From its first breath, it aspired to become more than a place: a world-class academic pole, a living ecosystem of knowledge, where learning, innovation, and an exemplary ecological lifestyle would grow side by side.
Germans enjoy some of the most generous employee illness policies in Europe, a fact which the conservative chancellor, Friedrich Merz, says is undermining efforts to kickstart the EU's biggest economy whose growth has largely stalled since 2022. At a regional campaign event last weekend, Merz said staff took an average 14.5 sick days per year too high, he said. That's nearly three weeks in which people in Germany don't work due to illness, he said.
Hilary Hodge suffers from severe allergic asthma. But in 2012, she saw hope in biologic medication. There was one catch: She was living in the United States at the time, and biologics would cost her $36,000 a year. A few years later, she moved to Algiers, France, with her husband. Across the pond, that same medical treatment was 12 times cheaper.
Doctors who have done their medical studies in an EU or EEA country can have their professional qualifications recognised in France - but since Brexit that no longer includes the UK. British-trained doctors must now follow the lengthy, complicated and expensive process of all non-EU medics who wish to practise in France - the 'autorisation individuelle d'exercice', which involves up to two years of hospital training and retaking exams to prove their skills.
My 62-year-old brother-in-law had suffered a massive heart attack in June 2025 after running a 5K, barely an effort for a lifelong triathlete on most days, but this day, the trigger for a life-ending coronary. Telling his wife he was having difficulty breathing, he was rushed first to urgent care and then to the ER at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, CA. Six weeks later, the bill for the hospital's four hours of failed effort trying to save him: $195,628.
A secondary school student stabbed an art teacher in southern France on Tuesday, leaving the 60-year-old in critical condition, the local public prosecutor said. The pupil, in a class of early teenagers, stabbed the teacher at least three times. He was later arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, said Raphael Balland, the public prosecutor in the southern city of Toulon. France's education minister, Edouard Geffray, said that he was headed to La Guicharde secondary school, where the stabbing took place, in the town of Sanary-sur-Mer.
What you need to know about France's speeding laws, a checklist for the increasing number of Americans planning to move to France, whether children of British citizens born here need a UK passport - and Chandeleur traditions. Despite what you may think, French authorities actually do take speeding seriously, we reported this week that speed cameras on French roads will be modified throughout 2026 so that they bring back the 'flash' that lets drivers know they have been caught exceeding the speed limit.
British citizens need a visa to remain in Europe for more than 90 days out of 180 days, so if you're moving to France, the first mistake to avoid is to make sure you apply for the right visa - there are several types, and it's very hard to undo once you're in France says The French Property Show organiser Calum Harkiss. And second, don't go thinking you can leave the application until a few weeks before your move.
