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WE SHARE THE NINE LOCATIONS TO RECEIVE SUSTAINABLE TOURISM FUNDING AND WHY YOU CANNOT MUNCH A SANDWICH ON THIS SUNNY SEAFRONT FUNDING WILL ASSIST GREEN SWITCH Nine locations in France have

been selected to share government funding totalling €4million, in order to adapt and improve their sustainable tourism (_tourisme durable_) offering. At the end of 2022, an invitation to

submit applications was sent out as part of the Destination France Plan launched by the government, to make France the leading destination for sustainable tourism. The ministry has targeted

coastal, mid-mountain and rural sites, all due to their sensitivity to climate change, their tourist appeal with strong seasonal shifts and their ‘recurring difficulty in mobilising

dedicated engineering’. The government’s ecological transition website states that the selected projects meet the challenges of sustainable tourism development, including: * diversification

of ‘the tourism offer’ * development of low-carbon mobility * sustainable management of resources * conciliation between tourist frequentation and the protection of natural areas *

integration of tourist activities in their territory * in connection with the resident populations, consideration of the fluctuating nature of its tourist real estate * raising environmental

awareness and education READ ALSO: MANCHE’S COLOURFUL CABINS: GOOD FOR INSTAGRAM BUT BAD FOR THE BEACH? The nine successful applicants will receive the funding from the DGALN (General

Directorate for Housing and Nature Development), with budgets allocated for one of three types of help: * the Territorial Workshop, which will provide engineering support ‘for the

construction of a project or a territorial strategy’;  * the Partnership Development Project, a ‘contractual agreement between the State, the municipalities and local partners (public and/or

private) to accompany the realisation of one or more complex development operations intended to meet the objectives of sustainable development of the territories’;  * the Eco-Neighborhood

approach, which ‘promotes new ways of designing, building and managing the city sustainably by integrating the issues and principles of the city and sustainable territories’. Among the more

well known places from the winning bidders are Gorges de l’Ardèche (Ardèche) and Vallée d’Ossau (Pyrénées-Atlantiques). Others include Commune de Pont-de-l’Arche (Eure), communes in Maremne

Adour Côte-Sud (Landes) and Commune de Bonifacio (Corsica). SEAFRONT SNACKERS RISK FINE Anyone considering munching on a baguette whilst on an 800-metre stretch of the Flots Bleus seafront

promenade at Saint-Laurent-du-Var (Alpes-Maritimes) runs the risk of receiving a €35 fine. Picnics join electric scooters on the banned list for the shaded seafront. The decree imposed by

mayor Joseph Segura is in response to what he calls “a minority that doesn’t show respect, that throws its rubbish on the promenade.” He confirmed, however, that eating on the beach is still

permitted. TOULOUSE-BARCELONA FLIGHT DISMAY A new thrice-weekly summer flight route between Toulouse (Haute-Garonne) and Barcelona in Spain, which will last just one hour and cover 250kms,

has caused consternation amongst environmentalists. The Vueling service, which starts in July, will cost as little as €50 return, and comes after the direct train route between the two

cities was halted during the Covid pandemic because it was not profitable enough. Previously, the SNCF ran a three-hour route in partnership with the Spanish company Renfe, but now train

travellers must change at Narbonne, which adds 50 minutes to the journey. READ ALSO: IS FRANCE REALLY RESPECTING THE BAN ON SHORT DOMESTIC FLIGHTS? “We should have done what was necessary to

make the train an interesting alternative,” says Yannick Saleman, of environmental think tank, Shift Project. RELATED ARTICLES WHAT IS IN THE €2BN PLAN TO PROMOTE CYCLING AND BIKE LANES IN

FRANCE? PRACTICAL TIPS FOR BUYING RAINWATER COLLECTOR AS SALES SURGE IN FRANCE OLD ELECTRIC FRENCH POST OFFICE BIKES GET ‘UP-CYCLED’ FOR RESALE