French town seeks elephant ban from beach

Yes you read correctly. The mayor of a French town wants to slap a ban on elephants tramping along its beach.

On the northwestern coast of France in the department of Manche there's a small town called Granville - population around 13,000.

It dates back to the 12th century and is of course steeped in history, much of it military and religious, plus it has plenty of sites worth more than a cursory visit.

There's also a harbour and a beach, which all-in-all makes it a pretty good holiday destination for many especially as the country is in the midst of a heatwave.

The ideal place to combine culture with a suntan and grab some relief from temperatures in the mid-30s.

A visiting circus is about to throw open its doors, which of course under normal circumstances wouldn't hit the national headlines.

That is if it were not for the mayor of the town attempting to take a decision that quite frankly meets most of the criteria necessary for filling column inches and making the airwaves during what is traditionally the season for silly news.

You see Daniel Caruhel wants to ban elephants from walking on the town's Hérel beach.

Perhaps not a common problem in this particular part of the world but one which, when the circus is in town, presents a potential health hazard as far as the mayor is concerned.

And it's nothing to do with the size of the beasts - well no directly at least. More the dimensions of what they leave behind.

Caruhel doesn't seem to have anything against the pachyderms per se, it's just that past experience has apparently forced him to take steps.

"There's no doubt that it's pleasant having elephants around but their presence is a disaster for the quality of the bathing water," he says.

"Last year two circuses came to town and set up shop opposite the beach and their (the elephants') deposits led us to having to close the beach twice."

Ahem.

There is a serious side to the story of course, as Granville is situated in a part of the channel separating France from Britain, which has regularly been affected by pollution and especially illegal fuel discharges into the sea.

But as yet elephants haven't really featured high on the list of polluters and as Stéphane Gistau, one of the directors of the Amar circus points out, the town is unlikely to be knee deep in elephant dung during its two-day stay.

"The sea has suffered from the effects of pollution for years, and now the authorities want to ban our animals from the beach just for leaving behind a few droppings," he says.

"It's a shame as it gives people the chance to see the animals up close for nothing, but now they'll have to pay the two euros to come and visit them at the circus."

Air France to launch auction for its inaugural A380 flights

If you're an aeroplane enthusiast living in France, November 20 is perhaps a date to mark in your diary.

That's the date for the inaugural flight of Air France's first Airbus A380, and the company is planning to sell seats on the 'plane, which will fly from Paris to New York, to the highest bidders.

A similar auction will be held for the flight connecting the City of Light with the Big Apple for the following day.

The proceeds from the ticket sales will go to three charities backed by the Fondation Air France (Air France Foundation) , which "supports projects that benefit children and young people who are ill, disabled or destitute in France or in other parts of the world where Air France is present."

You can't actually start bidding yet though. The auction won't take place until the beginning of October, but already those who are interested can pop along to the company's web site and register their email address.

While the flight will undoubtedly be a treat for those who would like to spoil themselves, just have to be among the first do anything and have the spare cash (and time) available to pay more than the going rate, the return trips will be on another 'plane.

The airline is trying hard to make the "offer" sound enticing, pointing out that successful bidders will be "The first to make the flight across the Atlantic in an A380 flying the Air France colours" and can "Take advantage of an 'exclusive programme' comprising shopping, private sales and a selection of galleries and museums."

But perhaps the best reason for bidding in the first place would be that it's all in a good cause.

There again, if you can wait just a couple of days or are planning to make a trip to New York later, you could find yourself booked on the superjumbo, as the first Air France commercial flight from Paris to New York is scheduled for November 23.

Those seats are apparently being snapped up with only around 130 places remaining.

"We started discreetly selling tickets for those flights last week and then earlier this week opened the sale officially," a representative for the airline told the national daily Libération.

"Half the 'plane is already full with travellers who didn't realise they would be booked on the A380, but thought that they would be taking the usual 'plane (used for the route) - a Boeing 777."

Air France has ordered a total of 12 superjumbos and by spring 2010 plans to have four of them in operation serving three other long-haul destinations alongside New York; Johannesburg, Dubai and Tokyo.

At the moment only three other companies fly the A380; Emirates, Qantas and Singapore Airlines.

The first commercial flight of the superjumbo was with Singapore Airlines in October 2007.

Sarkozy: Popularity and death threats - a newsday in the life of a president

The two stories are unrelated, but both broke on the same day here in France, and centre on the country's president, Nicolas Sarkozy.

Treat it as "two for the price of one" if you will.

On the same day a poll was released indicating a rise in Sarkozy's popularity, there was also news that he had been sent another letter, with a bullet, threatening both his life and that of members of his family.

First that poll, which as any sceptic will know can always be interpreted in more than one way.

For sure there have been plenty of them released with alarming regularity ever since Sarkozy entered office in May 2007.

And while most in recent months have put him at, or around, the 40 per cent mark, the latest one, conducted by the research institute, Conseils Sondages Analyses CSA) on behalf of the the weekly news, celebrity (how appropriate you might be thinking) and leisure magazine Vendredi, Samedi, Dimanche (VSD) shows a reversal in that trend.

Asked the simple question, "Is he a good president?" 53 per cent of those questioned said "Yes". That's a whopping 12 point increase from a similar poll in May.

The explanation as far as Jean-Daniel Lévy from CSA is concerned is perhaps the timing of the poll. It's the first one to appear since Sarkozy's "malaise" or "nerve attack" as some media outlets first reported it, last month.

"After being taken ill, one could have expected the following reaction, 'The president is overdoing it'," he says.

"On the contrary though, the French seem to think that it's a sign of how much effort he (Sarkozy) puts into everything and the increase in popularity is an indication of how much he 'gives' the country," he adds.

"The fact that he shows some weaknesses and recognises like the rest of the world them just makes him more likeable."

No comment perhaps.

While the poll's findings might make pleasant beach reading for the French president as he relaxes in the south of France, the news that "Le Corbeau" is back to his old habits certainly won't.

That's the nickname given to the person (or people) who earlier this year sent letters containing death threats and a bullet to Sarkozy and a number of top-ranking political figures (you can read more about that here).

This week another letter, also containing a bullet and further threats to Sarkozy and his family, was intercepted before it had made its way to the Elysée palace.

It was discovered at the central sorting office in the southern city of Montpellier, the same source of the previous letters, and immediately handed over to the anti-terrorist squad in Paris.

Alongside the threats aimed at the French president, several other high profile political figures are also reportedly mentioned, including the current and former culture ministers, Frédéric Mitterrand and Christine Albanel.

In March, a 47-year-old military reservist from Montpellier was taken in for questioning after being "denounced" by his former girlfriend, but later released without being charged.