Linking the Atlantic and Mediterranean sea, the canal des Deux-Mers, is made out of the canal du midi and the canal of the Garonne. In 1997 -1 year after the canal du Midi 's UNESCO nomination as World Heritage Site , Sylvie Robin,, with three of her Toulouse friends created the association Canal à la Une. The information office is located in Moissac next to the Saint-Pierre abbey and another information branch opened two years ago, in Castets-en-Dorthe, on the Atlantic mouth .

    Through the years the association organises exhibitions in historic towns and places - some times on boats like the gabare Val de Garonne or the barge Zambézi -, exhibitions on the canal des Deux-Mers, as well as some lectures and conferences or marionettes shows for school-children and tourists. Several painters, like Yves Donval or Bernadette Miquel, one of the last lock keeper, today deceased, contribute with their art, to the exhibitions . Quality documents , lectures and conferences held by passionate people or historians - with the lovely name of the memory tellers" -, where the association collects the accounts on the Canal from the elders and bargees. National institutions are giving them their support and trust like the Navigable Waterways of France, a public industrial and trade company entrusted by the state to the upkeep of the canal. In three years time the association is now holding valuable informations, pictures and records on the Canal des Deux-Mers.The Internet site visited monthly by thousand of visitors is a great way to develop the touristic potential of the Canal des Deux-Mers and find partners, like Michel Dusseau the youngest Chef of France Cuisine.

    Pierre-Paul Riquet de Bonrepos, the creator of the canal du Midi, used to say : "One has to complete his work or die doing it.". He died and failed to see the completion of his prestigious work. He can rest in peace : with this association that hired more staff this year, the World Heritage is well protected !

article from Chasse-Marée n°144
july 2001