Tour de France 2010

The 2010 Tour will be launched from the south side of Rotterdam, for a prologue time-trial. The launching pad will actually be set up in Zuidplein, from where the riders will move north.

The choice of Rotterdam, a vast urban centre with one million two hundred thousand inhabitants, is directly in keeping with the special start of the Tour in London in 2007. The proposed project – “Rotterdam and the Tour, a new energy” – seduced us. It fits into an overall policy that aims to an even bigger place for the bicycle in the city’s heart, while leaning on the popularity of the biggest cycling race in the world, the Tour de France. From the banks of the Thames to the biggest port in Europe: the same desire, the same will.

According to Christine Lagarde, France’s Finance Minister, the French government does not believe that taxing bank bonuses will cause traders and financial operations to leave Paris.

In an interview published by Le Figaro today, Mme Lagarde is quoted as saying that France will enact a law as early as the end of March levying a 50 percent tax on bonuses above €27,500,  regardless of whether they are paid in cash or shares; affecting some 2,500 bankers.

The very first TGV (Train à grande vitesse) departed on its journey between Paris and Lyon in 1981, since when, living in France has sped ahead of the rest of Europe in the race to build a fully functioning high speed rail network.

Currently having almost 1,250 miles of specially built lines linking many of its major cities in service, France is looking for new ways to extend its lead.

Living in France, you get used to the idea that toilet facilities are not always what you might expect.  As many seasoned motorists will know, a trip down the autoroute will expose you to some of the extremes.

We have all heard it said that “money is the root of all evil” and probably thought that was a bit of an exaggeration. But when we understand how money is created in the modern world we can then understand the main cause of many major problems: ever increasing taxation; pensions disappearing; inequitable distribution of wealth; inflation; national debt; currency crises and devaluations; recessions; depressions; and even the failure of government in a democracy to govern in the interest of its electors.

Money was invented to be a tool for facilitating trade, but has now become a tool used by the rich to govern the world. If you have any doubt about that, please read on.

Fashion has been important industry and cultural export of France since the seventeenth century, and modern “haute couture” originated in Paris in the 1860s. Today, Paris, along with Tokyo, London, Milan, and New York City, is considered one of the world’s fashion capitals, and the city is home or headquarters to many of the premier fashion houses. Historically, many of the world’s top designers and fashion houses have been French, including Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Lanvin, Chloé, Hermès, Guy Laroche, Yves Saint Laurent and shoe designer Christian Louboutin. The Paris fashion houses also attract many foreign designers

French fashion