Past perfect continuous and present imperfect. By Pauline DE AZEVEDO & Sarah ROUBERTOU

I took these photos on the 22^nd of February, in Montferrand. It was about 4 pm.

In the first photo, in the foreground, we can see old ramparts which are the medieval city walls of Montferrand. They are a vestige of the past and they are in a very good condition because they were restored a few years ago. To allow people to go for a quiet walk next to the wall, and to make the place nice, lawns have been planted. Then, in the middle distance there are some trees without leaves. There are some buildings in the background, flats and houses.

The weather was pretty good. The sky was blue with a few clouds. It smelt of Spring freshness. There was a little gust of wind. Personally, I think these ramparts are comforting, elegant. They make you feel protected. In the past, these walls served to protect the city of course. These ramparts are made with simple stone, but the presence of this stone gives to the ramparts a real charm.

The ramparts were built in the first half of the 13^th century. These walls were repaired, rebuilt, and modified through the centuries, depending on the weapons of the time. In 1631, the walls of Montferrand were still carefully maintained. They were abandoned from 1770.

If you turn around, you see the landscape of the second photo. It's important to know that I took these photos at the same place, I just had to turn my back to the walls.

In the second photo, you can see a Michelin factory. In the foreground, there are plants, which is an important thing in the first photo because it shows that the city officials take care of the old important monuments. But, we can see that the old factory has not been modernized at all and you really feel bad in front of this building. This feeling contrasts with the emotion of protection you will feel in front of the ramparts.

I think it’s sad to see a factory which could be useful again, a relatively recent building being totally abandoned like that.

Cataroux was built during the first half of the 20^th century, the factory was bombed and partially destroyed by British airplanes. In the 70s, 22,000 people worked in this factory.

The walls are very old but they're in better condition than the recent factories which are very dirty and damaged. The past is better preserved than the present! We should take care of today’s buildings because they will become our heritage !