Category Archives: Environment

Arles air quality raises health concerns

Text by Sofia Langlois
Photo by Malcolm Taylor

Air pollution kills more people each year in France than any substance besides alcohol and tobacco, according to Damien Piga, director of external relations and innovation at Atmo Sud Marseille.

“When it comes to alcohol and tobacco, we choose to drink and smoke,” said Piga. “When we drink, we kill ourselves, but we don’t kill others. Air quality, on the other hand, is collectively suffered.” 

Atmo Sud is an air quality observatory that monitors pollution and recommends ways of reducing exposure. It is based in the South Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region of France, which includes the city of Arles, where narrow, densely populated streets can concentrate pollutants. 

Piga has worked at Atmo Sud for a decade and specializes in mapping pollution data. The non-profit organization’s website provides reliable data in real time, both about air currently being inhaled and air that is inhaled over time. 

Such data helps government authorities to enforce guidelines. For example, on June 19, Arles enacted Level 1 alert procedures as a preemptive measure for an increase of fine particulate matter in the air the following day. It involved health and behavioral recommendations across multiple polluting sectors.

Fossil fuels are a primary source of these fine particles. The region burns the most fossil fuels for transportation and heating, followed by manufacturing and agriculture. On days with poor air quality, the government requires drivers to reduce their speed by about 12 miles per hour (or 20 kilometers per hour).

The Air to Go application was recently developed by Atmo Sud in collaboration with the various observatories and Lyon/Lille counterparts. The Geolocated website and mobile app inform its users of the current air quality and provide recommendations on how to adapt behavior based on readings. Upon inputting your destinations for the day, Air to Go will advise which time and route is ideal to avoid the highest levels of pollution. It will be available throughout all of France in the near future.

“In Arles, for example, the proximity of the main roads is where I’m going to have the most pollution,” said Piga, in referencing the function of Air to Go. “I’m going to avoid going there… If I have to enroll my children in school, I’m going to look at where the schools are in relation to these maps so that I can have information and not put them in schools where there are playgrounds close to sources of pollution.”

The Atmo Index representation of daily pollution levels operates using an integer system (1-10) with the colors green, orange and red to indicate severity. It is mandatory to establish a comprehensible air quality index in urban areas exceeding 100,000 inhabitants. The WHO sets non-compulsory health recommendations. For each time its air quality recommendation is exceeded, the Index increases by one. 

Furthermore, the European Union established legal regulations to prevent countries from exceeding certain quantities of the various pollutants. It serves as a middle ground between health considerations and socio-economic normalities by adhering to respiratory concerns with an understanding that some polluting industries are important to civilization. 

Corporations that increase pollution levels in France are charged a tax based on the amount of emissions produced. Those funds are then allocated towards environmental operations. For instance, Aix-Marseille Metro pays up to 400,000 euros per year.

“If a company ultimately shows that it does nothing for the climate, does nothing for air quality, does nothing for biodiversity, we know that it has very little future,” said Piga. “Because more and more consumers are paying attention to this. On the one hand, there’s going to be pressure from regulations, but there will also be pressure from consumers and citizens.”

The concentration of pollution is measured in micrograms per cubic meter of air (often written as µg/m3). For reference, human hair is typically 50-70 micrograms. Particulate matter is a formulation of smoke, soot, salts, acids, metals or dust. It has the potential to induce tissue damage or lung inflammation when deposited on the surface of larger airways in the upper region of a lung. The two symptoms impact the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. 

Air pollution by fine particles is of primary concern because particulate matter with a mass of 10 micrograms or less is small enough to enter the lungs by passing through the nose or throat, according to the California Air Resources Board. Examples include construction-site or landfill dust, wind-blown particles from open lands and pollen. 

Those at the highest risk for developing health conditions as a result of short or long-term exposure include adults who are 65 years or older, people with chronic heart or lung disease, pregnant women, asthmatics and children. Humans breathe 15,000 liters of air per day. Children inhale more air per pound of body weight than adults. According to Piga, poor air quality is a cause of death for children worldwide equal to malnutrition.

“Exposure to pollution levels commonly observed in urban or peri-urban environments appears to induce cancer and result in excess mortality and a decrease in life expectancy from several months to several years,” according to the Encyclopedia of the Environment. A study conducted in 2016 by Santé Publique found that 48,000 deaths per year could be attributed to particulate matter 2.5.

Poor air quality can cause symptoms such as shortness of breath, watery eyes, itchy nose, throat irritation, reduced lung function, worsening of asthma or other respiratory diseases, increased need for hospitalization or emergency department assistance, faster disease progression and even decreased life expectancy. 

Dr. Christian Pic is a pediatric neurologist in Arles who earned a degree in sports medicine. He has experience working with athletes and additionally trains as one. Pic advises others to avoid running in hot, dry and polluted air.  

“It affects performance, yes,” said Pic. “I notice it in myself, in others. Illnesses are more of a long-term effect. We should conduct long-term studies on runners who are only in the mountains versus those in valleys and cities. We should conduct 30-year studies.”

There could be a widespread lack of awareness about more severe health implications from pollution exposure due to how long those effects take to present themselves, according to Pic. Short-term exposure often causes minor irritation. Over the course of a lifetime, particles such as those emitted from diesel engines can cause disorders of varying severity even in small doses, from respiratory/ocular discomfort to leukemias; alterations in the nervous, hormonal or immune systems; and genetic heritage. 

“I think it’s not immediately noticeable, actually,” said Pic. “There are pulmonary effects, then cerebral effects, but over the long term. There are studies that have been done with people living in polluted environments. In the United States, for example, there are studies with maps comparing people living in the middle of large agricultural plains with pesticides and neurodevelopmental disorders. The two maps intersect.”

Typical health recommendations include avoiding physical and sporting activities as well as high-traffic areas, favoring short outings and airing homes out for 10 minutes each day.  

Concerning those who work outdoors daily and cannot necessarily avoid highly polluted times and areas, there are other measures they can take to protect themselves. 

“This is very important for people working on construction sites: an employer must provide them with protective equipment,” said Piga. “In dusty environments, they must have respiratory protection, in particular masks. So it’s a question of respecting the obligation for professionals to use safety equipment properly.” 

Steven Castrillon is a mason in building construction and home renovation. He works eight to nine hours a day, five days each week. Castrillon emphasized that working in this field without protective equipment poses the risk of a respiratory infection or, in some cases, lung cancer. He specified that heat engines – machinery that burns fossil fuels – are a particular problem.

“Frankly, I haven’t had any respiratory problems yet,” said Castrillon. “I learned to avoid the long-term consequences of respiratory pollution by wearing masks and avoiding heat engines. If possible, use electric machines.”

Piga shared that Atmo Sud developed scholastic programs aimed at the younger generations. The modules are open source for teachers and professors to instruct specified lessons on air quality. Its purpose is to raise children’s awareness of the issue.

“The most effective way, as always, if we want to change behavior, is to work with children,” said Piga. “Because with children, they have life ahead of them; they have the world in front of them.”

Faithful flock to bird conservation

Text by McCade Hayes
Photos by Autumn DeGrazia

In the heat of July in a rural region of Arles, France, a team of A Rocha bird conservationists tread past pastures of bulls raised for the arena and through fields of sunflowers. The footing is rough, especially encumbered by a ladder and backpacks full of equipment.

The conservationists walk toward one of their small nest boxes in order to ring a group of adolescent European rollers as part of their ongoing study. A Rocha is an international Christian organization working on nature preservation and environmental education. Within Arles, A Rocha is working on a project focused on the study of the European roller, a stocky blue and brown bird that has experienced decreasing populations throughout the region.

Timothée Schwartz climbs into a tree to retrieve motion sensor cameras. These cameras are used in order to track tags of the birds who migrate to the nesting boxes designed by A Rocha researchers.

A Rocha is actively working in more than 20 countries around the world, preserving the environment with the motivation of Christian ideals and the hard work of conservationists who come from all different cultures. The prevalence of Christian ideals changes the mindset of conservation workers with A Rocha.

“Joining our faith with our work is a privilege,” said Timothée Schwartz, the scientific director of A Rocha France. “It’s super motivating that we can do what we love to do and with a higher purpose.”

That motivation gives volunteers a shift in thought about the goal of their work in the first place. 

“I feel like working for A Rocha is more of a mission, so we don’t expect big salaries,” Schwartz said. “We get the satisfaction of doing the work.” 

(Left to right) Emily Walker, Gábor Vágner, and Timothée Schwartz review footage from the motion sensor camera previously mounted on a bird box. After three days, there were 45,000 photos to go through from a single camera.

A Rocha has two locations in France. The main office is located in the Domaine des Courmettes, located between Grasse and Vence. This site in the southeast corner of France focuses on education and awareness of climate issues, while also managing the preservation of 600 hectares of land. The Domaine des Courmettes’ doors are open to tourists and curious minds wanting to learn more about ecology in the south of France. 

The second location, Mas Mireille, is located 20 minutes from the city center of Arles. This location is dedicated to scientific research mostly on the European roller, but also extending to butterflies, dragonflies, spiders and reptiles. This research center covers 2,000 hectares of land, with bird boxes used to track habitats. Mas Mireille’s projects are funded through public donations, government grants and university funding.

Timothée Schwartz measures a roller’s leg, from thigh to foot, to track the growth of the bird, which is registered into the A Rocha database.

Schwartz focuses primarily on the European roller at the Mas Mireille center. The rollers are classified as sit-and-wait-hunters. The parents hunt by sitting atop tall perches such as trees or telephone poles, looking for insects or small lizards to swoop down on before returning to their nests to feed their babies. After hatching, the roller takes on average 30 days to fledge, and then leaves the nest. 

Izabela Kujawiak, in front, and Gaëtan Ganivet input data from the new museum tags put on European Rollers into the A Rocha servers.

The research Schwartz leads largely consists of ringing the species and analyzing the data from monitoring migration patterns with their tags. Ringing is a process for researching bird migration patterns or population numbers where a small ring is placed around the leg of the bird with a specific number so that the bird can be later identified by spotters.

(Left to right) Gábor Vágner, Emily Walker, Sarah Marc, Timothée Schwartz and other volunteers pray before eating lunch together. Each day a different volunteer of A Rocha makes a meal from their home country to share with the others.

Volunteers are able to identify the roller using the rings in combination with motion-sensor cameras. By identifying the roller, A Rocha is able to track whether or not the birds are returning to their native nests. 

Emily Walker, left, and Timothée Schwartz review images from the motion sensor cameras from bird boxes. They recognized an unfamiliar tag and traced it back to a research center in Spain. It is rare to find European rollers migrate to other nests than their native territories.

For volunteers, working with A Rocha can be a great way to get field experience as a conservationist while also learning about the actual scientific process of conservation.

Emily Walker looks through binoculars to view rollers flying around the trees where bird boxes are located.

“Ringing the birds, being a part of that process, is a lot of fun,” said Emily Walker, a volunteer for A Rocha Mas Mireille. “Having the opportunity to be a part of such a unique research project like this is very cool. There’s a very small number of people in this world who have actually been able to hold a roller. It’s a big privilege.”

The rollers are now currently threatened. The species has declining population numbers, with a 20% population decrease across Europe. The largest threats facing rollers in the modern day are shrinking habitat areas and poaching. Poachers often steal fledglings from their nest boxes and sell them on the black market as pets.

Louis Sanz, left, and Emily Walker, right, take note of the rollers’ sizes to use later for their research project.

A Rocha researchers gather data and upload it to scientific databases, making it accessible to other researchers working with the roller. This can help scientists compare research and identify birds that have migrated to different regions of Europe to nest. Schwartz is currently working on a book on the species based on research done with A Rocha. The publication of this research helps motivate conservationist volunteers. 

“I’m grateful to have the opportunity to participate in the analysis, the writing up, and helping with being published,” said Walker, who graduated with a master’s in biology from the University of Manchester. 

A roller is put into a bag so it can be brought back to the bird box after being ringed with museum tags. Approximately five birds get ringed from each bird box at a time.

A Rocha is unusual in the research world because it combines Christianity and environmental conservationism. Though the volunteers are not all Christian, many find hope within their faith.

Walker said that the environmental sector “can be a pretty pessimistic place. There’s not a lot of hope if you look at the data and the stats.” However, by combining her conservation work with her Christian faith, she feels a sense of purpose.

“I’m not going to save the world,” Walker said. “I don’t need to save the world, but it’s still important what I do and I’m not doing it for myself. I’m doing it to glorify God and to look after his creation.”

Timothée Schwartz climbs down from a bird box after ringing birds and returning them to their nests.

Curiosities of the Camargue

Story and photos by Sophia Maxim

My host father, Jacques Reygner, who has welcomed me in his home for the month, offered to take me to the Camargue. I didn’t know what to expect, but I gladly agreed. The car trip revealed a serenely unusual setting. Native white horses pranced up to us, seeking affection, while towering sea salt mounds and rose-hued salt pans appeared throughout the terrain.

Camargue horses gallop across the field to greet us. The breed is often used to herd livestock, including bulls.
A small farmhouse sits off the side of the road.
A tender horse connects with us over the barbed wire.
My host father, Jacques Reygner, strokes a Camargue horse’s mane. He approached the horses with familiarity and confidence.
A horse shakes fleas from its mane.
Mounds of sea salt are stored on the bank of the Rhone River in the Salin-de-Giraud village.
Pink salt lakes surround the area of Salin-de-Giraud. The pink hue is caused by an algae called Dunaliella salina.
A vacant dump truck used for sea salt extraction sits beside the salt mounds in Salin-de-Giraud, a major salt-producing commune.
My host father drives us past the salt mounds and heads back to town.

Trash to treasure, the Rhône swallows it all

Photos and text by Thomas Murphy

As I walked along the Rhône during my first week in Arles, I noticed an old couch beneath the south end of the Pont de Trinquetaille. Beside it sat the remains of a Heineken 12-pack. I had clearly stumbled upon a local drinking spot, so I took out my camera and made a photo of the uniquely placed furniture. 

As I moved on from the couch, continuing down the side of the river, a man looked at me as he passed by. I thought nothing of this fellow pedestrian until I heard a loud splash from behind me. I turned to see the man walking away from the bridge and the couch floating in the Rhône.

With such an odd scene set before me, I jumped into action and began snapping pictures. Running up and down the many stairs leading to the water, I followed this cushioned raft until it began to slip beneath the surface of the Rhône.

As it sank, I began to think about what other random things could be sitting at the bottom of the massive river. I imagined layers of objects from throughout history making up the seabed, with modern-day garbage resting atop ancient relics. Turns out I wasn’t far off from reality.

The Arles-Rhône 3 is on display in the Musee departemental Arles antique.

When the Arles-Rhône 3 sank around 50 to 60 A.D., the transport ship was resigned to the depths of the Rhône River that cuts through the ancient city. It saw the light of day once again after a team from the Musée départemental Arles antique resurfaced the vessel as a part of a project to dredge up the countless relics lost to the river.

The ship is now on display in the center of a section showcasing the river’s treasures. It is surrounded by and filled with the amphoras, cut limestone and metal bricks that it once carried up and down the Rhône amongst other relics from the time.

The Roman Empire, under the rule of Julius Caesar, inducted Arles into the empire in 46 AD. This turned the city into a prominent sea-river port and spurred the expansion of the city,  which grew to include the arena, forum and amphitheater we see in the center of Arles today.

The Arles-Rhône 3, and other ships like it, were integral to the flow of trade in and out of Arles. The markings on much of the discovered lost cargo allowed archaeologists to form an idea of the trade networks that connected Arles to the Mediterranean, which reached Carrara in the North of Italy and the Iberian Peninsula.

Stonework from the Roman era is on display in the Musée départemental Arles antique.

Amazed by such wonderfully preserved pieces of humanity’s history, I began my walk back into town. As I strolled alongside the Rhône yet again, I was reminded of how the boys from the Arlesian family I’m living with and I had biked from a picnic party the night before, going through a thicket to find a small, eroding section of riverbank along the Rhône. 

There, we found a fire extinguisher floating within reach of the massive stick we had just pulled from a bush. We found that the extinguisher had expired in 2004. The fire extinguisher now sits on the floor of the shower in my host brothers’ bathroom. They intend to clean it and mount it on their wall.

A fire extinguisher is one of the newer relics salvaged from the Rhône River.

As I go over these memories in my mind, I am reminded of the peril that our world is in. Today, humanity continues leaving its mark on the Earth, creating a legacy that will show exactly how we lived our lives. Unfortunately, the legacy of our current era will not be of ancient wonder, but one of filth and reckless waste. Plastic and trash fills our rivers and seas, polluting them and choking life from the natural world. A couch sinks below the water’s surface. A fire extinguisher floats by. The rising waters eat away at the riverbank.

The world is experiencing change at an unprecedented rate because we are affecting it at a level never seen before in our history, but why is that? Recklessness. Humanity has acted upon this impulse for centuries, to burn whatever we have to in the interest of constant growth. A random passerby throwing a couch into a river embodies humanity’s comfort in a world where excessive waste is the norm and its destructive force is not fully recognized.

Climate change reaches the Camargue

Story and photos by Anaïs-Ophelia Lino

When tourists think of the Camargue and its sprawling tall grasses, shining blue seawater and picturesque white horses, few would imagine it could disappear in a couple decades. But climate scientists say its grass is becoming too salty for pasture and its beaches are receding, and in 50 years its central city, Arles, will be under water.

“What shocks me most is that when I arrived in 1991, there were big, large beaches,” said researcher Nicole Yavercovski. “Today, they’ve disappeared.”

The Camargue is seeing radical changes due to climate change, according to researchers such as Yavercovski at the Tour du Valat, which has been studying the Camargue’s flora and fauna for nearly 70 years.

For decades, the region has attracted tourists for its flamingos, bulls, white horses and Mediterranean beaches. In the last 30 years, climate change has had severe impacts on all of them.

“In the very long term, it’s true that all of the Camargue will be under water,” said Jocelyn Champagnon, ornithologist for the Tour du Valat.  “I think nobody wants to address this question because it’s difficult to accept it.”

Wildlife has already been affected. Birds don’t need to travel as far south anymore to find warmer weather. Some birds from Switzerland that would have migrated to the Camargue stay near Paris. 

In the heart of the Camargue lies the Vaccarès Pond. It’s crucial for water birds but has lost the eelgrass that feeds most of them.

Meanwhile, the Camargue’s agriculture is being affected by low precipitation and a rapidly heating planet. According to Champagnon, sea levels will rise dramatically in the next 20 years. That means that there will be less beef and rice production.

In fact, that is already happening. Rising temperatures, low precipitation and human interference such as irrigation and increased water vapor is causing salt to rise quickly to the top of the surface and into the soil. 

“Agriculture is very sensitive to the salt,” Champagnon said. “You have a strong impact on the production of agriculture. So, this is already an impact of climate change.”

The shrinking beaches of the Camargue still attract many tourists.

While salt is one of the region’s most valuable exports, this is causing less production of rice and making some grass inedible for grazing animals, like the Camarguais bulls and horses. Rice farmers have to push past the salt and plant deeper, and bulls that graze in the Camargue are eating less, according to Yavercovski.

“I think there will be a big change in Arles’ socio-economic way of life,” Yavercovski said. 

The city of Arles in the south of France is the country’s biggest commune by land area, almost seven times as big as Paris’ zone. Its economy depends mostly on tourism and the production of salt, rice and beef in the surrounding countryside. “Everyone will be affected by climate change,” Yavercovski said. 

Yavercovski said farmers blame ecologists for wanting to regulate the use of the land.

Olive and hay farmer Benoit Cauvin responds that the tensions stem from the perception that ecologists have more pull with the government and greater access to land. 

Situated in the Crau, just on the border of the Camargue, Cauvin’s farm produces expensive Crau hay that can only grow in that region. 

Cauvin has experienced bizarre weather. A hotter winter helps his olives grow but hurts the hay.

“Climate change doesn’t worry me as much, but winter is less cold now,” Cauvin said. “Climate change means having to adapt.”

Slowly, ecologists are gathering interested parties, including farmers, duck hunters and managers of protected areas, to summarize new discoveries and collaborate on solutions. 

“We are working with the farmers in order to find solutions for them to not disturb [ecology] too much and  to understand [it],” said Champagnon. “But this is really just the beginning.”

Cultivating bulls –and tourists – in the Camargue

Story and photos by Alexie Zollinger

At the Manade des Baumelles in the Camargue region of the South of France, the sound of cowbells clanking breaks up the numbing noise from the cicadas, and distant exclamations can be heard coming from two employees. The hollers are tracked to two men, the older one giving instructions to the younger, who is hard at work, with irritated mosquito bites covering his legs from long days in the marshy wetlands of the region. 

The men step between slim planks of wood about a foot wide, laid across a corral holding three large Camargue bulls, idolized in the region due to their importance in traditional bullfighting and bull games. The men take turns carrying large double braided ropes through the slats, leaning their bodies back in order to apply the weight needed to lead the hefty animals beneath. They explain they are trying to attach a label to the ears of the bulls as a way to recognize bulls of their herd before the main event; they will run the bulls through the region on horseback, a well known and popular tradition in the Camargue.

A 16-year-old intern at the Manade des Baumelles helps wrangle bulls beneath him in order to place tracking labels on them.

Since the 16th century, the Camargue has been at the roots of established traditions in the region. With 360 square miles of sprawling farm land, its primary economic function, up until about 50 years ago, was as pasture for white Camargue horses, and breeding grounds and caring for bulls for the purpose of bullfighting and bull games. Now, the jobs of the Camargue’s inhabitants have changed– in addition to herding bulls, they are also herding tourists. 

The Camargue is Western Europe’s largest river delta. In it lie 150 manades or ranches, dedicated to the raising and care of Camargue bulls and horses. The Camargue has often been called the “wild west of France,” with the manadiers its ranchers and the gardians its cowboys. 

When the Camargue traditions started, these modern-day heroes were no more than agricultural laborers, and many of the inhabitants of the Camargue lived in poverty. It wasn’t until the late 19th century that nobleman Marquis de Baroncelli, infatuated with the Camargue’s beautiful scenery and inspired by the gardians‘ dedication to the land, swore to elevate these men, and promote them as protectors of the land. This status remains intact today – but many aspects of these traditions have changed. 

Throughout history, and up until about 50 years ago, gardians lived in the Camargue in traditional cabanes de gardian, small whitewashed homes made from materials often found in the Camargue – walls made from mud and stone, roofs made from reeds and sewn together with iron-weaved thread, and topped with limestone at the point. The homes are very small, with only one room and an open air fireplace for warmth and a small living space. Now, these homes are almost all renovated or built new, and listed as vacation rentals and Airbnbs, for upwards of $200/night in peak tourism season. 

The biggest building on any manade would have housed the manadier and his family in the 19th century, and would be made of stone. Now, they primarily serve as reception areas or small hotels for tourists, who visit the Camargue to see the legendary black bulls and white horses, and learn about the origins of bull games and bull fighting. 

Due to this popularity, the job descriptions have changed for the gardians and manadiers. They often give informational tours of the manade to tourists, and manadiers also become hotel managers, balancing tourist bookings with the traditional practice of raising and caring for the vital heart of the manade–the actual livestock.

Ronarn Faure,the sole gardian of the manade, says caring for the animals of the Camargue and protecting the traditions are his passion.

The Manade des Baumelles is a renovated manade complete with a hotel and two restaurants on the property. The manade offers horseback riding, tractor tours and other Camargue excursions. 

The relationship is intertwined now, and everyone who is involved in the traditions of the Camargue has been forced to adapt to these changes over time. They have found that one cannot exist without the other. Emile Astruc, an employee in the manade, said, “Without tourism there is not enough money coming in to have the Camargue or the gardians or the hotel; everything does go to the Camargue.”

Astruc believes all of the employees in the manades of the Camargue, whether they have an agricultural job or a job in hospitality, work in the manade because they are passionate about the traditions. She herself drives over an hour and a half from her home near Marseille every day at 6 a.m. to be in this position. 

Faure is the sole employed gardian of the Manade des Baumelles, and has been working in the Camargue professionally for six years. As a child he devoted much of his time to volunteering, as the traditions of the land are his passion.

Similarly to Astruc, Faure says that his career is a labor of love. “We don’t think about [it as a] job. I know that I work and that makes it my job, but it’s a passion because it’s never the same, because you see a lot of different things and because it’s pleasant.”

He says he is grateful for the increase in tourism, because it is thanks to tourists that he can keep his traditions alive, even if they have changed. Through tourism, Faure can continue to educate the public on the history and traditions of the Camargue. In modern times, in the face of so much opposition to bull activities, Faure believes tourism helps spread the defense of the practices. 

“It’s scary,” Faure said. “It is true that today there are people who are fighting to have all that abolished. And it’s true that likewise, if that were to be the case, we wouldn’t work anymore and there wouldn’t be any point in raising bulls.It is important to preserve working with a wild animal in the wild and to make a difference, and to perpetuate the traditions around the horse and the bull.”

Faure said his hope is for “traditions [to] continue… and to manage to make people understand that this must continue, that [bull] breeding is made to make this show and that we should not fight against [it.]

Roles have adapted to incorporate tourists, but it is through tourist dollars that the traditions are intact, and it is through educating tourists that the traditions can continue to be celebrated, said Faure. 

“It’s not just a story of money,” said Faure. “No, tourism is also important to share our culture.” 

Taking Flight

Story, video and photos by Louis Denson

Last Tuesday in Arles, I was walking back to my host home when I  heard a smack and a splat. Looking over my shoulder, I saw a small black sparrow spread-eagle on the ground looking around like it was waiting for me to tell it what just happened. 

After watching the bird make a few failed attempts at flight, I thought to myself, “I’ve  never touched a wild bird before.” It seemed its shock at hitting a wall had turned into helplessness as it just lay  there with its wings spread wide. Stroking the wings and body with the back of my middle  finger, I could see that this bird was in no immediate presence of death. “Maybe a broken foot?” I thought as it gave another effort of flight that jumped me back into the street. Natalia Puglia, a  language teacher and interpreter for Arles à la carte, stopped on her bike and told me that  sparrows can’t fly from the ground and need wind or velocity from height to take flight; so this  bird was not broken, it was just stuck in a rut. 

Before I could think of anything to do, a woman approached the three of us and had a  quick exchange of words with Natalia in French that went along the lines of “What happened?”  “This sparrow ran into the wall and can’t take flight on its own.” Without hesitation, this woman  scooped up the sparrow in her hands and gently examined its body. Not only was I surprised that  the sparrow made no attempt to prevent this from happening, but I was also slightly jealous that I  missed the opportunity to hold and help the bird. After only a few seconds and the lifting of her  hands, the sparrow took flight in the direction it had been going when it crashed and landed on a  windowsill. We exchanged glances, assumed the bird was safe and said, “Bonne nuit,” and went  our separate ways. 

How quickly, confidently, and casually all parties–other than myself–handled this  situation really shed light on the different air in the streets of Arles. I’ve seen and been a part of  conversations that consisted of strangers asking about each other’s children and wellbeing,  and leashless dogs looking over their shoulders to check in with their owners as they walk down busy  streets in the middle of the day. Arlesians show a calmer attitude than I see in people back home toward flies and mosquitos. Their sensitivity to nature almost brings to mind stories I’ve heard of Native Americans who could pick up a scent in the wind as they ran without sound or shoe  through woods and forests. There is an energy that is quick acting but also calm and collected, that is so natural and harmonious with its surroundings that I can’t think of another way to say it  other than that Arlesians are tapped into something special.

This is a personal reflection and does not necessarily express the opinion of The Arles Project or program sponsors ieiMedia or Arles à la carte.