Disability

French school friends design tilting chair to help with mobility issues

Seeing an elderly family member struggle to get out of his seat inspired two friends to create the Alyzée

What are the rules for driving a mobility scooter in France?

The regulations can vary dependent upon the vehicle’s maximum speed

EasyJet fined €40,000 for refusing wheelchair passenger in France

The passenger has been waiting 13 years for a verdict

news

What housing aid is available for people with disabilities in France?

There are a number of benefits to help you adapt your home to offer more independence and usability

Long-term health patients fear reimbursement reforms in France

Millions of people, such as cancer and Alzheimer’s patients, are subject to a special scheme due to their serious health conditions

What aid or help groups exist in France to cope with a new disability?

Individual circumstances can dictate what aid may be available

‘I want to show wheelchair users they can travel the world’

Eléonore Vern tells us about her plans for a solo round-the-world trip in an all-terrain wheelchair and why she will avoid Paris

French benefits: help for over-70s and disabled people to live at home

Grants for home adaptations and professional status for home help workers should make it easier to stay in your own home

New app helps disabled drivers find parking spaces in France

French quadruple amputee athlete Philippe Croizon is behind the campaign

How does France’s new home renovation scheme for the over-70s work?

New MaPrimeAdapt’ scheme will partly finance projects to help people stay independent for longer

‘I set up an invisible disabilities media company after my diagnosis’

We speak to a journalist who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2021 and is now giving a voice to people with less obvious disabilities

Stroke victim in Dordogne faces €2,000 a year waste collection bill

Disposing of husband’s incontinence pads now involves driving to find card-operated collection bins and a large bill

How to become a guide dog trainer in France

The dogs tend to be Golden or Labrador Retrievers as these breeds are known for their good-natured demeanour and ability to be trained effectively

Models with disabilities are focus of photographer’s new French show

Juggling a logistics job and a family has not stopped a UK-born photographer creating her latest exhibition celebrating disability

Can you use a French disabled parking badge in the UK?

We look at blue badge rules for French visitors to the UK

Mobile app helps blind hikers explore France

The Robert Louis Stevenson Trail in the south of France is now fully accessible to visually-impaired people, thanks to an app which reads out regular directions

The French long-distance runner changing perceptions of disability

Grégory Mouyen is paralysed down his left side and has epilepsy. He tells The Connexion how he is breaking down the barriers of disability one ultra-marathon at a time

Driverless cars inspire French AI expert to build tool for blind

The car technology can be adapted to warn blind and partially sighted people of hazards in their path

French restaurant whose staff have Down’s syndrome sets global example

Most of the ‘extraordinary’ staff at Le Reflet in Paris and Nantes have the condition and work in the busy restaurants with a few simple modifications

French cinema finds way for deaf and hearing viewers to share films

Cinémarine in Vendée say the special subtitles are not as intrusive as classic subtitles so hearing and deaf audiences can enjoy the same screening

‘Reason €10bn in French state aid is unclaimed is simple - paperwork’

A Connexion reader shares his tiring experience of trying to getting government support

Different but skilled: French caterers empower staff with disabilities

‘Differences do not prevent us from having talent’, says Olivier Tran, who runs a training programme to give more opportunities to people with disabilities

Blue parking badge for disabled: Are there benefits beyond parking?

Eligible people can also apply for other cards that offer more

French firms given financial support to employ disabled workers

Only around half of companies with over 20 employees respect the rule of having 6% of their staff registered disabled

Housing, disability, family: the French state aids people do not know

€10billion in allocations goes unclaimed every year, a new report claims

Are we obliged to make accessibility declaration?

We received a letter from the Agence Française d’Accessibilité concerning a declaration it said we must make. Is this a scam? We do not have a business – this is a private residence – but my daughter is a micro-entrepreneur. R.S.

Blind Frenchman’s sight partially restored by pioneering gene therapy

The patient was able to count cups placed in front of him with a success rate of 63% in a test

How to get financial help to purchase a stairlift in France

Tax credits for 25% of the cost are available with a ceiling of €5,000 for a single person and €10,000 for a couple

Using French blue disabled parking badge in UK

The disabled 'blue badge' parking scheme is recognised mutually across the EU; 'full Brexit' this year called this into question

Lego wanted to help make wheelchair ramps in eastern France

The plastic bricks will be used to help make ramps for people who use wheelchairs; it takes 1,600 bricks to make one ramp.

300,000 clear masks to be distributed in French schools

The masks have a clear-plastic window covering the mouth, so facial expressions are still visible. Designed to be “inclusive”, the masks will not be available to everyone.

LEGO bricks to teach braille available in France

The toys have been developed to help people who are blind or visually impaired learn braille. They are now being sold in seven countries, including France.

French café refuses entry to disabled guide dog owner

Café owners in France refused entry to a woman who uses a wheelchair, on the grounds that her assistance dog was not allowed inside. The incident was captured on video.

Brexit: will French blue badges still be valid in UK?

Every other day, we share a reader question from our Brexit and Britons in France Help Guide. Get your copy of the guide via the link at the end of this article.

French inventor's face mask to help deaf communicate

For the deaf and hard of hearing who rely on lip-reading, face masks threaten to cut off communication - but transparent face masks from a French inventor offer hope.

Disability groups in France call for more action

New measures to ease the lives of the 12million disabled people in France have been welcomed but groups representing them say more can still be done.

Life in France for children with learning difficulties

Children with learning difficulties can have a bright future in France – if you’re determined

French charity helps blind people go clothes shopping

A French charity has created a service to help visually-impaired or blind people go clothes shopping more easily and confidently.

All-terrain wheelchair inspired by snow-go ski holiday

Inspiration for the six-wheel chair came during a frustrating family ski holiday

Disabled rider’s round-France five months’ journey

One rider, her dog, a pair of horses and 13 legs...

French beaches open ‘handiplages’ for disabled people

A beach in France has become the latest to make itself completely accessible to disabled people, including providing wheelchairs that can be used on sand, and staff to help people access the sea.

Second Down’s restaurant to open in France

A restaurant which hires waiting staff with Down’s syndrome is set to open a new outlet in Paris in September.

Would French blue badge be valid in UK after Brexit?

Will my French disabled parking blue badge still be valid in the UK after Brexit? C.C.

French actor performs with autistic son in new show

A French actor has teamed up with his autistic son to perform an original theatre show at an educational festival, to challenge misconceptions about autism.

‘Bionic Showgirl’ dances in Crazy Horse cabaret

A former model who chose to have her left leg amputated is to lead a dance show at the Crazy Horse in Paris.

Government plans 'universal benefits' income plan

At least 5million people would be affected by the planned reforms

Paris makes travel free for kids and disabled youth

Children will be allowed to travel free on Paris public transport from September 1 this year, the capital’s Mairie has confirmed, in measures that will also help young disabled people and secondary students.

World Braille Day celebrates Frenchman Louis Braille

Today (Friday January 4) marks the 17th annual World Braille Day, celebrating Frenchman Louis Braille, inventor of the 200-year-old method that enables blind people to read.

Blind rider’s double Olympic dream

Blind dressage rider Verity Smith’s dreams of becoming the first rider to compete at both the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games in 2020 have been revived after being dashed when her beloved horse fell ill.

‘Anything is possible if you want it enough...'

Maria Doyle Cuche sang in the Eurovision Song Contest, toured the US and raised seven children in France – all despite being blind. Her autobiography On ne voit bien qu’avec le coeur [You can only see clearly with the heart] is out... she tells Claire McQue her remarkable story.

Inspirational athlete

Athlete Valérie Hirschfield has a packed agenda for 2019, taking part in several charity sporting events, despite losing her left leg to a staphylococcus infection 13 years ago.

Inheritance tax bill on property

I am 35 and disabled. I live with my parents and my mum is also disabled. Our incomes are intertwined, the three of us supporting the three of us. But I am one of four children and my parents used the EU Regulation, allowing UK law, to make their will. I inherit everything and, depending on circumstance, will pay virtually zero inheritance tax. My will, however, is harder as I have neither husband or children. There is no cash involved, just a property. I will leave it (my parents fully support this) to my niece and nephew. However, inheritance tax is around 55%. Are there ways to cut the bill as they would have to sell a place they love to pay the tax? H.G.

Old friends running special for disabled trail blazers

It was the discovery that an old school friend had been confined to a wheelchair following a motorcycle accident that prompted Nice-based runner Antoine Carlotti to come up with Trail Pour Tous ( trailpourtous.fr )

Changes taking place in France in November 2018

Changes next month include the annual suspension of landlord eviction of tenants until next year, a rise in the maximum benefits for disabled adults, and a rise in gas prices.

Support for Paris bus driver who helped disabled user

A Parisian bus driver, who took the unusual decision to ask all of his passengers to leave the bus to allow a wheelchair user to get on, has said he did it because “no one was moving”.

'I'm disabled and can't queue for residency card'

I am disabled and it would be difficult for me to queue at my prefecture to apply for a carte de séjour . When I call the prefecture (Allier) someone answers but then puts the phone down. What can I do? M.I.

Leaving money to a disabled person in France

I have read you can leave up to €159,000 to a registered disabled person whatever their relationship to the deceased and this will be tax free. Do you know if this would apply to an autistic grandchild resident in the UK? She does receive some kind of disability benefit in her own right plus 1-1 assistance in school. Does France include neuro-developmental conditions in its definition of ‘disabled’ and what type of documentation would be needed? C.N.