NormanH

https://www.france.tv/france-5/c-dans-l-air/2373899-emission-du-mercredi-14-avril-2021.html "C'est dans l'air" with another of its fascinating insights.

«la plus grande catastrophe agronomique de ce début de XXIe siècle», selon le ministre de l'Agriculture et de l'Alimentation, Julien Denormandie. https://www.lefigaro.fr/conjoncture/la-vague-de-gel-est-probablement-la-plus-grande-catastrophe-agronomique-du-siecle-20210413

https://www.ouest-france.fr/economie/agriculture/gel-des-vignes-quel-sera-l-impact-sur-la-production-de-vin-en-2021-2287fe72-9940-11eb-ba58-9c36148e3626?fbclid=IwAR0DyDQ_fbTTGkT5W77f1zULVU9T11GT-HdlB5S8I9leW_wj3sCcX0VV6Zk

Well Judith you and I know the difficult reality of their lives.

Thank you it  looks delightful [:D]

A couple of people I know locally have been affected, but it will be a disaster for the crop almost everywhere:  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/09/french-winemakers-frost-government-freezing-temperatures-crops-vines

I would suggest that you avoid the 'corridor' between Carcassonne and Narbonne which tends to be a wind tunnel as can be seen by the wind farms Perhaps higher up the Aude valley? https://www.leboncoin.fr/ventes_immobilieres/1937703753.htm more isolated but much more attractive sceniclly

France begins once you are south of the Loire...

A couple of useful sites 1) https://app.dvf.etalab.gouv.fr/ You can see the real prices paid for sales (although it is not quite up to date) rather than the prices asked 2) L'internaute has lots of information on individual towns including readers' reviews:here is the  link for Béziers   (use the left hand menu to navigate) http://www.linternaute.com/ville/beziers/ville-34032 but you can search for any other

Did you try the plan I gave the link to before? https://www.laredorte.com/ppri-plan-de-prevention-risques-dinondation-bassin-de-largent-double/ Most places should have such a plan which is  something consult wherever you are looking.

Some of the land around there is liable to flooding, but I don't know enough detail to see it that lotissement is concerned. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF615F0YYQg A Plan https://www.laredorte.com/ppri-plan-de-prevention-risques-dinondation-bassin-de-largent-double/

Did you also have to sign the business about "droits à l'image"?https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F32103 I was interviewed in Hospital some years ago for France 3 news, and as much time was spent on the paperwork as in the filming[:-))]

Good innit? [:P]

Béziers is like Nîmes without the Roman bits, but with even more social problems and drug-dealing. In both la Corrida has a massive following (and YES they DO kill the bulls) and in Béziers there is nostalgia for the period in the 70s when there was a winning rugby club. This combination of Blood, Violence, cultural and economic deprivation, with an unhappy mix of pieds noirs and the very Algerians who expelled them but have now migrated to live in the tower blocks  means that there the newly cleaned façades are like whited sepulchres..

https://youtu.be/nQuSKQd4RxM

One of our regular posters lives very close, ( I leave it to him to comment if he so wishes) and Judith probably know the area too. I used to go through the village every couple of weeks too. It is not far from Carcassonne which is a bit of a dump despite the touristy  "cité", and the coast isn't  far either. Béziers and Narbonne are the other two urban  centres. Béziers is being cleaned up by having the façades washed but its soul stays dirty. Narbonne is a bit nicer. There is a strong 'gitan' presence in the area, so look out for camp sites. I have no  idea about prices since it is way out of my league.

Don't forget to declare it [:D]

Bonne chance pour mercredi

I, like DH Lawrence, have an intimate knowledge of figs.. https://www.best-poems.net/poem/figs-by-d-h-lawrence.html

A hoary old chestnut, and apparently not even by Bach, but still very moving https://youtu.be/Rc7muJVEQfc my VERY FREE translation: If you are close to me I can go happily to death and to my  rest.(2 times) ...oh how  wonderful would be my end if the last thing my faithful eyes I caught sight of was your lovely hands...'

For those who don't know the history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Commune

https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/video/2021/03/14/commune-de-paris-les-premieres-photos-manipulees_6073049_823448.html

I don't need to actually read Proust. Someone sent me an excellent idiot's guide...[:D] "How Proust Can Change Your Life" by Alain Bottin

Since WB introduced  the word... https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/12/academics-french-republic-macron-islamo-leftism

The first three are pieces I know well https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFVvCFGz36g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmV0CboluoE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQN6gFnsGI4 This is a substantial work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JT4fqJ6zpqY