On the weekend of 21 and 22 October, the Foyer de Montlegun hosted this double regional event under the patronage of the Fédération Française des Associations Philatéliques (F.F.A.P), whose inauguration was marked by speeches from its national president, Philippe Lesage, and from Mme Conquet, Vice-President of the Conseil Départemental with responsibility for Culture.

Over the course of the two days, a philatelic exhibition and competition provided an opportunity to admire a number of postal history collections, both thematic and otherwise. Visitors could wander between panels presenting the postal services in Rivesaltais and Salanquais (G. Fort), the postal history of the French military schools (D. Billotet), a study of the postal marks of the Papal States (G. Baylet), the faces of Marianne (F. Grillot), the stamps of Mémel (R. Pineau) and stroll through a game of pétanque (M. Subra). Finally, the A.P.N.C. ‘youth’ group presented a thirty-page work on sport.

After deliberating, the jury (P. and M. Lacastaignerate, A. Tarbouriech, M. Nadal and E. Mathieu) awarded the prizes to the winning exhibitors on Sunday afternoon. Specialised books, albums, philatelic material, Corbières wine cases and other items delighted the winners. And let’s not forget the children and teenagers in attendance, who in turn received stamp pouches and philatelic gifts.

The 69th regional congress was held on Sunday morning, chaired by Michel Subra, regional manager, and attended by delegates from philatelic associations in Languedoc-Roussillon. The 14 associations from the region present or represented voted on the various reports before hearing a final speech by P. Lesage, who also presented the trophy for the A.P.N.C.’s youth work to J.L.Icher.

At the same time as the exhibition, the public could buy souvenirs and collectors with a special cancellation made by the A.P.N.C., receive expert appraisals and advice and add to their collections from specialist dealers, including “Aude Collection” in Carcassonne.

The A.P.N.C. would like to thank all the people without whom this event would not have been such a success, and who spared no effort, physical or intellectual: a big thank you to Marie Andrée, Sylvie, Serge, Louis, Jacques, Gaby, Guy, Nicole, Frédéric, Jean-Louis, Gérard…. for their contribution on Friday, Saturday, Sunday or all three dates!