Heroes and Villains-Bastille Day, July 14th.

“The flames licked up the walls of the Bastille as the angry crowds gathered at the base of the walls. Frightened soldiers cowered behind the hastily errected barracades. The angry mob advanced. Liberty, equality, fraternity, the famous words of Maximilien Robespierre -somehow those words seemeed completely misplaced as the revolution gained momentum.”

This is the France of the late eighteenth century; yet it could equally have been the France of Autumn 2005 as the riots that caught the worlds attention sent echoes reverberating back to the student uprising of the sixties. Every so often France explodes from its normal tranquil self into an angry rage of simmering jealousies and resentments. Yet pre-revolution days the Kings of the Louis era sent thousands of peasants to their deaths every decade during that century, in search of its impeialistic ambitions. So was the revolution a good thing or bad? Do the words of Robespierre come back to haunt, or are they France’s crowning glory? Do the ends justify the means? It is specualted that upto 40000 people lost their lives during the Reign of Terror that Robespierre instigiated. Justified or not in comparison to the hundreds of thousands sacrificed on the battlefields of the Kings of France ? Hero or villain?

What also of the France today? Will the real France stand up? Is it the France of Medecins Sans Frontieres and their Nobel Prize winning exploits across the forgotten world that lead the way with other humanitarian organisations? Alternatively the France that this w/e has been celebrating the dramatic release of Ingrid Betancourt out of several years of captivity in Columbia. Perhaps it is the France that sees Sarkosy mediating with Syria and Israel, entertaining President Assad. Or is the France that reaped devastation in Algeria, 1954-62 and continues to ignore the debt it owes even when the pain explodes under their noses through the riots of 2005?

And what of the UK? Would it have been better if we had gone through a revolution in those days of the late eighteenth century? Certainly all the ingredients were there to ferment a similar tinderbox. There would now be no royal family and without a doubt the church/state alliance, crumbling as it is, would not be there. Any revolutionaries out there want to comment or staunch Royalists that want to put up a defense?

So we begin a short series this week of heroes and villains. Who is you hero? And who are the modern day villains? You might not want to write 400 words, but maybe you just want to post one sentence below.

Whatever the answers we salute France this day for there is so much that inspires in this most beautiful of nations. Its July 14th… and that means Bastille Day!

Walking round the World-Paris

Walking down through Northern France we were like kids let out of school early, fooling around in the wonderful early Autumn sun. The rolling hills of Normandy were captivating and the wonder of the journey that lay before us totally exciting.

Anyone who has travelled will know that incredible feeling of leaving responsibilities behind and plunging out into the adventure of new horizons and new experiences. We were no different and those early days walking to Paris sparkled with promise.

Walking into the capital of France however was tough; not quite the welcome we expected from the city of romance. Tracking down a dual carriageway, brushing shoulders with 16 wheeled wagons was a foretaste of what was to follow as this crazy journey began to unfold. Dragging our tired limbs in through the Northern African Quarter of Paris began though to give us real insight into the Paris that the tourists do not see; the areas that, six weeks later gave birth to the riots that rocked France and caught the attention of the world. That’s the wonder of walking; no longer whisked along in the air conditioned bubble of public transport but out pounding each and every mile, allowing the dirt and grime of the city to mix with the sweat and blisters of the road.

What a city of contrasts. Relaxing as we did a stones throw from the Notre Dame Cathedral we  were totally oblivious to the tinder box burning away beneath the facade of the tourist trail. Soon, rather than the Eifel Tower it was going to be the fear and anger of rioters and police alike that caught the news world wide.

Since those Autumn days of enjoying the magic of that great city I have done some research of my own on the raw underbelly of Paris. It might help to put the riots into context.

• During the Algerian war of Independence, 1954-62, over 1 million Algerians were killed in what has been described as the most brutal conflicts France has ever been involved with. (Fisk, Robert,(2005) The Conquest of the Middle East, Harper).
• In October 1961, it is alleged that an unreported massacre of 300 Algerians took place in Paris as they protested about a night curfew imposed against them; their bodies dumped in the Seine. (Fisk, Robert,(2005) The Conquest of the Middle East)
• The French riots of Autumn 2005 started on the 25th Oct and ran at their peak through to the 14th Nov, spreading right across France. Many commentators blame a society that has marginalised the grand children of North African immigration.

Any comments or further insight?