Another country

"I cried when I left France" was a headline in a recent issue of theFrenchPaper, a newspaper for expatriate Britons living in France. It referred to the increasing number of British people who settled in France when houses were cheap and the pound strong, and who are now faced with a stronger euro and low return on their investments. Many are returning to Britain or moving to Croatia or Romania.

The British in France are the subject of a fascinating exhibition by the photographer Rip Hopkins, who looked into the lives of British living in or near Ribérac in the Dordogne. You can see the photos on his website.

While visiting friends in the region, I experienced the British influence. Friday is market day in Ribérac and I was surprised to hear a lot of English being spoken and to see people reading The Daily Telegraph in cafes. Numerous stalls were run by British people, including one for second-hand books in English. I noticed one stallholder reading a book with the title French in 15 Minutes. Perhaps all of this was indicative of the failure of many British to integrate into French society — although at least the man with the self-help French book was trying.

Apparently the canton of Verteillac has a higher percentage of Britons living in it than any other place outside the UK. So what made all those British people decide to move to France? According to the book accompanying the exhibition "Another Country" , there are a number of reasons. Until the financial crisis, property was very cheap, with a run-down château near Ribérac available for the price of a semi-detached house in Kent. The countryside is rather like that in southern England, and the area is one of the farthest points in France to which you can drive in a day from Britain. As Hopkins points out, "every house is an aesthetic fantasy of an idealised Britain on French soil".

The exhibition and book provide invaluable and moving insights into what it means to live in another country.