Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The region also keeps attracting high-profile events: Marseille, Aix and Arles are
European Capital of Culture in 2013; Nice will host the Jeux de la Francophonie in
September 2013 (the equivalent of the Commonwealth Games) and the Riviera belle may
also put another bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics (it lost to Annecy for the French
nomination for the 2018 games, which was eventually won by Pyeongchang in South
Korea).
The Price of Fame
All is not rosé wine and never-ending sunshine however. Like most of the developed
world, Provence-Côte d'Azur faces the challenge of catering to its ageing population. As
well as postwar baby boomers reaching their twilight years, the Riviera has traditionally
attracted pensioners in search of a retirement in the sun. The over-60s are already as nu-
merous as the under-19s, and forecasts estimate that their number will grow 57% by 2040,
against just 1% for the under-60s. Beyond the issue of pensions, this also means adapting
transport, services, housing and health care, all at great public expense.
Which leads to the area's other main challenge: purchasing power. Although Provence
and the Côte d'Azur are often portrayed as playgrounds to the wealthy, the reality is rather
different. Ordinary Provençaux earn slightly less than the national average, and they have
to contend with some of the most expensive real estate in the country, especially in the
coastal départements (the most populated) where wealthy outsiders (French and foreign
alike) love to own holiday homes.
To the Right in Politics
Over the last 30 years or so, Provence and the Côte d'Azur have been a right-wing strong-
hold. It was here that the extreme-right Front National got its first victories in the 1990s;
voters also strongly supported Jean-Marie Le Pen and then his daughter Marine Le Pen in
the presidential elections of 2002 and 2012, respectively. In fact, it was in the département
of Vaucluse that Le Pen got her best results in 2012: 27% of votes.
The political right didn't fare as well as they hoped they would in the June 2012 legis-
lative elections, but two of the three far-right MPs were elected in Provence in Carpentras
and Orange.
TOP APPS
» Escapado , to plan hikes, cycle routes or scenic drives
» Gallery PACA , to trail the region's famous painters
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