Famous tree-lined French Canal du Midi in danger of losing all
its trees The 42,000 plane trees lining France's historic Canal
du Midi are being felled because of a fungus brought to Europe
by US soldiers in World War II. Will the planes that decorate
the streets of cities such as Paris and London share the same
fate? Story from PRI's The World. Listen to the above audio for
a full report. It's noon in the farmlands outside Toulouse, but
the light on the Canal du Midi is dim, almost like twilight. The
deep shade is created by the leafy branches of huge plane trees
that tower above both banks, and arch across the water creating
a dense canopy. It's an exquisitely beautiful scene. And one
that runs the length of the canal on its 150 mile course from
Toulouse to the port of Sete on the Mediterranean. It was five
years ago that Jacques Noisette realized something was wrong.
"In the spring of 2006, I began to notice that some of the plane
trees were dying," says Mr Noisette, who works for the French
government age