A calendar of French life in 12 film portraits. The High-
Sveed Railwayman
The month:-March
The man: Philippe Coriat The place: Lyon
The French take great pride in the technology of the Train d grande vitesse, their new high-speed train. Philippe Coriat is a guard with a degree. He enjoys the prestige and glamour of working on the Paris-Lyon run of the TGV. He likes flexible rostering, keeping the passengers in order and coping with 120 different kinds of tickets. Rather less enjoyable are his stints on the slow night trains. Between journeys he finds time to watch a talking duck in one of Lyon's popular cafes-theatres.
He visits his parents for a special celebration. Unusual presents are exchanged to the sound of champagne corks, and there's a problem with the candles on the cake. Narrator MICHAEL DEAN
Assistant producer LAURA GAVSHON Film cameraman IAN STONE Film editor KATE EVANS
Series editor EDWARD MIRZOEFF Producer JONATHAN GILI
(Guardian of the Camargue is on Friday at 8.30 pm)
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