troposurfer
If you've got an FAA IR and want the IMC Rating then you need to send a cheque and a completed app form to the CAA. You also need a UK/JAR PPL for the IMC Rating.
The thing about the French is a proposal to force N-reg aircraft resident in France to re-register to the F register within 6 months. If your aircraft is in the USA for more than 6 months, you have to do the same (go N-reg),
AFAIK. The French proposal would effectively end the N-reg option for French resident pilots. Any country could do the same. The UK CAA have chosen not to do it (yet).