Le credit crunch

As has happened in the United States, so in France. The Chateau de la Varvasse near Chanonat in the Auvergne is not selling, despite its current ownership by the former president of France, Valery Giscard d'Estaing.

The C15th chateau has been extensively restored, has 43 rooms, 30 acres and a glass sentry box once occupied by presidential bodyguards, (presumably when it was at the Elysee Palace).

Some believe the reason for the sluggish interest is that it has perhaps been over-restored, (and certainly the top picture does present a Disney-esq image, the second picture less so). But as with all things, price and value are often quite far apart, and many believe the EUR3m price tag is perhaps EUR1m too many.

Giscard is selling because he and his brother have bought another chateau in the village of Estaing, which has finally cemented the right of the Giscard family to be called "Giscard d'Estaing". The d'Estaings were a noble family on his grandmother's side, and the appendage was added to the Giscard name by a decree of the Conseil d'Etat in the 1930s.