ENTENTE CORDIALE - HEALTH & LIFESTYLE
While the French are renowned worldwide for their ability to turn lifestyle into an art-form (who, after all, invented the word chic - or indeed the word style?), they often turn to Scotland for their sources of inspiration. France may lead the field in areas such as fashion design and haute cuisine, for example, but Scottish textiles (wool, cashmere, tweed, tartan) and produce (seafood, lamb, game, soft fruit) enjoy their own premier league status. Today's expansion in leisure and lifestyle activities, too, creates further common ground between our two societies, with current popular and media interest in gardening, food and home improvements riding as high south of the Channel as it is north of the Border.
Health is another major area of shared concern, from the growing popularity of alternative medicine and complementary therapies, to the battle against cancer, with rates of smoking in both Scotland and France among the highest in Europe. Franco-British collaboration on cancer research is a central theme of the Entente Cordiale programme, with the aim of creating a lasting legacy from the year. Proceeds from many cultural and sporting events - including July's Grand Charity Pop Concert in London - will be donated to cancer charities, while an Entente Cordiale Cancer Prize has been established for young researchers. Scotland's contribution includes a major joint research conference in Edinburgh, and a touring architectural exhibition illustrating the pioneering philosophy behind Maggie's Centres, the Scottish cancer care network aimed at helping people to live with the disease.
