As part of my request for a ten-year residence card, we expected the police to make a surprise visit to our house. Well, sure enough, when I was out hiking yesterday, they dropped by! Fortunately, Rick had decided to skip this hike, so he was there to let them in, and to answer whatever questions they had.
They looked around the living room, bedroom, closets, and bathroom for evidence that we lived here together. They even saw my breakfast dishes in the sink, and laundry drying on the rack (sigh). I guess I was lucky that cleaning day was just a couple of days ago :-\
They gave us an appointment for this morning (yes, the next day!) to come in to the police station, and a list of documents to bring. We had all but one in our permanent, keep-it-up-to-date dossier. This new one was a written statement (and copy of ID) from a friend or neighbor who could attest that we lived as and where we said. Well, it's difficult to actually get to know your neighbors in an apartment building that is approximately half full of vacation homes. But, one neighbor had happily helped us before, and so we asked again - no problem! In fact, she even knew the person we were being interviewed by, and her boss (who she offered to call to help smooth the way for us)!
This morning, we just made the bus, and got to the Commissariat (police station). I checked us in, and the receptionist said "oh, you're early!" I said "yes" (a bit sheepishly, as it was nearly an entire half hour early). Well, no problem - as at the Mayor's office, they didn't wait for the appointment time; we started our interview just a few minutes after we got there.
Our interviewer was very nice. We went through the documents on our list, she clarified with questions, and put a bunch of info in the computer. She asked just a little bit about us - how long had we been here, had we been in France before, what sort of connection did we still have with the US, what was our religion, what was my career and when did I retire, and what associations and activities did I (we) participate in (she even joked a bit about my hiking club, since she knew that's where I had been yesterday). At the end, she said that her part of my application would go to the préfecture next week, and to not worry about it. Usually, people whose request is denied are 1) recently married, 2) have a big age gap, or 3) come from certain countries (we didn't ask which, and she didn't elaborate).
I don't really know what will happen next, and when - this is now in uncharted territory, since I haven't heard stories from any recent sétois...
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