You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed Tuesday World Subscribers only In Zurich the leaf blower war or the anti-'woke' backlash World Subscribers only Germany's Friedrich Merz is embracing pragmatism World Subscribers only Trump-Carney meeting: Canada seeks reconciliation World Subscribers only Friedrich Merz bets on two private sector converts to revive the German economy and reform the state World Subscribers only Founder of Sant'Egidio community fears next pope could undo Francis's legacy Opinion Subscribers only 'Russian gas and Europe is an old story that ended badly Economy Subscribers only Europe's steel industry flattened by crisis World Subscribers only How European countries plan to fund defense efforts France Subscribers only Macron announces citizens' convention on school schedules France Subscribers only 21 charged over French prison attacks as investigation narrows in on drug traffickers France Subscribers only French mosque stabber was driven by 'morbid fascination,' prosecutor says France Subscribers only At the trial of Kim Kardashian's robbers Videos World expos: From Paris 1855 to Osaka 2025 Videos How the Trump administration is attacking scientific research in the US Videos Tesla cars set on fire in Las Vegas as calls to boycott Musk's company grow worldwide Videos Can France's nuclear deterrent protect Europe Opinion Subscribers only 'The American dream is dying' Opinion Subscribers only John Bolton: 'The term chaos is commonly used to describe the top of the Defense Department' Opinion Subscribers only 'It is pointless to imagine a significant wave of American academics leaving' Magazine Subscribers only Tracking down the pianos taken from French Jews during the Nazi Occupation Magazine Subscribers only Eve Rodsky the American helping couples balance the mental load Magazine Subscribers only Desecration or more glory Joan Didion's private diaries are revealed Magazine Subscribers only For Jewish cartoonist Joann Sfar 2025."> Pixels Subscribers only Golden Owl solution is revealed but leaves players of 31-year hunt disappointed Pixels Subscribers only Secrets of decades-long Golden Owl treasure hunt to be revealed Lifestyle Inside Chanel's French leather workshops Culture Subscribers only The marvelous bronzes of Angkor on display at the Musée Guimet in Paris Two blazes in southern France that forced the evacuation of thousands and destroyed hundreds of hectares have been brought under control Burning vegetation next to a road near Frontignan as a fire hit 300 hectares in the Herault department in southern France on August 18 PASCAL GUYOT / AFP Two wildfires in southern France forced several thousand people to flee before the blazes were brought under control Some 3,000 holidaymakers were evacuated from a camping site to a municipal building in the coastal town of Canet-en-Roussillon in the face of a fire fanned by strong winds The fire, which destroyed one mobile home and partially damaged five others, was brought under control, they said. Further up the Mediterranean coast, a fire that forced dozens from their homes in the coastal town of Frontignan "The fire has been under control for two and a half hours now," a spokesperson for the regional firefighters "We're still working on it because there are several hot spots where the risk of it flaring are high," he added Of the 600 firefighters who rushed to put out the fire on Sunday half were expected to keep working on the site throughout the day which has destroyed at least 300 hectares of land ignited near the A9 highway from Montpellier to the Spanish border Firefighters emptied the swimming pools of private homeowners to tackle the blaze Lecture du Monde en cours sur un autre appareil Vous pouvez lire Le Monde sur un seul appareil à la fois Ce message s’affichera sur l’autre appareil Parce qu’une autre personne (ou vous) est en train de lire Le Monde avec ce compte sur un autre appareil Vous ne pouvez lire Le Monde que sur un seul appareil à la fois (ordinateur En cliquant sur « Continuer à lire ici » et en vous assurant que vous êtes la seule personne à consulter Le Monde avec ce compte Que se passera-t-il si vous continuez à lire ici Ce dernier restera connecté avec ce compte Vous pouvez vous connecter avec votre compte sur autant d’appareils que vous le souhaitez mais en les utilisant à des moments différents Nous vous conseillons de modifier votre mot de passe Votre abonnement n’autorise pas la lecture de cet article merci de contacter notre service commercial You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience The 1 MWp pre-commercial demonstrator from the French company SolarinBlue will be deployed off the coast of Sète and will supply the infrastructure of the port of Sète-Frontignan The floats are designed to withstand waves of more than 10 meters and winds of 200 km/h From pv magazine France which develops offshore photovoltaic solar parks for difficult conditions (waves of more than 10 meters has obtained €6 million in funding for its 1 MWp offshore PV plant as part of the France 2030 program The 1 MWp Méga Sète pre-commercial demonstrator project will be deployed off the coast of Sète 2 kilometers from the Mediterranean coast on the site of a former offshore oil unloading station The floating solar park is expected to generate more than 1,300 MWh Electricity will be transported by undersea cable to power the infrastructure of the port of Sète-Frontignan as part of its decarbonization strategy Backed by a consortium that includes SolarinBlue engineering company Technip Energies and the universities of Montpellier and Sorbonne-Oceanological Observatory of Banyuls-Sur-Mer Méga Sète is expected to be commissioned in 2025 to replace the first Sun'Sète demonstrator inaugurated in 2023 with a capacity of 300 kWp especially designed to withstand high seas and swells is 12 meters long and wide and can accommodate 20 PV panels installed at a height of 3.5 meters so as not to be in contact with sea water “Méga Sète will be certified for waves of more than 10 meters: our technology is ready to be used in ports island territories and integrated into offshore wind farms,” said SolarinBlue CEO Aurélien Croq The company aims to use its technology to establish synergies with offshore wind farms to share the same connection and reduce investments with the goal to to launch the first European projects of 1 GW by 2030 More articles from Gwénaëlle Deboutte Please be mindful of our community standards and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" This website uses cookies to anonymously count visitor numbers. View our privacy policy. × The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this Close French company SolarinBlue has been awarded €6 million in funding for its floating solar project by the French government as part of the France 2030 program the French Agency for Ecological Transition The funding will support the Méga Sète pre-commercial demonstrator project for a floating solar farm developed by SolarinBlue in partnership with Technip Energies and Sorbonne Université – Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls-Sur-Mer Building on the technological advances of its first demonstrator the Méga Sète project will develop and deploy a 1 MWp offshore solar farm to supply low-carbon electricity to the port of Sète-Frontignan “Méga Sète will be certified for waves of more than 10 metres: our technology is ready to be used in ports island territories and integrated into offshore wind farms,” said Aurélien Croq Located two kilometers from the coast in the Sète-Frontignan commercial port district on the former offshore oil unloading station site anticipated to be the first 1 MWp offshore solar farm in France and the Mediterranean Sea is scheduled to be commissioned before the end of 2025 and “SolarinBlue has brought together leading industrial and academic players at Méga Sète to set the first milestone in the industrialization of our technology,” said Antoine Retailleau Méga Sète will cover one hectare and is expected to produce over 1,300 MWh annually with electricity being transported via a submarine cable to the port of Sète-Frontignan supporting its strategy to decarbonize energy consumption SolarinBlue’s technology is compatible with fixed and floating offshore wind farms allowing shared connections to reduce infrastructure costs and increase renewable electricity production at the same site The company intends to create offshore wind-solar hybrid farms to launch Europe’s first 1 GW projects by 2030 The project is set to reap the benefits of SolarinBlue’s technology and Technip Energies’ offshore expertise the University of Montpellier’s support in offshore systems electronics and Sorbonne Université – Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls-Sur-Mer’s study of environmental impacts The Occitanie Region supported the project and facilitated SolarinBlue’s partnership with the University of Montpellier and Sorbonne Université Daily news and in-depth stories in your inbox The Pioneers of Offshore Engineering GustoMSC part of NOV’s Marine and Construction business is recognized for providing advanced design & engineering consultancy for mobile offshore units and reliable equipment and technical knowledge into realistic & innovative ideas The performance of new and existing jack-ups Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: This website uses cookies to enhance your experience. Read our WAMU Privacy Notice This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings we will not be able to save your preferences This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again Seven people share their opinions of Emmanuel Macron’s plan to shake up the country’s retirement system More than a million protesters took to the streets in France on Thursday after Emmanuel Macron’s decision to force through legislation to raise the minimum pension age last week The government narrowly survived a no-confidence vote on Monday after invoking article 49.3 of the constitution to bypass parliament for the bill Here, seven people in France share their views on pension reform and the protests “The system is fed by the working population If the retired population increases and the working population does not keep up I’m not averse to changing the system but it should have been done with more consultation “The reforms are not fair to people who have physically demanding jobs and women who may take time off work for parenting and will now have to work for longer It is also unfair for people who started to work at an early age – why should people who started work at 18 not be able to retire at 61 Noemie le Carrer attended several protests in Brest Photograph: Noemie le Carrer“I have attended all the protests in my city since February the atmosphere was peaceful and family friendly there were people who started to be more violent but I never felt it was dangerous though after I saw some damage [to buildings] on the news “The problem is not raising the pension age per se The problem is that this reform does not make the difference between hard physical and dangerous jobs Of course those who collect waste want to retire sooner – it’s a hard job “There was no democratic process in the way it was done – we feel very looked down on The reason for this last protest is consequently more about Macron’s attitude and his way of [ignoring] other suggestions “The point of a representative democracy is to listen to other points of view existing in the country and compromise if possible [Instead] article 49.3 was used.” Noemie le Carrer given life expectancy is growing longer and birthrates are going down someone would have to pay for the pensions that are quite generous in France Had there been a conservative government in place the new law would have been considerably tougher “[There are] huge heaps of rubbish piled up at the entrance of my flat, [because of the strikes] along all streets and on any open space available No collection at all for more than two weeks “I am concerned that the government might recall the law proving that the country cannot be reformed and that the reputation of France overseas is declining.” Axel Werner Free weekly newsletterThe most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment Arnaud Yzambart says the legislation will create disparities between generations Photograph: Arnaud Yzambart“I was not able to attend Thursday’s protest because of work but I saw protesters passing by the restaurant – it was crowded and there was violence: teargas “They’re asking future generations to make all the effort Older people are not impacted; it creates disparity between generations My grandad has been retired since 58 on [a very generous] pension “Maybe the question should be asked about current pensions and redistribution Obviously we don’t want old people to be poor but those with very generous pensions could have it limited.” Arnaud Yzambart We never have demonstrations here normally but in recent weeks hundreds of people have taken part in them “Most of the news focuses on big cities and the violence that may occur but this does not reflect the nation Here it was a happy event; there was no violence at all “Most of rural France either voted for New Popular Ecological and Social Union (Nupes) or the far right There is very little support for Macron here.” Julie Jean-Baptiste joined a protest in Avignon Photograph: Jean-Baptiste“For me it’s not about the pension reform any more Macron’s use of article 49.3 for the 11th time in his reign to bypass parliament feels like we are in a monarchy “I was at the protest in Avignon [on Thursday] morning and it was peaceful more decisions at the local level and more referendums The concentration of power in Paris must end [Many] people feel democracy is very broken – that’s why there was low turnout at the last election 49.3 was the cherry on the cake – people feel powerless like they’re voting for nothing.” Jean-Baptiste “It seems inevitable – we have one of the lowest retirement ages in Europe. The population is getting older and there are fewer people to finance the system. It needs to change somewhere – no one is particularly happy with it, but that’s life. “I haven’t attended the protests; they are increasingly ill-spirited. I can see smoke from the protests from my balcony. Some colleagues are scared to go to work. My sister got caught in the protest yesterday – there were some casseurs, people going around to cause mayhem. It was quite frightening. “But for me the issue is the 49.3. It’s problematic that more things are being pushed through. “I am increasingly worried Marine Le Pen will be elected next time because of Macron’s failure to unite France as he set out to do. Every year [the far right] gets a bit more ammunition against mainstream politics.” Anna, 31, course administrator near Bordeaux This article was amended on 13 September 2023 to remove some personal information. Located on the trapezoid-shaped site of a former sulfur factory, the strong and mineral volume of the Montaigne Multimedia Library visually anchors the future Place du Contr’un, a soon-to-be major public space for the eco-district of Pielles in Frontignan, France. “A man holding a book moves towards the light; a library starts in the same way.” – Louis Khan Given the building’s Mediterranean location, orientation was the determining factor in the configuration of openings and exterior bays ... Large floor-to-ceiling openings provide ambient light for offices lining the Northern façade, whereas recessed glazed openings make-up the Southern façade of the building. The Eastern façade is a series of sliding glass bays, these elements protected by porticos and canvas shading elements. Finally, on the Western side, thin gill-like openings oriented to the North bathe the interior with orchestrated rays of light, while vertical trellis systems create cutouts in the floors and perpendicular running partitions line the outdoor terraces. The recessed openings create unique folds in the concrete façades of the building, with the wall thickness being sufficiently thick to incorporate multiple components: ventilation ducts and collectors used by a floor-slab heating system, shelving and storage, movable partitions, built-in seating. On the inside of the building, repurposed boards of pine line the majority of the walls, these elements making use of the crates that held exterior formwork used during erection of the structure. After being meticulously stowed, installation of the boards involved a simple cleaning procedure. Following this, application of a coat of dark brown paint finished the process before installation of the boards occurred. The multimedia library is notably the district’s first public building, and seeks to set an example for the region in environmentally conscious design and responsible energy consumption. Its many ecological features attest to these initiatives: -Airtight partitions (two tests were performed to ensure performance); -Turbofan double-flow ventilation system; -Geothermal wells installed some 100m underground. The application of these elements is significant given the client’s request to guarantee interior thermal comfort during summer months, without the reliance on mechanical air conditioning systems. This demand required a great deal of study given the region’s microclimate (premature harvests often occur in the region and the underground temperature rests on-average 1 to 2 degrees above the norm). A thermal probe located at the summit of the atrium opening automatically controls orientation and opening of these slats. The opening itself is a sort of “passive chandelier,” one capable of regulating the amount of natural light coming into the building’s interior. Finally, some fifteen air movers located throughout the building distribute fresh air evenly amongst floor levels, and help to ensure the natural cycle of ventilation continues to push used air towards the summit of the building (convection) and out through its glazed slats. The building has been recognized with the following environmental certifications: Label HQE (haute qualité environnementale, France) BBC EFFINERGIE (recognizing low energy consumption buildings, distributed by CERTIVEA) Label BDM Or (gold) (bâtiments durables méditerranéens, distributed by BDM) because I do believe our wine quality is a lot better across the board that it was 20 years ago,” says Cathy van Zyl MW A 200-year old bottle of sweet Muscat de Frontignan will come under the hammer at the Cape Fine & Rare Auction on May 22 when some of South Africa’s rarest and finest wines will be available to international buyers which was made by Groot Constantia on the Cape Peninsula was recorked in 2019 under the meticulous supervision of leading sommelier Jean-Vincent Ridon Joaquim Sá and celebrated South African wine critic was the successor in title to the well-established Nederburg Auction The latter had for years been the highlight of the country’s wine calendar but Fridjhon who had tasted at or written on every one of them “The decision was taken by the sponsorship manager at Distell to open the auction more broadly to the industry as a whole,” he said but there was some discomfort from certain producers that they were sharing their brand with the Nederburg brand More wines can now enter – it’s absolutely open to every producer in the industry As long as you are prepared to meet the terms and conditions It doesn’t matter what other routes to market you cultivate.” head sommelier and winemaker Joseph Dhafana and general manager of Singita Premier Wine Direct formed a team of expert South African tasters who sampled most entries blind and decided which should go forward into the auction a key essential was that the wines could not be commercially available the finesse or fineness of the wines and the fact they should not be commercially available,” Fridjon explained Some entries are undisputed – if you come from a serious property and the wine meets the criteria of known quality you can tick a box and say that’s a logical player a bunch of wines are included automatically Then you have the chunk in the middle – which are not about brand but what’s in the bottle.” Van Zyl believes that the wines on offer this year are even better than at the last auction in 2019 “The quality bar was set higher this time,” she told The Buyer “I hope a lot of overseas buyers appreciate that we’ve gone through this rigorous quality control It’s a vital process as some wines are quite old and we need to check on their provenance That tells producers how serious we are about putting good quality lots on auction There’s a need for wines that excite people with wines they really want to buy Good prices and good lots say the auction is well curated which builds confidence and feeds into the auction.” Old classics are on offer but also new estates that are worth looking at “We do still have old classics like Meerlust, Simonsig and Kanonkop, but this auction gives us the chance to showcase new classics. There are no 1970s but a Zonnebloem Cabernet from 1986 which has some great fruit on the mid-palate. We were a little hesitant about that but it’s a really well-judged wine, and reached a beautiful plateau. Even in the whites, there are some very interesting wines such as David & Nadia, Sadie and Vondeling which is an estate that people should look at The old vine selection cases quite often have some gems It’s been an honour to taste through as you see an unfolding history of the South African wine industry Some 1990s Pinotage have matured fantastically Van Zyl urges wine lovers out there not to ignore South Africa as a source of enjoyable but very high quality wines you do have to know what you’re buying,” van Zyl professed “Buying on this auction is a short-cut for someone who doesn’t really know SA that well but is wanting to learn It’s also a wonderful opportunity for people who know SA from 20 or 30 years ago to rediscover what the SA industry is showcasing and producing because I do believe our wine quality is a lot better across the board that it was 20 years ago overworking and not enough understanding of the role of small oak There was an under-ripe framework where virused vineyards couldn’t get the fruit properly ripe Now there’s a better understanding of how to get the best out of a vineyard Now producers have aspirations and are prepared to experiment and chase the holy grail of quality There’s been a slow trickle-up process with bigger producers making smaller batches and picking earlier They realise they need to create excitement with their brands.” as people have become much more familiar with Zoom over the course of the pandemic The Cape Fine & Rare will be held as both a virtual and a live event in the Rupert Museum in Stellenbosch “International guests are looking for really good South African examples of Cabernet “We want to encourage people to put away older vintages the 2009 Rustenberg Peter Barlow is still a stellar wine and I know it doesn’t matter what we pay for it now as it will be worth a lot more in 10 years time.” Collectors who wish to buy at the auction can register here: The Buyer TVClick below to watch The Buyer's library of online debates, videos and webinars. Vin de Constance is the legendary dessert wine quaffed by kings and poets But the man who makes today’s ‘Constantia Wyn’ is determined to look to the future When you’re responsible for the 21st-century incarnation of one of the world’s most famous wines the obvious temptation must be to leave well alone; to pay more attention to history than modernity and to place a higher value on tradition than innovation whose responsibilities include the fabled Vin de Constance dessert wine “I’m not going to talk about Charles Dickens or Jane Austen,” he says dropping the names of two of ‘Constantia Wyn’s’ most famous 19th- century fans the future is more important than the past.” It’s well over three decades now since the mid-1980s revival of Klein Constantia as a wine estate and the release of the first ‘new’ Vin de Constance in 1990 Day himself has been working on the property since 2008 following Klein Constantia’s acquisition a year earlier by Zdenĕk Bakala and Charles Harman “I was given one chance to prove myself,” Day recalls The change of ownership signalled an end to the slightly scattergun approach to Vin de Constance and the beginning of a more systematic reboot of the wine The early 2010s were all about the vineyard and a greater focus on sustainability and the planting of more Muscat de Frontignan bush vines “They bring out a lot of natural acidity because they ripen quite early in the season.” Acidity is vital to today’s Vin de Constance thanks to a philosophical shift that embraces delicacy and fragrance as much as lusciousness and ageability “It’s a unique sweet wine in that it doesn’t taste sweet Sugar is just a tool… Sweet wines have become quite boring We said we’re going to make a style that will go with any meal at any part of the day.” There are echoes here of Moët Hennessy’s new approach with Château d’Yquem Coinciding with the release of the famed Sauternes property’s 2019 vintage in early 2022 the company outlined an international by-the-glass programme designed to persuade people to enjoy Yquem young That was more of a marketing ploy than a change of winemaking style (although Yquem 2019 has a historically high 45% of Sauvignon Blanc in the blend) but the principle – that these are wines that can be enjoyed for their vibrancy when young – is the same when the winery was rebuilt (“The most difficult time of my life dealing with contractors,” says Day ruefully) thoroughly old-school 2014 alongside the textured midweight 2016 – the first to benefit from the new facility’s cold skins and upright tanks – and you can see the direction of travel It’s not that they lack intensity or texture more that they ooze aromatic life and punchy acidity alongside that honeyed richness and luscious sweetness it’s about fine-tuning the balance between primary secondary and tertiary flavours – taste 2014 today and the emphasis is on the tertiary while 2020 “has just left the primary stage” This evolution is partly the result of all that has been learned since the estate’s revival “The point we’re trying to get to is to respect the fruit,” he explains “In order to get the creaminess and delicacy we’ve found that you have to get to 165g/litre residual sugar Another winemaking tweak involves the use of a non-saccharomyces yeast prior to fermentation which inhibits the development of unwanted micro-organisms (and off flavours) non-alcoholic fermentation to improve complexity The construction of the new winery also led to changes in the maturation policy and the introduction of 4,500-litre foudres into the mix While Vin de Constance 2016 was entirely matured in these (when they were brand-new) from 2019 the wine spends 18 months in 500-litre barrels 60% of them new; then another 18 months in the foudres The aim is a lighter touch to allow the fruit to shine through It may be centuries since Vin de Constance was born but the modern custodians of one of the world’s most famous wines have in many ways had to relearn how to make it Part of that process involves an acknowledgement of what the Klein Constantia estate does well – Vin de Constance and Sauvignon Blanc – and what it’s not so well-suited to Cabernet Franc and Merlot vines were grubbed up several years ago “Klein Constantia is all about white wines Red wine is where Anwilka comes in – the property that lies 7km from the ocean in Stellenbosch’s Helderberg foothills and that was merged with Klein Constantia in 2012 bringing the expertise of Hubert de Boüard and Bruno Prats with it reserving the estate’s Malbec and Petit Verdot for second wine Petit Frère taking care over oxidation and including some whole bunch ferments in the early-picked Syrah to bring white pepper and red fruit If both Anwilka and Vin de Constance remain works in progress Day seems pretty content with what has been achieved so far with the latter while remaining mindful that there’s still more to be done “The goal at Klein Constantia with Vin de Constance is to become that great sweet wine of the world,” he says “I think we’re about 98% of the way there now To get that last 2% is going to be 100 times harder than what we’ve done in the past We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings During the confinement period, you can access PSG TV Premium for free and enjoy all this season's match videos. Learn more You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience Elohim Prandi and Léo Villain had to say after Paris Saint-Germain Handball's fine 29-43 victory at Ivry in their final warm-up match "I don't know if it was the best match of our pre-season because you have to take a lot of things into account even if the season doesn't start until Tuesday We won almost everything and everyone got some game time There are still a few things we need to get used to but I think the team will be ready for our Coupe de France match in Frontignan." "There are still a few things to fine-tune We played better than we did against Gummersbach we're always very serious and we set the pace but that's normal as we're nearing the end of our pre-season preparations I hope that in Frontignan we can step up our game even more so that we can follow it up with the Trophée des Champions." I think the whole team is happy with this final warm-up match The team has worked well and everyone is ready for the first game." Les matchs amicaux des Rouge et Bleu s'achèvent par une belle victoire face à l'@USIvryHB ! Ils vont maintenant pouvoir préparer leur match de Coupe de France contre Frontignan ! pic.twitter.com/qSCkHm63LE It started as a protest against rising fuel taxes but has morphed into an explosive anti-precarity atmosphere On 1 December, for the second weekend in a row, clashes and riots erupted in Paris with protesters ransacking shops and the Arc de Triomphe setting cars ablaze and tagging buildings in rich areas of the French capital Some violent casseurs (rioters and hooligans) threw rocks and bottles at the police drawing 100,000 protesters across the country ‘In a speech last week Emmanuel Macron admitted that the frustrations expressed in the riots were ‘profound feelings’ that ran deeper than the fuel tax.’ Photograph: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty ImagesThe gilets jaunes are organising rolling blockades in small towns and cities it has become almost normal to hear: “I was late because I was stopped by the yellow vests.” The French could grow tired of it even if they don’t always agree with their methods where many struggle to make ends meet and depend on their cars is a necessary measure to tackle climate change and the yellow vests do not deny this: among the demands of their newly appointed board they ask for a “citizen assembly to debate the ecological transition” What started out as a revolt against fuel prices is morphing into a full-blown rejection of Macron’s fiscal agenda Read moreResentment against the “president of the rich” and against the urban elite who can focus on climate change because they don’t rely on their car to live will only wind down if the yellow vests see an improvement in their economic power not something to be paid only by the French “squeezed middle” It’s the French equivalent to Brexit – a raging cry for help from the disenfranchised Pauline Bock is a French journalist based in Britain SolarinBlue has deployed the first units of an offshore PV pilot plant in the Mediterranean Sea From pv magazine France French startup SolarinBlue has launched the first two units of an offshore solar plant demonstrator near Sète-Frontignan the company's co-founder and operational director said the project is the first of its kind in France the pilot called Sun'Sète will include a total of 25 floating units for a power of 300 kW on an area of 5,000 m2,” he told pv magazine France It will be anchored 1.5 kilometers from the coast at the site of the former offshore hydrocarbon unloading station The floats were specially designed in-house to withstand high seas The modules are 12 meters long and wide and can accommodate 20 solar panels with a combined power of approximately 10 kW The panels are installed at a height of 3.5 meters Recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) floats and treated steel lattice frame ensure the buoyancy of the structure which can withstand 12-meter dips and 200 kmh winds “The units can be interconnected to create MW islands which themselves can be grouped together to form solar parks with a power of up to 1 GW,” said Aurélien Croq The researchers worked to minimize the environmental impact of the anchor “We have developed a system of helical anchors combined with a tensioned anchor in synthetic lines,” said Croq “This solution provides two benefits it occupies a very small surface area on the ground it works with a taut line that preserves the seabed because there is no dredging of the area with a chain the device is fully reversible as all you have to do is unscrew the screw when dismantling the structure.” The floating solar power plant will be connected to the port's grid via an undersea cable to be installed at the end of 2023 It will supply power to the infrastructure of the port of Sète-Frontignan SolarinBlue says it aims to position itself within three years as a world leader in floating offshore solar photovoltaics from technological development to the operation of floating PV projects “We are considering two areas of growth: the development of our own solution and the supply of the solution to EPC companies or developers for greater powers,” said Retailleau How did three weeks of protests over a gas tax culminate in the once-in-a-generation riot that engulfed central Paris on Saturday and the capital’s central business district a mess of smoke Even the French are feeling a little confused French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe announced that the diesel fuel tax that kicked off the Yellow Vest movement would be suspended—a sign of how seriously the escalating unrest has rattled the administration of President Emmanuel Macron Don’t expect the Yellow Vests to stand down now cost-of-living protest undertaken by a coalition of the white rural working-class and petite bourgeoisie has evolved into a Hydra-headed autumn of discontent and a base that encompasses a cross-section of French life from engineers to paramedics to Parisian high school students International coverage has focused on the movement’s opposition to a proposed fuel tax increase that was part of Macron’s plan to combat climate change Spurred by everybody’s favorite anti-governmental social network the gilet jaunes crisis is best understood as a revolt against all things Macron Elected a few months after Donald Trump took office and just before the U.K embarked on the geopolitical somersault down the stairs that is Brexit the fresh-faced young president was supposed to re-ignite French pride and prosperity after the dismal tenure of his socialist predecessor which was marred by terrorist attacks that plunged the nation into a long state of emergency Macron’s victory broke the French political system long dominated by the center left and center right and then lead it to a huge majority in the French National Assembly But Macron’s mandate was weaker than it looked: The legislative elections that En Marche dominated featured the lowest turnout in 50 years had the lowest turnout in 40 years—and many voters who didn’t like Macron voted for him only to stop the unthinkable ascendance of Le Pen he has managed to overcome street protests against his reforms but his popularity was down to 23 percent after the fracas in Paris this weekend but as a distant imperial figure working on behalf of the rich tens of thousands of demonstrators faced off against tear gas–happy police on the Champs-Elysées Yellow-vested protesters took over the Arc de Triomphe and set fire to hundreds of cars in the neighborhood The confrontations sent French politics and media into a frenzy what happened Saturday was as if marchers and cops had fought a pitched battle that combined widespread vandalism on Fifth Avenue with graffiti on the Washington Monument So in some ways Saturday’s events were well within the traditions of French democracy and you better believe the gilets jaunes saw it that way—and themselves in the tradition of 1968 “They say we’re attacking the symbols of the Republic,” one protester told Le Monde after slogans were scrawled on the Arc de Triomphe in black spray paint “But the Republic is the people in the streets and everyone can explain it,” the paper concluded accused the police of letting events spiral out of control to discredit the movement.) The Macron administration had an explanation too: that the well-meaning gilet jaunes had been joined by riotous elements looking to make trouble. What is certainly true is that the gilet jaunes were only one element of the unlikely weekend coalition that included (among many other groups) ambulance crews, activists protesting the death of Adama Traoré Unlike the capital’s frequent labor-organized marches Saturday’s events had few experienced marchers and little internal organization hatred of the urban elite—this movement has no Trump and they assign blame for their struggles up the economic ladder toward the country’s impoverished immigrant neighborhoods Even members of the Republicans—the right-wing party of the Catholic bourgeoisie—are narrowly in favor including regular referendums on big issues and proportional representation in legislative elections They also asked for an immediate annulation of the new diesel tax and a halt to new auto regulations was canceled after those members said they had been “threatened” by their peers in the movement They got the diesel tax suspended. But other Yellow Vests say they won’t stop short of Macron’s resignation. There’s a burgeoning sense among political leaders that Macron’s original sin was reducing taxes on France’s richest citizens by some $3 billion There’s a lot to complain about—and a feeling that now is a time to air your grievances Parisian high schoolers, for example, couldn’t care less about a tax on diesel fuel. But on Monday, at the Maurice-Ravel High School in Paris’ 20th arrondissement, police used tear gas to disperse a student protest. A 16-year-old named Nathan summed it up to a reporter from Le Parisien: “We want to profit from the chaos to make ourselves heard it’s the time for all the struggles to converge we haven’t understood anything and we’ll get nothing We know we have a way to put pressure on the government.” This week Klein Constantia celebrated three decades of Vin de Constance with the launch of its 2016 vintage – and a taste of its maiden 1986 First a disclaimer: it was the team at Klein Constantia who helped rekindle my interest in history a few years ago when they asked me to research the history of Constantia It turned out (and continues) to be so much more interesting than I’d expected… but most of it had been forgotten over the course of the 20th century After decades of KWV monopoly in an industry geared towards quantity rather than quality with economic sanctions imposed and no light at the end of the tunnel luscious and excellent wine of Constantia’ which had disappeared a century previously (years before the arrival of phylloxera by the way) was resurrected at all in the mid-1980s Having bought Klein Constantia in a fairly rundown and overgrown state in 1980 Duggie Jooste was ahead of the curve in terms of clearing alien bush and planting virus-free material Ernst le Roux of Nederburg (who soon put himself forward for the position of general manager at Klein Constantia) south-facing slopes high up on the Vlakkenberg Cabernet Franc and Shiraz on the warmer north-facing slopes lower down A sweet wine was not on the agenda (not even for Jooste whose family had produced one of SA’s best-loved ‘sherries Professor of Viticulture at the University of Stellenbosch Orffer suddenly said: ‘Do you realise that in the 18th and 19th centuries only one truly great wine was ever made in the Southern Hemisphere and this farm of yours was part of those vineyards.’ ‘Without Orffer, I don’t think Vin de Constance would have happened,’ says Lowell Jooste, Duggie’s son, now living in La Jolla, California, where he runs LJ Crafted Wines The Joostes realised they had ‘an awesome opportunity to develop Klein Constantia as a great estate as well as research by academics including AI Perold (1936) and Diko van Zyl (1974) they decided that the original (white) Constantia had been a natural sweet made from mostly Muscat de Frontignan Le Roux and farm manager Kobus Jordaan planted vines from a Muscat de Frontignan clone propagated at Ernita Nursery in Wellington (a clone Orffer believed had come from the original Constantia vineyards) Le Roux persuaded Ross Gower to return from New Zealand when his contract at Corbans Winery ended And after harvesting their first Muscat de Frontignan in 1986 Gower followed what he interpreted to be the old Constantia ‘recipe’ ‘We didn’t release it commercially because we didn’t make enough of it,’ says Jooste ‘Plus it was only experimental at that stage When the time came to choose a bottle that resembled the old hand-blown Constantia bottles that had been well known in Europe Ernest Zeh of Columbit arrived at Klein Constantia with an Italian glassmaker ‘He brought five or six different shapes with him and we chose our bottle immediately,’ says Jooste ‘It took less than five minutes and it’s been used ever since.’ The first people to taste the 1986 were a few special customers and members of the wine media who received it as a Christmas present in 1990 ‘The only people who really grasped the historic significance at that stage were Michael Fridjhon and Sue Brown In the three decades that have passed since then Vin de Constance has achieved icon status worldwide It’s only had two winemakers since Ross Gower left to start his own venture in 2003 – Adam Mason and Matthew Day – and since the Joostes sold Klein Constantia to Zdenĕk Bakala and Charles Harman in 2011 the team led by managing director Hans Astrom has only become more determined to see Vin de Constance live up to – and perhaps even surpass – its mythical reputation 2012 was the first vintage successfully grown in a more organic (some might say ‘old-fashioned’) way and the team seems to have become increasingly focused on details such as individual berry picking and judicious oaking (large-format foudres introduced from 2016 ‘We try not to talk too much about the history anymore because we feel the future is more important,’ says Day who is nonetheless taken aback when I share some excerpts from a journal that was kept by Lambertus Johannes Colijn of Hoop op Constantia in the early 1800s Colijn described everything from soil preparation (‘one basket of manure is used for four vines’) and pest control (‘placing rolled-up vine leaves in the vines to catch weevils’) through to barrel treatment (‘those with a musty smell must be kept full of clean water for eight days’) and fining (‘each cask with a basin of sheep or goat’s blood’) ‘In order to make good Constantia wine,’ he wrote ‘one should allow the grapes to ripen thoroughly before cutting They should be half-way towards becoming raisins and during the cutting all rotten and unripe berries have to be spotted he wrote: ‘Great care must be taken to listen daily and if fermenting continues [the wine] has to be placed in a cask which was treated the day before with a piece of sulphur six inches long and four fingers broad as otherwise the wine is bleached too much And after it has been lying still for eight days it is poured over into clean casks which are treated the day before Please read our Comments Policy here If you can help to spread the world it would be greatly appreciated Awesome… love me some Vin De Constance Did the family sell it after Ross passed away I expressed frustration that Constantia producers – so proud of their heritage – still neglect to tell the story of Johannes Colijn Johannes Colijn is the man who put Constantia wine on the international map in the 1720s I’ve written about him previously (see here) but to recap very briefly: he acquired.. historic Lanzerac in Stellenbosch’s fascinating Jonkershoek valley has been on my mind lately for good reasons (they’re running a fabulous Discover Lanzerac competition for which the prize.. Subscribers receive daily reviews and in-depth reports before release to the public SUBSCRIBE NOW Two intense wildfires in the south of France have burnt over 400 acres of land with hundreds of firefighters tackling the blazes.  thousands of holidaymakers were evacuated overnight after a third fire broke out in a field just 100 metres from a campsite near the Spanish border The first and largest of the wildfires started on Sunday (August 18) afternoon whilst the second one – which is still ongoing – started around 23:00.  which has been under increased forest fire warnings due to weather conditions it is unknown as yet what started the fire.  The first fire broke out in the Gigean commune and began rapidly spreading due to strong winds It broke out only a few dozen kilometres from Montpellier a town of 24,000 people on the Mediterranean coast.  with homes thought to be at risk from the blaze Around 600 firefighters were called to help tackle the blaze and after several hours of struggle they managed to get it under control.  Tactics included using water from swimming pools in the local area to tackle the blaze as the spread of the fire became unpredictable Around 340 acres of land in the commune and nearby forest were destroyed.  reducing the risk of a second blaze beginning – forest fires are more likely to rekindle in areas that have recently been subject to a wildfire The second fire broke out in Nissan-lez-Enserune The fire began to spread quickly because of strong winds in the area and more than 200 firefighters were deployed to the area.  They helped prevent the fire from spreading overnight Around 60 hectares of land have been destroyed which is not easily accessible,” the Hérault prefecture stated this morning.  Firefighting aviation craft have been sent to the area to help put out the blaze The prefecture has also asked people not to intervene and to refrain from stopping to take photographs if passing near the site.  A third fire led to 3,000 campers being evacuated from a site near Canet-en-Roussillon overnight.  very close to the popular summer tourist destination Mar Estang “The fire spread very quickly with a northerly wind blowing at 80 km/h in the direction of the Mar Estang campsite located 100 metres south of where the fire started,” said firefighters from the Pyrénées-Orientales department.  The campers were evacuated to shelters in neighbouring villages as over 100 firefighters tackled the blaze they are still in these temporary shelters and have not been able to return to the campsite Six people – four firefighters and two civilians – were injured during the fire One (a firefighter) was taken to Perpignan hospital.  Photos and videos of the fire can be seen on the social media post below:  The Connexion published an article about the low number of forest fires so far experienced in France this summer.  Read more: Why so few forest fires this summer in France despite heatwaves? it warned that the risk had not fully passed as conditions were still ripe for fires to break out You can keep up to date with national forest fire warnings via the forest fire risk map, published daily by Météo France here.  It provides a general warning over the likelihood of fires breaking out in each department.  The Hérault and Pyrénées-Orientales departments continue to face heightened warnings today (August 19).  departments where wildfire risks are high often publish daily updates on local conditions including closing off certain forests and reserves to members of the public.  11 massifs in the Hérault and Bouches-du-Rhône departments are closed due to heightened risk of forest fires You can read about how to access daily prefecture updates on forest closures in our article below.  Read more: South of France on high alert for fire, forests closed off skies in Brittany have been turned yellow by smoke today The effects have been particularly strong in coastal areas #ObservationsLe ciel est lumineux ce lundi mais voilé par des cirrus et par des fumées issues des incendies qui sévissent au Canada. Le phénomène est bien observable ici à Roscoff ce lundi matinwebcam : @skaping pic.twitter.com/S5DZbxuMao Recent power cut in Spain and Portugal is warning to holidaymakers to ensure they are prepared for worst-case scenario The resort is set to remain open to the public and not only to professionals Consumers got the chance to taste dozens of outstanding wines in Chicago, with upcoming … The owner of Stoller and Chehalem wineries was devoted to the future of Willamette Valley … Inside the first U.S. location of the French luxury retailer, guests can enjoy fine wine at … Phase one of the Viticulture and Winery Technology program’s new home, funded by a $10 … The Tuscan wine company has purchased a minority stake in Tenute delle Terre Nere; De … While the White House has paused tariffs on foreign wines at 10 percent for now, the trade … Now that Paris Saint-Germain Handball have completed their training camp in Japan the start of new-season competition is fast approaching Check out the dates of Les Rouge et Bleus' first matches for the 2023-24 campaign Raul Gonzalez's men will be back in the thick of things on 29 August they will face Nantes in the Trophée des Champions at the Glaz Arena in Cesson-Rennes TROPHÉE DES CHAMPIONS 🏟️La crème du handball débarque en Bretagne 🌩️PARIS - NANTES, le 2 septembre à la Glaz Arena de Cesson 👀Infos et réservations ➡ https://t.co/IlOd6F0qT5 pic.twitter.com/1JYpiEsBfv the capital club will put its French league title on the line once again as the Liqui Moly StarLigue kicks back into action at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin Copyright © 2018 CGTN. Beijing ICP prepared NO.16065310-3 The 600 firefighters managed to contain a blaze that ravaged 350 hectares in the southern Hérault department A campground was evacuated in the Pyrénées-Orientales department By Soren Seelow PASCAL GUYOT/AFP One of the biggest fires of the year was "contained but not extinguished" by firefighters overnight told Le Monde late Monday afternoon that it had stopped spreading after ravaging 350 hectares of pine forest It then moved toward the Gardiole mountains destroying an unoccupied dwelling along the way "The drought that has been ongoing since the start of summer is starting to take its toll," said Bonnafoux this fire spread on Sunday at a speed of four kilometers per hour Nearly 600 firefighters were deployed on Sunday and between "120 and 150 more will remain on duty overnight [Monday to Tuesday] and likely into Tuesday due to numerous hot spots that pose a risk of flare-ups," he said are flying over the area to identify these notorious hot spots You have 71.57% of this article left to read A question about the identity of a grape variety emerged from Joanne Gibson’s latest article on winemaking in the early Cape and I commented that the “Persian” vines referred to couldn’t be shiraz in my opinion It made me think that a quick sketch of the pre-20th century history of grape varieties in  the Cape might be a good idea – especially as many readers of this website seem to have a taste for learning about the past of the South African wine industry A sketch – a mere and even vague sketch – is what it has to be with regard to that period and not only because my research has not been deep Viticulture was not much of a science in those days; nor were winedrinkers much concerned about different grape varieties as such We must rely a good deal on the written records of commentators for what understanding we can glean In my comment on Joanne’s piece I quoted one of them reporting on grape varieties he noted at the turn of the 18th century at Vergelegen: “Frontignan and a Persian long white variety as well as varieties from Avignon as one of the earliest varieties in the Cape But we’re not helped by the other references and much the same goes for many other early accounts – many of which are more than a little bewildering when it comes to this matter The earliest varieties successfully grown here were muscadel steen (chenin blanc) and hanepoot (muscat d’Alexandrie – presumed to be the “Spanish grape” referred to by Van Riebeek) As described in J van Rensburg’s 1954 Stellenbosch University MA thesis about winegrowing in the first 100 years of the settlement there were attempts to diversify the varieties grown especially on the “model farms” of the two van der Stels Vergelegen and Constantia – hence Valentijn’s rather long (albeit vague) list the reported lists of varieties became much shorter suggesting that the earlier array of varieties constituted As viticulture spread during the 18th century – or consolidated as it could never spread far from the Cape Town market because of poor communications – the number of varieties clearly reduced Groendruif (as semillon was known) had early become important – probably even before Simon van der Stel’s time Marketed wines were not associated with specific varieties however (although the different kinds and colours of famous Constantia did imply careful associations here) fanciful and over-hopeful allusions were made to the famous wines of Europe: most local stuff was given such names as Mallaga It seems clear that the overwhelmingly greater part of Cape wine was from white varieties A government official in 1778 did some research and found that the it was mostly made from groendruif (semillon But it appears that farmers were already busy replacing pontac and steen with groendruif – a more productive grape The trend towards groendruif continued apace in the early 19th century with the large expansion in production that followed the British takeover of the Cape Colony from the Dutch According to what we must accept as reliable calculations and observations made in 1821 by this time groendruif commanded over 93% of plantings out of “really no more than eleven distinct species of vines” then hanepoot (though apparently little used for wine) Groendruif occurred by this time in both red- and white-skinned versions (both producing white wine) referring back to my earlier note about the dubiousness of most observers’ knowledge of grape varieties we can note that this author describes pontac as “the same as the cote rotie of the Rhone [ie syrah] presumably] … and the port grape of the Douro” – which covers rather too many bases to be convincing reported that greengrape was still the commonest variety that the “Stein Grape” was “not common but can be a high yielder” and that “‘of the dark grapes the Pontac is the most valuable” That really is the end of what we could consider the pre-history of modern Cape viticulture and the grape varieties it used phylloxera was discovered in a Mowbray vineyard and was soon devastating the Cape’s vines better informed understanding and advice was emerging from the government model farm at Groot Constantia in the last decades of the century important new varieties were being brought in and plantings were to change drastically as farmers slowly replaced their vines with new ones on rootstocks We hear for the first time of grapes like cabernet sauvignon Trouble aplenty lay ahead for the Cape wine industry but at least the vineyards were being more consciously planned vaalblaar – the synonyms for palomino in the Cape Semillon was known generally as groendruif or green grape and for a period was even known as “wyndruif” (wine grape) Even now many facts are emerging – just think of obvious bits of modern identification And talking of riesling – just think how many areas named a white grape after riesling because of its prestige and presumably many at some stage came to believe it was the real thing even for sophisticated winelovers in Europe there was probably great ignorance because why should they care what claret was made from So it’s not surprising that in the Cape no-one had any idea of the identity of the grapes they were growing Groendruif was only identified as semillion around 1900 by a clever viticulturist who happened to notice the similarity while travelling in Bordeaux Cinsaut was known as hermitage before Perold correctly identified it I read on Twitter this morning that the Itata region of Chile has around 26 unidentified varieties I think Peter Richards MW either originated the tweet or retweeted it with a link to an article So we basically didn’t know much about what was in the ground at the time I wonder if in other new world places (Australia Chile etc) they were equally clueless at the time I know Chile for many years thought they had merlot when it was carmenere And even in Europe – were they clued up enough to know what they had planted The French obviously had a lot of time to figure it out and to see what worked where but I wonder if there were as much trial and error He listed a blue (blaauwe) en red (roode) version With the publicity about the latest and almost certainly the very last Swartland Revolution reflecting comfortably enough that the past is a foreign country it’s a jolt to realise how damn foreign it was Do South Africans maybe forget that too easily the expensiveness of something (which can sometimes be different from whether it costs a lot of money or not) is relative and depends on perspective journalistes et grand public ont désigné les meilleurs joueurs de la saison 2022 – 2023 Abonnez-vous pour suivre toute l’actualité de la Ligue The 16th international competition of the world’s best Muscat wines was held across June 29 and 30 in the city of Frontignan-la-Peyrade (France) The results of the 16th edition of the competition have been announced The Top 10 ranking system honored eight countries: South Africa The sweet wines of Portugal and Australia occupied the first and second places “Setubal Do Moscatel Roxo – Adega de Pegões” was crowned the best Muscat You must be logged in to post a comment Malta’s fortified Moscato is a perfect match for chocolate-based sweets If you’re still sitting on the fence unsure whether or not to try sweet wines why not give in – there are far worse guilty pleasures in life The strongest of all sweet temptations are the liqueur wines which is the official umbrella term in the European Union for all fortified wines or wines with added alcoholic strength they are capable of bringing cheer in every face and a spring in every step I find the special type of liqueur wine which the French call so endearingly Vins Doux Naturels perhaps the most voluptuous-tasting in the world especially when made in a lively style from the Muscat variety rather than red wine grapes such as Grenache Noir for Banyuls and Maury dessert wines these ‘natural sweet wines’ have a long history rooted in the south of France Muscat-based delights include Muscat de Frontignan and Muscat de Rivesaltes from the Languedoc and Roussillon region and Muscat-de-Beaumes-de-Venise from the Rhône Valley The French do not own the sole right to produce this style They’d tell you that if not their Moscatel de Setúbal then surely their strong port sets the standard I think both nations can take pride that their fortified wines are made sweet in the same time-honoured mutage method of arresting the fermentation prematurely unlike wines that are made from grapes affected by botrytis Other wines produced in this style (some fresh and vibrant in character others aged and tasting nicely maderised) are in fact long-lived Madeira Malaga and other sweet fortified wines including some fine bottles from Australia but with the exception of sweetened sherry I’m particularly drawn to wines made in this manner from Muscat or Moscato because they seem to be fruit and wine at the same time The glorious grapey aroma is followed by full Of great class is Malta’s very own award-winning VDN made by Delicata labelled as Grand Vin de Hauteville Moscato This sought-after Malta-grown wine is produced from the Moscato variety or the Muscat of Alexandria grape – but only in the best vintage years The wine has deliberately not been barrel-aged to preserve the flavours evocative of fruity grape-iness Poured well-chilled at 6-8°C in a small cordial wine glass the 2013 vintage is bright and honey-coloured The nose of this white wine is redolent of cinnamon and blood-orange rind It tastes suavely viscous with delicate but impressive treacly sweetness and oodles of marmalade apricots refreshed by a limey lift of acidity in the finish It’s an amazing accompaniment to desserts and if you love strong sweet wines as much as me Delicata’s praised VDN comes in a treasurable yet affordable 50cl bottle Available in limited quantities only and with distribution reserved to duty-free shops it might be somewhat difficult to attain – and therefore maybe even more coveted please register for free or log in to your account.