CHÂTEAU DE PARENTIGNAT, France—For Count Dominique de Causans
helping fellow aristocrats in distress is a noble cause.  "It is
not easy to be a noble in modern France," he said as he
addressed a crowd of fellow nobles at a recent gathering at this
18th-century château. "We have to carry the values of the
nobility, set an example and prove [to be] irreproachable."
Nobles mingling in a castle, talking about unemployment? At an
event by the Association for the Mutual Assistance of the French
Nobility, aristocrats got help on how to make it through hard
times. WSJ's Max Colchester reports from France.  Seeking to
offer a helping hand is the Association for the Mutual
Assistance of the French Nobility. The Paris group helps down-
and-out nobles rediscover some of the glory. It takes legal
action against commoners trying to claim noble names, pays the
school fees of promising young nobles and offers an informal
meeting service to single nobles.  "The problem with France is
that there is no king," says Count de Raff