This French Life

Author: Craig McGinty

  • Names of seven shale gas permits blocked, includes Cahors

    Click to expand, Shale Gas CahorsFOLLOWING the announcement by François Hollande on the blocking of seven shale gas permits in France, the website of the Ministry of Ecology has been updated.

    The seven projects blocked are Brignoles; Montélimar; Lyon-Annecy; Montfalcon; Cahors; Valence and Beaumont-de-Lomagne.

    You will see on each of the pages linked to above, section four features the decision made on each project, and in these cases they finish with arrêté d’attribution du permis / lettre de rejet although there is no link to the actual letter featuring the rejection decision.

    Personally, the border of the Cahors permit went very close to where I live and so I’ve been keen to follow the progress of planned gaz de schiste projects.

    And while it is good news to see shale gas plans blocked, the newsletter of a French protest group I’ve read is calling on people to remain vigilant as they believe industry lobby groups will not walk away and accept defeat.

  • Hollande pulls plug on shale gas permits

    DURING a government backed conference on the environment in Paris, François Hollande, has said seven permits for shale gas exploitation will be cancelled.

    There is no detail on the exact permits being cancelled, the website of the Ministry of Ecology will hopefully provide more detail soon.

    And at the same conference the president has said that the nuclear plant at Fessenheim, in Haut-Rhin, will close by 2016, stressing that no jobs will be lost.

    The Fessenheim plant is the oldest operational power station in France and was the scene of an accident earlier this month when a vapour leak injured two staff members.

  • Tips and advice on knitting in French

    French-knittingWITH a bit of a cool chill in the mornings, your thoughts may be turning to one or two advanced preparations before autumn tumbles in.

    If you enjoy knocking your knitting needles together then thanks to regular reader of This French Life, Gina, here is a website that will help you with some of the French phrases involved.

    The Chez Plum site offers ‘knits with a French twist’ and features tips and advice on knitting, as well as free and paid for patterns.

    But one page on the site, Knitting from the French, may prove useful if you are out in a French market and need to decipher patterns, there is also a dictionary on the site to help work out different terms.

  • First signs of autumn in the Dordogne countryside

    Autumn-leaves
    THERE is a touch of autumn chill in the air when taking the dog out for a walk in the morning.

    The local farmer walks past, following an overnight rain shower, most probably on the look out for cèpe mushrooms as he is armed with his wooden walking stick to fold back the bracken hoping to tease out the bun shaped fungus.

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  • One man, one mower from Bergerac to John O’Groats

    Mowerthon
    IN October Phil Voice will be setting off from Bergerac, in south west France, and head to John O’Groats in Scotland to raise money for horticulture charity Perennial.

    And he will be doing it on a ride-on lawnmower.

    Phil’s Mowerthon campaign will rack up more than 2,000km on an Etesia H124 mower that is being developed in France to include a heated cabin to beat the unpredictable British weather.

    But there is a serious side to the adventure as Phil is raising money for Perenial (Royal Gardeners’ Benevolent Society) which provides free, confidential advice and support to everyone, and their families, working in, or retired from working in horticulture.

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  • French farmyard tales for younger readers

    Farm-talesA FARMYARD in north western France is the backdrop for Susan Keefe’s second book, which tells the tale of Billy and Daisy’s Big Adventure on Amazon.

    The book is the first in a new series of children’s Kindle ebooks, titled Fantasy Farm Tales that promise to tell the stories found in the barns and fields of every farmyard.

    “Having been bought a Kindle for Christmas by my daughter, I soon realised what an amazing tool this was and quickly became aware that it was becoming a very popular way of publishing a book,” Susan said.

    “Living here, surrounded by all the animals is very inspirational and I decided it would be nice to write a series of smaller books for Kindle, which were easily affordable and suitable for younger, pre-school children to have read to them, and for children up to about the age of ten to read themselves.”

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  • Shale gas plans in France

    Shale-gas-franceOPPOSITION is strong across France to plans to begin the extraction of shale gas, or gaz de schiste, which can cause pollution to the water table and threatens the surrounding countryside.

    Here is a collection of some of the articles I have written on the website covering shale gas issues across France, but also those in the Lot and the Dordogne local to me.

    Ban on shale gas fracking remains in place
    Constitutional Council turns down challenge from drilling firm to overturn ban on shale gas drilling in France.

    Gas drilling plan for Permis de Brive blocked
    Application to begin exploration for gaz de houille, or coal gas, covering the Permis de Brive in south west France has been blocked.

    Mining company set to get go ahead for Permis de Brive
    Hexagon Gaz looked upon favourably by French government to begin exploration for gaz de houille, or coal gas.

    Names of seven shale gas permits blocked, includes Cahors
    François Hollande has said that he will block seven shale gas permits in France.

    Transparency on oil and gas drilling plans introduced
    It has been made much easier to track down planned oil and gas drilling operations in France.

    Petition to block shale gas permit in south west France
    The fight continues to block exploratory work on shale gas deposits, or gaz de schiste, at locations across France.

    Total continues shale gas studies in south of France
    Oil company Total has said it will continue to explore the potential of gaz de schiste, or shale gas, fields in the south of France.

    Big turn out at anti-shale gas protest in Cahors
    Around 5,000 people attended an anti-shale gas protest in Cahors over the weekend, joining others across France in opposition to the plans.

    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.

  • Shale gas protest planned for Tour de France

    Click to expand, Shale Gas CahorsTHE Tour de France heads up through the Lot region on Friday July 20, and opponents of the shale gas (gaz de schiste) plans for the region will be out in force as well.

    The route heads out of Blagnac, in Toulouse, and stretches for just over 200km to Brive-la-Gaillarde, in Corrèze.

    And protesters intend to take the opportunity of the passing of Le Tour to voice their opposition to proposals to drill for shale gas in the Lot impacting on the nearby Dordogne region.

    Road painting and banners will be prominently displayed between Payrac and Souillac, with some protesters planning on wearing gas masks, on a section of the road that heads uphill on a category four climb.

    The exploratory plans for shale gas extraction 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 already undertaken shale gas extraction.

  • Dordogne river basin recognised by Unesco

    Dordogne-unesco
    THE vast expanse of the Dordogne river basin has been recognised by Unesco as an area of special importance for research into sustainable development.

    The Bassin de la Dordogne has been added to the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR), which now includes 598 reserves in 117 countries.

    The Dordogne’s catchment area provides an example of great biodiversity, from mountainous landscapes to one of the biggest estuaries in Europe.

    Unesco highlighted how the river played an important role in the economy due to the tourism industry being based around the Dordogne’s heritage and natural landscape, which works alongside agriculture and forest exploitation.

    Related: Coal mines of northern France recognised by Unesco

  • Loubejac farmers market sets out its stalls

    Loubejac-night-market

    The night market in Loubejac takes place every Thursday during the summer months
    ON Thursday the popular night market beneath Loubejac’s church tower returns for July and August (map).

    From around 6.30pm, and with the Dordogne countryside stretched before you, chairs and long tables are laid out close to the small church and people arrive with their knives and forks, paper plates and cups for a glass of red.

    Local food and drink producers offer duck, breads, soups, salads, wine, fruits of all types and you can sit down with friends to enjoy a leisurely evening.

    This southern corner of the Dordogne will host similar events, sometimes featuring live music, but always offering a slice of real French life.

    There is a Marchés des Producteurs website which looks to promote some of the events taking place across France.