les Davey de France

As the UK swings to the left, many countries in Europe have swung to the right. In the recent European Parliament Elections in France the far-right Rassemblement National (erstwhile Front National)did exceptionally well. Following that M Macron dissolved the National Assembly and called elections for the National Assembly on 30 June and 7 July. France has several levels of election. 1) Presidential elections. The President is directly elected and it is he who puts forward a programme of legislation. He has immense power and prestige. 2) Legislative elections. Députés are elected to the Assemblée Nationale. These represent their constituencies or circonscriptions. I have no idea who our député is, and I can't imagine a situation where I might write to them. French friends don't know, either. The National Assemblée is a control on the president's power. The French Parliament has a second chamber, the Sénat. Senators are elected by an electoral college made up of députés, memb...

I got back Monday from one of our two-week three-weekend visits to the UK to report to churches on the work here in Bordeaux. I didn't hire a car, but I travelled everywhere by train and, once, by bus. My travels began with a flight to Bristol Airport, where our friends from Bath were waiting to meet me and take me to their home for the weekend. I flew on the Saturday - there was no direct flight that day - via Marseille.  Flying via Marseille was a pain in the neck. It meant a LONG journey, a LONG wait in Marseille AND getting the nice bottle of wine confiscated because I bought it in Bordeaux, to in Marseille. I could have had it sealed in a duty-free bag had I realised that at Marseille you have to pass through security again.  Oh well. Honestly, that was the worst snag I experienced. Otherwise trains were on time, acceptably clean, reasonably priced (£14 for Newtown Powys to Leicester) and comfortable. I do these visits alone. Pat used to accompany me but they got too grue...