The Village

A plan for the development of the Port area has had a mixed reception locally. Part of its great charm was the very authentic ancient village atmosphere and both locals and visitors have expressed their apprehension that the ambience of the area could be spoilt by any modernisation. However, the work so far has been carefully done and is a distinct improvement. Before last summer the Rive Gauche (left hand side as you come into the Port from the lagoon) has all been re-paved and the next step is to complete the Rive Droit with the same attractive paving.

The Mairie has defined the streets to be included in the historic inner part of the village, and we are delighted that our street is included. To keep the character of this historic area, the Mairie now offers subsidies to home owners who are prepared to restore their building facades in an authentic way. Many facades in the centre ville area of Marseillan have been upgraded over the last few years and we have begun this process with the local Mairie. Our chosen contractor, Kelly Projets, have submitted a quote and we have just received notification from the Mairie that we will qualify for a subsidy. As this will be a fairly expensive exercise taking several weeks, the subsidy will be very welcome.

There has also been major new drainage works in the village which has had streets closed and lots of disruption for some months, but the replacement of some of the old lead piping was well overdue, as was the upgrade of the sewerage system.

Occitanie – the new name

The government made a decision to reduce the number of regions in France by amalgamations. Several local areas, including the Languedoc, Hérault and Rousillon, fell to this joining up.

After months of argument to select a name for the new area, the vote finally was made to call it Occitanie. This is a reference to earlier times where most of the area came under the name of Occitania and where the local Occitan language was mainly spoken (the name Languedoc was made from the phrase langue d’Oc – language of Oc). This new name is still not very widely accepted or known and most publicity still includes the former names of the areas that have been amalgamated. Whether this change will reflect the claimed economies remains to be seen.

The 13 redefined regions of France

The flag of Occitanie