Ci joint l'article paru ce matin dans "Algarve Resident"
Merci à Douglas qui a écrit l'article en anglais mais bientôt traduit en Francais
L'article sera aussi publié le mois prochain dans le magazine "Vivre au Portugal"
 
Texte de Douglas:
French association in Lagos holds its spring gathering

The French community here is well catered for with the most representative association being the UFE Algarve , the regional branch of the ‘Union des Français à l’Etranger’. As concerns the western tip of the Algarve, another association – Les Copains de Lagos – looks after the needs of French-speaking residents in that area. Created by Frenchman Patrice Chedozeau in 2015, the association has a membership of 400 as well as its own website:
https://lescopainsdelagos.com
www.facebook.com/groups/copainsdelagos/
Initially named ‘Les Amis de Lagos’, it only became officialised in 2017 under the current more colloquial heading ‘copains’ which also stands for ‘friends’. In 2018 an agreement was signed with Boavista who put 6 petanque (French bowls) tracks at the disposal of the association.
Besides a monthly lunch or dinner for anywhere between 40 & 60 members, a variety of activities such as walks, bicycle rides, society games as well as ‘petanque’ are proposed, each one with a team leader.
Conferences on the subjects of health, housing and taxation, in the past, have also been organised in Lagos’ town hall. One of the goals is to assist new arrivals and to this effect, the association opened its office in Lagos last year that also serves as a library with over 1200 books. Due to the Covid virus, town officials have delayed its inauguration.
Furthermore, Copains de Lagos participates in humanitarian and ecological actions such as financial support towards the local firefighters during the terrible fires. The association has also taken part in beach cleansing operations led by local authorities in Lagos. Each week an activity agenda is emailed to to its members and a monthly meeting with team leaders enables an activity report to be sent out as well.
Now that weekend travel restrictions have been lifted, I was able to attend a long-awaited spring gathering for 80 of its members on Sunday May 2nd. It was the occasion for an outdoor buffet lunch served in the grounds of Aldeia Azul, a very attractive local resort. On arrival we were greeted by Patrice and George Humphreys who was in charge of showing us round the resort as a recently signed agreement now allows members of Copains de Lagos to benefit from its facilities in exchange for an optional yearly subscription.
Following the traditional ‘aperitif’, members lined up at the buffet where a paella main course was served by the Brazilian chef from U.Puro, a popular Lagos restaurant. French cheese and Portuguese wines were supplied and to round off the informal lunch, a French lady pastry chef from Lagos provided a selection of her delicacies. Although most of  those attending were French, I did meet a duo of Swiss bikers as well as a Franco-Portuguese couple.
The Algarve does, indeed, have a lot more to offer expatriates than just golf and pastel de nata!
Douglas Hallawell
 
Commentaires de Fahmi:
Merci aux Copains de Lagos pour votre engagement à nos côtés, mon équipe est flattée.
Merci à Kelly Raffray pour de chouette produits véganes et locaux.
Merci à Jane et Sandrine pour la découverte de café bio importé d amérique.
C est grâce à une très Belle collaboration qu' U.puro a pu satisfaire son public.