Here below is a copy from that first link you gave.
It does not correspond to what you have been saying. Please have another read through it.
A personal experiencs
The time scale we were told when we first came to France of one year is quite different from what we are now being told, although there are still many different responses given from agents asked to insure British vehicles, even now. And in practice, we have had a UK registered van insured here for six years, having had no problems with insurance cover or when checked by gendarmes etc.
How to re-register a car in France with French plates
Doing anything in France is an exercise in paperwork, so the first thing you need to know is exactly what paperwork you have to assemble with regard to registering a car. You can obtain a list from the local offices of DRIRE (Direction Régionale de l'Industrie, de la Recherche et de l'Environnement), or perhaps as we did, from our insurers. Others have once more found the Mairie to be extremely helpful as regards this too, but it is of course, dependant on the individuals concerned. The steps described below are subject to regional and temporal differences, but provide a description of a likely sequence of events in the registering of a car in France! (See also the feedback in our "Your Comments" section below, where many give their personal experiences.)
1. Registering a car in France - the English bit!
This is the easy bit, as you can do this in English. We were told to notify the DVLA that we were permanently exporting our vehicle to France, and obtained from them a certificate of export, or V561. However, it seems that now all you need do is, before handing over the V5C at the Prefecture, tear off the export section from the V5C and send it off to DVLA. Even this is not strictly necessary though as the French authorities are legally obliged to inform DVLA that a vehicle has been registered in their territory within two months of the event which will prompt DVLA to officially record the vehicle as exported. Note that this is the only notification which will, as neither an export certificate nor the tear off from the V5C are proof of anything
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