As local lawyer Robert Floyd pointed out at a recent meeting of the British Chamber of Commerce, “When you trade in France, you pay in France.” This is a fact than seems to have escaped some in the Riviera’s anglophone community but the BCC is looking at ways to combat the “black tide”. When the dung hits Blackie’s fan I often get a plea for help. “But my accountant in England told me I could do it.” Sorry, he was wrong.

A couple of months ago a local artisan, who said he was “working out of Ireland”, was heavily fined and sentenced to three months imprisonment even though his French earnings were less than 5,000 francs a month. Another illegal tradesman had all his equipment – van, tools, computer, the lot – confiscated before he was fined and deported. “Black” workers can – and should – be attacked in court by legitimate competitors for concurrence déloyale (disloyal competition). France is an expensive place to be in business. You can’t hope to survive if your competitor is not playing on a level field. You wouldn’t let a perfect stranger fill up his supermarket trolley on your credit card, so why should you pay taxes for roads, hospitals, schools and public services that hangers-on benefit from at your expense?

Except for some special cases like foreign airlines and international haulers covered by special agreements, income generated in France must be declared to the French fisc and social agencies. There are no exceptions. Not for intermediaries in property sales and rentals, not for UK declared businesses with or without branch offices here, not for anyone who gets paid for work done on French soil or who generates earnings here.

But we all know how much hanky-panky goes on in reality, right? The coast is swarming with “black” contractors, right? Nobody really gets caught out for doing it on the black, right? Wrong. In the 15 years I’ve been sitting in my editor’s chair I’ve seen dozens – perhaps even hundreds if I had bothered to count them – of people caught, fined and even arrested.

A mere resident’s permit doesn’t give anyone the right to work in France without accomplishing the formalities described on page 19. Perhaps the most tragic victims are the naive “clients” of “black” (and often British) workers. An incident that came to my attention years ago was that of a retired couple in Vence who had taken on a young Englishman to do some gardening for them. The lad chopped off his thumb while pruning their trees. Ambulance, hospital, surgery.... and the bill. But he hadn’t set himself up as a registered gardener, nor had the couple declared him as a domestic employee. In a case like this, the authorities automatically consider him an ipso facto employee of the household who should have checked his legal status. This kindly old couple found themselves with three million francs to pay in fines and medical bills. Their little dream retirement villa was seized and sold at auction. They were ruined.

I’ve seen plenty of other cases like the undeclared chef at a dinner party who set fire to the kitchen and himself. No insurance claim there... the guy wasn’t supposed to be cooking for money. No insurance claim either when scaffolding being used by a “black” house painter collapsed onto his “client’s” new Mercedes. Not long ago I followed a story about a “black” builder who fell off a roof and broke his back. Undeclared, no professional insurance, no legal right to work in France. The house owners are being held responsible and are facing trial at the moment. I can only imagine what they think about the “savings” they made by not taking on a properly declared artisan.

Check out the credentials of anyone you hire and ask him for a photocopy. A carte de séjour is not enough. A company will have a K-Bis and an artisan will have a Carte d’Identification from the Chambre des Métiers. If something goes awry, whether it be accident, inspection du travail control or faulty workmanship claim – or even the fact that the declared artisan wasn’t quite up front with the taxman about how much you paid him – you won’t be held responsible if you can prove your good faith.

Doing it on the black might seem a good idea until the dung starts to fly. Watch out for that fan.

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