The French Equivalent: ESRC-funded meeting 02 June Perigueux

The second of our two 'Brexit and Beyond' meetings took place 2 June at the Franco-British Camber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) in Perigueux, France. Following a similar format to the Alicante event, Fiona and Jeremy introduced their research and raised some open-ended questions for discussion with the audience. This was followed by presentations from Roger Boaden of Expat Citizen Rights in EU (ECREU), John Shaw of Fair Deal for Expats, Brian Robinson representing Remain in France Together (RIFT), and Paul Fisher, Chair or Liberal Democrats in France. Participants in the event included Dominique Olley, Consul of the British Consulate, Bordeaux, and Pam, also of the Consulate, Britons resident in France, local French stakeholders, some academics from Limoges University, and Jane Hanks from Connexion newspaper. Many of those present in this afternoon session, also attended an event with the British Ambassador to France, Lord Llewellyn in the morning. 

Discussions focused on citizenship status and rights (British, French, Irish and EU citizenships); the role and achievements of the different campaign groups, as well as British in Europe (the coalition of UK citizens and campaign groups in Europe); and the formalisation of The Liberal Democrats in France post 23 June referendum. Specific rights were discussed such as pensions and health care. One point that was made was the diversity of categories of 'British citizen' that exist, each containing different rights and relationships to the EU. In additional, British subjects (i.e. citizens of the Channel Islands) were also mentioned, indicating the diversity of categories of people that need to be considered, rather than bundled into one single 'British citizen' or 'resident in France' category.
In contrast with the  meeting in Spain, Britons attending this event in France were quick to express whether they would forego British citizenship in order to retain their rights as EU citizens. There was an overwhelming majority of hands raised in the audience to indicate that yes, they would.

The event was initially advertised by Connexion (an English language newspaper in France):
https://www.connexionfrance.com/French-news/Brexit/Meeting-to-focus-on-future-of-Britons-in-France 

(as well as via other online sites e.g. Angloinfo) and a first report of the event is available online:
https://www.connexionfrance.com/French-news/Make-sure-your-voices-are-heard-on-Brexit

The July issue of Connexion will feature a print report of the event.

This event was funded by the ESRC Impact Acceleration Scheme, and Jeremy and Fiona would like to express their thanks to the ESRC, as well as the FBCCI, the British Consulate France, the presenters and participants who attended what was considered to be a successful event.