THE [GASP!] PREFECTURE

Nothing else strikes as much dismay into even a Frenchman’s heart as a required trip to the Prefecture. (Think DMV, Social Services, and Immigration all rolled into one big ugly pot of pea soup stirred by the MOST INSANE slowest bureaucracy in the world.) If we hadn’t seen it with our own eyes, and been personally shoved, we wouldn’t have completely believed the stories!

All the comments about French people not respecting lines is 100% true at the Prefecture. Oh, and by the way….we DIDN’T get what we came for, which is the 927th piece of official paperwork required by the French Government to purchase a car. WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER? What number? YOUR FRENCH-REGISTRATION-SOCIAL-SECURITY-GOVERNMENT-HEALTH-CARD-NUMBER-AND-PASSWORD? We don’t have one. We’re Americans, working for Michelin. GO TO THE BACK OF THE LINE!

I may not have to worry at all about not being able to drive a manual transmission, if we never get the “Carte Gris!” Maybe we should sell the car (which we CAN’T, without the Carte Gris, which we cannot GET –*%!&!), and just invest in Uber!

And to think we get to do it all again soon, IF our Residence Permit comes through…..if it doesn’t, our visas expire January 23 (yes, in 3 weeks) and we won’t be able to leave France – because if we do, we won’t be able to get back IN! If you could see the mountains of paper required, including your height, weight, number of freckles, your son’s first birthday picture verified by your banker and second cousin on your father’s side, you just wouldn’t believe it.

The most insane day at the DMV doesn’t even hold a candle to this.

I know I’ve been MIA! SO.MUCH.TO.TELL. I have a bunch of all-things-French to talk about, so expect more frequent posts now that réveillon de Noël is over!

HAPPY 2018! Je vous souhaite à tous de bonnes fêtes de fin d’année et vous présente mes vœux pour la nouvelle année! (Yes, I copied that from Google translate….not that good yet!)