Editing Île de Ré (section)

===Connection to the mainland===
In 1987, a {{convert|2.9|km}} [[Île de Ré bridge|bridge]] was built to connect the island to the mainland. Previously, the island was connected through [[roll-on roll-off]] ferries (called "''bacs''"), which could accommodate vehicles and passengers. In peak summer time periods, the waiting time to board a ferry could reach several hours. The bridge was built by [[Bouygues]].<ref>[http://www.bouygues.com/us/groupe/fiches/pop_pont_re.html Bouygues website: Île de Ré Bridge] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205221004/http://www.bouygues.com/us/groupe/fiches/pop_pont_re.html |date=December 5, 2008 }}</ref> Since then, tourism on the island has developed considerably, with [[real estate]] prices reaching high levels. The easier transportation system has stimulated the purchase of holiday homes by people from as far as Paris, who can visit for week-ends, mostly in spring and summer. Using the bridge requires the payment of a toll (either €8 or €16 return for a normal car depending on the season) and makes it the most expensive road to use per kilometre in France. The [[Paris]]-[[La Rochelle]] high-speed train ([[TGV]]) trip takes around three hours, and then taxis or buses can be taken to the island. Île de Ré can also be reached from Paris by plane. It takes 85 minutes to fly from Paris to La Rochelle airport.

After the [[TF1]] channel was purchased by Bouygues, the talk-show ''Droit de réponse'' (Right to reply), shown on prime-time Saturday evening by [[Michel Polac]] was suppressed after criticizing this bridge.<ref>[https://teleobs.nouvelobs.com/actualites/20150727.OBS3254/ces-emissions-qui-ont-revolutionne-la-tele-droit-de-reponse.html ''Le Nouvel Obs'', July 2015.]</ref>