Alaigne France 11240

20/06/2026

Living in France doesn’t have to cost as much as people think, especially if you know where to look. Some areas offer a great lifestyle without pushing your monthly budget too far. See Comment 👇

19/06/2026

With temperatures expected to hit 40°C this Sunday, acting mayor Emmanuel Grégoire announced the canal would open for public swimming as the city braces for the heatwave. It's a rare move for a waterway that, for most of its life, has been firmly off-limits to swimmers.

The canal was commissioned by Napoleon in 1802, partly to bring fresh drinking water into Paris and partly to reduce disease. It opened in 1825 and runs about 4.5 kilometers through the 10th and 11th arrondissements, with locks, footbridges, and those iron crossings you've probably seen in a hundred films.

Swimming in it has been banned for over a century. The water quality, the boat traffic, and the depth all made it a no-go. Paris has been working on cleaning up its waterways for years, with the Seine getting most of the attention ahead of the 2024 Olympics. The Canal Saint-Martin opening for a heatwave day is part of that same shift.

The city set up supervised swimming zones along the Bassin de la Villette nearby last summer, and they were packed. Locals lined up early. Families brought picnics. It felt like a small reset of what the canals could be for.

Today's opening is weather-driven, but it points to something bigger. Parisians are getting their water back, slowly, one hot weekend at a time.

Would you swim in it?

📍 Canal Saint-Martin, 10th Arrondissement, Paris

19/06/2026

19/06/2026

Météo Languedoc has put their stamp on next weeks weather...
Ice lolly ❄️🧊🍨 anyone!!!

🥵 - It's going to get very hot this weekend here in the Mediterranean. The first heatwave peak will occur early to mid-next week, with many temperatures exceeding 40°C across our plains and a greater than 50% probability of reaching 42°C at some regional weather stations. Nights will also be tropical next week, unlike what we're currently experiencing.

We have to face the facts: what was exceptional before 2017 is becoming the new normal for the French climate. Reaching 40°C is now commonplace over the three summer months. Those who think they know better will say that this was the case before, but that's obviously false: the number of occurrences of temperatures exceeding 40°C has exploded in the last 10 years. There have been more occurrences in the last 5 years than in the previous 80 years at many stations.

The program:

https://www.meteolanguedoc.com/actualites/canicule-de-forte-intensite-plus-de-40c-attendus-la-semaine-prochaine

Have a good day :)

19/06/2026

[7 juillet 2026, passage du Tour de France]
En attendant la caravane (13h30), les échappés et le peloton (entre 15h20 et 15h34) de la 4e étape Carcassonne-Foix et le sprint bonification avenue François Mitterand,
un village animations toute la journée en centre-ville vous attend avec ateliers sportifs, commerçants et producteurs locaux, food trucks et musique pour vibrer ensemble.

📷©️ Quillan Tranches de vie JB Simon.

10/06/2026

If you have bank accounts outside France, you need to declare them at tax time 💸⬇️

10/06/2026

An old railway line through the countryside of south-west France has become a hit with tourists after being saved by a group of railway enthusiasts.

The 17km route between Roumazières and Confolens in Charente, originally opened in 1887, has been given a new lease of life with tourist train rides and pedal-powered vélorail excursions.

Read more here: https://www.connexionfrance.com/news/historic-railway-line-revived-by-enthusiasts-in-south-west-france/790016

10/06/2026