ISSUE The Côte d’Azur’s English-language newspaper N A ...states” like North Korea and...

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15 December 2001 • Issue 1 www.TheRivieraGazette.com

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By Riviera Gazette staff

THE CREATION of Nice Côte d’Azur —a new metropolitan authority covering22 communes — got the go-ahead thisweek despite fierce opposition fromseven Riviera towns.

The towns, including some of the area’s mostexclusive, say the shake-up will demote them tomere suburbs of Nice, leaving councillors power-less and higher taxes for residents.

They vow to fight the move in the highestcourts.

Assistant mayor of Beaulieu Sylvio Vincenti told TheRiviera Gazette,“What will happen the next time we wantto buy a bus for the use of our local pensioners?

“We will have only two votes, Nice will have 33. We willbe powerless.

“We will fight this. Nothing will make us change ourminds.We will fight to the bitter end.”

The changes, approved on Monday by the Préfet of theAlpes-Maritimes, will come into force on January 1.

AlternativesTowns in opposition are Beaulieu-sur-Mer,Villefranche-

sur-Mer, St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Coaraze to the North ofNice,Vence, Saint-Jeannet and La Gaude to the Northeast.

Residents in the seven were asked to vote for the schemeor one or more alternatives and between 89 and 97 percent voted for an alternative.

In favour are Nice itself, Cagnes-sur-Mer, St-Laurent duVar and 12 towns in the Arrière Pays to the North of Nice.

They claim the change will work in their favour cuttingwelfare costs and boosting their economies as communi-ties pool resources and share the costs for land and wel-fare programmes. The balance of power within the new

WE’LL FIGHT TOTHE BITTER END

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A Yule inProvenceA Yule inProvenceHow to celebratelike the locals

HIT TV comedy Only Fools and Horsesmakes a comeback this Christmas with thefirst of three new specials kicking off inMonaco.Del Boy and Co were last seen in

1996,dancing into the sunset with £6.2million.But how will the high life in MonteCarlo compare to Peckham? Find out onBBC1,Christmas Day at 9.05pm GMT

TV’s Trottershead to Monaco

Metropolitan Nice will swallow us up, say seven Riviera towns

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2 The Riveria Gazette 15 December 2001

World NewsUS economy boostTHE US economy is showing signs of turning around.TheFederal Reserve says US factories, mines and power plantsreined back production by a smaller-than-expected 0.3%in November, outperforming market fears of a 0.8% drop.Gross domestic product slid 1.1% in the July-Septemberquarter.A further contraction is expected this quarter. Butthe economy is expected to accelerate next year.

India points finger at PakistanINDIA claims it has evidence that Pakistan-based mili-tants were behind this week’s attack on the national par-liament. It demands that Islamabad arrests their leadersand freezes all assets. Twelve people were killed when sui-cide gunmen attacked the Indian parliament building inDelhi. No members of parliament were hurt.

Plane spotters freed on bailFOURTEEN British and Dutch plane spotters arrested inGreece on spying charges were freed on bail yesterday.They pledged to return to stand trial in Greece onreduced misdemeanour charges on bail of €14,637 each.

Anthrax found in ViennaWORKERS at the US Embassy in Vienna are remainingcalm after a post bag sent from Washington in Octoberwas found to have contained anthrax.

Winona shoplift charges may dropSHOPLIFTING and drug possession charges againstactress Winona Ryder may be dropped,Los Angeles prose-cutors said yesterday. The star allegedly attempted to stealclothes,hair accessories and a handbag worth over F35,000.Her lawyer says there has been a misunderstanding.

New leadersTHERE are new leaders in Denmark, Sri Lanka andMalaysia. In Denmark, Liberal leader Anders FoghRasmussen has formed a right-wing coalition govern-ment after ousting the incumbent Social Democrats.Ranil Wickramasinghe has taken office as Prime Ministerin Sri Lanka. In Malaysia, there is a new King, TuankuSyed Sirajuddin. Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe and TungChee-hwa in Hong Kong have both announced they willstand for re-election.

China joins World Trade OrganisationCHINA joined the World Trade Organisation on Tuesdayafter 15 years of negotiations. It means major changes asrestrictions on capital markets are lifted, market access forforeign companies is improved and China’s state-ownedindustries are reformed. China is on track to overtakeJapan as the largest exporter to the US.

Pisa to re-open after 11 yearsTHE Leaning Tower of Pisa is due to re-open today. Thetower has been closed for 11 years for repair work.

FarewellTHE world said goodbye to ex-Beatle George Harrison,58, New Zealand yachtsman Sir Peter Blake, 53, Britishbroadcasting standards campaigner Mary Whitehouse,91, and actress Charlotte Coleman, star of Four Weddingsand a Funeral, 33.

news reviewA round-up of critical events in the world during the last 14 days...

International

AFGHANISTAN . . . US Marines form up near Kandahar, before moving in to take control of the airfield

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Published by The Riviera Gazette • ISSN: pending • Depôt légal:upon publication • Printed in France by RotoSud, Chateaurenard

THE whereabouts of Osamabin Laden were still uncertainyesterday.

President Bush re-iterated that binLaden would be taken “dead or alive”– as reports emerged that he may haveleft the area where he was believed tobe hiding ten days ago.

In Tora Bora, Al-Qaeda fightersloyal to bin Laden came under theheaviest fire yet yesterday with intense

US bombing and attacks from Afghanforces.

In Kandahar, US marines andAustralian SAS commandos begantheir most ambitious operation yet, toclear Kandahar airport of mines andbooby traps.

Meanwhile, a videotape apparentlyshowing bin Laden explaining his rolein the September 11 attacks has beenaccepted as genuine in the US. Bin

Laden’s family however say they areunsure if it is him. “It is preposterousfor anybody to think this tape is doc-tored. That’s just a feeble excuse toprovide weak support for an incredi-bly evil man,”said President Bush.

On the tape a chuckling bin Ladenexplains that the carnage in New Yorkfar exceeded his hopes.

He was “delighted” that the WorldTrade Center towers were destroyed.

Hunt for bin Laden goes on

ISRAELI tanks remainedjust 200 metres fromYasser Arafat’s offices onthe West Bank yesterday.

The Palestinian leader hasbeen under effective housearrest there for over tendays.

Pre-dawn army raids inthe West Bank yesterdayleft six Palestinian police-man dead and netted up to40 people, including severalwanted Hamas militants.

Two other Palestinianswere killed by Israeli sol-diers in clashes in Hebron.

Hamas marked its 14thanniversary with a state-

ment saying it will not beintimidated by Israel andvowed to continue its oper-ations. Hezbollah, theLebanese Shiite fundamen-talist group, gave its sup-port to Hamas, urging it to“stay tough”.

A senior Arafat aideaccused Israel of carryingout a “massacre”in the WestBank and warned of a “cat-astrophe” if the escalationcontinued.

Yasser Arafat’s position isnow uncertain. ThePalestinian Authorityrounded up more than 180Palestinian militants,

notably members ofHamas, following thegroup’s December 1 and 2suicide bombings whichkilled 26 civilians andinjured more than 200 inJerusalem and the northernIsraeli town of Haifa.

The clampdown failed tostave off mass Israeli retalia-tory strikes, however, whichhave been stepped up sincePalestinian militants killedten Israelis on a West Bankbus on Wednesday.

In reaction,Israel declaredit would no longer deal withArafat and launched its ownhunt for militants in the

West Bank and Gaza Strip.The US has urged

European countries not toinvite or host Arafat untilhe has taken steps to quellthe violence.“We want himto stay put. The main idea isdon’t invite him to Europe,make him stay there (in theMiddle East), help me keephis feet to the fire to do thekinds of things we allagreed he has to do,” anofficial said.

US President George W.Bush’s position is clear.“Theworld expects ChairmanArafat to lead, and so do I.And I continue to work

with our friends and alliesto talk to Mr Arafat in veryblunt terms,”he said.

Turkey and the EuropeanUnion continue to supportArafat, however. “Thedemocratically electedPalestinian leader, YasserArafat, and the Palestinianauthorities are the onlyinterlocutors in this conflictfor Israel,” Belgian ForeignMinister Louis Michel saidat the EU summit inLaeken. In Ankara, Turkishpresidential spokesmanTacan Ildem said: “For usArafat remains thePalestinian leader.”

● A JOINT Russia-Natodecision-making councilwill be set up next year.Topics to be addressedinclude arms control, ter-rorism and nuclear non-proliferation. Nato leadersemphasize that Russiawill have no power of vetoover alliance decisions.● THE US is to withdrawfrom the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty withRussia, President Bushannounced this week. MrBush says the treaty is outof date now that Russia isnot an enemy and stops theUS developing defence sys-tems to tackle “roguestates” like North Koreaand Iran. Russian PresidentVladimir Putin says themove is a “mistake.”● ARGENTINA narrowlyaverted defaulting on a$1.1 billion debt repay-ment yesterday, but onlyby using money it owes toprivate pension funds.Another $1 billion repay-ment is due beforeJanuary. The InternationalMonetary Fund hasturned down a request forhelp. Argentinian workerswent on strike onThursday and political in-fighting is widespread.Former President CarlosMenem, who favoursscrapping the peso for theUS dollar, says he will runfor re-election in 2003.● AN outbreak of thedeadly Ebola fever isspreading “rapidly andunpredictably” in Gabon,the Red Cross warns.Efforts to track an infected

woman who crossed intoneighbouring Congo havefailed. Of 14 confirmedcases, 11 victims havealready died.● GERMANY will phaseout nuclear power over thenext two decades, its par-liament voted yesterday.

One deputy said it was theend of an “expensive anddangerous mistake” inenergy policy. It will meanthe closure of Germany’s19 nuclear power plants.The country’s practice ofshipping nuclear waste toreprocessing centres in

France and Britain willalso be phased out.● THE former PrimeMinister of Rwanda, JeanKambanda, is one of sixprisoners who arrived toserve prison sentences inMali this week. Foundguilty of genocide in 1998,

Kambanda lost his appealto the InternationalCriminal Tribunal forRwanda. He will serve hissentence at a speciallymodified prison in Mali.Nowhere in Rwanda is con-sidered safe enough forhim.

Israeli tanks 200 metres from Arafat

AFP

The Riveria Gazette 15 December 2001 3

TODAY sees the launch of the Riviera’sfirst English language newspaper.

The Riviera Gazette has been created toaddress the needs of the local English-speakingpopulation at a time when the region is attractingmore and more people from all backgroundsand nationalities.

“The Riviera is no longer the exclusive preserveof the rich and famous. It is home to a diversemix of people from around the world, of all

incomes and ages,’’said the Editor of The RivieraGazette, Sarah Clark.

“It’s a thriving community but it can be hardto break into and easy to feel sidelined.

“Our aim is to act as a bridge between newarrivals and the long-established, between theEnglish-speaking and the French,’’ she added.

Each edition will feature international,national and local news, from the big events tonews from the many clubs, societies andschools that bind our community – and all for

just €3. There will also be information on eventsacross the region,with easy-to-use diary listings,in-depth reviews, and features and guides oneverything from sailing to where to buy kids’shoes.

And, of course, we’ve included horoscopes,crosswords, cartoons and sports news.

The Riviera Gazette welcomes readers’ letters,comments and queries. We’ll soon be out everytwo weeks but, for now, the next issue will beavailable in local newsagents on January 24th.

YOU’D BETTER WATCH OUT . . .Grade Ten students PandoraTodd, pictured, and NancyDelaughter wowed parents with

their performance of ‘SantaClaus is Coming to Town’

SNOW BUSINESS LIKE SHOWBUSINESS .. . Kindergarten and Pre-Kindergarten pupils,agedfour and five, delight the audience by singing ‘Blow Wind Blow’ dressed as snow flakes

CONCENTRATION ...Grade Seven and Eight pupils take a deep breathbefore launching into a song written by music teacher Janet Holroyd

CHRISTMAS CALYPSO . . . Grade Two pupils sing a version of ‘The Twelve days of Christmas’with an unconventional Caribbean theme complete with brightly coloured pictures

GRAND FINALE . . . the enthusiastic junior choir raises the roof with a finalnumber to round off its performance to rapturous applause

WINTER WARMER . . . Grade One pupils perform a festive poem

The Riviera Gazette – our aim

The Christmas season got off to a tuneful startlast Saturday when the International School ofNice held its annual winter fete.

Pupils of all ages, from four to 15, performed Christmas poems,plays and songs in front of a packed hall of parents.

After the show they joined their families to watch sports displaysand enjoy an International Food fair, with cuisine from around theworld, cooked by parents.

The day-long event has been held for several years and was hailed agreat success. Directrice Mrs Dorothy Foster said “Once again we’veshown we’ve got great kids, great parents and a great school.”

Money raised goes to the PTA and this year’s day is thought to havebeen a bumper fund-raiser. The school’s next performance is TheBoyfriend on March 6, 7 and 8.

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IKEA is to confirm thismonth whether it willpress ahead with plans fora store on the outskirts ofCagnes-sur-Mer.

The Swedish furnituregiant is looking at a site bythe Pénétrante in Sudalparcat the ZAC Saint-Jean, onthe Vence side of the town.

Cagnes Mayor Louis Negrefavours the scheme as longas it does not cause trafficbuild-up.

The design must also beapproved by architectsfrom the Bâtiments deFrance as the site is near theperimeter of the chateau ofVilleneuve-Loubet.

Ikea to decidesoon on Cagnes

ISN winter fete hitsa high note


National News

INCUMBENT PresidentJacques Chirac narrowlyleads Prime MinisterLionel Jospin, in the cam-paign for next April’spresidential election.

According to an opinionpoll taken by IPSOS, if theelection was to take placenow, Chirac would beatJospin by 51% to 49%.

The French presidentialelection has two rounds. Inthe first, on April 21, any-one who can gather the sig-natures of 500 elected sup-porters can stand for elec-tion. The top two then gothrough to the secondround, to be held on May 5.This round is a head-to-head battle. Whoever getsthe most votes becomes thePresident.

The IPSOS poll showedthat Chirac would have won27% percent of votes in thefirst round whilst Jospinwould have gained 22%.

Left-wing former interiorminister Jean-PierreChevènement is in thirdposition with 12%. He isclosely followed by the far-right leader Jean-Marie LePen on 8%.

Behind them, with anequal share of the poll,come the veteran far-leftcandidate Arlette Laguiller,Communist party chair-man Robert Hue and NoëlMamère of the Green party,all with 6%.

Centrist François Bayroufollows with 4%. Free-mar-keteer Alain Madelin ofLiberal Democracy has 3%and Gaullist heavyweightCharles Pasqua has a 2%share.

Bruno Mégret of theNational RepublicanMovement (MNR), a far-right party, has 1.5%.

It is in the second roundthat things can get veryinteresting, as the tworemaining candidatesexpend all their energies inan all-out bid to persuadeas many as possible of thesupporters of the defeatedcandidates to vote for them.

Currently, those whowould have voted forChevènement in round oneare slightly more likely tochoose Chirac than Jospin.

Voters for Le Pen preferChirac to Jospin by 64% to17%. But voters forLaguiller, Hue and Mamèreall prefer Jospin to Chiracby large majorities.

Just before the poll tookplace, a new candidateentered the fray. TheRadical Left Party (PRG), ajunior member of theSocialist-led coalition gov-ernment, declared that theGuyanese deputy ChristineTaubira would be its candi-date for the presidentialelection.

Taubira is the first presi-dential candidate to be ofmixed race and is also thefirst to come from one ofFrance’s overseas territories.

To date, a total of fourteenpoliticians have either offi-cially declared themselvesas candidates or are expect-ed to announce their candi-dature soon.

Torturer ‘to get fine not jail’French prosecutors have called for a €15,245 fine but

no prison sentence in the case of Paul Aussaresses, the83 year old retired French army general who describedin a book how he tortured and killed prisoners duringthe Algerian war of independence.Aussaresses wascounter-intelligence chief in Algiers in the 1950s. In hismemoirs, Special Services, Algeria 1955-57, he describeshow he tortured and killed 24 Algerian prisoners aspart of the army’s attempt to stop bomb attacks andshootings being carried out by the National LiberationFront.Aussaresses is unrepentant, saying that torturewas a widely accepted instrument, fully sanctioned bythe government. His book, he says, merely puts onrecord a historical fact.

Going, going, gone . . .The 450 year-old monopoly held by state-registered

auctioneers ended late last month when a sale of rarebooks took place at Sotheby’s in Paris. The firm hasbeen campaigning for ten years to end the monopoly,part of the guild system originally introduced by KingHenry II in 1556 to protect the legitimate merchants ofpost-medieval France from street hawkers. The openingup of the market should halt the decline in Paris’ artsales; after World War II, Paris had a 90% share of theworld’s art sales market. Today Paris handles only 5% ofthe art sales market.“The competition is going to bemore fierce, but on the other hand the customers com-ing here are going to be more important. In fact we aregoing to benefit,” said Dominique Ribeyre, president ofthe Company of Commissaires-Priseurs in Paris.

Green light for Nice-Turin TGVThe go-ahead has been given to the concept of build-

ing a TGV train link between Nice and Turin – at leastat the technical level. If built, the new line will shave twohours off the existing Nice-Paris journey time.With atotal journey time of only three and a half hours, thenew Nice-Turin-Paris route would provide a sensiblealternative to flying and is seen as being of major eco-nomic benefit to the region.All that is needed now is forthe money to be raised — F30 billion in all, sharedbetween France, Italy and the EU.

French beef ban illegalThe French ban on British beef is illegal, the European

Court of Justice ruled this week. The EU-wide ban onBritish beef, imposed during the BSE crisis, was lifted in1999. But France continued to ban imports on a unilat-eral basis, saying that its scientific experts believe thereis a medical risk. If France does not now lift its ban, itwill face further legal actions which could lead to sub-stantial daily fines.

Caroline suspect appealFrancisco Arce Montes, the Spaniard accused of the

murder of 13 year-old British schoolgirl CarolineDickenson in a Brittany youth hostel in July 1996, isappealing against his extradition from the United Statesto face trial in France. Following his extradition in mid-November,Arce Montes, 51, has been held in ‘provision-al detention’ in Rennes, Brittany. He was arrested inFlorida last March after breaking into a woman’s houseand allegedly committing a lewd act.

Livingstone learns from ParisLondon mayor Ken Livingstone visited Paris late last

month on a fact-finding trip in search of new ideas forsolving London’s transport problems.Accompanied byParis mayor Betrand Delanoe, Livingstone visited thecomputer centre that controls Paris traffic, investigatednew bus lanes being installed along the city’s arterialroutes and visited the Metro. Livingstone’s impressions?“During the ten minutes we stood on the platform I sawmore trains than in one hour in a London station”.

Troubled carrier sets sailFrance’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the Charles

de Gaulle, has finally set sail from Toulon for the IndianOcean and its first mission since it came into service inMay. The carrier has been plagued by technical troublesever since it was delivered to the French Navy. It will beengaged in surveillance and support missions to forcesin Afghanistan.

Chirac leadspresidentialrace by a nose

SWIFT agreement on anumber of topics hasbeen reached byEuropean Union lead-ers meeting in Laeken,Belgium.

The highlight of the sum-mit is to be a declarationtoday on the next phase ofEurope’s integration. Thiswill announce the creationof a 62-member ‘conven-tion’ to canvass views fromacross Europe and give rec-ommendations on whetherEU member states shouldgive up more national pow-ers to the cause ofEuropean unity.

The leaders will alsodecide who will head theconvention. Former Frenchpresident Valery Giscardd’Estaing is consideredfavourite for the job.

What role Europe canplay in Afghanistan’s post-Taliban security and recon-struction was first on theagenda Friday morning.

EU leaders announced

Afghan securityforce to include allEU member states

that every one of the mem-ber states will take part in aUN-mandated peacekeep-ing force that could deployin Afghanistan within thenext ten days.

Britain will “probably,very likely” lead the force,which could also incorpo-rate soldiers from non-EUcountries, said JavierSolana, the EU foreign poli-cy chief. The Europeantroops will not, however, gointo combat alongside USforces to track downOsama bin Laden and hisal-Qaeda network.

Belgian Foreign MinisterLouis Michel said that heexpected the completeforce to number 3,000 to4,000 troops, “to hazard aguess.”

A small British militaryreconnaissance team willfly out to Kabul for an earlyscouting mission this week-end. It will report back with

details of what is requiredon the ground, a Europeansource close to the talkssaid.

Any deployment is, how-ever, out of the questionwithout UN SecurityCouncil authority and theexpress approval of theAfghans, the source added.

Yasser Arafat’s positionhas also been under discus-sion. The EU leaders issueda statement yesterday con-firming their support forhim, but with a caveat. ThePalestinian Authority mustpush efforts to dismantlethe extremist groupsIslamic Jihad and Hamas,and Arafat must issue “apublic appeal . . . for an endto the armed intifada”, saidthe statement. The EU alsocalled on Israel to honourits own commitment towithdraw from the occu-pied territories,“stop extra-judicial executions,” and liftall restrictions imposed onthe Palestinians.

EU SUMMIT . . . European Union leaders meeting at Laeken, Brussels, pause for a group picture

RUNNING . . . Christine Taubira

By Sarah Clark

AFP

AFP

THE HIGH COURT of appeal hasconfirmed that handicapped chil-dren have the right not to be born.

The court agreed that a six year old bornwith Down’s Syndrome would have beenaborted had doctors not failed to detect hisdisability. They ordered the boy to be paidan unspecified amount in compensation.

The decision confirms a landmark rulinglast year, known as the Perruche judgment,in which a severely handicapped 17 year-old boy was awarded compensationbecause doctors failed to identify that hismother had contracted rubella duringpregnancy.

Campaigners for the rights of the handi-capped are outraged.“Certain judges in thehigh court of appeal still think it is better to

be dead than handicapped,” said XavierMirabel of the Collective to StopDiscrimination against the Disabled(CCH).

Doctors, concerned that the ruling willencourage gynaecologists to recommendabortions whenever there is even theslightest hint of disability, are also alarmedby the decision.

A statement from the National Order ofDoctors (ONM) says that gynaecologistsare likely to “cease to recommend tests onpregnant women that are not obligatory.Most often, they will suggest at the smallestdoubt the termination of the pregnancy”.

Insurance premiums for foetal specialistshave gone up ten-fold since the Perruchejudgment was announced.

Down’s boy payout for birth

NATIONALS of France’sformer colonies whofought for France beforeindependence are toreceive the same pensionrights as French citizens.

60,000 Army veterans anda further 25,000 recipientsof military invalidity bene-fits (PMI) will be affected.

The move is a result of acourt ruling which hasfound in favour ofSenegalese ex-French ArmySergeant-Major Amadou

Diop, and will cost some 2-3 billion francs a year.

The government may alsohave to pay out a further 10billion francs in compensa-tion to the veterans.

The value of their pen-sions was frozen when theircountries gained indepen-dence from France,but theywill now seek back-pay.

French veterans receive aF2,800 a year pension top-up; military invalidity ben-efit averages F30,000 a year.

Overseas veterans win pay rise


THE GREAT Frenchjobs experiment isfalling short of targets,is extremely costly,weakens competitive-ness and does not tacklethe fundamental prob-lem of long-term, struc-tural unemployment.

Cuts must be made ifFrance is to achieve itseuro-zone stability com-mitment of balancingthe budget in 2004.

That’s the conclusionreached by authors of ahard-hitting report fromthe Organisation forEconomic Cooperation andDevelopment (OECD).

It says that the country’semployment programmecost 130 billion francs lastyear, equivalent to two-thirds of France’s budgetdeficit.

In the 1997 election, thegovernment came to powerwith a commitment toreduce unemploymentforming a central plank ofits manifesto. Since win-ning power, its employ-ment programme has hadtwo main facets. The first isthe reduction of the work-ing week from 39 hours to35 hours. The second is ajob creation schemefocussed on the young.

The same policies areexpected to remain centralto the government’s mani-festo for its 2002 re-electioncampaign.

Whilst the governmenthas had some success inreducing unemployment,now down from 12.6% in1997 to around 9%, theOECD maintains that it hasbeen greatly helped in this

by growth outside France,the discipline of the eurolaunch, ten years of wagemoderation in France andtax cuts.

The report says that thechangeover to the 35-hourweek “is proving to be costlyfor the government and thesources of future financingare not fully identified”whilst the government’splans for job creation arefalling short of target.

In 1998, the governmentannounced plans to create700,000 jobs. This is nowexpected to be closer to500,000, mostly in the pub-lic sector, and the OECDsays that even this figure ison the high side.

The government’s use ofearly retirement schemes,expensive in terms of bothmoney and lost skills, toopen up job opportunitiesfor the young is particularlystrongly criticised by theOECD.

Although many employ-ers are having difficultyrecruiting workers for low-skilled jobs, getting unem-ployment below 9% isgoing to prove difficult, saysthe report. It identifies “thehigh level of corporate andpersonal income taxationand the complexity of regu-lation, as in the case oflabour regulation” as thetwo main constraints.

The average French work-er puts in fewer than 1,500hours a year; one of thelowest levels amongst thedeveloped countries.French labour productivity,however, is one of the high-est in the world.

National News

Two second gap or a fineA new law means that drivers not keeping a two sec-

ond gap between themselves and the vehicle ahead canbe fined up to F5,000 and collect three penalty pointson their licence.And, in tunnels, the maximum finerises to F24,600 – plus a three year driving ban.

The new rule, effective from the beginning ofDecember, is designed to reduce the number of acci-dents caused by drivers crashing into the back of the carin front. This type of accident was the cause of 23.2% ofmotorway deaths in France last year. The ‘two secondrule’ equates to a gap between vehicles of 73 metres at130km/h, 50 metres at 90km/h and 28 metres at50km/h.

Cocaine seized at La TurbieA heavily pregnant Venezuelan woman has been

placed in custody after 4.6 kilos of cocaine, worth 2.7million francs, was found in her suitcase as she crossedthe péage at La Turbie. The drugs were hidden in eightlarge cosmetics containers. They came to light whencustoms officers conducted a search of a Euro-Lines bustravelling from Barcelona to Rome. Before boarding thebus, the woman had flown into Madrid airport on aflight from Venezuela via Cuba.

Customs officers have seized 38.5 kilos of cocaine,three tonnes of cannabis and 16,000 sachets of anabolicsteroids in the Alpes-Maritimes since January.

The future is roséSales of Côtes de Provence wine are up 23.9% this

year, fuelled by an increasing taste for Rosé amongstFrench wine lovers.Whilst sales of both red and whitewines have been falling over the last decade, sales ofRosé have doubled.

The changing taste of the nation’s drinkers is goodnews for Côtes de Provence. Of the 19,300 hectaresgiven over to the cultivation of grapes for wine produc-tion in the Var,Alpes-Maritimes and Bouches-du-Rhône, 80% are used to make Rosé.

Cash lift for Nice AirportAt the same time as the third Paris airport announce-

ment, the government also announced a five billionfranc development package for the country’s regionalairports.

The money will be shared between Nice Côte d’Azurand nine other airports including Bordeaux, Lille,Marseille, Montpelier, Mulhouse-Bâle, Nantes,Strasbourg and Toulouse. The aim is to increase thenumber of international flights serving the regional air-ports and to modernise airport and ground services.How the funding is to be allotted has yet to be decided.

Alpine tunnels re-openingThe Gotthard tunnel will be open again on December

21, and the Mont Blanc tunnel opens the following day.The Mont Blanc tunnel was closed in 1999 after a fire

in which 39 people were killed. To improve safety, MontBlanc will now only handle one-way traffic.Vehiclestravelling in the other direction will be routed via themore southerly Frejus tunnel. Every so often the direc-tions of the two tunnels will be reversed, but the decisionon how frequently this will happen has yet to been taken.

Army Major guilty of spyingA major in the French Army was found guilty this

week of handing military secrets to the Serbs. Pierre-Henri Bunel gave details of NATO bombing plans to theSerbs as the military campaign in Kosovo was gettingunder way, a court found. Bunel, who was stationed atNATO in Brussels at the time, admitted that he passedon the information, but says that it was part of a mis-information campaign and that he was ordered to do itby French intelligence services. He was jailed for twoyears with three further years suspended.

Snow excuseAuron, Isola 2000 and Valberg, the three largest ski

resorts in the Alpes-Maritimes, are now open followingfresh snow falls overnight on Thursday. The othertwelve nearby ski resorts are scheduled to open in timefor local residents’ traditional New Year skiing trips.

Employmentprogramme‘off target’

FRANCE has agreed toconsult Britain beforetaking any decision to dis-turb World War I gravesin order to build the thirdParis airport at Chaulnes,near the site of theSomme battlefield.

“Nothing will happenwithout Britain’s agreement,”said a French spokesman.

The announcement of thechoice of Chaulnes, 115kilometres from the capital,as the site for the third Parisairport has caused an inter-national uproar.

Some 30,000 German,French, British and othertroops who were killed on asection of the Somme bat-tlefront lie in war cemeter-ies on or around the loca-tion of the planned airport.

For it to go ahead as cur-rently planned, sixty six ofthe Commonwealth sol-diers killed at the Sommeduring World War I wouldhave to be exhumed.

War graves stand in wayof third Paris airport

CEMETERIES . . . 66 graves need to be moved

TWO new projects justacross the Italian bor-der look set to give theeconomy of Ventimigliaa major boost.

The first project will cre-ate Ventimiglia’s first luxurytourist complex. The plansinclude an 80 bedroomhotel and 60 holiday prop-erties, linked by a lift totheir own private beachbelow and all built in thestyle of a typical Ligurian

village. Located just a fewsteps from the French bor-der, on the edge of theHanbury Botanic Gardens,the complex is to be builton part of a 24 hectaretranche of land owned byMonaco’s Grimaldi familyfor the last 800 years.

The development projecthas been approved byLiguria’s environmentcommission but has yet tobe officially submitted to

Ventimiglia’s own planningauthorities.

Gaining full planning per-mission for the project isnot expected to presentmuch of a problem though;Ventimiglia’s town council,keen to widen the town’seconomic base, is welcom-ing it with open arms.

Yard saleThe second project is led byFerrovie Statale, the Italianstate railway company. It is

selling 140 hectares of landpreviously used to conductborder controls on freightcars travelling betweenFrance and Italy.

This area used to process150 freight wagons a day –and as many as 500 a day inthe late 1980s. Now, itstands empty and all butabandoned.

Ferrovie Statale is soon tobe privatised and is said tobe looking for a quick sale

for the land. Buyers are notexpected to be hard to find.The land’s location, justinside Italy but within veryeasy reach of the Côted’Azur, its size and its likelyprice (expected to reflectItalian rather than Frenchland prices) adds up to awinning combination forland-starved local compa-nies wanting to benefitfrom a great location atlower than usual prices.

Tourist complex boost for Ventimiglia

THE arson trial ofBernard Bonnet, the for-mer Governor of Corsica,closed on December 7thwith the judge settingJanuary 11th as the datefor delivering the verdict.

In an affair which hascaused huge embarrass-ment to the French govern-ment, Bonnet is the firstFrench Préfet to face crimi-nal charges since WorldWar II.

He is accused of orderingpolice to burn down an ille-gally-constructed beachrestaurant in April 1999 aspart of a ‘zero-tolerance’campaign against theisland’s long tradition ofmafia-style criminality.

The night-time operationturned to fiasco when oneof the gendarmes was badlyburned.

In their hurry to flee the

scene, the five-man squadleft behind identifiablecommunications equip-ment and a knife.

Also on trial are the fivegendarmes, their comman-der Colonel Henri Mazeresand Bonnet’s CabinetDirector Gerard Pardini.

They have all admittedtheir role in the attack butclaim they were actingunder orders from theGovernor. Bonnet deniesthe charges.

Bonnet was appointedPréfet of Corsica after themurder of his predecessorClaude Erignac in February1998.

In his first year he orderedthe destruction of 50 jerry-built beach restaurants,known as ‘Paillotes’ orStraw Huts. But in April1999 he was forced to sus-pend the demolitions after

the intervention of localpoliticians.

Ten days later came thebotched operation at theChez Francis restaurant.

Bonnet was relieved of hisresponsibilities the follow-ing month and the casefinally came to trial inNovember this year. Hefaces a maximum penaltyof ten years in jail.

The affair is believed tobe a contributing factor inthe government’s move togive more autonomy toCorsica. A bill currentlygoing through parliamentwill grant the CorsicanAssembly limited law mak-ing powers and extend theteaching of the Corsicanlanguage in return for acessation of the separatistviolence that has afflictedthe island for 25 years.

AFP

Straw huts affair: verdict due

Twenty-five of them areBritish.

In London, junior defenceminister Lewis Moonie said“the Commonwealth WarGraves Commission willfirmly resist any plans todisturb the war dead”.

British objections couldscupper the airport plan.

Technically, France doesnot own the land thesegraves are sited on.Commonwealth grave-yards from World War I,

which litter the countrysidein this region, were ceded inperpetuity to theCommonwealth WarGraves Commission by theFrench government as amark of respect for theCommonwealth soldierskilled during the war.

Local residents also objectto the plan. But the Frenchgovernment says that athird Paris airport is essen-tial to ease pressure on Orlyand Charles-de-Gaulle.


CM

YK

THE introduction of theeuro and the 35-hourweek, plus an earlyjostling for position andshow of strength priorto the elections in Aprilnext year, has led to awave of strikes, demon-strations and go-slowsacross France.

Not all are having the seri-ous effect that the air trafficcontrollers, who broughtFrench air travel to a nearstandstill last week, man-aged to achieve. But, togeth-er, they add up to a worry-ing total that observers say isonly likely to get worse asthe election draws closer.Sectors affected recentlyinclude:

BANKS Five of France’slargest unions have calledfor a one-day stoppage byemployees across the entireFrench banking sector onJanuary 2nd, the first‘working’ day after theintroduction of the euro.Unions have been demand-ing negotiations with man-agement on salaries,staffing levels and securityin connection with thechangeover from the francto the euro. The FrenchBanking Association (AFB)has so far refused to holdtalks with the unions overthe proposed strike, sayingthat the union demands“have no link to the euro”and that their move to hire50,000 young people tohelp during the changeoverprocess (mid-Dec to mid-April) should be enough.

POST Parisien postalworkers staged a one-daystrike over pay, staffing andsecurity yesterday – the daythat starter kits of euro coinswent on sale in Post Offices.

MINT A two week strike

dred anchovy fishermengathered on the seafront inSaint-Nazaire to protestagainst the presence ofSpanish fishermen in theGulf of Gascony. Theincensed fishermen burnedtyres and wooden palettesand overturned severaltonnes of anchovies in thestreets – and in the offices ofthe local maritime affairsofficials.

DOCTORS General practi-tioners in many areas arerefusing to make night-timehouse calls in an indefinitestrike aimed at re-openingnegotiations for better pay.They want their standardconsultation fee increasedfrom F115 to F131.20 andthe fee for home visits to beraised from F135 to F197.

BAKERS Hundreds ofbakers demonstrated inParis on November 26thagainst the national 35-hour week. They say itthreatens their livelihoodsand product quality.“Making quality breadtakes time. Serving clientsearly in the morning andlate in the evening is anunavoidable reality for ourprofession” said the Frenchbakers’ confederation in astatement. Since 1982,French bakers have workedunder specific legislationthat allows up to 329 hoursof overtime a year, and theywant to keep that specialstatus.

UNEMPLOYED The gov-ernment has agreed to re-instate the traditional“prime de Nöel” Christmasbonus for those on lowincomes after 350 unem-ployed took to the streets ofMarseille in late Novemberto protest against its loss.

by workers at the Frenchmint in Pessac, SW France,was broken at the end ofNovember when Frenchofficials, backed by around100 riot officers, seized mil-lions of euro coins and themaster-stamps used to minteuros so that a sufficientsupply of euros could beassured for the January 1launch.

POLICE A month-longseries of demonstrations bypolice has helped them wina €60.98 million fundingpackage to improve pay andincrease compensation pay-ments. Now the gendarmesare protesting too – theywant the police deal to beextended to include them aswell.

TRAINS Rail traffic wasseverely disrupted acrossthe country when signal-men, demanding anincrease in basic pay, wenton a series of strikes.

SHIPPING Workers block-aded the port of Marseille,France’s largest industrialport, during a 13-day strikeover working hours. Allreturned to normal whenunions agreed to a newworking week of 32 hoursand 54 minutes.

HOSPITAL INTERNS Aseries of night-time andone-day strikes has beenorganised by the Interns’unions, who want to seeshorter working hoursintroduced.Interns work anaverage 80 hour week.

COLLÈGES AND LYCÉESSNES-FSU, the leading lec-turers’ union, has called aseries of strikes aimed atre-opening negotiations ona reduction of workinghours and better workingconditions.

FISHERMEN Two hun-

Local News

Everybody OutNew wave of strikes and protests hits France

NO FLY ZONE . . . a 36-hour strike by Air Traffic Controllers over December 5/6 meant hundreds ofcancelled flights and rows of empty check-in desks at Nice Côte d’Azur airport.

TRUFFLE TROUBLE . . . dry weather means prices are rocketing

THE PRICE of truffles isset to rocket this season.

In a good year, Franceproduces forty tonnes oftruffles. This year, insiderssay that we’ll be lucky to getfifteen tonnes.

At the root of the prob-lem, they say, is the dryweather this year that affect-ed the French truffle grow-ing regions (the Vaucluse,the Gard, the Drome andthe Périgord as well as theAlpes-de-Haute-Provence).

At the first of the season’s

truffle markets at Aups inthe Var,even the profession-al buyers were having to payF1,500 to F1,700 a kilo.

In the run up toChristmas, prices areexpected to rise far higherstill – to the point wherethere is a real risk that truf-fles will disappear frommany menus. Smallerrestaurateurs, worried thattheir customers won’t paythe prices they will need tocharge, may simply leavethem off the menu.

A black year for truffles

Billionaire’s Var domaineTwo eighteen hole golf courses, a 115 room four-star

hotel and a selection of luxury villas will make up theDomaine de Terre Blanche, due to open at Tourrettesnear Fayence in the Var in the Spring of 2003. Buildingwork on the Four Seasons hotel began this week whenthe first stone was laid by Dietmar Hopp, the Germanbillionaire who is the lead investor in the project.

Environmental activists have protested against thebuilding of the complex on a site of natural beauty butthe project, which will bring 400 jobs, has the full sup-port of local councils. Thirty of the one hundred luxurybuilding plots have been sold. One buyer has purchasedthree adjacent plots and will be building a 900 squaremetre villa at a total estimated cost of 35 million francs.

Music’s golden ageRetired professional musicians living on the Riviera

are to get their own orchestra. The Orchestra du GrandSud will be made up of both French and internationalresidents of the area under the honorary presidency ofPhilippe Bender, director of the regional orchestra inCannes.Auditions are being organised by SophieDupont, on 04 93 64 84 18.

15% poverty in CagnesFifteen percent of the population of Cagnes-sur-Mer

is living below the poverty line. Up to 6,500 residents ofthe town have insufficient income for necessities,reveals a new report by CAMS, the agency monitoringsocial welfare in the Alpes-Maritimes.

New English pub in CannesA new English pub opened its doors in Cannes on

Tuesday. The Station Tavern, opposite the town’s railwaystation, offers traditional English grub and beer.

Owner Leslie Azoulay, who was born in England buthas lived in France for the past 25 years, said:“It’s goingwell.We offer traditional food like Shepherd’s Pie andPloughman’s with a warm welcome.”Wife Brenda anddaughter Tracy work with him.

The pub, on the site of the Old Chelsea Bar, also plansto screen live football matches.

Not so sharp…A father whose son was told off in class stormed into

the school brandishing a Samurai sword. The 45-year-old was arrested after a school caretaker chased himaway from the Lycée de Firminy in the Loire. Heappeared before a tribunal in Saint Étienne earlier thismonth.

TGV death mysteryThe identity of a woman killed when she was hit by a

TGV train near Cannes railway station last Sunday hasyet to be discovered.An empty black handbag wasfound near the scene but gave no clues. The authoritiessuspect suicide.

Barricade for drainsA 630-metre long, four metre high barricade has

appeared in Nice, on the beach near the Negresco, mar-ring the sea view and blocking beach access. The barri-cade is part of a 66 million franc public works projectfor a new drainage system to stop sewage overflowinginto the Baie des Anges during heavy rain. The projectshould be completed in June.

Monaco extradites RussianA Russian suspected of money laundering and drug

trafficking has been extradited from Monaco toMoscow.Vadim Petrov was driven to Nice airport underheavy escort last Sunday for a flight to Russia. He wassuspected of money laundering in the principality andis also the subject of an international arrest warrant fordrug trafficking in Russia.

Academy OpenThe new Academy of Arts in La Colle sur Loup is

doing well after opening its doors in October. The 250square metre building offers more than 30 subjectsincluding languages, musical instrument tuition andcomputing to adults and children aged seven and over.

Sculpting, photography and painting classes are alsoheld. Lessons are given by professional teachers, musi-cians and artists. The academy, on the route du Pont dePierre, is open six days a week.

THE long-awaited har-vesting of the first crop ofolives to receive the presti-gious “AOC Olive de Nice”label has begun and thefirst bottles of olive oil arenow arriving in the shops.

Like wine, the presence ofan AOC label on preparedolives, bottles of olive oiland other products willensure that buyers are get-ting a top quality localproduct. But not everyonewho grows olives in the

Nice area will qualify forthe label.

To gain an AOC label fortheir products, producersmust submit samples to ajury of specialists who willcheck both olives and oliveoil for their appearance,smell and taste.

SmoothnessFor olives, the judges

examine their smell, thesuppleness of the skin andtheir crunchiness. For oliveoil, the judges will be test-

ing smoothness and textureand making sure that thereis no sediment – or a resid-ual taste of sediment.

The first picking date isalso strictly stipulated.Harvesting must not beginuntil after November 15th.

“Niçois olive oil has aunique taste, a combinationof hazelnuts, almonds andartichokes. But you don’tget the full flavour from thefruit that ripens first. Thatstarts coming through in

December and the verybest taste comes from fruitpicked in February andMarch,” explained DanielRosenfelder of the Baladede Provence delicatessen,located in Old Antibes’Marché Provençal.

High quality comes with aprice, however. AOC oliveoil is expected to sell atbetween F75 and F95 for aone litre bottle. A quarterlitre carton of olives will bebetween F15 and F25.

First AOC olives arrive

AFP

Local News


AMONGST numerousroad closures during thestorms last month, theRN98 ‘Bord de mer’between the Marina Baiedes Anges in VilleneuveLoubet and Antibes wasagain the worst hit.

The road had to be closedtwice during one week,bringing traffic misery asdrivers sought alternativeroutes.

Bottlenecks on roadsleading to the RN7 and theA8 meant the displacedtraffic created long tail-backs, delaying frustrateddrivers for up to an hour.

One lane of the RN98near the Marina Baie desAnges is still closed afterrocks and large volumes ofwater washed onto the roadwith enough force to

THE NICE branch ofMarks & Spencer closesits doors for the lasttime on December22nd, victim of thetroubled British com-pany’s decision to pullout of Europe.

Marks & Spencer stores inFrance are being taken overby French department storechain Galeries Lafayette, inpartnership with FNAC,Virgin and H&M.

In Nice, the avenue Jean-Médecin store will undergoa major facelift before re-opening in 2003. Thirtypercent of the floor spacewill be used by GaleriesLafayette itself. The bulk ofthe building will be takenover by entertainmentsuperstore specialist FNAC.

At one stage, however, itlooked as though the salemight not go through.

Galeries Lafayette and itspartners made their offercontingent upon theapproval of Marks andSpencer’s management andworkers. Although GaleriesLafayette said 1,500 work-ers would be retained,stores were temporarily

judo heavyweight OlympicChampion and France’smost feted sportsman.

The reason for their visit? To collect ‘pièces jaunes’

— five, ten and twenty cen-times coins — in aid ofchildren in need.

It is the first time that thisfamous train, which col-lected 65 million francs in‘shrapnel’ in 2000, has visit-ed Nice and local charitiesand fund raisers are takingthe task of collecting asmany pièces jaunes as pos-sible very seriously.

Schools, associations,sports clubs and othergroups are all gearing upfor a major fundraisingexercise designed to showthe generosity of the Côted’Azur and Nice is plan-ning a special carnival fromJanuary 14 to 27. The targetis to collect three and a halftonnes of coins.

To make it easy for peopleto donate their coins, boxesare being placed at sixthousand collection pointsacross the region, mostly inschools and on associationpremises. Clubs, schools,societies and associationsinterested in joining in thefund raising by becoming acollection point or organis-ing a fund raising eventshould contact Nice-Présence on 04 93 85 38 50or visit the charity’s websiteat www.piecesjaunes.com

AS WE contemplate theimminent switch fromthe Franc to the Euro,smart thinking and theloan of a train have pro-duced a solution to aperpetual question formany — what to use-

fully do with all thoses o on-to-b e-histor ycentime coins thatrapidly accumulate inthe nation’s purses andpockets?

On 27th January 2002, aspecial TGV train called

the “Pièces Jaunes” will pullinto Nice railway station.

On board will beBernadette Chirac, presi-dent of the Fondation desHôpitaux de France andwife of the FrenchPresident Jacques Chirac,and David Douiller, the

Got any sparechange, guv?Train to collect tonnes of centimes for charity

COMMON CENTS . . . Mme Chirac and David Douillet collecting change earlier this year

RN 98 to get storm protection

So long M&S, hello Virgin

ANTIBES railway station is the fifth sta-tion in the region to be re-opened with anew look and improved station services.

The work is part of a major upgrade pro-gramme for the region’s train services,designed to persuade people to leave theircars at home and use the trains instead.

The two most important projects are there-opening of the old Cannes-Grasse rail-way line, due to come into service in late2003/early 2004, and the addition of athird track to the coast line to allow theTER train service to be increased to one

train every ten minutes. The regionaltransport authority expects this majorproject to be completed in 2007.

In all, 47 local stations are being renovat-ed. They include Beaulieu-sur-Mer,Menton, Cagnes-sur-Mer, Juan-les-Pinsand Villeneuve-Loubet.

E N G L I S H - s p e a k i n gretired executives arebeing sought by AGIR, anassociation of retiredFrench executives .

Members donate theirexpertise to small local busi-nesses who have a projectthat they need help with.

The existing members ofthe local group are drawnfrom backgrounds includ-ing marketing, accountan-cy, project managementand business development.

Currently, they are nearlyall French.“But many of thesmall businesses we workwith are looking to export.We would really welcomenew English speakingmembers with direct expe-rience of other marketswho could give their adviceto these businesses”, AGIRtold The Riviera Gazette.

“One small businessowner we’re working withhas just begun exportinghis goat’s cheese to the UK.

But how best to exploit thisopportunity? Does he needto adapt his packaging, hispricing, his terms of busi-ness? Someone who knowsthe business landscape inthe UK could really help .”

The group’s memberswork on an entirely volun-tary basis and ask only thatvolunteers have businessexperience and speak someFrench. Contact them on04 92 91 11 65 or visitwww.agir.medit.free.fr

PLANS TO extend theport of Nice met yet moreheated opposition duringthe sixth public debate onthe subject last week.

Local residents, who con-test that the port is alreadytoo noisy, that it causes traf-fic jams and that Nice hasenough pollution alreadywithout having more boatscoming in and out of a larg-

er port, are well organisedand well coordinated.

“Build it in Toulon”, saythe residents.

In favour of the schemeare the port’s users and thelocal development agencies.They say that the extensionis a requirement rather thanan option for what remainsa working port, not just atourist attraction. The port

“is not a pleasure garden”,they say.

Concessions to local resi-dents are now beginning towin opponents round.

The latest ideas include aplan to ease congestionaround the port by buildinga 1,200 metre road tunnelthrough the hillsidebetween the port and thebay of Villefranche.

Port extension:“Build it in Toulon”

Tired of golf? Retired executivessought to help in local businesses

Better stations,more trains andnew line coming

UPGRADED . . . Antibes railway station

TRAFFIC CHAOS ... the Bord de Mer,often closed by bad weather

WINDING DOWN . . . Marks & Spencer to close this week

destroy large parts of theroad surface.

A long-standing plan toupgrade the RN98 is nowbeing given top priority.

Local councillors want tosee the road widened togive a cycle lane and twotraffic lanes in each direc-tion, and for better storm

protection to be built nextto the road.

Permission to unlock fourmillion francs of fundingfor a feasibility study is nowbeing sought at regionallevel, with the goal ofimplementing a major roadimprovement programmein 2003.

closed when staff went onstrike to demand improvedredundancy packages fromM&S.

A deal giving 1.3 months’wages for each year workedwas finally approved byunions on November 29thand the purchase of thestores should now go aheadsmoothly.

Valerie Delpech, managerof Marks & Spencer’s Nice

branch, told The RivieraGazette “all our staff havebeen offered positions witheither FNAC or GaleriesLafayette”.

Not all the staff, however,have been offered the samework that they had at M&S– or the same rate of pay.

Mme Delpech explainedthat, as part of the deal,these staff “will be compen-sated for three years” by

having their wage packetsmade up to their currentM&S pay levels.

For FNAC, the chance totake over the bulk of the oldMarks and Spencer build-ing is very timely.

It has held a virtualmonopoly in Nice in thebooks, music and con-sumer electronics sector forover twenty years, but thearrival of Extrapole thisweek has changed all that.

With 2,400 square metresof floor space on the cornerof avenue Jean-Medicin andrue Marechal-Joffre, thenew Extrapole is larger thanthe existing FNAC store.

It is part of the chain thattook over Virgin’s Frenchoutlets last summer. It tookon Jean-Nöel Reinhardt,head of Virgin France, as itsnew chief executive at thesame time.

Although branded as anExtrapole store for themoment, it is expected tooffer more than a littleVirgin pizzazz alongside itsmix of music, games, DVDsand multimedia.

Extrapole will open today,December 15.

AFP


Christmas is Christmas, withmince pies, turkey and

trimmings, all around the Christian world – or is it?

Sarah Clark looks at thedifferent traditions in this

area and learns that, sotypically French, the13 desserts are justas important as the

Christmas tree…

CM

YK

A Yule inProvence

DECEMBER on theCote d’Azur is amonth of festi-

vals, processions, displaysand markets.

Local towns take Christmasvery seriously and vie for thebest displays and activities.

Funds given by town councils forcelebrations can be quite substantial.Vallauris alone has a budget ofF597,000 whilst Nice is spending astaggering F5.5 million.

WonderlandChristmas festivities in Monaco are

always grand. This year, the port willagain be transformed into a winterwonderland. An added attraction is agiant Nativity scene on Quai Albert1er with the largest crèche in theregion. Covering 3,000 square metres,it is a re-creation of Bethlehem at thetime of the Nativity, including animat-ed scenes of daily life.

‘Crèches vivante,’ where locals dressas nativity figures are popular. One

takes place in Cap d’Ail today, Nicefrom the 22nd to the 27th, Tourrettessur Loup on the 22nd and Le Rouretand Cagnes-sur-Mer on the 24th.

Le Cannet’s Christmas village openstomorrow until December 22 and isthemed around igloos.

FeastIn Menton, seasonal festivities take

a Viennese theme and involve thetransformation of the Bioves gardensin the town centre into a huge toy fac-tory complete with Father Christmas’sleigh filled with presents and a forestof Christmas trees, snowmen andreindeers. The festivities begin today.

In Vence Father Christmas’ village isopen and a series of festive events inCagnes-sur-Mer, the ChristmasVillage in Nice and the ChristmasCrèche in Mougins are ready for visi-tors.Antibes’‘Fetes de fin d’année’cel-ebrations have also kicked off with theopening of the ice rink in PlaceDeGaulle. And, in Valbonne, thisafternoon sees a range of children’sactivities in the old village, accompa-nied by mulled wine for the adults.

There is also a children’s day inVilleneuve Loubet on the 22nd.

For adults, fans of traditional musicwill enjoy the Midnight Mass andOratoria de Noel at the Eglise StFrancois-de-Paule, opposite theOpera, in Nice on December 21. It isperformed by the Société de MusiqueAncienne, the Ensemble PangeLingua (Provençal language) and theEnsemble Vocal de Nice. For a really

traditional Christmas Eve in oldProvence style, Mouans Sartoux is theplace on Christmas Eve. A MidnightMass is being held at 11:30pm atÉglise Saint André and it is followedby a serving of the 13 desserts at theChateau.

You can also try the 13 dessertsin Le Bar sur Loup on the 24that the Veillée de Noel

Provençal, where you’ll get to hear tra-

ditional songs and stories in the oldProvençal language.

Shopping for Christmas presentsand festive fare, including all theingredients for a traditional localfeast, is easy with a wide range ofChristmas markets across the region.

Villeneuve Loubet, Puget-Theniersand Peymeinade have Christmasmarkets tomorrow. Tourrettes surLoup on Monday and Le Cannet onthe 23rd.

The Christmas Market in Valbonne,open into the early evening onDecember 22, 23 and 24, is a favouritewith the old village packed with stallsselling decorations, Christmas fare,gift ideas and warming food and bev-erages.

If you want to buy santons, there areseveral specialist markets. There is aone day market at Opio tomorrowwhilst the Foire des Santons inMouans Sartoux is open every dayuntil December 27.

Like so many things, Christmas is celebra

UNIQUE GIFTS . . . artisans offer hand-made products at Christmas markets

For full details of all eventssee Riviera Diary, Page 14


STABLE WORK . . . Roger Legrand of La Vie en Douce, Tourrettes-sur-Loup, does briskbusiness with wife Martine’s hand-painted ‘pebble’santons at the local Christmas Markets

Fear not,we know just where to find your old favourites

POPULAR . . . many local English churches host carol services

Feeling cold turkey for a British Christmas?

ted a little differently on the Côte d’Azur

THE Christmas sea-son in Provencestarts early on

December 4, St Barbe’sDay, with the traditionalsowing indoors of wheat,corn or lentils on cottonwool soaked in water.

The idea is that these will havesprouted shoots by Christmasindicating a good harvest for thefollowing year.

The shoots are then displayed on theChristmas table as a sign of a prosper-ous year ahead.

Decorating the home is a seriousmatter with pride of place given to thecrèche. Peopled with santons, ‘littlesaints’, the Provençal crèche incorpo-rates the traditional Nativity figures aswell as Provençal figures such as thefisherman, the baker and the black-smith along with local animals likesheep, donkeys and cows.

Legend claims St Francis of Assisicame up with the idea of the crècheback in 1223, whilst the santons them-selves arrived in the 17th century.

Santon making, using wood or clay,is a specialist art with figures from theleading makers commanding seriousmoney.

Santons,however,are not supposed tobe great works of art but simple figures,usually between three and five centime-tres high, that each family would tradi-tionally have made themselves.

Most families start with a crèche andfive or six of the key figures (babyJesus, Joseph and Mary and the threewise men) and then add a new santonevery year letting children choosewhich one.

The Christmas tree,‘sapin’ in French,has become quite common but is by nomeans an essential part of celebrations.

If there is a tree it will be placed nearthe fireplace as part of the display of

presents that are traditionally set outaround the chimney on ChristmasEve, ready for opening on Christmasmorning.

Celebrations really start to swing onChristmas Eve, when the head of thefamily welcomes all other family mem-bers to his home to celebrate‘Réveillon,’ an evening of reminis-cences coupled, of course, with a hugefeast, and, traditionally but no longer

always maintained, a family visit toMidnight Mass.

Before the meal, a new fire, the ‘cache-fio,’ is lit to symbolize a new year. Theold fire is put out and replaced with thenew made of cherry or olive logs.When the new fire catches light a tradi-tional verse in the old Provençaltongue is chanted.

The Christmas Eve feast, knownas the “gros souper,” strictlyinvolves seven meat-free cours-

es laid out on three white tableclothswith three large white candles, repre-senting the Holy Trinity, as the centrepiece. But, in modern Provence, it ismore likely to be simpler, although still

including at least an entrée of musselsand oysters and a salted cod dish.

Traditions may be slipping but noless than 13 desserts still retain theircentral role in closing the meal.

The 13, representing Christ and the12 apostles, are made from simplefoods found in the traditional mid-winter store cupboard. Almonds, figs,raisins and hazelnuts, which representthe four beggars (the four religious

orders of the Franciscans, theDominicans, the Augustins and theCarmelites), and ‘pompe à l’huile,’ thetraditional Christmas cake, are themost important. Apples, pears, dates,plums, dried fruits, black and whitenougat, quince jelly, crystallized fruits,citrus fruits and fondants are also com-mon. There may even be more than 13desserts, depending on the hostess.

Midnight mass gets a traditionaltheme at many of the local Catholicchurches. Several services at parishchurches include traditional Provençallanguage hymns, sung by local musicgroups accompanied by traditionalinstruments, as well as the betterknown French hymns and the mass

itself.As such it is a fulfilling event evenfor non-frequent churchgoers.

Réveillon itself follows the MidnightMass and involves a light meal accom-panied by aperitifs, chocolates,liqueurs and Bûche de Noel, a spongecake in the shape of a log.

In France, Père Noel has a sidekick,Père Fouettard. The two travel togetherfrom house to house on Christmas Evewith Père Noel leaving gifts by thechimney for good children and PèreFouettard (Father Whip) administer-ing punishment to those who havebeen naughty.

Christmas Day is celebrated withmore feasting, again involving thewhole family. Turkey is the most popu-lar main course and the meal willinclude a Yule log.

New Year in Provence involves,of course, yet more eating.Traditional fare includes a

roast, a stuffed cock, representing theyear ahead, 12 partridges, for each ofthe 12 months, 30 black truffles for thenights and 30 white eggs for the days.

This time, the feast is more likely tobe eaten in a restaurant with New Year’sEve one of the most important nightsof the year for restaurateurs.

Most provide a festive menu of sevenor more courses designed to show offculinary skills and usually incorporat-ing some of the elements of a tradi-tional St Sylvestre board of fare.

Towns across the region mark mid-night and the start of the New Yearwith a firework display.

Epiphany, representing the arrival ofthe Three Wise Men in Bethlehem,closes the season and is celebrated withalmonds, marrons glacé and othersweets, especially the local speciality ofCalissons d’Aix, as well as a briochegarnished with crystallized fruit and inwhich a bean is hidden.The tradition isthat whoever finds the bean pays forthe cake…

IF you are hankering for tradi-tional British food thisChristmas we have the answer.

The wide range of English-speakingbusinesses and communities on theCôte d’Azur means Christmas herecan offer the best of both worlds, let-ting you enjoy the best of Provençaltraditions without missing out on thethings that make Christmas specialback home.

For the British contingent, a traditionalChristmas with all the trimmings is easy toarrange. There are Christmas carol services,shops stocking crackers, mince pies andChristmas pudding and even a pantomime…

CarolsTraditional family carol services are being

held in the area’s English-speaking churches.St John’s in Menton holds a carol servicetoday. Holy Trinity Church, Cannes, has car-ols tomorrow. The Parish Church inGrimaud is also holding an Ecumenical ser-

vice in English with carols, mince pies andmulled wine tomorrow. Also tomorrow is anEcumenical Service of Lessons and Carols atSt Paul’s Anglican Church in Monaco at7pm. St Hugh’s in Vence has its carol serviceon December 20 and there is a Children’sCarol Service at 5pm at St Paul’s, Monaco,the same day.

Holy Trinity Church in Nice is holding acarol service on December 21 whilstCornerstone Christian Fellowship has itsservice on December 23. This serviceincludes a children’s presentation, a briefmessage and refreshments. Also on the 23rdare the carol services of St John theEvangelist in Saint Raphael and of StMichael’s in Beaulieu-sur-Mer.

There is also a carol concert for you to sitback and enjoy. A Christmas Cantata withRico Pipit and the International BaptistChurch Singers at the International Baptist

Church in Nice takes place tomorrow. Theessential Christmas pantomime is again pro-vided this year by the very professionalDrama Group of Monaco.

This year’s production, directed by Ann Batt,is “Treasure Island”and includes six dogs, var-ious children on roller-skates and, of course, apantomime horse. Performances take place atthe Salle des Variétés in Monaco on December21st, 22nd and 23rd.

ChainsAnd if you are wondering where to buy tra-

ditional British food? Several of the largerFrench supermarket chains stock essentialsfor international residents. Carrefour inAntibes, Super 3000 at the Cap 3000 shoppingcomplex and Champion in Valbonne are allworth a try.

And, of course, the specialist internationalsupermarkets all promise a full range ofChristmas fare.

News


authority is the main causeof concern.

Seats are allocated on asliding scale ranging fromone seat per 999 residentsto one seat per 10,500 resi-dents for larger communes.This reduces the domi-nance of Nice itself but stillmeans the city gets 33 seatswhilst most towns get onlytwo.

The new authority will beresponsible for setting thelevel of taxe professionnelleand deciding how it is spent– sparking fears of taxhikes.

“Here in Beaulieu the rateis only 10%. In Nice, it is22.59%,” says M. Vincenti.“Nice says it will lower itsrate, but it’s unlikely that itwill be as low as ours.”

LossAlso at issue is the loss of

the existing grouping oftowns to whichVillefranche, Beaulieu andCap-Ferrat already belong.All existing groupings willcease when the new“agglomerations” comeinto force.

For the last 30 years,Beaulieu, Villefranche andSt-Jean-Cap-Ferrat havebeen working with Capd’Ail, Eze, La Turbie andPeille, in a grouping knownas SIVOM. With the intro-duction of the new law,they wanted to make their

Conmen sting local coupleAN elderly Cannes couple were tricked out of 340,000francs by conmen pretending to be art experts, it wasrevealed this week.The couple, both 75, could havelost up to 2.4 million francs if they had fallen for thewhole ruse.

The sting started last month when they exchangedbusiness cards with a supposed art expert at an expo-sition at Cannes palace.The next day an amateur col-lector called at their home and, during chat, said heneeded a valuer for some small jade statues.

They called the earlier expert for him who said hewould visit and look at the works at their home. Heclaimed the statues were extremely rare and valuedthem at 2.4 million francs. He said he knew a collectorin Dubai who would buy them.

Days later the statues’owner called the couple ask-ing for cash claiming the expert was being held bycustoms at Orly as he returned from Dubai.The coupleagreed to advance 340,000 francs believing it wouldsoon be repaid. But the owner called back asking formore and they became suspicious and called police.

The statues’owner – found to be a 38-year-old livingin La Bocca – was later caught in a mock ‘hand-over’ofmore cash.The ‘expert’ is still at large.The statues werefound to be false and valueless.The money has notbeen recovered.

Great Brit-rainBRITISH winters are getting wetter – and it is official.Long spells of heavy winter rain are now more fre-quent, say scientists analysing weather patternsbetween 1961 and 2000.The total number of rainydays during winter has not increased but the intensi-ty and the number of consecutive days of rain have.The UK is now 50-60 per cent more likely to get five ormore days of rain in a row than in 1960.

Babs is top of the puppetsDAME Barbara Cartland beat John Major andMadonna hands down at an auction of puppets fromthe cult TV series Spitting Image. A puppet of theromantic novelist raised £3,290 for victims ofSeptember 11 and Afghan refugees. John Major’spuppet went for £2,702 whilst Madonna fetched only£1,292.

Six months of fishTWO fishermen survived six months lost at sea in asmall aluminium boat after getting caught in a strongcurrent following an accident.The men, from Samoa,lived on fish, birds and rain water in the Pacific Ocean.They were found off the coast of Papua New Guinea,thin but OK.

Cops’ go-slow over speeding finesUS policemen are refusing to drive fast to 911 callsbecause they keep having to fork out for speedingfines.They now have to pay out of their own pocketswhen caught on speed cameras, even on official busi-ness, in Washington, DC.

Swiss sizzle the bestTHE Swiss are the best barbecue chefs in the world.They won first, second and third place at the WorldBarbecue Championships in Cape Town, South Africa.

World’s most useless numberTHE title of the world’s most useless number has beenawarded to 1.8015446 × 1012. It is the speed of light infurlongs per fortnight.

Fire in Arson StreetFIRE destroyed a shop on Monday afternoon – inaptly named Arson Street, Nice.The blaze, whosecause is as yet unknown, swept through the soundeffect specialists Sono Light.

The hanging beer gardens of BabylonBEER was popular as far back as Babylonian times,archeologists have discovered. A set of 3,800 year oldtablets give instructions for brewing beer and showproduction, stock holding and distribution statistics.

A tip for ChristmasWHEN the postman brings you a calendar, he’s askingfor his Christmas tip. 50F is normal.The dustbin menand firemen will ring your bell; they expect 100F.

Extra French letter….THE plural of Euro in every language is Euro – apartfrom in French. Here it is to be called Euros.

NEW LINKS . . . left to right, how the Sophia-Antipolis, Nice Côte d’Azur and Menton agglomerations will look from January 1

Continued from front page

Why the changes?The shake-up follows a change in French law giving new

legal structures for towns to band together, agree jointdevelopment policies, share costs and implement jointstrategies. The law, known as the loi Chevènement, waspassed in July 1999. It aims to replace a confusing array ofstructures that French communes currently use to worktogether on projects with one clear legal structure, knownas an EPCI, that everyone can use and understand.

To ease a smooth changeover, the law allowed a two-and-a-half year period during which the new‘agglomerations’ could be formed and the old structuresco-exist.That period ends on December 31st.

Composition of theNice Côte d’Azur Council

Seats PopulationNice 33 345,892Cagnes-sur-Mer 9 44,207Saint-Laurent du Var 7 27,252Vence 5 17,184La Trinité 3 10,091Villefranche-sur-Mer 2 6,877La Gaude 2 6,217Tourrette-Levens 2 4,139Saint-André de la Roche 2 4,137Levens 2 3,712Beaulieu-sur-Mer 2 3,701Saint-Jeannet 2 3,647Colomars 2 2,885Saint-Martin du Var 2 2,210Saint-Jean Cap Ferrat 2 1,907Aspremont 2 1,869Falicon 2 1,652Castagniers 2 1,362Saint-Blaise 1 897La Roquette-sur-Var 1 659Coaraze 1 659Duranus 1 156

loose, existing agreementformal. It would have beenknown as the “Pays desTrois Corniches”.

Instead, half will join Niceand the others will join oneof several groupings forrural areas that, along witha possible new conurbationincluding Cannes andGrasse, will eventuallycover all communes of theAlpes-Maritimes.

GoalsThe Préfecture says the

matter is now closed. “Thelaw says that if two thirds ofcouncillors of the townsinvolved say yes and theyrepresent over 50% of thepopulation, then the plan ispassed,” said M. Doumerg,the Préfecture director incharge of introducing thenew structures.

“The towns which havevoted against do not have achoice, they are obliged tojoin in.

“They worry that theywill be swallowed up byNice, but the communes

planned.The first meetingof the new council of NiceCôte d’Azur will take placeon January 21. It is notknown how many of thedissenting towns will takeup places on the council.

● Two additional urbangroupings also come intoforce on January 1. Theyare the new, enlargedSophia-Antipolis, now with14 member towns, and theRiviera Française, a newconglomeration made upof Menton, RoquebruneCap-Martin, Beausoleiland the towns of the

Menton hinterland.In the Menton area, only

Sospel strongly opposed theplans. In Sophia-Antipolis,all towns voted in favour.But the allocation of seatson the central council hasled to friction.

Vallauris claims the make-up of the new council allowsa majority to be formed byonly three member towns.Antibes, Valbonne and Biotor Villeneuve-Loubet alonehave enough seats to form amajority, causing worriesthat smaller towns will beovershadowed.

are not disappearing.Rather they are getting anew opportunity to co-operate with each other, toshare competencies andstrategies.”

FightBut when The Riviera

Gazette broke the news toM. Vincenti that the finalapproval had been given tothe move – and that all 22communes had beenincluded – he said the fightwould go on.

“The loi Chevènementwas introduced to allowtowns with shared interests,shared history and sharedgoals to work together. Wedo not share these thingswith Nice and we will seekrecourse in the courts.

“We are being told tomake a marriage with Nice.But it takes two willing par-ties to make a marriagework and we are alreadyhappily married.”

A series of demonstra-tions against the shake-up,starting in Menton today, is

Commune row

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Riviera People


HSH Prince Rainier III and HSH Crown Prince Albertof Monaco, above, attended a Thanksgiving lunch atthe Monte Carlo Grand Hotel last month. The eventwas hosted by the fund-raising charity Monaco-USA,whose commitee member Peter Murphy is picturedwith the princes.

The stars and stripes were also proudly on displayfor a Thanksgiving lunch at the Hôtel de Paris inMonaco. The event, pictured left, was organised bythe American Club of the Riviera. Invited guestsincluded US Navy servicemen.

McNice!NICE took on a Scottishfeel last month as theAuld Alliance celebratedSt Andrew’s Night at alocal restaurant.

Bagpipes were flown infrom Kent specially forthe night.

Society president BrianMcDowell,pictured right,centre back, said thesociety celebrates histor-ical links betweenScotland and Francewith members fromboth. Its next event isBurns’Night in January.

DECORATIONS, cards, gifts and food were on sale last month at the Var VillageVoice’s annual Christmas Fair at the Maison des Vins in Les Arcs. The proceedswent to the British Association of the Var, Queen Alexandra Benevolent Fund,UNICEF and other charities.

CHEERS . . . Members of the Alpes-Maritimes International Aperitif Club (above)raise a glass to celebrate Christmas at their annual festive lunch at the Negresco,Nice,earlier this month.The club,with about 150 members from 20 countries,haslunch and aperitifs at a different venue each month.

THE Beryl Arnould Choir, pictured left, filled Saint

Blaise church,Valbonne, with its regular annual carol

concerts earlier this month.

The audience was treated to the choir’s version of

many popular carols, and was then invited to join in

a singalong of Christmas songs. Mulled wine round-

ed off the evening’s entertainment on December 6

and 7.

All proceeds from the event will go to charity. The

choir will hold another concert in the Spring.

OPERA singer Sally Bradshaw, pictured left, and RSC actor Timothy West

appeared in Antibes earlier this month for a touring show entitled A Thousand

Years of Christmas.

The show was put on by the Red Pear production company under producer

Hilary King,pictured below right with Timothy West,at the Antibea Theatre in the

old town.

The next production is a one-man show “Sherlock Holmes – The Last Act”with

Roger Llewellyn on February 1 and 2.

ANGELS OF THE SOUTH . . . Choir mistress Jo Rudd gathered Mougins School’s Primary Choir in front of the school’s scale model of The

Angel of the North to celebrate the release of their Christmas song,“A Gift for Christmas”. Penned by nine year-old T.J.Newcombe Bilham

(inset), the seasonal song has been recorded by the choir of mostly eight and nine year-old pupils.Copies are available on CD for F30 by

visiting the school or calling 04 93 90 15 47 before December 21. All profits go to the Téléthon appeal.

RIVIERA PEOPLEPrinces’Thanksgiving lunch Stars shine at the Antibea

Beryl ArnouldChoir kicks offcarol season

TINSEL, CARDS AND ENGLISH FAYRE

Coffee Time


Dilbert®by Scott Adams

Hagar the Horrible®by Chris Browne

Pooch Café®by Paul Gilligan

STARSwith John Garland

December 2001

AQUARIUS Not everyone will share your confidence.What matters is that youavoid any in-fighting at work.Partners and colleagues will be eagerto help,provided you welcome their ideas.As another year fades,youwill realise that it is time to broaden your horizons.Enjoy the festiveswirl and make the most of your social scene between the 7th and18th.You will be delighted by what’s on offer.

PISCES Pisces are among the most sensitive of signs, but try not to misreadwhatever others say, because they are only trying to help.You willonly discover who is on your side, if you’re honest and reveal yourtrue emotions. Golden choices are in the wind, especially withexciting Mars and money-making Jupiter highlighting your wishes.For whatever reasons, the seasonal celebrations will strengthenyour hopes.

ARIES Your power-packed ruler Mars will speed up any personal orcreative projects.Whatever else you do over the Christmas period,you will begin to pep up your ambitions. Luckily, your emotionaland relationship outlook will get a strengthening boost from lovingVenus.Your goals will be clearly signposted by whatever stirs youaround the 7th and 24th.The solution will be in your hands.

TAURUS Whatever delays or personal tensions arise, the final days of thisyear spotlight important discussions and decisions.Your social andfinancial worlds are on an upward curve.You stand to gain fromcareer, money and romantic affections. Expect to benefit fromspecific efforts between the 7th and 12th. As the old year vanishes,ring in 2002 with the same determination that has recentlyreinforced your luck.

GEMINI Refuse to spread yourself too thinly by doing too much.This is goodadvice, because being a Gemini, you love action and variety.Although the festivities will sparkle with fun and unexpectedevents, ensure there is no room for confusion where money’sconcerned. Circle the 8th or 15th for mixing and mingling. Go all-outfor special meetings, leisure links or travel between the 7th and15th.

CANCER Close relationships, new romance and your artistic flair arewonderfully starred during Christmas. Even the year’s end promisessome event of special significance. Otherwise, if you watch youreveryday expenses, your overall cashflow should slowly stabilise. Allof these situations are heralding a time of major and minorchanges.The world will become your oyster, if only you have thecourage to concentrate on a single goal.

LEO New directions will open up, but only if you set the wheels inmotion. Naturally, your Leo pride won’t tolerate any intrusion intoyour personal plans. On the other hand, you could gain fromlistening to the advice of more than one person. Happily, affairs ofthe heart and mind are favourably starred between the 8th and15th. If you want results, push your skills and talents.

VIRGO Ring out the old year and ring in the new! Even so, you’ll have towork a lot harder, but it will prove very worthwhile. Events takingshape will focus on caring for loved ones and even the possibility ofhelping someone in need.The main emphasis is on career, propertyand romance. Be upfront, because the impression you create willdetermine whether you win or lose.

LIBRA Be adventurous and do all you can to enrich your lifestyle.This is nota month to take any health risks, so pamper yourself! Fortunately,you won’t be doing all the giving, but you still need to guard againstsaying yes to everyone’s needs and demands.Travel is well aspectedand if you’re single, romantic encounters are likely around the 7th,18th and 19th!

SCORPIO A combination of planets could tempt you to force personal orfinancial issues out into the open.Wait for a calmer moment to putyour persuasive magic to work! You are now in an exciting phase asfar as your career, family and social plans are concerned. Although2001 has been a challenging year, be optimistic, because fate stillhas some intriguing surprises in store.

SAGITTARIUS If you are single, you should widen your social scene, becauseflirtatious Venus can only increase your chances of meetingsomeone special.You will also become more aware of your ownpotential for expanding your career or meeting work-relatedtargets. Meanwhile, it is only logical that if you budget, you’ll haveall the money you’ll need. However, don’t allow anyone to takeadvantage of your generosity.

CAPRICORN Why is it that you are called a cool Capricorn? It’s because you areruled by cautious Saturn. Right now, with so much festivity andaction in the air, you don’t have to worry about what you say orthink. Go-ahead Mercury is glowing with vitality, so despite suddenobstacles and other out-of-the-blue hassles, do as you please andpleasure will be yours.

20 January–18 February

19 February–20 March

21 March–20 April

21 April–20 May

21 May–20 June

23 September–22 October

23 October–22 November

23 November–20 December

21 December–19 January

22 August–22 September

21 July–21 August

21 June–20 July


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Weekend highlights how much there is for kids to do on the Riviera

Abracadabra

BY SARAH CLARK

MAGIC came to Le Cannetrecently with a weekend of funfilled activity for children ofall ages.

Forty stands in the main hall atthe La Palestre complex, crowdedwith excited youngsters, were dedi-cated to giving the region’s kids thechance to experiment with arts andcrafts, music, drama and dance.

Face painting, chocolate decorating,perfume making, theatre workshops,tile decorating, painting, pottery,music making, chess and computergames — the Magic Festival had it all.

CircusDisplays of skill and entertainment

enthralled the audience every half anhour with judo, dancing, theatre,

music and circus demonstrations, allby local groups and clubs, amongst thehighlights.

In the adjoining sports hall, young-sters worked off some of their excite-ment by trying out martial arts classes,trampoline lessons, basketball ses-sions, circus workshops and even slotcar racing — again all arranged bylocal clubs.

RaspberriesOutside, a motor racing circuit gave

children the chance to try out go-kart-ing and quad biking and even the veryyoung could have a go at mountainclimbing (whilst very securely roped tothe teacher, of course).

The Riviera Gazette asked young vis-itors what they liked best.“It was great,”said Savannah, six, from Roquefort-les-Pins.“I made perfume. Its pink andit smells of raspberries.” Her brother

Max, four, preferred the face painting.“I love looking like Spiderman. And itwas really fun painting the chocolates,”he added.

Others liked the sports, like Ben, five,from La Colle-sur-Loup, who particu-larly enjoyed trampolining, whilesome loved trying out the musicalinstruments. Friends Louis, five, andTom, four, also from La Colle, said “welike making a big noise best”.

Louis’ mum Alison added,“The chil-dren were so excited, I thought I’dnever be able to get them into bed —but we’d only just made it out of the carpark before they were fast asleep”.

TearsPlanning for next year’s event is

already underway. Florence Cuny-Duverge of event organisers Promogolftold The Riviera Gazette that the MagicFestival is a labour of love.

“Usually we organise golf events andthey’re great fun. But the MagicFestival is something special, it justgrew from an idea that someone in theoffice had one day. It’s very differentfor us.” said Florence. “When we sawhow many people had come this yearand how happy the children were, wehad real tears in our eyes”.

Top of the agenda for 2002? “More ofthe same — and, we hope, a separateactivity area for babies and toddlers sothat even the very little ones can havejust as much fun as their bigger broth-ers and sisters”.

KARATE KIDS . . . little ones practise basic martial arts moves in the sports hall

PRETTY IN PINK . . . a face-painter adds a touch of sparkle

HIGH JINKS . . . getting to grips with mountain climbing TIME OUT . . .relaxing with some of the calmer activities on offer

WHEELY GREAT DAY OUT . . . many made the most of the weekend to get their first taste of the thrills and spills of motor racing

STICKY MOMENT . . . kids take the hands-on approach to craft

ACE FACES . . . Ben, Louis, Max, Savannah and Tom show off a new look

BIG HIT . . . one happy fan couldn’t resist trying out the drums

Thousands ofkids appear atMagic Festival

Riviera Diary


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Listings

Info for readers . . .➧ before a day shows the event’s final day.❚ after a listing signifies the last day of an

event.

Info for contributors . . .Please submit listings in writing by 10 daysbefore publication. Please include dates, prices,times and a contact phone number. Listingscan be sent by post or fax (04 93 09 66 53) orby email to [email protected] appear free of charge, but inclusion isat the sole discretion of the listings editor.

December

15 SaturdayAntiques Market Bric-a-brac and antiquesmarket in Haut-de-Cagnes. Tel: 04 93 73 98 411er Salon de l’Art Gourmand Food festival pluscraft market, farm animals and cookingdemonstrations at Place Pasteur, La Trinitéfrom 9:00 to 18:00. Tel: 04 93 27 64 23 Carol Service At St John’s, avenue Carnot,Menton at 17:30. Tel: 04 93 57 20 25Fête de Noël des Enfants Children’s festival witha visit from Father Christmas, at Cours HonoréCresp, Grasse. Tel: 04 93 36 66 66 ➧ Dec 16Fête de l’Artisanat Craft market in Saint-Laurent-du-Var. Demonstrations including icesculptures and pottery in Place Médecin from10:00 to 17:00, folk singers and distribution ofchocolates to children at Place de la Gare 10:00to 12:00.Fête de Noël Christmas festival, withdistribution of toys and sweets, in the centre ofRoquebrune Cap Martin. Tel: 04 93 35 62 87Fête de Noël Christmas festival including a‘crèche vivante’ created by the town’s children,at Square Beaverbrook in Cap d’Ail. Tel: 04 9210 59 50Marché de Noël Christmas market with secondhand toy sale in Breil-sur-Roya town centre,morning only. Tel: 04 93 04 99 76Marché de Noël des Villes Jumelée At the Palais desCongrès, Grasse Tel: 04 93 36 66 66 ➧ Dec 18Marché de Noël In Square Nabonnand on theRN7 in Golfe-Juan, 10:00 to 19:00 Tel: 04 93 6382 58Marché de Noël Christmas market, withprocession and visit from Father Christmas inCabris town centre. Tel: 04 93 60 55 63Marché de Noël Christmas market, activitiesand festivities in Contes town centre.Wednesdays and weekends ➧ Dec 23Marché de Noël Christmas market with Billy leClown in Falicon town centre from 10:00 to19:00.Marché de Noël In place de Rocheville, LeCannet. Tel: 04 93 46 03 47Marché de Noël Christmas market in Stade de laVillette, Cagnes-sur-Mer from 10:00 to 18:30Tel: 04 93 20 61 64Marché de Noël Christmas market, inPeymeinade town centre. Tel: 04 93 66 19 19Noël Provençal Children’s entertainment withjugglers and fire-eaters at Place des Arcades inValbonne old town. From 14:00. Tel: 04 93 1234 50Village des Noëls du Monde Crafts market andfood fair, with free tastings of food fromaround the world, in front of Château-MuséePicasso,Vallauris.Also music and dance fromaround the world in Place de l’Homme auMouton, 14:30 to 17:30. Tel: 04 93 63 82 58 ➧Dec 16La Psalette Children’s choir performs EuropeanChristmas songs and carols in Place desMartyrs de la Résistance,Antibes at 15:00.Tel: 04 93 34 50 96Ensemble Baroque de Nice Period music at theSalle des Variétés, Nice at 20:30 on the 15th

and 16:00 on the 16th. Tel: 04 93 80 08 74 ➧Dec 16La Banda dou Cigaloun Christmas concert atÉglise St Jacques le Majeur, Le Bar sur Loup.Tel: 04 93 42 72 21Concert Emma Classical music at the Salle desFêtes,Valbonne at 20:30. Tel: 04 93 12 32 20South African Club Christmas Dinner Member’sevent; for details tel: 04 93 65 07 01International Hockey Tournament At the Parc desSports,Villeneuve Loubet. Tel: 04 92 02 76 11 ➧

Dec 16Cabaret At the Salle des Fêtes, Peymeinade at14:00. Tel: 04 93 66 19 19Art Johnson Quartet The Oscar music winnerplays at the Bar-en-Blais, 600 Première Avenue,Antibes at 20:30 Tel: 04 93 74 10 98 Guitar Concert At Salle des Jasmins, Monaco,18:00 and 22:00. Tel: 04 93 45 24 65St Petersburg Circus on Ice At La Palestre, LeCannet at 17:00 on Dec 15 and 16, 14:30 on Dec18. Tickets cost F130 for adults, F80 forchildren. Tel: 04 93 46 48 88 ➧ Dec 18Squash: National 2 level matches Monaco vMarseille at 11:00, Monaco v Montpellier at17:00.At Salle Omnisports Gaston Médecin,Stade Louis II, Monaco. Tel: +377 92 05 42 22Volleyball: Nice v Montpelier Pro A league matchat 20:30, Salle Palmeira, Nice. Tel: 04 93 87 63 77

16 Sunday57th Bain de Noël The annual Nice Christmasswim takes place on the beach at Ruhl Plage infront of Jardin Albert 1er. Swimming races andcompetitions at 11:00, the public join in at11:30.Around 100 people usually participateand everyone gets a memento of their bravery.Preceded by fishing and cycling competitionsfrom 8:00 plus a mass parachute drop at 10:30Antiques Market In Place du Château and PlaceGrimaldi, Haut-de-Cagnes. Tel: 04 93 73 98 41Christmas Carols At Holy Trinity Church, 4avenue General Ferrier, Cannes at 18.30. Tel: 0493 94 54 61Christmas Cantata Concert with Rico Pipit andthe International Baptist Church Singers at theInternational Baptist Church, 13 rue Vernier,Nice at 18:30. Followed by a hot buffet. Bring adish! Tel: 04 93 24 92 61Ecumenical Service of Lessons and Carols At StPaul’s Anglican Church, 22 ave GrandeBretagne, Monaco at 19.00. Tel: +377 93 3071 06Carol Service Followed by mince pies andmulled wines at the Parish Church, GrimaudVillage at 18.30. Tel: 04 94 51 16 98Fête de Noël des Enfants See Dec 15 ❚

Children’s Christmas Party for members of theSouth African Club. Includes a show and a visitfrom Santa Claus. Biot, 15:30. Tel: 04 93 65 07 01Marché de Noël Various market stalls and aliving crèche in Puget-Thèniers town centre,9:00 to 13:00 Tel: 04 93 05 05 05Marché de Noël Contes. See Dec 15Marché de Noël des Villes Jumelée See Dec 15Marché de Noël Christmas market inPeymeinade. Tel: 04 93 66 19 19Tourettes-sur-Loup Vocal Ensemble Christmasconcert at the Église St Grégoire, Tourettes-sur-Loup, 16:00 and 20:00 Tel: 04 93 24 18 93Santon Market In Opio from 14:00. Tel: 04 93 7770 11Marché de Noël Craft and Christmas market inVilleneuve Loubet, 10:00 to 18:30. Tel: 04 93 7318 13Cannes PACA Regional Orchestra Performance ofworks by Xenakis, Mendelssohn, Bartholdy,Tchaikowski and Beethoven at the Palais desFestivals, Cannes at 16:30. Tel: 04 92 98 62 77Philharmonic Orchestra of Monte-Carlo Matinéeperformance of works by Haydn, Reicha andMozart at the Musée Océanographique,Monaco at 11:00. Tel: +377 92 16 22 99Ensemble Baroque de Nice See Dec 15 ❚Les Musicales de Cagnes Classical music concert.Tel: 04 93 22 19 25

What’s onYour two-week guide to events on the Riviera

Mordillo chez Peynet isan exhibition of the work

of Argentinean cartoonistGuillermo Mordillo at the

Musée Peynet,PlaceNational in Vieil Antibes.

Guaranteed to put a smileon every visitor’s face,the

exhibition displays asubstantial body of

Mordillo’s work.It includesthe originals of many of

his most famousdrawings.For several of

the cartoons,all theoriginal sketches thatMordillo made whilstworking on their final

composition are ondisplay too,showing themeticulous care that the

artist takes with everycartoon.The exhibition

runs until 7 January.Don’tmiss the video showing a

selection of Mordillo’sshort films.

‘Luxe, calme et volupté. . . où la joie devivre’ is an exhibition of ceramics and largeformat paintings by German artist StefanSzczesny. Now on at La Malmaison, on theCroisette in Cannes, it is the first officialexhibition of Szczesny’s work to be held inFrance.A leading light in the Jungen Wildenavant-garde movement that reached itsapogee in the 1980s as Germany movedtowards reunification, Szczesny’s work alsohas strong Mediterranean influencesgained from an affinity with the region thathe has had since childhood. The exhibitionruns until 27 January.

Pick of the monthPlenty happens on the Riviera, but how often haveyou only heard about something after the event?You need never miss out again with The RivieraGazette’s comprehensive diary listings...■ The long-awaited Harry Pottermovie has arrived – in English. Thebook and film phenomenon opened itsEnglish language season at the CinemaSporting in Monte-Carlo last week andis expected to arrive in the region’sother regular VO (version originale)movie houses over the Christmasholiday period. The Lord of the Ringsis set to follow soon after.

■ Nice Opera is putting on a newproduction of Don Giovanni nextmonth. There are five performances inall, beginning on January 18.

■ It’s circus season on the Riviera. Theonly problem is which of the threemajor circus events to choose from.Arriving first is the St PetersburgCircus on Ice. They will spend fournights at Le Palestre in Le Cannet. Nextto arrive is the Moscow Circus on 28December for a four night run at theSalle Nikaïa in Nice. Finally, the 26thFestival International du Cirque deMonte-Carlo opens on 17 January for aone week run. Leading circusperformers from around the worldcompete in the festival. The programmeincludes a weekend matinee show and aspecial performance by the festival’saward winners.

■ An exhibition of paintings by RoyalAcademician Sir Terry Frost has justopened for a short run at the Maison desArts in La Colle sur Loup.Recognised asa world leading abstract artist, Frost’swork is renowned for its use of vibrantcolours and a spirited sense of ‘joie devivre’. Tel: 04 93 32 32 50

■ The 6th annual Marché de la Truffetakes place on January 12 at the BastideSaint Antoine, the pays grassois base ofthe famous chef Jacques Chibois.Traders are expected to make somefifty kilos of truffles available tovisitors, all at wholesale prices. Therewill also be demonstrations by trainedtruffle-hunting dogs and standsmarketing a variety of local wines andproduce. Tel: 04 93 70 94 94

■ Open air ice skating rinks are nowopen in five Riviera towns. In Monaco,the rink is built on top of the publicswimming pool in Port Hercule and isopen until March 11. The rinks atAntibes’ Place De-Gaulle, Menton’sEsplanade Bastion and St-Raphaël’sPlace Coullet are all open until January6. In Nice, you’ll find the ice skating atPlace Massena in the city centre. It isopen until December 31.

■ January holds a series of feasts for theregion’s rally fans. First off, beginningon January 13 is the 70th Monte-CarloAutomobile Rally, also the first roundof the 2002 World Rally Championship.The following week, for the 5th Monte-Carlo Historic Rally, come the ratherslower but wonderful to watch veteran

cars of a bygone era. Furtherinformation on both rallies can beobtained from the Automobile Club ofMonaco, Tel: +377 93 15 26 00

■ Giving the kids a chance to work offtheir excess energy over the holidays isa series of sports courses at varioussports halls in Nice. On the menu arebasketball, tennis, hockey, football,table tennis and Aikido.The courses areopen to children aged between eightand twelve years old and are free.

■ Some of the world’s premier chessplayers will be in Nice from 26December for the 17th Nice OpenInternational Chess Tournament.Grand masters, masters and localplayers will compete for the prestigioustitle at the Radisson Hotel on thePromenade des Anglais. EchiquierNiçois, the Nice Chess club that isorganising the tournament, is one ofthe leading teams in the country withtwo of its young players being chosen tocompete in the World YouthChampionship in 2000. The Frenchnational sides recently won the Ladies’European Championship and wererunners-up in the Mens’. Both teamsinclude local players. Echiquier Niçoishas a ‘drop in and play’ centre onAvenue Jean-Médecin and runs regularcourses for both experienced playersand beginners of all ages.

■ Europe’s largest indoor amusementpark has opened for its regularChristmas season at the Palais desExpositions, Nice. Luna Park offers 23rides. One day passes are available atF99 for adults, including 14 rides, andF49 for children, including 9 rides. LunaPark is open until January 6.

■ The Baie des Anges will be filled withthirty to forty Star class yachts from 26December as they gather in Nice fromaround the world to compete in the45th International Star Regatta, one ofthe most important events in theFrench yachting calendar.

■ Fête en Hiver is an exhibition ofpaintings with a Christmas and wintertheme at naive art specialists Galeried’Art in Vieil Antibes. The exhibitioncomprises paintings by fifteen artistsand promises fascinating new findsalongside some of France’s mostestablished practitioners of Naive Art.


Riviera DiaryBel Canto Operatic concert including works byPuccini, Mozart, Rossini, Offenbach andGounod in the Saint Exupéry Room, Menton.Tel: 04 92 41 76 76International Hockey Tournament See Dec 15 ❚Marché de Noël In rue Saint-Sauveur,Vieux-Cannet. Tel: 04 93 46 03 47St Petersburg Circus on Ice See Dec 15Village des Noëls du Monde See Dec 15 ❚

17 MondayMarché de Noël At Place de la Libération,Tourrettes-sur-Loup. Tel: 04 93 59 30 11Marché de Noël des Villes Jumelée See Dec 15Concerts Syrinx, Bach, Finzi At the cathedral inVence at 20:00. Tel: 04 93 58 14 26

18 TuesdayGrand Spectacle de Noël Christmas fundraisingevent arranged by the Association Les Enfantsde Frankie for disadvantaged children.AtEspace Fontvieille, Monaco at 18:30. Tel: +37793 30 08 00Marché de Noël des Villes Jumelée See Dec 15 ❚St Petersburg Circus on Ice See Dec 15 ❚

19 WednesdayChristmas at the Shepherd and Dog With theSaltmine Theatre Company. Holy TrinityChurch, Cannes, 12:30. See Dec 16Concert Jeunes Interprètes Young musiciansperform Bach, Grieg and Gounod at the Opera,Nice. Tel: 04 92 17 40 40Marché de Noël Contes. See Dec 15British Association of Monaco Christmas Lunch atthe Columbus Hotel, Fontvieille, Monaco. Tel:+377 93 50 19 52Cinderella CIV school production Tel: 04 92 9652 24Yoga Open Day With Danièle Arnould, inMougins. Tel: 04 93 45 24 65Noël Provençal Christmas fête in Garbejaïre,Sophia-Antipolis. Childrens’ craft workshopsand face painting, puppet show, clowns and avisit from Father Christmas. 14:00 to 18:00. Tel:04 93 12 34 50Concert Exceptionnel 2 Music by Grieg andMendelssohn at the Nice Opera House. Tel: 0493 92 30 53Football: Nice v Strasbourg League Division 2match at Stade du Ray, Nice at 20:00. Tel: 04 9384 18 55

20 ThursdayCarol Service At St Hugh’s Anglican Church,Avenue de la Résistance,Vence at 18.30. Tel: 0493 87 19 83Carol Services Crib Service for infants at 10:30and Childrens’ Carol service at 17:00 at StPaul’s Anglican Church, Monaco. See Dec 16De Palmas Concert at Salle Nikaïa at 20:30Central booking office, tel: 08 20 02 04 06Riviera Radio’s Charity Auction In aid of AfghanChildren’s charities, at Stars’n’Bars, QuaiAntoine 1er, Monaco. Starts at 19:00. Tel: +37797 97 94 94

21 FridayCarol Service At Holy Trinity Church, 11 rue dela Buffa, Nice at 18.30. Tel: 04 93 87 19 83Christmas Oratoria Concert and Midnight Mass.Performed by the Société de Musique Anciennede Nice and the Ensemble Pange Lingua deNice at the Église St François de Paule, oppositethe Nice Opera House at 20:30. Tickets cost 70Fand 100F. Tel: 04 93 92 30 53Christmas Festival Including grand parade andthe arrival of Father Christmas by helicopteron Dec 22.At Esplanade du Levant, Saint-Laurent-du-Var ➧ Dec 24Right Spirit Gospel music concert in Place del’Hôtel de Ville,Villeneuve-Loubet. Tel: 04 92 0260 50Vocal Blues Gospel Music at Église de Vallauris,entry free. Starts at 19:00. Tel: 04 93 63 82 58Eddy Gaulein-Stef leads a jam session at the Bar-en-Blais,Antibes. See Dec 15Marie-Paule Belle Sings Barbara at the Palais del’Europe, Menton at 21:00. Tel: 04 92 41 76 76Treasure Island The annual Pantomime from theDrama Group of Monaco, written and directedby Ann Batt.At the Salle des Variétés, Monaco.Dec 21 at 20:00, Dec 22 at 15:00 and 20:00, Dec23 at 15:00. Tel: 06 07 93 80 39 ➧ Dec 23

Noël Provençal Christmas festival with marketat Chapelle St Esprit, St Vallier de Thiey. FatherChristmas visits on Dec 22. Tel: 04 93 42 78 00➧ Dec 24

22 SaturdayBasketball: Antibes v Dijon in the French nationalchampionship.At Espace Jean Bunoz,Antibesat 20:00. Tel: 04 93 34 96 85Basketball: Monaco v Isère Savoie at SalleOmnisports Gaston Médecin, Stade Louis II,Monaco at 20:00. Tel: +377 93 30 25 65 10th Festival de Chants & Musiques de Noël Thefirst concert in Valdeblore’s 10th annual festivalof Christmas songs and music. Today’sperformance is by the Ensemble Vocal de Niceand Pange Lingua & Musique Ancienne deNice at Église Ste Croix,Valdeblore. Tel: 04 9323 25 90 ➧ Dec 29Journée Noël des Enfants Day of Christmasactivities and festivities for children inVilleneuve Loubet. Tel: 04 92 02 60 50Crèche Vivante At Église St Grégoire, Tourrettes-sur-Loup. Tel: 04 93 59 31 22Fête de Noël Christmas Festival at the SalleRose de Mai, La Colle sur Loup. FatherChristmas will be taking children for a trainride through the town, refreshments will be onhand for parents whilst they wait. From 14:00to 18:00. Tel: 04 93 32 68 36Marché de Noël Christmas market in Place duVillage, St Cezaire sur Siagne from 9:00 to14:00. Tel: 04 93 60 84 40Christmas Festival Saint-Laurent-du-Var. SeeDec 21Marché de Noël Contes. See Dec 15La Chine au pays de Noël Christmas festivitieswith a Chinese theme at Parc Floral Phoenix,Nice.Classical Music New Year Concert from the StraussFestival Orchestra at the Nice Acropolis Tel: 0404 93 92 83 00Football: Monaco v Rennes Premier Divisionmatch, Stade Louis II, Monaco at 20:00. Tel:+377 92 05 37 54The Rémi Abram Quartet At the Bar-en-Blais,Antibes at 20:30. See Dec 15Noël Provençal Christmas festival with market,entertainment and events in Valbonne oldtown. Christmas decoration making workshopfor kids 10:00 to 12:00 in Place des Arcades,15:00 to 17:00 at Vallis Bona. Free concertperformances by the music school at VallisBona at 11:00 and the Place des Arcades at11:30. Puppet show at 15:30 at Salle Saint-Esprit.Various entertainments, includingclowns and jugglers, in the village and VallisBona from 14:00 to 21:00.Wine and hotchocolate offered to all at 19:00 in Place desArcades. Market open 09:00 to 21:00. Tel: 04 9312 34 50 ➧ Dec 24Grande Parade Multicolore Festivities in Golfe-Juan with musicians and dancers in the streetsfrom 15:00 to 17:00, childrens’ procession at17:00, Father Christmas’ procession on hissleigh and mulled wine. In the streets of thetown. Tel: 04 93 63 82 58Noël Provençal St Vallier de Thiey. See Dec 21Treasure Island See Dec 21

23 SundayCarol Service Childrens’ presentation, briefmessage, carols and refreshments at 9:30am atCornerstone Christian Fellowship, The PicardBuilding, 3030 Chemin de St Bernard, SophiaAntipolis. Tel: 04 92 38 98 91Carol Service At St John the Evangelist,AvenuePaul Doumer, St Raphael at 18:00. Tel: 04 94 5116 98Carol Service Eucharist and bi-lingual carolservice at St Michael’s Church, 11 Chemin desMyrtes, Beaulieu-sur-Mer at 18:00. Tel: 04 9301 45 61Christmas Vigil Service of Light At St Paul’sAnglican Church, Monaco at 19:00. See Dec 16Christmas Candlelight Service At theInternational Baptist Church, Espace St ClairCommercial Centre, St Paul de Vence at 10:45.Tel: 04 93 77 31 45 Accordion Concert At the church in Biot. Tel: 0493 65 61 59Marché de Noël In Place Bellevue, Le Cannet.Tel: 04 93 46 03 47Marché de Noël Contes. See Dec 15 ❚Noël Provençal Valbonne. Magic workshop forchildren at 10:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 17:00.Puppet show at 11:00 at Salle Saint-Esprit.Various entertainments, including clowns anda magician, in the village and Vallis Bona from14:00. Live band at 16:00. Magic show at 17:00in Vallis Bona, 18:00 in Place des Arcades.Wineand hot chocolate offered to all at 18:00 inPlace des Arcades. Market open 09:00 to 19:00.See Dec 22Noël Provençal St Vallier de Thiey. See Dec 2110th Festival de Chants & Musiques de Noël SeeDec 22Christmas Festival Saint-Laurent-du-Var. SeeDec 21Treasure Island See Dec 21 ❚

24 MondayVeillée de Noël Provençal Traditional Provençalevening event with songs, mulled wine andthe 13 desserts in Le Bar sur Loup. Tel: 04 9342 72 21Crèche Vivante In the square in front of LeRouret church at 18:30. Tel: 04 93 77 20 02Crèche Vivante de Noël At Église St-Pierre andÉglise St-Paul, Cagnes-sur-Mer Tel: 04 93 7317 32Spectacle d’Eau & de Lumière Plus a CrècheVivante, in Haut-de-Cagnes Tel: 04 93 20 61 64Father Christmas visits Auron. Tel: 04 93 23 02 66Noël au Pays d’Isola Christmas festival andfireworks at Isola 2000. Tel: 04 93 23 15 15Noël dans les Rues du Village Christmas Festivalin the streets of Breil-sur-Roya, morning only.Tel: 04 93 04 99 76Vigil Eucharist of the Nativity At St Paul’sAnglican Church, Monaco at 23:00. See Dec 16Midnight Communion At Holy Trinity Church,Cannes at 23:30. See Dec 16Midnight Mass At Église Saint André, Mouans-Sartoux followed by mulled wine and a chanceto taste the 13 desserts in the château. Starts at11:30Midnight Mass at Holy Trinity Church, Nice at23:00. See Dec 21

Noël Provençal Valbonne. Face paintingworkshop for children at 10:00 to 12:00 and14:00 to 17:00. Puppet show at 15:30 at SalleSaint-Esprit.Various entertainments, includingclowns and a magician, in the village from10:00 to 19:00. Prize giving for the best displaysof Christmas lights in the old town with wineand hot chocolate offered to all at 17:00 inPlace des Arcades. Market open 09:00 to 19:00.See Dec 22Noël Provençal St Vallier de Thiey. See Dec 2110th Festival de Chants & Musiques de Noël SeeDec 22Christmas Festival Saint-Laurent-du-Var. SeeDec 21 ❚

25 TuesdayRomeo and Juliet Ballet performed by the NiceOpera ballet company. The music, by Prokofiev,is performed by the Nice PhilharmonicOrchestra.At the Nice Opera House at 16:00and at 20:00 on Dec 26-29. Tel: 04 92 17 40 40 ➧

Dec 29Magic and Illusion Show at the Palais desFestivals, Cannes. Tel: 04 92 98 62 77Morning Eucharist At St Hugh’s,Vence at 09:00.See Dec 20Eucharist At St Michael’s Church, Beaulieu-sur-Mer at 10:00. See Dec 23Morning Eucharist of the Nativity At St Paul’sAnglican Church, Monaco at 10:30. See Dec 16Family Service At Holy Trinity Church, Cannes at10:30. See Dec 16Eucharist At St John the Evangelist, SaintRaphael at 10:30. See Dec 23Sung Eucharist at St John’s, Menton at 10:30. SeeDec 15Eucharist At Holy Trinity Church, Nice at 11:00.See Dec 1610th Festival de Chants & Musiques de Noël SeeDec 22

26 Wednesday17th Nice Open International Chess Tournament atthe Radisson Hotel, Nice Tel: 04 93 88 00 01 ➧

Dec 3045th International Star Regatta Baie des Anges,Nice. Tel: 04 93 89 39 78 ➧ Dec 3010th Festival de Chants & Musiques de Noël SeeDec 22Romeo and Juliet See Dec 25

27 ThursdayLa Belle Ballet performed by the Monte-CarloBallet Corps. Music by Tchaikovsky isperformed by the Monte-Carlo PhilharmonicOrchestra. 20:30 at the Salle des Princes,Grimaldi Forum, Monaco. Matinee performanceat 16:00 on Dec 30, gala performance on Dec 31.Tel: +377 99 99 30 00 ➧ Jan 4Romeo and Juliet See Dec 2517th Nice Open International Chess TournamentSee Dec 2610th Festival de Chants & Musiques de Noël SeeDec 2245th International Star Regatta See Dec 26

28 FridayHeaven Singers Gospel music concert at Églisede Golfe-Juan at 20:00. Entry free. Tel: 04 93 6382 584th Grand International Magic Gala At the PierreSauvaigo Gymnasium, Cagnes-sur-Mer at20:30, also 14:00 and 20:30 on Dec 29. Tel: 0493 22 19 25 ➧ Dec 2945th International Star Regatta See Dec 26BB Blues Concert at Bar-en-Blais,Antibes. SeeDec 1510th Festival de Chants & Musiques de Noël SeeDec 2217th Nice Open International Chess TournamentSee Dec 26La Belle See Dec 27Romeo and Juliet See Dec 25

29 SaturdayGrande Parade Multicolore Musicians anddancers in the streets of Vallauris. Tel: 04 93 6382 58Country Rock’n’roll With Eddy Ray-Cooper and JoTomasi at the Bar-en-Blais,Antibes. See Dec 15Chanteur de Mexico Operetta at La Palestre, LeCannet at 15:00. Tickets cost 170F and 190F.Tel: 04 93 46 48 884th Grand International Magic Gala See Dec 28 ❚

Moscow Circus At Salle Nikaïa,Rte de Grenoble,Nice at 20:30.Tickets from central booking office,www.ticketnet.fr, tel: 08 20 02 04 06 ➧ Jan 145th International Star Regatta See Dec 2610th Festival de Chants & Musiques de Noël SeeDec 22 ❚17th Nice Open International Chess TournamentSee Dec 26Romeo and Juliet See Dec 25 ❚La Belle See Dec 27

30 SundayLa Belle See Dec 27Swing Parade South Jazz concert in Allées de laLiberté, Cannes at 14:30Récit des Tribus Oméga Dance show withCastafiore Company at the Palais des Festivals,Cannes at 16:00, plus Dec 31 at 20:30 Tel: 04 9298 62 77 ➧ Dec 31Moscow Circus See Dec 2945th International Star Regatta See Dec 26 ❚17th Nice Open International Chess TournamentSee Dec 26 ❚

31 MondayChampagne Gala performance by the Ballet del’Opéra de Nice at the Nice Opera House at19:30. Tel: 04 92 17 40 40Sunshine Parades International Americanmarching bands parade through Cannes, fromthe Palais des Festivals, along the Croisette andrue d’Antibes from 15:00 to 17:00Worship and Refreshments At CornerstoneChristian Fellowship from 21:00 to 24:00. SeeDec 23Grand Réveillon du Jour de l’An New Year’s EveParty at the Palais des Festivals, Cannes. Tel: 0492 98 62 77Réveillon New Year’s Eve Party at the Palais desCongrès, Grasse. Tel: 04 93 36 11 80Réveillon de la St Sylvestre New Year’s Eve Partyat the Salle du Canton, Espace Polyvalent,Monaco from 21:00. Tel: +377 92 16 61 16Best of Broadway Includes songs from HelloDolly, Les Misérables and West Side Story.Atthe Grand Auditorium, Palais des Festivals,Cannes at 20:00.Also at 16:00 on Jan 1 Tel: 0492 98 62 77 ➧ Jan 1Moscow Circus See Dec 29La Belle See Dec 27Récit des Tribus Oméga See Dec 30 ❚

Fireworks Displays to mark the New Year areheld around the region, especially in thecoastal towns

JanuaryHighlights11th Festival d’art Sacré In the Cathédraled’Antibes,Vieil Antibes on January 12, 13, 19and 27 plus 3 February. Tel: 04 93 74 53 58Monte-Carlo International Fine Arts & AntiquesFair Grimaldi Forum, Monaco. Last year, theFair attracted forty exhibitors from acrossEurope and the United States, had 12,000visitors and covered 4,500 sqm. Tel: +377 97 9850 00. Jan 6 ➧ 13 6th Marché de la Truffe Truffle market andfestival at the Bastide St Antoine, near Grasse,on January 12. Tel: 04 93 70 94 9470th Monte Carlo Automobile Rally Tel: +377 9315 26 00. Jan 13 ➧ 2026th Monte-Carlo International Circus FestivalChildren’s matinee performance, competitionand winners’ show. Tel: +377 92 05 23 45. Jan17 ➧ 24 Don Giovanni At the Nice Opera House on Jan18, 20, 22, 24 and 26 Tel: 04 92 17 40 405th Monte-Carlo Historic Cars Rally Tel: +377 9315 26 00. Jan 25 ➧ 30Burns’ Night With the Auld Alliance. Tel: 04 9308 32 78

© The Riviera Gazette 2001.All rightsreserved. The content, expression andcompilation rights in the Riviera Diary arecopyright material owned by The RivieraGazette. If you’d like to re-purpose all or anypart of this data in any way or in any medium,please call Mike Clark on 04 93 09 66 43.

MEMBERS of the Monte-Carlo Ballet in rehearsal for their new production of La Belle,which opens on December 27. This new ballet was conceived and choreographed by thecompany’s director, Jean-Christophe Maillot. It is based on the story of Sleeping Beauty,but is an adult-orientated version that concentrates on what happens after the Princewakes her up from her one hundred year sleep. Nice Opera ballet company also has a newproduction.Their Romeo and Juliet opens on December 25 and runs until December 29.

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France has avenged its defeatin Nice by Australia in theDavis Cup final of 1999 with a3-2 win over Australia inMelbourne to lift the DavisCup for the ninth time.

In a close fought final, it was theform of Frenchman Nicolas Escudeand the perennial fitness problemsof Patrick Rafter that became thedeciding factors.

Day one saw Escude beat Lleyton

Hewitt, the world number one, infive sets, and Rafter putting theteams level again with a three set winover Sebastian Grosjean.

But a re-occurrence of Rafter’s oldshoulder troubles meant that theAustralians had to re-think theirplans for day two.

Seeing that Rafter would be unableto get through his scheduled singlesmatch against Escude on day three,Australian captain John Fitzgerald

decided to play him and Hewitt inday two’s doubles match rather thanusing the experienced doubles part-nership of Todd Woodbridge andWayne Arthurs. After stormingthrough the first set, however, theirlack of practice together began toshow and the star Australian duolost the match to Cedric Pioline andFabrice Santoro 2-6 6-3 7-6 6-1.

Australia evened things up againin the first match of day three with a

straight sets win for Lleyton Hewittover Sebastian Grosjean.

But Wayne Arthurs, no match forthe on-form Nicolas Escude, couldnot fill Rafter’s shoes and France tookthe trophy with a final four set win.

Captain Guy Forget was ecstatic:“When you play in a big match likethe one we played in Nice two yearsago, you dream about winning anddoing well before your family andfriends, and in the end you lose.

“Two years later you’re back inAustralia probably against an evenbetter team on grass and you knowyour chances are even smaller andin the end you pull off a win, so it’svery exciting and very special.

“We lost on clay, now they havelost on grass”.● Rafter announced this week thathe would be unable to play in theAustralian Open, blaming hiscontinuing fitness problems.

November 25 – On a bright Sundaymorning, close to 3,000 runners gath-ered in the Casino Gardens inMonaco, eager to tackle the onlymarathon in the World that passesthrough three different countries.

Most were there to raise money forcharity and to face up to a personalchallenge. But the world’s leadingmarathon runners were there in forcetoo, motivated by the serious goal ofwinning a major international race.

The good weather came as an enor-mous relief to both organisers and run-ners alike. Bad weather saw last year’sevent was cancelled at the eleventhhour. But this year the sun shone downon a perfect Mediterranean winter’sday, giving extra encouragement to thethousands lined up to face over 42 kilo-metres of hilly running.

From the start at the Casino gardens,the runners headed through the streetsof Monaco towards Roquebrune,Menton and the Italian border. On thereturn, they faced a steep 1,200m climbup Cap Martin before heading backinto Monaco along the seafront,

through the road tunnel under theGrand Hotel, around the port, throughthe tunnel to Fontvieille and, finally,into Stade Louis II for the finish.

In a day that belonged to the Kenyans,Wilson Kibet took the tape in 2h 13’54”and six more of his countrymen made itinto the top ten.Hungarian athlete JudithNagy won the ladies’ event in 2h 38’23”.

The men’s marathon world record isheld by Moroccan athlete KhalidKhannouchi, who finished the 1999Chicago marathon in 2h 5’42”.

For this event, a five and a half hourtime limit was set for the amateurs.Many didn’t make it — but for them, itwasn’t the winning but the taking partthat counted.

The England national footballteam’s luck has deserted it. In nextsummer’s 2002 FIFA World Cup,England has yet again drawn atough group.

Dubbed the ‘Group of Death’, GroupF sees England pitted against Nigeria,Sweden and old nemesis Argentina.Only two teams will go through to thenext round.

England-Argentina World Cupmatches are never dull. Back in theglory days of English football, 1962 sawEngland help knock Argentina out inthe first round. In 1966, the teams metin the semi-final in a game full of emo-tion. The match saw Argentina commitnumerous fouls and, when the refereesent off captain Antonio Rattin, it tookten minutes and the involvement ofFIFA officials to persuade him to leavethe pitch. England, of course, came outon top and went on win the cup.

But the eighties and nineties saw theboot firmly on the other foot.

The 1986 quarter-final clash inMexico City saw Argentina’s DiegoMaradona punch the ball past Englandkeeper Peter Shilton to score the infa-mous ‘hand of God’ goal. Minutes later,Maradona scored again with one of themost impressive goals the World Cuphas ever seen — and England was out.

1998’s World Cup saw the teams gointo battle again, this time in the secondround. Argentina went ahead with apenalty in the fourth minute. AlanShearer equalized minutes later, againwith a penalty. Michael Owen scorednext, with the stunning goal that madehim an instant international star. Then,

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Marathon EffortKenyan takes honours as runners visit three countries

MARATHON MAN ...Kenya’s Wilson Kibet celebrates as he reaches the finish at Monaco’s Stade Louis II,where he set a winning time of 2h 13’54”

IN THE LONG RUN . . . after the elite competitors leave, the amateurs race to get under way

FRANCE TAKES DAVIS CUP AS ESCUDE HITS TOP FORM

WORLD CUP: ENGLAND IN ‘GROUP OF DEATH’

No easy ridefor England

TRIUMPHANT . . . Guy Forget

Group AFrance

SenegalUruguayDenmark

Group EGermany

Saudi ArabiaIreland

Cameroon

Group BSpain

SloveniaParaguay

South Africa

Group FArgentina

NigeriaEnglandSweden

Group CBrazil

TurkeyChina

Costa Rica

Group GItaly

EcuadorCroatiaMexico

Group DSouth Korea

PolandUnited States

Portugal

Group HJapan

BelgiumRussiaTunisia

2002

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With the inclusion of England coachSven Goran Eriksson’s home countrySweden to the Group F mix, the ‘Groupof Death’ will be the centre of attentionwhen the World Cup Finals kick off on31st May next year. “We’re in the mostdifficult group. No doubt about that”was Eriksson’s stoic response to thenews. However, England fans canbreathe a little easier – Diego Maradonawon’t be there. He played his last matchjust last month, retiring in typicalMaradona style by scoring two goals.

HAND OF GOD . . . Argentina’s Maradonaput England out of the 1986 World Cup

on the stroke of half-time, Argentinascored again to bring the teams level.

The second half saw the early depar-ture of David Beckham. Fouled byArgentine midfielder Diego Simeone,he lost his temper, kicked out and waspromptly sent off the field. England’sremaining ten-man side could then dono more than hold the score at 2-2 toforce a penalty shoot-out. Both sidesmissed once and then David Battykicked a weak ball that was easily saved.Argentina’s last penalty went in — andEngland went out.

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