La Poste (France Post) issued two map stamps on November 9, 2009.

France 2009-11-01 EuroMed Postal Conference

The first issue marks the 2nd Euromed Postal Conference, that is scheduled to take place in Alexandria Egypt. However, it seems that the Egypt Post has issued a press release which appears to say the conference is going to be rescheduled. The 0.56 € stamp depicts the Mediterranean Sea, the surrounding countries along with an olive tree. A blue dot and reflection of light mark the location of Alexandria. A rough translation from the La Poste site reads, “Postal operators in the Mediterranean have decided to strengthen their cooperation both in the context of improving the delivery of letters and parcels, the modernization of their production tools or training officers. At that time La Poste has decided to issue a stamp depicting the Mediterranean showing the geographic region, an olive tree, symbol of peace and the Mediterranean, and a light from the city of Alexandria, which recalls the legendary lighthouse.” [the map of the Mediterranean Sea is interesting in that it seems to just stop on the western side of Mallorca, thus Morrocco, Gibraltar and Spain are not correctly depicted. Does anyone know if this was intentional or a design issue? 2009/11/26: please see comment below with additional information from fellow cartophilatelist Julien ]

France 2009-11-09 Francisco de Miranda

The second stamp is a joint issue between France and Venezuela. This 0.85 € stamp commemerates Sebastian Francisco de Miranda. Francisco Miranda was born in Caracas Venezuela March 28, 1750 and died July 14, 1816 in Cadiz Spain. Miranda was a general in the Spanish army, and fought against England during the American Revolutionary War in North America, fighting in the Battle of Pensacola in 1781. Miranda also fought in the French Revolution, from 1791 thru is capture and incarceration in 1793. After various exploits, Miranda escaped and went into hiding, only to leave France for England in January 1798. Wikipeida mentions that “His name remains engraved on the Arc de Triomphe,” which may account for the image of the Arc on the stamp. Miranda “had a plan to liberate and unify all of Spanish America but his own military initiatives on behalf of an independent Spanish America failed in 1812. He was handed over to his enemies and four years later, in 1816, died in a Spanish prison. Miranda, however, is still regarded as a forerunner of Simón Bolívar.” The stamp depicts an outline map of Venezuela with a line drawing of the Arc de Triomphe superimposed on the map. To the left and right are two portraits, both I assume are a young and older Miranda. [However I am not sure about the portrait on the left. I also checked Venezuela Post, but could not find any information about the stamp release. 2009/11/26: please see comment below with additional information from fellow cartophilatelist Julien]