And its time as time flies to tell you my latest rants about some news from France. An eventful post in my blog that I have enjoyed together with you for the last 12 years now!! And I thank you. This is election time in my belle France so lots of news and blah blah on TV but life goes on for us world travelers!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The first figures for the participation rate in the second round of the presidential election in France, were announced today Sunday, April 24, 2022 at noon, by the Ministry of the Interior. 26.41% of voters voted at midday, with rates ranging from 15.37% to 34.46% depending on the department. The highest participation rate is currently reached in Gers with 34.46%, followed by Jura (34.38%) and Ain (33.92%). Conversely, voters did not come to the polls this morning in Seine-Saint-Denis, where the turnout was only 15.37%. This 2nd round turnout is almost two points lower than that of the second round of the 2017 presidential election. It then reached 28.23%. The Second round of the presidential election: the turnout stands at 63.23% at 17h (5 p.m.), According to Le Parisien , Today in France, and France Télévisions sponsored Ipsos / Sopra Steria poll , the final abstention rate in the second round of the presidential election would stand at 28% at 20h (8 p.m.) The abstention record for a second round dates from 1969 with 31.1%. It is the lowest in the last five presidential elections. In my former Yvelines 78 ,the participation at 17h was 57.70%, indicates the préfecture. This is down five points from the same time in 2017 (63.34%), a steeper drop than the national average (63.23% ). Abtention is a sign of no qualify contenders they are both bad, so either you take the best of the bad or don’t vote at all : I took the first option, At the Champ-de-Mars, the calm mix with anxiaty with the supporters of Emmanuel Macron et Marine Le Pen has planned to parade by bus in the event of victory. The bus or buses will converge on the Armenonville pavilion, in the Bois de Boulogne. Well Macron won with 58% first President re elected in the V Republic but Le Pen received the highest vote ever at 42%. So we still in democracy with two strong parties of Center (mix left and right cabinet) , and Extreme Right. The municipal congressionnel elections will be in June 12 and 19 2022.
The Place de Catalunya, right next to Montparnasse train station (14éme) says farewell to the “du Creuset-du-Temps” fountain which had been enthroned, flat but leaning, since 1985 right in the middle! The city destroyed cobblestone by cobblestone the work of art, signed by the Polish sculptor Shamaï Haber, to the great displeasure of the artist’s family. The work was at a standstill, the water had not flowed for almost ten years. the place of Catalonia, roundabout which serves in a star , the boulevard Pasteur, the avenue of the Commandant Mouchotte, and the rue Jean-Zay and rue du Château, was deprived of water, vast, useless and of a great sadness ; shame to the city new order ! . The roundabout, bordered on the west side by large buildings designed by Ricardo Bofill, “Stalinist” for some, “Greco-classical” for others, is beginning its transformation. restricted traffic areas, wide sidewalks, greening, installing planters, etc. In the process, the small segment of rue du Château, on the square side, will become pedestrian. Delivery is scheduled for the first half of 2024. Goodbye Paris! At least as long as the current mayor is there ! More of what is coming to Paris on the city webpage : https://www.paris.fr/pages/foret-urbaine-place-de-catalogne-la-concertation-est-lancee-19389
Go Thursday, and until further notice, every Thursday following, from 10h to noon, at the Pantheon (see post). On March 26, 1851, the front page of the daily National, like almost all press titles, echoed an extraordinary and public scientific experiment: that of the pendulum of Léon Foucault, a renowned physicist and astronomer. At the Panthéon of Paris to be seen and worth the detour even from the Jardin du Luxembourg !(see post) Enjoy it as I ! webpage : https://www.paris-pantheon.fr/en/Prepare-for-your-visit/Practical-information2
The Galerie Glénat moves to Boulogne-Billancourt. Farewell Paris, hello Boulogne! Fans of the ninth art now have an appointment in the Hauts-de-Seine (92) to discover the works exhibited by the publisher. First author in the spotlight: François Ravard and his drawings and watercolors between escape and poetry. The Glénat gallery left this week its offices on rue de Picardie, opposite the Carreau du Temple in the 3éme arrondissement of Paris, which it has occupied since its creation ten years ago. Direction Boulogne-Billancourt and the ground floor of the glass building, headquarters of the editions… Glénat. Located near the recently renovated Albert-Kahn museum, the transparent building overlooking the Seine, designed by Jean-Michel Wilmotte, offers 150 m2 of airy and bright exhibitions. With always the same objective as underlined by its initiators: “to promote the current international graphic scene through exhibitions, inside and outside the walls”. But also tell the story of the comic strip and offer original pieces to collectors from all over the world. The Glénat gallery today represents 135 authors and has a fund of 3,600 works for sale. Galerie Glénat, 24, avenue du Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny in Boulogne-Billancourt. Metro line 10 Boulogne Pont de Saint-Cloud. Webpage : https://www.galerie-glenat.com/
At my sentimental Meaux, (77) You can find out how the Bossuet museum was hidden in the Château de Coupvray during the Nazis Occupation, At La ferme du château de Coupvray is organizing an exhibition until Saturday April 28 on the 450 works of art from the Bossuet museum which have been hidden from the Nazis. Paintings from the Italian Renaissance, post-impressionist paintings, 20C furniture.etc. at the exhibition “The Bossuet museum hides in the Château de Coupvray” the forty works presented have a priori nothing to do with each other . On loan from the Bossuet de Meaux museum, if they are gathered in the farm of the Château de Coupvray until Saturday April 28, it is because they were hidden in the monument during WWII. Between April 1943 and November 1945, it housed 450 paintings, statues and sculptures to preserve them from the Nazis. The Exhibition “The Bossuet museum hides at the Château de Coupvray” until Saturday April 30 at the farm of the Château de Coupvray, road D2 of Coupvray. Free admission, every day from 10h to noon and from 14h to 19h Free. The city of Coupvray on the castle : https://www.coupvray.fr/point-d-interet/parc-et-communs-du-chateau/
At the Museum of the Great War (WWI) in Meaux, an unprecedented dive into the trenches, “real cities of fighters”, The museum is hosting an exhibition dedicated to the trenches until August 15 2022. Forget everything you know or think you know about the trenches of the 14-18 war. Pending the opening to the public in 2024 of a life-size open-air trench in the adjoining park, an exhibition is dedicated to them at the Museum of the Great War, in Meaux (Seine-et-Marne 77 ). First, although symbols of the First World War, they were not born with this conflict. “We rediscovered them during the 14-18 war but it was already used… in ancient Greece! The armies of Louis XIV dug trenches to seize the city of Arras (Pas-de-Calais). Then the trenches reappeared during the Crimean War, between 1853 and 1856. The 250 objects presented in this exhibition, coming for the most part from the immense collection of the Meldois museum (Celtic name for Meaux) ,rich with a collection of 70,000 objects to provide a better understanding of the reality of the trenches. Military manuals of the time explain how to dig his hole. Because initially, the trench is just a simple shelter dug by a soldier to protect himself from enemy fire. Then these holes are connected together. Then these trenches constituted real networks which extended over 750 km, from the Vosges to the North Sea. But the interlacings also developed over several kilometers behind the front. On average, they are 3 meters deep. But they can go down to 50 meters. It’s not easy to get around without getting lost. Panels with the names of the axes are affixed. Two examples of these panels, made of wood, are shown to the public. Each soldier goes to the front with a short spade that requires digging on his knees. Other objects, constituting the craftsmanship of the trenches, such as lamps made from grenades or pieces of shells by the soldiers to light up there, are also part of the exhibition. “Trench” until August 15 2022 at the Musée de la Grand Guerre or Museum of the Great War, rue Lazare-Ponticelli in Meaux. Open every day (except Tuesday) from 9h30 to 18h. Free every first Sunday of the month. A great museum, see post, and sentimental town if you read my blog, Webpage : https://www.museedelagrandeguerre.com/programmes/exposition-temporaire/tranchees/
30 years of Disneyland Paris (actually Seine et Marne dept 77 see post),150 drones light up the sky in a truly magical show, A new six-minute light show projected on Sleeping Beauty’s castle. The anniversary number is lit up in the sky by 150 luminous drones. Impressive. We will be there in late September 2022 just saying lol!!! webpage : https://www.disneylandparis.com/en-gb/events/30th-anniversary/
The largest solar power plant in Île-de-France installed in the Disneyland Paris visitor car park,(we will see it) Of the 82,000 photovoltaic panels planned, the first phase of the Disneyland Paris solar power plant is now operational. In the form of shade structures covering the visitor parking spaces, it will eventually supply 17% of the energy needs of the amusement park, i.e. the equivalent of the annual consumption of 17,400 inhabitants. The construction, which started in the fall of 2020, will end next year,(2023) the largest solar power plant in Île-de-France and one of the largest in Europe. The signs will cover 11,200 parking spaces over 20 hectares. An area equivalent to 27 football fields. This is not the first eco-responsible initiative of Disneyland Paris. Since 2013, it has had its own wastewater treatment plant which treats wastewater from toilets, sinks or kitchens coming from the Disneyland Paris park, Walt Disney Studios and the Disneyland Hotel. Recycled water is used to clean walkways, water green spaces, and fill fountains and ornamental ponds. All of the Paris Nature Villages (2021 visited) are heated by a geothermal power plant installed on site. It covers a total of 18% of the heat needs of the amusement park. Finally since 2019, plastic straws and bags have been replaced by paper equivalents and bags made from 80% recycled plastic.
The filming of The Three Musketeers (one of my all time favorite) invades Moret-sur-Loing et Orvanne!(77) The film crews of this French blockbuster featuring Romain Duris, François Civil and Eva Green, among others, settled down this past Thursday near the bridge and the dungeon. The gaze of the Seine-et-Marnais will be sharper than that of other spectators when they dive into The Three Musketeers, adapted once again to the cinema from the novel by Alexandre Dumas. After the castle of Fontainebleau and the cathedral of Meaux, it is now the turn of Moret-sur-Loing to appear in the cast of this tricolor blockbuster in two episodes, signed Martin Bourboulon and filmed at the same time. They will hit the big screen on April 5 and December 13 , 2023 respectively. The medieval city has often had the honors of Jean-Paul Rappeneau who came to film Les Mariés de l’An II, Cyrano de Bergerac and J’accuse. It was this time the choice of Martin Bourboulon, to whom we owe Eiffel. The director has managed a cast that should attract French film lovers: François Civil as d’Artagnan, Vincent Cassel as Athos, Romain Duris as Aramis and Pio Marmaï as Porthos. already to install huge outdoor projectors to illuminate the interior of the dungeon. This 12C building serves as a setting for scenes in which we will find Eva Green as Milady. We look forward to see it, we have seeing it in Spanish, English ,and French, one film we taugh our boys one for all and all for one!! proudly we stand together. The city of Moret sur Loing et Orvanne on the circulation due to the movie : https://moretloingetorvanne.fr/infos-pratiques/
In the Oise (60), a sublime chapel dormant in the attic of a school for more than 160 years, Only accessible by a hatch located under the roof of a neighboring building, this local heritage treasure located above a class from the Pierre-Sauvage elementary school in Compiègne, is only known to a few initiates. In a few weeks, the curious will be able to discover it… on video. To access it, you have to go through the neighboring building, reach the attic and go down through a cramped hatch, without forgetting, therefore, to have brought a ladder. It is only when a double white door is pushed that the sleeping chapel is revealed to lucky visitors ! How can it took 160 yrs to see this !! There is history here which I like, It was a former convent of the Minimes, then School of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, current Pierre Sauvage Elementary School , In part of the former convent of the Minimes, sold during the French revolution, the city installed the Brothers of Christian Doctrine in 1792. After leaving the premises, they returned there in 1818 and transformed certain parts of the buildings. The church having been sold in 1791, the brothers set up a chapel on the first floor, designed as a 17C Baroque oratory, with Italianate decorations. The chapel contains the coat of arms of the archpriest of Saint-James of Compiègne, It would be grand to see it !! A private site with more info : https://pierresauvage60200.toutemonecole.fr/pages/570007
Machu Picchu, two words where a dream gallops. The image of a citadel perched so high that it touches the sky and the gods, so well built that it is one with the mountain, so distant that it was forgotten for centuries until its rediscovered in 1911. Two words so strong that they immediately conjure up in our minds the ghost of the Inca and their golden but fallen empire. So fascinating that the designers of “Machu Picchu and the Treasures of Peru” could not help but ensure them a place of choice in the title of their exhibition which takes up residence in Paris at the Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine, after a first stage in Boca Raton (Florida). Yes it would be very educational indeed to attend, The Paris tourist office on it ; https://en.parisinfo.com/paris-show-exhibition/265205/exhibition-machu-picchu-and-the-treasures-of-peru-cite-de-l-architecture-et-du-patrimoine
There you go folks, another dandy round of news of my belle France , of course, chosen by me; there are many others. We are marching on to Summers and eating out in our veranda porch every day now , grand! Hope you enjoy the post as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 