Olympic Membership - Free Live Stream Sports & Original Series - join now! đŸ„‡ Olympic Torch Relay | Stage 23 - Deux-SĂšvres | Olympic Games Paris 2024Watch the highlights of the 23rd stage of the Olympic Torch Relay for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 that took place in Deux-SĂšvres the Olympic Torch has travelled along many coasts and seashores from the Mediterranean to coast of La Manche and is poised to visit the shores of the Atlantic next week in the heart of the 'Green Venice' in the famed Marais Poitevin The day was also an opportunity to admire the local heritage and illuminate two castles: Thouars - the 17th-century ChĂąteau des Ducs de La TrĂ©moille partially converted into a college - and the ChĂąteau de Bressuire the remains of which have stood the test of time since the 10th century The Torch passed through the Porte Saint-Jacques and stopped off at the prestigious École Nationale des Sous-Officiers d'Active in Saint-Maixent-l'École It also visited the impressively long (83 metres) and luminous l’Abbaye Royale de Celles-sur-Belles an opportunity to wind through the streets of the department's capital city The Torch passed through the Clou Bouchet district before making its way to Port Boinot and the MusĂ©e du Donjon which traces the city's history from the 12th century to the present day The convoy's route concluded at Place Chanzy Sport is a mainstay in the Deux-SĂšvres department with many of its facilities awarded the 'Terre de Jeux 2024' label including the Coupe de rugby des collĂšges 79 the Highland Games world championship of traditional Scottish strength and the Celles-sur-Belle handball clubs and Niort rugby club another sport took centre stage: taekwondo A group relay dedicated to this martial art took place in Bressuire with Niort native Myriam Baverel who was the silver medallist at the 2004 Athens Games as captain including the oldest participant of the day and the promising and youngest participant on the day 90 Olympic Torch Bearers took their turn throughout the Deux-SĂšvres region All of them have had inspiring lives and destinies Perrine is a Red Cross volunteer who never strays too far from the basketball court Her ambition today is to pass on her passion to younger players Among the torchbearers were ClĂ©ment Garreau French judo champion and member of an adapted group captain of his Regional level 1 football team who employs sport to combat rheumatoid arthritis who won a cycling medal at the Sydney Paralympic Games and is now taking on a whole host of sporting challenges The famous violinist and conductor Renaud Capuçon was also on hand in Niort the Olympic Torch and all the Relay teams will enjoy a well-deserved rest day a land for nature lovers and lovers of sport which links the island of Noirmoutier to the coast and then Les Sables d'Olonne for another large-scale public celebration Estonian youth tennis player Markus Mölder secured a spot in the main draw of the M15 category ITF tournament held in Bressuire Mölder did so by beating Pierre Delage of France in the deciding third set of his final qualification game had received a bye in the first round of the qualifiers and defeated Belgian Mao Poels convincingly in the second round but the 23-year-old French player responded strongly taking the second set 6-1 to push the match into a tense tiebreak situation winning five consecutive points to save the match Mölder held his nerve to seal a 12-10 victory and advance to the main draw The main draw in Bressuire kicks off on Tuesday 495) went straight into the main draw as the eighth seed The ITF is a feeder series for the ATP (men's) and WTA (women's) tennis tournaments Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update! 0)" class="article-poll-disclaimer" ng-bind="totalVotes + ' hÀÀletajat'"> {{option.votes}} {{selectedLanguage.poll.votes}}/ Iga kasutaja vĂ”ib hÀÀletada {{poll.optionLimit}} vastusevariandi poolt https://www.donegallive.ie/section/1196/advertise-with-us All the 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now you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism The Letterkenny Pipe Band has been granted the opportunity to participate in the Bressuire Highland Games World Championship a Highland Games world championship for mixed national teams Eight nations will be represented: Germany This gathering of diverse nationalities promises to showcase a rich tapestry of traditions and skills uniting participants from around the globe in a celebration of Highland culture The Bressuire Highland Games World Championship will not only be a platform for friendly competition but also a forum for cultural exchange and camaraderie among nations A spokesperson for the band said: “The Letterkenny Pipe Band is honored to be a part of this sensational event and looks forward to contributing their musical talents to the vibrant tapestry of performances that will unfold durng the championship “The invitation extended to the Letterkenny Pipe Band is a testament to their commitment in promotion of Scottish and Irish music “As they prepare to embark on this exciting journey to France the band members are eager to share their unique sound and cultural heritage with an international audience.” " + $(".testo_articolo").html().replace(//g please subscribe and support local journalism Subscribing will allow you access to all of our premium content and archived articles To continue reading this article for FREE,please kindly register and/or log in Registration is absolutely 100% FREE and will help us personalise your experience on our sites You can also sign up to our carefully curated newsletter(s) to keep up to date with your latest local news Nikita Burns was before Ballyshannon District Court A day in the life of a children’s residential care worker at Ashdale Care Minster Alan Dillon at the opening of the new offices The opticians are delighted to welcome onboard their new Practice Manager Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie News | World An earthquake hit western France early this morning The 5.1 magnitude quake took place at 6.50am local time (5.50am UK time) near the small central-western town of Bressuire including Normandy in the north and Bordeaux in the south National civil security service spokesman Col Michael Bernier said the tremors had sparked concern in several regions because "so many people” felt them So far there have been no reports of damage following the moderate earthquake but a tremor of its magnitude is relatively rare in the country France is home to many historic buildings which are not designed to withstand strong seismic activity One French resident between the towns of Chef Boutonne and Melle – over 50 miles from the earthquake's epicentre – wrote on Twitter that the tremors "shook the whole house for about ten seconds" People in other regions reported feeling the tremors two hours after the initial quake occurred Prince Louis steals the show at VE Day parade as he keeps dad William looking sharp and mimics brother George Prince Louis steals show with sweet antics at VE parade VE Day 2025 fashion: best looks from the day VE Day 2025 fashion: Princess of Wales to Lady Victoria Starmer Royals watch historic flypast as huge crowds turns out for VE Day 80th anniversary  Royals watch historic Red Arrows flypast for VE Day 80th anniversary UK tourists face major travel shake-up as Dubai airport set to close David Beckham’s 50th birthday bash in London 'shut down' by council over noise complaints David Beckham’s 50th birthday bash 'shut down' over noise complaints “A good painter needs only three colours: black according to a new book celebrating the use of red in buildings across the world “Red is fundamental to the human condition,” says art historian Stella Paul and sustaining vitality.” The book’s locations from imposing skyscrapers to the humble hut Red: Architecture in Monochrome (Phaidon, ÂŁ29.95) is published on 12 October Red: Architecture in Monochrome (Phaidon, ÂŁ29.95) is published on 12 October Photograph: Lawrence Anderson/LOHA Architects Photograph: Alexey Naroditskiy/Vitruvius and Sons Photograph: João Morgado/Future Architecture Thinking (FAT) Photograph: Kongjian Yu/Turenscape Landscape Architecture — The hours of practicing in the cold and rain paid off for Adam Ogilvie with a first-place medal from the Bressuire Highland Games in France “It was an incredible trip,” said the Debert resident “There was great weather and a great crowd There were 13,000 spectators and that was the largest crowd I ever competed in front of “The competitors were friendly and welcoming Subscribe now to access this story and more: Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience “Standing on podium and being presented with a trophy and medal Ogilvie was the winner of the French Master Championship as a representative for the Margaree Highland Games He was nervous before the competition but taking part in demonstrations for 340 children was so much fun it helped him relax “It’s a very special highland games that they only have every two years,” he said “This was the tenth games and the whole town is involved in planning and executing things With the crowd and the pipes and the castle “When I left I was just hoping put on a good show for Margaree When I competed in the open stone I got second then won both light hammer and light weight One the second day I won the caber toss and then had a sense of relief.” Ogilvie also got to use his French during the trip as his host family didn’t speak any English although the woman in the home was used to hosting people from other countries and often used Google Translate in conversation mode He was in France a few extra days and got to see a lot of the countryside and some attractions “It was a great experience; one I would do over again in a heartbeat.” Ogilvie’s next competition is on July 1 in Pugwash He will be competing in Bible Hill at the Colchester Highland Games and Gathering on Sept We apologize, but this video has failed to load.Try refreshing your browser, ortap here to see other videos from our team.Play Video Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page The British Virgin Islands 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By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy when Scotland was Catholic and England was Protestant a pact was sworn between nations; a solemn alliance and Philip IV of France to ratify an agreement that the two nations would band together to defend themselves against ‘Perfidious Albion’ the ‘Auld Alliance’ between Scotland and France still endures There are outcrops of tartan all across the Hexagon Large associations including the ‘Caledonian Society of France’ the Association France Grande-Bretagne in Paris and Auld Alliance – le Lien Franco-Ecossaise in OrlĂ©ans organise exchange visits and clan meetings Read more: From banking to wine: four surprising Scottish-French ties They also post events being held by numerous other local associations After the rugby TrophĂ©e Auld Alliance which was founded in 2018 one of the biggest Scottish sporting events in France is the bi-annual Highland Games held in Bressuire (Deux-SĂšvres) Organised in mid-June by the AJEF (Association sportive des Jeux D’Ecosse en France) the weekend event includes tossing the caber Read more: France’s own kilt-maker The games will be held next year on June 15-16 and are expected to attract upwards of 12,000 people “We will also be running the first International Championship for the best mixed team,” says organiser Alain Rousselot The Highland Games are the result of firm links being forged between the two nations because Bressuire is twinned with Fraserburgh in Scotland “We are lucky because we are twinned with cities in eight different countries and all of the associations are very strong the medieval ChĂąteau de Bressuire is a beautiful setting for the games Read more: Celtic nations descend on France to celebrate shared ancestry do not miss the fortified ChĂąteau Saint Mesmin in Saint-AndrĂ©-sur-SĂšvre an imposing donjon was added in the 15th century almost doubling the size of the construction It offers medieval-style activities and workshops for adults and children daily in July and August The Highland Games in Luzarches (Val-d’Oise) just north of Paris will be held over the last weekend of September (September 30 to October 1 Teams from all over Europe will take part in traditional sports a Scottish festival held over the Whitsun weekend (which was from May 26-28 in 2023) and hosted at the Domaine de l’Abbaye de Thiron-Gardais (between Chartres and Le Mans in Eure-et-Loir) Read more: Aveyron is home to the world’s biggest bagpipe collection and although the dates have not yet been announced it is expected to be over the Whitsun holiday An event to attend is Melting Kilts in Dinard (Brittany) usually held over the first weekend of October Organised by the Mouvement Associatif du Tartan clan representatives and gatherings are all expected to be on the programme along with food and dancing Another town with exceptionally strong Scottish connections is Aubigny-sur-NĂšre (Cher) The mairie’s website even features tartan wallpaper the ChĂąteau des Stuarts is slap-bang in the middle of the historic centre with its cobbled streets and half-timbered buildings The estate was first gifted to Sir John Stewart of Darnley (1380-1429) as a reward for having commanded his forces on the French side against the English during the Hundred Years War The castle was built by Robert Stuart de Lennox at the start of the 16th century and remained in the family’s hands until the line died out in 1672 It has been well-maintained and now houses offices and a museum the Centre d’InterprĂ©tation de l’Auld Alliance which traces the history of the Stuarts in Aubigny The facade of the chateau still features the Stuart coat of arms which faces a monument to the Auld Alliance in the form of a massive sword surrounded by rocks and water Wander round the town and you will find a Scottish bar and a distillery maturing the first batches of its own whisky There is even a kilt-maker in town; Lady Chrystel handcrafts traditional kilts in any tartan required “I get orders from all over France; I even get orders from Scotland,” she says She also makes historical costumes using tartan “People bring sketches and we discuss the ideas and then I make whatever they want.” The town holds its FĂȘtes Franco-Ecossaises every year in mid-July and this year marks the 600th anniversary of the town being gifted to Sir John Stewart of Darnley all of it topped off by a firework display on the Sunday evening do not miss the new and glorious Festival Ecossais 1782 2023 in the extensive grounds of the ChĂąteau de Saint Andiol Festival Ecossais 1782 is organised by Marie-NadĂšge Barthazon and Erik Lopez “We are proud of the long love story between France and Scotland and wanted to introduce that to the south of France,” explains Marie-NadĂšge Barthazon and we started from zero but it was amazing and we saw how many other people love Scotland We are delighted to have the Highland games and real Highland cows.” the date when the infamous ‘Act of Proscription’ was finally repealed Imposed by the English after the Jacobite uprising of 1745 the law was designed to stamp out Scottish culture by banning The festival offers a programme of pipers and concerts and demonstrations of Border Collies working with Scottish Blackface sheep and an open competition to find the most elegant man wearing a kilt Activities will include demonstrations of ‘handfasting’ the tradition of knotting ribbons for a wedding (tying the knot!) and for anyone wishing to tie the knot there will be a blacksmith with an anvil at the ready There will be guided visits to the haunted chateau a historic reconstruction of the Clan Mannaheim Jacobite encampment There are some good Scottish pubs and bars in France Read more: The Scottish brewer who made craft beer in France before it was trendy or else contact Monty Butcher in St-Barbant and investigate CĂ©line Pochat’s Scottish shop “I just love Scotland and everything Scottish,” she says “I’d love to sell fresh haggis,” says CĂ©line “but it’s really difficult to import it since Brexit.” If that leaves ye thirsting for a wee dram there is no shortage of whisky distilleries or specialist whisky bars in France the Whisky Lodge (established in 1968) offers an extensive selection of Scotch and French-made whiskies You can even order whisky from their online boutique They organise an annual whisky festival every March in Lyon’s Palais de la Bourse The Toulouse Whisky Festival is held every May and the Whisky Live Paris festival runs from October 21 to 23 For inspiration on how to add a little Celtic flair to your cooking at home grab a copy of Ecosse by Sarah Lachhab from Alsace with photography by AurĂ©lie Bellaccico from Paris The authors say that having lived in Scotland for years they wanted to change French preconceptions of Scottish cuisine Written in French, it has wonderful recipes for all the traditional Scottish favourites, including cock-a-leekie soup, cranachan (whipped cream, whisky, porridge oats, honey, and raspberries), and their own vegetarian version of haggis. www.editionsdelamartiniere.fr French Highland dancer picked to perform at Coronation party Historic Clan MacKinnon lives on in France’s unique Scottish town ‘Mediaeval’ French boat to sail from Brittany to Scotland Eight pairs of tickets for this summer’s festival are available exclusively to Connexion subscribers Architects set out to modernise Le Grand Rex while respecting its original design Many remained in France during the occupation 9 Aug 2019A 4.9 MAGNITUDE earthquake hit western France early this morning with tremors felt as far as Bordeaux in the south and Normandy in the north The epicentre of the quake that took place at 6.50am local time was near the town of Bressuire a spokesman for the national civil security service said it prompted concern because "so many people felt it" The quake shook a swath of France including the cities of Le Mans Residents in rural towns said their houses shook with tremors for around 15 to 20 seconds after the earthquake Speaking to The Sun from her home in Cholet - around 25 miles from the earthquake's epicentre - Ruth Dobson said the quake came all of a sudden and shook her house for around eight seconds She said: "It was very sudden and lasted for around eight seconds "My boyfriend and I were getting ready for work and we looked outside to see if there was anything there "It felt like when there is a very large digger outside and drilling on the road aside from a couple of plates moving around." She added that she felt the tremors around 8.50am local time - two hours after the initial quake occurred in Bressuire Dobson also said she heard "more sirens than usual" in the area between 9am and 10am and though she suspected nothing sinister she noted that "hearing sirens is rather uncommon especially in a quiet town like this" a French resident between the towns of Chef Boutonne and Melle - over 50 miles from the earthquake's epicentre - said the tremors "shook the whole house for about ten seconds" An earthquake of this magnitude is considered moderate but relatively rare in France home to many historic buildings that are not designed to withstand strong seismic activity The estimated population of the area affected by the earthquake is around 7.5 million Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/ Based on data from the past 55 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900 there are about 336 quakes on average per year in or near Bressuire Bressuire has had at least 15 quakes above magnitude 4 since 1970 which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently probably on average approximately every 1 to 5 years The last earthquake in Bressuire occurred 14 hours ago and had a magnitude of 1.7: Mag. 1.7 earthquake near Bressuire - writeAge(1746442043)A light magnitude 1.7 earthquake hit 18.1 km (11 mi) away from Bressuire, Nouvelle-Aquitaine,  France The quake was too small to be felt by people There have been 21 small quakes up to magnitude 1.9 in or near Bressuire in the past 30 days The strongest earthquake in Bressuire in the past 30 days had a magnitude of 1.9 and occurred 6 days ago: Mag. 1.9 earthquake near La Roche-Sur-Yon - writeAge(1746004942)A light magnitude 1.9 earthquake hit 24 km (15 mi) away from La Roche-sur-Yon, Pays de la Loire,  France The depth of the quake is unknown.The quake was not felt (or at least not reported so) Nouvelle-Aquitaine has relatively few earthquakes there are about 1,900 quakes on average per year in or near Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine has had at least 7 quakes above magnitude 5 since 1970 probably on average approximately every 5 to 10 years Nouvelle-Aquitaine has about 25 quakes of magnitude 3 or higher per year Nouvelle-Aquitaine has had 2 quakes of magnitude 2.0 or above There were also 26 quakes below magnitude 2.0 which people don't normally feel The quake had a very shallow depth of 5 km (3.1 mi) and was reported felt by some people near the epicenter