I think we are all trapped in some way by the need to work to obtain the things we want such as accommodation, food and even things like cars, TVs and holidays. One is not looking at slavery it's simply like contributing to the best of one's ability to society. I think that rather than employing (and housing) hordes of immigrants (see today's BBC news) to do the menial jobs which have to be done more needs to be done to get as many people as possible off benefits. Streets (which incidentally I noticed last week during a very rare visit to the UK) are indescribably filthy and need cleaning. This Sunday many will be helping to clean the streets of my village after a big local social event. This is done for the community not to gain food or accommodation (but it is noticeable that many in the village who are on benefits do nothing (although they are young and fit enough to do so).
And all this time I naively thought the Cote d'Azur was bad. It's got nothing on Brittany. You really do have it all, David. Plus, the reaper working overtime... (I wonder if he's in the black or declared?) Sounds like rich material for a book of short stories. A writer's paradise.
Most unemployed people really do want to work. But every commune has a handful (or two) of the serial unemployed who wouldn't take a job if you handed it to them on a silver platter. They'd rather work the system.
We have had a stream of really far out characters. One hid in a cottage, told me he was a fugitive sought by Scotland Yard and he eventually left. Never visited the village centre at all. Another was a Walter Mitty alcoholic who invented a senior military rank, dressed accordingly and ceaselessly completed a triangular journey between bineging, hospital dry out, convalescent home back to bingeing in ever decreasing fashion until the reaper struck. Another whose wife had left him in an unheated caravan without WC, running water or electricity until he vanished who knows where. He was once virtually chipped out of his caravan during a cold spell. Relatively young man who looked about 80. A Frenchman who dressed as for the Blues Brothers complete with shades and porkpie who lived in a council flat above the school canteen and was raided by the flics who found he had converted the whole roof space to a cannabis farm, He was dully charged but expired after a heart attack before the court hearing. Another who constructed an immense pile of wrecked cars (in a national park) caused pollution and left in a rush when his ex GF gave the Fisc his laptop. There are other examples of various nationalities, and more than one suicide, a murder, a few naturists, all sexual tastes catered for! Makes Sodom and Gommorah look pretty tame! A very recent one was in the next commune where a retired and divorced businessman expended a humungous sum of money on "escorts" from Africa and Brazil flown at his cost to Brittany where he delved into an orgy of sex and drink. Arrested for numerous traffic infringements of which most involve drink he did porridge but was released (after suffering whatever nastiness) and very soon had a heart attack and met his maker at a relatively young age. Yes we have them all!
Why not go the whole hog and re introduce slavery ?
How's about if the government got off it's backside and eformed the employment laws and attempted to reduced unemployment ?
Fo example...
Believe it or not David, these checks exist in France too. Similarly for CAF cases the rent is guaranteed (usually !). It is a bit of a can of worms at times, probably like anywhere ?
Loads of possibilities Jane. My ex neighbours employed such a handyman who lived in and basically became driver, gardener and general factotum. The family formed a compaany, employed him and paid a salary.
The usual way however is to employ a person or couple and they get paid by CES - Cheque Emploi Service or another self-employed regime of their choosing. A separate contract can be made regarding accommodation I assume.
Check at your local pole emploi
Once upon a time there were workhouses for these people. Of course I'm not suggesting the kind of workhouse from a Dickens novel, but a nice ,clean, warm, safe, modern workhouse, where Monsieur and Madame might be persuaded to take up useful tasks to earn their room and board, rather than watch TV, and where their children would have the benefit of seeing what working people are expected to contribute to society ;)
In the UK we get proper references, get confirmation of earnings, confirmation of right to be in the UK. The Brit owners in our village took none of these steps. CAF tenants seem to me to be completely oblivious to the rights of landlords and the idea of profit to pay for maintenance, maybe mortgage leaving a yield on capital is anathema to them (especially if the owner is a "rich" foreigner (easier to con). I had that principle out with a former tenant who asked me continually to do improvements to a simple cottage as the "damp air" (house is next to a river which had not changed course during his tenancy!) was causing him breathing problems (he never opened the windows either). He didn't spot me one day in the bar/tabac when he arrived at the other end of the bar and paid a tobacco arrears of 126 euros by cheque (he told me he lived off 800 euros a month rent paid by CAF no Tax d'Hab). Luckily I was paid direct by CAF otherwise things would have been far worse. He did his drinking in other communes to avoid local comment. I suspect he was doing on line gambling as he was on his computer all hours of the day and night. Used the food bank too. Was way before retirement age but said he was too ill to work- didn't stop him cutting up discarded pallets as fuel. I could go on................
I hadn't thought of that possibility. That is a good point.
Yep, make him watch Strictly Come Dancing...
Many people chose to sleep rough in winter but no one can surely condone eviction of families with young children in the winter months ? There must be some kind of rules & regs to protect people, mustn't there ?
Being a landlord is a business venture and most ventures aren't risk-free so the more intelligent landlord will take out an insurance against non-payment - it's called a GLI or Garantie Loyers Impayés. Most insurance companies or banks offer this service. It's entirely up to the landlord to invest or not...
Does anyone know what the situation is with regard to people you employ and provide housing as part of the job?
We are possibly thinking that further down the line we could employ a couple to look after us, she doing the cleaning, cooking etc. and he following his own work but helping with the gardening and anything a bit heavy.
This is a case where a database or blacklist of bad tenants would be useful for potential landlords to access. I'm surprised this man is a known criminal (yes it's theft and he's a criminal), and that no one has taken it upon themselves to make life more 'interesting' for him in surprising and unusual ways. I'm not suggesting breaking the law, but there must be dozens of ways to make his life miserable and drive him out.
There are people who are looking for get away from it all places, your cottage sounds ideal.
Unfortunately many rogue tenants are serial rogue tenants and do it time and time again. It is in fact T H E F T. We have such a case in our village- serial French bad tenant and British landlord who received not a month's rent after the guy moved in. He tried to order heating oil on their account but luckily failed. His car was "nicked" by the local garage to secure payment of unpaid bills. He moves from commune to commune doing the same. This is not a hard luck story it's deception and criminal. He could do with a sound visit and have him and his gear tossed out!
Trouble is if you give an inch a yard or two will be taken. If those benefiting from such practices are sitting at home, watching TV, smoking all sorts of substances, drinking, even snorting, relying on food banks without even attempting to make any contribution to society yet ceaselessly breeding to maximise their state aid then I think the answer is that the p1** is being taken at the expense of the rest of society. At the other extreme one thinks of the super rich hiding behind shell companies and secret bank accounts.
No one should be sleeping on the streets in winter. But consider this (alright, I'm playing devil's advocate here): First, let's do away with the assumption that landlords have the means to support any and everyone with free lodging. What if a property owner has nowhere else to live? What if the property owner has a large monthly mortgage to pay and counts on the rental income in order to pay it? That property owner risks losing everything if the bank seizes his or her property and auctions it off. Then that property owner becomes homeless.
The law was introduced in 1998 Hugh and is called the 'Loi Aubry'.
Seems pretty humane to me or should families be able to be made homeless in winter ?
Well I suppose that blows the myth right out of the water ;-)