A letter to our readers

Introducing Agate, a pay-per-view ‘wallet’ giving you access to our premium articles

Dear readers,

You may have noticed the little green triangle floating in the top left corner of your screen when you visit Complete France. Don’t worry, it’s not aliens or anyone trying to steal your online identity!

We have teamed up with Agate to provide some of our articles on a pay-per-view basis. Unlike other websites where you get a few free articles and then need to subscribe, this easy-to-use system features a ‘wallet’. Once you’ve put money into your wallet, you can start reading our ‘premium’ articles. They only cost 25p per article, and the amount you pay will be capped at £1 per week.

We work hard bringing you articles and news covering everything about France, from travel to buying a property, and expat advice to food and wine. As it says on the label – this is your ‘complete France’. We’re always striving to improve everything we do, but we can’t do all of this for free.

Premium articles will also include some from our magazines, which of course you can only usually get by buying single copies or subscribing. In this way, we hope to open up more of our print content to our online audience. We understand that nowadays people like to choose the content they consume from a variety of outlets – much like browsing the internet. With the Agate system, you will also be able to access content from other websites on this platform.

Readers with existing digital subscriptions to our magazines will not have to pay a penny. Just register your details with Agate to gain unrestricted access to everything on the website.

For those of you just discovering CompleteFrance.com, or just starting out on your love affair with France, this also offers the chance to try before you buy. To see our great magazine (print and digital) subscription offers, click here.

CompleteFrance.com has been experiencing continuing growth; we know you want to read all about France, and we want to continue to be able to provide you with high-quality journalism.

Best wishes,

Karen Tait

Group Editor, Complete France

FAQs

We want to ensure you know everything you need to know about living and working in France – French culture, holidays in France and buying and selling French property. We will now be charging for some of our best articles on the Complete France website. We are working with Agate to allow readers to view those articles without a subscription: to read them will only cost you 25p per article, and no more than £1.00 a week

What are we going to charge for?

Some articles will continue to be free, and some premium articles will be charged at 25p an article, but you will never pay more than £1.00 a week.

How do I pay?

When you first hit a paid-for article on the Complete France website, you will find instructions guiding you through the process of setting up an Agate account.

It’s a simple process and takes no longer than two minutes to complete. Agate don’t ask for a lot of personal data – just your email address, and a password.

Then, top up your wallet with as little as £3, and off you go.

I’m already a subscriber… do I have to pay again?

If you already have a digital subscription to FRANCE magazine, French Property News or Living France you will need to register an Agate wallet, but you will not need to top up your wallet, or pay to read. Simply enter your subscription number so that Agate can recognise you as a subscriber.

If you are a print subscriber then upgrade to include the digital editions to your subscription for just £5 and you will gain free access to the premium content. Just call 01858 438840 and quote Upgrade.

If you later decide you buy a subscription – no problem – Agate allows you to enter your subscription details at any time.

Why has Complete France partnered with Agate?

We want you to experience the best of France, but to do this we do need to find a sustainable business model. We understand that not everyone is ready to commit to a subscription, so Agate allows you to pay per article. Agate helps us to give you more ways to enjoy what we write about France.

Which is cheaper, paying per article or a subscription to the magazine?

You have a choice depending on how often you like to read Complete France.

Paid-for articles cost 25p, but if you read 4 articles in a seven-day period, then the whole site is free for the rest of the week.

If you’re an avid reader, then an annual subscription will work out cheaper for you.