麻豆传媒映画

The French post office has issued a new postage stamp in honour of the Tourmalet pass in the Pyrenees, which is set to feature in the Tour de France 2023 route.

The stamp, issued yesterday (Monday, July 11), shows a vintage poster-style image of the pass, which offers beautiful panoramic views across the mountains.

The artwork was created by illustrator Doz. The stamp has a value of 鈧�1.16 (lettre verte, green letter), and 700,000 copies will be sold.

The stamp was first put on sale in locations close to the pass, including the tourism office in Bagn猫res-de-Bigorre, and the mairie at Bar猫ges.

The Tourmalet pass sits at an altitude of 2,115 metres, and is part of the legendary series of mountain passes that often feature in the Tour de France cycling race route.

The peloton is set to visit the pass in its 2023 itinerary.

It is located around 50 kilometres south of Tarbes, in Hautes-Pyr茅n茅es, and is the third-highest mountain pass in the French Pyrenees, after the Tentes pass and the Portet pass.

What鈥檚 in a name?

Some suggest that the name 鈥楾ourmalet鈥� comes from the words 鈥榙茅tour mal鈥� (bad detour), from the Latin 鈥榤alum鈥� for bad.

However, there is no evidence that the pass had any 鈥榖ad鈥� associations, however, beyond perhaps certain incidents suffered by the first 鈥榯ourists鈥� in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

In fact, some suggest that the word 鈥榤al鈥� is not a signifier of something negative, but instead comes from the Gascon word 鈥榤au鈥�, whose root is 鈥榤alh鈥�, meaning 鈥榤ountain鈥� or 鈥榙ry mountain鈥�. The prefix 鈥榯ur鈥� sometimes meant 鈥榙istance鈥�.

Therefore, the word Tourmalet may in fact have meant 鈥榝ar-off mountain鈥�, rather than 鈥榖ad detour鈥�.