Last Thursday was a bank holiday here, as in France the holiday is taken on the date regardless of the day. Because other bank holidays this month are on the Saturday, many people took a “pont” day (ie. the Friday) to get an extended weekend. There were certainly a lot of cars etc. from outside the region, although that will be increasingly difficult to tell since the changes to licencing were brought in under Sarko. No longer does the department number get to be part of the licence number but people can opt to have an additional sign with a departmental number and symbol of their choosing. This means people can pick their “pays” department number rather than having to accept the number of where they actually live, or indeed any dept. no. they fancy. So the jouney-game of spot and name the departments looks set to be a thing of the past – shame.
I have some French friends who think the UK approach to bank holidays of taking the following Monday off is much better than the French way. I suppose it means you always get your bank holiday. But I like the anomilies that arise like this extended weekend, though you loose out if the holiday falls on a weekend. There are plenty of people for whom the falling of the bank holiday makes not one iota of difference since they have to work anyway, and it just means the shops are shut or on modified opening and no public institutions are open. The grass always looks greener on the other side!
