travel news review

5 May '99
The Association of European Airlines (AEA) are not happy with the state of flying in Europe at the moment and are considering not paying their dues - worth about ú2 billion a year - to Eurocontrol, which controls all European air traffic. The AEA believes Eurocontrol is failing to exert its power in getting all 31 member-countries to improve their air transport infrastructure, to create more airspace and sort out their labour problems. The situation has not been good in the months leading up to the European summer, which is the peak air traffic season. So far this year, more than 10,000 flights operated by members of the AEA have been delayed more than 15 minutes, a long time when you are only taking a 30 minute flight. At the moment passengers travelling in Spain, Greece, Italy, Switzerland, northern France and southern Germany have been most affected by air traffic congestion.

12 April '99
Following a fire in the Mont Blanc Tunnel last week, officials believe the tunnel will remain closed to traffic for at least five months. More than 40 people died when a truck in the tunnel caught fire. The tunnel connects Chamonix in France with Courmayeur in Italy's west.

17 February '99
The recent high number of deaths of skiers in the French Alps resulted in French authorities banning any off-trail skiing and snowboarding in the Haute Savoie region. But the difficulties in enforcing the law has resulted in the ban being relaxed slightly to only apply to five mountain areas.

Eighteen people skiing or snowboarding in the region have been killed in avalanches in the past week. The ban keeps skiers reasonably safe and prevents them setting off avalanches in unsafe areas. The ban will remain in place until conditions for skiers in the Alps become stable.

8 February '99
Carnivale in Nice is the biggest Mardi Gras event in the country. Officially called the Carnaval de Nice, the carnival commences on Shrove Tuesday 13 February until 28 February. The carnival was first held in the 13th century and was a celebration before the four weeks of fasting for Lent. As with many other Mardi Gras festivals held around the world, the parade is the feature of this carnival.

25 January '99
Euro Disney on the outskirts of Paris is already Europe's most popular tourist destination. And those responsible are now planning a movie theme park, similar to Universal Studio's theme park in Florida, USA. Developers of the park believe local councils in eastern Paris will approve the plans for the park based on the success of Euro Disney.

15 January '99
Paris is getting ready to celebrate the year 2000 in style with major plans for the city recently announced. The Centre Georges Pompidou will re-open on December 31 after lengthy renovations that include the addition of new exhibition spaces, a library and video facilities. Two new bridges across the Seine have been announced, one connecting Musee d' Orsay with the Jardin des Tuileries and the other connecting Bercy and the Bibliotheque Nationale de France. The Opera Garnier is to get a facelift and in the Jardin des Tuileries, a permanent 'please touch the artworks' sculpture garden will be created.

23 December '98
As of this week (Sun 20th) the Paris Metro will have a sweet smelling fragrance rather than its usual vile odour. 'Madeleine' is a scent composed of lemon, orange and lavender, with woody undertones, vanilla and musk. Concerned that the foul stench of the Metro was deterring passengers, officials will pour 1.5 tonnes (about 1500 kilos) of Madeleine into the underground system's cleaning products. Madeleine has been extensively market researched - including trials with over 5000 Metro users - after the previous fragrance attempt, Francine, tested in 1993, prompted complaints.

1 December '98
Most counties of eastern and southern Europe are experiencing a very cold and early start to winter. In France, fountains at the Eiffel Tower have frozen as temperatures dropped below zero and snow fell on Capri, an island more well-known for sunshine than snow. In eastern Europe the temperature dropped to -26°C (-14°F). In some countries transport services have been severely affected by the cold weather and many places are without electricity. A number of ports along the Black Sea have also closed because of strong winds.

23 November '98
After centuries of dispute, France and Germany have finally agreed on where their common border should be. Since the time of Napoleon, France and Germany have been fighting over an area of land north of Strasbourg. Last week the border was finally standardised.

The 96km (60mi) border, made up of more than 900 pink sandstone markers, links the towns of Lauterbourg and Sturzenbronn.

18 November '98
Another week, another strike in France. This week workers at the Musee d'Orsay closed the doors to visitors while they protested over working conditions. The strike is now in its seventh day and negotiations are continuing between gallery staff and management but it is uncertain when staff will re-open the immensely popular gallery.

The main complaint of the gallery staff is the refusal of management to award bonus pay during exhibitions. The Millet-Van Gogh exhibition currently being held in the gallery is attracting more than 5000 visitors per day and staff are wanting more in their pay packet when large exhibitions are held in the gallery.

3 November '98
Workers at the national library, the Bibliotheque Nationale, are continuing their strike action this week following a break-down in negotiations between library workers and management. Library workers have stopped work over problems with the new library computer system. Workers at the Eiffel Tower, one of the most popular attractions in Paris have also walked off the job, in protest over staffing numbers. Striking workers have closed the tower to tourists for the past five days.

28 October '98
It is barely a week since the opening of the new special reference collection at the national library of France, the Bibliotheque Nationale, and already the librarians have gone out on strike. The reference library, supposedly the library of the 21st century, has been plagued by computer problems and librarians have refused to return to work until the problems are resolved. The library was conceived by Francois Mitterand as a 'wonder of the modern world', and no expense was spared in the construction of the library that houses more than 10 million books and can accommodate 3000 readers. The library is located at 11 Quai FrancMauriac (13e) and the general library is open to the public Tuesday to Saturday.

16 October '98
Paris was paralysed last week by transport strikes in protest at violent attacks on transport workers. This week, Paris will unveil Le Meteor - the first major metropolitan underground railway line without drivers or conductors. Hailed as 'the most beautiful subway in the world', Le Meteor travels at over 80kmh (50mph) and will run for 7km (4mi) from Place de la Madeleine on the Seine's right bank to the Francois Mitterand Library east of the capital. The massive station at the Library boasts huge granite columns and a 15m (49ft) high ceiling, and the Gare de Lyon has a tropical greenhouse. Le Meteor has in-built safety measures and cost more than US$222 million per kilometre ($138 per mile).

9 September '98
Transport unions in France, Spain, Italy and Luxembourg are preparing for a week of industrial action which is likely to cause major traffic problems across Europe. Most of the strike activity will take place on the borders between France and Germany, Spain, Luxembourg and the Channel Ports. While most transport workers plan passive action rather than a complete blockade of roads, French transport workers, who have never been adverse to a good blockade, say they will disrupt traffic at a number of France's borders. This week's strike is the first in a series of on-going strikes planned for the next few months unless drivers demands (which include a reduction in the number of hours worked per week by drivers) are met.

31 August '98
Despite repeated warnings from police, more than 150 people per day are attempting to climb Mont Blanc in the Haute Savoie region. Heavy rainfall followed by a cold snap on the mountain has left the mountain unsafe for climbing and in the past 2 weeks 15 people have died trying to reach the summit. Authorities in the region are considering placing a complete ban on climbing Mont Blanc until conditions on the mountain improve.

12 August '98
French police have received a number of reports of attacks on motorists driving along country roads around Lyons, in southern France. The attacks have all taken place in the early hours of the morning and motorists have been forced to hand over credit cards, money and other valuables. The police have advised travellers heading to the coastal areas of France over the summer to stay on motorways rather than use country roads.

The anniversary of the death of Princess Diana has brought out the best entrepreneurial spirit of a number of French tour operators. Tour operators are offering a guided tour of the last trip taken by Diana and Dodi from the Ritz Hotel to the crash site in the tunnel beneath the Pont de l'Alma. And it gets worse: you can also take a tour along the very same route used by the ambulance to take Princess Diana to La PitiΘ SalpΩtriΦre hospital. The tours will take place until 31 August and many operators are offering discount hotel accommodation as part of a package deal.

6 May '98
The European Parliament recently endorsed Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain as the initial participants in the launch of a single European currency, the Euro. The Euro will come into the market on 1 January 1999. The United Kingdom, Denmark and Sweden have refused to join the monetary union, and Greece is ineligible as it has such a large budget deficit.

15 April '98
Unseasonable snow falls in France have caused havoc across the country, with power cuts and road closures in both urban and regional areas. More than 30cm (12 inches) of snow fell on parts of France. The late season snowfall has made some people happy, with some ski resorts in eastern France planning to re-open if the snows continue.