Cough up motorists - French motorways need more money

That’s more or less the message the French government sent out this past weekend.

Now, let’s get this straight.

On the whole, drivers have to pay to use motorways in France (the main exception is in Brittany). That’s right, the network of autoroutes consist, for the most part, of toll roads.

And they’re operated and maintained by a number of private companies: the largest being Vinci, which controls around 4,380 kms of motorway.

This being France, of course, the motorways are actually owned by the state and the companies run them along concessionary lines…making a healthy profit along the way, otherwise it wouldn’t be worth their while as private companies are not in business for altruistic or philanthropic reasons.

But when it comes for repairs or upgrades to be made, who do you think coughs up?

The state? Ha ha. It wants to cut back on spending as much as possible.

Those private companies? Not on your proverbial “nelly” as that would eat into their profits and shareholder dividends. And besides, they’ve apparently already invested heavily.

So who’s left?

Think about it - the answer, if you’re reading this and have ever been behind the wheel of a car - is looking right at the screen.

Yep - drivers!

At the weekend the junior minister in charge of transport minister, Alain Vidalies (who? you might well ask) announced that, to finance the necessary roadworks on 30 stretches of motorway dotted up and down the country, the government was going to call on local authorities to foot part of the bill.

Alain Vidalies (screenshot Europe 1 radio interview, June 2016)

And the rest…the rest…will be met by the motorist as the toll charges are set to increase from 0.3% and 0.4% annually during the period 2018-2020.

Great timing - and handy for whichever government might be in power at the time to enforce.

Yes, there might well be good economic arguments for the price hike (and passing it on the consumer or motorist) such as the likely increase in employment building works will necessarily provide, and the government wanted to avoid getting into lengthy and protracted negotiations with the companies that “run” the motorways.

But the timing is pretty crass and, what’s hidden behind what seems at first a reasonable increase, is the fact that it will be in addition to whatever rise in toll prices there might be over the same time period. In other words, it’s an hike on hike yet to be agreed.

Let's play odds and evens - the French government's answer to dealing with high pollution levels in Paris

There's nothing like dealing with a problem when it occurs.

Just ask the French environment minister Philippe Martin.

Philippe Martin (screenshot TF1 news)

Parts of France have been hit by high pollution levels over the past four or five days because of (to put it very simply) the mix of "cold nights and warm days, which have prevented pollution from dispersing".

And what has the environment minister done to deal with the situation?

Well he has waited and watched, announcing that he was "working on sustainable measures to fight against pollution," (yadda, yadda, yadda) and that there would be "an announcement by the summer of a plan to protect the atmosphere of the areas most affected.'

Par for the course really from the man who took over the ministry after his predecessor Delphine Batho was sacked in July 2013, and has faced bad weather conditions with remarkably enterprising resolve coupled with the usual political platitudes

When heavy rain, thunderstorms and hail battered towns in Brittany for weeks on end, Martin was quick to give his expert opinion that "the flooding could be related to climactic disturbances."

Really? Now there's a novel concept.

And during the flooding in Var at the beginning of February, he took to a helicopter to "understand the reasons behind what had happened". How very reassuring.

In fact helicopters and having a look seemed to feature largely in Martin's method of helping out flood victims.

Anyway, back to the high pollution levels. Finally the government has taken a decision.

It announced on Saturday that Paris and its suburbs would be subjected to "alternate driving days" as of Monday because of the continued "high pollution levels" that were expected.

Jean-Marc Ayrault's office even issued a statement saying, "The prime minister is aware of the difficulties that this may cause to the everyday lives of Parisians, but this extra step is necessary."

And get this, Ayrault "trusted in the spirit of responsibility and citizenship of each and every person."

Hello! We're talking Parisians here, deservedly or not, hardly world-renowned for their civility.

The statement wasn't enough though. Martin had a sales job to do and up he popped on TF1 prime time news to give the reasons for decision and brandishing, in  "show and tell" fashion, two licence plates - both old and new - to explain the difference between an odd number and an even one.

Philippe Martin in "show and tell" mode (screenshot TF1 news)

"Public health is what most concerns us here and in spite of the measures taken since the beginning of the week (measures introduced by the local authority in Paris such as free public transport) there's a risk of another rise in pollution levels at the beginning of the week," he said.

"We had to take this decision and we're relying, of course on the responsibility of Parisians which will allow us to cope with the situation," he added, proving he had a) been briefed and b) read the prime minister's official statement before going on air.

 

Local elections in France - Loc-Envel the village in Brittany with one candidate for every five inhabitants

You might remember a couple of weeks ago, a piece about how difficult it was for some villages in France to find candidates to stand for mayor in the upcoming local elections on March 23 and 30.

Well, in the village of Loc-Envel in the département of Côtes-d'Armor in Brittany, there's a problem of quite a different sort.

Too many people, it seems, want to get involved in local politics.

The current mayor, Jacques Le Gorju, has been in the job for the past 20 years but has decided not to run again for office.


At 76 he says he "has done enough" and that his "wife is tired" (???).

Jacques Le Gorju soon-to-be former mayor of Loc-Envel (screenshot Canal + "La Nouvelle Edition")

Now, quite often in small villages in France - and Loc-Envel, with a population of just 80, is one of them - "power", if you will, is handed down from generation to generation.

Or, when a mayor decides not to run again for office, someone else from the current council will head a list made up - well more or less - of the same people who are already in office.

And that might well have been what Le Gorju had been counting on. Someone from the current council would head a list to fill the seven available seats and...basta.

There would be no complaints, no opposition and everyday (political) life would continue just as it always had.

Except neither he, nor any his supporters presumably, counted on a "mutiny" of sorts "within the ranks" as one councillor, the current second deputy mayor Virginie Doyen, decided she had had enough of the old guard and wanted to do things her own way.

The 36-year-old Doyen has put together an opposing list of four other women and two men who will "be motivated" and " bring skills and new ideas to the village."

So electors will have a choice, which can't be a bad thing.

Except divisions are already occurring in the 80-strong community and are likely to lead to a bitter battle.

With just seven places on the council "up for grabs" and two lists of seven candidates, being presented, there is, in a sense, one candidate for every five inhabitants.

And just to add to the fun, as in all villages in France with a population of less than 1,000, Loc-Envel voters can cross out or remove names from lists while voting.

In other words, the count will based on votes cast for each individual and not the lists. 

So who'll end up being mayor or even sitting on the council is...well, just about anybody's guess.

La Nouvelle Edition du 21/02 - Le village aux 14 candidats

Chinese tourists take a roundabout pilgrimage to Lourdes - 800 kms away

It's easily done isn't it?

You arrive at an airport, rent a car, complete with GPS or SatNav, and tap in your destination.

If you're lucky the thing will direct you to exactly where you want to go without any problem.

If you're not, or are hopeless at following instructions, then you could end up taking a route which will allow you to see a little more of the countryside than you had intended.

The chances are though, that you'll eventually reach where you want to be.

Both scenarios of course rely upon your having entered the correct town or city.

But there remains another possible outcome: arriving miles away from your intended journey's end.

(screenshot Mappy  - the green flag is Paris, the yellow one Leuhan, and the red flag is Lourdes)

That's exactly what happened this past weekend to a group of Chinese tourists who had arrived at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris from Los Angeles and decided to hire a car with a GPS, to drive to the southwestern town of Lourdes.

Except they ended up over 800 kilometres away in the village of Leuhan in Brittany, in the west of the country.

As the regional daily Ouest France reported the five women had indeed entered Lourdes into the GPS but they had forgotten to include the number of the département: hence they arrived in the village where the chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes can be found.

An easy mistake to make!

"They got out of their car and asked me where they could find their hotel," Manée Peron, the owner of the village bar-tobacconist Ti Manée, told the newspaper.

"But when I looked at the reservation slip they showed me I saw that they were looking for Lourdes in the southwest of France and I told them they were in completely the wrong place."

Not surprisingly the women were apparently more than a little fed up but reprogrammed their GPS, and were on their way once again...to the correct Lourdes.

Let's just hope their rental contract allowed them unlimited mileage.

French pigs grunt and fart but are also great to eat

Well that's the message pig farmers in northwestern France are trying to get across about the animals they raise to make a living.

screenshot from Les éleveurs de porcs bretons website

Vegetarians move along, this won't appeal.

"Il grogne, il pète, et pourtant grâce à lui vous mangez sain, sûr, bon et breton !" is the slogan the association Les éleveurs de porcs bretons (Brittany pig farmers) has come up with to help update their image.

Or put another way, "It grunts, it farts, but thanks to it you eat healthily, safely, well and what's more it's from Brittany...yes it loses a little something in translation.

It features in an advertising campaign the association will be launching on June 13 with posters being put up in over 400 villages and towns throughout the region and it's an attempt to improve the image of the pig-farming sector among Bretons and at the same time encourage them to eat something so important to the economy of the region.

Appearing on the poster is "David" - a thirty-something, cleancut, boy-next-door type farmer - and alongside him, what TF1 news calls, "A cute piglet reminiscent of the star of the film 'Babe'."

It might be a more than quirky way of trying to counter the image the public has of pig farming, but as the association's press release says that's exactly its intention.

"There's a certain mistrust of pig farmers and that's exactly the kind of public perception we want to change by being deliberately provocative and offbeat," says the release.

"We also want to encourage Bretons to eat a meat that's farmed locally and remind them just how good it is."

And there's also a testimonial from that farmer "David" featured in the campaign.

He is in fact David Riou, a pig farmer from Finistère in the far west of Brittany.

He wants pig farming to break away from the polluting and unhealthy image it has had, but he's aware the sector faces an uphill battle to change peoples' opinions.

"Of course our farms have an impact on the envirnoment and over the years all those headlines about the spreading of manure, nitrates in the water the crisis of green algae have left their mark," he says.

"We've been working for the past 15 years to make sure our environmental impact is lower, but it takes time," he continues.

"For example over the past decade we've lowered by 20 per cent the level of nitrates in our local river, and we mustn't forget that the industry employs around 31,000 people locally."

Pass the apple sauce.