France

The AGV, the new fast train by Alstom

Alstom unveiled yesterday its AGV, which is the successor of the TGV (train à grande vitesse, fast speed train) a huge success for the company. The AGV brings several improvements compared to the previous model as it goes faster – 360 kilometers per hour compared to 320 – and consumes less energy. This will make …

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A record breaking electricity consumption in France

The current temperatures in France are six degrees below average and this led to a record-breaking electricity consumption. Last night the level of energy consumption rose to 88 960 MW, compared to the previous record of 86 280 MW in January 2006. It is estimated by the Réseau de transport d’électricité that when temperature decreases …

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EPR reactor is being built in France

According to the French daily Le Figaro in its Monday edition, the construction of the first EPR reactor in France has begun and is going on well. The EPR technology provides several improvements to the current nuclear plants, including increased yield and security, decreased waste and radiations. This reactor will be operational in 2012 and …

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Further on le Grenelle de l’Environnement

Many of my international readers have been willing to know more on le Grenelle de l’Environnement and the decisions that have been taken afterwards. They can rejoice as the concluding speech by the French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been translated into English, Spanish and German. You can access to the Adobe’s PDF full versions on …

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Waste management in France

This week in France takes place a series of events that are due to reduce the amount of waste produced. This is important as we are now producing nearly a kilogram per habitant per day. All this makes for the total population the equivalent of 2.800 Eiffel Tower. (or 28 million kilograms of waste each …

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The Grenelle, a French green revolution

Yesterday in Paris took place what will perhaps be remembered as the green event of the decade in France. The President Nicolas Sarkozy detailed in a 30-minute speech a very ambitious plan that concluded weeks of discussions on environmental causes within what is called here Le Grenelle de l’Environnement. From transportation and housing to electricity …

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Toyota and EDF to propose electric cars

The car maker Toyota and the French company EDF will soon propose a network of plug-in points and sockets to fill up hybrid cars with electricity. French electricity is mostly carbon dioxide free (78 percent of nuclear and 10 percent hydro), so electric cars would prove to be a good thing to mitigate climate change. …

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Paris’ bike renting program, Velib

On July 15th, the French Capital city launched an interesting public service that enables people to rent bikes to go from on point to another. This program, called Velib (a contraction of vélo, bike and Liberté, freedom) will comprise by the of the year more than 20,500 bikes dispatched in around 1,400 stations. Velib proves …

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Payer moins d’impôts tout en ayant de l’eau gratuite

Selon un article publié hier sur le site du Figaro : “L’achat d’équipements destinés à récupérer l’eau de pluie pour un usage domestique donne droit à un crédit d’impôt de 25% des dépenses investies.” “(…) Ainsi, une famille de quatre personnes qui consomme en moyenne 120 m3 peut économiser 70 m3 d’eau potable par an. …

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