Today, we think of a charity as an organisation which supplies money or goods (Les Restos du Coeur), skills or training (Médecins sans frontières), to those in need and, in English, this is the predominant meaning of the word.

‘Tis the season to be jolly, but also to be kind to those around us, and the planet! After a year particularly affected by conflict, the displacement of people, poverty and the spread of disease, French disability charity, Handicap International are running a festive campaign that’s easy to support.

If you are a resident of France, you should be registered with a specific doctor, a médecin traitant. If you do not have a nominated GP, you will  receive  less money back from the Assurance Maladie (National Health)  via your carte vitale.

Book Club: What can you say when a bright and beautiful little girl loses the battle against that most treacherous of enemies – cancer? How do you find the words? ‘Alice et les Petits Guerriers’ is a sensitive and thought provoking book written by her Dad, Olivier, charting her struggle – and that of her family in Argelès – on this tragic journey.