The Statue of Liberty in France

The Statue of Liberty, whose full name is Liberty Enlightening the World, was one of the greatest gifts ever given. The original was given by the people of France to the United States in 1886 and was installed in New York's harbor but did you know there are lots of Lady Libertys in France today? There are at least 25 in France and even more throughout the world.

In Paris alone there are quite a few. The one you need to know about is the one on the Allée des Cygnes which was a gift from the American community of Paris to Paris to commemorate the centennial of the French Revolution. On her tablet is the date July 14, 1789, as well as July 4, 1776. Then there's the one in the Luxembourg Gardens, inside a private lobby on rue du Cirque, there is one on the roof of a peniche near the Eiffel Tower and one in the Musée d'Orsay. Yet another is very tiny and hard to see; it is incrusted in the torso of César's Centaure (place Michel Debré Paris 6th) near his le…

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Understanding the Municipal Elections in France

First: what is a Municipality? In France a municipality is referred to as a « commune ». The French word commune appeared in the 12th century, from Medieval Latin « communia », meaning a large gathering of people sharing a common life; from Latin « communis », things held in common. It consists of the municipal council and the executive which is the mayor and deputy mayor. The mayor, elected by the councillors, is solely responsible for the administration. But he can delegate some of his functions to one or more deputies. In Paris there is a council for the whole city and for each arrondissement. The term hôtel de ville designates the building which houses la mairie. The terme mairie designates the communal administration since the Révolution of 1789. In smaller towns mairie is used for both the building and the administration. Who is elected in the Municipal Elections in France? All French municipalities will elect their local councillors for 6 years all at the same time. …
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France Expat memoirs

Thinking of moving to France or just want a laugh? France Expat memoirs are good for both. Learn from those who have gone before you and have lived through the trials and jubilations of expat life in France. You can learn from their mistakes and enjoy their anecdotes "right from the horse's mouth". Or just commiserate! There are a lot of  English-speaking expats living in France, and many have written memoirs. Doing this is easier than ever now with self-publishing options. The currently trending France Expat memoirs have been around for a long time beginning its upward climb as a genre with the still wonderful A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle published in 1989. French License by Joe Start Another book about adapting to life in France, but this time from the perspective of the Paris suburbs and through the trial of getting a driver's license. In fact the whole book is one long road trip. We are so relieved when after 262 pages, 10 years or mille bornes Joe finally gets his F…
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Jim’s Paris Kiosk

Jim's Paris Kiosk Jim Howarth, the only Englishman amongst the 409 kiosquiers in Paris, was born in Nottingham and has been in Paris since the mid 70s. He carries 1500 titles from the French dailies to specialized magazine press, including titles in English such as the British newspapers, Time, Newsweek, Vogue and of course FUSAC's LOOFE.  The best selling items are the gossip magazines also TV, satire and news weeklies. Cultural history magazines come and go too. Back in 2009 when we first met Jim his kiosk was one of the larger Paris Kiosk spaces on the streets of Paris when open onto the square in front of it. This gave plenty of browsing room for customers. In 2017 his spot was selected to be the guinea pig for the prototype of the new modern (and controversial) kiosk brought out by the city of Paris with a budget of 52.4 million euros. The new structure brings better insulation and keeps the weather out. There is also a closet for Jim's personal items and the display…
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ABCs of life in France – Q to Z

The ABCs of life in France

In my 33rd year in Paris, here is an ABCs of life in France (the French call that an abécédaire, from the Latin abecedarium, which gave us the English rarely-used-outside-of-academia “abecedary,” which is sometimes employed to denote not only the document containing the alphabetic list but also the teacher or learner of the contents of the document, who can likewise be referred to as an “abecedarian”) of random fascinating facts and figures about France and Paris that for the most part are inhaled, absorbed, stumbled upon during decades of presence as opposed to learned in lectures, browsed in books, witnessed on websites. In other words, to know this stuff, ya gotta be here: ABCs of life in France Part 1 Letters A to H - Here's the link ABCs of life in France Part 2 Letters I to P - Here's the link ABCs of life in France Part 3 Letters Q to Z - Here's the link is for Queen: Or, if you will, king, prin…
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484,000 Trees in Paris

There are no less than 484,000 trees in Paris! This makes Paris one of the most treed cities in Europe and here we’re only counting the «public» trees. trees lining public streets (96 500); trees in parks and gardens (36 500); trees in cemeteries (34 000); trees along the Péripherique (8000); trees in school yards and sports areas (9 000); trees in the bois de Boulogne et Vincennes (300 000) for a total of 160 species. Most trees in public spaces and lining streets live to just 60 to 80 years. Trees have a tough time dealing with pollution and other incidents of city life. But there are still 222 remarkable trees in Paris that have been classified by the city. The 222 are remarkable either for their beauty or fantastic shape, their history or their rarity. Here are a few of the trees deemed remarkable in our fair city. A list and map of 60 trees worth seeing is available on  http://www.paris.fr Brochure: https://cdn.paris.fr/paris/2019/07/24/…
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Winged Victory

The Winged Victory of Samothrace, one of the most well-known and prestigious pieces in the Louvre, is back in place at the head of the Daru staircase after having been restored. We are now able to see the subtle juxtaposition of the two different colors of marble that make up the statue and the ship prow base. The statue is in white marble from Paros and the complementary base in a grey marble from the Island of Rhodes. Before the restoration both marbles were covered with the poisse of time that gave a brownish tint. The Daru staircase has also been cleaned. But what is Winged Victory? How did she end up in Paris? This is a statue of a winged female figure – the messenger goddess Victory -and a base in the shape of the prow of a ship. The statue was a magnificent offering to the Great Gods of Samothrace following a naval victory and dates from the Hellenistic period. It is an unequalled masterpiece of Greek sculpture, by the striking virtuosity of its drapery as well as the…
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