This French Life

What to do if you lose something at Paris airports

WHEN travelling through one of the main Paris airports, Charles de Gaulle or Orly, what can you do if you lose an item of luggage or personal belongings such as a digital camera or mobile phone?

The Aéroports de Paris website has a lost property section that lets you track down the correct people to contact dependent upon where your think your item was lost.

So if you lost something whilst transferring from the plane to the baggage area then you'd contact your airline, if it was in an airport toilet or the check-in area then you can complete an online form that goes through to staff at Aéroports de Paris.

After a period of time items are sent on to the Paris police office and their lost property service, who again offer tips on possibly finding your things through their site.

Websites help find your préfecture, sous-préfecture or mairie

IF you are new to a corner of France and need to get up to speed with the administrative side of things you will need to know where your préfecture or sous-préfecture is.

The Ministry of the Interior website has a section that will help you find your local offices.

The votre préfecture page asks you to enter your post code and returns the offices local to you, with the préfecture at the top of the page and sous-préfectures below.

And if you need to find the local mairie drop in on the Service-Public website and track down the address via a map or choose your département number with the drop-down list.

Ryanair to add €2 fee to all tickets

AN additional fee of €2 will be added to every ticket Ryanair sells from Monday, April 4, which it says will help fund costs it faces from the European Union's EU261 legislation which offers passengers compensation.

The legislation ensures that compensation is payable to airline passengers in Europe who face delays or cancellation of flights.

But Ryanair say that they have faced costs of €100m arising from flight cancellations, delays and providing right to care, compensation and legal expenses.

So from Monday an additional €2 fee will be added to tickets, and Ryanair say the regulations should be amended to relieve airlines of the burden of providing care in cases where the cancellations and/or delays are clearly not the responsibility or fault of the airlines.

Current regulations provide passengers with compensation dependent upon the distance involved, and further details can be found on the European Air Passengers Rights website.

French nuclear power safe, says report

France’s Nuclear Safety Authority has given the country’s nuclear installations a clean bill of health. Its annual report, presented to the French Parliament on Wednesday, declared them “fairly satisfactory” and officials say that is a pass mark in the nuclear exam.

via www.english.rfi.fr

Domestic gas prices to increase 4.9%

AS feared the price of household gas will increase by 4.9 per cent on April 1, a further blow for the six million consumers in France whose homes are warmed with gas heating.

This increase means prices have risen 21 per cent in the past year.

The Commission de régulation de l'énergie (CRE) say that GDF Suez will be able to introduce the price increase due to the rising costs of supply.

This news comes soon after EDF warned electricity prices may increase by five per cent per annum over the next five years, and the cost of staple foods were also heading up.

French local election gains for socialists and far-right - The Guardian

France's opposition Socialist party comprehensively won local elections Sunday as the far-right National Front surged, between them pressuring Nicolas Sarkozy a year before he faces the electorate.

via www.guardian.co.uk

Details of the second round of results can be found at Elections Cantonales 2011.

Protest against shale gas plans in Cahors

AROUND 1,000 people voiced their opposition to plans that could see exploratory operations for shale gas (gaz de schiste) in the Lot take place.

The dramatic Pont de Valentré, Cahor's 14th Century bridge, was the back drop of the silent march against the shale gas plans.

The plans in the Lot are titled the Permis de Cahors and covers a region that extends from north of Montauban, past Cahors and towards Brive la Gaillarde.

Shale gas drilling involves the injection of high pressure fluids into the rock, forcing the gas to the service, but it's a technique that leaves many questions behind.

Worries over where the fluids eventually end up are high, as examples in the US exist of the water table being poisoned and the countryside being damaged.

The silent march in Cahors was one of a number of protests and information evenings that have taken place recently in the region as opposition grows.

Related article: Fighting shale gas plans in the Lot

Websites:
Say No to Shale Gas and Schiste Happens

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

Museum dedicated to Munster Cheese opening soon

CHEESE, cheese glorious cheese is what's on offer at the La Maison du Munster, a new museum dedicated to Munster Cheese.

Opening on April 2, the museum will offer visitors a new view of the history and production of the local cheese.

Visitors will be able to view an authentic reconstruction of a Munster Cheese farm, where they can witness the production of the cheese step-by-step.

Jet2.com open sales of winter 2011/12 flights to France

WINTER ski fans can book flights to the Alps for 2011/12 now after Jet2.com announced the opening of ticket sales from Leeds Bradford Airport to Chambery and Geneva.

Jet2.com flights to Chambery start on 24 December, 2011 operating twice a week until April 15.

Chambery is the gateway to some of the most popular winter holiday destinations in France including Tignes, Val d'Isere and Meribel.