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Local France
07-04-2025
- Automotive
- Local France
France rolls out 'flash free' speed cameras
It's a common experience for drivers - you see a bright flash and realise with horror that you have been exceeding the speed limit, and it's likely that a speeding ticket will soon be arriving in the mail. However France is increasingly switching to 'flash free' cameras, so you might be entirely oblivious until the ticket arrives. The first Fusion 2 Mesta turret radar cameras were deployed on French roads in 2019, but in recent months the rollout has been accelerated, and now there are around 400 of them around the country. Advertisement The plan is for them to gradually replace the older cameras, and be used for new camera sites, until they eventually represent around 75 percent of France's fixed speed cameras. The country currently has 4,000 fixed speed cameras in operation, and this year the number is expected to rise to 4,160, according to Capital France . You can see a map of where they are located on the Securité Routière website. This is in addition to mobile cameras and to police officers carrying out roadside speed checks. When you are entering a stretch of road where cameras are deployed, you should see the below sign. A French road sign warning drivers of speed cameras ahead. Photo by PHILIPPE HUGUEN / AFP Speeding in France is usually punishable by a fine and/or points being added to the driver's licence, although in cases of very excessive speed - or when speeding is combined with another type of traffic offence such as dangerous driving - it can result in the loss of the licence. Radars, fines and points: France's speeding laws explained
Forbes
21-03-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Buy ‘em By The Case. With 200% Tariffs Looming Over Champagne, You Still Have Time To Purchase Those Bottles Already Imported.
Specialists working by candlelight to remove sediment from bottles of champagne in the stone cellars ... More of Epernay, France, circa 1920. (Photo by) With the threat of 200% tariffs––currently 25%––being put on European wines and spirits as of April 1, the horror of not being able to afford a bottle of Champagne for even a celebration, much less an entire wedding, may soon be upon us. Consider that a bottle of $50 Champagne may soon cost $200 after tariffs go into effect April 1. Even those who think nothing of now spending $300 for a Prestige Cuvée may not can shrug off price increases of 200%. The same goes for other European sparkling wines, including France' s Crémants, Italy's Proseccos and Spain's Cavas. Europe currently exports more than $4.89 billion worth of wine each year to the US, by far its largest export market, according to the Comités Européens d'Enterprises Vins, which is composed of 25 national organizations that account for over 90% of European wine exports. Picture shows the shelves of a supermarket in the northern city of Bailleul AFP PHOTO PHILIPPE ... More HUGUEN (Photo by PHILIPPE HUGUEN / AFP) (Photo by PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP via Getty Images) This is also true of Champagne exports to the U.S, with 27 million bottles shipped in 2023 with a value of $885 million. I know that producers, exporters, importers, distributors and wine store owners are scrambling to figure at how to handle this unprecedented situation. David Levasseur, a third-generation wine grower and owner of a Champagne house, told the Associated Press, 'It means I'm in trouble, big trouble. We hope it's just, as we say, blah blah.' Not likely: President Donald Trump contends that it is a reaction to the EU's "nasty" tariff on US whiskey, calling the bloc "hostile and abusive" and "formed for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States." But at least for the next few weeks, the stocks of Champagnes already imported and on shelves in the U.S. are reason to consider buying as many bottles as you can before the prices go through the roof. Moreover, there are so many reasonable priced, very good Champagnes already in U.S. wineshops that snapping them up right now makes sense. And if you check a website like you'll find prices may differ by $10 a bottle. Buying by the case lowers the price considerably. Here are some worth seeking out. Nicolas Feuillatte Réserve Extra Brut is from a pretisgious marque known for its moderate prices. Nicolas Feuillatte Réserve Extra Brut ($45). This is a balanced blend made by cellar master Guillaume Rofflaen with 40% Pinot Noir, 40% Meunier and 20% Chardonnay, aged three to four years and bottled in their distinctive royal blue label. They also make a Rosé with more Pinot Noir. The price is amazing for this quality. Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Vintage Brut. The price for this is around $100, but the same producer's Yellow Label is selling for half that price and manifests the label's signature style of ripe fruit and toastiness. It's a blend of 55% Pinot Noir 15% Pinot Munier and 30% Chardonnay, aged three years. Laurent-Perrier is 50% Chardonnay and aged for four years. Laurent-Perrier La Cuvée Brut ($$50-60). A very good price for an excellent Champagne, made of reserve wines including 50% Chardonnay, 30 to 35% Pinot Noir and 10 to 15% of Meunier, aged for four years. It has a delicate bouquet, but the citrus notes and velvety texture give it a long palate. Deutz Brut Classic ($50). Deutz, a grande marque founded in 1838 in Ay and now owned by Maison Louis Roederer, has a lot of ardent fans who know it as a delicious sparkler without a high price, made of equal parts Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. Turning the wines, ca;;ed riddling. at Gossett's cellars. Gosset Grande Réserve Brut ($50). Although non-vintage, this is actually a blend of seven different vintages to add complexity and pleasing acidity. The Revue de France voted Gossett number four on a list of the 50 top Champagne producers. Its elegantly shaped bottle immediately identifies the marque. Odilon de Varine, head winemaker and new cellar master Gabrielle Malagu are keeping the marque's tradition alive–– their motto is, 'At Gosset we first create a wine. The bubbles make it sublime'–– while applying the best ideas of modern enology.
