Touristic June in France

On the five issues (ten stamps and one minisheet) previewed for June, five can be considered as touristic. Historic tourism for the one about the Jean-Moulin Memorial (and one hundred and ten years of his birth).

Among them, four are printed in intaglio. We can compare how each engraver treat photographed landscapes and composed the illustrations.

Issued during the Congress of the French Philatelic Associations' Federation (FFAP), 12-14 June, "Tarbes" by Elsa Catelin appear to me as an accumulation of multiple elements, while all this is a whole view of the Massey Museum.

The "castle of la Bâtie d'Urfé » by Marie-Noëlle Goffin, issued on 8 June, is classical in its composition: the main building and an artwork the visitor can discover there.

Pierre Albuisson created a panoramic of the Bourse Plazza, in Bordeaux. Issue for 22 June in the commercially beneficial context of the town's club winning the French soccer league. The water mirror is a local attraction of great length (compared to the Place du Nombre-d'Or Poseidon fountain in Montpellier).One out-of-place element helps to create a night landscape whereas the sky location remains white: the statue which is on top the Girondins monument, evking the political victims of the Terror (1793-1794). A great piece of art, this stamp is.

André Lavergn's stamp on the Jean-Moulin Memorial in Caluire, inside the house where the trap closed itself, can be seen as the World War 2 Memorial stamp of the year, emphasizing the role of the French Resistance and the one who became its "face" in the memory, Jean Moulin.


Celebrating their sixty-fifth borthday one year before? Christo and Jeanne-Claude, monumental wrappers of things, give some fantasy to the artistic series, generally reproducing graphic works. Value at 1.35 euro is a change to the 0.56 described before. An ancient plane of 0.56 euro will certainly charm the aerophilatelists for the centenary of the Gordon-Bennett Cup, the flying one, after the vrooooming one some years ago... a time when the three euro souvenirs were born in France.


Finally, often badly judged, sometimes a chance to attract a younger public (including a first day of issue at the Jardin d'acclimation...), but alway at three different denominations: the Nature series.

This year, the two nationwide 0.56 euro stamps depicted endangered species (panda and rhinoceros) and the international ones two species forever disappeared: the auroch for the European Union rate and the condor of California for the worldwide one. Known for animalian paintings, Christophe Drochon succeed to put many different climatic places and vegetations on one scene for the minisheet. Perhaps the isolated stamps will gain if the perforating machine was more working with the artist before "hole-ing" the minisheet.


The event of the month that will be blogged starting mid-June and commented during next Autumn in the philatelic press, is the FFAP Congress during which Our Majesty La Poste will concede a Chart to the organised philately... Will the text be pertinent? [answer depending on yourself's opinion] If yes, will it be respected by the monarchy?

My republican constitution (that certainly can be acclimatate to British rule) makes me judge alone of my French stamp acquisition: Mrs. Goffin's and Misters Albuisson's and Lavergne's stamps will be on my mail, like the disappeared species because, being so realistic, the Nature series is alway appreciated by foreign people on Postcrossing.