In France we’re usually met with the need to pay attention to where we walk due to the amount of dogs and their land mines. However, it is also not an irregular sight to see the odd person down a side alley relieving themselves.

So next time after your have left the pub after the 3am kick out, and you’re looking for a secret spot between two cars… remember you’re looking at a €450 fine!

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According to an article in the the Sud Ouest, this measure will be taken to facilitate access to downtown commerce. It is an attempt to re-jump trade that has suffered for the past several weeks. This is a result of the ‘gilets jaunes’ demonstrations that have taken place in the city for the past month.

The free parking will be available on the Saturday, Sunday and Monday just before Christmas.

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The project will see the deployment of a new commuter train system by 2028.

This new type of transport will significantly reduce travel times for residents across Gironde, and also will aim to decongest the major accesses into Bordeaux and surrounding areas.

The future Regional Express Network will consist of TER metropolitan and express bus lines. It will serve the main access points laying on the outskirts of the region, as well as the center of the city. This will be carried out with the implementation of two lines: one between Libourne and Arcachon, the other between Saint Mariens and Langon.

By the autumn of 2019, the Region will launch a first experimental express bus line between Créon and Bordeaux. From 2020 onwards, the first direct TER services between Libourne and Cestas will follow. The Region also intends to increase the frequency of peri-urban TERs.

However, it will be necessary to wait until 2025 for the direct links to be established between Libourne and Arcachon. Following another lengthy wait (2028) for the services between Langon and Saint-Mariens to be active.

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The Irish low cost clothing store will boast over 4500m² of shopping fun over two levels.

The project has been in the pipes for sometime. With a few false starts and opening dates, it has been confirmed via social media that we’re good to go for March 2019!

Attention bargain shoppers, we have “amazing fashion at amazing prices”. Something like that anyway…

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Following on from announcements regarding other international train connections, a quick trip to the land of beer and chocolate will be possible in only 4 hours.

The voyages will be available each Saturday and will cost you the modest sum of €40. The Thalys company will begin their first journeys from June 29, 2019, with ticket sales kicking off in February.

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Passersby are hard pressed not to notice this beautiful atypical building which is located on the Quai de Paludate near the Gare Saint Jean.

According to this article by 20 mins, the inauguration of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine offices for Economy and Culture is scheduled for the end of June.

The imposing building will host three cultural agencies linked to the region, Frac (Regional Fund for Contemporary Art), the Oara (Artistic Office for the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine) and Ecla (Writing, Cinema, Book, Audiovisual). The construction itself is a technical and architectural feat, and will most definitely be the stand out emblem of the Euratlantique district.

The structure will be the first thing visitors see when arriving by train from Paris. The building measures 120 m long and 37 m high and is designed by Danish architect, Bjarke Ingels of the BIG agency. He has also been chosen by Google to design their future headquarters in California.

A CULTURAL HUB FOR THE REGION

The Meca will be open to both the public and for professional use.

The initial idea is to bring together these cultural agencies, to make it a cooperative cultural creation. It will be an extraordinary cultural hub with artist residencies. The center will be open to surrounding cities, high schools and other associations.

Not only will this cultural hub provide outlets for creative talents, there will also be one of the most beautiful rooftop terraces in Bordeaux open to the public. And last but not least, a restaurant with a capacity of 56 people will be open five days a week.

The district around the Gare Saint Jean is indeed changing!

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The project, titled the ‘Rue Bordelaise’ is touted as the new flagship project of the new Euratlantique quarter near Gare Saint Jean. The pedestrian footbridge will be be 300 m long and 20 m wide. It will link the area around Bordeaux’s principal train station and the right bank of the river Garonne.

Designed by architect Edouard François, the footpath will take inspiration from Bordeaux’s longest thoroughfare, rue Saint Catherine. The new development will comprise 88,000 m² of housing, offices, hotels, shops, restaurants / bars / disco, leisure and local services.

This project aligns itself with the current development projects associated to Euratlantique Bordeaux. This notably includes the Cité Numérique, the Bordeaux Métropole Arena and MECA.

The start of construction work is planned for 2020 and previewed to terminate in 2023.

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This is according to a study carried out by private employment website HelloWork.

Bordeaux is projected to be the metropolitan region with the most jobs created, with a 34% increase in offers in 2018. This business dynamic even places the city above Paris in the pecking order!

With four online recruitment platforms, HelloWork is well placed to observe the goings-on within the French labour market. The company boasts over 110 million visits and 14 million job seekers/recruiters. They carry out a yearly study that ranks French regions and cities in accordance to their recruitment dynamics.

The region of Nouvelle Aquitaine sits high in the national classifications, with a 31% increase on job offers from the previous year. Nonetheless, the Île-de-France remains the most job-rich region with 20% of the national average.

Among the most affected Bordelaise sectors, we find industrial engineering at 31%, computing/IT at 30% and finance / accounting at 27%.

Last year was a good year for permanent contracts (CDI), which accounted for 66% of job creation in 2017. This has been increased to 71% in 2018.

A reason for the stark increase in the regions ranking maybe due to the launch of the LGV train line. Bordeaux in now connected to Paris in only 2 hours.

What does this mean for Expats / International profiles?

Well, this all depends on what you’re bringing to the game. As always, when arriving in France you must expect to be in direct competition with the locals when going for a job. This means that you must have a great level of French and in some cases assure that your qualifications are certified or are the equivalent of French degrees within your domain.

Simply said: speak French, go hard with CV in hand, don’t take ‘non’ for an answer.

Got other suggestions or opinions? Leave them in the comments below…

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Caroline Moreau, from First Start in Bordeaux, attended the event and provided us with her own account of the meeting.

It was a meeting essentially for companies in the South West who import, export or have dealings with the UK and who subsequently need to prepare themselves for BREXIT and notably the possibility of a no-deal BREXIT.

A ‘no-deal’ Brexit means that the UK and the EU have been unable to reach a withdrawal agreement. It is now very unlikely given the short deadline of the 29th March for a deal to be met thus the CCI is advising all businesses to prepare for the scenario of a no-deal BREXIT. With a no-deal BREXIT there will be no 21 month transition period.

Consequently consumers, businesses and public bodies have to respond immediately to changes as result of the UK leaving the EU.

All companies in France need to prepare themselves by firstly evaluating how BREXIT will impact them and make changes as soon as possible if they haven’t already done so. All of the standards which aren’t controlled by World Trade Organisation rules may be modified, thus there is a lot to take into account. There is an enormous amount of uncertainty as numerous questions still haven’t been answered for example on how VAT and customs duty will be applied by the UK, which standards will the UK recognise?

For sure there will be additional costs for companies and customs procedures will be longer. Businesses need to be prepared but it’s extremely difficult given the context…

The French authorities have been preparing themselves as 700 new customs officers have been recruited in France to deal with all the new formalities and red tape !

For more information take a look at the government website.

About the author:
Caroline is a native Londoner who settled in Bordeaux more than 15 years ago. First Start in Bordeaux is a relocation agency that aims to assist people who face resettlement issues when moving to the South of France.

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WHAT HAPPENED?

According to this article on Bordeaux Tendances, on 10 March, around 8 pm, a fire broke out on board the Italian merchant ship Grande America travelling from Hamburg to Casablanca. At that time it was positioned 263 kilometres in the south-west of the Pointe de Penmarc’h in South Finistère. The fire was initially controlled, however resumed shortly before midnight. The vessel has on board containers of which 45 are considered to be hazardous materials, hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid (of which have been partially destroyed during the fire).

Shortly before 2am, the ship was abandoned by its crew.

The complicated weather conditions then accelerated its sinking. The Grande America sank in the afternoon of Tuesday, March 12, 333 km from the French coast.

Since then, major efforts have been deployed to try to limit the risks of pollution. The maritime prefect said that “at present, the potential risk of pollution is mainly the 2200 tons of heavy fuel oil that are inside the vessel”.  In addition “with westerly winds varying from west-southwest to west-northwest, the impacted area is predicted to be the coastal facade between the Charente-Maritime and Gironde within several days”.

WHAT’S THE PROJECTED IMPACT FOR GIRONDE?

For the time being, no pollution has been detected on the Gironde coasts. However, the maritime and Gironde prefectures are on the alert to mitigate any arrival of oil slick on the Atlantic coast. According to the prefecture of Gironde, “this monitoring is reinforced since the identification by aerial reconnaissance of a layer of hydrocarbons about 10 kilometres long and 1 kilometre wide formed at the height of the wreck of the ship. (…) According to these analyses, the coasts of Charente-Maritime and Gironde could be affected by the arrival of these pollutants within 3 to 4 days”.

It is difficult to know the impact of this situation for the moment, as the weather conditions are unstable at sea. The ocean is currently experiencing heavy seas with strong waves of 4 to 6 meters and a powerful wind of 39 to 49 km / h.  Given the critical situation, the prefecture is currently on pre-alert, and the plan POLMAR (marine pollution plan) could be deployed to act quickly. The Argonaute, a ship specialising in the fight against pollution, arrived on Thursday with experts from the center of practical expertise in pollution control (Ceppol).

If the oil slick continues its progression, it could arrive on the Gironde and Charente coasts by Sunday or Monday. The prefectures are trying to prepare, both at sea and on land, by also organising beach collection kits.

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