Missing British woman in Charente – can you help?
UPDATE 10pm - Good news, the gendarmerie issued a statement at 9.30pm saying the British woman who went missing in the Charente has been found 'safe and...
View ArticleHunting's back – with a 'greener' face that ever
Photo: Renaud Joubert/CLHunting is a controversial subjects and always stirs up passions.You only have to look at the number and nature of the comments on the Charente Libre's story announcing the...
View ArticleSearch for family of Charente wartime heroes who saved Jewish family
Given the sad news that France now tops the world league table for the number of its Jewish citizens heading off to live in Israel – many citing a rise in anti-Semitism – it is important to remember...
View ArticleFootball ref 'sent off' by Charente teams
Archive photo: AFPWe hear a lot about football teams at all levels taking on the pitch rivalry too far. But what about when referees lose it? Last Saturday two local teams, Grande-Champagne from the...
View ArticleFootball ref beaten up by players in Charente match
Photo: AFPNot long ago I reported how players from two Charente teams had 'sent off' a referee who had been a little over-zealous.That story had its funny side.But unfortunately there is nothing to...
View ArticleWhy France looks to its schools after Charlie Hebdo murders
Photo: AFP The last week in France has shown humanity as its worst and at its best.First there was the terrible massacre of journalists, cartoonists and the police, and the cowardly slaughter of...
View ArticleCharente: the crucible of French democracy...
Photo, above, of Hiersac mayor David Chagneaud: Majid Bouzzit/CLFrance has long been a top-down kind of country.Under the Fifth Republic (established by Charles de Gaulle in 1958) one has the...
View ArticleThe empty village housing estates that litter the Charente
Photo: Majid Bouzzit/CLIt is a sadly familiar story across much of the Charente.A village draws up grandiose plans for one or more housing estates – lotissements– in the hope they will attract new...
View ArticleThe Hermione voyage – a lesson in teamwork
Image: CLSo finally, after nearly two decades of planning and building, the Hermione has set sail.This magnificent replica of the frigate that took General Lafayette to the Americas - to help the...
View ArticleLa Rochefoucauld shopkeepers fight out-of-town retail centre
Photo: CLIt's a common enough problem in Britain, where in recent decades town centres have been losing customers in droves to out-of-town shopping areas.But France has not been spared by the...
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