Literal translation
The sun is shining at la Sainte-Baume.
Meaning
the sun is shining over la Sainte-Baume
Explanation
This expression invokes a real place in Provence, la Sainte-Baume, a wooded massif sheltering a sanctuary grotto dedicated to Mary Magdalene, known for its deep shade and constant dampness due to the forest cover and the orientation of the cliff. Saying the sun shines there is thus a piece of geographical irony: it is precisely the place where sunlight penetrates least, thanks to the relief and the dense forest protecting the grotto. The expression is therefore said with the opposite meaning of what it states, when there is in fact no sun at all in some place or circumstance, functioning as a mocking antiphrasis. It belongs to a category of weather sayings that play on local knowledge of a specific site to create a comic or ironic effect, a device that assumes the listener's familiarity with Provençal geography. The register is ordinary and mildly facetious, used in reply to someone complaining about bad weather or to mock a sky that has stayed overcast.