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Friday 13^th for many Brits is deemed an unlucky day, but the French see it as quite the opposite. I popped down to the shops this morning and witnessed the long queues at the lottery points of happy Bitterois (people of Béziers) absolutely convinced that today was going to be their day!

There are several theories about why 13 is unlucky, mainly around religion. For example the number of people at the Last Supper, with the 13th guest at the table being Judas. Many negative biblical events supposedly occurred on a Friday, including Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit and the crucifixion of Jesus. In Britain, Friday was the conventional day for public hangings, and there were 13 steps leading up to the noose.

The most common basis for the superstition, however, is believed to stem from Friday 13^th October 1307, when the Knights Templar were disbanded.

The organisation existed for approximately two centuries in the middle ages and was founded to ensure the safety of pilgrims to the Holy Land after the Crusades. They are often depicted by an image of two knights on a single horse, a symbol of their early poverty, but their power grew along with their wealth and they soon became a target for jealousy. A new Pope was appointed in Rome and under pressure from the King of France, the Templars were tortured until false confessions were given and they were burned at the stake as heretics.

The abrupt disappearance of a major part of the European infrastructure gave rise to speculation and legends. So, now you know, there’s no need to stay indoors on Friday 13^th, is there ….　?

Here in Languedoc-Roussillon, in the south of France, we are about to celebrate la Toussaint which is a public holiday.

It’s a fairly morbid time of year with Halloween on 31^st October, its origins thought to be pagan (All-Hallows-Even “evening”), la Toussaint on the 1^st November and le Jour des Morts on the 2^nd November. The sale of chrysanthemum’s and plastic flowers goes rocketing as everyone buys one of these to place on the grave of a loved one in remembrance. All Saints Day (la Toussaint) is a Celtic tradition celebrating the end of the year and the beginning of winter.

One of the things I love about here are the twin-lines of plane trees along the roads. It’s such an iconic symbol of France. They have a long and colourful past, but the future isn’t looking so rosy.

A few facts

A brief history will show that there are fossil records of plane trees as early as 115 million years ago. The trees we see all around us here today in the South of france are a hybrid of the Asian and American sycamore trees that were created by accident in Oxford, England in the 16th century. This is why they are sometimes called London Plane trees.

The plane tree is a large, deciduous tree found in the most temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere growing 30-50 metres tall (100 feet or more). They are popular in cities due to their resistence to diseases and to air pollution. It has proved particularly tolerant of urban conditions, it grows quickly, provides excellent shade, looks beautiful, requires little water, and can be planted in poor soil.

They are characterized by scaling bark, which as the outer bark flakes off, the inner bark shows shades of white, gray, green, and yellow producing a mottled appearance.

Plane trees have both male and female flowers and after being pollinated, the female flowers become a densely packed hard, brown ball about 3cm in diameter that contains several hundred seeds that disperse in the wind rather like a dandelion.

If you are a lover of popping bubble-wrap, then hours of fun are to be had stepping on the fallen ‘seeds’ that give a rather satisfying crunch underfoot as they burst.

The largest plane tree in France (below) is to be found in Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, a medieval village situated in the valley and gorge of the Gellone and Hérault rivers. It is one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France.

A bit of history

It is thought that Napoleon is responsible for the typical scenes we see today of tree lined roads. It is true that he ordered the extensive planting of plane trees along the roads in Southern France to shade his marching armies from the heat of the midday sun.

But prior to this, it was Pierre-Paul Riquet, a salt tax collector from Béziers, who used plane trees to great effect. He finally solved the problem of how to create a shortcut between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, avoiding a month long sea voyage, by building the famous Canal du Midi (now a UNESCO world heritage site) which opened to navigation in 1681. He planted more than 250,000 along its length to shade the canal and reduce water evaporation. The roots also serve to stabilise the banks.

However, the plane tree was already in use by Noblemen to create the fine and impressive tree-lined roads leading to their estates.

A deadly hazard?

Today there are perhaps two opposing views of the plane tree: those that love one of the iconic features of the French landscape – the tree-lined country road – and those who view them as a deadly hazard.

According to a survey, nearly one in 10 of the 8,000 road deaths in France each year involves collisions with trees (France has one of the worst road safety records in western Europe). Some departments have begun a systematic policy of felling trees along busy stretches of road. Others feel the real problem is with the drivers themselves and have pointed out that the trees – unlike many French motorists – do not drink too much alcohol, travel too fast or make sudden, unexpected movements.

Unfortunately, in those areas where the roadside trees have been removed, there has been no obvious reduction in the number of road deaths. Cars are still spinning off the road but crashing into other objects instead.

Is the future looking bleak?

Now it seems these poor trees have been hit by a virulent and incurable disease which is killing them. Authorities have been struggling since 2006 to bring it under controle by rooting up and burning thousands of diseased trees in an attempt to stop the fungus spreading.

Because it is highly contagious and can spread through the root system, all other trees within a radius of 50 metres, even if apparently healthy, also have to be destroyed.

Apparently, US troops brought the disease to France when they landed in Marseilles in 1944 with ammunition boxes that were made from infected sycamore wood.

Perhaps the only hope is to develop a new kind of plane tree that will resist this disease? However, the authorities believe their aggressive action should limit the impact and keep these lovely trees lining our roads and canals for the future.

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There are times in this region during the summer months when you pray for a bit of wind, and other times you curse it depending on which direction it’s coming from. Apparently the Languedoc is the windiest region of France. This is why lines of wind turbines are springing up along the coast and inland hilltops. The windiest area is along the coast between Narbonne and the Spanish border. This makes for good sailing and wind-surfing.

Fortunately, the Mistral, which brings Siberian cold and drives people mad, is localised in Provence. However, in Languedoc we have the Tramontane which blows from the north-west and is the local, gentler version of the Mistral wind. It is a dry, pretty violent wind that is cold, almost bitter in winter but very welcome in the summer.And finally the Marin, which is a warm wind that blows in from the Mediterranean Sea from the south-east. It tends to raise the general ambiant temperature, but brings with it banks of low humid cloud. It causes heavy rain in coastal areas in the winter and in summer tends to dissipate but leaves the area smelling of the sea and your skin tasting of salt.

The Cers wind blows from the west or south-west and often heralds sunny warm weather, blowing the clouds away and bringing bright blue skies and sunshine, even though temperatures are cooler. It is generally cold in winter, and warm in summer, but always dry.

The Scirocco is a south wind bringing hot dry air from Africa. This wind blows rarely, and then only for a few hours, leaving everything covered in a fine film of sand carried over the Mediterranean Sea from the Sahara Desert.

The Autan is a warm wind of the south-east of France (around Perpignan). It can be particularly strong west of Carcassonne and often heralds heavy rainfall. A few days before it blows, a calmness descends and during this period the Pyrénees can be seen from 150 kilometres away. The locals will tell you that bad weather will settle in for either three, six or nine days on end. It is also known, rather dramatically, as the devil’s wind and the wind of death.

And finally the Marin, which is a warm wind that blows in from the Mediterranean Sea from the south-east. It tends to raise the general ambiant temperature, but brings with it banks of low humid cloud. It causes heavy rain in coastal areas in the winter and in summer tends to dissipate but leaves the area smelling of the sea and your skin tasting of salt.

I am frequently asked ‘Why do they plant roses at the end of rows of vines?’ to which I usually reply ‘I’m not really sure’. Tired of not knowing, I decided to do a little research and asked a friend of mine who is a vigneron.

It seems it works on the same principal as the poor little canary that was taken down into the coal mines. If the luckless bird was found on the bottom of its cage, its little feet pointing up to the heavens, the miners would know that poisonous gases such as methane or carbon monoxide had leaked into the mine-shaft and that they needed to leggit out of there pdq before the same fate befell them.

So it seems the rose, a little more sensitive than its neighbours, is susceptible to the same diseases as grapevines and acts as a warning signal to the vigneron. Treatments can then be promptly carried out ensuring a good crop and the future of the wine at our dinner table.

So there you go, it’s not just a vigneron wanting to make their vineyard look pretty but a practical solution to an age old problem.

Each year it passes near enough by to make an hour’s journey to go and see it, but this year it went right through the middle of our village, passing in front of the Mairie and the Post Office. So, picnic in a rucksack, a small bottle of rosé in an ice bag, we set off at about 1pm today and positioned ourselves in front of Le Pachamumu café with camera at the ready.

All was going well until everybody and his mother and the dog decided to stand in front of the barriers and block our view at the last moment. After a while we decided to try a bit further down the road (which was always my first idea but we had to try Bernie’s way first).

So, about two and half hours after having installed ourselves the helicopters arrived. Six of them hovered in the sky above us filming the race and heralding their imminent arrival.

Then suddenly there they were …. and then there they weren’t.

Pierre-Paul Riquet, in 1662, was able to solve the problem that had vexed the great and the good for centuries (including Leonardo da Vinci) – and that was how to create a shortcut between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, avoiding a month long sea voyage. Riquet was a salt tax collector from Béziers and knew the area intimately, allowing him to find a way to supply the summit sections with enough water. Finally, after securing the financial backing of Louis XIV in 1667, at the age of 63, he started his greatest project. Sadly, it was a project that he would not see completed before his death in 1681, just months before the Canal was opened to navigation.The Canal du Midi has been in existence for more than 300 years and was built in the days when the waterways were the deluxe form of transport. It was constructed using only manpower, about 12,000 workers, who dug out 7,000,000 cubic metres of earth to connect Toulouse and Sète and created 240km (150miles) of canal waterways. It has 328 structures, including not only 103 locks which serve to climb and descend a total of 190 meters, but also bridges, dams and a tunnel 173 metres long. The tunnel at Malpas was excavated in 1679 under the hill d’Ensérune. Measuring 165 metres long, it was the first navigable canal tunnel in Europe and a monument to the determination of Pierre-Paul Riquet. He was told not to dig it due to the danger of collapse, but he went ahead and did it anyway in secret with a local builder and completed it in less than eight days. Eight days　! Imagine digging a tunnel that long today with all the modern machinery available – not two blokes with a shovel….

Like all good projects, the initial budget of just under 3.5 million livres eventually came in at over 15 million livres, of which nearly 2 million came from Riquet himself, leaving him, and his descendents, with huge debts. He sacrificed everything to make sure of its completion – even using his daughters’ dowries for the cause. During its construction detractors became more vociferous as his project slowly advanced, plagued with technical and financial problems. When he died he was ruined and embittered by the vehemence of his opponents. Only 1.6km of canal still remained to be dug and his son took over the works. At last completed, the canal was inspected and filled with water in 1681.

Pierre-Paul Riquet’s remains lie in Saint Etienne Cathedral in Toulouse.

One only has to stand on the canal’s edge and be enthralled by its grace and beauty to understand Riquet’s passion and engineering genius. The canal crosses rivers, tunnells through hills, and posseses many ingenius designs that were ahead of their time. The oval locks alone are a notable feat. The Canal also involved building the first artificial reservoir for feeding a canal waterway by creating a massive dam, 700 meters long, which was the largest work of civil engineering in the 17^th century and only the second major dam ever to be built in Europe.

At the town of Béziers there is a staircase of 9 locks, called Les Neuf Écluses, which are spectacular. Just next to this is a bicycle hire shop which is a great way to explore the canal paths. The construction of the Canal du Midi was considered by people in the 17th century as the biggest project of the day.

It is truly a marvelous engineering accomplishment, but it is its picturesque and magical beauty that makes it the most popular pleasure waterway in Europe. Shaded by plane trees and passing through acres of vineyards and orchards, passing under little humpbacked bridges and gliding past medieval villages, it continues to cast its spell over travellers and is now almost exclusively used by pleasure boats.

The Canal du Midi was recognised by UNESCO as a world heritage site in 1996 and is the most famous canal in France.