Our housekeeper has just notified us that a letter has been delivered for us regarding the Recensement 2025. We are currently in the Uk and will not be back to 81 until late April.
I have had a look at the official website for some guidance but cannot find such that covers our case. Under ‘Foreigners’, it states that if we have been living in France for more than 1 year then we are obliged to complete the census. Nowhere can I find guidance to cover us poor folk who can only visit their paradise occassionally.
Does anyone in the Collective have any advice or experience of how to go about this? Is it a question of contacting our Mairie to ask them?
“La résidence où vous devez vous faire recenser est votre résidence principale. Si un agent recenseur vous contacte néanmoins dans votre résidence secondaire, vous n’avez pas à remplir de questionnaire, l’agent ne relèvera que quelques informations.”
Having just completed the census for ourselves as résidence principale and also for our son who has a maison secondaire, you must complete the census. You are given access codes to the site, unique to your address, in the case of a none resident, enter all details about your house then declare maison secondaire job done
I thought it was a census of people living in France, not visiting, if so you have nothing to worry about.
Especially as my friends didn’t receive the note, a fact that I mentioned to our census taker who said she would report the fact to the Maire. They never did receive one so can’t be all that important to some.
When my son was an agent for the commune census some years back, they did not include holiday homes because 99% of them belonged to nationals who would have filled in a census where they live for most of the year. The mairie also knew which properties were second homes and not principal so the OP does not need to do anything. The census after all is to plan for further building,public and medical services, schools etc which do not affect those who do not live there full time.
The boy said that was a real eye-opener. One house, he had to wipe his feet LEAVING as the batty lady had a pig living on a blanket under her stairs in the kitchen and chickens roosting on the dresser!
Yes, that’s what I thought, but my friends have lived at that address permanently for the last 8 years and when I mentioned it to the census taker she checked her list and then even described the house to me to be sure we were talking about the same people, but neither I nor they heard anything more.
Same here, but the lady at the Marie did make a note against our line on her spreadsheet that we were second home owners so I dont think it can just be ignored, if only to help with admin.
Yes but I thought it was a cross section of communes, that is that everybody in the communes selected had to be recorded.
However, like you, this is only the 2nd one I remember and I have lived here permanently for 25 years.
I’m wondering if there are different census thingies… 'cos our first one included both of us… another year, they only wanted OH to answer their questions…
ah well…
As the final date for submitting the census approached, our census agent took me with her… she had a list and we visited those homes where the Census had not yet been returned… I was there to speak to the non-French if necessary.
In communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants, the census takes place every five years and the entire population is concerned. In those with 10,000 inhabitants or more, the census takes place every year but on a different sample of housing each year.
Very strange, we have a population of 500 and I still only remember being asked twice.
Mind you the first was a very pretty neighbour who habitually wore a mini-skirt and kinky boots, and the 2nd a lady who had known me since she was a little girl. So extra reasons to recall both I suppose.
