Tag: France

The Return Of Devil’s Island

That time again….my little history lesson and beyond.

Did you see the movie Papillon?

If so then that was about the penal colony for France in South America.

Devil’s Island, its true name Cayenne, is a penal colony of French Guiana with a haunted history. Here lie the crumbled remains of a prison opened in 1852. Infamous for housing French political prisoners cast out of France by Emperor Napoleon III, it eventually became home to tens of thousands of hardened criminals. It even served as the backdrop for the 1973 action-thriller film Papillon. Nestled among the palm trees and tropical setting hides a turbulent past truth.

Prisoners were subjected to strict and inhumane treatment, making Devil’s Island aptly named. Kept in dark cells and forbidden to talk, read or even sit down throughout the day, the prison guards made the criminals’ lives a nightmare. Talking to a guard could end in severe punishment.

When details of the inhumane conditions of the prison were leaked, a public outcry led to the system’s end in 1938. But the penal colony did not close until after World War II, finally shutting down in 1946. Since its abhorrent history as a terrible prison, others have tried using the island for other means. From a police station to a shark fishing factory to a summer camp to a plant oil factory, none succeeded. Eventually, the island was abandoned, and nature took over the buildings.

I brought up this bit of history because news has broken that France will open a prison near the original location.

Deep in the Amazon jungle, France plans to open a $450 million high-security prison to isolate drug lords and radical Islamists—turning a notorious former penal colony into a fortress for modern criminals. French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin on Sunday announced the plan to build the high-security prison in the overseas territory of French Guiana, to open as early as 2028, per the BBC. The facility will sit deep in the Amazon near Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, the site of the infamous Devil’s Island penal colony, where 70,000 convicts from mainland France were sent between 1852 and 1954. The site inspired 1973’s Papillon, starring Steve McQueen, per CNN.

Designed for about 500 inmates, the prison will include a wing reserved for the most dangerous prisoners. Darmanin said the prison will enforce a strict protocol intended to disrupt contact between powerful criminal figures and their networks, especially drug lords “at the beginning of the drug trail.” The remote location was chosen in part to prevent inmates from communicating with outside networks. The announcement follows a wave of violence targeting prisons and staff in France, incidents the government links to its crackdown on organized crime.

French Guiana serves as a “strategic crossroads” for drug trafficking, particularly from Brazil and Suriname, and the new prison is part of broader efforts to control organized crime. Gangs have pushed the territory’s homicide rate to 18.4 per 100,000 people, compared to 1.2 per 100,000 in mainland France, per CNN. Recent government action also includes tough new laws, a dedicated prosecutors’ branch for organized crime, expanded investigative powers, and special protected status for informers. As French authorities face ongoing challenges such as widespread smuggling of mobile phones into prisons, stricter control over visitation and communication for high-risk prisoners is planned.

Fascinating…..will it become as infamous as the original?

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The Sub “Buga-Boo”

Since taking office Pres. Biden (I did not vote for him or the other guy) there have been a couple of major missteps in American foreign policy…..first misstep was the withdrawal from Afghanistan…..the the next was the nuclear sub for Australia….to which France got a bad case of ‘butt hurt’…..

As most people that visit here know that I am a foreign policy fanatic…..so when visiting a fiend’s blog, Doug at The Independent Knight, I read his post on the mash-up between France’s Macron and Biden over a sub for Australia…..

https://www.theindependentknight.com/china/this-sudden-spat-with-france-over-this-new-aukus-submarine-deal/
 
(Visit Doug’s site when you can….very interesting reading)
 
For those that did not know the extent of the mash-up with France…..here is a bit of background for clarity….
 
 
So after all the hoopla Biden has come to the conclusion that he may have pissed in his chili….and now he is trying to make nice….
The US and France moved toward making up Wednesday, after Presidents Biden and Emmanuel Macron spoke on the phone, but the nations suggested they have a lot of work ahead to rebuild shattered trust. It was the first time the two had spoken since Biden announced a new security alliance with the UK and Australia and France expressed its anger at being surprised by the news and left out of the deal. In the language of diplomacy, ABC reports, the US and France issued a joint statement after the phone call saying, “The two leaders agreed that the situation would have benefited from open consultations among allies on matters of strategic interest to France and our European partners.”

The statement added, “President Biden conveyed his ongoing commitment in that regard.” France had pointed out last week that that sort of consultation is supposed to be routine among allies. French officials had also warned that their anger would not be fleeting, and all indications are that the rift is not yet healed. Biden and Macron plan to meet in Europe at the end of next month, possibly around the G20 summit in Italy. But they might also meet somewhere else, per the New York Times, to show they’re working on this. France has recalled its ambassador to the US but said Wednesday that Philippe Étienne will return to Washington next week.

He’ll be busy, officials from both administrations said, starting “intensive work with senior U.S, officials.” The presidents will lead the way themselves through “a process of in-depth consultations, aimed at creating the conditions for ensuring confidence.” The official record shows no mention of an apology, but a French official said “consultations that should have taken place did not,” which he said “poses a question of confidence whose consequences must be reviewed together.” The chastening seems to indicate both sides consider the matter important, per CNN. Macron is up for reelection in about six months.

Jean-Yves Le Drian, France’s foreign minister, has said the Biden administration’s move reminded him of something former President Trump might do, and he wasn’t alone on that point. A Le Monde editorial said, “For any who still doubted it, the Biden administration is no different from the Trump administration on this point: The United States comes first.” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Tuesday that he planned to avoid Macron at the UN this week, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson mocked France’s concern in two languages. “I just think it’s time for some of my dearest friends around the world to prenez un grip about this and donnez moi un break,” Johnson said in Washington.

I see Macron got over being ‘butt hurt’…..Apparently this was just a news making event for Macron…..a political ploy since his numbers are not as good as he wants.

As a foreign policy wonk I am not very impressed with the Biden admin…..they are still spread weapons around the world like peanut butter…humanitarian crises are still running rampant…..and the beginnings of a new Cold War….nothing very impressive whatsoever.

Biden has learned nothing from his many decades in government employ…he is nothing but another warmonger in peace-nik clothing.

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Closing Thought–14Jul21

Today the French celebrate their equivalent to out Independence Day….Bastille Day…..

What does France celebrate on the 14th of July? The day marks the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789. This was one of the first events of the French Revolution.

The Bastille was a fortress in Paris used as a prison. It was also a symbol of oppression. Many French citizens suffered injustices there under the rule of Louis XVI. When people stormed the Bastille on July 14, they took ammunition and gunpowder. They also released a few prisoners. 

the storming of the Bastille was also symbolic. It represented the uprising of a new French nation. It encouraged those who wanted to end the absolute power of the king.

One year later, on July 14, 1790, the French held the Fête de la Fédération. This was a huge feast that celebrated the uprising that had taken place the year before. The storming of the Bastille was seen as the start of the French Revolution. Since then, the French people had set up a new government by the people. They were ready to celebrate!

Bastille Day July 14th Wishes Image

For all my French visitors…..have a fun and safe celebration…..be well….

Happy Bastille Day With Fireworks

I Read, I Write, You KNow

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18 March

I know the day after St. Patrick’s Day….the cabbage has been eaten and the green beer is gone…..why not hurt your head with some history?

It is Women history month and since I do enjoy my history and today is the 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune, 18 March 1871.

The Paris Commune was a popular-led democratic government that ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871. Inspired by the Marxist politics and revolutionary goals of the International Workingmen’s Organization (also known as the First International), workers of Paris united to overthrow the existing French regime which had failed to protect the city from Prussian siege, and formed the first truly democratic government in the city and in all of France. The elected council of the Commune passed socialist policies and oversaw city functions for just over two months, until the French army retook the city for the French government, slaughtering tens of thousands of working-class Parisians in order to do so.

The Paris Commune was formed on the heels of an armistice signed between the Third Republic of France and the Prussians, which had laid siege to the city of Paris from September 1870 through January 1871. The siege ended with the surrender of the French army to the Prussians and the signing of an armistice to end the fighting of the Franco-Prussian War.

At this period in time, Paris had a considerable population of workers—as many as half a million industrial workers and hundreds of thousands of others—who were economically and politically oppressed by the ruling government and the system of capitalist production, and economically disadvantaged by the war. Many of these workers served as soldiers of the National Guard, a volunteer army that worked to protect the city and its inhabitants during the siege.

More on the background of the uprising……https://www.thoughtco.com/paris-commune-4147849  and  https://www.counterfire.org/articles/history/21095-the-paris-commune-150-when-workers-ran-a-city

Among the leaders of this uprising were many women….among them was Louise Michel…..

During the Paris Commune, women organised as never before. There were women caring for the wounded, women bringing food to the fighters and women fighting – some doing both. Women’s organisations and meetings were set up to improve the role of women in society. But of all the many women who took part in these activities, including prominent political thinkers and organisers, such as Elizabeth Dmitrieff, Andre Leo, and Nathalie Lemel, the name which is remembered most in association with the Commune is that of Louise Michel.

This is probably because Michel, as her biographer, Edith Thomas, says, was everywhere at once: in the political clubs and on the battlefield, in the 61st Montmartre battalion (noted for fighting like devils, and for her energy in particular), on committees and in the ambulance stations she helped to organise. Soldier, ambulance nurse, orator, her courage and audacity meant she was at Clamart, Neuilly, and Issy Les Moulineaux, with a rifle in her hands. She also proposed going in person to Versailles to assassinate Thiers. When told she would not be able to get that far, she disguised herself and got within reach of Versailles.

https://www.counterfire.org/articles/history/22143-louise-michel-the-revolutionary-woman-who-led-the-paris-commune

These are events that you probably have never heard of or the women who were a vital part of this historic event…..and that is why I am here.

An interesting time and a fascinating historic event…..

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The Paris Commune

No not the one in 1871….but rather the one that was formed shortly after the storming of the Bastille…..that date was 10 August 1792…

In case you are confused….this is the Paris Commune of 1871……

The Paris Commune was a popular-led democratic government that ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871. Inspired by the Marxist politics and revolutionary goals of the International Workingmen’s Organization (also known as the First International), workers of Paris united to overthrow the existing French regime which had failed to protect the city from Prussian siege, and formed the first truly democratic government in the city and in all of France. The elected council of the Commune passed socialist policies and oversaw city functions for just over two months, until the French army retook the city for the French government, slaughtering tens of thousands of working-class Parisians in order to do so.

https://www.thoughtco.com/paris-commune-4147849

As you would suspect…yes I have written about the Paris Commune of 1871 here on IST……..https://lobotero.com/2011/03/28/birth-of-the-paris-commune/

Now for the first and some say the most important of these “Communes”…..and the subject of today’s post……

The Paris Commune was the municipal government of Paris during the French Revolution. It was formed during the insurrection of July 1789. The Commune played an important role in the life of the capital. Not only did it provide civic functions like tax collection, services and public works, the Paris Commune was also a democratic assembly where the ordinary people of Paris were represented. This gave the Commune a great deal of sway.

Membership of the Commune council reflected the political will of the people of Paris – moderate from July 1789, radical from August 1792. In its first three years the Commune was dominated by the urban bourgeoisie and liberal-moderates like Jean-Sylvain Bailly. But after the journée of August 10th 1792, control of the Commune was seized by radical Jacobins like Georges Danton, Camille Desmoulins and Jacques Hébert.

From this point, the Commune became directly representative of the Paris sections and sans culottes. The actions of this radical Commune challenged the authority of the national government and shaped the violence of 1792-94.

The Paris Commune

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Bastille Day

Today, 14 July, is when the French celebrate their revolution that overthrew the corrupt monarchy…..lead by the slogan….Liberty, Equality, Fraternity…..but was it all that equal and what about liberty……

The American attitude toward the French Revolution has been generally favorable—naturally enough for a nation itself born in revolution. But as revolutions go, the French one in 1789 was among the worst. True, in the name of liberty, equality, and fraternity, it overthrew a corrupt regime. Yet what these fine ideals led to was, first, the Terror and mass murder in France, and then Napoleon and his wars, which took hundreds of thousands of lives in Europe and Russia. After this pointless slaughter came the restoration of the same corrupt regime that the Revolution overthrew. Aside from immense suffering, the upheaval achieved nothing.

Leading the betrayal of the Revolution’s initial ideals and its transformation into a murderous ideological tyranny was Maximilien Robespierre, a monster who set up a system expressly aimed at killing thousands of innocents. He knew exactly what he was doing, meant to do it, and believed he was right to do it. He is the prototype of a particularly odious kind of evildoer: the ideologue who believes that reason and morality are on the side of his butcheries. Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mao, and Pol Pot are of the same mold. They are the characteristic scourges of humanity in modern times, but Robespierre has a good claim to being the first. Understanding his motives and rationale deepens our understanding of the worst horrors of the recent past and those that may lurk in the future.

Historians distinguish three phases of the French Revolution. The last, the Terror, ran roughly during 1793–94. It began with the fall of the moderate Girondins and the radical Jacobins’ accession to power. As the Jacobins gained control of the Committee of Public Safety, which in turn controlled the legislature (the Convention), the disputes among their factions sharpened. After an interregnum of shared power, Robespierre became dictator, and the Terror started in earnest. It took the form of the arrest, show trial, and execution of thousands of people, including the leaders of the Girondins and the opposing Jacobin factions, who were suspected of opposing—actively or passively, actually or potentially—the policies Robespierre dictated.

https://www.city-journal.org/html/why-robespierre-chose-terror-12935.html

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Class Dismissed!

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“lego ergo scribo”

Independence Declared–Now What?

The DoI was signed and presented to the people of the Colonies….and now the die was set and war was the only recourse.

With few allies the colonists had to do what they could…..that is until France showed interest in their struggle against England…..but why the interest?

After years of spiraling tensions in Britain’s American colonies, the American Revolutionary War began in 1775. The revolutionary colonists faced a war against one of the world’s major powers, one with an empire that spanned the globe. To help counter Britain’s formidable position, the Continental Congress created the “Secret Committee of Correspondence” to publicize the aims and actions of the rebels in Europe. They then drafted the “Model Treaty” to guide negotiations of alliance with foreign nations. Once the Congress had declared independence in 1776, it sent a party that included Benjamin Franklin to negotiate with Britain’s rival: France.

France initially sent agents to observe the war, organized secret supplies, and began preparations for war against Britain in support of the rebels. France might seem an odd choice for the revolutionaries to work with. The nation was ruled by an absolutist monarch who was not sympathetic to the principle of “no taxation without representation,” even if the plight of the colonists and their perceived fight against a domineering empire excited idealistic Frenchmen like the Marquis de Lafayette. In addition, France was Catholic and the colonies were Protestant, a difference that was a major and contentious issue at the time and one that had colored several centuries of foreign relations.

https://www.thoughtco.com/france-american-revolutionary-war-1222026

Americans like to think that they took on the most powerful empire in the world of 1776 and won….but that win became more possible with the assistance of France….

I know too many do not read these days so I will give them videos to watch and learn…..

Do you think you know all there is to know about the revolution?

Think again.

There is so much more to the war for independence than the sanitized versions taught in schools….

Be Smart!

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I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–22Apr19

Happy Earth Day!

The news out of Paris about the fire that destroyed Notre Dame has gotten crazier than I would have thought……

First, the conspiracy that it was a cover-up of a terrorist attack……this is silly….there have been several attacks in France and they were not “covered up”…

Next as the donations pour inthere is a bit of controversy…..

The $1 billion raised to rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral is now receiving a dose of controversy. The Washington Post is among several outlets reporting that criticism is mounting in regard to income inequality about the large donations that came from billionaires like Francois-Henri Pinault and Bernard Arnault. While most want to see Notre Dame restored to its former glory or beyond, critics see the donations as proving “social problems could be quickly addressed if the wealthy were motivated to do so,” per USA Today. “If two men … can provide [$337 million] to restore Notre Dame, within six hours, then there is enough money in the world to feed every mouth, shelter every family and educate every child,” writes Carl Kinsella at Joe.ie. “The failure to do so is a matter of will, and a matter of system.”


Adds journalist Simon Allison, who is based in South Africa: “In just a few hours today, 650 million euros was donated to rebuild Notre Dame. In six months, just 15 million euros has been pledged to restore Brazil’s National Museum. I think this is what they call white privilege.” Critics were pointing to other examples, including the need for money to ease the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Though the French government usually grants corporations a 60% tax deduction on culture donations, Pinault and Arnault say won’t get any such deduction. “It’s pretty dismaying to see that in France you are criticized even for doing something for the general interest,” Arnault says, per Reuters. It’s “an act, which in many other countries, we’d be congratulated for.”

(Now we know why Apple has donated so much, right?)

As usual everyone is looking for the cause of the fire……and culprit may have been found……a computer?

…. the cathedral’s rector said a “computer glitch” may have been behind the blaze, though Patrick Chauvet did not elaborate. “We may find out what happened in two or three months,” he told local business leaders. The fire burned through the centuries-old oak beams supporting the vaulted stone ceiling, dangerously weakening the building. The neighborhood was blocked off as stones continued to tumble off the sides of the cathedral.


Investigators said an electrical short-circuit most likely caused the fire. The Parisien newspaper has reported that a computer glitch might have misdirected firefighters responding to the initial alarm. The unsourced report said investigators are also looking into whether the fire was linked to temporary elevators being used in a renovation. Chauvet said there were fire alarms throughout the building, which he described as “well protected.” As Catholics carried out the Way of the Cross ritual near the cathedral to mark Good Friday, President Emmanuel Macron met with officials from the United Nations’ cultural agency. UNESCO representatives have offered their technical expertise to help with the reconstruction

 

Now for some good news from the fire of the century……

 

The 180,000 bees that live in three hives in the cathedral’s roof have been discovered alive, Nicolas Geant, the monument’s beekeeper said.

“I am so relieved. I saw satellite photos that showed the three hives didn’t burn. I thought they had gone with the cathedral,” he said.  

Mr Geant has looked after the bees since 2013, when they were installed as part of a city-wide initiative to boost declining bee numbers.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/notre-dame-latest-180000-bees-living-in-hives-in-cathedrals-roof-found-alive-after-inferno-a4122321.html

I am sure there will be more news as the situation develops and IST will be there to report the findings……

 

Kellogg-Briand Pact

Nope has nothing to with corn flakes!

War Is Hell!

I have always appreciated the times when our politicians looked to the future and tried to head off wars…….and you guessed it…..the old professor gonna drop some history…..

Most everyone knows that I am antiwar and have been so since 1972 plus I am a history wonk and have been studying World War One, The War To End War, well it did not work out that way…..but back in the 1920’s US SecState, Frank B. Kellogg and French Foreign minister Aristide Briand put together a pact for the League of Nations that would make war impossible……

After World War One, many Americans were determined that the United States should not become involved in another war. Their methods of trying to achieve this were varied – some pointed to the new World Court and the existing League of Nations as being the best forums in which to decide international disagreements, while others believed that disarmament was the first priority. The latter group tended to speak out in favor of the 1921 Washington Naval Conference and its successors.

A further group, generally given the title of peace advocates, went further and declared that war itself should be made illegal. Among the most prominent people to be involved with this faction were James T. Shotwell and Nicholas Murray Butler, who had close links with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. This organization had been set up by the renowned industrialist, Andrew Carnegie, in 1910, and had as its aim the promotion of internationalism.

http://totallyhistory.com/kellogg-briand-pact/

Sadly just a short decade later and the pact was voided by the actions of Germany, who once again became the European aggressor.

Another sad thing is that a devastating war is never unavoidable…..simply because the active participants want the clash…..for whatever reason.

Side Note:  The idea of a League of Nations that would prevent war from becoming a major incident……The League arbitrated disputes between member countries in order to peacefully preserve sovereignty and territorial rights. The League encouraged countries to reduce their amount of military weapons. Any country that resorted to war would be subject to economic sanctions such as a halt to trade……..an idea from American President Woodrow Wilson but was never ratified by the US Congress.

Without the US the League was weak and ineffective…..thus WW2 loomed large.

Bastille Day

If you are in France then today is a big day…….

July 14 is celebrated as the French independence day since 1789……and anyone that took a history class knows the story of how the people of Paris stormed the Bastille which was a prison at the time of the revolution…..or so they say…..

You guessed it…the old professor will drop some history on you that you may not have been aware of in you studies…..

In contrast with what we have learned in history class, the Bastille was never captured by attack. Actually, it was handed out to the rebels in a quite peaceful way. Strictly speaking, French national holiday – 14th of July, shouldn’t be celebrated for the storming of Bastille, but for handing it to the rebels instead.

Official historical description of the event is as follows: on the 14.th of July 1789, thousands of rebels marched towards the Bastille, well-known royal fortress in the center of Paris, to protest against tyrannical regime of king Louis XVI, and against the retirement of Jacques Necker, popular French minister of finances.

Guards loyal to the king soon started to shoot into the rebel crowd using cannons and muskets, but yet the rebels, although with heavy casualties, managed to heroically storm and conquer this despicable symbol of the royal power. They freed the suffering prisoners from the dungeons of Bastille, announced the end of despotism and beginning of the better future for the mankind.

http://www.historyrundown.com/was-bastille-really-conquered-by-the-people-of-paris/

And that is my dropping of history……did you know that Thomas Paine was earmarked for execution after the Revolution but he made it out because of a mistake.  (that is a post for another day)

Since some of my ancestors were French…I have taken to celebrating the Bastille Day as a family tradition.

Today will be my way of celebrating…… wine and cheese (French of course) and afternoon nap….after all I am an old fart and need my rest……and then a soccer match between Belgium and England……

Have a good day and I will see you guys tomorrow…..be well, be safe….chuq