Original subtitles

NARRATOR: This is France,

as it’s never been seen before.

From above, we’ll reveal Europe’s cultural powerhouse

where cutting edge cities meet ancient tradition

in a vast landscape of contrasts and surprises.

In this series, we’ll take an aerial tour across Europe,

filmed over the course of a single year

and through the changing seasons.

We will uncover the culture, history and engineering

that built the great European nations we see today.

France is the heart of Western Europe.

It’s bordered by the cold Atlantic Ocean to the north

and the warm Mediterranean Sea to the south.

France is a vast country full of color, romance and drama.

And it’s a land of contrasts from world-class cities

that define future fashions

to rural customs that survive unchanged for centuries.

Every year begins with the days getting longer,

the temperature rising

and the whole country undergoing a dramatic transformation.

In the south-east, snow-covered peaks melt away

to reveal endless evergreen forests.

And romantics across the world head to Paris for the spring.

Paris lies in the north of France on the banks of the Seine.

It’s the cultural, economic and political powerhouse

of the country.

A bird’s eye view reveals a busy modern metropolis

with a vast grid of streets

packed with multi-story apartment buildings.

It’s a dense patchwork of concrete and tarmac.

But hidden among the gray rooftops lies a secret

that can only be seen from above:

a busy working farm that sits 15 meters above the bustling Parisian streets.

The site is perched upon a building

in one of the most populated areas of the city.

It’s the largest farm of its kind in the world.

Sophie Hardy is the director of Nature Urbaine

and manages this unique site.

SOPHIE HARDY: When we talked about this concept,

they thought we were crazy.

They told us it would never work,

it’s not possible, it’s too big, too ambitious, too huge.

Today, we are showing that this model exists.

NARRATOR: The secret to Sophie’s success

is cutting-edge horticulture.

Here, crops are grown without soil;

the plants’ roots are completely exposed inside vertical plastic containers.

A specialized system of pipes hangs from above

and showers a nutrient-rich water mixture

directly onto the exposed roots every 30 minutes.

This extraordinary farm is still under construction,

but when complete, Sophie and her team of 20 farmers

will harvest around 300 kg of produce each day

with 20 varieties of fruit and vegetables,

including tomatoes, strawberries and radishes.

The biggest challenge was to design a farm

light enough to sit on a roof

without crashing through into the building below.

HARDY: The main advantage is we don’t have soil,

so structures are lighter

which allows them to be placed on a roof.

NARRATOR: As well as dispensing with heavy soil,

this high-tech floating farm

uses 90% less water than a traditional farm,

so it doesn’t become a burden on the city’s water supply.

HARDY: Changing the world is ambitious,

but I think at our small scale, we contribute to it

because we allow Parisians to reconnect with nature.

NARRATOR: Sophie hopes the farm will prove it’s possible to eat local

in cities where ground space is limited,

but rooftops are often vast and disused.

The seasonal food produced here on Parisian doorsteps

has almost no carbon footprint

and is fully sustainable for the future.

The city of Paris aims to create 30 hectares

of urban farmland within a year.

And the concept is taking off in cities around the world.

Paris is studded with vast monuments to France’s long and dramatic history:

the iconic Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre,

the most visited museum in the world.

Beyond the city’s borders,

France’s countryside is also filled with man-made marvels, old and new.

From the 2,000 year old Roman

aqueduct of Pont du Gard

to the Bimont Dam in Southern France

and the 17th century Canal du Midi

which connects the Atlantic and Mediterranean Seas,

there’s one engineering marvel here that eclipses them all.

The South of France is dominated

by a huge mountainous highland called the Massif Central.

A closer look reveals

that as rivers meander through the valleys,

the roads follow their every twist and turn,

all except one.

A bold, confident straight line

that cuts straight through the undulating terrain.

This is the world famous Millau Viaduct,

the tallest bridge in the world.

Our unique aerial perspective reveals the sheer scale of the roadway.

This 400,000 tonne masterpiece of steel and concrete

allows travelers to cross the valley in less than two minutes.

Keeping this mammoth viaduct in top condition

is a non-stop challenge,

and this responsibility falls on the shoulders of technician,

Mathieu Delon.

MATHIEU DELON: It is true that on days

when the weather is good,

it is a treat to climb the pylon and admire the view.

NARRATOR: Today, Mathieu needs to replace architectural lights

on the viaduct’s tallest supporting pier.

These lights illuminate the giant piers

and show off this engineering wonder at night.

But at 343 meters, it’s even taller than the Eiffel Tower.

At these spine-tingling heights,

even the simple act of changing a light bulb is a challenge.

DELON: Personally, I’m not afraid of heights.

I have always some apprehension.

I think it’s normal when you’re working at these heights.

NARRATOR: He starts unscrewing each bulb and replaces them.

At this height, fumbling hands are out of the question.

Even a dropped bolt could be catastrophic.

The Millau Viaduct cost nearly 400 million euros to construct,

and is used by more than 13,000 cars every day.

The seven gigantic piers of the bridge

are topped with towering pylons that support the 2.5 km road

with 154 cable stays.

Mathieu safely installs the new bulbs to the pier.

One job is finished, but there’s still one more to go.

The Millau Viaduct is hit by lightning around 80 times a year.

Mathieu’s next job is to test the lightning rod

to ensure it will funnel lightning strikes safely away from the traffic

without damaging the bridge itself.

And that means a trip to the very top of the viaduct.

Our exclusive aerial view reveals this process

as it’s never been seen before.

It takes Mathieu ten minutes

to climb to the top of the highest pylon

on the Millau Viaduct.

A bolt of lightning has the potential to damage parts of the bridge,

and the lightning rod is its only line of defense.

Mathieu simulates a lightning strike by running a small charge through it.

If it’s working,

the lightning detector should register a strike.

The strike counter shows the lightning rod is still working perfectly.

Mathieu is happy it can protect the bridge for another year.

Today’s job is done,

and thousands of travelers can continue to drive

over this engineering colossus,

relaxed in the knowledge that Mathieu and others like him

are keeping them safe.

Before Mathieu begins the journey back,

he pauses just a second to take in the unparalleled view.

DELON: I can take a big breath of fresh air,

and then the first thing I do is take in the scenery.

NARRATOR: The verdant countryside

of the Massif Central stretches as far as the eye can see.

France is the largest country in the European Union,

and more than half of its mighty landmass is taken up by farming.

From the famous vineyards of the Champagne region

to the apricots and cherries of the Rhone Valley,

orchards across the country come to life,

and as the days get longer,

many of these landscapes undergo a colorful transformation

as summer comes to France.

In summer,

the Mediterranean coast occasionally gets rain

from weather systems that sweep down from the north.

But nestled behind the Alps, the ancient region of Provence

is sheltered from any wet weather and stays much drier.

Zooming in reveals millions of mysterious pinstripes

that cut through the region’s arid fields.

These are the famous lavender fields of Provence.

Eveline Popee comes from a long line of lavender farmers.

Each year, she and her husband, Faried,

count down the days to an amazing natural event

which can only truly be appreciated

from our unique aerial perspective.

Neat rows of lavender shrubs erupt one by one

into a spectacle of effervescent purple.

The bloom transforms the Provence fields

into a riot of color.

Row after row explode into vivid flowers like fireworks.

But these fields of purple are short-lived.

As soon as these fragrant florets appear,

the lavender harvest begins.

EVELINE POPEE: The main thing is to do

everything at the height time to have a good harvest.

NARRATOR: Timing is critical.

Harvest too early and the yield is low;

leave it too late

and the plants could wilt and rot their profits.

They can’t afford to damage a single flower.

FARIED CHAIB: The stakes are high

since it’s our future of the whole year that is played out.

Our income also is played out at harvest time.

NARRATOR: Eveline and Faried hand-cut the prettiest flowers.

These will be dried and sold in shops as bouquets.

But the bulk of the crop is processed for oil,

and with such a monumental harvest,

they need to bring out the heavy machinery.

Circular rakes at the front of the tractor

funnel the flowers towards blades in the center,

and the air fills with the scent of cut lavender.

POPEE: At harvest time we are very tense.

We are stressed and we like it

because we like to smell the first flowers that emerge.

It’s quite a smell that we only have for a month.

NARRATOR: One kilo of precious Provence lavender oil

can sell for as much as 150 euros

and is sold to buyers across the world.

It takes eight hours,

but Faried finally cuts the last of the lavender heads.

And within the space of a day,

the bright fields of purple are once again green

and the tips of the plants have been erased from the landscape.

POPEE: Even if agriculture is nice elsewhere,

there’s nothing like lavender in the summer.

NARRATOR: As summer marches on,

the Mediterranean sun brings soaring temperatures

to France’s famous Riviera.

More than ten million tourists migrate here every summer

to seaside towns like Cannes,

Nice and Saint-Tropez.

But the summer heatwave also signals

the start of one of France’s oldest migrations

in the nearby mountains.

(cowbells jingling)

The Alps sprawl

in a gnarled crescent across eight European countries.

In the summer months, the snow subsides

and reveals secret green mountain pastures nestled between the icy peaks.

This pasture sits well over two km above sea level

and is filled with over 1,700 varieties of plants.

They provide unique feeding grounds for dairy cows.

Sebastien is a third-generation dairy farmer in Besson,

located in a valley more than half a kilometer below the pastures.

SEBASTIEN VINCENDET: I’ve always had animals.

I’ve been on the farm since I was a child.

NARRATOR: All winter, his precious cows

have been sheltering from the cold in barns.

But today is the day that Sebastien will guide his cows

on an epic 10 km journey up the steep mountainside.

VINCENDET: I’m quite stressed because I want everything to go well.

The challenge will be to get everyone to the same place

without losing any cows on the way.

NARRATOR: From above, we can see the daunting route ahead.

For an ordinary cow, this would be an impossible hike.

But these are special Tarentaise cows

and they have the Alps in their blood.

They are muscly super cows adapted to range in rough

and steep terrain.

VINCENDET: At the start, a lot of people think it’ll be an easy walk,

and at the end it is the cows who continue

and the people are exhausted.

NARRATOR: It takes three hours

for Sebastien and his herd to reach dairy cow nirvana.

When the cows feast on this distinctive floral buffet,

it gives their milk a characteristic and coveted taste.

It’s this milk that produces the exclusive Beaufort d’été cheese,

unique to this region.

VINCENDET: The flora on our pasture is really, really rich.

You can find all species of typical Alps flower.

It makes a great Beaufort.

NARRATOR: The cows will remain here over the summer months,

feasting on the special wild flowers.

France is the world’s most visited country

with around 90 million tourists each year.

In the height of summer, capitals of culture like Paris,

Bordeaux and Marseilles

draw visitors in to enjoy world-class regional cuisine.

Sightseers soak up the history of Mont-Saint-Michel

and sun seekers bask in the Mediterranean heat

of the South Coast.

But there’s one attraction here

that appears strangely out of step with the season.

Away from the searing heat of the French Riviera

in the nearby Alps,

patches of the landscape remain pure white.

One of the most prominent of these is the Grande Motte glacier

at the heart of one of the highest ski resorts in Europe:

Tignes.

The mountains that surround Tignes are so tall

that there’s snow on them, even in the height of summer.

The snow gives skiers the opportunity to hit the slopes

while most are hitting the beaches.

But keeping a busy ski slope in top condition

over the warmest months of the year

is no easy feat.

As skiers glide down the slopes,

they disrupt and move the thin show cover

which could expose dangerous rocks beneath.

The slopes must be kept smooth.

But less fresh snow falling in the summer

means workers must tirelessly tend to the little snow

left on the mountains

to make sure the pistes are kept safe.

This peculiar summer job falls on the shoulders

of Sebastien Marmottan.

SEBASTIEN MARMOTTAN: We have seven hours on the job

and we need to groom the resort within this time frame.

NARRATOR: When the skiers go home,

Sebastien gets to work.

He fires up his piste groomer,

more than ten tonnes of metal and tread,

specially designed to tackle the steep Alpine slopes.

Each piste groomer is equipped with a five meter wide shovel at the front

and a smoothing tiller at the back.

Two wide tracks distribute its weight across the snow,

stopping it from sinking,

and a thick cable and winch hauls the machine up the steep slopes.

Each piste groomer costs as much as a Ferrari,

and maneuvering a vehicle of this size and weight

around these slopes

is not for the faint-hearted.

With the daylight fading,

Sebastien has one of the steepest

and most dangerous parts of the entire resort

still to clear.

As the evening draws in, clouds of fog descend on the Alps.

Sebastien needs full concentration

as he tackles one of the steepest inclines.

One slip or wrong turn here in the fog

could send the piste groomer tumbling down the rocky mountain.

MARMOTTAN: The snow is heavy,

making it difficult to operate the machinery.

It’s difficult to get an even surface.

It’s actually harder to work the snow in the summer

than in the winter.

NARRATOR: After more than six hours sculpting the slopes,

Sebastien and his team’s work is done.

The next morning,

crowds of skiers once again ascend the slopes,

blissfully unaware of the mammoth transformation

that has taken place.

In only a few short hours,

Sebastien will once again need to cover their tracks.

Outside the borders of the world-famous Alps,

the French countryside is covered

with steep sculpted hills and deep carved valleys.

Among the most impressive and surprising formations,

is the Chaîne des Puys, a collection of volcanoes,

that run through the center of the country,

which last erupted more than 8,000 years ago.

The majestic Puy de Dôme rises nearly 1,500 meters high.

These volcanoes may lie dormant,

but the French countryside is about to erupt with color.

As the summer heat fades,

the landscape explodes with shimmering golden leaves

as autumn arrives.

Across the country,

autumnal trees surround more than 40,000 castles

and fortresses that span from coast to coast.

From Chevannes to Chambord,

they tell the stories of kings and queens,

of battles and betrayals.

One palace stands apart

as perhaps the most magnificent of them all.

Today, France is a republic with a president

and a parliament based in Paris.

But 250 years ago, there was something very different.

On the outskirts of the city,

an extraordinary cross-shaped lake

marks the heart of a royal residence so lavish

that it helped to trigger one of the world’s

most famous revolutions.

This is the Palace of Versailles.

King Louis XVI spent 40 years

and the equivalent of up to 250 billion euros

to create this opulent royal residence.

The main building sits on more than eight sq km

of ornate gardens,

making it the largest royal domain in the world

with 55 decadent water features,

Roman style baths and even a zoo.

Beyond the grand main palace,

separated by nearly 2 km of lush gardens,

lies another complex which is just as impressive.

This secluded estate is called the Domaine de Trianon

and was home to Marie Antoinette,

the last queen of France.

Helena is one of the head gardeners here

and is charged with conserving the extraordinary grandeur

and precision of its formal gardens.

ELENA SECONDO: My mission here is to maintain the gardens

and to preserve them,

as much as it is possible in their historic state.

NARRATOR: Every room of the palace

looks out onto the symmetrical manicured lawns,

bright with flowers

and punctuated with pristinely sculpted trees.

Maintaining these faultless lines is no small endeavor.

It’s precise work and takes meticulous attention to detail.

SECONDO: Gardening is an art.

We work with subjects that have a history

and that are a part of history.

We are in an historic place and every subject here

has a history behind it.

NARRATOR: Beyond the day to day activities,

Elena and her team are arbiters of history,

almost like museum curators.

Gardeners across the centuries adapted the landscape design

so the team must decide which period of history

to reflect in their work.

SECONDO: Here, to cut a branch of an ancient tree,

you need to know what you’re doing.

You need to know how to preserve the plant and make it beautiful.

NARRATOR: From above, we can see one part of Marie Antoinette’s grounds

that looks less formal and a little out of place.

This area of the palace is known as the Queen’s Hamlet

and dates back to the 1780s.

It’s designed in the style of a quaint village in Normandy.

Here, Marie Antoinette sought her own form of escapism

from the pressures of French royal life.

Legend has it that she even dressed as a milkmaid

during parties with her friends.

Today, the opulent buildings and gardens here

at the Palace of Versailles are national treasures.

But 230 years ago,

this extravagant display of wealth

angered the impoverished masses

and helped fuel a bloody revolution that ended the monarchy in France.

History runs through the veins of France.

From prehistoric sites like the Vézère valley

where some of the oldest evidence for humans in Europe

has been found,

to the D-Day landing beaches of Normandy

where the liberation of Europe began,

heralding the end of World War II,

the land is covered in battle scars.

The beaten earth of north-eastern France

reveals where millions of men were killed or wounded

in the bloodiest battles of the First World War.

Graves sprawl across acres of fields

to remember those lost in the line of duty.

But there’s one scar that’s like no other.

That’s because it marks the site

of one of the strangest battles ever fought.

From February to December 1916,

Germany and France were locked in one of the longest

and bloodiest battles of the Great War in Verdun.

A key strategic prize for both sides

was the high hilltop village of Vauquois.

But a closer look from the air today

reveals nothing but a gap in the forest where Vauquois once stood.

What happened here to make an entire village disappear?

Our unique aerial perspective reveals a clue.

A series of giant craters cover the landscape

where the village once stood.

The largest is 80 meters wide and 20 meters deep;

big enough to swallow the White House.

But these craters were not formed by bombs dropping from above.

Vauquois was destroyed by a unique form of warfare

that raged inside tunnels deep underground.

SERGE THIERION: For the soldiers here in Vauquois,

it was the famous mine warfare

where the aim was to explode enemy positions from below.

NARRATOR: Local conservator, Serge Thierion,

tends to the site

to make sure that the scars from this extraordinary subterranean battle

are never forgotten.

THIERION: The attachment,

the passion for Vauquois,

starts simply with amazement at the site’s geography.

NARRATOR: The best way to understand what went on here

is from high above the craters.

In 1914, the German forces were encamped on the south side of the hill,

and the French on the north side.

Over three years, the two sides dug more than 17 km of tunnels

and detonated 590 separate mines

in an extraordinary underground battle.

THIERION: So the principle is that from their trenches,

the soldiers would dig a well to reach underneath the opposing side.

They would then fill it with explosives and detonate them

to destabilize their adversaries.

NARRATOR: The village was completely swallowed up by the war

raging in the earth below its foundations,

leaving a scar like nowhere else on Earth.

THIERION: Maintaining this battlefield is quite simply

a thank-you to those who fought here 100 years ago.

And to maintain it is to value it

and make sure it is not forgotten.

NARRATOR: As the year moves on,

plummeting temperatures paint the evergreen forests

with clean bright snow

as winter takes over.

The sheer size of France

leads to wildly different winter scenes across the nation.

In the north, the vineyards of the Champagne region

take a heavy coat of snow,

while the azure beaches of the South Coast

bask in cool winter sun.

The coldest weather is reserved for France’s highest point.

In winter, the whole alpine range is covered in a thick blanket of snow.

And the highest peak of all lies within the borders of France.

The Mont Blanc range is 40 km long and 16 km across.

It contains ten major summits,

each more than 4,000 meters in height.

Towering over them all is Mont Blanc itself.

At 4,808 meters, it’s the highest point in western Europe.

Mont Blanc sits inside a dynamic landscape of snowy peaks,

windy plateaus and icy slopes.

And squeezed into the spaces between the soaring summits,

the range is also home to some of the largest glaciers

on the continent.

Glaciologist and hiking guide, Luke Moro,

studies the formation and evolution

of the alpine landscape here.

LUC MOREAU: Living here, the best part is to be in contact with nature,

to be in contact with the glacier and to live near the glacier.

NARRATOR: The rock that forms Mont Blanc began life under the sea.

Proof of this can be found in the fossils of sea creatures

that are still scattered across the Alps today.

Around 35 million years ago,

an extraordinary collision of continental plates

thrust this entire region skywards.

A permanent icecap covers the summit

where temperatures can plummet to minus 20 degrees Celsius.

MOREAU: This is a polar climate, so it’s very cold.

And the Mont Blanc massif is white

because there is many glaciers

and it is probably the most massive glaciated range in the Alps.

NARRATOR: This world-famous peak

was first successfully climbed in 1786.

But today, humans have truly conquered Mont Blanc.

Around five million people

come to the Mont Blanc range every year for hiking, climbing,

skiing and snowboarding.

Our unique aerial view reveals the world’s highest vertical ascent cable car

which effortlessly ascends the peaks.

Engineering wonders like the Aiguille du Midi,

which was completed in 1955,

balance on impossibly steep peaks

and offer visitors 360 degree views of the French, Swiss and Italian Alps.

MOREAU: So when you’re on the summit,

you are the king, you are above all the mountains.

You are in the freedom, you are in the liberty.

NARRATOR: Eventually, like all mountains,

the weather will erode the Alps away.

But Mont Blanc’s reign

as the highest mountain in western Europe

is set in stone for millions of years to come.

Winter is a time of celebration.

Thousands flock to traditional markets

and festive lights illuminate the city streets.

But far away on the coast, this is a time of intense work.

France’s western frontier with the Atlantic Ocean

is a sleepy landscape dominated by seaside towns,

vast stretches of green heathland and giant dunes.

Yet even in the depths of winter,

while the beaches lie empty, one industry keeps on going,

and it’s one of France’s most extraordinary aerial sights.

The ruler straight coastline of south-western France,

is bisected by an enormous bay called Arcachon.

A bird’s eye view reveals row after row of mysterious geometric shapes

that mark the shallow waters like a tribal tattoo.

From above, a closer look reveals thousands of mesh bags

brimming with one of France’s most important seafoods:

oysters.

The shallow tidal waters of Arcachon Bay

make it a perfect rearing ground for young oysters.

When the cold Atlantic tide is low,

it’s possible to see the more than three and a half thousand oyster parks

that line the shallow banks.

The waters here produce up to 10,000 tonnes

of oysters a year.

Jean-Francois Roux and his wife, Alexandra,

have been working in Arcachon Bay for over 20 years,

ever since Jean Francois took over his century old family business.

JEAN-FRANCOIS ROUX: My family has been doing this

for around three generations since 1892.

ALEXANDRA ROUX: I originally got a qualification in hairdressing,

but through his love of the bay,

my husband passed his love for his work on to me.

So I left my hairdressing career and started working with him.

NARRATOR: Once young oysters are about eight months old,

they are placed inside mesh bags

and allowed to develop in their natural environment.

But growing oysters in the sea comes with its own hazards.

Today, Jean-Francois must turn over the mesh bags

that house the oysters

to stop green algae from choking them.

ROUX: It’s crucial to turn the pockets

so that they’re exposed to oxygen,

that the weeds which are on them disappear,

water can pass through the pockets

and so that the oysters are nourished in the water.

NARRATOR: Alexandra maneuvers the boat into their oyster park.

Oyster farming is a year-round occupation here,

even in winter where the waters of Arcachon Bay

can plummet to just nine degrees Celsius.

The team have 600 bags to flip over

before the tide sweeps in again,

and the only way to do it is to get wet.

ROUX: Our time is limited.

We alternate between telling ourselves

we’re going to succeed; we’re not going to succeed.

So basically, we go quicker. That’s physically exhausting.

NARRATOR: Jean-Francois must work with the tides.

He only has access to his crop for a few hours a day,

when the waters are at their lowest.

Once he finishes turning the last of the mesh bags,

he hops back onto the boat.

It’s been a tough day, but for Jean-Francois and Alexandra,

their love of oysters

and the spectacular surroundings of the Bay of Arcachon

makes it all worthwhile.

ROUX: To be in, on the water,

the bay, the birds, touching natural elements,

that’s what attracted me to this job.

Nature means independence.

NARRATOR: France is a country where ancient traditions thrive

side by side with modern innovation.

The nation’s long history is celebrated and remembered

while it continues to break records and boundaries.

The varied landscape and climate

has helped to cultivate a culture

that’s the envy of the world

and inspired the great European nation we see today.