A SUMMER IN CORSICA | M6 | Zone Interdite

During a summer in Corsica we accompanied professionals in the tourism, hotel, catering and mountain-guide sectors, who strive to make a success of their season and their customers’ vacations. Mady, Paul, Roselyne have four months to make their annual turnover, so, during this summer period, days are packed and nights are short. Aged 68, Mady, the manager of the Roches Rouges hotel, has her eyes everywhere, takes care of everything, trusts no-one but herself. Mady manages the hotel, but also the restaurant, the laundry, the dishwashing, the grandchildren… Does she really intend to keep up this pace all summer? Paul Canarelli manages the famous Murtoli estate: some twenty sheepfolds, totally renovated, all in an impressive setting: luxury and refinement, deep in the Corsican scrub. To celebrate the estate’s 25^thanniversary, the boss is organizing a special evening on the beach: a fairy-tale setting, French singing stars such as  Christophe Maé, Patrick  Fiori and many others. As the event approaches everything seems under control. But an unforeseen last-minute hitch threatens to spoil the party. On the GR20 trail, it’s also high season for the guides. Every summer, they accompany thousands of hikers seeking sublime landscapes and intense experiences. Louise and Juliette are students in Lille. And this summer they set themselves a challenge: rather than work up a tan on the beach, they decided to discover inland Corsica on foot: the maquis, the sheep and polyphonic music. Along the GR20 trail they are accompanied by Brice, a mountain guide who’s hiked the GR20 more than 60 times. He knows the Corsican mountains and their secrets very well. And there are also elected representatives fighting on all fronts to bring life back to their mountain villages. A few miles from the shore as the crow flies, a woman is fighting and using the summer to give her village fresh life. Roselyne Balesi is the mayor of Quenza, population 200. This summer the lady mayor has the schedule of a cabinet minister. She had the idea of reviving the transhumance¾the migration of flocks to summer pastures¾one of the basic identifying features of the island. This summer, on the “Isle of Beauty”, confronted with the record numbers of recent years, the pressure weighs heavy on the tourist profession. According to nasty gossip, Corsica would be a vacation paradise… without the Corsicans. Mady, Paul, Roselyne and the others have 3 months to give the lie to this bad reputation!