Mayenne 53 Magazine

22/07/2024

Important update.

22/06/2024

Don't forget to check out all the local events , including Fête de la Musique events, on our What's On page: https://mayenne53.com/whats-on/
If you are organising an event, just click on the link and fill in the form, we'll add it to our events list!

20/06/2024

Craon town centre is closed to traffic in some places due to flooding. The river Oudon has burst it's banks and is expected to rise further this afternoon. There is also a red warning for flooding around Laval.

20/06/2024

The "What's On" page on the website has just been updated with the latest cinema listings and Fête de la Musique events for the coming week! www.mayenne53.com/whats-on

19/06/2024

Big fire underway at Celloplast, 70 firefighters on the scene.

17/06/2024

Gorron's Fête de la Musique features concerts, a musical quiz and workshops in and around the town centre on Saturday 22nd June. Local bars and restaurants will be joining in the festival and plenty of food will be on offer!

16/06/2024

Take a look at our new and improved "What's On" page, including events in and around the Mayenne. If you're organising an event in July, just fill in the form and we'll include it in next month's diary!
https://mayenne53.com/whats-on-in-the-mayenne-and-beyond/ We'll also add it to our monthly newsletter sent to over 800 subscribers!!

13/06/2024

It's time to think about making Elderflower cordial again! Here's our tried and trusted recipe!!!

12/06/2024

The June Newsletter is available here: https://www.mayenne53.com/newsletters
If you want to receive the monthy newsletter direct to your inbox, just head over to the home page and subscribe!

10/06/2024

It's been an emotional day, remembering allied soldiers who died here in the Mayenne, and meeting the amazing Gene Kleindl (and his lovely granddaughter Jessica) who served with the 90th infantry division and is about to celebrate his 102nd birthday. 2 little words don't seem anywhere near enough but they are all I have.... Thank you ❤️❤️

Ce fut une journée émouvante, en souvenir des soldats alliés morts ici en Mayenne et en rencontrant l'incroyable Gene Kleindl (et sa charmante petite-fille Jessica) qui a servi dans la 90e division d'infanterie et est sur le point de fêter son 102e anniversaire. 1 petit mot ne semble pas assez proches mais c'est tout ce que j'ai.... Merci ❤️❤️

Ville de Mayenne Mayenne-WW2 Association

29/05/2024

There's a yellow weather warning for the North-East of the department tomorrow afternoon for storms and rainfall. For the rest of the department, a golden orb may be visible in the sky from lunchtime onwards!

28/05/2024

Don't forget that there will be some traffic limitations in various parts of the department today (Wednesday ) as the Olympic flame passes through. Find out more details of what is happening in the May newsletter: https://mayenne53.com/newsletters/

Online and printed magazine in English, all about the Mayenne department in NW France. News, Events..

18/05/2024

Whitsun Bank Holiday / Jour Férié on Monday 20th May

Many supermarkets will be closed or have limited opening hours on Monday as it is a "Jour Férié" in France. Check out the main supermarket opening hours in our handy, shareable graphic!

Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Mary, mother of Jesus and the Apostles of Jesus while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks, as described in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:1–31). The Catholic Church believes the Holy Spirit descended upon Mary, the mother of Jesus, at the same time, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:14)

18/05/2024

2 brave Halifax crews lost their lives on the 10th June 1944 just south of Laval and are buried in Laval cemetery. Below is an extract from a letter home just before their final mission, written by one of the pilots (Willem Van Stockum) to his mother.

A letter home - 7th June 1944, from Willem Van Stockum:

Officially we did not know it would start on June 5th, but the instructions we got, the mysterious doings, our route and what we could expect while in flight, made us fairly sure that this was The Day. We did our job in difficult circumstances, although there was not a very big opposition. ... I am free tonight and am glad of it, for the strain is great and we had not a moment's rest in the past days. Our kind of job needs hours of preparation, the operation itself takes 6 hours and after that debriefings, etc. Then a meal, to bed, sleep, and again preparations. Of course, we did not know beforehand it would be rather easy, and the nervous strain makes your breathing faster.
Soon it will be worse, when the Germans get more information. But I would not want to miss this time for anything, and I am very thankful that I resisted the temptation to go to the other station, where Bierens de Haanals is, for then I would be now between two squadrons and perhaps have missed all this.
My crew is perfect, calm, matter of fact, and one cannot find any signs of being nervous. I sometimes have the feeling I am the only one who is.... but perhaps they think the same thing of me. I have the feeling there is an enormous energy in everybody. The whole station comes out to see us off when we take off, with their thumbs up and this is a pleasant feeling."

From a letter in Dutch to his mother Olga Boissevain van Stockum by her son Willem; translated by Olga's niece Engelien de Booy. (C) 1944, 2000 by the Estate of Hilda van Stockum. Permission to include here courtesy of the Estate by John Tepper Marlin, Executor.

To read more about the events that led to their final resting place, download the Spring 2024 edition of the Mayenne53 Magazine: https://mayenne53.com/spring2024/
A small informal ceremony will be held to commemorate their sacrifice on 10th June 2024 at Laval cemetery, the 80th anniversary of their deaths.
You can donate to the flower fund here: https://bit.ly/alliedgraves or email [email protected] to donate flowers from your garden or to take part in the commemoration event.

16/05/2024

The mayor of Gorron, Jean-Marc Allain, was sentenced today to 1 year suspended sentence for favouritism and "illegal taking of interest" concerning several decisions taken during his Mayorship. Prosecutors had asked that he should not be able to hold a public office for 5 years but this was rejected. Therefore he will continue in his post until the end of his elected term (March/June 2026).

Le tribunal judiciaire de Laval a rendu sa décision ce jeudi 16 mai dans l'affaire de prise illégale d'intérêts visant le maire de Gorron, Jean-Marc Allain. L'élu du Nord-Mayenne est condamné à 12 mois de prison avec sursis. La justice n'a pas retenu la peine d'inéligibilité requise par le ...

07/05/2024

Don't forget! Tomorrow and Thursday are Bank Holidays/Jours Fériés and many shops will be shut or have reduced opening times.

Schools will usually be closed on Friday, giving everyone an extra long weekend.

The forecast looks great so enjoy the sunshine and check out some of the Vide Greniers (Car boot sales) in the Mayenne this week:
8th May La Haie-Traversaine
8th May Lassay les Châteaux
9th May Laubrières
9th May Port Brillet
11th May Changé
12th May Changé
12th May Fougerolles du Plessis

07/05/2024

The May Newsletter is out now!
https://mayenne53.com/newsletters/

If you have subscribed but not received an email with the link, please check your spam folders before contacting us.

Wishing you all a happy and sunny May!
☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️

30/04/2024

Don't forget! Tomorrow is a Bank Holiday/Jour Férié so most shops will be closed.

26/04/2024

English language films on this weekend 26th April - 30th April 2024
For more info and to watch the trailers, visit the website: https://mayenne53.com/directory/cinemas/

09/04/2024

The April newsletter is available to download now: https://mayenne53.com/newsletters/

09/04/2024

English Language Films on in the Mayenne THIS WEEK! More info & trailers on the website: https://mayenne53.com/directory/cinemas/

06/04/2024

You can pick up a copy of the Spring 2024 edition of the Mayenne 53 Magazine at the following businesses:
Gorron - Une tasse de Bonheur, Bubba's Pizzeria, Gary's Automotive services, Gorron Immobilier.
Lassay les Châteaux - Intermarché
Couptrain - Le Famous Knight
Pré-en-Pail - SuperU, Hank's Auto Repairs
Mayenne - HyperU
You can also read it online here: www.mayenne53.com/archive
More stockists coming soon.....

27/03/2024

The fight against Asian hornets is already underway in the Mayenne this spring. These insects attack bees in hives, as well as being a risk to humans due to their powerful sting. The aim is to target the females, the founding queens, with traps.
The queen comes out of hibernation and builds her primary nest in 6 to 8 days, she lays eggs inside and when the first nest is full of eggs, the worker bees emerge and go on to build a second nest.

For advice on how to trap frelons, contact: [email protected] or look at this document (in French) which illustrates various types of traps:https://www.abeilles72.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Piegeage-printemps-2024_02_20.pdf

27/03/2024

Claude Leblanc, former mayor of Mayenne, died on Tuesday 19 March 2024. He was mayor of the town from 1971 to 2008. In his honour, the flags in front of the Town Hall have been lowered to half-mast and a register of condolences is open at Mayenne Town Hall during opening hours.

27/03/2024

English Language films on in the Mayenne this week. For full cinema details and to watch the trailers, head over to our Cinema page: https://mayenne53.com/directory/cinemas/

26/03/2024

Supermarket opening times for Easter Monday........

26/03/2024

The temporary garden in the centre of Mayenne will be installed from Tuesday 2 to Friday 19 April 2024 in Place Clemenceau. It will be open to the public until Monday 21 October. Parking and traffic will be disrupted during the installation period.
During the installation period, pedestrians and non-motorised vehicles will not be able to use the Place du Jet d'Eau.

During the works, traffic and parking will also be banned from a large part of the square, in phases, without disrupting access to Place Clemenceau from Place des Halles.

25/03/2024

On Saturday 23 March, 300 people gathered in Château-Gontier-sur-Mayenne to protest against the planned extension of the Lafarge Granulats quarry.
The extension will affect 50 hectares, located to the north of the current site, in an area that includes 17 ha of woodland and 33 ha of farmland.
The 2 Communauté de Communes of Château-Gontier and Craon and the Fédération de l’Environnement 53 are against the project and have launched legal objections but the Prefecture have approved it.
For now Lafarge and the State representative had asked the court to annul the deliberations of the local urban development plan, which did not include the company's project but their case was dismissed.

25/03/2024

The Normandy-Maine Park and Geopark have carried out a study on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scenarios in partnership with the University of Caen Normandy. Through the different scenarios, they have predicted the probable trajectories of climate change in our area:
Evolution indicators for the year 2070 (from the pessimistic scenario RCP 8.5 - Horizon 2070 compared to the reference period 1976 - 2005)

+ 2.15°C average annual temperature
+ 20 days of summer per year - maximum temperature above 25°C
+1.5 days of extreme heat per year - Maximum temperature above 35°C
+ 4 tropical nights per year - Nights where the average temperature does not fall below 20°C
+ 23 days of heat waves per year - Number of days where the daily maximum temperature is higher than +5 degrees compared to the daily maximum temperature of the period reference for more than 5 consecutive days

25/03/2024

As part of a national day of action, there will be a protest outside the prefecture in Laval (Mayenne) on Tuesday 26 March 2024 at 10.30am.