What have we learnt? Well, we do have
a lot in common in spite of the distance between us. Both towns
were in the past heavily reliant on an industry which has gone
into decline. Millau was the centre of the leather industry in
the South of France and concentrated on the manufacture of gloves.
The influx of cheap leather goods
from the East, saw the downfall of the industry, but such is the
quality of the work, that a few leather workers still remain making
high quality goods for the great French fashion houses like Dior,
Chanel and Balmain. Both towns have diversified and tourism now
plays a major part in the life of Millau and its people. Hotels,
gites and campsites and opportunities for walking and extreme
sports like white water rafting, paragliding, free climbing, mountain
biking, hang-gliding, bungee and many other less active pastimes
attract those who are in the know from all over Europe.
Both towns are surrounded by beautiful
scenery and countryside, with Millau nestling in the confluence
of three rivers, the Tarn, Dourbie and the Jonte and surrounded
by the most spectacular, awe inspiring Gorges and Causses (like
the moors).
Both towns are looking forward
to a rosy future in terms of development, Millau blends brilliantly
the modern and the ancient and with the motorway now extending
down towards Millau this makes the trip towards Spain that much
easier. This too has caused great controversy as you may have
read in the press, because of the nature of the area, a huge bridge
has to be built to take the motorway past Millau and which will
span the distance between two Causses at a height greater than
that of the Eiffel Tower. The work has started on this and although
invisible from Millau itself, it will provide a tourist attraction
in itself by the sheer magnitude of the construction.
