It takes only six stops on a sub urban train to travel from the
romantic heart of Paris and emerge in something more akin to the fall
of ancient Rome. By daylight Aulnay-sous-Bois, a northeastern suburb of
the great city, presents an orderly face to the world. The Hotel de
Ville, the town hall, is aglow with yellow dandelion displays and
trimmed borders of wild cabbage.
No one else in our little gaggle seems worried as we trudge up toward the Cafe de Sade. My mind spins with menu possibilities in a bistro named for the marquis and tucked in the shade of his ruined chateau.
But lunch is nothing more sinister than the Provencal specialty le soupe au pistou, vegetable soup made spicier and more garlicky with each spoonful of pesto we add.The is ringed by stuffed skunks and wild boar, with nary a torture device on view.
We’re in Lacoste, France, pausing at the midway mark in a Wayfarers walking tour of Provence. We’ve already tromped up the hillside to see the marquis’s castle, his 1770s base for kidnapping locals.
0 Read MoreSOUNDS EXOTIC
Yes – and the reality does not disappoint. Tahiti is synonymous with
images straight out of the brochures: glistening blue seas,
palm-fringed beaches and tropical tiare, or gardenia. You will
be met from the plane by groups of smiling Polynesians, wearing
garlands of flowers and singing songs of welcome – a far cry from the
usual European experience. And yet, despite being nearly 11,000 miles
away, Tahiti is an autonomous region of France, which explains the
Parisian-style cafés and supplies of French newspapers.
As the catwalk season gets into full swing in Paris, a familiar element of the retail landscape is missing. Samaritaine, the famous department store — or grand magasin, as they call such monoliths over here — has closed. Flags no longer flutter proudly on the parapets of the imposing Art Deco building on Rue de Rivoli, overlooking the Seine. The loss stings: an equivalent trauma in London might be the closure of Selfridges.
0 Read MoreClosed for safety reasons in 1993 after a metal bolt fell from the ceiling, the fin-de-siecle masterpiece has been renovated at a cost to the state of more than $85 million and is now poised to take back its place as one of the French capital’s prime cultural attractions.
Tens of thousands of tourists and Parisians are expected to visit the vast domed palace on the right bank of th river Seine for an initial two-week opening, after which it will gradually revert to its original function as a space for artistic and trade shows.
0 Read MoreThe advice means the French leader is set to miss the UN general assembly in New York on 14-16 September.
Mr Chirac left a Paris military hospital on Friday following a week’s treatment for eye trouble related to a “vascular” incident.
The statement also said that Mr Chirac had to “get as much rest as possible.”
Accompanied by his wife Bernadette, the 72-year-old walked unaided as he left Val-de-Grace military hospital and told reporters he was “in good form.”
“I am now going to go home and resume my activities. To hide nothing, I was starting to grow anxious to get out,” he added.
The 72-year-old will remain at the Val de Grace military hospital in the capital Paris for about a week.
The hospital said the president was being treated for “a minor vascular incident” that had slightly affected his eyesight.
Mr Chirac’s office said all presidential engagements had been cancelled for the coming week.
“The president of the republic was hospitalised last night at the Val de Grace hospital for a minor vascular incident that led to a slight vision disorder, which should be over within a few days,” the military hospital said in a statement.
Olivier Dubos told CNN there was no advance warning of a problem before the plane burst into flames.
The crew appeared as surprised as any of the passengers, he said.
“We were really scared, actually, when we started to roll in the ravine,” Dubos said. “We could see some flames, and that was where we got really scared. We couldn’t do anything. We were sitting in our seats. We didn’t know if the plane would just blow up.”
He said the flight attendants responded “very efficiently” and pushed people to hit the slides “as fast as possible.”
“A minute before touching ground, there was no more lights in the plane,” he added. “The lights were totally cut off.”
0 Read MoreLance Armstrong closed out his amazing career with a seventh consecutive Tour de France victory Sunday — and did it a little
earlier than expected.
Because of wet conditions, race organizers stopped the clock as Armstrong and the main pack entered Paris. Although riders were still racing, with eight laps of the Champs-Elysees to complete, organizers said that Armstrong had officially won.
The stage started as it has done for the past six years — with Armstrong celebrating and wearing the race leader’s yellow jersey.
0 Read MoreA French journalist, Florence Aubenas, and her Iraqi interpreter have been freed in Iraq after a five-month hostage ordeal, officials in Paris today said, setting off a wave of relief in France – but also raising questions as to whether a ransom was paid.
Aubenas and the interpreter, Hussein Hanun, were “in good health,” President Jacques Chirac said in a televised address.
“On behalf of everyone, I want to express to Florence Aubenas and Hussein Hanun our happiness and that of the entire nation to know that they are free and will soon be returning to us,” he said.
