Tour de France prequel

Here they come.

The crowds started gathering at 8 a.m. The cyclists wouldn’t arrive until two minutes before 2 p.m.

After lots of equipment trucks and such, the excitement mounted. The gendarmes! They got lots of applause. Followed by the sponsor parade.

A bank.

Juice. Bio means organic.

More juice

Candy.

Disney.

Skoda (cars. Part of Volkswagen).

Bread (actually a supplier of wheat and other stuff to bakeries)

Tourism for Béarn, home of béarnaise sauce. It’s in the Pyrénées–see the mountains, right?

Bic pens (lighter behind). French company. To the point that “bic” is slang for pen.

Most logical mascot: a gecko for Bostik glue.

Fresh fish from the supermarket (Carrefour is #2 worldwide after Wal-Mart).

Cochonou sausages! Love those old Citroëns.

Cornetto ice cream.

Electric company. Brilliant, isn’t it? High-tension wires.

Those are drumsticks. Riding on a giant chicken.

More candy.

Budget hotel chain. They threw out inflatable pillows.

Tires. Clébard (sounds a bit like Kleber) is slang for dog.

Opticians.

National fishing association.

How about riding in a giant madeleine?

 

Seeds

McCain makes potato chips and frozen french fries.

Coffee

Syrup for drinks.

They handed out bottles of water.

Yes, she’s dousing the crowd.

Our swag is on the right. The left is what the guy next to me picked up. Newspapers, shopping bags, coasters, magnets, pens, madeleines….

The main event coming soon.