It takes about three hours to get to Marseille on the Mediterranean coast from Paris. Bissau will take me more than twice that time, despite being only half the distance. The railway carriage was a veritable museum piece designed in the 1970s when Valerijiska Distin was president of France. There was no buffet car, just a carriage attendant who wheeled a trolley down the aisles.
In a special episode, our Paris bureau chief witnesses the political divides that become apparent as she switches from France’s famed high-speed railways to forgotten lines. Our culture editor considers the improbably prophetic nature of the film “Titanic”. And, as the last 747 rolls off the line, our correspondent reflects on how the jet reshaped the airline industry.
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