Provence Blog by ProvenceBeyond

Var 2010 Floods Recovery

Six weeks after the devastating floods in the Var on Tuesday, 15 June 2010, we toured the hardest-hit towns and villages to see how well they've recovered.

Roquebrune-sur-Argens sits fairly high beside the Argens river, and we saw no sign of flood damage inside the village. The edge of town, beside the river was having roadside work done to repair water-caused damage. We did not visit the campsites along the river banks, which were no doubt damaged.

Five other towns and villages in the area did have visible damage to greater or lesser extent, and we've added a special "Flood" page for each of them. 

 - Les Arcs
 - Draguignan
 - Figanières
 - La Motte
 - Trans-en-Provence

Overall, outward signs of devastation are gone and village life carries on almost as normal. The lasting damage is hidden from casual view: the interiors of the houses and shops that have been destroyed and require major work and cost to repair, and the disrupted lives and businesses that need to get through the recovery effort.

Benedictine Nuns of Avignon not joining Lady Gaga

And they're not from Avignon. Major news sites today are announcing things like "An order of reclusive Benedictine nuns from Avignon has signed a major record deal with the company behind Lady Gaga". 

 The nuns are actually from the Benedictine Abbey of Our Lady of the Annunciation (Abbaye de Notre-Dame de l'Annonciation), between the villages of Le Barroux and Malaucène, in the Vaucluse department.

The deal is for a record of their Gregorian Chants, to be released in November 2010 by Decca Records. Decca (part of Universal Music) does also have Lady Gaga, along with several hundred or thousand other artists. Also, Avignon is 35 km to the southwest, well past the town of Carpentras. But then, who's heard of Le Barroux or even Malaucène, except for our Beyond readers.

Were Lavender Fields Affected by the Flooding?

We received this email request for information, and decided it's of real interest to all of our Beyond readers: "Can you please tell me if the lavender fields are still able to be visited this year, or were they affected by the flooding?"  

The area of the flooding two weeks ago (15 June 2010) was in the Var department, and we don't think any lavender fields were flooded. The nearest lavender fields are northwest of Aups, in the upper-left part of Beyond's map of the Var 2010 floods.  

The area of the floods is only a half-hour's drive from Beyond's home. As much as we would like to visit the area to see, and report, on the extent of the flooding, we're staying away so as not to hinder the people trying to recover from the damage.

Alpes-Maritimes Autoroutes limited to 110 km/h

Beginning 15 July 2009 (in two weeks), all parts of the A8 autoroute in the Alpes-Maritimes will be limited to 110 kph (68 mph), down from the Nation-wide limit of 130 kph (81 mph). The western edge of the Alpes-Maritimes is about 7.5 km west of the Cannes-Mandelieu autoroute junction, exit 40.

There are 72 kilometres of A8 autoroute passing through the Alpes-Maritimes, from the Var department to Italy. Currently, the only 130-kph sections are from the Var to the Antibes tollbooth (20 km), and from the Var river near the Nice airport to the tollbooth at Nice Saint-Isidore (4.3 km). So, only about 25 km are affected.

The section from the Antibes tollbooth to the Nice airport has been limited to 110 kph for a year or two (although the final 5 km westbound section is at 130 kph). From the Nice Saint-Isidore tollbooth, around past the north of Nice, Monaco and Menton to Italy is mostly 110 or 90 kph, sometimes slower, depending on traffic (speed-limit signs are electronically controlled by Big Brother).