In east London, Broadway-Market is bustling. Here, only “essential” shops are open. About ten people line up in front of a famous French grocery store, L’Eau à la bouche. Inside, there is a jumble of Corsican clementines, Lu biscuits, raclette cheese and walnut sausage. In impeccable English, Marie Clavier, 26, serves customers behind her mask. This Frenchwoman from Picardy moved to London five years ago. As an au pair for a year, then employed in the restaurant business for four years, she has been working in the grocery store for three months. A job that she loves and that she finds easy because, she says, “being French, I know the products well”. London has become its capital. “This is where I’m building my life for now,” she adds. ”
Brexit? “Ah, I forgot, it’s tonight! I don’t care, she replies. I think we are well protected, well I hope. In any case, I did all the legwork. It intends to acquire the prestatus of permanent resident, granted to Europeans settled in the United Kingdom before December 31, 2020. The application must be presented before the end of June 2021. This status allows to stay five years on British territory. At the end of this period, an application for “permanent residence” may be submitted.
150,000 French people have applied for the residency status
According to the French consulate, 150,000 French people have already applied for this residency status. “I am optimistic by nature,” explains Marie. I go with the flow [mot Anglais difficilement traduisible qui signifie « couler, aller dans le sens du courant », NDLR] “. She has not returned to France during the end-of-year festivities for three years, due to the constraints of her work. She is celebrating the New Year soberly this year, with her roommates, due to the confinement. “I’m going to take two or three products in the shop, pâté, salmon, we’re going to open a bottle of champagne, hoping that 2021 will be a little more enjoyable than this one!” ”
At 5:26 p.m. at Saint-Pancras station, the last Eurostar from Paris arrives. The passengers, most of them French, are in a hurry to return home. While waiting for a taxi, Christophe, in his fifties, a banker who has been living in London for seven years, smiles, “we’ve been talking about Brexit for five years! I feel very good, it’s not going to change anything in my life ”, before sighing,“ we’ve been talking more about fishing than banking lately, but we are happy that the fishermen are happy ! “. Further away, smoking a cigarette, Hélène, 33, works in a cleaning company and is preparing for a quarantine, compulsory for French people arriving in the United Kingdom. She shows her luggage: “I brought back aligot, lots of Comté, I’m going to have an orgy of cheese for ten days!” ”
“I’ve been living in London since today! “
Installed in London for four and a half years, this Frenchwoman from the South explains that she signed her employment contract on the day of the referendum. “Brexit has happened so slowly… It’s a bit like a relationship that ends, you initially have a hard time realizing what will happen next. She took the last train to experience this “historic moment”, even confined, as if to close the loop. On the other hand, it is to write a new page that Gauthier took the last Eurostar. “I’ve been living in London since today! He said cheerfully. He came for an internship, but he arrived before the 1is January to apply for permanent resident status in time.
It is midnight and in east London the time is champagne shower for a small group of sparkling French people. London is confined, but these six friends, in their twenties, are part of the same “bubble” – they all live on the same street. We don’t talk about Brexit here, but we dance to electronic music, we laugh and we play darts. Mehdi prepares pancakes which he flames in Grand Marnier. “The first is always a failure. “He works in finance and begins training for a pastry CAP – confinement” inspired “him. French of Moroccan origin, he sighs “we feel Europeans, we received a European civic education, the single market, all that is our history lessons in high school”.
“For those who work in catering or au pair, it will be more complicated “
“We’ve been here for five years,” adds his friend, Thibault, who also works in finance. Brexit seems far away to us, our friends in the City voted against it, and then our employers are taking the steps for us. For this group of friends, Brexit does not change much. “But for those who have a precarious job, as in the restaurant business or au pair, it will be more complicated for them, Covid or not. ”
The real concern, according to him, is the lack of attractiveness of “the old European El Dorado”. “Six years ago, London was a city that made me dream, a city-world. Today, the United Kingdom is closing in on itself. Before, it was almost an obligatory passage in Europe and now we don’t think about it anymore. I only see people leaving, no one arriving. However, there is no question of being depressed, there are still pancakes and champagne to finish, the party continues, until the early hours of the morning.
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
