Day 2305 (Saturday) 30th September 2023
Today’s photos…
This is the old port in Nice
and this is Antibes.
It was another beautiful day – 36C on the thermometer on the balcony.
Pat and Dee invited us for lunch on the top road in our favourite roadside café with the best views but we declined because I want our blue room back. We’ve been busy for a couple of days with the big apartment so today we put all the pictures back up and cleaned everything.
This is it – all finished.
September 2023 to be France's hottest September ever
Dried sunflowers in a field in Saint-Ciers-sur-Bonnieure, southwestern France (Photo by Philippe LOPEZ / AFP)
September 2023 is on track to be the hottest September France has ever recorded, according to national weather service Météo France's monthly report.
Average temperatures for the whole month, based on data from 30 of the weather stations distributed evenly across the territory, found that temperatures have been 3.6C higher than average seasonal norms seen between 1991 and 2020, according to Météo France.
On average, temperatures across the country were higher than 21.3C during September.
September 2023 also marks the 20th consecutive month that France noted an "abnormally warm" month, Le Parisien reported.
The month began with a late-summer heatwave, leading to the record for the "hottest day in September" being broken twice: first on September 4th and for a second time on September 9th.
Even though temperatures cooled down toward the end of the month, weather forecaster la Chaîne Météo noted that apart from the period between September 22nd and 24th, average temperatures for all other days of the month were higher than seasonal norms.
Certain areas were more impacted than others - namely the southern French city of Toulouse, which had already recorded over 14 days of temperatures above 30C before the end of the month.
Regionally, the Centre-Val de Loire saw highest increases in average temperatures (+4.5C) above seasonal norms during September. Burgundy came in second place with average temperatures of 4.4C above what would be expected for the season.
What is expected for October?
The month of October is expected to start with potentially another record-breaking day when it comes to heat.
Forecasters expect the mercury to top 30C in southwest France on October 1st and 2nd.
Another bread story…this new rule will start tomorrow…
Could your French baguette taste a little different in future?
New rules will reduce the salt content of baguettes sold in French bakeries from October 1st. (Photo by DENIS BALIBOUSE / POOL / AFP)
The baguette is an enduring feature of life in France, where some 320 baguettes are consumed every single second. New rules mean they might taste slightly different in future but at least they will be healthier.
Breakfast, lunch or dinner... there is never a bad time to eat a baguette in France.
And the good news is: they are about to become healthier. From October 1st, new regulations mean that baguettes sold in bakeries should contain no more than 1.4g of salt per 100g, down from the current legal limit of 1.5g of salt per 100g.
The salt content in French baguettes sold in bakeries has already plummeted by 20 percent since 2015.
The new rules form part of a wider government strategy to reduce salt consumption in France by 30 percent by 2025. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged all countries to follow the same target in a bid to reduce health problems such as hypertension.
WHO guidelines say that adults should not consume more than 5g of salt per day, but the average French adult consumes between 7 and 8g.
France's National Confederation of Bakers is on board with the incoming regulations and acknowledges that bread contributes to about 20% of the average French person's salt intake.
Will this change the taste of baguettes?
The salt content change is only very marginal - 0.1g per 100g - so it is unlikely to have a significant impact on the taste of baguettes.
The National Confederation of Bakers has said that the new rules will impose a "real challenge" to bakers who will now have to adjust other elements of their recipe to make a like-for-like product. "There are alternative solutions such as live sourdough, extra yeast or yeast extracts that can be used to compensate for the reduced salt content," it said.
It said that slightly adjusting the temperature at which the baguettes are baked could also go some way to compensating for this loss.
Other bread products also affected
It is not just traditional baguettes that will be affected by the new regulations.
So-called pains spéciaux will also see a new salt threshold imposed of 1.3g per 100g.
Pains spéciaux are breads that either use grains and flour distinct from those used to make traditional baguettes or plain white bread.
Examples include le pain de campagne (which uses regular wheat alongside rye sourdough), les pains au levain (sourdough breads), le pain complet (wholemeal bread), les pains aux céréales (which use multiple varieties of wheat) and les pains aux grains (which are generally covered in things like sesame or pumpkin seeds).
The National Confederation of Bakers has said that various analyses and tests would be performed using samples taken from bakeries all over France, to ensure that salt limits for both pains spéciaux and pains traditionnels were being respected.
A few more French idioms…
Literally: to have enough of it
Meaning: you use “en avoir marre” when you’ve had enough of something or someone.For example, you’ll often hear French people complain about trains being late and say “j’en ai marre”.
English counterpart: to be fed up with something or someone.
J’en ai marre des transports en commun.
I am fed up with public transportation.
Putain, j’en ai marre de ce mec
Damn it, I’m tired of this guy.
Literally: to have bread on the board
Meaning: When you have “bread on the board”, it means you have a lot to do.
English counterpart: to have a lot on your plate
J’ai du pain sur la planche cette semaine, et si on se voyait la semaine prochaine plutôt ?
I have a lot on my plate this week. What about meeting next week instead?
Literally: to be canon
Meaning: This is an informal way of saying that someone is beautiful (or hot) or that an object is cool.
English counterpart: to be hot, to fit the standard of beauty
Wow, cette fille est trop canon.
Wow, this girl is so hot
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