This French Life

French public holidays 2018

FRENCH public holidays for 2018 are set to favour the workers over the bosses as many days off take place close to the weekend this year.

One advantage of the long weekends is that they should help boost tourism numbers especially if the weather plays nice and the sun shines.

It is also important to remember that businesses and many public offices will be closed on these days, so it will be important to plan ahead.

The public holidays in France are:

New Year on Monday January 1

Easter Monday on Monday April 2

Fête du Travail on Tuesday May 1

1945 Armistice on Tuesday May 8

Ascension on Thursday May 10

Pentecôte Monday on Monday May 21

Fête Nationale (Bastille Day) on Saturday July 14

Assomption on Wednesday August 15

Toussaint on Thursday November 1

1918 Armistice on Sunday November 11

Christmas Day on Tuesday December 25.

Flu at epidemic levels across many regions of France

THE number of people suffering from flu conditions is at epidemic levels across many regions of France.

The latest report from health authorities, Santé Publique France, shows that eight regions of France are currently at epidemic levels of illness, while four are showing pre-epidemic results.

More than 3,200 people ended up being taken into hospital last week, with the number of doctor consultations for flu hitting 193 per 100,000 inhabitants.

With flu likely to be making people ill long into February then checking up on whether you are able to have a flu jab might be some protection, but also ensuring you regularly wash your hands and clean surfaces may keep the bugs away.

Related: Warning over increase in cases of gastroenteritis in France

Plans outlined to provide full addresses for all in the Dordogne

THE Dordogne authorities are to press local mayors to give a full address to homes and properties to help the emergency services and la poste locate buildings.

France Bleu Périgord reports that many corners of the Dordogne do not have a full address of a number and a name for the road, with the conseil départemental saying they will help local mairies with the project.

Besides the emergency services and la poste requiring addresses, more and more services such as internet access and even apps on mobile phones require detailed locations to work correctly.

Some areas of the Dordogne have already undertaken naming projects, often using the lieu-dit or other local names as the basis of a new a address, with finances made available to pay for road signs.

Walker shot dead in hunting accident

A WALKER out in the countryside on Saturday afternoon, 16 December, has been accidentally shot dead by a hunter who was out tracking down sanglier.

The 59-year-old man died at the scene, in the village of Taulignan in south east France, despite the efforts of local emergency services.

The hunter, aged 62, has been arrested and it is claimed that he saw a movement in the bushes which led to his dogs barking, but when he fired he shot the walker in the groin.

It is the second fatal hunting accident this year in the Drôme département, following the death of a hunter in October who was also shot.

High-speed internet in France gets €100 million boost

THE French prime minister, Edouard Philippe, has said that €100 million will be spent to ensure high-speed internet is available in isolated rural areas.

Speaking in Cahors, in the Lot, Edouard Philippe said that he wanted to see good broadband speeds available across France by 2020, with high-speed access available from 2022.

The promise of better internet access in so-called zones blanches was put forward by French president Emmanuel Macron earlier this year saying he wanted to see speeds of at least eight megabits a second by 2020.

Edouard Philippe said he would talk with mobile phone operators very soon to press them to improve mobile internet speeds in areas where fibre access was not possible.

It is estimated that around 7.5 million people in France are unable to get a high-speed connection.

Wine glasses see seven-fold increase in size over past 300 years

OUR Georgian and Victorian ancestors probably celebrated Christmas with more modest wine consumption than we do today – if the size of their wine glasses are anything to go by.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have found that the capacity of wine glasses has increased seven-fold over the past 300 years, and most steeply in the last two decades as wine consumption rose.

Through a combination of online searches and discussions with experts in antique glassware, including museum curators, the researchers obtained measurements of 411 glasses from 1700 to modern day.

They found that wine glass capacity increased from 66 ml in the 1700s to 417ml in the 2000s, with the mean wine glass size in 2016-17 being 449ml.

"Our findings suggest that the capacity of wine glasses in England increased significantly over the past 300 years," said the report's author Dr Zorana Zupan.

"For the most part, this was gradual, but since the 1990s, the size has increased rapidly. Whether this led to the rise in wine consumption in England, we can’t say for certain, but a wine glass 300 years ago would only have held about a half of today’s small measure. On top of this, we also have some evidence that suggests wine glass size itself influences consumption."

Alongside increased wine glass capacity, the strength of wine sold in the UK since the 1990s has also increased, thereby likely further increasing any impact of larger wine glasses on the amount of pure alcohol being consumed by wine drinkers.

The researchers argue that if the impact of larger wine glasses upon consumption can be proven to be a reliable effect, then local licencing regulations limiting the size of glasses would expand the number of policy options for reducing alcohol consumption out of home.

Reducing the size of wine glasses in licensed premises might also shift the social norm of what a wine glass should look like, with the potential to influence the size of wine glasses people use at home, where most alcohol, including wine, is consumed.

In the final line of their report, the researchers acknowledge the seasonal sensitivity to these suggestions: "We predict - with moderate confidence – that, while there will be some resistance to these suggestions, their palatability will be greater in the month of January than that of December."

Statue remembers the ultimate sacrifice of one of The Cockleshell Heroes

A STRIKING statue to one of The Cockleshell Heroes, who took part in a World War Two mission to blow up enemy ships in the port of Bordeaux, has been unveiled in his home town.

The bravery of Royal Marine James Conway is honoured with a permanent memorial in Stockport town centre, in north west England, and tells of how of the ten men on the mission only two returned.

The Royal Marines were tasked with canoeing around 130 kms up the Gironde estuary in December 1942, travelling by night and resting in the day, to attach limpet mines to Nazi ships in Bordeaux port.

Only two reached the port, others drowned or were caught, while James Conway was captured in France and subsequently executed aged just 20 years old.

Stockport councillor Kate Butler said: "James Conway’s role as one of the Cockleshell Heroes makes him a true Stockport and national hero. I’m delighted that he will be honoured with a lasting tribute in his hometown."

Artist Luke Perry spent months researching the clothing that James would have worn at the time of the mission and meeting with and speaking to the family of James Conway in order to capture a near exact representation of him for the memorial.

Major General Martin Smith, CB, MBE, said: "The Royal Marines are honoured that on the 75th anniversary of James Conway’s death, Stockport is recognising one of its sons who bravely served in our Corps and gave his life in the service of his country."

In 2011 The Frankton Memorial, named after the code name for the operation, was unveiled at the Pointe de Grave, at the mouth of the Gironde estuary made up of a series of bronze plaques on stone monoliths forming a tribute to the bravery of the Royal Marines and their heroic mission.

Photographs of the statue kindly provided by councillor Kate Butler.

New Bordeaux to Southend Airport service from easyJet

LOW cost airline, easyJet, has announced a major expansion of its French flights including a new link between Bordeaux and Southend Airport, in Essex.

The flight to Bordeaux will have three weekly frequencies once it launches on 25 July 2018, and easyJet has said it sees many opportunities for flights in France as well as further afield.

This is backed up with new services from Lyon to Corfu, Fuerteventura, Rennes and Tel Aviv while flights from Nice to Biarritz, Catane, Seville and Tel Aviv will also be offered.

Bordeaux airport will see summer connections to Bastia, Catane, Faro, Heraklion, Luxembourg, Tel Aviv and Southend, with 22 destinations available from Bordeaux-Mérignac during the busy holiday season.

Plan for a choir in every school launched by French government

THE French government has outlined a plan that will see a choir in every collège from the rentrée of 2018.

Education minister, Jean-Michel Blanquer, and culture minister, Françoise Nyssen, launched the plan at a school in Paris, saying teaching support would be made available to schools.

Jean-Michel Blanquer said that he wanted to see two hours of choral music a week in collège and the 20 million euros it will cost in the first year will be funded by his education ministry and a smaller proportion will come from the culture department.

It won't be obligatory for students to take part but it is the first time that choral music will be present as part of the curriculum across the 7,000 collèges in France.

The plan for écoles would see support put in place on Wednesdays from the rentrée of 2019.

Related: Mobile phones set to be banned from French schools

Young boy, in slippers and pyjamas, found on road searching for Father Christmas

A YOUNG boy, called Kenzo, was found walking along a road in Brittany in his slippers and pyjamas on Sunday morning.

And when the five-year-old boy was asked by the gendarmes what he was doing, he said that he was off to see Father Christmas.

Thankfully all ended well according to the Gendarmerie des Côtes d'Armor who said that a health worker first saw the boy and then contacted the gendarmes to tell them what had happened.

Officers knocked on the doors of local homes to find the young boy's parents, and fortunately his mother was quickly found who said that she had not realised her son had left the house.

Kenzo was reassured that Father Christmas knew where he lived and that it was best to stay indoors with his ideas for presents and wait until 25 December.