Happy Birthday Maestro !! Les Misérables Anniversary Edition --- A Favorite !!

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Le Big Mac: Emmanuel Macron’s rise and rise By Lara Marlowe

Photo Credit: French President Emmanuel Macron
www.liberation.fr

President Emmanuel Macron likes to convince people. In manner and method, he is unlike his predecessors. Nicolas Sarkozy cajoled and bullied. François Hollande just gave up. Macron fixes interlocutors with his intense blue stare and builds a Cartesian argument. If that doesn’t work, he starts over, patiently, but with determination. The past week has tested the young president’s powers of persuasion. Early in the hours of April 14th, Macron used his constitutional power as commander in chief for the first time, joining the US and Britain in launching cruise missiles against three chemical weapons installations in Syria. The goal, Macron said later, was to convince Bashar al Assad and Vladimir Putin that the international community was more than a “nice” and “weak” body they could push around. In a further exercise in persuasion, Macron volunteered for a combative, 2½ hour live television interview on Sunday night, during which he made the surprising claim that, “Ten days ago, President Trump said the US would pull out of Syria. We convinced him it was necessary to stay for the duration.” The White House later issued a statement saying Trump’s view had not changed, and the French president made an embarrassing climbdown on Monday, claiming he “never said” the US or France would remain militarily engaged in Syria for the long term. Perhaps Macron, whose nickname is “Jupiter”, is threatened by hubris, the sin of pride that afflicted Greek gods. The rest of the week was one long attempt to convince Europeans and the French of the rightness of his positions. Macron – who has become the de facto leader of Europe – received the heads of the three Baltic states who have teamed up with five other northern EU countries, including the Netherlands and Ireland, to thwart his efforts to further integrate the euro zone. Then, before a more sympathetic audience at the EU parliament in Strasbourg, Macron pleaded with proponents of liberal democracy to wake up and oppose the populist authoritarians who deny European values. Macron then travelled to Berlin in yet another effort to enlist German chancellor Angela Merkel’s support for his European reform agenda. On Monday, Macron will go to Washington for a three-day state visit, the first of Trump’s presidential term. Although the two men have clashed on climate change, the Iran nuclear accord, trade protectionism and the rise of Eurosceptical populism, Trump appears to have been charmed by the young president, who says Franco-American co-operation is crucial in the fight against terrorism. The Irish Times

French election: Le Pen, Macron... or Mélenchon? By James Masters, Maud Le Rest, and Margaux Deygas

Paris (CNN) It has been one of the most unpredictable and dramatic presidential campaigns in French political history -- and with less than a week to go before the election, the outcome remains too close to call. Only a few weeks ago, it appeared almost guaranteed that the French electorate would vote for a face off between National Front Leader Marine Le Pen and independent candidate Emmanuel Macron. But as Sunday's first round of voting draws ever closer, the political whirlwind that is far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon appears to be gathering speed. Will Le Pen ease through? Can Macron persuade voters he's got a plan? Or will the left-wing firebrand Mélenchon cause widespread shock? (... continued.) CNN

Vera Wang’s Paris Love Affair By Rachel Donadio

It is 1969. Vera Wang is 19. Her competitive figure skating career is ending, and she is studying art history at the Sorbonne during a junior year abroad. She is walking down the street with her mother. Both are dressed in their favorite designer of the moment: Yves Saint Laurent. A tan belted raincoat that fell midcalf, brown Céline boots and a Hermès Kelly bag for Maman, and a navy blue peacoat, gray flannel slacks and a turtleneck for Vera. “That was the first time that I really became Parisian,” Ms. Wang said earlier this month, drinking tea tea at one of her longtime Paris haunts, Carette on the Place du Trocadéro in the 16th Arrondissement. The designer was back in town because, on Tuesday, she will become one of a handful of designers to be made a chevalier of France’s Legion of Honor, the country’s most elite decoration for contributions to the glory of France (other American designers who have received the honor include Ralph Lauren). At the end of the ceremony, which falls on the first day of Paris Fashion Week, she’ll be showing her fall 2017 collection in a short film online. She calls it an ode to Paris. “When I heard about the honor, I think I was actually in shock, because I didn’t grow up as a French designer. I’m an American designer,” she said. “But I did grow up with an integral part of my life being attached to Paris and France.” “I have had five lives here. Maybe seven,” she continued. “There’s been so much history for me in this city that sometimes it’s hard to come back, because glimpses of what my life once was and will no longer ever be again still affect me.” Ms. Wang, who grew up in Manhattan, first visited Paris at age 6. Her parents bought her a pair of charcoal-gray patent leather Mary Janes. The shoes opened worlds. “I was a typical kid: I got my school shoes in the fall and I got my Easter shoes in April. And I looked at my feet and I was just mesmerized by them,” Ms. Wang said. “They were shiny and to me, fancy,” she said. “It was my first feeling of being intrigued by fashion. By clothing. By things you wear. It was raining that night and I remember looking down at my feet and I suddenly just had this awakening or something.” Fast forward to her junior year abroad. Ms. Wang was dating a fellow professional figure skater, Patrick Péra, who was on the French national team. She traveled around France attending his competitions. In Paris, she would buy fragrances at Guerlain on the Champs-Élysées; go to the movies at Trocadéro and clubbing at Jimmie’s Regime and Chez Castel, a nightclub owned by the French soccer star Jean Castel. “I was not a member. My boyfriend was,” she said. “It was so sophisticated. It was the mix.” “It was like Studio 54,” she added. “You would see Alain Delon there. You would see Jean-Paul Belmondo.” “That was a good year,” she said, noting (with some understatement), “I did not live the life of a typical exchange student.” She spent her days strolling on the Avenue Montaigne, Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré and Avenue Victor Hugo. She would shop at Kenzo, near the Place des Victoires in the Second Arrondissement, then pop into the tiny Louis XIV restaurant nearby for lunch. “I looked for it, but it’s gone,” she said. That year, she lived on the Rue Spontini, down from what was then Yves Saint Laurent’s shop. Her mother would visit, and when her mom walked the dog, she “would see him coming to work at 10 at night,” Ms. Wang said. “My mother, who always loved fashion, would say: ‘That boy is too skinny. He works too hard.’” When her father visited, he’d stay at the Hôtel Plaza Athenée. “He’d call it the most expensive coffee shop in the world because he’d have a hamburger and a cup of coffee,” Ms. Wang said. He bought her a white cotton double-breasted smoking. She said she loved it, then spilled red wine on it by accident. “I remember crying,” she said. “I don’t usually cry over clothes. That’s how much fashion had come to mean to me by then.” Her art history class at the Sorbonne would visit the Jeu de Paume; its Impressionist collection is now in the Musée d’Orsay. The teacher, Mademoiselle Vanel (“Always Mademoiselle, like Chanel,” Ms. Wang said) “slept one night with Picasso. Probably among thousands of women. And she never married, and she never forgot it. She used to tell us a story of how one night with Picasso was worth a lifetime alone.” That’s when Ms. Wang met a woman who worked as an editor at Paris Vogue. “I just went crazy, and I said: ‘When I go back to New York, when I finish college, Sarah Lawrence, then I want to be that. That’s what I want to do,’” Ms. Wang said. She did, eventually spending 16 years as an editor at Vogue. Then, in 1982, when she was 33, she left Vogue and moved back to Paris for a year to catch her breath. “Paris has always been a place that I’ve run to — it’s always been my escape,” she said. She bought an apartment in the 16th Arrondissement. (She has since sold it.) “It’s not the commercial Paris, l’Opéra or St. Germain des Prés. This is my ‘hood,” she said. She went for long runs in the Bois du Boulogne, dated an art gallerist and reinvented herself. When she returned to New York, she segued into working as a design director for Ralph Lauren. In 1990, she opened her own bridal boutique, and then started ready-to-wear. Her brand is now sold in 28 countries. Which is how she ended up back in Paris. “It takes great courage to just live when you’ve kept yourself busy,” Ms. Wang said. “My own country has always been about career: getting it done, always worrying but not wasting time, trying to be efficient. But Paris taught me how to live.” International New York Times Wikipedia

Countdown: The ten dishes the French love the most

Take a scrumptious look at what the French have just voted as their favourite French dishes. 

 

10. Les tomates farcies

 

Better known as "stuffed tomatoes" in English (doesn't sound as fancy, does it?), this dish sees roasted tomatoes stuffed with ground sausage, garlic, mushrooms, and often much more. 

 

9. Le steak-frites 

 

Better known as steak and fries in English, this is a dish that was invented in France, according to the French (the Belgians think it was them who invented it). Either way, this is a staple meal in any brasserie in France. Delicious.  

8. Couscous 

 

The food so nice they named it twice. This north-African dish has also become a favourite in France, and can be served in 1,001 different ways. Enjoy. 

 

7. Le gigot d'agneau 

 

Better known as a leg of lamb in English, this dish - when cooked right - is a real winner. With a bit of garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, and plenty of time - you've got yourself a meal to remember. 

 

6. Les moules-frites 

 

Mussels and fries - a meal you'll also see plastered on the menus of brasseries everywhere but particularly in the north and north west of the country.

 

5. La blanquette de veau 

 

A veal ragout where the meat isn't browned, usually by cooking it in a white stock or flavoured water. 

 

4. Le bœuf bourguignon 

 

Also called beef Burgundy, this is one of the most classic French dishes, and usually ranks as France's favourite food. In case you've never heard of it, it's a beef stew braised in Burgundy red wine. 

 

3. La raclette 

 

Raclette is melted cheese, often scraped off the side of the cheese wheel (the French verb 'to scrape' is racler). More modern variants see meat and cheese grilled on an electric hot plate. Although the Swiss will claim Raclet is from their side of the Alps, there's no doubt it's popular in France.

 

2. La côte de boeuf 

 

In second place it was the rib steak, which in France is served with the bone still attached. This dish is a popular one in France, and some restaurants will serve a huge steak for two people to share.

 

1. Le magret de canard 

 

And number one is the magret de canard, or duck breast in English. The duck breast is cooked like a steak and served medium rare. Controversially, it's traditionally taken from a duck that was raised specifically for its liver - known as foie gras in France. The Local-France

Bono caught in attack chaos as he dined beside the promenade By Alan O'Keeffe

U2 frontman Bono was caught in the chaos of the Bastille Day massacre in Nice and had to be evacuated from a restaurant on the seafront by French police. The Dubliner (56) was eating near the promenade on the French Riviera when mass killer Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel drove a truck through a crowd gathered to watch fireworks beside the beach, murdering 84 people, including 10 children. Following the attack, Bono and others dining in La Petite Maison were evacuated by police amid the fear and confusion in the area. Speaking to 'La Parisienne', Anne-Laure Rubi, the owner of the upmarket restaurant, said it was just an ordinary Bastille Day with customers sitting and looking at the Promenade des Anglais. Ms Rubi explained: "Suddenly, I see people running, without shouting. It is a silent panic. It was extraordinary." Ms Rubi told 'La Parisienne' that "by reflex" she grabbed the arm of Christian Estrosi, the former Nice mayor, who was sitting close to Bono. "He was on the phone. He didn't want to say much. I think he was just learning about the attack," she said.

Confusing

Ms Rubi's staff pulled down the shutters, and instructed everybody to hide and remain calm, until the all-clear was given. One customer, who asked not to be named, said: "The situation was very confusing. We did not know what was happening." The customer said they heard rumours that gunmen had got out of a van and were firing at the crowd. "After half-an-hour, the police evacuated us," added the customer. "Everyone came out onto Place Massena, under police protection." Bono and his friends, like other customers, left the restaurant with their hands on their heads. "When we got out, we still believed that there was a hostage, including one at the Meridien hotel, that people were still circulating and that the police were looking for," said the customer. Bono owns a home in the nearby town of Eze, and had been relaxing with friends when the atrocity started at around 10.30pm last Thursday. The Irish Independent

Added: Nice, France. May their innocent souls rest in peace. We must continue to love and trust in each other and our abilities to fight terrorism. And elect leaders who can get the job done and protect our havens. 

France to deploy 60,000 police officers for Euro 2016 By News Wires

Photo Credit: logovaults.com

France said Wednesday it will deploy more than 60,000 police to provide security for Euro 2016 as it vowed to do “everything possible to avoid a terrorist attack” during the tournament that starts next month.

The comments from Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve came after the Stade de France in Paris, which will host the event’s opening match and final, descended into chaos Saturday before the national cup final after smoke bombs were set off inside the stadium, sparking panic among crowds that clustered at the stadium’s exits. Cazeneuve told the sports daily l’Equipe that the match between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille “did not serve as a test” for Euro 2016. “It was not the same public, not the same organiser, nor the same security deployment,” he said. “However, what happened will be taken into account” ahead of the month-long football tournament, which kicks off June 10. “Our objective is that the Euro is a big festive gathering, but we owe the French the truth. Zero percent precaution means 100 percent risk, but 100 percent precaution does not mean a zero percent risk,” he said. “We are doing everything to avoid a terrorist attack, and we are preparing to respond. More than 60,000 police will be on the ground.” The Stade de France was targeted by suicide bombers during the attacks by the Islamic State group on the French capital in November. The assailants tried unsuccessfully to get inside the security perimeter. Cazeneuve said security inside the stadium is the responsibility of UEFA, while safety at the “fan zones” — which will accommodate seven million people in 10 host cities across the country — is the mandate of private security agents. “Fan zones are secure spaces, I took the decision to impose security pat-downs at entrances, to use metal detectors and to ban bags inside. If there were no fan zones, fans would regroup in an ad-hoc setting and the risk (of an attack) would be greater,” he said. Despite the beefed-up measures, he said there was no particular threat against the football tournament. “At this time we do not have a specific threat to a specific team or a specific player, a specific match, or a specific fan zone,” he said. He added that protests would not be banned but did not rule out possible disorder as the country is gripped by a major labour strike. “It remains an open possibility... that security cannot be guaranteed by law and order forces.” (AFP) France 24 Photo UEFA

France’s Hollande pledges military, financial support to Lebanon

French President Francois Hollande on Saturday pledged financial and military support for Lebanon and urged politicians to end the political crisis by electing a president as soon as possible, at the start of a regional tour.

The Socialist president vowed to step up assistance for Syrian refugees in Lebanon, pledging 50 million euros this year and 100 million euros over the next three years to cope with the humanitarian crisis. Lebanon hosts more than 1 million registered Syrian refugees, a quarter of its population. It has the highest refugee-to-resident population in the world. Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri told Hollande that it was necessary "to find a political solution to lift the burden" created by the refugee population on the country. The French leader on Sunday travelled to a refugee camp for Syrians in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley to speak with families who will be resettled in France. "I just visited a camp the likes of which are all over Lebanon," Hollande told reporters after spending nearly an hour in the camp. "They (Syrian children) don't want violence. They want to learn and go home, join their families, their country," he said. Hollande's Beirut visit, the first stop on a high-profile four day Middle East tour, came just weeks after Saudi Arabia cut $3 billion in military aid to Lebanon, where violence has repeatedly spilled over the border from the brutal Syrian civil war since it began in 2011. Hollande promised, "immediate aid to strengthen Lebanon's military capacity" to protect its people. High-profile tour It is Hollande's second visit to Lebanon since 2012. He will travel on to Egypt on Sunday afternoon and then Jordan after his two-day visit to Lebanon. France 24 Photo

France to close down Amsterdam’s Institut Français

Photo Credit: J.W. Boudewijn

France is closing down its cultural institute in Amsterdam and is looking to sell its listed building on the Vijzelgracht, the Parool says, quoting teachers who work there. The Institut Français will close on July 1 after 83 years in the city, and most of the 25 members of staff will be out of a job, the paper says. The institute, which used to be known as the Maison Descartes, was set up in 1933 and has been located in a former orphanage on the Vijzelgracht since 1971. The institute focuses on increasing awareness of the French language and culture. It gives language lessons to some 4,000 people a year and has a library of some 35,000 books and films. So far, 2,000 people have signed a petition against the closure, set up by staff. A spokesman for the French embassy in The Hague told the Parool the sale of the building is part of a package of ‘reforms’. The Dutch cultural institute in Paris, the Institut Neerlandais closed at the end of 2013 because its budget was withdrawn. DutchNews

Les Misérables

Do You Hear The People Sing Photo

Monaco's impressive contribution to World Expo 2015 By Madeleine Adey

The construction of Monaco’s impressive pavilion has begun in preparation for the 2015 World Expo in Milan. Monaco will be one of 144 countries represented at the expo, which will focus on the way in which food unites people of different cultures and religions, as well as the profound concerns it raises. The design is particularly impressive and echoes the theme of the expo of ‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.’ The Italian architect who designed the pavilion, Enrico Pollini, based it on three themes: shipping containers, transport and storage elements. The sloping grass roof garden represents the landscape of the south east of France, where the mountains descend towards the sea. The inside of the pavilion will house recycled wooden crates forming a kind of 'ideas workhouse' with 11 distinct stations. Each station will represent an environmental topic, such as sustainable fishing, deforestation, the surge in jellyfish numbers and ocean acidification, for example. There will also be services including a restaurant, as well as a VIP lounge and terrace for private visitors. The event, which will begin in May 2015 and end in October, is a non-commercial universal exposition held every five years, attracting millions of visitors who are able to explore pavilions, exhibitions and cultural events put on by hundreds of participants including nations, international organisations and businesses. The interests of the event do not lie only with the participants and visitors, however. Each expo aims to have a wider impact on cultural, social and environmental transformation, leaving behind a positive legacy not only for the country in which it is held but hopefully for the rest of the world. This year’s theme will therefore explore the problems surrounding nutrition alongside the resources of our planet, with the aim of opening up a global dialogue to exchange views on these extremely relevant issues. The Monaco Times

Queen Elizabeth visits France as part of D-Day commemorations

The Queen of England is honouring a French secret agent today who worked under Winston Churchill during World War II. The Queen is on a three-day state visit to France as part of commemorations for the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings. The former secret agent, Robert Maloubier, is to be made a member of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for the sabotage work he carried out as a member of the British Army during the war. Following the presentation, the Queen will travel to Normandy for the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings on the region’s beaches. Here she will be joined by her grandson the Duke of Cambridge and his wife the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton. After the commemoration ceremony, she will attend a formal banquet with President Hollande at the Elysée palace, partially a celebration for the Queen’s official birthday. On the final day of her trip, the Queen will visit a Parisian flower market which is to be renamed in her honour. The Queen first visited the flower market in 1948 as a young princess, then pregnant with her son Prince Charles. Such a gesture as renaming a market is rare on behalf of the French authorities for a person who is still alive, and a senior aide at the Elysée revealed it was part of an “exceptional effort” to honour the queen, who is well-liked in France. “They know she speaks French very well, that she likes being in France… There is a real warmth and affection,” confirmed British ambassador to France, Sir Peter Ricketts. The Riviera Times