Generous Chinese Businessman Li Jinyuan Has Just Taken 6,400 Of His Staff On An All Expenses Paid Holiday To France...

It matters not that Li Jinyuan is a billionaire,
there are plenty of those but not that many with this sort of  generosity.
Wouldn't it be wonderful though.
Li Jinyuan, the CEO of Tiens Group Company has just spent twenty four million dollars to give his staff the trip of a lifetime and four days in France they will never forget. He booked 7,600 tickets on the French hi-speed TGV trains to take his workers to the south coast and reserved 4,760 rooms in four and five star hotels in Cannes and Monaco. All to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of his company.
Thankyou Li Jinyuan. You've shown us there is something other than greed in the world...

It's Said That The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword...

The pen they say, is mightier than the sword. There will be some who dispute that but for me there is nothing outside of nature that's as powerful as the written word.
I'm appalled by the cold blooded murder of twelve social commentators at the Paris based satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo.
I believe in the freedom of speech and will always speak my mind.
Many have died in wars so you and I can.
And I know full well that we don't see things as they are, but as we are...

France Isn't Very Happy About Their Scary Clowns...

Clowning about in France isn't funny anymore.
Coulrophobia, the fear of clowns
is gripping the country.
Youths dressed as evil clowns are terrorising towns especially in the south of France where police recently arrested fourteen teenagers who were carrying pistols, knives and wielding baseball bats.
There's more about what has become a scary phenomenon here but according to the police the clowns antics are no laughing matter...

Castel Meur. The Little House In Brittany Built Between A Rock And A Hard Place...

With its back turned to the sea
to protect the tiny house from the violent storms that frequent Plougrescant in France's Brittany area, the Castel Meur or La Maison du Gouffre, the house between the rocks, is home to the granddaughter of the original owner.
The lovely stone house was built in 1861 at a time when people could build where they liked. And now,much to the chagrin of the owner builder's descendent, it's a much too popular tourist destination...

French Workers Get Paid To Cycle To Work...

Much to the delight of some local commuters, the French government has initiated a six month experiment that pays people to cycle to work.
France joins other European governments trying to increase bicycle use, to improve people's health, reduce air pollution and
cut fossil fuel consumption.
Several countries like the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Belgium and Britain already have bike-to-work schemes with incentives that include payment per kilometer, financial support to buy a bicycle and tax breaks.
In France more than twenty companies employing over ten thousand people have already signed on to pay their staff 25 Euro cents or 34 US per kilometer to cycle to work.
If the idea has wheels France is likely
to keep it rolling...

French Students Have Designed The Microjoule. A Car That's Able To Travel 3,300 Kilometers On One Litre Of Fuel...

This little car named The Microjoule, can travel two thousand miles on one litre of fuel.
Designed and built by a group of French students at La Joliverie College in Nantes this carbon fibre vehicle weighing only thirty five kilograms was tested on a racetrack in Rotterdam and judged to be able to run 2072 miles or 3,300 kilometers on a litre of fuel.
Or 9,400 miles per gallon.
Evidently you could drive around the world for about twenty six dollars.
Should you want to...

Eighty Nine Year Old D-Day Veteran Makes A Daring Escape From His Resthome To Return To The Beaches Of Normandy...

Eighty nine year old D-Day Veteran Bernard Jordan made a daring escape from his rest home at Hove in East Sussex so he could return to the beach at Normandy and join in the celebrations marking the seventieth anniversary.
Grounded by the 'wicked' matron he hatched a cunning plan to foil his 'captors' and join his comrades in honouring the fallen.
Hiding his medals under his coat, Bernard audaciously said he was 'going for a walk'. No digging a tunnel for months for this intrepid old Royal Navy vet. No disguises. No saving up food rations for weeks.  He just walked out the door, down the road, hailed a cab and before anyone knew he was missing, he was happily on board a coach to France.
There he stood proudly amongst world leaders, comrades and others to remember the assault all those years ago that claimed four thousand lives.
Thankyou Bernard. We salute you...

Roussillon. The Beautiful Ochre-Red Village In France...

The French commune of Roussillon is located
in the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur area.
It's famous for it's magnificent red cliffs and
its ochre quarries.
Ochre being a natural dye derived from clay containing hydrated iron oxide, has been used medicinally and as a colouring for houses, clothes and bodies since prehistoric times.
The residents of Roussillon, classified
as one of the most beautiful villages in France, have always used the ochre deposits to provide natural red, brown and yellow hues to
their architecture.
There's more here...