A fibre optic line will run
alongside the A75 to speed
up computer connections in
the south. Nearly half of the
€4.2 million is being funded
by the EU with contributions
from the state and half a
million from the region.
A group has revived a tried
and tested concept by
forming a new association,
Knights of the Languedoc,
which will meet for
lunch/dinner a few times a
year. The original Friday
Knights, formed in 1996 to
combine contributing to
charity with dining with
Anglophones, lapsed two
years ago. The new Knights’
first event will be a Summer
Ball on Thursday June 19 at
l’Argentière in Montblanc.
Info Pat 04 67 77 14 66 or
Margaret 04 67 24 14 36
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The fight against the plan to run a
high-voltage electricity line over the
Pyrénées into Spain may be coming to
an end. The Environment Minister Jean-
Louis Borloo announced in May that it
will not run overhead as proposed, but
underground and/or under the sea.
In April, Professor Mario Monti
(European mediator) and M. Borloo
announced the findings of the feasibility
study: the line was to run between
Baixas (near Perpignan, France) and
Santa Llogaia (near Figueres, Spain).
Professor Monti promised
compensation proposals but stressed the
need for better security of the power
supply between the Iberian peninsula
and the rest of Europe.
Even the downpours of rain couldn’t
dampen the matadors’ spirits at the
Ferias de Nîmes this year. The town’s
annual May bullfighting festival was a
mass of street fairs, river jousting,
battles of the bands and flamenco
dancing. Bodegas and Spanish-style
tapas bars stayed open until four in the
morning (with special permission from
the mairie) and the lanes around the
Roman amphitheatre were packed with
visitors – most of them from Spain.
This year’s celebrations attracted
five matadors who had been given
awards (ears/tails etc) at the big Sevilla
fair. Conde, Castella and Tomas are
three of the world’s top matadors and
Nîmes considers itself one of the top
five ‘Spanish’ bullfighting festivals in
the world. One corrida in the 20,000-
seater amphitheatre was sold out within
hours of the tickets going on sale.
Tickets for the entire five-day
run were on sale for €850. Bookings
are already being taken for next
year’s festival.
At the end of this season,
the Dragons’ trainer
Mick Potter is
off to new
pastures –
Lancashire,
to be precise.
Australian
Potter, 44,
has
been
head-trainer at the
Perpignan club since
April 2006 but recent club
success has raised his profile. Now, Merseyside team Saint-
Helens has negotiated a deal to lure him away from France.
Apart from the sporting challenge, family considerations are
said to be high on his list of reasons for a move to the UK.
While in France, his family’s opportunities for work and
study have been restricted by the language.
Fellow Australian Kevin Walters, from the prolific
Brisbane rugby family, is due to take over at the end of the
season and it is hoped that the club success will continue
under his trainership. At the time of writing, the club is third
in the Super League, the peak of their performance so far.
Nice’s Sacred Music Festival has been a highlight of
the city’s musical year for more than three decades.
Among innovations this year is the first appearance
of the singing nun, Sister Marie Keyrouz, who will
perform with the Ensemble de la Paix on the
opening night. For the first time also, the festival
will include a performance at the opera house, in
this case of Mahler’s 9th symphony with the Nice
Philharmonic conducted by its musical director
Marco Guidarini. As a finale, Gilbert Bezzina
directs the Nice Baroque Ensemble, augmented
by two orchestras, two choirs, two organs and
several soloists in a performance of J S Bach’s
‘St Matthew Passion’.
June 13 to 22. Further information about the
programme is available from 04 97 13 23 95 and
tickets go on sale from June 3.
In response to the
humanitarian crisis in Burma
following the devastation
caused by Cyclone Nargis,
Prince Albert II of Monaco
has authorised an additional
€125,000 of emergency aid
to that country. Latest figures
suggest that the death toll
may be near 85,000, with as
many as 50,000 still missing
and as many as one million
people displaced; in some
areas, as much as 95% of
homes have been destroyed.
Further to recent articles in French News about women's pensions, the UK Department of Work and Pensions has issued a press release explaining that "women pensioners could boost their state pension or even be in line for a windfall payment under special terms.
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