Will British expat entrepreneurs stay in France post-Brexit?

British entrepreneurs have transformed many of France’s rural areas, but will they be able to stay post-Brexit?

The French countryside with its charming towns and villages has been a magnet for Britons over the past decades with many starting their own businesses and benefiting locals as well as the expat community. Long-term expats have brought renewal to many local French villages where young people have left for life in the big cities. One such village is Verteillac, set in France’s southwest and typical of the region with its market square, church, bakery, meat market and two barber shops, all factored in the white limestone quarried in the area.

However, this charming little place isn’t quite as typical as it seems at first glance as 40 per cent of its 650 residents are British expats, happy to contribute to the local economy and the community. How many will be able to stay once Brexit is finalised is now the burning question. It’s still quite possible that Brexit may deal a death blow to the village’s economy, as a number of local businesses were started by Britons who opted for life in the slow lane in order to fulfil their dreams of France.

One expat restaurant owner took over her parents’ holiday home in the village when her father died before he could retire on a full pension. She believes sorting out the Brexit mess will take years, and fears for the consequences for expat residents, their businesses and the village itself. Another Brit, a real estate agent in a nearby town, says panic-buying is in full swing as Britons believe they’ll not be able to after next March.

France is now home to over 200,000 British expats, with many utilising their skills to start their own businesses, ending up paying taxes and spending their cash in the small communities of which they’ve become a part. The tranquillity of rural France is what attracts them, just as it drives French youth away to the nearest buzzing city and, should the many rural expat communities be forced to leave, the villages themselves may die.