Daily life
Titre de séjour
TEE-truh duh say-ZHOOR
Your residence permit. A long-stay visa only becomes one once you validate it online within three months of arriving.
ANEF
a-NEF
The national online platform where nearly every immigration procedure now happens. Slow, occasionally broken, and unavoidable.
Carte Vitale
kart vee-TAL
The green health insurance card. It takes months to arrive; until then you pay and claim back on paper, so keep every form.
Garant
ga-RAHN
A rent guarantor — the central obstacle to renting in France. Visale is the free state-backed substitute, and almost nobody arrives knowing it exists.
Le busway
luh BUS-way
Line 4 — a bus with its own segregated lane, platforms and tram-style ticketing, opened in 2006 as France's first of the kind. Locals treat it as a tram.
Work
Taux neutre
toh NUHTR
The default withholding rate applied to your first French payslips before the tax office knows anything about you. It is frequently wrong and you can change it online in minutes.
Culture
Le Voyage à Nantes
luh vwa-YAZH a NANT
The summer art trail marked by a green line painted on the pavement. Following it end to end is the standard way to learn the city.
La Loire et l'Erdre
la LWAR ay LEHRDR
The two rivers. The Erdre was called the most beautiful river in France by François I, and half the city's weekends happen on or beside it.
Gwenn ha du
gwen ha DOO
The black-and-white Breton flag, which you will see everywhere. Nantes was the capital of the Duchy of Brittany and a great many people here still consider the city Breton.
Social
Muscadet
moos-ka-DAY
The dry white wine made in the vineyards just south-east of the city. Cheap, unfashionable elsewhere, and taken seriously here.
Emergency
15 / 17 / 18 / 112
—
15 for medical emergencies (SAMU), 17 for police, 18 for fire. 112 works for all of them and has English-speaking operators.
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.