T’es branché? 3 Fr3H – CULTURE Unité 4A

La Francophonie – Île de la Réunion p.210 Île de la Réunion is a French “département” located in the Indian Ocean, next to Madagascar. It is a volcanic island and very mountainous. It is home to one of the most active volcanoes in the world “La Fournaise” There are 800,000 inhabitants of mixed ethnicities com Composed mainly of descendants of African and Indian slaves brought to the island during 17th century colonization to work the coffee and spice plantations. Also there are descendants of white colonists and also Chinese immigrants. Capital city is Saint-Denis Agriculture is economically important. Along with sugar cane production fruit and garden produce are also important. However, tourism these days is the main economic drive of the island. Musicians have helped ake two Réunin rhythms popular: maloya, close to blues which was born from songs and dances of African slaves and séga which brings together popular Creole music and dances. In the 19th century the French poet Charles Baudelaire stayed for some time on Île de la Réunion which inspire him to write such poems as “À une dame créole”

La Corse (Corsica) – une autre île francophone p.211 La Corse (Corsica) is an island in the Mediterranean where both French and corse are spoken (a blend of French and Italian) Considered as a region of France, it is made up of two “départments” : la Corse-du-Sud and La Haute- Corse. Nicknamed “Île de Beauté” (Isle of Beauty) there are beautiful beaches, panoramic mountain views, a wonderful rural local cuisine wonderful natural spaces thanks to an international marine park, nature preserves and the regional national park of Corsica. The main economic drives are tourism and agriculture

Chamonix and Mont Blanc p.211 Chamonix, a small town of 10,000 inhabitants is considered the highest elevated commune in France It owes this title to the presence of the highest peak in Europe, Mont Blanc (4,180m) This is a huge tourism asset because Mont Blanc is the third most visited tourist location in the world. It has the most popular hiking trail in Europe which circumnavigates Mont Blanc (170km). The cable car of the “Aiguille du Midi “ (the Summit of the South) leaves from Chamonix and climbs up to 3,777m. La Mer de Glace (The Sea of Ice), the Vallée Blanche (White Valley) and Lac Blanc (White Lake) are other tourist gems in Chamonix Chamonix has become the capital for mountain climbing and high mountain sports. Located here is the École Nationale de Ski et d’Alpinisme which specializes in training high mountain guides whose home base and association are also located in Chamonix. Roger Frison-Roche for his literary tales, Gaston Rebuffat for his movies and René Desmaison pour his adventures, are the most famous of these guides

Les Alpes p.212 Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Slovenia… the Alps extend mainly over these six countries and include more that 80 peaks over 4,000m high. This is a 1,200km natural barrier which stretches from the Mediterranean Sea to the Danube river. The biggest town in the Alps is Grenoble (500,000 inhabitants) The alpine flora and fauna are heavily protected thanks to numerous regional or national natural parks which are on the mountain range – the most famous of these in France is the Parc de la Vanoise La gentiane (gentian) , l’edelweiss for flowers, the chamois (a type of mountain goat) and the marmotte (groundhog) for animals, are the symbols of the Alps