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.

Known for their mistrust of banks, the French are not just stuffing money into mattresses in these anxious days of recession and minuscule interest rates, they are also putting their hard cash into cows.

For Pierre Marguerit, cows make a safe, secure investment, allowing for long-term growth from a renewable resource. Cow contracts are hardly new, but go back to Richard Cœur de Lion (Richard I).  The French word for livestock, “cheptel,” is the root for “capital.”

These are not literally cash cows. However, Mr. Marguerit says his investment in Holsteins will bring a 4 to 5 percent return a year after taxes, based on natural growth, i.e. the sale of their offspring. That compares to the present interest rate of 0.75% on the basic French bank account.

Mr. Marguerit says that last year his business went up by 40 percent, and so far this year, it has practically doubled.  He is the managing director of Élevage et Patrimoine, a cattle investment firm in eastern France, and president of Gestel, which works with farmers and investors.

Christmas in France is a season for family and for charity, with family reunions, gifts and sweets for children, gifts for the badly off, Midnight Mass, and  le Réveillon.

The holiday of Christmas in France varies by department. Many regions celebrate Christmas on the 25th of December, which is a public holiday. However, in northern and eastern France, the Christmas season begins on 6 December, la fête de St. Nicolas, and in some provinces la fête des Rois* is one the more important holidays of the Christmas season. In Lyon, 8 December is la Fête de lumières, when the Lyonnais pay hommage to the Virgin Mary by placing candles in their windows which light up the village.

Beaujolais Nouveau 2008 will be launched on the 20 November 2008, at one minute after midnight, following the tradition of launching on the 3rd Thursday of November.

Now at the end of the harvest, Beaujolais 2008 is starting to give us an idea of how it will develop.

Though the aromas and flavours of the twelve appellations from the wine making region between Lyon and Mâcon still require a few weeks before we can give precise terms to describe them, there are already several telling pointers: