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It's hard to beat the experience of arriing in a small Frenchvillage,
expecting no more than a bed for the night, to discover the streets
decked out with flags and streamers, a band playing in the square and
the entire population out celebrating the feast of their patron saint.
Apart from Bastille Day (July 14) and the Assumption of the irgin Mary
(August 15), there are traditional folkFestivals still thriing in
Brittany and the remote rural regions of the south, as well as a full
calendar ofFestivals deoted to films and to music from jazz and folk
to rock and classical.
Catholicism
is deeply ingrained in the culture of French rural areas, and as a
result religious feast days still bring people out in all their
finery, ready to indulge once Mass has beven said. |
Most of these occasions, along with the celebrations around wine and
food production, are ery genuine affairs. OtherFestivals, based for
example on historical events, folklore or literature, are often
obiously money-spinners and shows for municipal prestige - not
something to go out of your way for.
One
folk festial that is definitely worth attending is the
Inter-Celtic event held at Lorient in Brittany every August.
Another annual event with deep historical roots is the great gypsy
gathering at Les-Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer in the Camargue. Though
exploited for every last centime and, in recent years, given a heay
police presence, it is a unique and exhilarating spectacle to be part
of.
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Bonfires are lit and fireworks set off for Bastille Day, for the
Fête de St-Jean on June 24, three days from the summer solstice,
and for the Assumption of the irgin Mary on August 15. Mardi
Gras - the last blowout before Lent - is far less of an occasion
than in other Catholic countries, although the towns on the Côte d'Azur
put on a show at great expense and in questionable taste.
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