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The phantom unplugger

So who unplugged my freezers and fridge while I was away?  The mason says he never stepped foot inside the house.  My neighbour says the mason unplugged them to put his tools in.  Who to believe?  I am extremely disappointed in whoever did do it and doesn't have the moral fortitude to own up and it chips away at my faith in human nature and honesty.

For the last 18 months I have been asking the prefecture to give me a carte de sejour permanente, which is an identity card and gives me the right to live in France.  Their answer is always 'non'.  My prefecture is in Niort, a two hour drive away so I asked if I could go to the one in Angers, which is 45 minutes away, but they said I must go to the prefecture in my  department.  Angers have been willingly granting carte de sejour to all the Brits who applied.

I asked the Maire to intervene but they got the same answer 'non',  So I wrote to the Minister of the Interior and he replied with the legal document that I required to prove that I have the right to a carte de sejour permanente.  I contacted the prefecture with this evidence and the answer was 'non'.  I went to the Maire who tried again.  'Non'.  I asked how they can refuse when the Minister himself has said I should have one and the maire said that whatever the prefecture says must be right, even if the Minister says otherwise.

Unlike me I gave up but was telling a neighbour about this problem.  Ah, you are asking the wrong question, he said.  I phoned the Prefecture and asked again.  They said 'non'.  So I asked my neighbour's question.  Could you give me the reason for your refusal as I would like to tell the Minister of Interior?  12th July at 10.45am she said.  Voila!

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