Île de Ré
LA ROCHELLE Surgeres Rochefort
CHARENTE-MARITIME (17) Marennes Saintes Cognac Royan
Ruffec
Rouillac Jarnac
CONFOLENS
CHARENTE (16)
ANGOULEME Barbezieux Aubeterresur-Dronne
News from around the region...
les charentes
Angoulême has been awarded the designation of UNESCO Creative City, joining Limoges and three other cities in France. “All over the world, these cities, in their own ways, make culture the pillar, not an accessory, of their strategy,” says UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. “This favours political and social innovation and is particularly important for young generations.” Angoulême has received the award within the Literature category (Limoges joined the network in 2017 in the Crafts and Folk Art category) based upon its close relationship to la bande dessinée which is celebrated annually at the international festival – see Diary Dates. As well as a museum dedicated to the art, many walls in the city are adorned with colourful murals, attracting tourists to the area. Globally, some 246 Creative Cities are now recognised, across seven different themes.
© Dept17
Île de Oléron
River dredging
In an effort to reduce floods and restore the aquatic habitat of the Charente river between Rochefort and Saintes, the Charente-Maritime department and the French state are investing seven million euros in dredging over the next 6-8 years. In an ingenious project, sediment sucked from the riverbed, using a specially designed suction arm, will be deposited in two large settling reservoirs. Once the sediment has settled it will be dried, before being mixed with soil to improve local agricultural land. The cleaned water will then be returned to the river. Ultimately, it is hoped that 200ha of land will benefit from over 600,000m3 of sediment. Dredging by the ‘Grande Mulette’ is already underway and will continue until March 2020 before restarting in November.
Tour de France 2020 There was much excitement when the route for the 2020 Tour de France was announced, with a rest day and 3 stages (9, 10 and 11) planned for Poitou-Charentes. Having set out from Nice on 27 June, the riders will arrive in Charente-Maritime on Monday 6 July, following two gruelling mountain stages in the Pyrénées. The following day they’ll set off from the Île d’Oléron and cycle 170km north along the Atlantic coast via Royan, Rochefort and La Rochelle, finishing in Saint-Martin-deRé. Wednesday sees the peloton back on the mainland, where they will leave Châtelaillon-Plage and head inland, racing the 167km to Poitiers with a 1.5km sprint finish into the city centre. Then it’s a short hop east for Thursday’s departure from Chauvigny for Stage 11
to Sarran in Corrèze where, after two days on the flat, they will face the challenging climb up the Suc au May, which will prepare them for Friday’s mountain course in the Massif Central. The race finishes with the traditional Champs-Elysées laps of honour on 19 July. As well as being an amazing spectacle of endurance, the arrival of the Tour in the region for 3 days will bring an important boost to tourism, with many accommodation providers already fully booked. An estimated 10-12 million spectators will watch the race from around the world, showcasing the region and promising to boost visitor numbers in 2021, too. Nearly eighty per cent of visitors to the race are families (with 20% coming from
abroad), many of whom will incorporate the race into a longer holiday in the area. For full details as they are released, see www.letour.fr.
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