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Lettres d'Uzès #31: the economics of the weather

4/6/2013

14 Comments

 
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The market - on a good day.
They say that the  weather is a British obsession, and it is certainly true that the main topic of conversation amongst British ex-pats and holiday-makers in the Gard has been the cold and wet Spring. 

But the "météo infernale" is also a very real concern for the local economy, which relies primarily if not exclusively on agriculture and tourism. Temperatures at least 10oC below the average is not merely an inconvenience for tourists with suitcases full of shorts and T-shirts. It is a threat to the livelihoods of those whose region we invade each summer, but which is amongst the poorest in France, with per capita incomes significantly below the national average.

For the producteurs, it has been particularly difficult, with growers complaining of soil which is both froid et humide. The asparagus crop has been small, and what there is of poorer quality. The annual cherry market in Remoulins was cancelled. Only the three-day celebration of the pois-chiche, chick-peas, in Montaren, went ahead.

For the restaurateurs, “la fraîcheur rend les terraces presque désertes”, while those few establishments with substantial interior space continue to prosper. There is no need to book at most places for lunch after the famous Saturday market in Uzès. Indeed, two weeks ago, the market was decimated: only a tenth of the normal number of stalls were present. One could park with relative ease, but there was little to buy. The trendy boutiques are selling skimpy summer garments, “des vêtements très légers”. But we need sweaters and anoraks. One shopkeeper told the local paper, Le Républicain, that he had “ne pas avoir vendu un seul maillot de bain depuis le début de la saison”. Not a single bathing costume all year.

And yet, there are signs that there is some serious investment being made in the Uzège. Sotheby’s International Realtors have arrived in Uzès. Where once there was a single bar à vin in town, there are now half a dozen, of varying degrees of chic-ness, as the old and old-fashioned bars are being bought and re-developed. No more steak frites or omelettes or piéce de boucher. It's all scallops and posh salads.

In St Quentin la Poterie, the pizza place near us is, rumour has it, being transformed into a restaurant Lyonnaise. Frank’s boucherie in the Grande Rue is to be developed and expanded into a charcuterie, a deli, and a resto. In the market square, the bio boulangerie has been knocked down and a huge circumflex-shaped structure is being erected, with shops on the ground floor and offices above. The roof is going on as I write and it is scheduled to be open for commerces by the end of August. Apparently, all the shops have been taken. Meanwhile, good news for Sotheby’s, Eric, at Immo30, reports excellent sales all year so far in the village.

So that’s all good then. At least in the long-term. 

And in the short-term, there is no danger of a water shortage. When the Parisians arrive, they will be able to fill their pools without a problem. 


Soyons optimiste!

Today’s listening: Branford Marsalis with the Grateful Dead. The brilliant saxophonist sat in with the Dead five times, all well worth the listen. But my favourite is 10th September 1991 at Madison Square Garden, NY. And that's what playin' now.

14 Comments
CJ
4/6/2013 07:05:51

The Marsalis show the year before, at Nassau Coliseum in March, is better ...

Reply
Max
8/6/2013 00:28:17

Listened to it yesterday. There is wonderful couple of minutes in the middle of Birdsong which would have been worth the price of the ticket if that was everything played that night. Good show.

Reply
Matt
4/6/2013 11:59:38

I recall that Osborne blamed the weather for a depressing set of figures a few months ago. But it does have an impact, especially in your part of the world. Paradoxically, UK camping is massively up though this is not the weather but the economy.

Reply
Rick Hough
5/6/2013 19:43:08

At least they got in all three days of the chick-pea celebration.

Reply
Max
8/6/2013 00:30:07

You would love it. Marching bands, kids dressed as chick-peas, chick-pea cooking competitions. And the local wine at 1€ a plastic glass.

Reply
Allan
5/6/2013 23:52:43

A Sotheby's? Can't be as poor a region as you suggest if those guys are setting up shop. The property market is a reasonably reliable indicator of economic health.

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Tom
6/6/2013 00:06:25

Personally, I'd be happy with a choice of wine bars and thought you might, too.

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Max
8/6/2013 00:32:14

Always. But there's some tristesse at the passing of the traditional bars. Fortunately, the Bar du Marché flourishes.

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Allan
6/6/2013 00:30:43

Things can't be so bad if Sotheby's have moved into town. And isn't the property market usually regarded as a fairly accurate indicator of economic health?

Reply
Max
8/6/2013 01:14:16

Yes. But it's more complicated that. The more houses sold as maison secondaires to Parisians and ex-pats means more spending (hospitality industry, construction, tradesmen etc) but a smaller housing stock for the local jeunesse. I'm not clear how much of the investment trickles down ...

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jimb
6/6/2013 02:06:33

Have you ever thought of living in Britain Max? The weather's gorgeous.

Reply
Max
8/6/2013 00:34:32

It's been gorgeous here. The turning point was the posting of the blog. But thunder and lightning this weekend - in St Quentin and Boston. A bientot!

Reply
parn123
8/6/2013 03:38:43

Hi Max, great to see you and Jill back in Uzès!
It's not the asparagus crop that the Uzègois should be worried about. It's Grandpa in the gilded cage of the Elysée palace, who spends his time rewriting speeches prepared by his retinue, or depositing wet kisses on the cheeks of dictators running various ex French colonies. At a time when the country needs a gifted and charismatic leader, the electorate prefers an inexperienced non-entity, not understanding that to preserve their much-loved status quo they need an exceptional man in charge instead of a "président normal".
Recommeded reading: "Bonjour Tristesse" - an excellent piece by German journalist Mathieu von Rohr in Der Spiegel, English version here - http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/economic-decline-in-france-the-failed-leadership-of-hollande-a-903732.html

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myers
14/6/2013 01:16:31

Max

Whilst reading your blog I was coincidently listening to The Rare Old Times -
"The years have made me bitter, the gargle dims my brain
'Cause Dublin keeps on changing & nothing stays the same
The Pillar & the Met have gone, the Royal long since pulled down
As the great unyielding concrete makes a city of my town"

Reply



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    Max Smith

    European writer, radical, restaurateur and Red Sox fan. 70-something husband, father, step-father, grandfather and son. Resident in Warwick, England.

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