France roundup-Bordeaux target title at fortress home

PARIS, May 22 (Reuters) - Brief news from Ligue 1 before this weekend's matches:

* Playing at home against AS Monaco should help Girondins Bordeaux clinch their first title since 1999 on Saturday as they are unbeaten in the 32 games they have played at their Chaban-Delmas stadium since Oct. 7 2007.

This season they have recorded 13 wins and five draws and won 44 points from their 18 home games, while second-placed Olympique Marseille have taken 32 and Olympique Lyon 35.

The Aquitaine side will be crowned champions if they win and Marseille lose or draw at Nancy. If Bordeaux get a draw, a Marseille defeat would hand them the title.

Travel Guide -- Paris, France

Direct travel from London to the south of France

Eurostar will be introducing a direct service between London and the south of France for the first time this summer.

Starting on 11 July 2009 and running until 12 September 2009, passengers will be able to travel direct from London St Pancras International to Avignon Centre.

Travel Q & A: Studying French in France

I'm studying French and would like to go to France on a tour that focuses on learning and practicing language skills. Are there tour companies that offer this?

Certainement. (But you probably know that word already.) Offerings range from intensive school settings to tours that mesh language classes with cultural itineraries. The French Government Tourist Office, Maison de la France, has worked with these three companies and recommends all of them, says spokeswoman Katherine I. Johnstone:

Souffle: This company oversees 19 language schools spread across France, giving you options from the Loire Valley to Normandy to Alsace. They are open year-round, and you may attend courses as short as one week. Your lodging at some schools might be with a local family; other campuses offer dorms or hotel rooms. Prices and class offerings range wildly; click on "Announcements" on the Web site, www.souffle.asso.fr, to find discounts and new itineraries (like ones that combines French lessons in the morning with culinary lessons or nine holes of golf in the afternoon).