Latest news with #non-French-speaking
Local France
5 days ago
- Politics
- Local France
'Doesn't seem fair' - British pensioners speak out over apparent change to French citizenship rules
After almost eight years of living in France, British retiree Colin Howard, 68, decided it was time to apply for French nationality. "I feel French, I feel like I belong here," Colin explained. Colin, a certified B2 ( upper intermediate ) French speaker, has spent a significant amount of his time in France building relations with his local community. "Since 2017, I have taught weekly and fortnightly French lessons as a volunteer to non-French-speaking immigrants, and I continue to do this two years after retiring," Colin said. Using his background as a teacher, Colin also spent four years as a volunteer teaching English to a group of French people, and since 2021, he has served as the president of an Anglo-French integration association near his home in Charente, in south-west France. "I thought 'I contribute some to French society', so I'll give applying for nationality a go," Colin said. Colin sent in his application in October 2024. He supplied additional documentation when asked and passed various levels of checks, including the police visit and the 'assimilation' interview at the Deux Sèvres préfecture. Advertisement Over a year and a half later, in July 2025, Colin's application was rejected. As for the official reason of rejection, the local authority wrote: "You have never worked in France, and the entirety of the income you receive is not from a French source." "It does not seem fair," Colin said. "Whether deliberately or by accident, it discriminates against people of a certain age. "This is saying that if you are of a certain age, and you live on a private pension, savings or a state pension, if you apply for nationality, you will not get it." Colin's is not the only such case in recent weeks, with several retirees in France reporting on social media that they too have been turned down for citizenship on the grounds of not having income in France. The Local spoke to Liz Combes, a 73-year-old retired teacher, who was rejected in June 2025 on the grounds that she had no income in France. "I was really, really upset. I had been ill since then, and my friend noticed that I'd been ill since this all started. It's true. My health has been affected. I have put in an appeal, but I have absolutely no hope that it will work," Liz said. Liz and her husband bought a second home in France in 1996, which they renovated, and the pair became full-time residents of France in 2016, just before the Brexit vote. Advertisement Like Colin, Liz has a strong background of volunteer work and involvement in her local community. She said: "When we committed to being here in France, I said, 'I'm going to have to get involved in things.' "I got involved in our local Franco-British society as the secretary, and alongside the French president of the group, we set up a programme to organise local volunteers to come into schools and teach English. I'm still very involved in that." Liz submitted her application in March 2024, after passing her French language exam, and she had her interview in April. During the interview, Liz remembered the French official being impressed with her volunteer work. "It was all very successful. I had no problem speaking French. "The official told me that it would be normal not to hear for two months. She was very positive, but on the last day of the two months, I got an email with a letter rejecting me on the basis that none of my income came from France. "If I had known 10 years ago that I needed French income, I could have set up a French company to teach, but I was happy to do it for free. I did not need to be paid or get money for it. "The point is that I am retired. I have a very good pension, and I am no drain on society here. We have our health covered by the UK with our S1s, and we have our savings in French accounts. "I have contributed as much as I can. This new knowledge of needing French would I have applied for citizenship? The goalposts have been moved since May when this circulaire came out." Liz and Colin's rejections come despite the fact that over the past two decades, dozens, if not hundreds, of retirees in France have successfully become French - even if all of their income comes from a pension in their home country. Advertisement Both believe that their rejection was related to a recent memo ( circulaire ) sent around to préfecture staff, warning that they should reject applicants who earn the majority of their income from a non-French source. READ MORE: Why do French ministers love to send 'circulaires'? "My file was marked complete in January 2025. By March, I was invited for an interview on the 6th of June. Between those times, Bruno Retailleau (France's interior minister) decided to send his circulaire out about earnings in France," Colin said. While the circulaire, published on May 2nd, did not introduce any official legal changes, it did offer advice and clarification for préfecture employees, including on the topic of foreign-sourced income. Technically, this is not new. French case law has made it clear for many years that applicants must demonstrate that France is the "centre of their economic interests". The French government's Service-Public information page for naturalisations also specifies that applicants must demonstrate "professional insertion" in France, noting the applicant must have a "stable and regular income". Therefore it has long been the case that people living in France but working remotely for a foreign company would be highly likely to be refused for citizenship. People who are neither working nor retired have also traditionally had a hard time satisfying the income requirement. Advertisement But préfecture officials were previously told to examine the application 'holistically'. As a result, many retirees applying with solely foreign pensions have been able to gain nationality based on residency if they showed a well-rounded application in other areas. The Local has contacted the Interior Ministry to request further clarification, and to enquire whether - as seems to be the case - there is a difference in how applications from retirees are being treated. Do you have experience - successful or otherwise - of applying for French citizenship as a pensioner? Please share your experiences in the comments section below, or contact us on news@
Montreal Gazette
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Quebec won't appeal court ruling blocking 33% tuition hike for out-of-province students
By Quebec will not appeal a court ruling that ordered it to scrap controversial measures targeting Concordia and McGill universities: a 33-per-cent tuition hike for out-of-province students and French proficiency requirements for non-Quebec applicants. A spokesperson for Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry confirmed the decision in an email to The Gazette on Monday, the last day an appeal could be filed. Déry is expected to comment on the matter at a later time. In an April 24 ruling, Quebec Superior Court Justice Éric Dufour largely sided with Concordia and McGill, which had filed lawsuits arguing the Coalition Avenir Québec government's education reforms, announced in the fall of 2023, were illegal. The tuition hike, which made headlines across Canada and the world, led to a drop in applications from the rest of Canada, with the universities offering scholarships to lure out-of-province students. Concordia and McGill have partially blamed the measures for deep budget cuts. The Legault government said the changes would protect the French language and reduce the number of non-French-speaking students in Quebec. In his ruling, Dufour called some of the CAQ's measures 'unreasonable.' The tuition hike, introduced in fall 2024, raised fees for out-of-province undergraduates and non-thesis master's students from about $9,000 to $12,000. Quebec students continued to pay around $3,000. Dufour gave the government nine months to revise the fee structure. He criticized the government's rationale, finding the decision was not supported by solid data and was enacted before receiving advice from an advisory committee, which later urged Déry to scrap the hike. The judge also struck down, effective immediately, a planned French-language rule, which would have required 80 per cent of newly enrolled non-Quebec undergraduates at Concordia and McGill to attain intermediate oral French proficiency by graduation. Dufour found the target virtually impossible to achieve and the penalties for non-compliance — including the possible retroactive withdrawal of subsidies — were unclear. However, Dufour upheld the CAQ government's new rules for international students, including a $20,000 minimum tuition rate and changes to the funding formula. When his government announced the changes in 2023, Premier François Legault said it was part of a plan to 'reduce the number of anglophone students' in Quebec. He said English-speaking students from other provinces 'threaten the survival of French.' McGill laid off 60 workers in March as it grappled with a large deficit that it partly blamed on CAQ government policies. Last month, Concordia announced it may also have to lay off employees as it works to slash tens of millions of dollars from its budget. At the time, Concordia president Graham Carr said the legal victory 'is ultimately a moral, not a material win for Concordia. The damage from those policies has already been done. ' He added: 'Furthermore, the negative impact has been compounded by stringent immigration policies that have caused international applications to plummet, weakening the reputation and financial position of universities across Quebec for years to come.' Carr has previously said he hoped the CAQ government would 'look at this judgment and the larger context and (decide) we can hit reset and take a genuinely collaborative approach to supporting a higher education system that is world-class.' In their lawsuits, Concordia and McGill argued that the reform violated equality and language rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. McGill also claimed the measures contravened anti-discrimination provisions of Quebec's Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, particularly regarding harm to its reputation and academic freedom. However, the judge did not rule on charter issues, saying the matter could be resolved on administrative law grounds. Jeffery Vacante, an assistant history professor at the University of Western Ontario, has argued the court ruling offers a short-term reprieve but is 'a less resounding victory for McGill and Concordia than one might assume.' 'The judge is not pushing back against the idea that McGill and Concordia are contributing to the decline of the French language, nor is he suggesting that tuition increases or language requirements for students cannot be imposed,' Vacante argued in an op-ed submitted to The Gazette in April. The judge is 'suggesting, rather, that the government can impose such policies only after it has offered compelling data to justify their necessity,' wrote Vacante, author of a National Manhood and the Creation of Modern Quebec.
Toronto Sun
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Judge rules Quebec's 33% tuition hike for out-of-province students is 'unreasonable'
Quebec Superior Court judge also invalidated, effective immediately, the French proficiency rules that the CAQ government had imposed. Published Apr 24, 2025 • Last updated 2 hours ago • 1 minute read McGill University is seen in a file photo. Photo by John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette files Concordia and McGill universities have partially won their legal challenge to Quebec's decision to sharply increase tuition for out‑of‑province students and impose new French‑language proficiency requirements on non‑Quebec applicants. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The two universities filed their suit in February 2024, arguing the Coalition Avenir Québec government's actions contravened the Quebec and Canadian charters of rights. The Legault government said the measures would protect the French language and reduce the number of non-French-speaking students in Quebec. In a decision handed down Thursday, Quebec Superior Court Justice Éric Dufour ruled that some of the government's moves were 'unreasonable.' He invalidated the tuition hike for students from other provinces, but gave the government nine months to revise the fee structure. Starting in fall 2024, Quebec increased tuition for out-of-province students by 33 per cent, making it $12,000, up from $9,000. Quebec students pay about $3,000. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The judge also invalidated, effective immediately, the French proficiency rules that Quebec had imposed. Quebec had announced that, starting in fall 2025, 80 per cent of newly enrolled non-Quebec undergraduate students in English universities must attain an intermediate-level oral proficiency in French by graduation. McGill and Concordia would face financial penalties if they did not meet the target. When his government announced the changes in 2023, Premier François Legault said it was part of a plan to 'reduce the number of anglophone students' in Quebec. He said English-speaking students from other provinces 'threaten the survival of French.' This story will be updated. Toronto & GTA Toronto Raptors Toronto Maple Leafs Federal Elections Ontario
Montreal Gazette
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Judge rules Quebec's 33% tuition hike for out-of-province students is ‘unreasonable'
Concordia and McGill universities have partially won their legal challenge to Quebec's decision to sharply increase tuition for out‑of‑province students and impose new French‑language proficiency requirements on non‑Quebec applicants. The two universities filed their suit in February 2024, arguing the Coalition Avenir Québec government's actions contravened the Quebec and Canadian charters of rights. The Legault government said the measures would protect the French language and reduce the number of non-French-speaking students in Quebec. In a decision handed down Thursday, Quebec Superior Court Justice Éric Dufour ruled that some of the government's moves were 'unreasonable.' He invalidated the tuition hike for students from other provinces, but gave the government nine months to revise the fee structure. Starting in fall 2024, Quebec increased tuition for out-of-province students by 33 per cent, making it $12,000, up from $9,000. Quebec students pay about $3,000. The judge also invalidated, effective immediately, the French proficiency rules that Quebec had imposed. Quebec had announced that, starting in fall 2025, 80 per cent of newly enrolled non-Quebec undergraduate students in English universities must attain an intermediate-level oral proficiency in French by graduation. McGill and Concordia would face financial penalties if they did not meet the target. When his government announced the changes in 2023, Premier François Legault said it was part of a plan to 'reduce the number of anglophone students' in Quebec. He said English-speaking students from other provinces 'threaten the survival of French.' This story was originally published April 24, 2025 at 1:43 PM.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Yahoo
A Solo Packraft Descent of Sierra Leone's Largest River
It was partway through Thomas Mariee's 17-day solo packrafting descent of Sierra Leone's Rokel River, and he was hiding in the jungle. Mariee had set up camp at dusk, hoping to conceal his presence from the illegal gold miners operating on the river. As he huddled in his tent, he listened to their voices as they conducted their work in the dark. Eventually, he slept. Sierra Leone's military officials had repeatedly warned Mariee to stay away from the miners. But this 60km stretch of river between Bumbuna and Magburaka was full of them. Their mining machines stretched out into the water, sometimes as many as five on one section of the Rokel. That meant Mariee had to paddle closer to the miners than he'd like, and earlier that day, some of them had thrown stones at him. By paddling until dark and then setting up a stealth camp, Mariee hoped to avoid another uncomfortable confrontation. But the discomfort, when it came, arrived in the form of wildlife rather than humans. Waking up at 2:00 am, Mariee felt a stinging sensation. Sitting up, he flipped on his headlamp and looked at his arms. They were covered in biting red ants. He directed his light at the floor of his tent to find it was swarming with insects. In the dark, he'd set up his tent directly on an ant mound, and they'd wasted no time in chewing through the fabric and making their way into Mariee's domain. "It was a carpet of ants. Hundreds and hundreds of ants," he remembered. "It was a nightmare. I was feeling pain everywhere over my body. I had to go out of my tent, clean everything. It was very cold. At this moment, I have to be honest with you, I was wondering, 'Why am I not chilling with my friends in Côte d'Ivoire right now?'" This moment of Mariee's 365km packraft journey down Sierra Leone's largest river stands out to the adventurer because of its contrast. In hiding from humans, he'd placed himself at nature's mercurial mercy instead. A Frenchman with four years of experience living in West Africa, Mariee had been looking for a way to get further outside his adventuring comfort zone. Before the Rokel descent, he'd been experimenting with longer and longer paddling journeys on some of Africa's smaller rivers and taken some whitewater classes in France. Pouring over maps and satellite imagery, he chose the Rokel in the dry season as his target. In Mariee's eyes, it was perfect. Sierra Leone is a non-French-speaking country, which would force him to get by in English and whatever Krio (the country's dominant ethnic language) he could pick up. The whitewater would be intense enough to stretch his relatively fresh skills and widely dispersed enough that he could portage around anything he couldn't handle. And it would be a chance to experience a culture of hospitality and kindness often obscured behind the very real threat of violence in some African countries. Mariee slipped his Mekong George All Well packraft into the Rokel at the first navigable stretch near the Guinean border. His goal was the Sierra Leone River Estuary on the Atlantic Ocean. His only food supply was a large bag of rice, which chose specifically because of its status as a staple food along the waterway. In the expedition's early days along the more isolated section of the river, he mostly slept in his tent. The river's upper section was swift and roiling with more rapids than Mariee's satellite research had suggested. In the first few days, the rafter did more portaging than boating. "That was when I realized how arduous the trip was going to be," he said. Mariee's solo adventuring style is cautious and well-informed by his multi-year residency in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). He probably could have run many of the rapids he chose to portage around, but he knew that a capsize would be real trouble along the remote stretch he was paddling. So he gutted it out, sweating heavily in the humid days and then shivering as the night air turned cold. After the Rokel flattened out, he paddled more. And as a bonus, as the river progressed, he was able to spend more evenings in villages, occasionally supplementing his rice diet with fruit or cans of sardines he bought from village residents. "The concept of tourists does not exist. So I had to justify my presence. The village elders would ask me, 'Are you a missionary? Are you a gold miner?' So I had to show them photos, videos that I was truly a tourist. And once I had convinced them, they were most welcoming," he said. It wasn't until Mariee reached the portion between Bumbuna and Magburaka, with its illegal gold mining operations, that he felt any real danger. Despite his caution in other areas, Mariee neglected to bring a satellite phone or messaging device, a decision he regrets. He'll definitely bring one along on his next expedition, he told ExplorersWeb. The only other significant gear issue he encountered was his water filter, which clogged and became non-functional halfway through the expedition. He boiled his water from then on, and was happy to report he ended his expedition with no notable gastrointestinal issues. However, going to the doctor a few weeks after completion, he discovered he had a staph infection on his leg, the result of a small scrape he'd been unable to tend carefully enough. So on his next adventure, he's also going to seriously upgrade his first aid supplies. Mariee isn't too concerned about making first descents or setting records. He adventures for its own sake and also, he says, to shed light on the hospitality and kindness of the people he meets along the way. "There are huge issues in Sierra Leone, we have to be honest about it. But still at the end, we're talking about welcoming someone who is traveling. I didn't have any issues, people were very, very welcoming. They were not in a good situation, but they were still helping me." Mariee secretly left cash behind when he stayed in a village — tucked under something because people often wouldn't accept it if he offered. He also got in the habit of giving away his gear in thanks for kindness, finishing his trip with neither shoes nor headlamp. Two days after completing his descent of the Rokel, he was still happy not to be paddling. But by day three, he was daydreaming about his next expedition. He's planning something that features more balanced quantities of packrafting and trekking. "I would love to cross Madagascar from east to west or west to east. That would require maybe 25 days. You have the Mangoky River, which is the largest river in the country. And that would allow me to packraft in the western section, but I would still have to walk to get there." And in the next four or five years, he has his sights set on the Congo River. "In terms of exploration, it's the most fascinating one, the most mysterious one, maybe also the most dangerous one. I know only one crazy guy has paddled it from source to sea," he said. "So I'm not talking about a performance, being the first one. No. It's just about living the adventure I've always dreamed of."
