To obtain a Chinese Visa in France is not easy.

For information
I have been informed by an answering machine that it can only be done in person at Paris, ( I can not speak for the Marseilles office). For my wife and I it means we have had to make an appointment, drive 480 kilometres, stay in a hotel overnight, in the hope that it will be processed in 24 hours, as we have paid for the express service, and then drive back.
There must be an easier way?
NB. As we hold British passports, we applied through the London office two years ago, whilst living in France, and there was no problem. This year we have been refused by London because we live in France.