Train strikes, Fabulous Icelanders, fish, persimmons, discoveries, people and places during the autumn of 2007

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Relocation Orientation in France

Learning French : One phrase a day

If you watch French television or listen to French radio, you may have heard the latest throw-away line
"Que du bonheur!"
- in particular when someone has just had good news or had achieved something which they had worked very hard for.
It is in fact the shortened version of "Ce n'est qu du bonheur", but the first part of the sentence has fallen away in the great excitement and joie absolue that the speaker experiences.
"What a joy!" "Pure bliss!"
is what he is saying --- and what a handy phrase to have when you pen your window these mornings to the exquisitely crisp and clear early winter mornings!

Excellent Language School in the Dordogne:
Aquitaine Langues

The best way to learn a language: Total immersion:
Le Français Face à Face

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A great new magazine in the Dordogne

I recently came across a magazine - freely on offer on the counter of my little supermarket -- that I took home and read from cover to cover - finding the articles pertinent, well written and informative, and presented in a reader-friendly and attractive way.

In a market already well-supplied with various how-to and setting-you-on-your-way publications, this one appealed to me. It contains just enough to take in in one go.

Expats have no shortage of helpful publications, but often they are so packed with so much information that it is impossible to remember half of it -- let alone remember where to go look for it again when you need the information.

"Impressions" has just enough of a variety of things, and with the clearly defined content, coming back to the correct copy which contains the specific information you will need some time in the future, should be a diddle.

I decided to go look for the person behind this lovely little magazine, "Impressions".

Jon Burton is the man, and he was ready to tell me more:

A: Thank you for your kind words regarding Impressions magazine.
The magazine was launched in April 2003 in the Deux Sèvres department of the Poitou - Charentes. Its aim was to help integration between the French and English speaking communities, promote local attractions and events and to promote both French and English speaking registered artisans. Impressions magazine carries both feature and general interest articles making it different to the likes of French News, Connexions and Sud Ouest which are predominately current affairs newspapers.

Impressions magazine expanded rapidly in the Deux Sèvres and soon was being distributed in all departments of the Poitou Charentes. It now has a content of 28 pages, a readership of over 20,000 and carries 60+ advertisers.

Q: So it is not a new magazine?

A: No, in the Dordogne it is, but as a magazine it is already well established ---- In fact, it is now in its fifth year.

Q: You say there are 60+ advertisers. Yet reading the magazine, one does not get that 'crowded' feeling with too many advertisements competing for space with the articles.

A: That is good, because it really is a symbiotic relationship ---- the advertisers are not only important to us, but to the reader as well, as they are the people that make up the networking system of the expat in his new home. And of course, the magazine is wholly funded by advertising revenue, keeping it free to the reader ----- thus generating greater exposure for the advertiser. Impressions magazine also has a large subscriber base of readers who have the magazine delivered to their door throughout the world. Being a well-established magazine already, it has become a much relied upon and successful medium and has many advertisers who have been advertising from issue one including Century 21, AXA insurance and local Notaires.

Q: Interesting, because it is not a very 'big' magazine.

A: Yes, but we are confident we can replicate the success of the magazine here in the Dordogne and believe that Impressions magazine will be a good medium for businesses to advertise at a lower cost than other publications. --- Although Impressions magazine is starting as a 12 page magazine for the Dordogne edition, this is expected to increase in size rapidly.

Q: Ah! I hope not too big -- because that is exactly what I found was unique about it and made it so attractive to me as the reader -- the 'digestible' size!

A: And its availability, I hope! -----We are also pleased to announce that we have signed a partnership agreement with the Chambre de Commerce et Industry of Dordogne and the Bergerac Airport Authority. This will ensure that the magazine will be made available to a wider audience hence offering better coverage for advertisers.

As well as being available in the Arrival and Departure Halls at Bergerac Airport, 3000 copies of Impressions magazine will be distributed in restaurants, bars, tabacs, banks, supermarkets, immobiliers, Office de Tourisme and insurance offices, initially throughout the areas of:- Riberac, Bergerac, Eymet, Lalinde, Monbazillac, Saint Foy and Mussidan.

We wish Impressions much success in the Perigord Dordogne ---
Look out for it wherever you are and have a look for yourself --
and do let us know what you think about it!

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Relocation Orientation in France

November in France ; The true test for Sarkozy's strength as leader?

As a supporter of a strong leadership for France in Sarkozy, I have, along with the rest of the population, been watching avidly what is to transpire this month in France. There are strikes looming of mammoth proportions -- strikes that will affect everyone, wherever they are in France. Tourism, that has enjoyed such a boom, will be badly affected. The news channels show little else than spot interviews with the citoyens in the streets, the flag and banner waving leftists, the wise old owls in the grands salons of the capitol -- the overall judgement seeming to be that Sarkozy has to stand strong and finish what he set out to do the day he stepped into the role as France's President.

When one considers the radical changes his government announced, it is not surprising that, in a country where the people say what they think -- and be assured, they do think -- will take to the streets and voice their opinions -- albeit in the form of strikes and demonstrations. It is good that this happens -- it is good that there is a strong political awareness and a sense of freedom of speech, especially under an exceptionally strong leadership.

So, it was just a matter of time for the strikes and the demonstrations to start.

And yet -- as I said, we will all be affected -- and affected quite noticeably -- and where it hurts. The country's economy needs a push badly, and many of the changes put in action are exactly aimed to do that. But grinding the country's transport to a halt, will not only set back the timing schedule of the proposed changes and resulting improvements and growth, it could cripple the country to such an extent that the proposed changes may have to be put on the back burner for too long a time.

The next month will be the deciding moment -- when the work force of France and their chosen leader come face to face in a battle of wills. The virtual - albeit temporary demise of the Socialists -- interesting that it is the Communist leaders' opinions that are now sought in radio and television debates --- and therefore the absence of their strong support to the strikers, could well be what swings the odds in favour of the president. However, my naive political idealism would hope that reason will truimph in the end and that it will be Sarkozy's strength of conviction that will persuade the union leaders and their rent-a-crowd followers that even if change is painful for the moment, the result will be to everyone's benefit.

And as for the students that are planning to strike too? My advice to them is to grow up. A handful of people who are looking for personal fame are leading you by the nose -- because they know that can! Go attend your lectures, finish your studies and then take your place in the arena of the leaders of your country and there -- and only then -- you will make a difference in the world.

On the Expatica site, Hannah Westley gives this comprehensive synopsis of what is de rigueur in France this November. (an extract)

"Editor’s Diary - Black November

So we’re in for a chaotic few days, perhaps even a few weeks, as the unions and the public sector flex their muscle in the face of President Sarkozy’s promised pension reforms.

The indefinite strike will hit the national railway company SNCF starting Tuesday evening and the RATP, which runs Paris’ metros and buses, the following day. Union members at power and gas utilities also plan to join in. Meanwhile, student unions are rejecting plans to make universities more autonomous and are also joining the protests. Later in the month, millions of civil servants, including teachers, are set to go on strike on November 20 to oppose planned public-sector job cuts. Judges and courtroom staff will also go on strike on November 29 to protest against a reform of the judicial map of France.

Many of us expats will bemoan the extra complications all this strike action entails: getting to work on time, if at all, the traffic, lack of parking spaces, weekends away that have to be cancelled. According to a poll published last week, a majority of the French will be complaining too: 69 per cent of the French are said to support the government’s strong stance.

In an interview with Journal de Dimanche, Prime Minister François Fillon said the government’s latest proposals are non-negotiable: “In the past, we’ve presented reform projects that were too ambitious, and finally we relented and were left with only an illusion of reform… We no longer want that. We’ve presented a reasonable project. The status quo is no longer possible.”

This week could be the real test of Sarkozy’s resolve and the political vultures are already watching and waiting. For those of you who have missed the fun, here’s what some of the press is saying:

For the International Herald Tribune, Sarkozy is already putting his legacy on the line: “If he surrenders to strikers planning to bring France to a halt in the coming days and weeks, his reformist credentials may end up irrevocably damaged. If he holds firm against stubborn unions, he stands a chance of joining the ranks of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan as a leader who forced momentous change on a nation in bad need of an overhaul. Crucially, the reform-resistant French public may this time take Sarkozy’s side.”

The Independent sees Sarkozy and his Prime Minister François Fillon playing out a bizarre soft cop-hard cop double-act: “President Sarkozy and his Prime Minister, M. Fillon has repeatedly stated that there can be no turning back, especially in the symbolic reduction of the special pension rights of railwaymen, power workers and other public sector employees. President Sarkozy, meanwhile, has tried to play the role of a more understanding fairy Godfather. He turned up at one of the most militant railway workshops in Paris and told the startled railwaymen that the cuts in pension rights would apply only to newly hired staff. This was more than even most of the eight railway unions had demanded. The government rapidly shunted the President’s words into a siding.”

For The Times, this is Sarkozy’s “Thatcher moment” as the strikes aim “to break his drive to purge France of its old economic ills.”


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Eurostar re-launched at St Pancras, London! A Big day for Anglo-Franco tourism!

The Big Day has arrived! 14 November 2007, and the new terminal for the Eurostar train service at St Pancras in London has opened -- bringing with it a range of improvements and special services, one of which is a good 20 minute reduction on the London-Paris route!

For more details, read the blog entry of 10 November 2007 and by all means, click on the link above for the Eurostar website -- it is impressive -- and sure the whet your appetite! You can also subscribe to their newsletter by simply filling in your email address at the bottom -- and it is well worth your while as I see there are already very exciting special offers available in fares!

What a pity they did not think about combining the first Paris-London-Paris trip with the midnight appearance of the 2007 Beaujolais Nouveau -- a few hours and it could have been the event of the decade!.........But -- nothing stops you from booking your ticket straight-away and coming down to the Dordogne anyway to come marvel at the exquisite autumn colours in this region, enjoy an excellent meal of foie gras, confit de canard and pommes sarladaise, and of course, a bottle of 2007 Beaujolais Nouveau!

See you there!


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Chateau Lalinde : The perfect venue for your event

Relocation Orientation in France