We are saddened to announce the death of Gilbert Valentin, a leading personality in the CANALET group, after a sudden illness with which he bravely struggled for months. He passed away on November 7, and we attended his funeral in Montech on November 12. Gilbert founded ARCAO, the Association for the Rivers and Canals of Aquitaine and Occitania, to promote the cause presented on these pages: connection of the navigable river Lot to the Canal de Garonne and the river Baïse, and development of the huge potential of the waterways of Southern and Southwest France in general. Before founding ARCAO, he was president of the ANPEI for many years.  
(Photo courtesy of La Dépêche du Midi.)