Albania, on the Conquest of the East | France 2 | Envoyé Spécial

As the bird flies, the Land of the Eagles is less than 2,000 km from France. But up till now it has been ignored by tourists. For a long time, Albania was the most closed dictatorship in the Communist bloc, a prisoner of the paranoia of its ruler Enver Hoxha. Prostitution, money laundering, corruption… Twenty years after the collapse of Communism, this tiny Balkan republic still suffers from its bad reputation. But with its shores of white sand, its mountains, its heritage and sunny climate, Albania?the size of Provence?has great tourist potential. It appeals to tourists with the pioneer spirit. We followed Claude and Claudine, a French couple active in the 68 revolution who have come to realise a youthful dream: discover the remains of Communism. We accompanied Michel-Yves Labbé, manager of a travel agency scouting in the north of the country: are the hotels up to European standards? Is it easy to get around and are the natives friendly? Albania is a promised land for foreign tour operators and investors.