Brittany Pages - November 2012

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ERIKA: 95c | ISSUE 16 | NOVEMBER 2012

publishers of

Total is guilty on oil spill P7

News and What’s On for Côtes d’Armor, Finistère, Ille-et-Vilaine and Morbihan

TIME OUT GUIDE TOURISM FEARS Jazz and folk lead festival line-ups

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Quimper first in line for electric car hire Quimper looks set to be chosen for a new pay-as-youdrive electric car programme aimed at cutting air pollution. The city could have its first green vehicles available to hire for consumers and business by the end of the year after mayor Bernard Poignant confirmed that he has been in talks with businessman Vincent Bolloré to bring his famous “Blue Cars” to the town. It will mean the town installing numerous electric charging points but this is not going to be a problem according to Mr Poignant who is delighted that Quimper is set to become the first place in northern France outside Paris to offer electric cars for hire. In Paris the Bolloré cars, initially produced to showcase the firm’s range of power cell batteries, cost e10 a day or e15 a week and an annual subscription of e144 allows users to take the car for only half an hour at a time for e5. The small four-seat, threedoor electric car has a 30 kiloWatt battery coupled to a  Turn to page 2

Island sale may hit visitor numbers

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Impressive project to build statues P3

At-a-glance round-up of the French system

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Ferry fuel rise would hit fares and routes by RAY CLANCY

BRITTANY’S EASTER ISLAND

HEALTH

BRITTANY Ferries has warned that it could be forced to put up fares by at least 20% and possibly cut services – or go out of business – if new fuel regulations being imposed by France and the UK come into force as planned. The ferry operator, which has had a troubled few weeks with an industrial dispute keeping ships tied up at quayside in France for almost a fortnight, is one of the ferry operators campaigning for the two governments to grant an exemption from the new rules. In a worst-case scenario, ferry companies, already facing challenging times because of the economic downturn, could go out of business because of the regulations on the sulphur content in the fuel they use that are set to be introduced in January 2015.

A spokesman said: “While Brittany Ferries supports these changes for the improvement of the environment, 2015 is an unrealistic deadline by which to implement them because we do not have sufficient time to invest in alternative technologies.” He pointed out that Brittany Ferries’ fuel costs alone would increase by a minimum of 60% to more than £100million per year as low sulphur fuel is considerably more expensive than the heavy oil fuel currently used. “Passenger fares and freight rates would have to increase by at least 20%,” he said.  Turn to page 4

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Brittany Pages - November 2012 by English Language Media Sarl - Issuu