Quite a lot of our readers out in the country don’t have access to main drainage. For waste disposal they have what used to be called a cesspit in English, now usually a septic tank. In French that’s une fosse septique or in the jargon of officialdom une filière d’assainissement autonome. Such facilities need to be looked after properly or they start to stink. One way to avoid this is to dose the tank regularly with a product called an activateur, available in supermarkets for a few euros. But now the French equivalent of Health and Safety are on the case. Recently septic tank owners have been receiving notice of forthcoming inspections to make sure their installation is up to standard (if you’ve not yet had this notification, you soon will). You have to pay to be inspected (around €50). If the septic snooper isn’t satisfied you’ll have to have your tank dealt with by a licenced videur (oddly, this word also means “bouncer”). He’ll be asking for around €70 – and that’s also his fee for emptying your fosse which has to be done every four years.

Now a word about chimneys. If they’re not swept regularly – that means once or twice a year, depending on use – they don’t draw properly and the fireplace can start pumping out smoke and even flames. The more soot there is in a chimney, the less efficient your boiler will be and the more fuel it will need. Until not so long ago you could be fined for not having the sweep in once a year. No longer – but be careful: if you can’t produce proof this has been done (certificat de ramonage from a professional sweep) your insurance company may refuse a claim in case of fire. To get the right man in see ramonage in your yellow pages. Note also that some landlords forbid open fires, even if there’s a fireplace. So check your lease. Got all that? Then enjoy Christmas day in front of a crackling log.

From Riviera Reporter Issue 130: Dec 2008/Jan 2009

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