Day 2244 (Monday) 31st July 2023

Today’s photos

This is here in Villefranche.

and this is part of the coastal path between Nice and Villefranche.

 

Yesterday evening we went for a beer in Les Palmiers and on the way home we dropped in to see Jeanette in the gallery and I finally saw the water feature that they found hidden behind a false wall when they did some renovations– I’m so glad they kept it.

and this was Badger being very sleepy.

I did my Duolingo this morning and was in first place for about three minutes and so was Huw.

I bought some new postcards to replace the sun-faded ones and Huw put them together this morning.

 

We decided to go to Petite Afrique beach in Beaulieu and I actually went into the sea.

 

We stayed for a few hours reading.

We really like this beach because even though there are private beaches there, the public beach is pretty big with plenty of room.

 

What's happening in France this week – the Local France.

From the property declaration deadline to the end of the summer sales and an important match for the French women's football team, here's what is happening in France this week.

Monday

Property declaration - Everyone who owns property in France, including second-home owners resident in another country, must complete France's new one-off déclaration d'occupation by Monday. 

Tuesday

Paper receipts - From August 1st, consumers will have to request a paper receipt if they want one from most stores. After being pushed back several times -  originally set to take effect on January 1st, 2023 - the phasing out of obligatory paper receipts will finally begin in August 2023. 

End of the summer sales - For the majority of French départements, the summer sales (soldes) will end on August 1st, after having been extended an extra week to support retailers affected by damage during the riots in early July.

Electricity tariffs - Starting on August 1st, electricity tariffs in France are to increase by 10 percent. This will mean that consumers will see price rises on average of about €150 per year (€12.50 a month).

Wednesday

France v Panama - Les bleues, France's women's football team, will go head to head against Panama in the women's World Cup. The match will play at 12pm French time. 

Friday

Festival du Chant de Marin - If you loved the Wellerman, which once took social media by storm, then the Sea Shanty festival, in the Breton resort of Paimpol, is for you. This year’s event runs from August 4th to August 6th, with performances from 160 groups on seven stages, while the port is filled with 200 boats. 

Saturday

Scotland v France - France's national rugby team will play Scotland on Saturday at Murrayfield at 4:15pm French time - part of the World Cup warm-up matches series before the tournament (hosted by France) gets underway in September.

Sunday

First Sunday of the month - In many French cities and towns, the first Sunday of the month means free entry to certain museums or cultural venues. In Paris, for instance, this includes the art museum Centre Pompidou. It also means in Paris that several roads will be closed off to cars, in an effort to make way for pedestrians.

Weather forecasters predict 'more typical' August in France

Lightning strikes a hill near Le Muy, southern France. (Photo by Nicolas TUCAT / AFP)

July 2023 is on track to become the hottest month on earth since records began, so what is in store for August in France?

Intense heatwaves broke temperature records across southern Europe and brought scotching temperatures to France's Mediterranean coast - but much of July was cooler and stormier than normal across central and northern France.

But Météo France predicts that August will be a more typical month, although unsettled weather will continue at the beginning of August. 

Generally, forecasters like meteorologist Guillaume Séchet expect the first half of the month to stay relatively cool and for the second half to experience warmer temperatures, "but not excessive ones".

As such Séchet told BFMTV that August could be a classic month when it comes to temperature.

During the early part of August, forecasters expect to see a continuation of late-July weather patterns: "heavy cloud cover and occasionally rainy weather in the north with temperatures likely to be below or close to seasonal norms", reported French daily Le Parisien.

In contrast, along the Mediterranean basin and coast, experts expect more sunny weather and potentially high winds.

Meteorologist Patrick Marlières told BFMTV that after August 5th, models suggest that there could be a rise in temperatures in regions along Mediterranean sea.

Other forecasters, like those at La Chaîne Météo, have predicted that unsettled weather will remain across much of France throughout the first two weeks.

Similarly, the weather service Météo Contact told Le Parisien they expected to see continued sporadic thunderstorms throughout the month of August, namely in mountainous parts of the country, the south-east and the north-west.

As for the second half of the month, La Chaîne Météo expects to see a high-pressure system over the Atlantic, which may keep cooler temperatures in the western parts of the country which could in turn carry over toward central Europe.

However, such predictions are not entirely reliable several weeks in advance and are thus subject to change.