Why are the French and English so hostile to each other? Entente cordiale? Don't think so!
The sang froid was palpable at the Calais Jungle this week as, with a Gallic shrug, the mini-pelles arrived effectively to shovel the Channel emigration border over to Kent. Why do they hate the English so much? You only had to see the fury in Hollande's face that the UK had the temerity to reject all that he and Merkel had manoeuvred so artfully in their favour! His face captured perfectly the distrust that has haunted Fr:Eng relations for 8 decades. As I wrote in Vichyssoise, even De Gaulle - who was welcomed by Churchill in London during the '40s Vichy era - did a volte-face 20 years later with a categoric Non to the UK's entry to the EEC. We seem to be connected yet divided by old historic hatreds.
Brexit or no, the French and English are geographic neighbours. Isn't it time they shook hands? Wish our neighbour here would shake hands with us......
Showing posts with label Vichy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vichy. Show all posts
1 May 2016
Bank holiday. Need a breather. Friday I launched my latest novel VICHYSSOISE, about the Vichy government during WWII. Unlike the Nazis and Hitler, not much is known about the motives of Philippe Petain, the old French leader at that time. Why did he sign that infamous armistice with Hitler? As a writer it's important to me to write about that which I know, and clearly all this happened before I was born. So, soon after we moved to France in 2005 I set about delving into original, French historical texts for accuracy. It soon became clear to me that Petain was no Hitler, simply the wrong man to be leading France back then. As French friends Gerard and Monique agreed with me yesterday, Petain was too old, too weak, in pain, so chose the 'easiest' option in a misguided attempt to salve the suffering of his people. Do you agree? Get your copy by clicking on the VICHYSSOISE image on the right. Looking forward to reading all your reviews on Amazon in due course.
Blog Extra. All those in the creative arts like to depict what's real to them. So, I've decided that this blog, as well as my usual Sunday slot, should develop an extra wing each Wednesday, covering the work of those who write about different countries. I'm kicking off next Wed with writer Angela Wren who wrote Messandrierre about France.
Blog Extra. All those in the creative arts like to depict what's real to them. So, I've decided that this blog, as well as my usual Sunday slot, should develop an extra wing each Wednesday, covering the work of those who write about different countries. I'm kicking off next Wed with writer Angela Wren who wrote Messandrierre about France.
10th January 2016
Yesterday the French paid homage to the victims killed by terrorists one year ago. I often hear, especially from young people, that we shouldn't dwell on the past but move on. However, this is a mistake that has proven costly over the centuries. A few weeks ago France opened access to police and legal archives drawn from one of the country's darkest hours when the Vichy regime collaborated with the Nazis. On the right you can see the covers of my two books covering WW2, to be published in Feb and May. In the second, Vichyssoise, I've attempted to show that atrocities can also happen indirectly via such things as weak leadership and poor governance. In the chaos theory of life, bad things are sometimes played out not by obvious evil but by an accumulation of events that start by the election of the wrong people at the helm. Petain was not Hitler but the outcome was almost the same! Whatever country you live in, remember this: elect someone who is well-educated, of proven balanced mind and not so old that they take the easiest option at times of crisis as Petain did. Never forget. Our futures may depend on it.
6th September 2015
A week in the life of Olga...
Wednesday. Afternoon tea (unusual in France) at Sylvie's beautiful old farmhouse in rural Rabastens. You know what rural means - GPS doesn't read 'past the third cow on the left'. So, usual scenic route, then stumbled upon it by default. Lovely afternoon though. Interesting tea cups with strainer that fits inside cup. Met some nice people.
Thursday: Kine appointment with local physio. Usual shenanigans: my trying to translate medical symptoms whilst Him indoors groans.
Friday. Invited for lunch in Loupiac by a highly educated French couple. Lovely food and a lively discussion about the French during WW2. Monsieur said he believed the French were now ready, at last, to read and write about Vichy. All good news re the forthcoming publication of my historical novel Vichyssoise.
Saturday, Bruno with head on my knee, doleful Diana eyes: time to go for a long walk.
......all makes work for the retired woman to do.
Wednesday. Afternoon tea (unusual in France) at Sylvie's beautiful old farmhouse in rural Rabastens. You know what rural means - GPS doesn't read 'past the third cow on the left'. So, usual scenic route, then stumbled upon it by default. Lovely afternoon though. Interesting tea cups with strainer that fits inside cup. Met some nice people.
Thursday: Kine appointment with local physio. Usual shenanigans: my trying to translate medical symptoms whilst Him indoors groans.
Friday. Invited for lunch in Loupiac by a highly educated French couple. Lovely food and a lively discussion about the French during WW2. Monsieur said he believed the French were now ready, at last, to read and write about Vichy. All good news re the forthcoming publication of my historical novel Vichyssoise.
Saturday, Bruno with head on my knee, doleful Diana eyes: time to go for a long walk.
......all makes work for the retired woman to do.
26 April 2015
I've always been fascinated by history... History reveals who we were: we must learn from it if we are ever to improve. On Monday a Frenchman called Robert Maloubier died aged 92. Most have never heard of him, and yet he was awarded France's highest honour, the Legion d'Honneur. He was one of the last surviving French agents from Winston Churchill's Special Operations Executive (SOE) during WWII. For the allies, he was a hero, carrying out special missions targetting German soldiers in occupied France. But in real life, things aren't always like James Bond movies. On one occasion, after being shot several times, he managed to escape a German guard by knocking him to the ground and throwing a motorbike at him! Like Maloubier, rapid, intelligent and lateral thinking is sometimes required if we are to live our lives unscathed. Unlike leaders of the past, e.g. Vichy leader Philippe Petain, those who are elected to the top position must be selected for their mental agility above all else, because you never know what's round the corner. Note from the world's biggest worrier: learn from history and be prepared...
16th February 2014
I was watching 'The Voice' on BBC last night. It occurred to me, as a writer, that it's no longer enough to be able to 'perform' as well as those in the past - now you need to be different or extraordinary to have a chance of being noticed in today's world of myriad attractions. So, I've been reformatting some of my writing. For youngsters I've written 3 of a series of 7 novels. The original (i.e. an attempt to be 'extraordinary') concept here is that each covers a personality deficit of the girl which matches the voted-on motto of one of the 7 modern wonders of the world, the finale of each novel proving that each person can overcome their weaknesses in a highly-critical world.
For adults I've been reformatting Vichyssoise which I hope would appeal ultimately to the French. It covers an in-depth study of the mindset of the Vichy government. Admittedly it's a risk, and I may well be heckled, but hopefully falls into the 'extraordinary'. Previews can be read on the re-formatted buttons on the right - currently available on Lulu.com and soon via globalreach and Amazon worldwide.
Would Sir Tom Jones, Kylie Minogue or Will.i.am 'turn around' for it? On verra......
For adults I've been reformatting Vichyssoise which I hope would appeal ultimately to the French. It covers an in-depth study of the mindset of the Vichy government. Admittedly it's a risk, and I may well be heckled, but hopefully falls into the 'extraordinary'. Previews can be read on the re-formatted buttons on the right - currently available on Lulu.com and soon via globalreach and Amazon worldwide.
Would Sir Tom Jones, Kylie Minogue or Will.i.am 'turn around' for it? On verra......
23rd September 2012
If only......
Yesterday French President Hollande and his German counterpart Angela Merkel celebrated an important anniversary. 50 years ago Charles de Gaulle made a speech to German youth that marked the start of the two countries' close relationship, sealed by signing the new Friendship Treaty with Adenauer. Yes, despite all the hate that Hitler had shown and the appalling atrocities against their own innocent countrymen, the Frenchman found it in his heart to tell the German youngsters that theirs was still a great country. Even more amazing considering that De Gaulle was the only senior French officer never to accept the terms of the June 1940 armistice nor the Vichy regime following France's defeat by the Nazis. It was that speech that set the scene for an amazing reconciliation between the two countries that would have been inconceivable a decade before - yet still persists today.
Fast forward to 2012: where are the statesmen willing to do what De Gaulle did? Why can't someone have the guts to talk to the youth living in Muslim countries around the world. Tell them that, despite the past, theirs is still a great country and we would like to sign a friendship treaty with them.
The enemy may have changed, but the hatred persists. So, do something.
Yesterday French President Hollande and his German counterpart Angela Merkel celebrated an important anniversary. 50 years ago Charles de Gaulle made a speech to German youth that marked the start of the two countries' close relationship, sealed by signing the new Friendship Treaty with Adenauer. Yes, despite all the hate that Hitler had shown and the appalling atrocities against their own innocent countrymen, the Frenchman found it in his heart to tell the German youngsters that theirs was still a great country. Even more amazing considering that De Gaulle was the only senior French officer never to accept the terms of the June 1940 armistice nor the Vichy regime following France's defeat by the Nazis. It was that speech that set the scene for an amazing reconciliation between the two countries that would have been inconceivable a decade before - yet still persists today.
Fast forward to 2012: where are the statesmen willing to do what De Gaulle did? Why can't someone have the guts to talk to the youth living in Muslim countries around the world. Tell them that, despite the past, theirs is still a great country and we would like to sign a friendship treaty with them.
The enemy may have changed, but the hatred persists. So, do something.
8th November 2008
The French are no different to others around the world in harboring resentment for years and years, sometimes deep within themselves. Take last Tuesday. Thirty people were arrested and three police officers wounded after a protest against European immigration policy turned violent in the French city of Vichy. This was the town that was the shamed capital of France's horrific WW2 experiences, and locals have never forgotten that time.
The world tries to move on, and indeed brave organisers tried to reinvent the town by hosting its first international conference there since the war so that they could shake off their wartime stigma and become a popular spa resort once more. But several busloads of militants had other ideas, with many linking current French policy to that of the pro-Nazi past.
I have often thought that too much of what happened during WW2 has been airbrushed away by nations (especially Germany) who wish only to forget what happened and to move on to what is happening today. What they fail to realise is that by pushing all those wartime attrocities into a locked compartment - things that changed families' lives for ever - people can never be free of the memory.
My solution would be to hold an international conference, but not one on immigration. My proposed agenda would be to confront all the international issues that arose in the years immediately preceding WW2 and trace the individual events that happened, one by one, that led to what happened in that fateful holocaust. It's never one thing, but many - sometimes coming together by chance - that cause eventual disaster. Having a megalomaniac at the helm of a non-democracy is one!
Sometimes you have to confront a festering boil, even one that has been fermenting for over 60 years, and probe deep within to see how it happened before lancing the boil once and for all. A quick clean cut. At a stroke then we learn to recognise how atrocities happened so that they may never happen again. Then, and only then, can proper healing take place.
The world tries to move on, and indeed brave organisers tried to reinvent the town by hosting its first international conference there since the war so that they could shake off their wartime stigma and become a popular spa resort once more. But several busloads of militants had other ideas, with many linking current French policy to that of the pro-Nazi past.
I have often thought that too much of what happened during WW2 has been airbrushed away by nations (especially Germany) who wish only to forget what happened and to move on to what is happening today. What they fail to realise is that by pushing all those wartime attrocities into a locked compartment - things that changed families' lives for ever - people can never be free of the memory.
My solution would be to hold an international conference, but not one on immigration. My proposed agenda would be to confront all the international issues that arose in the years immediately preceding WW2 and trace the individual events that happened, one by one, that led to what happened in that fateful holocaust. It's never one thing, but many - sometimes coming together by chance - that cause eventual disaster. Having a megalomaniac at the helm of a non-democracy is one!
Sometimes you have to confront a festering boil, even one that has been fermenting for over 60 years, and probe deep within to see how it happened before lancing the boil once and for all. A quick clean cut. At a stroke then we learn to recognise how atrocities happened so that they may never happen again. Then, and only then, can proper healing take place.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
