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Controversy is raging in the Midi-Pyrenees about plans to remove hundreds of plane trees from the verges of main routes in the region. Even expat Brits have got in on the action. The regional council wants to remove the trees in the interests of road safety - a significant number of road deaths are due to vehicles going off the road and colliding with the trees each year. The French government is on a road safety campaign at the moment after belatedly realising that its road safety record is one of the worst in western Europe. Speed cameras and traps, clamp downs on drink- and drug driving, and hefty fines are having an impact (see www.frenchduck.co.uk/infrance.htm for details).But particularly out on the long windy country roads which we enjoy so much, the manic Frenchman driving at speed and with disdain for the safety of himself or others is still something I witness every year.
However, those plane trees, (said to have been planted by Napoleon to shade his marching troops from the heat of the midday sun - but that could just be a myth) are nevertheless quintessentially French, and could rightly be claimed as part of the French heritage.
Demonstrations took place recently outside Toulouse on the N88 road to Albi where there are plans to demolish tens of trees. The protesters from groups such as "Arbres et Routes" and "Amis du Terre" (Friends of the Earth) wrap the trees in blue and green paper to draw attention to the cause. The campaign is having some success - plans to remove trees on the N113 at Villefranche du Lauragais having been abandoned by the Highways Authority. The protestors claim that the solution should lie with changing driver behaviour rather than destroying trees! Vive la France!

For more info on France and French Travel see www.frenchduck.co.uk

Keywords: France, Travel, road, conservation