This French Life

Air pollution maps for France

WITH this April breaking many of the weather records for the month, the coming summer looks as though it could be another hot one.

Although you can't beat lazy days in the sunshine, high temperatures can cause stifling conditions in towns and cities, leading to air pollution problems.

Museums open for the night

MORE than 1,400 events will be on offer in the middle of May when museums across France open their doors for the Nuit des Musées.

Public buildings, museums and other institutions will be open to the public free of charge from sunset until one in the morning, on Saturday, May 19.

Tandem tour to raise money

THE twin towns of Stockport and Beziers are going to be linked in a very different way over the next few weeks as two friends undertake a fund raising scheme with a difference.

Brian Anthony and Peter McDonald will be travelling the 1,000 miles between the north west of England and south west France on a tandem, to raise money for the homeless charity Wellspring.

A different view of France

WITH all this talk of politics and elections in the air, I thought I'd point out a different view of France from the cockpit of a light aircraft.

The Times' columnist Charles Bremner took his digital camera with him yesterday when he took a trip in his small Robin Aiglon 1180, setting off from Paris and heading out to the coast.

Air France to raise fuel surcharge

LONG-HAUL flights operated by Air France will see an increase in the fuel surcharge levied on them from May 3.

The airline has said there will be €5 added per journey to the current fee, but the increase does not apply to short-haul and medium-haul flights.

Photographs from France

THERE has been a colourful splash of new photographs added to the This French Life photo album on Flickr, with a couple of discoveries along the way.

This magical, misty picture of the Dordogne river by pussnboots has the look of a classic postcard from years back and I was getting hungry from just looking at another pic of a market stall in Sarlat.

Get your local news online

AS broadband use expands it is getting easier to stay in touch with local news whether you live in France, or have a second home there.

Not only can you keep up to date with what is happening in the area, for example new building projects or cultural events, you will improve your language skills at the same time.

Time for a curry in Paris

FOR many Brits the search for a curry in France sometimes has the feel of a classic adventure with fantastical characters, a mysterious rendezvous or hastily scribbled maps on napkins. But maybe that prize poppadom was beneath their nose all along.

Related article: Curry in France? Just add hot water

Quick story update

TWO stories I recently highlighted have had important updates. The first was about Labrador Coco whose microchip was unreadable when scanned upon entry into the UK.

Well after the chip was removed and sent to the manufacturers, the unique code has been traced and Coco is set to be back home in the next couple of days.

The second story was about riots in Toulouse where journalist Graham Holliday was asked to delete his photographs by police, he refused and has since written up an interesting article about new rules that may restrict the use of cameras on French streets.

Getting a true sale price

AN important thing to remember when buying a property in France is that it could be on the market with more than one estate agent.

So finding out once you've signed for your new home that it was up for sale for a few thousand euros less with another agent would test the resolve of anyone.