In early December our car was broken into. They took a pillow and the carte grise, (registration). Up until a short time ago, it would have been a simple matter to go to the Mairie (town hall) and within a few minutes depending on the line, we'd have had a new copy.
Not so fast.
The French government in its wisdom (not) decided to centralize the operation. The town halls only had a few days notice.
We were told we could apply on line, but that did not work. We were then told there were certain car dealers that could help.
For 40 Euros one filled in all the information and told us to wait.
We waited, waited, waited, waited, waited, waited.
We read in the newspaper that the system was backed up by about 300,000 applicants.
Then we decided to trade in our 1999 car for a newer model with four doors and air conditioning. We found the perfect model for us, and the car dealer, both a friend a friend and the person who sold us the original car, agreed to scrap the old car for us.
One problem.
Until we had the carte grise, he could not give us the right form to cancel the insurance.
The dealer asked for information.
Friday, some nine months after applying for the replacement it came in the mail. We took it to the car dealer, got the correct form for insurance cancellation and Monday walked it to our insurance agency.
I love our time in France.
I do not love its bureaucracy and its so-called technological improvements.
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