LGV Méditerranée

The LGV Méditerranée is a French high speed railway line for TGV trains of approximately 250 kilometres (160 mi) length, which entered service in June 2001. Running between Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence and Marseille and north of Nimes, it connects the regions of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and Languedoc-Roussillon to the LGV Rhône-Alpes, and from there to Lyon and the north of France. Construction costs rose to €3.8 billion. The commencement of service on this line has led to a reversal of the respective airplane and train markets: by making Marseille reachable in three hours from Paris (a distance of over 750 kilometres (470 mi)), the train now handles two thirds of all journeys on that route.

Route

The LGV Méditerranée begins in the southeast at Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence, as the extension of the LGV Rhône-Alpes. The new Gare de Valence TGV lies at the interchange with the regular Valence-Grenoble line, allowing rapid connections towards Valence, Romans-sur-Isère and Grenoble. At Crest, an emergency link is provided to the Briançon-Loriol line. The LGV then approaches the Rhône, rejoining the A7 autoroute at Montélimar. After crossing the Canal de Donzère-Mondragon, the line connects to the regular network by an emergency link situated between Pierrelatte and Lapalud.

Méditerranée

Méditerranée was a department of the First French Empire in present-day Italy. It was named after the Mediterranean Sea. It was formed in 1808, when the Kingdom of Etruria (formerly the Grand Duchy of Tuscany) was annexed directly to France. Its capital was Livorno.

The department was disbanded after the defeat of Napoleon in 1814. At the Congress of Vienna, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany was restored to its previous Habsburg-Lorraine prince, Ferdinand III. Its territory is now divided between the Italian provinces of Livorno, Pisa, Florence and Siena.

Subdivisions

The department was subdivided into the following arrondissements and cantons (situation in 1812):

Méditerranée (1963 film)

Méditerranée is a 1963 French experimental film directed by Jean-Daniel Pollet with assistance from Volker Schlöndorff. It was written by Philippe Sollers and produced by Barbet Schroeder, with music by Antione Duhamel. The 45 minute film is cited as one of Pollet's most influential films, which according to Jonathan Rosenbaum directly influenced Jean-Luc Goddard's Contempt, released later the same year. Footage for the film was shot around the Mediterranean, including at a Greek temple, a Sicilian garden, the sea, and also features a fisherman, a bullfighter, and a girl on an operating table.

References