Two Spiders for ID please

[Chris Jackson]

These 2 spiders were photographed in the month of October in the South of France - one in my garden and the other on waste land.
Are they the same species I ask myself ?
Anybody know which species ? More precisely (for Mikhaïl), are they the same species as the one in question in Russ's "France/Spain" thread recently, but without a view of its back?
Thanks, Chris

spider 1

spider 2

[Mikhail]

Your spiders are both the very variable Garden Cross Spider Araneus diadematus. Russ's may well be the same, but I could not be certain without a view of the upperside.

M.

[Chris Jackson]

Thanks Mikhail, at least I can put my own records in order.
Cheers, Chris