From French taxes and US primary elections and an American World Cup, here’s our latest newsletter for Americans who either live in France, visit frequently or plan to move here some day.
Welcome to The Local’s “Americans in France” newsletter for members, featuring all the news and practical information you need as an American resident, visitor or second-home owner in France. You can sign up to receive it directly to your inbox before we publish it online via the link below.
Dear Americans in France,
As we are well into June, everyone can breathe a sigh of relief that French tax season has ended, but French homeowners shouldn’t forget about the property tax declaration. This year, there are some changes.
READ ALSO: Everything that Americans in France need to know about tax
US state primary elections have also begun, and if you want to vote in yours, you will need to look into your state’s rules for mail-in ballots. I’ve found the Federal Voting Assistance Program website to have very useful information regarding deadlines. Just be sure to give yourself plenty of extra time, just in case it takes longer than usual for your mail to arrive.
I’m still seeing some confusion on social media amongst Americans in France about sending mail (particularly ballots) to the US. According to La Poste, “it is still possible to send documents by mail”, even though the in-branch machines cannot be used to print out postage.
One social media user advised asking the postman to manually weigh his letter and glue the correct number of stamps. Depending on your state, you should be able to track your ballot and ensure it was properly counted.
As of early June, we are still waiting on the decree with details related to the new healthcare charge. It can be maddening to wait for the details to be unveiled, but I recommend taking some practical steps.
First, you can keep an eye on this Service-Public page, which will eventually be updated (though probably not immediately) once the decree is published. Second, you can start getting your documents in order.
Experts are not sure yet what income the charge will be based on, but hold onto the documentation you used for your 2025 tax declaration in order to determine your various streams of income, whether those be overseas pensions, rental income, or professional activity. Once the details are released, it will be helpful to have that paperwork accessible.
As for other health-related news, we’re looking at how to sign up with a primary care physician and we also have a guide on finding a specialist doctor in France.
And for the sports fans out there, we’ve put together some tips for watching the 2026 Men’s World Cup from France.
Recently, I’ve been fascinated to learn about how popular soccer has become with Gen Z and Gen Alpha Americans. I saw one stat circulating on social media that soccer viewership among young Americans has surpassed baseball, which I’m still a little skeptical of. But the data does show soccer is gaining ground!
The big question is…who will you be rooting for? France or the US? If it’s France, you’d better start practising singing the Marseillaise and chanting Allez les bleus ! (or a few other choice phrases).
As with each edition of this newsletter, I like to include some comments from other Americans in France. This time, I noticed that many readers expressed confusion about driving rules in France. One reader told us, “A big problem for me was that I did not know I only had one year to exchange my Florida license, so I spent over 200 hours studying online for the Code de la Route and learning vocabulary I did not know (…) The test is not at all like an American driver’s license test … the amount of details you have to know is insane.”
Not all states have license exchange agreements with France, which means that you will eventually have to obtain a French licence. We’ve got the details of what to expect, as well as other rules of the road, in our latest driving guide.
And if you have any other thoughts on life in France, we’d love to hear from you. Feel free to send us your questions or tips for fellow Americans via our ongoing survey.
Meanwhile for those of you who are still planning your move to France – or just thinking about maybe doing it one day – we’d really like to hear about your biggest worries, or what barriers are preventing you from making the move. You can fill in our short questionnaire here.
À la prochaine!
