EU acts to defend voting rights of expats in France Will Brits soon be able to vote without any restrictions on the time they have spent abroad? Published: 29 Jan 2014 15:38 GMT+01:00 Updated: 29 Jan 2014 15:38 GMT+01:00 British and Irish expats in France who are fighting to hold on to the right to vote in their home countries were finally handed a boost by the European Commission on Wednesday. But will it change anything? Expats living in other European countries should be given the right to vote in general elections - even if they've been abroad for years - the European Commission said on Wednesday. Under current rules, British citizens lose the vote if they have lived outside the UK for 15 years. Irish and Danes have to prove they mean to return to the country within a certain period of time. The British Community Committee of France, which has been campaigning for over 40 years for the abolition of all restrictions on British expats' voting rights, welcomed the news on Wednesday. Former Chairman Christopher Chantrey OBE said: " It is difficult to be proud of a Britain which discriminates against its own citizens on the grounds of where they live in the EU, so the sooner the government repeals this unfair, arbitrary law, the better. While the most vocal campaigners want people to keep the vote in their home countries, others such as the Let Me Vote campaign say European citizens should be able to vote in the EU country in which they live. The scandal swirling around provocative French comic Dieudonné kicked off again on Wednesday, a day after a police raid on his property reportedly turned up €660,000 in cash. His lawyer said it was part of an organized "hunt" of his client. What ten things does Google tell us about France and the French? Photo: Flickr/Wikimedia Commons/The Local The French are always eager to know what the world thinks of them and their country, especially Anglos. So rather than spending weeks sending out thousands of questionaires, who better to tell us than Google's autocomplete function. Here's our top ten. Which country has toppled France for the world leader of red wine drinking, according to a new report. If you figured the French have to be the biggest consumers of red wine in the world, then guess again. A new study put the French in second place, behind a new leading vin rouge guzzler that might surprise you. 'Bosnapping' workers strike again in France, although the bosses are almost certainly not being held in handcuffs. Photo: V1ctor Casale/Flickr Workers facing lay off and hoping to win themselves a better severance package, became the latest French employees to kidnap their bosses as a bargaining tactic. Workers at a printing factory nabbed the bosses on Tuesday evening, and are holding them 'without violence.' Unconfirmed reports in Ffrance say Michael Schumacher is slowly beng brought out of a coma. Michael Schumacher, is slowly being brought out of an artificial coma by doctors a month after his near fatal skiing accident in the French Alps, French newspaper L'Equipe has claimed. Schumacher's spokeswoman called the report "speculation" but did not eny it. French MPs took a big step on Tuesday toward making regional linguists very happy. France's sacred notion of protecting its own language has meant it has little room for its other regional tongues. But on Tuesday MPs in the National Assembly finally took a big step towards promoting a key part of the country's cultural diversity, that has long been resisted. A French air traffic controller strike on Thursday could mean delays for travellers. Photo: Carl Court/AFP It could be a bumpy ride on Thursday if you're planning to fly in or out of France. Air traffic controllers have called a strike, which is set to result in a 20 percent reduction in traffic around the Paris region. Find out if you might be affected. Two French school students who ran away to fight in Syria were back home this week with some explaining to do to their bewildered parents, teachers and the police.