the non French community – the French people generally prefer to only use French workers.
My advice is to come and stay in France for a while – at least a couple of months to see how things are – do you speak French?
Hope this helps a little
Tony

 

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About tony
Blogging about life in France since 1997 and running vacation apartments and BandB in the south of France keeps me busy (and poor)

Comments

2 Responses to “Building Work in France”
  1. laura cruz says:
    September 27, 2009 at 5:53 pm

    I enjoy your e-mail very much Tony. I don’t plan on coming to France for about 3 years, but I’m sure that will fly quickly. My mother was french, and I have all the paperwork I need, but I’m told my best bet is to hire a french lawyer to get all the important papers translated. I do have a means to support myself, not rich, but carefully I can be ok. I enjoy all your time and effort, the information is invaluable. I have cousins scattered all over France and my sister just went over there. I’ve forwarded your e-mail to my brother-in-law also as he too is planning on a move also. . This e-mail you send out is like keeping on the pulse of France which I whole heartedly love. I have numerous friends that want to come, but are afraid, but I think sending your e-mail to them and keeping in touch it will make it easier for them to visit France.

  2. tony says:
    September 27, 2009 at 6:02 pm

    Hi Laura
    When you come you don’t rely need a lawyer – you will need some official translations and this can be done by – an official translator (of course) you can find these in yellow pages.

    My advice, once you have decided where to live, is to talk direct to the local Mairie – they will tell you what you need, what papers and required etc and can make things very simple and straightforward – the opposite is also true, they can, very rarely, be ‘difficult’ if they are, don’t move there, go to another place.

    Keep in touch and let me know if I can help (especially with accommodation)

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