July Dates in France: The highs of the 14th and the lows of the 16th

Mid-July is a time for celebration here in France. Like our 4^th of July festivities in the U.S., all across France families gather to celebrate their independence day on the 14^th. However, there is another event that occurred in mid-July here in France that is not the cause for celebration. It is called Le Vel d’Hiv.

On July 16, 1942, French Police under orders from Pierre Laval and the Vichy Government who were at the time, cooperating with the occupying Nazi regime, began a series of roundups in Paris’ Jewish neighborhoods. There are differing accounts on who gave what orders for these “arrests”. Some claim that there was a certain number of men that the French police were ordered to detain while others say that entire families should be arrested in an attempt to quell public outrage that families were being broken up. None of that really matters because in the end, the reasons were simple. One group wanted to eradicate another and the reasons behind this objective can never be truly understood.  It is unfortunate that at this time France’s leaders were cooperating as though they were on board with Hitler’s mission.

Over the course of two days in July of 1942, Parisian police rounded up 13,000 Jewish residents and corralled them until July 19th at a sporting arena called the Vélodrome d’Hiver. Just to put this in perspective, 42,000 French Jews were deported to Polish death camps that year so nearly a third of those people were taken from Paris on these two days in July.

Planning for this event started the previous month and considering there had been other series of arrests during the spring of that year, rumors did begin to surface. There were undoubtedly people working in government offices who, upon learning of this secret mission, helped to quietly warn Jewish families. Some accounts of this event indicate that many people thought that the police would come to arrest just the men. Other accounts indicate that the Nazi forces asked for only people over the age of 16. Regardless of what was supposed to happen, 3,118 men, 5,919 women, and 4,115 children were forcibly removed from their homes and most were sent to their deaths. If you look at those figures and note that the women outnumber the men by nearly double, it seems reasonable to conclude that many of the men were in hiding. Perhaps some of them had already been arrested but it could be an indication that people may had heard rumors of a round-up and thought they were coming for just the men.

These people were held at the Vélodrome d’Hiver for 3 or 4 days with no food, water or sanitary conditions. Disease spread, babies were born, and people died. It immediately conjures up thoughts of the Superdome in New Orleans during the recent Hurricane Katrina. Inhumane conditions. The kind that if you really wrap your head around, your stomach will turn.

Between July 19^th and 22^nd the Jewish people were transported by train to either Drancy, which was a French internment camp, or Auschwitz. From some accounts I have read, men and childless couples were sent directly to Auschwitz and mothers and their children were sent to Drancy. What is seemingly in agreement amongst all sources is that at some point, children were forcibly and fearfully removed from their parents and left to their own devices at Drancy. Eventually, all these Jews were sent to a death camp.

What I find stunning is that a single event like this, that accounts for a third of the number of Jews deported from France in 1942, got so buried in history. Did you know about it? I certainly didn’t, and my husband who grew up in England didn’t learn about it either. I’d even bet that French school children don’t hear much of it as well.

I first heard of the Vel d’Hiv in February of this year when on a Sunday afternoon I picked up the book, Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay and the rest of my life stopped. I could not put it down. Tatiana de Rosnay tells two stories in alternating chapters. Both set in Paris. One, of Sarah who lives in the Marais in 1942 and the other, of Julia, a woman in present-day in a troubled marriage who is about to inherit an apartment. In the Marais. If I could recommend one book right now, this would be it. It grabs you from the first chapter and doesn’t let you go. You will find not only sorrow and grief in this book but also hope and tenderness.

Knowing I would be here in Paris on July 16^th I have been rereading sections of the book to gain a better understanding of where all the events took place in the city. When you read the book, because you must, you will then understand why I will be thinking of all the Sarahs from 1942 today.

(The photos in today's post were take at the Bir-Hakeim metro station which is one you might use to go to the Eiffel Tower)

Bastille Day & Bastille Day Eve

Monday night around 10 pm we ventured out to La Place de la Bastille which is so close the Boulevard outside our apartment was closed up to our block for the festivities. It doesn't get dark until about 10:30 pm here. There were two bandstands for some small rock bands to entertain a large crowd that had gathered on La Place like it was a giant parc. It is an otherwise very busy roundabout in Paris where one could easily get run over. It was fun to be able to meander onto the road where one would generally never step foot. There are cafe's all around adding to that Paris feel. The bands were okay and we stayed a while but as we turned to go a Brazillian Carnival drumming band started up and they stole the show. The entire crowd started to wiggle and shake to the drums - no one could stand still. We were up front and when it got too crowded for our own comfort level we edged our way out and headed back up the Bd to our apt. We stopped for some ice cream on the way and I had a nice chat with the shopkeeper. It is now 11:00 pm and we are back at the apt with our kids in bed and we can here the music through our open windows.

-------------------------------Bastille Day morning-----------------------------
Bright sunshine. Clear blue skies. What could be better? We tossed the kids out of bed at 8:00 am ( cuz they are still jetlagged and sleeping late which ordinarily I'd be so thankful for but here in Paris it just annoys me. WE HAVE STUFF TO DO!) and were able to hit the pavement at 9:15. We hopped on the metro at La Bastille on the 1 heading towards the Champs Elysees for a
ONCE IN A LIFETIME EXPERIENCE!

Once in a lifetime because there's no possible way I am ever doing it again.

Why?

Because there were more people there than I have ever seen in my entire life. Not just in one place. Just put together all the people I have ever glanced at in my 36 years and put them in a heavily barracaded area all trying to get a glimpse of the military parade. Seriously it was a frightening mob. I guess it might have been like Times Square on New Years Eve but with better weather. Add two children and you've got some stressed out parents. All I wanted to see was the military jets do there flyover which thankfully we could actually see. I unfortunately missed getting the blue, white and red jet streams on video b/c I had just put away my camera and they came out of no where. Oh well. It was spectacular though. We saw not one stitch of the parade. I guess we should have known we were in trouble when people were getting on the metro with step ladders.

So now how to get home?

We walked towards the river b/c getting back on the metro from whence we came was just not possible. We walked along a grand boulevard with very fancy shops until we came, gasp, to a view of the Eiffel Tower. Sweet Pea has been obsessed with seeing it and we hadn't made it over this far yet so she was itching to get a peek at the tower. She shreiked and in between jumping and twirlling around she shouted to us, "Its brown!?!" Not what I expected to hear out of her mouth when she saw it for the first time. But an observation nonetheless.

So while this morning was quite the experience, we are now going to sit down with a map to try to figure out how not to lose our lives or our kids getting to the fireworks tonight.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It is 11:00 am and the kids are still fast asleep. I am enjoying a quiet moment with my cup of coffee and some left over apricot/nectarine clafoutis, which I made for last night’s Champ de Mars picnic. Before you think that I am getting all fancy with food over here – I found clafoutis mix at the grocery which is much like brownie mix. All I had to do was put fruit on the bottom of the bowl and add milk to the mixture. And it was damn good.

So my muscles ache and my feet feel a bit bruised and I can only imagine how the kids are going to feel when they regain consciousness. Last night was insanity – both the good kind and the not so good kind.

After the parade we came back to the apartment and I prepared a picnic of Asparagus/Gruyere Quiche, cheeses, baguette, dried sausage, steamed haricots verts avec des tomates, pate, and the aforementioned clafoutis. (oh, I hear tiny foot steps coming down the hall…its Sweet Pea…I just asked her if she was ready for lunch and I got a big brown-eyed stare) Picnic ready to go and in the fridge, we went to the PdV to play and test out their internet. I got a big fat cyberspace “Non”. Nothing connected. Oh well.

Around 5:30 we packed up our picnic in our beloved green market wheely thing and headed to the metro. One block later we notice that one of the wheels is a bit wonky and upon further investigation I see that the wheel is in fact cracked – probably during the flight over here- and will not survive many more market trips – if not the adventure that lay before us this evening. So off we go pulling the food ever so gently onto line 8 which will take us directly to the Champ de Mars. It couldn’t have been easier. We arrived around 6:00 pm to find that the French really pack it in when it comes to public lawn events. We walked up the center with the Eiffel Tower rising above us until we came to a crossing which was meant for passage between the grassy spots but people seemed to be putting down blankets there – so as they say, “when in Rome”. We put down our blanket and did not unpack the picnic quite yet as we were waiting for les gendarmes to tell us to move-it or lose-it but they did not – they just walked on past in their packs of blue, chatting and smoking away. More groups filled in around us and then as space got really tight people decided the 1.5 feet between us and other groups were attractive places to set up camp and so they squeezed themselves in too. Now I know why the French keep their butts so small.

The concert started with a guy named Christoph something or other and he was fantastic. A French Jason Mraz if you will. The main event was Johnny Halladay and was an apparent gift – un vrai cadeau- from Sarkozy. The crowed was expected to be larger than usual this year for the feu d’artifice (fireworks) because of this guy and when he came out on stage everyone went nuts. SJ took one look at him and turned to me and said “he should be in Vegas.” An aging rockstar, clearly full of botox and collagen, dressed in all black sparkles who proceeded to sing hit after hit that the French swooned and sang along to. Everyone there knew every word to every song. And so did we, just in English. Every song was some American hit from one time or another just remade into a French version. It was hilarious. I have video. We decided he was just a clepto version of Neil Diamond. Very popular with all age groups and you could tell there was a bit of nostalgia for everyone with his music. It’s just that it wasn’t really his music.

After Johnny sang for over 2.5 hours, we were given the biggest light show of our lives. It is the 120th anniversary of the Eiffel Tower so they did a show that highlighted themes from each of the time periods the Tower has witnessed. The roaring 20’s, the hippie 60’s etc. Not only were the fireworks set off from the Tower itself, but there was a light show projected onto the Tower that was incredible. At times it made the tower look like it was dancing or for the 60’s theme they made the tower look like it was covered in flowers. It was unlike anything I have ever seen and when I think back to it I am sure that it made the next part of the evening worthwhile.

The show ended at 11:15 pm (fireworks could not start until 10:45 b/c it isn’t really dark until then and even then it isn’t pitch black) and the crowds bolted. I said earlier about the parade that there were more people in one place than I had ever seen before – well I now take that back. The crowd leaving the Champ de Mars was beyond words. A literal sea of people flooded the streets for blocks and blocks and blocks. It took us 2 hours to get home – most of that time walking. Each metro station we came to appeared to be vomiting people so we didn’t even try to get on a train until we were in another arrondisment and close to the river. Luckily we found a station that was not too crowded and were able to squeeze onto a train. We had to change once and with two kids and oh yeah, that breaking market wheely, it proved very difficult. We finally got back onto a line 8 and survived the trip back home – barely. After dragging that market bag across Paris for 2 hours, the little wheel snapped off as we crossed the street onto our block.

So now both of my munchkins are up and I am going to now feed and bathe them…..

A plus tard…

1000 words without the picture - an update from Paris!

Okay. So we've been here for 3 days now and I am unable to get a single photo up on the internet. I can't even email them. There is something terribly wrong with our internet and the apartment owner is trying to help us fix it from Montreal. I guess there is a known problem which has also knocked out our apartment phone line. Today is a semi-holiday and tomorrow is a massive holiday so I am sure there isn't much incentive to get this stuff fixed immediately. For now we have turned on our At&t phones so we have something in the case of an emergency. I so wish I could be showing you all photos but alas, I cannot from the apartment.

I discovered that many of the parcs here in Paris have free wifi courtesy of Le Mairie de Paris. Tomorrow I am going to take my computer to the oh so gorgeous Place des Vosges, lay out a blanket, watch my children play on the playsets while I try to upload photos. If that doesn't work I will exlpore an internet cafe. For those of you who know Place des Vosges, I am sure you are ohhing and ahhing because it is simply one of the most beautiful places in Paris. It is a gorgeous square parc with all the frenchie things like white gravel, fountains, trained plane trees surrounding the edges and around the perimiter are shops, galleries, and cafes in an arched walkway. It is one block from my apartment and - I know - pity me- we must walk through it to get to the grocery store. This afternoon the kids and I went to the market to buy provisions for our Bastille day dinner picnic we hope to have at the Champ de Mars and on the way home I just sat down with the groceries and watched the kids play for a while.

So yes, tomorrow is Bastille day. We are supposed to have beautiful weather and can't wait to enjoy a holiday I have been dying to celebrate in France for as long as I can remember. To all my camp friends- this will definitely beat tossing people in the lake! Although, Stephie - I so wish you could be here with us. We will go to the Champs Elysee to watch the military parade and the aerial show, then play a bit and then hopefully grab a spot on the Champ de Mars for a concert before the fireworks are lit from the Eiffel Tower. I am wondering though if trying to get down to the Champ de Mars tomorrow night is INSANE! Like trying to get a spot on the Esplanade at 6 pm on the 4th of July?

Tonight there is a rock concert at La Place de la Bastille which is 2 blocks from our apartment. After dinner we may walk down there to see whats happening.

Aside from all the sights and goings on here in Paris, I am insanely happy. I simply ADORE our neighborhood and both SJ and I are thrilled to be back in an urban environment. I have the tinyest kitchen but it is so french and I love it. Even the French are being nice to me which is a first. When I lived here when I was 22, I was so frustrated with the french attitude towards me. I was constantly blown off by people in an air of frustration and irritation. Back then my french was wicked good. I majored in french, went to a french camp for 5 summers and was your regular young francophile. Then I went and lived with a french family for a semester and found the french to be pretty much intollerable. I spoke french to them, they rolled their eyes and spoke english back to me. Very disappointing for me. I am having quite the opposite experience now and am finding the french to be wonderfully helpful, complimentary of my language skills (which suck) and generally kind. So here is what I think it is. The french have a general appreciation for age. Young people probably annoy older people. Now that I am in my mid-30's and am walking around with my apparent offspring, I get smiles, nods, winks, and assistance whenever I need it. I had 2, two, deux! men help me purchase metro cards yesterday. They were falling overthemselves to help me, joking about how now our president is good and theirs sucks.

My kids are loving it here too. Sweet Pea misses her friends but all in all they are entertaining each other and as long as I keep them plied with chocolate crepes or croissants we're good.

Okay, I've got to run and make dinner now but I just wanted to let you all know that things here in Paris are perfect.