Good story, well written.
The other situation to watch out for when flying to France is that airfields such as Deauville can become unlicensed at short notice. When this happens you can still land and take-off but you must be able to speak and understand Approach and Circuit-French. So it's always best to phone first to find out. I phoned Deauville and luckily found out that they weren't licensed on that particular Sunday until 1400, so was prepared. Unlike at least 3 UK pilots who turned back/diverted after they couldn't understand what was going on! Quel Dommage!
