An American in Provence

Got a happy piece of mail the other day.
I have officially been ordered to present myself, papers in hand, at the Prefecture in two weeks to discuss my nationality file.
I guess they need some further proof of certain things-
Yes, still married.
Yes, still paying taxes.
Yes, still have a job.
Yes, still want to become French.

I have to make some more photocopies of stuff we already have, plus some more stuff they didn't ask last time.
Attestation from the bank concerning our mortgage payments?
Yippee.

Anyway, I guess this will be also my interview to see how well I speak and understand French, before they put their recommendation on it and send it off to National headquarters.
So I guess it took about 4 months from the time I turned in my file until they contacted me for the first part. Not too bad for French administration when you think about it. Actually, not too bad for any governmental administration.

Vive la France!

(Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!)

After having filed my wheelbarrow's worth of paperwork for the French Nationality Request early last month, and being informed that I would likely get the Convocation in 4 to 7 months, I was quite surprised to find in the mail yesterday a letter from the Mairie addressed to me, Convocation. No, it can't be! I surely forgot some paper. (Well, more likely the person who verified my file when I turned it in didn't do it correctly or else they decided to come up with another hoop, just for kicks).

I opened it up, and sure enough, I was informed that I had to return to the Mairie after July 22, 2010 (my five-year anniversary in France) for a "complement d'information". Oh man.
You see, you can obtain French nationality by two ways- being married to a French for four years (as of last May 26th) OR in France for 5 years (as of July 22nd). Drat. Maybe it is 4 years of marraige AND five years in France, not OR. Or else they misunderstood my request (more likely).

I called the Mairie this morning and got the most unhelpful person in the world. The kind of person you want to reach through the phone and strangle.
"Come pick up your file. For requests for nationality by marriage, you have to file it with the Courts."
?!?!?!?!
"But I was told to do it there."
"Come pick up your file. We only do requests by residency."
"Well, okay, but then what do I have to do?"
"Come pick up your file. Thank you, goodbye."
"Wait, I just want some more information."
"Come pick up your file. I can't stay one hour on the phone." (Because my coffee break is in 5 minutes, even though I just got here 30 minutes ago.)
"It's not an hour. I just want an answer to my question."
(well, actually it went a few more rounds like that- she desperately unwilling to help, and I just wanting to eek out a bit more information)
"Come pick up your file. Thank you, goodbye."
"Thanks for nothing!"

I hung up and was so upset I was shaking. I guess that is what five years of dealing with French Administration will do to you. I went into the bathroom and just cried out of sheer frustration.
Once I had pulled it together a bit, I called the Prefecture and yes, effectively, I have to go pick up the file from them, and turn it back in to them. (with Alain present)

I asked which way was easier, and he said "Well, it's not that one is easier, it is just whichever you are qualified for."
"Yes but considering that I am qualified for both, which way is fastest?"
Apparently, by marriage. There are so many foreigners living in France requesting nationality by Droit du Sol that it is faster to pass by marriage.

Of course, I will really believe it (that I have to go by the Prefecture) when 2 French people tell me the same thing.

Gee, the person who gave me the file couldn't have told me this? Or the person who took my completed file, when I clearly stated I was married to a French, here is his ID card, his passport, his Acte de Naissance, and our Marriage Certificate?

But no, they aren't paid for that.

However, I was confirmed in my thinking that it was not necessary to file it with the Court. Until Dec. 31, 2009 requests for nationality by marriage did indeed have to go via the Court System BUT NOT ANYMORE. Get your facts straight woman, even if you are working as a fonctionnaire.

So now, I have to go back to the Mairie, pick up my file, try not to tell them off (though I will give them a highlighted copy of the official decree), then take another day off from work to go to the Prefecture with Alain and pick up the file. I am hoping that I can re-file it right away. Heck, I have every piece of paperwork that I/my parents/his parents/he has ever signed/breathed on/left a fingerprint on.

Just so frustrated because of the loss of time and the extra run-around.

I am tempted to file both sets of paperwork and see which one makes it through the system, like a race. Woohoo! It's a race: Prefecture vs. Mairie!! How exciting!

Not really sure what would happen if they found out I make two requests. Of course, that is assuming that they are coordinated/communicative enough between bureaucracies that they would put two and two together, which I doubt.

It doesn't say anywhere that I can't do it. Could always play the dumb foreigner card. "Oh. I'm sorry Mr. Prefet. I didn't know I couldn't do two requests. I thought that since I qualified for both, I had to do both."

Opinions?

Last week, as part of my self-torture plan, I went to the Bureau de Proximité of the Mairie here in Marseille to get the file to start the long arduous process of obtaining my French nationality. I figured that as I had just spent weeks photocopying every single electricity bill, bank statement, and tax receipt received since moving here in order to get my 10-year card, that while I had all this organized and scanned that I might as well take the next step.

Little did I know that France has some new and exciting hoops to jump through. Ready for this?
Hoop #1) Are your parents married (to each other, still)? Yes?
Okay. We need a translated official copy (with Apostille) of their marriage certificate.
- Um, my parents got married in Thailand. Super, I can already tell this is going to be a barrel of fun.

Hoop #2) We need a translated apostille official copy of your police record. - Um, I've lived in four different countries and in three different states. Do you really need a note from the German government that I wasn't wreaking too much havoc at the age of 3?

Hoop #3) We need a translated (obviously because Name is way too hard to figure out) apostille official copy of your birth certificate.
- This one I rather figured but I have to get a minor spelling error corrected first. It is already incorrect on our Livret de Famille/Acte de Mariage

Hoop #4) Copies of your diplomas.
- As any American knows, a US diploma is not a regular A4 sheet of paper. Oh no. These babies are frickin' huge, the better to be framed and hung in your office. I am hoping they will accept official transcripts.

Hoop #5) A statement from the Treasury that you have paid all your taxes.
- Ah yes. I see what is important to La Republique Française.

Hoop #6) A copy of your entire acte de vente, buying your property. All 50 pages of it.
- I'm sure they will just look at the first page to check the names and address and the last page to check the signature and that is it.

Once I have all this stuff, plus the all important Electricity Bill (good grief you would think that the EDF bills were issued by God for all the importance the French attribute to them) and tax receipts of course, I have to call the Mairie to have an appointment to hand in my file. Then they will supposedly have it reviewed within 6 months, and call me in to the Prefecture for an interview and then make their decision. I think 6 months is a bit (extremely) optimistic.

Anybody want to guess how much all of this (ordering of certified copies, get the Apostilles, paying for translations, etc) will cost me? I am guessing 1000€.
A few things I have learned from living in France:
a) always get official records corrected as soon as possible after you notice the error, because it is a pain to get it corrected later
b) always order about 50 copies of every thing while you are at it- most of the fee comes from them looking up the file and sending it to you, the copy itself is usually only a few dollars
c) same with translating- the main cost is the time the translator spends, so get about 10 official copies of your birth certificate translated into whatever language you need
d) scan everything and save it on several different hard disks

I am sure this process is as complicated for other countries as well, I am not complaining too much.
At least here there doesn't seem to be as much, or any, visiting of our home to see if we are living together, separate interviews, etc. like there is in the US.

Sigh. So maybe a year from now I will be an official Frenchie. How strange.
If I can even get my file turned in before December I think it will be going well. I guess I can't actually get the nationality until we have been married four years, but hopefully by next May they will be close to deciding. Oh, and another thing I found funny- I was told that once I get my décret de naturalisation they will issue me a new birth certificate, so I will literally be born again as a Frenchwoman. :)

For several months now, I have been stumped as far as what to write to the Prefecture for my "lettre de un-motivation" so as to obtain my 10-year carte de sejour. Since many of you have likely already done this, please help me out. (funny or serious suggestions accepted).
Since the French are absolutely enamoured with modèles de lettre, here we go:
Monsieur le Préfet,
I am requesting, by the present, a 10-year residency card because _____(1)________. I want to continue living in this great nation because _____(2)________. In fact, nothing would _____(3)________ than to spend the rest of my days _____(4)________. My three favorite things about France are ______(5)_______, ______(6)_______, and ______(7)_______. I have contributed ______(8)_______ to the overall well-being and advancement of this country, and forever renounce _____(9)________. If you don't give me my 10-year card I will _____(10)________.
Je vous prie d'agréer, Monsieur le Préfet, l'expression de mes salutations respectueuses.
An American in Provence

Yesterday, Alain and I went back for our yearly Happy Happy Fun Time with the Prefecture des Etrangers in Marseille.
We have to go, together, to get the file to renew my carte de sejour.
By now, we know the drill pretty well.
Take: passports, livret de famille, and carte de sejour.
Arrive: around 8 am. Wait in line for about an hour to even get into the building. Try to prevent anyone from cutting in line.

Go inside, get in another line. Wait for several hours in said line. There was a couple, a Frenchman and a French-canadian woman, waiting in line behind us. I guess it was their first time there. The man said "Don't worry, after the first year, it renews itself almost automatically." Oh yeah? Then what the heck are we doing here, year after year after year? I don't know if he was just unaware of the depths of inefficiency of the system, or did know but just didn't want her to go screaming back to Quebec. We didn't enlighten them. Poor couple- just married. Best not to.
About a half an hour later, one of the workers came out and announced that there were no more tickets (they give out 200 per day and that's it) for the upstairs part- first demand of the carte de sejour- and to come back another day. This is what happened to us my first year too. We had to come three times to even get the file, once we arrived at 5 am and still didn't get the darn magical ticket.


Except this time, they changed it on us. We got in the building, got in The Line, and after only a few minutes, got to the front and explained why we were there. We got a nice ticket with a number on it, and were told to wait for our number to be called. 166. Oh fantabulous.
It took them about 45 minutes just to give out the tickets, before even starting to call the numbers. Luckily they started at 100 instead of 000, otherwise we would have been there all day.
Alain ran across a guy that he knew while doing his Master's, so they spent two hours talking about research while I read the newspaper.
Finally, two hours later, our turn came. All in all, it took us about 4 minutes at the guichet (why couldn't they have just done that the first time instead of taking three minutes to give us a ticket? Another minute or so and it would have saved everyone time. Don't ask questions about French Bureacracy Megan, just deal with it or they will send you to the very back of the line.) - we showed our passports, she checked the names against the Livret de Famille, we signed some papers, and she gave us the file. She also gave us the sheet of extra things we need to send in if I want to get the 10-year card. Yes yes yes yes yes yes!

So here is what I need to send in:
(besides the file, the declaration of non-polygamy, four photos, the copies of our taxes, bank accounts, gas bills, and everything else "proving" our life together this past year.)

1) a letter stating why I want the ten year card.
Well, that's easy- so I don't have to go through this hassle every year. Oh, wait, what? I'm supposed to spout off something about the fabulousness of France and how I would be so honored to have a ten-year carte de sejour? Yeah okay, whatever allows me to not spend about 40 hours per year here.
2) An integral copy of my passport.
3) Justification of our familial life. Uh what, you want photos of our last vacation in Italy or something?
4) Justification that I have a health insurance.
5) Justification of my kids going to school. That's an easy one.
6) Our three last tax declarations
7) Justification of my resources (work contract, pay stubs, etc.)
Yeah, sure, how about I send all my private financial information, along with address and photograph to some unknown worker? How about my pin codes too?
8) A declaration, upon my honor, that I engage myself to respect the principles that govern the French Republic.
Okay, sure, I can do that. Strikes, wine, cheese, a boatload of public holidays in May, five weeks of vacation per year, and not cleaning up after my dog. Next!
9) A declaration, upon my honor, that I don't live in a polygamous fashion. What, like people can handle more than one frenchman at a time? One is enough thanks.

The best part:
Your demand will be examined in light of the elements sent and in application of the reglementary dispositions raised as a function of your nationality.

Yay French bureacracy! Here we go again!

I sent in my file for my third carte de sejour at the end of July, including a self-addressed stamped envelope (following the directions of "attach 4 stamps"- well, that's great but four stamps of which amount?)

I had done this before, but had never received anything in my self-addressed envelope.

When I collected our mail last Friday from our neighbor who was collecting it for us while we were away, I saw the envelope. Knowing it couldn't POSSIBLY be my carte de sejour, I figured it was probably a notice from them that something was missing. Which, even then would be amazing- wow. they actually contacted me right away to let me know something is missing instead of waiting their usual 10 months?

I opened it up, and it is is a Recipisée (the temporary 3-month card that I had to keep renewing last year) of my carte de sejour, which means that I have filed the paperwork and am waiting for the carte de sejour. What an improvement. Of course, they didn't actually date it three months from the time that my card will run out (end of September), so it is only good until beginning of November. However, this means that when I go to the Prefecture in November to renew it, I can just drop off this old one downstairs and head on up to the waiting room instead of having to wait in the line on the ground floor, show proof that I sent in the file, THEN head up to the waiting room, which will save a good hour or so.

Unless of course they send me the renewed one before this one expires, at which point I will just faint.

Perhaps they figure that they have tortured me enough? Have I passed the Test? (ie- If we can stay married for at least two years through all the hell they put us through to renew the carte de sejour, then they make it easier on us?) Nah.

Last Friday it was time for my trimesterly Prefecture Happy Happy Joy Joy visit. I still have not received my carte de sejour (which expired Sept 30th 2007, we sent the dossier in in August, so now it has been nine months) so I have to go back every three months to get my temporary Recipisée de carte de sejour renewed. I thought that my Recipisée expried April 4th (Friday) but in fact it expired April 2nd. So I was illegally in France for two whole days! Ahh!! I suppose I am lucky I didn't get stopped because I am sure some policeman would make a big deal out of the card being expired for one day. Well, how about you talk to the Prefecture about that, because I would really like to get my carte de sejour for this year before it expires again in Sept. 08.

The process is (relatively) painless I suppose- I go there, hand in my old one and a photo at the door, go upstairs and wait. And wait. And wait. The waiting room is always packed, so I sat on the floor for an hour or two until I got nice and sore in the rear, then managed to secure a spot on a bench. You get to the point after you have been waiting a few hours where you start to think "I don't care if you are elderly, handicapped AND pregnant, I did my time, I got this seat, and I am NOT giving it up. Someone else can give up their seat."
Surely if I was elderly, handicapped, and/or pregnant I would feel differently.

I brought along my Suduko advanced book, and spent a few hours staring at numbers and listening to the names being called by someone who sounds like she trained under the teacher from Charlie Brown. Did she say my name? I can't tell.
Finally got called in to the office around 11.30. I was prepared for a fight- I want information darnit. When will I get my real card? It has been nine months now. Who can I talk to?
The woman was nice and didn't know anything, so I didn't get very far. Apparently, all the files are taking an exceptionally long time at this moment. Well, maybe that is because you, the French Government, have made it harder on yourselves to process files and cards. No wonder there is a backup. Instead of just issuing a card and then putting a new stamp on it good for one more year, they have to fabricate a whole new card for all of the people are renewing their cards each year, plus all the new cases.

Left the Bureau des Etrangers, and went over to the Car Registration area. Took a number, realized it would be about two more hours of waiting. Why couldn't I have combined my wait times, and waited for my car registration (we have to change the address, because apparently if you get pulled over, you can get an extra fine for the address not being correct) then gone up and waited for my Recipisée? Oh yeah- because you never know how long it will take in the Bureau des Etrangers- it could be half an hour or four hours, and you don't want to not be there when they mumble out your name.
I decided to go to one of the sub-offices near our apartment. Waited for them to open at 12:45, went in (no line- yay!) and was informed that Monsieur had to sign the paper as well as Madame, so no luck. Was so fed up with French Administration that I came home, plotched on the couch, watched Gilmore Girls and ate gummy bears.

So the way I figure it, I have to wait about one hour for every month of being able to stay in France. So, why couldn't I just take a week off from work, go to the Prefecture every day and sit in the corner with my Ipod, a good book, and take out from McDonalds, and at the end of the week get a five year card? That would suit me just fine.

I think that next week I am going to go to the Sous-Prefecture in Aix. Supposedly you can only go to the Prefecture where you live but I don't trust anything that the officials tell me anymore. It would make my life so much easier- less waiting, faster turn-around time. Or else just move out of Marseille. At the very least, I hope I can get some clear information about the whole process- when can I apply for French nationality? when can I get a ten-year card?

So I sent in my dossier to get my new carte vitale on Tuesday. Today, Saturday, I got a letter from the Caisse D'Assurance. Can this be? Did it really take less than 5 months to get an official card from the French Government? I felt the envelope, and there was definitely nothing stiff and card-shaped inside. It was a letter, saying that I needed to send a copy of a non-expired ID. My carte de sejour expired Sept. 30th, and I still haven't gotten the new one. Instead, I have to go back every three months to get a temporary one. So since my current one runs out in three days, I will have to go on Friday, my once every two weeks day off, to the Prefecture and wait several hours to get another temporary one. At this point, I am wondering if I will get the new official carte before it expires, which I am guessing will again be Sept. 30th. Last year I got my carte in January, I hope there is nothing wrong with my file.
Anyway, I was impressed by three things upon receiving this letter:
1) Someone actually noticed that the card was expired. This is the first time anyone has noticed it when I have presented it.
2) They actually wrote me a letter saying that they needed an additional piece of information, instead of just putting in the incomplete folder, then my waiting 4+ months with no word, contacting them to find out what the heck is taking so long, and being told that it is incomplete and that they are just to busy to write a letter or leave a message on an answering machine.
3) That there was less than a week of turn-around time. I mean Wow.

Friday morning I called the Caisse D'assurance Maladie, the national healthcare network. I was actually able to get SOMEONE ON THE PHONE and GASP! Actual information! Wow!
Here is the trick- call early. I called at about 7:45 am, and they open at 7:30. I need to get a new Carte Vitale (the green card that has all your medical information on it). When I first arrived, I was on a student visa and we were not married, so I had to get a Student Healthcare Insurance. Then we got married, but as I was not yet working and not French, I got put under Alain's healthcare number. They couldn't actual, oh I don't know, give me my very own special number directly now could they? Instead, we have to fill out forms, wait several months, get a card that will surely become obsolete, then repeat the process.

This is the one thing that I absolutely do not understand about French Bureacracy- they just make more work for themself. American Bureacracy is at least efficient in that they want as little work for themselves as possible. Anyway, moving on.

The way that healthcare (social security) numbers are assigned is that it starts with a 1 for a man, 2 for a woman (typical) followed by the last two numbers of your birth year, two numbers for birth month, two numbers for the department that you were born in, three numbers for what community in the department, three numbers that show what number you were of all kids born that month, that year, in that city, and then finally a check number.

Once I started working, a number was generated for me, including my gender (woohoo!) birth year, month, then 99 for FOREIGNER AHH! then a code for the US and then some other stuff that makes sense only to the healthcare system. So I have had this number since March 07, but did not actually realize that these two numbers A) were supposed to be the same and B) were not. So now I have to fill out forms in triplicate, send in my old card, photocopy of my ID (Hey, do you think you could put some pressure on the Prefecture so that I can get my new one, instead of this one that expired October 1st, 2007? Thanks), as well as some other forms.
Let's start taking bets on how long it will take me to get my new card. I am putting it at two months- May 26,2008.
Anyone else want to throw a date out there?

So finally, after six months of waiting, three temporary cards, countless hours spent in the Prefecture, 55 euros (not including fees for photocopying, bus tickets, ID photos, translations, etc) I finally get my (temporary) resident card!

see related entry "I love the Prefecture"
http://megankay4.blogspot.com/2006/07/i-prefecture.html

On Friday I got the yellow sheet of paper telling me to come down to the Prefecture and pick up my card. I went yesterday, and proceeded to spend the entire morning there. First I had to buy an OMI stamp for 55 euros. Not sure exactly what OMI stands for, but it is a way to pay for official fees. Usually you can buy these from bar/tobacco shops. I went into the nearest one, nope they don't sell them. Proceeded to spend the next thirty minutes trying to find one that did. Finally bought it, and went to wait in line at the Prefecture.

Surprisingly, it didn't take that long, as there were only four people in front of me. I handed the lady my multitude of papers, she went off and fetched my card. She said "Is this your address?" (On my card it had the old address) Nope. And do you remember when I specifically told you people that my address had changed? Nope. I was afraid they would have to send it back and make a new one, but she just put a sticker over the address part and wrote the new one on.

I was a little miffed to find that the card is only good for one year and from the date my file was received last October, not from when I received it. So at the end of July/beginning of August, Alain and I have to go back and start the whole wonderful procedure over again! Hopefully they can just put a sticker over the date as well and extend it by a year. If not, it will really be a pain to have to send it back in and get a new one issued. I asked when can I get the 10 year card, and she said after three years of marriage. Come on 2009!

While I was there, I decided to go deposit the paperwork for my driver's license. France and certain US states have a direct exchange agreement for driver's licenses, meaning that you don't have to retake the test. Thankfully, Virginia is one of them. As this direct exchange option is only possible for (I think) six months after you receive the carte de sejour, I had to move quickly. I had already gotten my driver's license translated into French (42 euros for two copies). So after waiting in line at the driver's license office and watching a woman go ballistic on the poor lady behind the counter, I got up to the desk. I handed her everything, and she told me I needed front and back photocopy of my carte de sejour, which I had just received but hadn't had time to photocopy.

I went down to the main level where there was a photocopier, but only had bills, no change (20 centimes per copy). There was no change machine around, so I went to a nearby bar and ordered a coffee. In the bar there were several cages with about 20 small flying squeekers. (those small birds, I don't know what they are called, but they make a squeeking noise). They were let out of their cages and zooming all over the bar. It was amusing watching them, but I was just hoping they wouldn't poop in my coffee. Got my change, went back to the Prefecture, photocopied my carte de sejour, went back upstairs, and butted in line and gave the lady the papers. She said it would take about two months to get the license. I really hope that a) they don't loose my original VA driver's license and that b) they don't keep my license. The only positive thing is that the French driver's license is permanent, so I don't have to go through this process again.

Here, dear readers, I present my tips for surviving the Prefecture.

1) Upon arriving, go around to all the ticket machines and take one ticket from each machine for all the different lines. Don't think you will need to use the line for retired people? Doesn't matter, take one anyway. You never know where the officials will send you to stand in line. You certainly don't want to spend an hour in one line, thinking it is the right one, then get to the front and realize that nope, you have to be over in the retirees line (but I'm only (ahem) less than 30! Doesn't matter, go stand in that one). If you have a ticket for that line already, you'll only have to wait ten minutes or so.

2) Make photocopies of everything. Even things you don't think they could possibly want.

3) Bring extra ID photos

4) Bring extra change for photocopy machines and ID photo cabins.

5) Bring a book.

6) Bring a sense of humor and clear your schedule for the rest of the day.

The Prefecture is the place where foreigners go to be tortured.
Well, okay, not officially. Officially it is to get the papers for visas, green cards, asylum, etc.
There is one in Marseille. Alain and I have been there four times, spending a grand total of 12 hours either waiting in line to get into the building, or waiting inside the building.

Joyful Experience 1) The first time we went it was the middle of September and we went to get the Carte Etudiante. Even though it was blazing hot and we waited an hour in the waiting room (no air conditioning, not many benches, no bathrooms, and no water) it turned out to be our most successful visit so far. So they gave us the paperwork, and we came home and filled it out. It required a medical exam and a photocopy of I think every official piece of paperwork I own. A few weeks later we got a letter in the mail, saying that my carte was ready, that we had to go back down and pick it up.

Joyful Experience 2) The second time we went, we went early in the morning and were there before the doors opened at 8:15. We ran up and got a ticket then proceeded to wait four hours. I think people get about ten tickets at a time to give to their friends and family who come after them. Our ticket was finally called and we presented our letter and I received my Carte Etudiante, good for one year, placed in my passport.

Joyful Experience 3) Last week we went back to the Prefecture, proof of marriage in hand, to get my Resident card. We got there around 7:45 again. The line was quite long, but not something to cause concern. We were prepared for another 4 hour wait if necessary. However, these lines are not normal lines. They are filled with pushy desperate people who don't really care that you were there before them. The only thing to do is push back in order to maintain your spot in line. Then of course there are the line jumpers. Oh so annoying! When we finally got in the building, we raced upstairs only to find out that they were out of tickets. We assumed that a new roll would be placed in the machine, so we waited. And waited. Alain finally went to go ask what was going on, and it turns out that they only give out 200 a day, which will keep them busy all day, so if you get there after that, too darn bad for you, go home and try again some other day.
Determined not to make the day a complete waste we went over to the driver's license section to get information about my getting a French driving license. Not surprisingly, we waited in line (though we did get a ticket, yay!) and found out we need to get my driver's license translated and have my residency card. Just to be clear before I go back again to the translator at 50$ per hour, do I need my grade school diploma translated as well? It isn't hard people! Name! Birthdate! Height! Weight!!!!!!!! This isn't Arabic!

Joyful Experience 4) Determined to make it this time, we get up at 4, get down there a little after 5:15. Probably would have gone earlier but that is the earliest the subway starts working. I was expecting to be the only ones there, or at least up near the front. Wrong again. The line was almost as long as that of Joyful Experience #3's at 7:45. I guess other people had the same idea.
So we got in line and prepared for a four hour wait. I think about 4 fights broke out. The people at the very front of the line had gotten there at midnight. So we spent another four fun hours crammed into a cattle shoot with sweaty smoky people (though to be fair, we were doing our fair share of sweating, considering the heat and closeness) and being much more vigilant about not letting people cut in line.
The Prefecture finally opened around 8:45 and first all the people who had letters telling them that their Carte was ready to be picked up passed first. And lo and behold!!! there were no more tickets for everyone else who needed to PICK UP the paperwork to fill out, turn in, to get their LETTER!!!!
We tried to go get help at the city hall, nothing doing. Only the Prefecture can do it, and since we live in Marseille, only the Marseille Prefecture can handle our case. Only there are about a million foreigners in this million and a half city. Because heaven knows they wouldn't want people to go to Aix-en-Provence 30 minutes away to pick up the precious forms. Which can't be sent by mail. And Alain has to go with me, not only for safety reasons, but because they can't give me the form by myself.
It strikes me as funny that I needed to fill out every form ever invented to get a one year Student card but to get a permanent card I just have to give a photocopy of my marriage license, my passport, and the electricity bill (to show where we live.) I guess they figured if you are married, you have gone through the Death by Paperwork trial.

It makes a girl want to claim Asylum, because that line is shorter. I suggested a hunger strike to Alain. I think it would be quite effective- get a large sign that says "Greve de la faim" and stand out in front of the Prefecture in broad daylight telling anyone who asks what the problem is. I think after about a day the Prefecture would be so embarrassed they would just say "Here is your damn form. Go away." He thinks I am joking. Just wait until I have to refuse a job offer because I don't have this card.

So the first step (well, on the actual wedding day, not including the hours of legal footwork) of a wedding in France is always La Mairie (or Hotel de Ville- no you cannot stay there overnight). As I have stated before, the ceremony must be performed first at the Mairie in order to be considered legal, before any religious ceremony can happen. So we walked to the mairie in Lancon, where all of the guests were waiting for us. We filed into the city hall, where the mayor was waiting with his blue, white, and red sash. Very official. Everyone came in and sat down. He greeted the guests, then read the marriage act (considering property, raising children, etc.). I didn't understand all of it so naturally just said Yes Okay Whatever to a life-long legal contract. He then pronounced us husband and wife. I was caught off guard for this moment and was more moved than I thought I would be.
Then the Signing of the Paperwork began. Not to be confused with the Singing of the Paperwork, which would have at least been slightly more entertaining for the guests. First Alain and I signed, then all of the witnesses. Then Alain and I had to both sign all of the papers that we had submitted for our file. We had extra due to the fact that I am a foreigner. Silly me. He handed me the Livre de Famille, which is a booklet containing all important family events. Which apparently is the "having of the grandchildren"- up to eight can be noted in the livret de famille before you have to go back and get another one. This of course is a Very Important Document which is given to you at a stressful helter-skelter moment and you had Better Not Lose It. Thankfully, I didn't lose it.
Then we had some pictures taken with the Mayor and everyone filed out. From there we processed up to the church.

The French really seem to love paperwork. Especially when it comes to getting married. From the book
"A Year in Provence" by Peter Mayle (they are explaining how to buy a car)

We should have been warned by the complications attached to the purchase of the house. We wanted to buy, the proprietor wanted to sell, a price was agreed, it was all straightforward. But then we became reluctant participants in the national sport of paper gathering. Birth certificates were required to prove we existed; passports to prove that we were British, marriage certificates to enable us to buy the house in our joint names; divorce certificates to prove that our marriage certificates were valid; proof that we had an address in England. (Our driver's licenses, plainly addressed, were judged to be insufficient; did we have more formal evidence of where we were living, like an old electricity bill?) Back and forth between France and England the pieces of paper went- every scrap of information except blood type and fingerprints- until the local lawyer had our lives contained in a dossier. The transaction could then proceed.
We made allowances for the system because we were foreigners buying a tiny part of France, and national security clearly had to be safeguarded. Less important business would doubtless be quicker and less demanding of paperwork. We went to buy a car.
It was the standard Citroën deux chevaux, a model that has changed very little in the past twenty-five years. Consequently, spare parts are available in every village. Mechanically it
is not much more complicated than a sewing machine, and any reasonably competent blacksmith can repair it. It is cheap, and has a comfortingly low top speed. Apart from the fact that the suspension is made of blancmange, which makes it the only car in the world likely to cause seasickness, it is a charming and practical vehicle. And the garage had one in stock.
The salesman looked at our driver's licenses, valid throughout the countries of the Common Market until well past the year 2000. With an expression of infinite regret, he shook his
head and looked up.
"Non."
"Non?"
"Non."
We produced our secret weapons: two passports.
"Non."
We rummaged around in our papers. What could he want? Our marriage certificate? An old English electricity bill? We gave up, and asked him what else, apart from money, was needed to buy a car.
"You have an address in France?"
We gave it to him, and he noted it down on the sales form with great care, checking from time to time to make sure that the third carbon copy was legible.
"You have proof that this is your address? A telephone bill? An electricity bill?"
We explained that we hadn't yet received any bills because we had only just moved in. He explained that an address was necessary for the carte grise- the document of car ownership. No
address, no carte grise. No carte grise, no car.
Fortunately his salesman's instincts overcame his relish for a bureaucratic impasse, and he leaned forward with a solution. If we would provide him with the deed of sale of our house, the
whole affair could be brought to a swift and satisfactory conclusion, and we could have the car. The deed of sale was in the lawyer's office, fifteen miles away. We went to get it, and placed it triumphantly on his desk, together with a check. Now could we have the car?
"Malheureusement, non."

We must wait until the check had been cleared, a delay of four or five days, even though it was
drawn on a local bank. Could we go together to the bank and clear it immediately? No, we couldn't. It was lunchtime. The two area of endeavor in which France leads the world- bureacracy and gastronomy- had combined to put us in our place.
It made us mildly paranoid, and for weeks we never left home without photocopies of the family archives, waving passports and birth certificates at everyone from the checkout girl at the supermarket to the old man who loaded the wine into the car at the cooperative. The documents were always regarded with interest, because documents are holy things here and deserve respect, but we were often asked why we carried them around. Was this the way one was obliged to live in England? What a strange and tiresome country it must be. The only short answer to that was a shrug. We practiced shrugging.

So you say, "Nice way to copy and paste from a book Megan, but what does this have to do with getting married?" Everything of course.
I think even the French don't like getting married in France.
Here is what we have done so far
1) Similar to organizing a space launch, we had to carefully coordinate the City Hall, the Curé, and the Reception place for time and date.
2) Beginning of January we went to the City Hall to get the file.
3) Beginning of February I made an appointment with the Consulate to get the two pieces of paper required- saying I am not married and am free to get married in France (ie a marriage in France will be recognized in the US)
4) End of February, as close as possible to February 26th but not a half a day before, (cannot be issued more than 3 months before the date of the wedding. Because this would obviously require that you use the regular, cheaper shipping, not the arm and a leg express processing) get several copies of my birth certificate issued in VA and expressed over here. This was accomplished quickly, but it took me another week to coordinate my schedule of being home with that of the FedEx delivery person. He finally just left it at school for me.
5) Next I dropped it off at an official translator's to get translated into French. Not bad work- 50 euros for about a half an hour of work.
6) Find a doctor (see Healthy Thoughts entry), get the initial medical exam, get blood drawn and tested, (unlike for buying a house, this did require our blood type) get results, bring them back to the doctor as close as possible to March 26th- can't be done earlier than 2 months ahead of time, or else it isn't valid.
7) Fill out the paperwork, including the witness sheet. Each of us must have at least one witness, no more than two. If both of my witnesses do not show up the day of the wedding, we cannot get married. At least one must show up for each side. Must attach photocopies of their national ID. For Europeans, this is easy. For Americans, they will not accept driver's licenses. Nope, it has to be the passport. Argh. Fill out sheet including their names, occupations, and addresses, attach photocopies.
8) Attach proof of where you are living. This can be phone bills, electricity bills, rent payments, etc.
9) Have a mini heart attack when you realize that the Birth Certificate issued by Vital Records on the official paper with the official stamp is not official enough and that it needs an Authentication by the Office of the Secretary Commonwealth Authentication Division of Virginia saying that officially, this official document is officially official.
10) Panic and think that you may not be able to get married when and where you want, consider running off to Vegas.
11) Search for Vegas-like places in Europe.
12) Realize that there aren't any, and that you are in big trouble.
13) Make quick calls to the Consulate (who says that they can sign an official statement that you swore that your official birth certificate is officially yours), French Department of Foreign Affairs, and other City Halls, to see if they all require this- they don't, so you consider changing the location of the civil service.
14) Breath a big sigh of relief when you find out that the French Bureacracy is so crazy that even the city hall workers think it is crazy and waive the requirement.

Getting legally married in France is tricky enough for a French citizen, even harder for foreigners. Many couples opt for just a civil ceremony (required by law). Some also have a church ceremony afterwards, never before. If you have a church ceremony, you will need to present your civil marriage certificate before the priest will perform the ceremony. There is also the PACS, Pacte civil de solidarité, which is sort of like a civil union. It was originally intended for homosexual couples, but some heterosexual couples take this route. It offers some of the same benefits of marriage and is more easily broken.
For more information, check out the American Embassy website, Marriage Requirements in France. http://www.amb-usa.fr/consul/acs/guide/default.htm
Here is a brief summary. First, you will need from the US Embassy a notarized paper stating that you are free to marry in France, either that you were married and were widowed/divorced, or that you have never been married. You will also need a Certificat de Coutume, which basically explains US marriage laws, and that the US citizen is free to marry in France and that the marriage will be recognized in the US. For these statements, you basically show your passport, fill out some forms, and swear on your honor you are telling the truth.

Next, you need your birth certificate. It must be issued within three months of the scheduled wedding, translated into French (officially, you can't do it yourself even though anyone with French 101 could do it). The Embassy/Consulate Section will not do this, but will give you a list of official translators.
Next is the medical exam and blood test. This must be completed as close to 2 months before the wedding as possible. This must be completed before the banns will be published. If you are coming from the US, you can have it done in the US by a doctor recognized by the French Embassy. The certificate must be in French or with an official translation and is only valid for two months. The entire file must be turned in 2 months before the date.
You also need to fill out a list of witness, one or two witnesses per spouse.
*If at least one of your witnesses does not show up on the day of the wedding, you CANNOT get married. So choose carefully, maybe someone that is already in country.
Proof of Domicile- You will need at least two proofs of where you are living to present to the City Hall. Usually French couples get married in the area where the woman is from. You must get married in the area where one of you lives. You cannot both live in Paris and decide to get married in Nice for example. The banns will be published at the city hall where you are living, or both city halls if you live in different cities, or even different arrondisements of the same city.
One of the two partners must reside in France for 40 days prior to the wedding. The banns will be published ten days before the wedding to see if there are any objections, then returned to the city hall where the marriage is taking place. The ceremony is performed by the mayor or their representative, wearing the tricolor sash in a big room in the city hall. It seems to be a rather quick ceremony, with no readings or anything like that. The witnesses sign the papers, Abracadabra you are married.