aixcentric

Photo: Cyril Sollier
La Provence

The Apple store at La Rotonde was the target for protesters at 9;30 on Saturday morning.  A group called ‘Attac’ lived up to their name when 50 of their members arrived with pots of paint to whitewash the windows and add their slogans.  This was all to the accompaniment of Irish music, a nod to the country where Apple is said to base its tax affairs.  Read all about it here: http://www.laprovence.com/article/economie/4389584/evasion-fiscale-attac-se-paie-la-pomme-dapple-a-aix.html

Elsewhere, the work at ‘Les Trois Places’ is ongoing.  Over 170 skeletons have been removed from an old cemetery by the church and now the hard work of pipe-laying can proceed.

The authorities have added a strip of concrete in front of the cafés to the right of my photo, so they can continue to have tables out front.  I think we should go for coffee to support them – and also the friendly newsagent whose kiosk has now been displaced down the side of the palais de justice.  Here’s a link to the town magazine for more info: http://www.aixenprovence.fr/Aix-en-Provence-le-Mag

Concrete has been added at the front so businesses can trade. There are pedestrian walkways too.

Just to reassure several people who have contacted me about the markets.  They seem to be settled in their new places aound the cours Mirabeau, Sextius and the Rotonde and I find it easier to shop along the stalls as they are more spread out.  So you can arrive for summer holidays with no worries!

The photographers’ favourite atlantes in the cours Mirabeau have been equipped with spikes on their shoulders and arms, presumably to thwart the two families of local pigeons who took up residence there in previous years.  They always looked rather cosy nestled there but I guess their deposits weren’t too good for the soft stone.

And finally, the current expo at the Musée Granet, ‘Mangroves et forets nuages d’Afrique’ may be of interest, especially if you like Africa.  The artist Pierre Graziani from Marseille has been spending part of each year painting in Gabon for the last 30 years, bewitched by the tropical vegetation.  His large canvases are brilliantly coloured with gouache and acrylics, and he uses real ferns to make impressions in the paint. It was extremely busy yesterday – I wonder if it was the free entry or the grey rain outside that captured the crowds?  It’s on until April 16th.