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Started by scarface, February 01, 2015, 05:10 PM

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scarface

Quote from: humbert on April 08, 2021, 04:45 AM
Come to think of it, is the Bastille prison a museum today? I'm thinking the birthplace of the French Revolution must be in some way preserved.
The Bastille prison was completely destroyed during the French revolution.
The last remaining traces of the old fortress of the Bastille can be found in the 4th arrondissement, on square Henri Galli.

scarface

Here are new photos taken this morning.




Here you can see the work of art of an artist: some sand sculptures. In the background you can spot a seagull.



humbert

So what happened on July 14, 1789 was that a mob overwhelmed the king's guards, stormed the prison, freed the prisoners AND destroyed the prison in the process? Was it burned down or what? Too bad the government didn't build some memorial (or replica) to such a crucial place in French history.

With respect to the pictures you took, is the body of water in the background the Mediterranean? I don't think there those types of resorts on the frigid Atlantic. If it was the Med, then where are you living? Last I heard you were somewhere in Paris or thereabouts.

scarface

Quote from: humbert on April 10, 2021, 05:19 AM
So what happened on July 14, 1789 was that a mob overwhelmed the king's guards, stormed the prison, freed the prisoners AND destroyed the prison in the process? Was it burned down or what? Too bad the government didn't build some memorial (or replica) to such a crucial place in French history.
The French Revolution was caused by a multitude of grievances but bread shortages played a role in stoking anger toward the monarchy.
The storming of the medieval fortress of Bastille on July 14, 1789 began as a hunt for armsâ€"and grains to make bread.
Actually The Bastille was later demolished and replaced by the Place de la Bastille. It took nearly 2 years to destroy the Bastille: On 16 July 1789 - Jacques Necker is reappointed as Finance Minister by King Louis, and the newly-elected Paris assembly voted to destroy the Bastille.
A few months after the Bastille was destroyed, during the night of 20â€"21 June 1791 was a significant episode in the French Revolution in which King Louis XVI and his family attempted to escape from Paris in order to initiate a counter-revolution at the head of loyal troops under royalist officers concentrated at Montmédy near the frontier. They escaped only as far as the small town of Varennes-en-Argonne, where they were arrested after having been recognized at their previous stop in Sainte-Menehould.

Quote from: humbert on April 10, 2021, 05:19 AM
With respect to the pictures you took, is the body of water in the background the Mediterranean? I don't think there those types of resorts on the frigid Atlantic. If it was the Med, then where are you living? Last I heard you were somewhere in Paris or thereabouts.
This is the Mediterranean Sea indeed. I'm living in Le Grau du Roi, I have an apartment here.The  Camargue is an unspoilt and well-preserved nature area. If I had the choice I would live here you know.

In the Camargue, the bull is king. He is acclaimed as the hero of the Camargue race, which sets the rhythm in all the Bouvine villages from Easter to October.
Typical of the midday, the Camargue race is a bullfighting game that takes place in the arenas. The purpose of the raseteur (all dressed in white) is to catch with bare hand the attributes hanging on the bull’s head. They are three in number and must be caught in the following order: the roundel (red ribbon attached between the horns), the acorns (white wool pompom attached to the basa of each horn), then the strings that surround the base of the horns. Shavers use a 4-pronged hook, sometimes attached to the wrist. Once taken, the bull pursues the raseteur in the arena, not hesitating to rush into the barriers. The Camargue races celebrate the courage of the bulls and the agility of the raseteurs. The Camargue bull or «cocardier» is indeed smarter, more nervous and faster than its Spanish cousin, the fighting bull. The cocardier gets caught up in the game and progresses through the races. It becomes more difficult to shave. Some even become real local stars. When they die, tradition dictates that he be buried standing with his head turned towards the sea.

I guess Vasudev, aa1234779 and shadow.97 have never seen Camargue races:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5lGRwcmQBw

humbert

Quote from: scarface on April 10, 2021, 10:52 AM
This is the Mediterranean Sea indeed. I'm living in Le Grau du Roi, I have an apartment here.The  Camargue is an unspoilt and well-preserved nature area. If I had the choice I would live here you know.

You bought an apartment at Le Grau du Roi? Awesome. Why do you not have a choice of living there? Is it job related? If you can't live there what's the point of buying the apartment?

Also: how to you get there from Paris (assuming you're living there)? Do you drive or catch a train?

Quote from: scarface on April 10, 2021, 10:52 AM
In the Camargue, the bull is king. He is acclaimed as the hero of the Camargue race, which sets the rhythm in all the Bouvine villages from Easter to October.

I was watching the video. From what I'm seeing it's a French form of bullfighting that [hopefully] doesn't involve mercilessly slaughtering the bull. I saw a bullfight once while visiting Bogotá, Colombia. It's sickening! The bull has no chance of winning and is slowly tortured to death. I almost couldn't bare to watch it. I ended up cheering the bull.

humbert

Hey Scarface! Of course you know more about French history than I do, so I have a question. Why is Charles DeGaulle such an important figure? As far as I know, he was involved in World War I but not to the extent where he stands out. During the occupation during World War II, instead of staying home leading the French underground he was living comfortably in England waiting for the British and Americans to liberate his country and install him as president. It's my understanding that shortly thereafter he blackmailed the Americans to restore France's colonies in Indochina or he would go with the Russians. When Algeria tried to become independent, first he tried to crush the rebellion, then he changed his mind and ended up betraying French Algerians who didn't want independence. And finally, on our about 1967 he traveled to Canada and urged to Quebeçois to essentially rebel against Canada, thereby embarrassing his hosts.

So tell me, what am I missing and/or which of my facts is wrong?

scarface

Quote from: humbert on April 13, 2021, 04:23 AM
Hey Scarface! Of course you know more about French history than I do, so I have a question. Why is Charles DeGaulle such an important figure? As far as I know, he was involved in World War I but not to the extent where he stands out. During the occupation during World War II, instead of staying home leading the French underground he was living comfortably in England waiting for the British and Americans to liberate his country and install him as president. It's my understanding that shortly thereafter he blackmailed the Americans to restore France's colonies in Indochina or he would go with the Russians. When Algeria tried to become independent, first he tried to crush the rebellion, then he changed his mind and ended up betraying French Algerians who didn't want independence. And finally, on our about 1967 he traveled to Canada and urged to Quebeçois to essentially rebel against Canada, thereby embarrassing his hosts.

So tell me, what am I missing and/or which of my facts is wrong?
On the 5th June, 1940, the French prime minister, Paul Reynaud, sacked Edouard Daladier and appointed de Gaulle as his minister of war. De Gaulle also visited London but when he returned to France on 16th June he discovered the Henri-Philippe Petain had ousted Paul Reynaud as premier and was forming a government that would seek an armistice with Germany. In danger of being arrested by the new French government, de Gaulle returned to England. The following day he made a radio broadcast calling for French people to continue fighting against the German Army.
De Gaulle became famous thanks to this speech known as the Appeal of 18 June which symbolises France’s resistance to the occupying German army. During this call, he was denouncing the French government's truce with Germany and encouraging French people to continue to resist Nazi occupation. The address sealed de Gaulle’s position as leader of the Free French Forces, who continued to resist Germany and its allies after France's surrender.
Whereas as President Roosevelt in the USA recognized the regime of Vichy, Winston Churchill refused and backed de Gaulle as leader of the "Free French". Henri-Philippe Petain responded by denouncing de Gaulle. On 4th July, 1940, a court-martial in Toulouse sentenced him in absentia to four years in prison. At a second court-martial on 2nd August, 1940, sentenced him to death.
De Gaulle made attempts to unify the resistance movements in France. In March 1943 Jean Moulin, Charles Delestraint and Andre Dewavrin managed to unite eight major resistance movements under de Gaulle's leadership. However, this good work was undermined when in June, 1943, both Delestraint and Moulin were arrested by the Gestapo.

In the US, it seems that the leader of the resistance has a different style than De Gaulle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhL8WlDHKaY

A map to understand all this:

scarface

Quote from: humbert on April 11, 2021, 04:50 AM
I was watching the video. From what I'm seeing it's a French form of bullfighting that [hopefully] doesn't involve mercilessly slaughtering the bull. I saw a bullfight once while visiting Bogotá, Colombia. It's sickening! The bull has no chance of winning and is slowly tortured to death. I almost couldn't bare to watch it. I ended up cheering the bull.
The course Camarguaise is just a race, once the race is over, the bull joins the herd back in the meadow. But there is another kind of contest known as corrida or bull-fighting, practiced in Spain, Southern France or Mexico. Humbert, Vasudev and Maher have certainly never seen this since they are not practiced in the USA, in India or in Palestine.
In this video, you can see a corrida taking place in the arènes de nîmes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAXXMhdir4w

scarface

Tonight, new photos are available on the forum.

These photos were taken today in Port Camargue.
Port-Camargue is a district of the town of Le Grau-du-Roi, in the Gard department in administrative region of Occitanie. Built in the 1960s, it is today one of the biggest marinas in Europe.














White dunes as far as the eye can see, a wild and unspoiled nature, the Mediterranean for only horizon, here is the beach of Espiguette. Jewel of the Camargue Gardoise, this spectacular immensity of sand, where dunes and coastline have been particularly preserved, is one of the largest beaches in the north of the Mediterranean Basin. Located south of Port-Camargue and Grau du Roi, half an hour from Montpellier, it unfolds like a desert, its 10 km of dunes and beach over no less than 700 m wide and is renowned for the quality of its bathing waters.








scarface

Tonight, 2 new photos are available on the forum.

This one is a fishing vessel in le Grau du roi. Look at the seagulls in the sky. Those seabirds are following fishing boats, hoping for a feast from discards thrown back into the sea.


Here you can see some ponys.