Small French Town Hosts Mini Cannes Film Festival

The 75th Cannes Film Festival - Screening of the film "Frere et soeur" (Brother and Sister) in competition - Red Carpet Arrivals - Cannes, France, May 20, 2022. Rossy de Palma, President of the Camera d'Or Jury, poses. (Reuters)
The 75th Cannes Film Festival - Screening of the film "Frere et soeur" (Brother and Sister) in competition - Red Carpet Arrivals - Cannes, France, May 20, 2022. Rossy de Palma, President of the Camera d'Or Jury, poses. (Reuters)
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Small French Town Hosts Mini Cannes Film Festival

The 75th Cannes Film Festival - Screening of the film "Frere et soeur" (Brother and Sister) in competition - Red Carpet Arrivals - Cannes, France, May 20, 2022. Rossy de Palma, President of the Camera d'Or Jury, poses. (Reuters)
The 75th Cannes Film Festival - Screening of the film "Frere et soeur" (Brother and Sister) in competition - Red Carpet Arrivals - Cannes, France, May 20, 2022. Rossy de Palma, President of the Camera d'Or Jury, poses. (Reuters)

As the Cannes Film Festival kicked off on the Mediterranean, the French town of Castelmaurou celebrated the 9th edition of its own film festival, a smaller version of the original Cannes. The event was held at a small cinema theater, whose owners seek to bring people some happiness by making them feel like they are attending the world’s biggest cinema event with all the cameras, lights, and media.

Castelmaurou is located near the city of Toulouse, southern France. Its residences believe that is if they can’t go to the red carpet, the red carpet should come to them. For this purpose, the civil association running the Méliès theater laid a red carpet at the hall’s entrance and invited local photographers to take photos of the guests.

The event was attended by 200 people, men wore rented tuxedos, and women wore evening dresses accessorized with real or fake jewels. They walked slowly, stood in front of the cameras, and waved like A-list stars.

Inside, a big screen displayed the opening ceremony of the 75th edition of the real Cannes Festival, and the spectators applauded for the real stars like if they were actually in Cannes. Later that evening, they all gathered outdoor to enjoy the warm summer weather that arrived early this year.

The mini-Cannes concept was carried out by 50 volunteers of cinema fans, who started working early on the event’s day. They hanged banners, decorated the cinema’s entrance with palms and flowers, and dusted off the screen’s curtain to give the spectators a delightful illusion. They also laid a red carpet to create an ambiance of fame and luxury, as many believe: “I walk on the red carpet, that means I exist.”



Smoke From Canadian Fires Reaches Europe, Says EU Climate Monitor

 This photo provided by the Manitoba government shows wildfires in Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Manitoba government via AP)
This photo provided by the Manitoba government shows wildfires in Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Manitoba government via AP)
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Smoke From Canadian Fires Reaches Europe, Says EU Climate Monitor

 This photo provided by the Manitoba government shows wildfires in Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Manitoba government via AP)
This photo provided by the Manitoba government shows wildfires in Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Manitoba government via AP)

Heavy smoke from intense wildfires in Canada has reached northwestern Europe, the European Union's climate monitoring service said on Tuesday.

The huge plumes are at very high altitude and do not pose an immediate health risk, it said in a statement.

"Smoke originating from the wildfires in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan has been transported across the Atlantic," the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) said.

Satellites tracked the smoke in mid-May, with some plumes reaching as far east as Greece and the eastern Mediterranean.

"A second, much larger, smoke plume crossed the Atlantic during the last week of May, reaching northwestern parts of Europe on June 1," CAMS said.

Additional plumes are expected to shade the continent in the coming days.

Wildfire smoke is comprised of gaseous pollutants such as carbon monoxide, along with water vapor and particle pollution, which can be particularly hazardous to health.

A high concentration of carbon monoxide is expected to pass over northwestern France, including the Paris Basin, on Tuesday.

The high-altitude smoke headed for Europe is not expected to have a significant impact on surface air quality, but is likely to result in hazy skies and reddish-orange sunsets.

Manitoba in central Canada is experiencing its worst start to the fire season in years due to drought, and Saskatchewan to the west declared a state of emergency at the end of May, evacuating thousands of residents.

"Central regions of Canada have experienced a very intense few weeks in terms of wildfire emissions," said Mark Parrington, scientific director at CAMS.

Canadian authorities have forecast a more intense fire season than usual this summer in central and western Canada, due in particular to severe or extreme drought.

Elsewhere, extensive forest fires have been raging in Russia's Far Eastern Federal District since early April, particularly east of Lake Baikal, generating carbon emissions of around 35 million tons, Copernicus reported.