Paris, France
Paris is a large and exciting city, one of the "great cities" of Europe, full of interesting sites, good food, good wine, good museums, and pleasant walks. France itself is on its 5th Republic, a fifth try at finding a governmental system that works. The first failed in the decade after the 1789 French Revolution, the second lasted only from 1848 to 1852 as Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III) had a plebiscite to make himself Emperor and establish the 2nd Empire (the first was Napoleon I from 1800-1815). The third Republic lasted from 1871 to the start of the WWII. After France fell many French resigned themselves to the victory of the Nazis and formed a collaborative Vichy Republic that died when the Nazis were defeated. Ashamed of that chapter of history, the French refuse to consider that a true Republic, and the 4th Republic was created after II, lasting until 1958. In 1958 instability threatened French democracy, as the government and military were at odds over how to deal with the colony of Algeria. The Algerian war had been going on for years, and while the government thought that it should end and perhaps Algeria should be given independenced, the military and French inhabitants of Algeria (the pieds noirs) argued it was a state (departement) of France and could never be surrendered. As the system tottered and some military planners even considered a coup, Charles De Gaulle was called to form the French 5the Republic. De Gaulle, one of the "great men" of history, had refused the defeatism of the Vichy Republic and organized a French fighting force (the 'free French') to battle Germany in WWII. After the war he was the first leader, but left politics as the party bickering of the 4th Republic became too much for him to bear. In 1958 he was needed again, and came back and after being given six months of emergency dictatorial powers (some feared he'd be a French Hitler) he designed a stable Presidential system that, despite some constitutional changes, still operates to this day. De Gaulle himself resigned in 1969. More bits and pieces about French history and politics with the photos below:
The arc -- the famous arc de triumphe
Champs Elysees - a famous ritzy boulevard in Paris
Champs Elysees - two more views, one from above
Paris scenes - baguettes, a game in the park
Louvre - outside the famous louvre museum
Louvre II - inside the famous louvre museum, with a glance at
Mona
Versailles - the famous palace of Versailles
Hall of mirrors - place of historic events, not always pleasant
Versailles gardens - beautiful in summer, though in November
rather boring
Notre dame - the famous and beautiful church
Moulin Rouge - did you see the movie?
Sacre Couer - a white church overlooking the city
Eifel tower - that monument to Paris
Pantheon - the Pantheon, as well as a view overlooking Paris
