WWI Truce Celebration

Today is a holiday in France. We celebrate the end of World War I which ended precisely November 11, 1918 at eleven o'clock. This truce (armistice) was signed by Marechal Foch in a train carriage specially fitted for this occasion (this same carriage was also used in 1940 by Hitler to sign the rendition of France). For the first time there will not be any Poilus (that is what we call the soldiers who fought this war) at the ceremony as, like reported previously on PDP, the last French witness of this war died last Mars at the age of 110.

Assumption

Today (Friday) is August 15 and like in most Catholic countries it's a holiday. What are we celebrating ? The Assumption of the Virgin Mary who, according to the Roman Catholic Theology, "was transported into Heaven with her body and soul united". Besides being a religious feast for some, it's also the last day off before the going back to school period and, for a lot of French people, the end of the holiday season. I'm sure that the traffic will be bad again on Monday! BTW, I took this photo in Sainte Anne de la Butte aux Cailles, a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary which I visited for the first time for this occasion.

Bastille Day Parade 2008

Another of our Bastille Day tradition: Le défilé militaire (the military parade). Last year I was too lazy to go so I posted a photo that I stole from the television (!), but this morning I made the effort to wake up early and pay the French army men a visit. And I did not regret it; even though I'm not too much into military things, I enjoyed the parade and its final climax: the landing of 7 paratroopers right in front of the official tribune on the Place de la Concorde. Really impressive. Almost at the same time another tradition took place, this time in Southern California: a PDP gathering! Starring Tall Gary, Pont Girl, Carrie and Petrea and her husband. If you're a true visitor to PDP these names will undoubtedly ring a bell! Now, you can see them for real...

One more thought

I'm just back to Paris after a pretty tiring trip but I could not help going to the town hall where a lot of Parisians - and press - gathered to celebrate the release of the most famous French(/Colombian) hostage. I just saw a long interview of Ingrid on French television and I can tell you that this woman is really something; even after she's been treated like a dog (her words) for 2,321 days, she has the strength to say that she feels no hate for her abductors... Anyway I don't want to bore you with this story, especially since, like some of you mentioned it, there are still other people held by the FARC in the jungle. Let's also have a thought for the American hostages ( Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell) who landed in San Antonio today. They will celebrate the 4th of July in their homeland for the first time in 10 years...

Mai 68 celebration

In 1968, in France, students started a mini revolution that became pretty successful throughout the month of May. That is why it's now referred to, by all historians, as "Mai 68". It's been 40 years now and "those who've done it" (called "Les Soixantehuitards") dream of a repeat in memory of their youth! All what's coming, though, are... anniversaries. This year, there are several exhibits, including this one that shows several photos by famous press photographer Marc Riboud who took great shots at the time. I chose this angle because you can actually see 2 photos of La Sorbonne with the actual Sorbonne in the background!

What's left of yesterday's carnival

We're not big on carnival in Paris (although I found out today by doing some research on the web that we do have an official carnival season and that it was last February!). The tradition is still alive in some primary schools and since it was today, you could see cute little kids wearing funny costumes everywhere! Where I live, they also left some remains of the event: confetti!

If you want to attend this year's PDP Picnic on May 7, please check this topic.

A message for you...

Here is my message to you all! It's a shop window of Franck & Fils (a very traditional department store) I noticed a couple of days ago while I was going to my niece's near La Muette. Only, exceptionally I did not have my camera with me. So tonight, when I left the office I went all the way to rue de Passy, waited for someone to pass by the window and took this shot. Don't ask me why they used Love and not amour though! Anyway, my dear visitors, let me wish you all a happy Valentines day ;)

The rat year

Will the rat bring more wealth and wisdom to this world? Yes, if we believe the Chinese who have been celebrating their new year throughout the world since last Thursday (why don't you check other Chinese new year posts on the brand new city daily photo portal on this occasion?). In Paris there has been several parades, including one in the Chinese quarter in the 13th arrondissement and one opened by the mayor of Paris and the Chinese ambassador. There are about 300 000 Chinese in the Paris area, most of them came in the 70's from the Wenzhou province and Indochina (the former French colony).

A little tribute to Simon Bolivar

You probably all know Bolivia, the country located in South America. You may not know, however, that this country owes its name to Simón Bolívar, a South American heroe. And what you surely don't know is that this senior died on a 17 December (1830). To celebrate this death, there was a little ceremony this morning by the statue of Simón Bolívar located near the Pont des Invalides and since I happened to be there at that moment, well I couldn't help taking a photo!

Le défilé du 14 juillet!

I wish I had taken this photo myself, but I would have had to climb up the Obelisque on the Place de La Concorde... Instead I "stole" it from the French television which had many cameras there and on the Champs Elysées. To be honest I went down there this morning to take photos for PDP but there was far too much crowd . I suppose everybody wanted to see the European battalions that marched for the 1st time on the Champs Elysees this year (OK, some European battalions already marched on the Champs Elysées, but they were German and it was a long time ago ;). BTW, these soldiers belong to the Légion Etrangère.

Le Bal des Pompiers

Traditionally on the eve of Bastille Day (that we actually call "Le 14 juillet") there are plenty of little Balls throughout France. Some are organized by city halls, some by bars... but the most popular ones are the ones organized by the Pompiers (Firemen). That is where I took this photo last night (Friday) - namely at the rue du jour station - , on the way back from the movie theater where I saw Shrek the 3rd. None of the dancing people photos came up well, sorry... Have a good Bastille day weekend.