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Renting
a Paris Apartment Gets More Difficult
The
rental real estate situation in Paris has been changing lately.
A few years ago it was relatively easy to get a decent apartment
for a fair price. Now, however, the apartment search is getting
harder -- especially for anyone looking to rent a reasonably priced
studio or one-bedroom.
Current tenants are protected by a law
which says that rent hikes cannot be higher than the index of construction
costs (which was +1,01% in 1999 according to Liberation), but those
who are looking to move to Paris or change apartments are in for
a difficult time. Would-be tenants are starting to look askance
at rising rates for tiny spaces on the 4th and 5th floor of old
walk-ups which may seem charming at first, but are often drafty
and poorly heated in winter.
Landlords can set the rate for an empty
apartment at whatever the market will bear, and increasingly that
is getting higher -- beyond the means of many students, workers
in low-paying jobs, and the unemployed.
Ironically, the rebounding economy is partially
responsible for the problem, as more single young people are moving
to Paris to begin new jobs while the pool of housing in the city
has not expanded. According to a study published in September by
the FNAIM (Fédération nationale de l'immobilier),
rents have risen 5.8 % over the last year in Paris and 3.6 % nationally.
The CSAB (Conseil supérieur de l'administration de biens),
says that over the last three years rents have gone up almost 15%.
Increased competition for the available
apartments has made landlords ever more choosy. The screening process
prospective tenants must suffer through has become correspondingly
more elaborate.
Knowledgeable observers say apartment hunters
must show proof of monthly revenues four times the rent amount,
or have a guarantor, with monthly revenues up to six times the rent
amount, willing to sign the lease. Of course, the prospective tenant
must still present three recent pay stubs, and sometimes a letter
from their employer verifying their employment status, proof of
tax payments, previous paid rent receipts or a utility bill from
the last apartment.
In addition, some agencies are asking for
a bank statement, Social Security card, and other identity papers,
or the name and phone number of the previous landlord. Others are
making inquiries into the prospective tenant's family status, habits
and personal life.
There are no laws regulating the kinds
of information or documents that may be demanded of a potential
tenant, and real estate agents defend their screening processes
as necessary to protect landlords from deadbeat tenants.
Meanwhile, many would-be tenants are expressing
frustration with what they see as intrusive "background checks"
by potential landlords and real estate agents.
Suing Pastis...
It seems more French are following the
American lead and are calling their lawyers instead of accepting
responsibility for their own actions...
It was only a few years ago that friends
in Paris would look on disapprovingly at the American civil court
system, where people sued fast food chains for millions over spilt
coffee and WON. More recently, the success of lawsuits against tobacco
companies in the states has started them thinking.
According to the report in 23 August issue
of Liberation, a resident of Thionville (Moselle) has decided to
apply the American strategy to his favorite addiction -- Pastis.
The 34 year-old alcoholic is suing Pernod Ricard, claiming the company
never warned consumers about the dangers linked to use of their
product. This is the first time that a French distiller has ever
been sued.
The plaintiff alleges that Pastis has ruined
his life -- his wife left him, he lost his job, his health has deteriorated,
and he lost his driving license for DWI. Unlike his American counterparts,
however, he is only demanding a judgement of 10,000 francs!
DNA Throws
Light on Some of French History's Mysteries
by
Jo Dunn
Using methods of DNA analysis typically
conducted in police investigations, historians have been able to
shed new light on some of the murkier areas of French history.
In the sad case of the son of Louis XVI
and Marie Antoinette, the scientists have provided proof positive
that it was indeed the 10-year-old prince who died in a Paris prison
following the revolution.
For many years, there had been debate about
the fate of the prince after his parents were guillotined. It was
known that he had been imprisoned. But what happened after remained
a mystery.
The argument that he had died in prison
was supported by the fact that someone had taken great risk to preserve
his heart, obviously believing that it belonged to the prince. However,
this version of events was not universally accepted. Many people
preferred to believe that he had escaped, lived on, and even had
heirs.
This summer, researchers compared the DNA
of hair cut from Marie-Antoinette when she was a child with a sample
from the long-preserved heart of the youth who had died in prison.
Results of the test prove conclusively that the heart belonged to
the son of Louis XVI, dashing the hopes of any pretenders claiming
to be descended directly from the guillotined King Louis XVI.
In another French history puzzle, the actual
cause of Napoleon's death has long been questioned. Was he murdered
by poisoning over a long period of time, or did he die naturally
from stomach cancer as was the official account?
After researchers performing DNA analysis
found that clippings of Napoleons hair were tinged with poison,
the conspiracy theorists have gained more supporters. A French cancer
specialist argued that Napoleon's considerable weight gain while
a prisoner at St. Helena would indicate that it was highly unlikely
that he died of stomach cancer.
Experts at a conference sponsored by The
International Napoleon Society this summer said the only way to
solve the question was to exhume Napoleon's body from its resting
place in Paris -- a step most people consider too drastic.
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