Day 1910 (Wednesday) 31st August 2022

We made the news last night. Basque Alex posted a video of a burning car yesterday evening and today this article appeared on Riviera News

At Villefranche-sur-mer, police are questioning a man who set fire to a car before attacking customers at a nearby restaurant. It’s not clear what the intentions of the man were but police report he was heavily under the influence of alcohol at the time.

It wasn’t quite so hot today and there was little humidity so it was very comfortable. Huw had to work in the big apartment today after a check-out this morning and a check-in tomorrow. These guests have been here for a month and it looked like they hadn’t done any cleaning or laundry – rude pigs! But at least they left behind a bottle of champagne – hooray!

 This was Badger last night during a rare moment of affection.

 

Huw had to go up to the house to clean the pool and the guests had seen the burning car incident last night and had called the police. He was taken into Nice to make a statement at 1 o’clock this morning. Huw told him that this was probably the only incident to occur in Villefranche this year and he’d been very unlucky to get so involved. One of the policemen who took his statement said in the 12 years he’s been on the force in Villefranche and this was the first serious incident in all that time.  

It looks like we’re in for a stormy autumn but these storms rarely hit us on the coast…

Violent storms and floods forecast for south of France this autumn

Violent storms, flooding and landslides are being predicted for the south of France this autumn, with 9 million people affected by long-term weather alerts in 15 areas.

Published: 24 August 2022 12:05 CEST

The aftermath of deadly storms in Vallee de la Roya, in October 2020. (Photo: Christophe Simon / AFP)

The warning came from Christophe Béchu, Minister of Ecological Transition, as he launched the government’s seventh life-saving seasonal storm awareness campaign.

The risk this year is such that the annual campaign – which targets 15 départements in the south of the country – has been extended until November 30th. Previous years’ schemes have ended on October 31st.

“Unfortunately, all the climatic conditions are set so that we find ourselves again this year with very violent phenomena [in the autumn],” Christophe Béchu, Minister of Ecological Transition, announced on Tuesday.

Weather experts and climate scientists have already warned that violent and sometimes deadly storms – known as épisodes cévenol or épisodes méditerranéen – are likely to be more intense this year because the Mediterranean sea is several degrees warmer than usual.

Abnormally high temperatures in the Mediterranean Sea, three to five degrees above normal, means that “the warmer the Mediterranean, the more water evaporates, the more it goes into the sky and the more potential it has to lead to very heavy rainfall,” Christophe Person, head of BFMTV’s weather desk, explained.

Meanwhile, the historic drought in France this summer means that the ground is parched, which means water will not soak into the ground – as this experiment demonstrates – and therefore makes flash flooding much more likely.

Météo-France reported on its website in early August that, “at the national level, since July 17th, France set a new record of soil drought every day” – adding that the conditions are worst in the south of the country.

“The soils are so dry, the temperatures are so high, that it can promote phenomena of diluvian floods that cause up to 200 litres of water per square metre and can be dramatic for the inhabitants,” Béchu said, as he warned residents of 15 départements along the Mediterranean arc to be alert to the risks of flooding and landslides.

The 15 départements on high alert this autumn are: Alpes de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes (this is us) Ardèche, Aveyron, Aude, Bouches-du-Rhône, Corse-du-Sud, Haute-Corse, Drôme, Gard, Hérault, Lozère, Pyrénées-Orientales, Var and Vaucluse.

They are home to some 9.1 million people, who are advised to pay close attention to weather reports Meteo France, including its weather alerts system, and flood warnings from Vigicrues – and be aware of the appropriate action to take in case of storms.

Here are some more interesting facts about France…

31. The actual name “France” came from a Germanic tribe. They used the word “frank”, which meant “free” in their native tongue.

32. Champagne comes exclusively from the Champagne region of France. If it doesn’t come from there, it is simply referred to as a “sparkling wine”.

33. Contrary to popular myth, Napoleon was in fact, slightly taller than the average Frenchman standing at 1.68 m

34. Approximately 85% of the French population resides in cities.

35. In another oddity of French royalty, King John I was named King five months before he was actually born. Unfortunately, he only survived for five days.

36. With its amazing history, it isn’t surprising that France has 28 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

37. Another interesting thing about France is that courtesy seems to matter a lot. There is even a coffee shop where not saying “hello” and “please” will increase the cost of your beverage.

38. Depending on the source, there are between 350 and 450 different types of French cheese. There are also many varieties of each type, leading some to claim that there are 1,000 types of French cheese.

39. An important fact about France is that the French are responsible for creating the metric system of weights and measures in 1793.

40. Potatoes were once illegal in France. Between 1748 and 1772 the French thought that potatoes caused leprosy.

41. French wine consumption is legendary, with 11.2 billion glasses enjoyed each year.

42. French writer Marcel Proust holds the record for the longest novel ever written. “Remembrance of Things Past” is over 3,000 pages in length. It is in 13 volumes and involves thousands of characters.

43. One of those basic facts about France is that the current French flag is known as the Tricolor for its blue, white and red stripes. It was created as part of the French Revolution in 1794.

44. Ironically, the oldest bridge in Paris is named the “Pont Neuf”, which means “new bridge”.

45. Europe’s busiest railway station – and one of the oldest in the world – is Paris Gare du Nord. 190 million passengers go through the station each year.

46. Recognising how important and difficult parenting can be, the French government awards medals to citizens who have “successfully raised several children with dignity”.

47. For its importance, not only as food but as an integral part of French social interaction, UNESCO has recognised French gastronomy with a World Heritage Site designation.

48. Because the French empire was so wide-ranging, today there are more French-speaking individuals in Africa than there are in France.

49. At one point in history, France’s empire had control of 8% of all the land in the world.

50. France has the second-largest population of all European countries. Germany is number one.