Le Barcarès will have its Christmas, trees felled on the A69, world macaronade festival… the main news in the region

L'essentiel de l'information en région chaque soir sur Midilibre.fr – Midi Libre

Every evening at 8:30 p.m., find the 5 regional news items of the day that you shouldn't have missed.

Thousands of faithful at the Desert Assembly

#GARD –Thousands of people gathered this Sunday, September 1, 2024 to remember and honor the heavy Huguenot heritage under the shade of the trees of Mas Soubeyran, which now houses the Musée du Désert, in Mialet. The Protestant faithful gathered for the Assemblée du Désert, which commemorates the eponymous period, decades of persecution suffered by the religious community after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. “Being in this place is quite symbolic. Mas Soubeyran is known for having been a refuge for Protestants, while they were being chased away”, summarized one of the faithful. For believers, the Assembly is a day of contemplation, of being among themselves, a refuge of prayer, and of introspection. “A rite of passage for a Protestant, a necessary step for their faith and themselves”, another believer emphasized. During a ceremony presided over by Pastor Ingrid Prat, thousands of voices rose together, in communion, advocating peace, kindness, tolerance and forgiveness.

The number of the day: 34.8

#GERS – Armagnac producers in the region are worried. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has just announced that “additional duties with an average value of 34.8% could apply as soon as the investigation into the import of wine spirits is completed”, including of course Armagnac. The Chinese market is the second largest market in terms of value for producers of South-West brandy, representing 15% of exports, and the third largest in terms of volume (9.6%). In January, Beijing opened an anti-dumping investigation into European brandies, focusing on price differences abroad and in the countries of origin. Gers producers see this as China's response to the investigation launched by the European Union into Chinese subsidies for electric car manufacturers.

A69: tree felling resumed under projectile attacks

#TARN – After the operation launched early on Friday, August 30, 2024 to evacuate opponents of the A69 installed on the ZAD de la Cal’arbre in Saïx, the concessionaire Atosca resumed cutting down trees during the night from Saturday to Sunday night under the protection of the police. Sunday noon and despite the intervention of the negotiators, there were still four “squirrels” perched in the trees. Deforestation is therefore suspended in this area. To date, there are only about ten trees left along the entire route. September 1 marked the official date when tree cutting could legally resume on the A69 between Castres and Toulouse. At midnight on Sunday, deforestation at the construction site “on nearly eight sites”, according to the collective La Voie Est Libre (LVEL), resumed. But before this operation, “the police were targeted by mortar fire and projectiles thrown by catapults. Opponents also tried to illegally enter a construction site”, the Tarn prefecture indicated before specifying that four individuals were arrested this Sunday morning and seventeen in total since Friday. All around the area and especially on the Crem’arbre site, the felling is finished.

Macaronade has its new world champion

#SETE –There were only seven of them, but it was still a world championship. The unique island, never short of original entertainment and in keeping with its identity, smelled the aromas of the recipes of the candidates for the best macaronade test this Sunday, September 1, 2024. In this little taste game, everyone shared their secrets. Here three meats (beef cheek, pig cheek, Toulouse sausage), there chuck, garlic and onion simmered in the “granny service”. As in any competition, a jury tasted the dishes, the critical taste buds analyzing the tenderness of the meat and the consistency of the sauce. You couldn't make it up, the 2024 winner, “lifetime” champion, Hervé Felices was rewarded… of a shield.

The Barcarès Christmas Village will be set up

#PYRENEES-ORIENTALES – The Barcarès town hall announced on Saturday that “the Christmas Village will take place” in 2024, while the town's mayor, Alain Ferrand, has been in detention since April 30 as part of an investigation into favoritism and corruption related to the installation of the Christmas chalets. The first earthworks are scheduled for this Monday, the first assembly of the attractions and chalets on September 9 and the inauguration planned for Friday, November 15. The event attracts 1.5 million visitors from mid-November to early January. Hotels, furnished accommodation, houses, apartments are full all along the coast and the Roussillon plain, drawing a winter season well beyond Barcarès.

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