Camp de migrants de Norrent-Fontes

Quelque part dans le Sud Soudan? Pas du tout, mais à quelques kilomètres au nord-ouest de Béthune se niche un camp accueillant entre cent et deux cent migrants, aujourd’hui majoritairement en provenance de l’Érythrée. Peuplé principalement de jeunes hommes, sans électricité ni eau courante, c’est un camp de passage pour ceux et celles qui tentent, […]

My french chronicles (8): Migrants, clowns and green politics.

That’s it: end of summer vacations, back to work, school or, preferably, the french chronicles. France is gripped by the difficult question of the massive arrival of migrants in Europe, symbolised here by the Calais beach shantytown, but the dimension of which is forcing the establishment to get its head out of the sand of the […]

My french chronicles (9): Decision time

We all had a good laugh this week when ex-and-would-be-next-president Sarkozy said that “France, throughout eternity, as always been on the side of the oppressed and always on the side of the dictators, always on the side of the one thrown into prison for believing in his ideas”. (1) Sarkozy is one of the world’s biggest […]

My french chronicles (7): Grapes, coyotes, shantytown and ferryboats

I don’t know if it’s El Niño’s fault but it’s been hot around here for the past few days. Good weather for the grapes here in Southern Burgundy, at the same time as the UNESCO includes the Burgundy wine-making area (so-called “Climats de Bourgogne”) in its world heritage listing. This could boost wine tourism in the […]