AROUND 5,000 people attended an anti-shale gas protest in Cahors over the weekend, joining others across France in opposition to the plans.
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Big turn out at anti-shale gas protest in Cahors
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Shale gas ‘worse than coal’ for climate
The new kid on the energy block, shale gas, may be worse in climate change terms than coal, a study concludes.
via www.bbc.co.uk
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Cockleshell Heroes remembered on the Gironde
A MEMORIAL has been unveiled at la Pointe de Grave (map), at the mouth of the Gironde estuary, marking a World War Two mission by British Royal Marines.
Operation Frankton involved a 105 mile journey in December 1942 undertaken by a team of ten soldiers, with two men to a canoe, to attach limpet mines to ships in the port at Bordeaux.
The France 3 television channel reports on the unveiling of a memorial plaque marking the mission which was described as suicidal, but which Winston Churchill said shortened the war by six months.
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Cycling in the shadow of Marie-Antoinette
FOR her latest book Susie Kelly takes to her bike to follow the route taken by Marie-Antoinette and Louis XVI when they tried to escape the Revolution.
After writing about her walking adventure from La Rochelle to Geneva (Best Foot Forward, pub. Bantam 2003) and driven the entire circumference of France (A Perfect Circle, pub. Bantam 2006), Susie and her husband hop on their bikes.
The Valley of Heaven and Hell heads out of Versailles to the vineyards and champagne cellars of Epernay and Reims, and continues through the little-documented Marne valley, the scene of unimaginable horror and devastation during World War One.
Susie’s book is available in a number of formats, including .pdf and Kindle versions, and 25 per cent of royalties are to be donated to Cancer Research and Tower Hill Stables Animal Sanctuary.
Related: Review of a Perfect Circle
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Keep an eye out for ticks
I HAVE just got back in from a walk with the dog and picked three ticks off her coat, and will be keeping me eyes peeled for others from now on.
Ticks can pose real dangers to your pets, but also to people themselves, so as the days get warmer the chance of seeing some of these beasties increases.
Diseases such as leishmaniasis, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis and heartworm can prove fatal to your pets so precautions should be taken.
It is possible to buy Frontline spray-on and spot treatment that can be applied to cats and dogs, make sure your pet doesn’t try and shake it off once applied.
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Septic tank changes for property sales in France
SINCE the turn of the year a report on the condition of a property’s septic tank, if it has one, has been necessary before a house sale.
Here Keith Lacey, owner of a waste water and sewage treatment business based in the Mayenne, takes a look at this new addition to the Dossier de Diagnostic Technique (DDT).
Keith has provided an English language translation of the legislation titled Grenelle II, of 12 juillet 2010.
The Sanitation Diagnostic
For the sake of the ecological preservation of the environment and its water resources, the law in France requires every seller prove the proper functioning of personal sanitation. -
Fighting shale gas plans in the Lot
OPPOSITION is growing against plans to begin exploratory operations for shale gas (gaz de schiste) in the Lot region of south west France.
Websites Say No to Shale Gas and Schiste Happens are warning that if drilling begins then the environmental damage from the activity could poison water courses, see drills dotted across the countryside and ruin the lives of many.
The exploratory plans are titled the Permis de Cahors and covers a region that extends from north of Montauban, past Cahors and towards Brive la Gaillarde.
The permit is held by a company called 3 Legs Oil and Gas, which is a subsidiary of 3Legs Resources, who have offices in the Isle of Man and Poland, where they have undertaken shale gas extraction.
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Where are the nuclear power stations in France?
THE distressing news from Japan about the dangerous levels of radiation from its stricken nuclear reactors has seen questions asked of France’s own nuclear industry.
The domestic electricity industry in France is dominated by nuclear power with the country obtaining around 80% of its needs from nuclear reactors.
France turned to nuclear power in the 1950s and its first plant came online in 1973.
And the pace of building power plants across France has continued unabated, with 19 complexes dotted across the country that are host to 58 nuclear reactors.
The EDF website features a map showing the location of each one that stretch from Gravelines in the north, just 20km from Calais, to Golfech in the south west between Agen and Toulouse.
Both the official nuclear authority website Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire has information on the incidents in Japan, while the independent monitoring group CRIIRAD is also keeping readers up to date.
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Le Cuvage project turns into a grand design
OUR journey continues with Le Cuvage. This pressoir, or wine-making barn was very large, and superbly situated with amazing panoramic views across open farmland and the southern Beaujolais hillside, writes Brian Franklin. -
Compare French petrol prices on the web
I HAVE written about it in the past but if you want to check the price of petrol then drop in on the Prix des Carburants en France site.
Petrol prices only seem to be heading north at the moment, with SP95 around €1.50 a litre, so the site may help you track down cheaper filling stations.
The site is run by the French government and collects data from thousands of filling stations across the country.