COVER N.195 - FRANCE

Postmark: 58 Clamency 05.012023

Posted on the 5th December; Received on the 10th January 2023
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The first covers of 2023, came in bunch form. no less than 4 in a single day, one of them coming from France, already bearing testimony to the impact of inflation on the cost of public services in the way of a couple of Marianne stamps completing what is now the official postage price for a letter weighing up to 20g in the international service, an increase of 10% on the previous 1,65 tariff.... hard days for stamp lovers are unfolding everywhere...

That said,  its always great to receive a letter with beautiful stamps on it, and this in-taglio printed stamp accompanied by two lovely rather current day Mariannes, do make for a very nice cover. Thank you so much Jean-Pierre.

Stamps have long been a way for countries to publicize their natural or man made wonders. There's probably no postal administration that at some point hasn't issued a stamp or a series of stamps dedicated to places, geographic features, cities, and so on.

So again, looking at a stamp can also be a bit of a passport to somewhere. In the case at hand, the city of Mende in the Lozère Department, Occitania, in the South of France.

Located on the edge of the Parc National des Cévennes, the main features for which Mende is worth visiting are all illustrated in the 1,65 € (20g international) lovely stamp issued on 24OCT2022, featuring images of the Pont Notre-Dame, dating from the 13th century and classified as National Monument since 1899; the Cathédrale Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Privat, which began to be built in 1368 and which, on its day, had the biggest bell of all Christianity, according to the release notes on La Poste site; and le Musée du Gévaudan, which opened in October 2022, and which is in itself composed of   historic buildings in the heart of the city now  harbouring musicological nuclei dedicated to  the history of the city and its natural and built heritage.

To complete the required postage, two Marianne stamps (0,10 and 0,05 €) of the 20JUL2018 issue were used.

The Postmark tells us that the letter was mailed from the city of Clamency, Nièvre Department, in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.