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As the citizens of Charente-Maritime begin the grim task of clearing up after the devastation wreaked by Storm Xynthia, the full impact of the wind and tides has begun to emerge.

Across France at least 52 died in the storm, most of them in the coastal resorts of the Vendée but many too in the Charente-Maritime. The worst hit areas here were the islands ÃŽle d’Oléron, ÃŽle de Ré, Aytré, La Rochelle and Châtelaillon Plage, and the department has reported at least eleven deaths. The coast to the south towards Royan was also hit, but less badly affected than areas further to the north.

The departments of the Vienne and Deux-Sèvres were also badly hit and they, together with the Charente-Maritime, were included in the official state declaration of a natural disaster. This means, in theory at least, that insurance claims for damage caused by the storm in those areas should be able to be processed, and quickly. In Poitou-Charentes the least affected department was the Charente, which was not included in the natural disaster status. Attention is now turning to why so many houses along the coast were built in areas prone to flooding from the sea.

Meanwhile businesses along the coastal area, a popular tourist area for the French and foreign holidaymakers, are having to take urgent action to get ready in time for the holiday season. The government has already pledged cash for stricken businesses, including oyster farms.

One of the joys of Angoulême is its many restaurants – at the last count there were about 80 restaurants in the Charente capital in all. Many of them. including some of the best, are based around the old historic centre of Angoulême.

However, according to the regional paper the Charente Libre, while there may be plenty of restaurants in Angoulême, finding one to eat in at the end of the evening is no easy matter. The simple question: ‘Is is too late to get something to eat?’ is apparently being heard more and more as many places close their kitchens by 10.30pm. ‘We get asked it regularly, even if it’s still only 9.30pm or 1.30pm,’ staff at Lieu-Dit, rue de Genève, told the newspaper.  This restaurant serves meals until 11pm even if ‘during the week  we can send out the last coffees at 9.30pm because there are no later customers’.

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The coast of Charente-Maritime was worst hit by Storm Xynthia

A powerful storm with gusts of up to 150kmh has hit the Poitou-Charentes, killing several people, cutting off the power for tens of thousands of homes and causing widespread flooding.

The part of the region worst hit by Storm Xynthia, which hit France in the early hours of Sunday 28 February, was the coast of Charente-Maritime, where high tides combined to cause flooding. An 88-year-old woman was found drowned in her own home at Boyardville in Saint-Georges d’Oléron on the ÃŽle d’Oléron, and there were reports that up to two other deaths could have been linked to the weather in the department. The flooding was also bad in the port resort of La Rochelle, where the emergency services were called in to rescue people from their homes. 

Many thousands of people across Poitou-Charentes – especially the Charente-Maritime, the Vienne and the Deux-Sèvres -  saw their electricity  cut off when fallings trees and branches brought down power lines.  A number of roads were blocked by trees and there was widespread disruption to transport. Across France Storm Xynthia caused at least 45 deaths and brought power cuts to a million homes as repair teams struggled to keep on top of the damage. Worst hit were the towns of La-Faute-sur-Mer and  
Aiguillon-sur-Mer in the Vendée just north of Poitou-Charentes, where a total of  29 people died as the strong winds and surging tide raised water levels by 1.5 metres.  Many of thsoe who died were drowned.

The storm, which was forecast well in advance by France Méteo, is  the severest to hit Poitou-Charentes since the infamous storm of 1999.

Up, up and away...for good

The flights between London Stansted and the airport near Angoulême in the Charente have come to an abrupt end. Ryanair have pulled out of the service with immediate effect, despite the fact that the five-year they signed with the airport authorities runs until 2012. How has this situation arisen on a new route that had already proved popular with passengers?

Essentially it’s been a row about money. Late in 2009 Ryanair demanded more money from the Angoulême airport authorities to continue the service, making it clear that if no more cash was put up, the flights would end. The authorities in the Charente, not unreasonably, said that they would abide by the terms of the existing contract and would not therefore hand over any more money for what are described as ‘marketing fees’. Read the rest of this entry »

Night owls and those who simply have to keep raving until dawn are in luck.  A new regulation has come into affect across the country that will standardise closing times for clubs and discos across the Poitou-Charentes region, and indeed across the whole country.  Read the rest of this entry »

The jobless total seems to keep going up in France. But there is one area at least where they are more concerned about finding enough people to do the work – and that is in the cognac industry. It’s estimated that over the next decade there will be up to 2,000 jobs going in the viticulture industry in that area.  ‘The viticulteurs are going but they have to be replaced,’ says Jérôme Prioton, president of the industry’s Syndicat des viticulteurs bouilleurs de cru (SVBC). ‘The land is still there!’ He was present at a special day held last week to familiarise potential workers with the demands and conditions of work for those in the industry. It was held at vineyards belonging to the Jean Martell cognac house at Javrezac, and attracted fifteen people. Read the rest of this entry »

When it comes to making cocktails out of local drinks, there’s no doubt that cognac rules the roost. But pineau producers in the Charente and Charente-Maritime don’t want to be left behind. So, late last year the industry’s marketing body the Comité national du pineau des Charentes staged the final of its national cocktail contest at Jarnac.  Read the rest of this entry »

It’s underway. The majority of wine growers in Poitou-Charentes began their annual harvest or vendange on Monday 28 September, though some had begun a week or so earlier. In all some 75,013 hectares of vines will be harvested in the Charente and Charente-Maritime alone, with thousands more hectares in the Vienne and Deux-Sèvres as well.

The fine weather for the vendange and the generally good growing conditions for much of the year suggest it should be a decent harvest. Read the rest of this entry »

Dinner Theatre in Jonzac by Théâtre Tricolore

‘How do you capture the imagination of your potential audience?’
‘What does it take to attract ex-pats to escape the sunshine for a few hours in this delightful corner of la belle France and come to see a show?’
‘What can we do that’s a little bit different?’
‘Make ‘em part of the show’, someone suggested. ‘Feed ‘em and water ‘em,’ said another.
And so, thanks to Marian B….a show was born…. Read the rest of this entry »

Camping's had a good crisis...

Crisis, what crisis? That could well be the reaction of campsite owners across Poitou-Charentes, many of whom have enjoyed a good summer for camping.  As people chose to reduce the cost of their holidays, either by staying in France or by swapping hotels for tents, campsite owners have been the beneficiary.
France is already the European country with the highest number of seasonal campers  and across the nation figures are up this year by about 3 percent – even as hotel bookings have generally been down.  ‘It should be a good year,’ says Jacques Petit, president of the regional campsite group the Fédération régionale de l’hôtellerie de plein air. Read the rest of this entry »