Air Crash in Correze

A high tech fighter plane crashed in the Neuvic area of Correze on 6th December. A security cordon was placed around the scene creating a 19 hectare exclusion zone as the authorities carried out an extensive search. The barriers are also designed to prevent the public from entering the area which it is believed may be contaminated with potentially hazardous material deposited by the craft on impact. The pilot of the plane, Emmanuel Moriuser (34) was killed outright. Mr. Moriuser had been based at the France air force base in Haute Marne. The black box was recovered this week but it will be several months before accident investigators will be able to establish the exact cause of the incident.

New Ryan Air Route

Limoges airport has grown beyond all expectations over the last couple of years, partly due to the incredible popularity of the routes provided by low cost airline Ryan Air. The airline brings thousands of Brits each year from all over the UK to the Limousin region. It seems Ryan Air now plans to build on its success in the British market by reaching a little further in to Europe. The company announced this week a new scheduled flight between Limoges Bellegarde and Brussels Charleroi. The flights will take around 1 hour 25 minutes and will be each Friday and Monday starting on the 7th March 2008. Gilles Tellier, Limoges’ airport manager expressed his delight at the announcement confirming that it can only be good news for the Limousin economy and tourism in the region. Limousin is already very popular with the Dutch and the Belgians, a popularity that is only likely to grow with the new low cost route. Limoges airport currently carries around 400,000 passengers a year making it the 25th busiest in France a figure that looks set to increase in the future.

Leather Goods Slashed

A series of attacks took place on the 6th and 7th of December against retailers in the Centre St Martial, Limoges. A variety of leather products on sale in the stores were slashed using what is believed to be Stanley knife. The goods damaged included, clothes and accessories. The security services at the centre have launched an inquiry.

Stolen Virgin

The tiny historic chapel St Aurélien in Limoges city centre was the victim of a robbery trecently Thieves stole a valuable statue of the Virgin Mary.

Bellac Drug Network Busted

Five separate arrests were made recently between Limoges and Bellac in the Haute Vienne. The men arrested were between the ages of 20 and 32. All have been charged with dealing cannabis resin. Police believe they have broken up a significant dealer network. It is thought that the dealers had been supplying many of the youths who have been causing problems in Bellac town centre

Pork and Ride

The slip road at junction 36 of the A20 motorway was closed on the morning of 20 December. A refrigerated lorry carrying 12 tonnes of pork crashed around 5am. The meat was transferred to another lorry but the road remained closed until around lunchtime while debris was cleared

Museum on Target

The first phase of a muti-million euro makeover was completed at the Museum de l’Eveche this week. Construction teams are delighted to have come in on target with phase 2 ready to start next year. The work is not expected to be completed until the beginning of 2010 but when finished it is hoped the museum will become one of the regions major attractions. The museum remains partially open whilst the renovations are carried out.

Restos du Coeur

Restos du Coeur is the charity group who provide hot meals to the most needy during the winter months. The Restos started their essential work in earnest at the beginning of December and will continue to provide hot meals daily until around March. There are currently 262 volunteers in the region who will dish up around 300,000 meals before early Spring. The group can are always use extra pairs of hands and food donations so please give generously if you see their collections in the supermarkets. www.restosducoeur.org

Eco Water for Bussiere-Poitevine

A new water treatment plant is now in operation in the Haute Vienne town of Bussiere Poitevine. The system is the first of its kind in the region. The processing system uses plants as its principal source of treatment making it one of the most ecologically friendly procedures available. The previous system had been in use for over 30 years.

Slow Down

A new permanent speed camera has been erected on the RN145 at Saint Sornin Leulac.

Daylight Robbery

A man carrying a hunting knife committed daylight robbery in Limoges in early December. The man entered the bakers on rue François Perrin and threatened the proprietor with the weapon before making off with the takings.

Jewellery robbery in St Junien

In a separate incident thieves snatched jewellery worth over 1000 Euros from a jeweller in Saint Junien on the evening of 5 December. The staff were busy serving other customers when he grabbed the items before making off on foot. The 27 year old man from Azerbaijan who committed the theft has since been caught but the items taken have not been recovered.

Correze- Dordogne Link Road Complete

The final section of the A89 motorway linking Clemont-Ferrand and Bordeaux is set to open on 17th Jan 2008. The official opening of the stretch between Thenon and Terrasson will be on the 14th January and will finally see the joining of the Dordogne and Correze sections of the route. It is hoped the new road will lead to a dramatic reduction in the jams seen in the area particularly during the peak holiday season.

Fatal Crash in Creuse

A 20 year old man died in December following a motorbike accident in Creuse. Cedric Barras from Gueret was travelling on the RN145 when he lost control of the bike.

It’s official – Ryanair flies to Angoulême from April 2008

Ryanair has officially announced the start of flights to Brie-Champniers airport near Angoulême on Tuesday 1 April 2008. There will be three evening flights a week between Stansted and Aéroport international Angoulême-Cognac’ until 23 October when they will stop for the winter . Tickets are on sale via Ryanair’s website and the flights are on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. According to the Ryanair website the Tuesday and Thursday flights from Angoulême will leave at 10.15pm, while the Saturday flight will leave at 8.55pm. The airline estimates that in the first seven months of the service they will carry some 20,000 passengers. Daniel Braud, president of the Angoulême chamber of commerce (CCI) who have handled the negotiations, believes this could be just the start of new airlines coming to the department. ‘Others will come,’ he says. The department council and other local authorities will have to find around €800,000 a year to cover the costs of the service, plus there will be €150,000 paid a year to Ryanair in what are called ‘marketing fees’. This means that Ryanair will market the area on its website. The airport runway has also had to be lengthened and the terminal infrastructure improved. However, it would have cost around €850,000 a year to continue to keep the now scrapped Angoulême-Lyon service once state funding was stopped – and that service carried just a handful of people. And most people are looking forward to the economic benefits that will be brought by the new passengers. And department president Michel Boutant is also a relieved man. ‘We’ve waited a long time for this,’ he told Ryanair’s promotions manager for France Niall Rooney. The local politician is confident that the service will be a major boost for the department. ‘We hope for benefits to the restaurant and hotel trade, to local shops, and in terms of work carried out on second homes,’ says Michel Boutant. ‘It’s claimed that for every euro spent we’ll get back seven.’

GB Airways put Angoulême flights on hold after takeover

Plans by British Airways franchise GB Airways to fly between Gatwick and Angoulême have been put on hold after the company was taken over by Easyjet. It has now emerged that GB Airways and their new owners will re-evaluate their plans to start a three times a week services between Gatwick and the Charente’s Brie-Champniers airport. They have told the local chamber of commerce - the chambre de commerce et d'industrie (CCI) d'Angoulême – who were negotiating the deal that they need time to consider the implications of the takeover. The matter is further complicated by the fact that earlier this year Easyjet’s interest in the Angoulême route was ‘stalled’ by the CCI . Instead the CCI chose to do a deal with GB Airways and Easyjet’s archrivals Ryanair. François Garrigue, the director general of the CCI, said the GB Airways news did not change plans for flights between the Charente and the UK.

New French citizens take a bow

Fifty-seven Charente residents became French citizens at a ceremony in Angoulême in December. During the event, which took place at the prefecture, the new citizens – 36 adults and 27 children – watched a short government film called ‘Devenir français’ (‘Becoming French’) before receiving their formal decrees of citizenship. 64 other residents have also become French nationals in the department in 2007 - it was the end of a lengthy process and it was a chance to savour the moment. The 18 different nationalities represented included Iraqis, Tunisians, Ukrainians, Japanese, Slovakians, Ghanaians, Belgians and British. Greeting the new citizens prefect François Burdeyron told them: ‘You are entering a new family. In the name of this new family I welcome you.’ During the ceremony the new French nationals sang 'La Marseillaise' and later drank a glass of champagne in celebration of their new status.

Dairy farmers resist lure of Spanish cash cow

Dairy farmers in the Charente are resisting the lure of Spanish cash for their milk. Companies on the other side of the Pyrénées are currently offering French farmers €400 a tonne for their milk - €60 more than most are now getting from their local cooperatives. Some in the south-west of France have taken up the deals, including some farmers in the Charente-Maritime. Yet in the Charente, dairy farmers are being more cautious and have so far said non! Denis Charrier, who milks 40 cows at Péreuil, says he was offered the deal three weeks ago in a phone call. ‘The price is attractive but you have to think long term. The Spanish are currently ready to pay any price – but for how long?’ he asks. Alain Lebret, president of a group of 3,500 milk producers, the Groupement des laiteries de l'association centrale (Glac), says that Spain is currently short of milk. But he points out that from 1 January 2008 local farmers will be getting €400 a tonne for their milk as well. For French and other dairy farmers the price of milk has fallen in recent years, in some cases by as much as 20 per cent, but has recently started to stabilise and even rise thanks to growing world demand. The EU has also allowed an increase in milk quotas for farmers. However, while their milk prices may be going up, dairy farmers’ costs are rising too – thanks to the rising price of cereals and concentrated feeds used to feed dairy cows. Denis Charrier also points out that while demand may be growing it is not that easy for a dairy farmer to suddenly increase production. In particular the price of dairy cattle is increasing. ‘Heifers we were paying €1,300 or €1,400 for last year are now fetching more than €2,000,’ he says.

Cold heads, warm hearts

The homeless and destitute are being given a warm welcome in Angoulême. The charity centre L'Éclaircie in rue de Basseau in Angoulême provides hot and filling food for those who have little or nothing of their own and who sleep rough or in emergency shelters. During the cold spell in December the centre’s manager, Michel Laurent, described how he keeps a close eye out for what he calls his ‘family’. A week ago one of ‘his’ charges committed suicide, close to the station. He was 37 and had no family and no hope. ‘We don’t have the right to let them fall,’ says Michel Laurent, who caters for the special needs of his regulars – including minced beef for those whose teeth aren’t up to steaks. In the centre he makes sure the music or TV is always on. ‘Silence is hard,’ he says. ‘When they are left to face themselves, that’s when violence can start.

Shop workers unhappy at prospect of Sunday trading

The likelihood of having to work on more or even every Sunday is not one faced with much enthusiasm by many shop workers. Traders in Angoulême reported lively business on the first of the two pre-Christmas Sunday trading days. But not all shopkeepers agreed on the usefulness of Sunday trading. ‘If we weren’t open, they’d come back another day, even during the week, said one owner in the town centre, who admitted business was as brisk as on a Saturday. ‘Wrong,’ said a shopkeeper in rue Hergé. ‘If we hadn’t been open today people would have spent their money in the hypermarkets.’ We thank French Entree-Limousin.com and French Entree.com for kindly supplying us the information. See their sites for travel, holiday and property information