I suppose it was too much to hope that Jay's carte Vitale was really all signed and sealed and, sure enough, we had not heard the last of it.

Another letter arrived with various forms to fill in (again) and asking for the return of his Carte Vitale so that his own 'dossier' could be prepared.We dutifully completed the forms but kept the Carte Vitale as Jay had further appointments for his foot.

Meanwhile I had occasion to go to the 'Caisse Primaire d'Assurance Maladie' to deliver some medical claim forms and so I asked the man behind the desk if he could clarify the situation. He tapped away on the computer and printed off an 'Attestation' saying Jay was covered on his dad's insurance.

Two days later we received another 'Attestation' saying the same thing. Wonderful. It looked as though the right hand finally knew what the left hand was doing.

But NO. Last week yet another attestation arrived with Jay's NEW number. So he has his own file after all? Well, yes, according to the Charleville office but 'no' according to Monthermé, who returned the claim form from the chiropodist  saying, in effect, that they wouldn't pay until they received a new E121 (meaning that Jay would still be on Whale's insurance).

Today we received  a fourth attestation attached to a new Carte Vitale with Jay's own number on it. I rang the CPAM to ask whether they still wanted an E121 and was told it wasn't necessary. We just had to change the number on the claim form and return it to the Charleville office.

Maybe, just maybe, we have cracked it at last.