A Bill to allow British nationals working as public-sector English teachers in France to retain their “fonctionnaires titulaires” civil servant status after Brexit went before the Republic’s National Assembly at the end of December.
To teach in public sector education or in private institutions contracted by the state, teachers in France need to hold fonctionnaire titulaire status. This is normally conferred exclusively on European Union citizens. An estimated 1700 UK nationals, mostly EFL teachers, currently have that status, according to French news site The Connexion.
The Bill is an emergency measure in the case of the UK leaving the EU without an exit agreement.
France’s minister for Europe, Nathalie Loiseau, indicated that British nationals may not retain the status forever, and could subsequently be downgraded to the less secure contractuel status.
The Guardian newspaper reported Loiseau as saying France would guarantee the residence, employment and welfare rights of all 160,000 UK nationals in France, even the event of no deal – but the offer is conditional on Britain offering the same guarantees to French expatriates living in the UK.
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