NormanH

Yes, but as  I said above" I have the right to  disagree and  the liberty to express that opinion, but as beliefs are deeply felt  I shouldn't mock them either." I don't see the point of showing those particular images, even though the acts they have provoked have been so disproportionate. It is perfectly possible to teach/talk about freedom of speech in other ways. A problem in France now is that a whole section of the population who are still smarting from having been expelled from Algeria in 1962 are seizing on this to justify their gut hatred for the winning side in that conflict. Here is the speech made by the Maire of Béziers (himself a 'pied noir' whose wife is a Catholic fundamentalist and our "élue" ) The battle for the Présidentielles 2022is well and truly underway! " "Mesdames, Messieurs,Mes chers compatriotes,Avant toute chose, je vous propose d’observer une minute de silence en mémoire de Samuel Paty et en soutien, en respect et en amitié pour sa famille et pour ses proches.(Minute de silence)La tête tranchée. Un professeur d’histoire a eu la tête tranchée, en France, en 2020, parce qu’il a fait son travail. Parce qu’il a expliqué à ses élèves ce qu’est la liberté d’expression. La tête tranchée par un islamiste tchétchène qui bénéficiait du statut de réfugié, c’est-à-dire de la protection de la France !Stupéfaits, nous l’avons tous été, vous comme moi, devant cette nouvelle, devant ce mot terrible, une « décapitation », surgie à la une de l’actualité, vendredi dernier. Cela, à quelques kilomètres de Paris, l’horreur à la sortie des classes. Vendredi dernier, nous avons franchi un nouveau cap, une plongée dans l’obscurantisme. Vendredi dernier, un enseignant est devenu un martyr de la France. J’ai envie de vous dire que rien ne sera plus comme avant, que rien ne doit plus être comme avant. Que nous devons nous réveiller ! Qu’il est vital pour notre pays que nous nous réveillions. Mais, comme vous, j’ai un peu de mémoire. Comme vous, je me souviens qu’on a égorgé un prêtre dans son église et qu’alors, déjà, nous avions eu les mêmes mots, les mêmes indignations. Et puis, rien. Nous continuons à avancer, tels des somnambules, vers un précipice. Aujourd’hui, en France, vivent sur notre sol des barbares, des monstres, les pires des ayatollahs. Des dizaines sont déjà passés à l’acte. D’autres poursuivront cette macabre entreprise, au nom d’Allah. Depuis plus de 40 ans, nous sommes anesthésiés par l’aveuglement, les mensonges, les lâchetés. Sous nos yeux, des enfants sont massacrés à bout portant dans leur école parce que juifs. Des policiers sont attaqués à longueur d’année, deux d’entre eux suppliciés devant leur propre fils. Des journalistes sont exécutés pour avoir dessiné Mahomet. Des jeunes filles sont égorgées dans une gare. Des familles sont écrasées alors qu’elles assistaient au feu d’artifice du 14 juillet. Toute une jeunesse est fauchée pendant un concert de rock. Un gendarme décide de se sacrifier pour sauver ses prochains. Les meilleurs de nos militaires sont abattus aux confins des montagnes afghanes et au Sahel... Des centaines de vies anéanties, des centaines de familles détruites. Des années d’horreur, de drames, de larmes. Contre cet enfer, que fait notre pays ? Un carnaval de bougies, de peluches, de fleurs, de dessins, de belles et solennelles déclarations, de chartes de la laïcité et des « valeurs de la République » ânonnées jusqu’à l’étourdissement. Face à cette pantomime hallucinée, ils sont des milliers à avoir d’ores et déjà déclaré la guerre à notre pays, à notre nation, à notre civilisation. Un État dans l’État ! Ils sont des centaines de milliers à dire qu’ils ne veulent pas de notre mode de vie. Arrêtons d’être étonnés. Il suffit de les écouter, de lire les enquêtes les concernant, de ne plus fermer les yeux sur leur menace grandissante : 74 % des Français musulmans de moins de 25 ans – les trois quarts - affirment placer l’islam avant la République ! Petit à petit, jour après jour, le totalitarisme islamiste impose sa loi, ses règles et ses interdits, jalousement protégés par ceux qui imposent, qui nous imposent… le vivre-ensemble. Vivre-ensemble, la tête séparée du corps ? Vivre-ensemble quand, déjà, 40 % des enseignants reconnaissent qu’ils s’autocensurent sur certains sujets face à leurs élèves. On n’a pas de mal à imaginer lesquels…Tout cela, je le refuse. Je dis non. Je ne veux pas me soumettre !Aujourd’hui, ici, j’accuse, oui j’accuse ceux qui, au nom de la tolérance, cèdent et lâchent sur tout : le voile islamique, les activités non-mixtes, les repas de substitution, les mosquées radicales. J’accuse ceux qui, prétextant le risque de « diviser les Français » - commode alibi pour tous les renoncements -, refusent de prendre les mesures qui s’imposent.J’accuse ces élites qui se compromettent avec le séparatisme qui infeste les rues de nos villes, les terrasses de nos cafés, les commerces communautaires. J’accuse ceux qui disent « Je suis Charlie mais… ». Mais quoi ? J’accuse ceux qui, sur les plateaux télé ou dans les partis politiques, refusent tout débat, toute discussion sur l’islam, sur l’immigration, sur le mode de vie et sur notre identité au nom du « pas d’amalgame ». J’accuse ceux des musulmans de France qui excusent les terroristes ou qui refusent de condamner leur barbarie. J’accuse ceux qui hurlent au racisme systémique et à l’islamophobie chaque fois que l’on fait mine de résister aux fatwas des fous de Dieu. J’accuse ces élus collabos qui consentent à sacrifier la France, prêts à toutes les compromissions pour gagner quelques voix lors d’une élection. J’accuse les lâches qui ferment les yeux devant l’évidence, qui refusent de dire la réalité et d’utiliser les bons mots, les vrais mots. J’accuse tous ces politiciens et ces éditorialistes qui, depuis plus de 40 ans, se mentent et nous mentent.J’accuse tous ceux qui choisissent la lâcheté et la soumission au détriment du courage et de la résistance. J’accuse ceux qui laissent la France devenir un enfer, une terre de décapitation. J’appelle nos dirigeants à ne rien céder sur la liberté d’expression. Sur cette liberté de la presse que, durant plus de 20 ans à la tête de Reporters sans frontières, j’ai défendue avec mes confrères en France comme partout dans le monde. Aujourd’hui, ces caricatures sont devenues l’étendard de nos libertés. J’appelle nos dirigeants à stopper l’immigration de masse, véritable terreau de l’islamisme politique, à déclarer la guerre – la vraie – au salafisme, à expulser la totalité des imams radicaux, à interdire le voile dans l’ensemble de l’espace public. Cette barbarie ne s’arrêtera pas. Il faut lui déclarer la guerre. Et on ne fait pas la guerre à coups de marches blanches et de pancartes. L’heure n’est plus à l’indignation, l’heure est au combat.Vive la liberté d’expression ! Vive la liberté ! Vive la France combattante !"Robert Ménard, maire de Béziers, Président de la l'Agglomération Béziers-MéditerranéeHommage à Samuel Paty - Lundi 19 octobre 2020"

I think that the figures for the  Ariège are skewed by those from Foix and Pamiers, the two main towns,  which have reported 'clusters'.Even in Mirepoix, the 'Dordogne' of the Département from the number of 'ex-pats' Brits who live there, has a bar closed because the owner has Covid..

and a massacre or two.... https://www.britannica.com/event/Massacre-at-Beziers I don't care which tooth fairy people wish to believe in, but their belief doesn't give them the right to kill or torture me. I have the right to  disagree and  the liberty to express that opinion,but as beliefs are deeply felt  I shouldn't mock them either. I do agree  that laicity is in danger of becoming as fundamentalist as a belief system as  some  versions of religion.

There are a few unexpected 'country ' ones in there. I am thinking for example of the Ariège... https://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2020/10/22/coronavirus-jean-castex-au-front-pour-annoncer-de-nouveaux-couvre-feux_6056933_3244.html

I think you know  the authors I recommend, and I would simply suggest looking for other books by  them. Very in fashion at the moment is Leila Slimani, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le%C3%AFla_Slimani I have a couple of her books but haven't really got on with them. I shouldn't say it, but I think her reputation comes in part from ticking all the boxes of political correctness[:@] Here is a list of the Prix Goncourt winners recently https://www.goodreads.com/award/show/1162-prix-goncourt and French Literature in general  but also including recent writers and a list of the prizeshttps://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portail:Litt%C3%A9rature_fran%C3%A7aise_ou_francophone of course none of that is worth as much as a personal recommendation

If you said 'ex-pats' rather than "Dordogne's" I would be inclined to agree with  you.There are plenty of places as dangerous and many more so than France, but few so deceptive towards  those who don't even try to scratch the surface.Even  with such help as Google translate there are many people who don't read French newpapers, and whenever I post a thread about French issues it gets scant interest.

If only people had listened to my advice a few years back and applied for a CdS then, which will now be easily exchangeable for the new version... Or if only France had continued to insist on them as it did when I first came here. I had one in 1995 and just kept it up to  date  until I took French Nationality. In either case there wouldn't be all this debate and uncertainty now..   

He had shown the caricatures that caused the  Charlie Hebdo attacks to his class.. A clear account of what is known so far (in French, but Google translate works..) *https://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/professeur-decapite-le-point-sur-l-enquete-et-le-profil-du-terroriste-20201017

I have an arrangement with my regular haunts.They already have my details anyway, since they even deliver to me sometimes, and I will take my own little bottle of hand gel for my table..

pomme "I think this vaccination-info-service.fr chart https://tinyurl.com/yystbkrk I saw recently is a lot easier to understand at a glance. It resulted in a diptheria/tetanus/polio/whooping cough top-up here. I'd had chicken pox when I was in my 40s so zona (shingles) vaccine was not suggested" Yes I had that multiple one last year..Here is a live link to the chart you recommend;https://tinyurl.com/yystbkrk

(not only in the big cities) This is from an English owner of a small restaurant in the countryside in France.." In the normal way, the person who phones to book a table can leave a name ... Fred, for example, and a contact number. That's the necessary information for the restaurant. The difference now is that all people in the party have to give their full name and contact information - that's quite a big difference both in terms of the amount of data to be collected, and the number of "data subjects" involved. If one person in the party refuses to give their information, what should the restaurant do... refuse that person entry? What about if they put down blatantly false information? Who is responsible then? The guidance says that restaurants should have a register available and ask customers to leave their details, but it is not mandatory.Due to covid, we're not supposed to make a pen available (as we'd have to disinfect it between each guest) so what if a person in a party does not have a pen of their own... they'll use one from someone else and thereby potentially contract the virus through contact with another pen, which they wouldn't have had to touch if they'd chosen not to leave their details (which they are allowed to do). It seems counter-intuitive that we should not use printed menus because they have been touched by other people, but that we should incite every person to touch a book to leave their details! Guests must now wear a mask even while seated, if not actually eating. You can remove your mask to eat your starter, but must then put it back on until the main course arrives. We believe that this will further discourage an already timid public from eating out. The new measures also change the wording from "at least 1m between tables" to "at least 1m between chairs at adjacent tables" p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; background: transparent }

[quote user="Lehaut"]Due to the "heads up" on this topic, I went up and had mine done yesterday, local pharmacy, straight away (though it was busy), very quick. I asked her if she thought there would be problems this year, she was quite sure there would be starting as early as next week. The advice in the papers was for people in risk categories to have it done earlier rather than later. As to the length of effectiveness, I read that it takes two weeks for the immunity to develop so now seems a good time. Today's headline: Loire-Atlantique. La ruée sur le vaccin contre la grippe saisonnière provoque déjà une pénurie[/quote] That was the point of starting the thread[I] https://www.france24.com/fr/20201013-avec-l-arriv%C3%A9e-de-la-grippe-saisonni%C3%A8re-ru%C3%A9e-sur-les-vaccins-et-craintes-de-p%C3%A9nurie

One of the articles that stimulated my OP is about whether there is a possibility that there will be a shortage this year: https://www.la-croix.com/France/Vaccin-contre-grippe-risque-penurie-2020-10-13-1201119154

Two documents that may interest some of you https://solidarites-sante.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/calendrier_vaccinal_29juin20.pdf this second one covers ALL the vaccinations recommended, not just the Flu https://solidarites-sante.gouv.fr/prevention-en-sante/preserver-sa-sante/vaccination/calendrier-vaccinal

In a 45 minute interview in which he showed a good grasp of detail and little waffle[:P] https://www.france.tv/actualites-et-societe/magazines-d-actu/2030317-interview-du-president-de-la-republique-emmanuel-macron.html Residents of major French cities including the Paris region are to be confined to their homes between 9pm and 6am, Emmanuel Macron has said, as governments across Europe battle to contain record numbers of Covid-19 infections. The French president used a prime-time TV interview on Wednesday to announce the curfew, which will be in place for four weeks from midnight on Saturday and will affect nine cities including Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse and Lille. Macron said: France’s health ministry on Wednesday announced 22,950 new coronavirus cases and said 32% of the country’s intensive care beds were occupied by patients with Covid-19. The government restored a national state of health emergency minutes before the president spoke. Macron said the objective was to reduce the number of new infections per day to between 3,000 and 5,000, and he warned that the country would have to live with the virus until at least next summer. He said: We have to act. We need to put a brake on the spread of the virus. We have to reduce the number of social contacts … of festive contacts, that are taking place. It will demand a big effort from everyone – but it is necessary. A full nationwide lockdown would be “disproportionate”, Macron said, and state aid would again be available to employers in sectors that would be most affected, such as hospitality and entertainment. “People will have to forget about night-time visits to restaurants or to friends’ houses,” he said. Essential trips during curfew would still be allowed, but people breaking the new rules would face a fine of €135 (£120).

My Pharmacy and local nurse are also like that, but both are quite near retirement:((It does give  the lie to  the 'ex-pat' myth about  'poor French service'. That might be true or larger retail outlets, but I have always found the 'smaller' people excellent. My scooter gives me the independence to get out and go to one of the labs in town for my blood tests, but I know that the nurse is there if necessary. I have always been told as Gardian says that  it is better to wait until early November, but there are signs that there might  be a rush on a limited stock this year so I had mine early  fuelling the shortage...

You know that the Pharmacien can give the injection as well as supply the vaccine ?

This year's vaccination has been available since yesterday, at least for those who are recommended to have by Ameli. There was a queue in front of my Pharmacy  yesterday, which is unusual, but that might be because some people have confused  it with a vaccine against  Covid.I don't want to get into a controversy about vaccines, but if you are intending to be vaccinated this year it might be an idea to have it  done sooner rather than later.

We establised a very long time ago that ALBF has no idea what a CdS looks like [:P]

Even before with Toussaint coming up next week

https://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2020/10/12/jean-castex-n-exclut-pas-des-reconfinements-locaux-en-france_6055691_3244.html Near here Montpellier joins the  other towns with strict regulation as from tomorrow https://www.midilibre.fr/2020/10/11/montpellier-en-alerte-maximale-bars-restos-activites-sportives-ce-qui-devrait-changer-9132267.php?fbclid=IwAR0sfl4jBKuss9WVmhrA6gdVRfP7ERUM8_-qHUw8geUAfdhDTQjJzU-Pzdw

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/oct/11/i-heard-the-doctor-was-drunk-and-my-world-fell-apart-says-grieving-mother All the more poignant for me since they were my last neighbours in England and they father had done excellent work in my house.

It is even worse than I knew::((( You can use a VPN to watch from the UK I believe.

https://www.france.tv/france-2/decolonisations-du-sang-et-des-larmes/decolonisations-du-sang-et-des-larmes-saison-1/1974077-la-fracture-1931-1954.html I have only just caught up with it so it may not have many more days left before it can no longer be watched. It is in French of course and using the French subtitles can help with some of the accents.

Even over 70 for some as I said on another thread.