France

ART & CULTURE

This Friday, 16 October, don’t miss the opportunity to meet the visiting street artist, Golif at Galerie Le Container in Nice. Famous in Vienna, Golif doesn’t usually work on the small scale – rather, his ‘canvas’ tends to be the sides of several storey buildings! But for this special exhibition in Nice, the young artist has scaled down to portable sized pieces, small enough for us to bring one home.

His signature style is unmistakable, creating what looks like a swift swipe of a paintbrush to create a bold face or trench-coated figure. But it is a rather difficult look to achieve when a ‘brush-stroke’ is several metres across.

One of his most famous works, ‘The Observer’ is a ground mural of a face made to be seen from Google maps. The black and white face was created on a 30,000 square-metre lot in the summer of 2016.

For the last two years, the Austrian artist has been coming down to the Riviera to exhibit at Le Container, gaining a growing following. Last year, Riviera Insider had a chance to speak with this rising star about what he looks for ‘in a wall’ and how he decides to leave his mark on a building.

“It isn’t just about painting a wall,” he explains. “My work becomes part of the neighbourhood. So I think it’s really important to take into consideration the energy of the surrounding environment – the aura of the neighbourhood and how my work will fit into it.”

It may come as a surprise to hear a cool, young street artist dressed head-to-toe in black with a hoodie, black cap and black glasses discuss the energy and aura of a place before he works there. But just as his work defies space, his personality defies his persona. In fact, Golif was very gracious with his time, happy to meet the visitors, spent a significant amount of time talking to his fans and posing for photos.

What does he have to say about the walls in Nice? “There are some great walls here,” he tells us. But, even though he met Mayor Christian Estrosi a few years ago and even posed with the mayor holding spray cans, the city doesn’t seem to be ready for wall murals. Perhaps that will soon change…

To meet Golif, head to Galerie Le Container in the antique district of Nice, home to the new group of contemporary and street art galleries.

The vernissage takes place from 6 to 9 pm on Friday, 16 October. The exhibition lasts until 31 October.

www.galerielecontainer.com

On Art!

This weekend, the gallery is also part of On Art Nice: 7 galleries, 7 exhibitions in one weekend! All galleries are open in the evening and within walking distance, creating a nice art walk to discover contemporary and street art.

Saturday, October 17 from 10 am to 7 pm & Sunday, October 18 from 2 pm to 6 pm.

CÔTE D’AZUR & PROVENCE

Do you know what to do if a loved one is chocking? Or how to tell if someone is having a heart attack? What if a friend loses consciousness? These are all ailments where the first few minutes can be the difference between life and death. From 1 to 31 October, the Polygone Riviera in Cagnes-sur-Mer is hosting training sessions on life-saving gestures and a chance to win a gift card. 

Polygone Riviera and 10 other centres of the Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield group have joined forces with the Paris fire brigade and the LIFEAZ start-up, which has developed an innovative platform called “Everyday Heroes.” This platform is open and accessible to all with the aim of introducing visitors to the right reflexes in an emergency situation. The joint operation aims to foster collective awareness and encourage acts of solidarity.

“Everyday Heroes”: an application to learn how to react in an emergency.

People can register free of charge on the platform, train on the application and then visit the shopping centre to continue the training in person through four scenes, taking into account the following situations:

– Scene 1: Choking in a restaurant

– Scene 2: Cardiac arrest

– Scene 3: Chest pain

– Scene 4: Unconscious ailment

Learning can be rewarding!

As an added bonus to helping save lives, the Polygone Riviera is organising a competition allowing you to enjoy a shopping spree with a €100 gift card.

For more information, visit: www.everydayheroes.fr/polygoneriviera 

LIFESTYLE

Good news for UK nationals living in France! Today, 19 October, the French Government opened the online system for British nationals and their family members to apply for a permanent residency permit.

Keeping in line with the provisions of the current Withdrawal Agreement, British nationals and their family members who are already living in France or who settle here before 1 January 2021, will be able to apply for a five or ten-year residency permit, depending on their personal circumstances.

Are you eligible for permanent residency?

If you have been in France for longer than five years or are married to a French national, you will be eligible for permanent residency, which will see you issued a ten-year renewable residency permit.

If you have been living in France for less than five years, you will be eligible for a card with five years’ validity and will need to provide some evidence of your personal situation. An online flowchart on the residency application website will show what documents you need to provide.

Already hold a Carte de Sejour?

You still must apply on this website. All British nationals living in France will need to have a residency permit – this applies whether they already hold an existing Carte de Sejour, are married to a French spouse or have lived here for a substantial amount of time.

However, if you already applied online between October last year and early January this year, you DO NOT need to apply again – wait for your Prefecture to get in touch. The exception to this is if you have since moved to a different department – in which case you will have to make a new application on the website.

What’s the deadline?

Applications must be made using the online site before 1 July 2021, but applicants will have until 1 October 2021 to receive their card. Their rights as French residents will continue throughout the application period.

After submitting the application, applicants will receive an e-mail from their local Prefecture offering an appointment for fingerprinting and photos. The residence permit will be sent directly to their home address by post.

The website address: https://contacts-demarches.interieur.gouv.fr

An easy-to-use and flexible system

The system is designed to be easy-to-use – the vast majority of British people living in France should be able to complete their application without issues. In a press release from the British Embassy in Paris, the Ambassador to France, Ed Llewellyn, stated:

“The French government has been very clear that it wants British nationals living here to stay and I’m pleased that the launch of the online residency system will make this as simple a process as possible. Please do seek out information about the system, tell your friends and neighbours about it, and make your applications before the 1 July 2021.”

In the event of disability or confusion with the website, the British Embassy is working with four organisations (SSAFA, International Organisation for Migration, Church of England – Europe Diocese, and the Franco-British Network) to support the most vulnerable in making their application. Full details are available on the embassy’s Living in France guide: www.gov.uk/livinginfrance   

The British Embassy is asking British citizens in France to help spread the word by telling friends, neighbours and family members about the residency application website, and offering assistance if anyone in their community is less confident using the internet.

Further information

• British nationals can find further information related to the residency application and the documentation needed on the residency website itself: https://contacts-demarches.interieur.gouv.fr
• French government information related to EU Transition and citizens’ rights is available at www.brexit.gouv.fr   
• UK government information for British nationals living in France can be found at www.gov.uk/livinginfrance  
• Regular updates are posted on the British Embassy’s social media:
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/ukinfrance
• Twitter @BritishinFrance @UKinFrance @EdLlewellynFCDO