#philippe villeneuve

[againstthegrainphoto]

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[gogmstuff]

1837 Karen Margrethe Borch by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (location ?). From tumblr.com/history-of-fashion/166639680739/1837-christoffer-wilhelm-eckersberg-karen; fixed spots w Pshop 536X907 @72 132kj.

1837 Les Visites by Paul Gavarni. From tumblr.com/clove-pinks 1698X2048 @72 1.5Mj.

1838 Madame de Villeneuve Bargemon et sa fille by Joseph-Désiré Court (location ?). From Wikimedia 992X1422 @72 443kj.

1839 Frau als Amazone mit ihren Windhund by Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (Louvre). From tumblr.com/artthatgivesmefeelings/688238660783603712/ferdinand-georg-waldmüller-austrian-1793-1865; fixed obvious spots & cracks w Pshop  1189X1463 @72 636kj.

1839 Helene of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Duchess of Orleans with her son Prince Louis Philippe by Franz Xaver Winterhalrer (Versailles). From Wikimedia 3847X5991 @300 7.6Mj.

[hedgehog-moss]

do you ever read scifi or fantasy in french? i am trying to read more sff that was originally published not in english but it's not easy to find 💀

I do! It’s not my favourite genre but one of my friends loves it so I read a bunch of SFF books every year ahead of her birthday to try and find a gift for her. I’m glad I do this because it’s allowed me to discover N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy which was amazing, and I don’t know if I would have picked it up otherwise!

Here are some French-language authors I’ve read or plan to read (unfortunately English translations are few and far between :( I bolded the names for which I found English translations—if you read in another language you can check out the non-bolded authors, there are often translations available in other languages long before English ones)

When it comes to classics you've got Pierre Boulle (Planet of the Apes of course; also Garden on the Moon, which is (deservedly imo) less known), Jacques Spitz (La Guerre des mouches—it was translated but not into English), René Barjavel (The Ice People, Ravage, Future Times Three—I read them a long time ago but I remember them as very sexist even by French classic standards), Bernard Lenteric (La nuit des enfants rois), Alain Damasio (La Horde du Contrevent—maybe too recent to be a classic but it’s everywhere. I was surprised to find no English translation!), Bernard Werber (I feel like he rehashes the same 3 ideas again and again but some of his earlier stuff was fun), Alexandre Arnoux (Le règne du bonheur), Jules Verne of course, Stefan Wul (Oms en série which was adapted into the film La Planète sauvage—Fantastic Planet in English. I like the film better!) And some I haven’t read: Georges-Jean Arnaud, Serge Brussolo (I liked his Peggy Sue series when I was in middle school but it spooked me so much I haven’t dared to pick up any of his SFF for adults, like Les semeurs d’abîmes), Élisabeth Vonarburg.

Newer authors: Estelle Faye (L’arpenteuse de rêves, Un éclat de givre—I tend to like her worldbuilding more than her plots); Sandrine Collette (The Forests—if you count speculative fiction as SFF) (I didn’t like it at all personally but others might), Jean-Philippe Jaworski (I really liked Janua Vera; didn't like Gagner la guerre but it was mainly because I have a low tolerance for rape scenes in fantasy books) (he’s about to be translated into English according to his editor), Stéphane Beauverger (Le déchronologue)

More authors I haven't yet read: Pierre Pevel (The Cardinal's Blades—I've been told it's "17th century Paris with dragons"), Romain Lucazeau (Latium), Laurent Genefort (Lum’en), Christian Charrière (La forêt d’Iscambe), Roland Wagner (La saison de la sorcière), Aurélie Wellenstein (Mers Mortes—I love the synopsis for this one), Magali Villeneuve (La dernière Terre, trilogy)

And non-French, non-anglo SFF authors: Maryam Petrosyan (my review of the Gray House last year was that I understood maybe 1/3 of it but I liked it anyway!), Hao Jingfang (haven’t read her yet), Arkady & Boris Strugatsky (idem), Jaroslav Melnik (I’ve read Espace lointain (originally Далекий простір) but didn’t like it much), Andreas Eschbach (The Carpet Makers), Walter Moers (I read The City of Dreaming Books back when I was still learning German and found it very charming), Liu Cixin (I loved The Three-Body Problem but The Dark Forest was so sexist it made me not want to pick up the third volume), Lola Robles (El informe Monteverde, translated as Memoirs of an Interstellar Linguist), Elaine Vilar Madruga (Fragmentos de la Tierra Rota), Tatiana Tolstaya (The Slynx), Karin Tidbeck (Amatka), Emmi Itäranta (Memory of Water, The Moonday Letters), Angélica Gorodischer (I’ve read Kalpa Imperial and found it only so-so but it always takes me a while to warm up to characters or a setting so I struggle with short story collections. I’ll still give Trafalgar a try) Also my favourite fantasy book as a kid was Michael Ende’s Neverending Story, I was obsessed with it. I re-read it in the original German a few years ago and it was still great.

[lumiereandcogsworth]

paused just to look around here, and i’ve never actually noticed that there’s a bridge connecting the hill that the village is on and the rest of the land. i guess that’s evidently where that river flows through, but anyway. i’m so fascinated by the landscape of this town. look at it! it’s up on a hill! it’s so oddly isolated and secluded! you can see it from when gaston & lefou are returning from hunting too:

and when belle does her Run From The Ick:

seems like that one is a different angle than the first two, given the placement of the clock tower and the visibility of the river. gaston & lefou’s seems to be the same perspective as philippe’s, just closer. which is interesting to consider as well — they were hunting in the woods just between the castle & the village!

but at any rate, it’s cool to note how utterly SEPARATE villeneuve is from the rest of the world. like not only is it a country town (in the middle of such gorgeous woods & water) but it’s up on a hill and so distinctly set aside because of the river.

it just emphasizes not only what a small-minded little world that village really was, but also more importantly how much of a fish bowl it was for belle! THAT was her whole world! and for many people that is wonderful and they’re content, but for someone as curious and adventurous and ambitious as belle?? she’s truly a saint for not having lost her mind there.

i bet people in the future just don’t even BELIEVE when they hear that their queen grew up there. they visit the town and they’re like ???? OUR queen belle??????? came from THIS??????????

(and of course if anyone ever talks about it with adam, he’s more than happy to bash it severely. he’s like yeah it’s so small and also they all SUCK????? so that’s crazy.) (belle tells him to stop though because she’s kind and forgiving.) (he never really stops, though, because he loves her too much.)

[erving-goffman]

i was trying to think of who would be the québécois version of juan josé campanella and i'm kind of torn between denys arcand and denis villeneuve? it might be denys arcand. 1) still working currently 2) nominated to the best international feature oscar 3) several of his film are part of the cultural canon 4) he didn't go to hollywood but he did direct a couple of canadian films in english, and he came back. only point where they don't match is that i think his films are artsier than campanella's. also villeneuve has never come back to make more films here, which both campanella and arcand have done.

jean-marc vallée was also a contender bc of his work in the US but tbh he's only directed 1 qc classic (C.R.A.Z.Y.). same thing with philippe falardeau. dolan has a few qc classics but he's too artsy. érik canuel has a couple and he did work in american TV but he doesn't have the name renown.

[bonheurportatif]

En juillet, j'ai quitté tumblr (5)

28 juillet Nous avons descendu les remparts arborés de la ville, jusqu'à ce qu'une librairie nous arrête. J'ai reçu un coup de fil pour un problème à régler à 200 kilomètres d'ici. Nous avons découvert la belle médiathèque de la ville. Nous avons discuté avec la médiathécaire : l'informatique de l'agglo a été piratée la veille, rendant l'inscription, la consultation du catalogue et l'emprunt des documents totalement impossibles. La pluie nous a contraints à un repli au moment du dessert. Nous nous sommes installés dans les fauteuils, dans des salles presque désertes, et nous avons lu jusqu'à la fermeture. J'ai fait un tour de ville en voiture avec Cadette. Nous avons pris un verre sur la petite place. Sur la table, le recto comme le verso d'une boîte métallique de cigarillos faisant office de cendrier affichait de vilains orteils gangrenés. J'ai lu les deux bandes dessinées achetées par Benjamine le matin. Nous avons regardé un peu dubitatifs un vieil Almodovar. J'ai reçu un avis de réception ambigu de la revue à laquelle j'ai soumis un texte : je n'ai pas compris si ma proposition était recevable ou pas.

29 juillet Nous avons fait un tour rapide au marché. Nous sommes allés dans un grand entrepôt commercial faire les courses de Cadette. J'ai fait de l'attente en pleine conscience dans la grande allée centrale, j'ai observé les grands, les petits, les gros, les en jogging et les voilées, les affairés et les badauds, les familles et les solitaires… Nous sommes allés voir notre ancienne maison, qui nous a semblé figée dans un jardin devenu luxuriant, presque trop. Nous sommes allés cueillir des mûres dans un gigantesque potager et ce fût un très bon moment. Nous avons fait un second tour pour montrer à Benjamine sa maison d'enfance. Nous avons mangé nos mûres, presque déjà trop acides. J'ai regardé Premier contact, de Denis Villeneuve, avec Cadette.

30 juillet Nous sommes allés au marché et nous y avons retrouvé notre dealeur mythique de chèvre poivré. Nous nous sommes peut-être mutuellement reconnus. Nous avons assisté à une altercation tendue, avec shoot dans des cartons et jet de tomate, entre une jeune zonarde querelleuse et un maraîcher énervé. Nous avons acheté des aubergines farcies végétariennes. Nous avons pris un café au Rex. Rien n'a changé dans cette partie de la ville. Je suis allé reconnaître les voies d'escalade avec Cadette. Nous avons pris un peu de hauteur dans la vallée. Nous avons rivalisé d'acrobaties pour faire le point sur une grosse araignée jaune. J'ai estimé sur un calculateur en ligne la distance et la durée approximatives d'une potentielle randonnée.

31 juillet (Je me suis fâché avec l'estivant d'en face, qui commençait à privatiser les places de stationnement dans la rue à coup de cônes de chantier.) (Comme à l'accoutumée, mon agacement est sorti de manière maladroite.) (La nouvelle politique de publication de tumblr, limitant les posts à 4 096 caractères, a achevé de me convaincre que ce réseau n'était plus pour moi et que j'allais le quitter.) J'ai mangé des tomates farcies.

Merci de votre fidélité, ce journal va très probablement prendre la forme d'une newsletter, je vous tiens au courant ici-même. A bientôt, Philippe

[notrebellefrance]

Avignon

- Place des Châtaignes - Avignon Ce nom remonte au moins au XIVe siècle, et vient assurément de ce que le marché aux châtaignes se tenait en cet endroit.

- Place des Carmes à Avignon cette place doit son nom à l’établissement qu’y firent, en 1267, les religieux du Mont Carmel.

La voûte de leur église s’écroula le 20 mai 1672. L’église fut alors rebâtie mais on n’y fit point la voûte. Celles qu’on y voit aujourd’hui sont en briques et ont été faites vers 1835.

Entre la place et la rue des Infirmières, les Carmes possédaient quatre petites maisons qui formaient l’île 14. Elles furent démolies au mois d’octobre 1791 et ce numéro manque aujourd’hui dans la série des 157 îles dont se compose la ville.

- Tour Philippe-le-Bel - Villeneuve-lès-Avignon

Donjon d’une forteresse édifiée au XIIIe s. par le roi de France Philippe IV le Bel, au débouché du célèbre pont d’Avignon dont elle contrôlait l’accès, la Tour Philippe le Bel domine toute la Provence. Très belles salles voûtées, espace muséographique permanent, découverte du pont d’Avignon en 3D dans son paysage à différentes époques, panorama sur la vallée du Rhône.

[goalhofer]

2024 olympians representing non country of residence part 4

Greece: Nick Calathes, basketball (Winter Park, Florida); Dauren Kurugliev, wrestling (Derbent, Russia); Maria Sakkari, tennis (Barcelona, Spain); Stamatia Scarvelis, athletics (Santa Barbara, California); Theodoros Tselidis, judo (Vladikavkaz, Russia); Stefanos Tsitsipas, tennis (Monte Carlo, Monaco) & Thomas Walkup, basketball (Deer Park, Texas) Grenada: Tilly Collymore, swimming (Norfolk, Virginia); Zackary Gresham, swimming (Miami, Florida) & Halle Hazzard, athletics (Huntington, New York) Guam: Nicola Lagatao, weightlifting (Manila, The Philippines) Guatemala: Luis Grijalva, athletics (Fairfield, California) Guinea: Safiatou Acquaviva, athletics (Aix-En-Provence, France); Aliou Baldé, soccer (Ziguinchor, Senegal); Marie Branser, judo (Leipzig, Germany); Rayane Doucouré, soccer (Paris, France); Mariana Esteves, judo (Lisbon, Portugal); Haladj Keita, soccer (Angers, France) & Abdoulaye Touré, soccer (Nantes, France) Guyana: Aliyah Abrams, athletics (Grayson, Georgia) & Chelsea Edghill, table tennis (Aveiro, Portugal) Haiti: Christopher Borzor, athletics (Hempstead, New York); Lynnzee Brown, gymnastics (State College, Pennsylvania); Emelia Chatfield, athletics (Miami, Florida); Mayah Chouloute, swimming (Boca Raton, Florida); Alexandre Grand'Pierre, swimming (Atlanta, Georgia) & Philippe Metellus, judo (Montreal, Quebec) Honduras: Julimar Ávila, swimming (Boston, Massachusetts) & Melique García, athletics (Watervliet, New York) Hong Kong: Ian Ho, swimming (Blacksburg, Virginia) & Chengzhu Zhu, table tennis (Houyangzhou, China) Hungary: Geraldine Mahieu, water polo (Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France); Bányai Márk, water polo (Oradea, Romania); Rebecca Parkes, water polo (Hamilton, New Zealand); Pedro Rodríguez, handball (Vigo, Spain); Omar Salim, taekwondo (Carson, California) & Márton Viviana, taekwondo (Madrid, Spain) Iraq: Hussein Ali, soccer (Malmö, Sweden); Josef Al-Imam, soccer (Malmö, Sweden); Kumel Al-Rekabe, soccer (Aarau, Switzerland) & Youssef Amyn, soccer (Essen, Germany) Ireland: Sophie Bideau-O'Sullivan, athletics (Melbourne, Australia); Victoria Catterson, swimming (Belfast, U.K.); Madison Corcoran, canoeing (Montgomery County, Maryland); Michaela Corcoran, canoeing (Montgomery County, Maryland); Ross Corrigan, rowing (Enniskillen, U.K.); Daniel Coyle, equestrian (Ardmore, U.K.) Erin Creighton, cycling (Belfast, U.K.); Tim Cross, field hockey (Melbourne, Australia); Grace Davison, swimming (Bangor, U.K.); Philip Doyle, rowing (Banbridge, U.K.); Thomas Fannon, swimming (Torquay, U.K.); Eric Favors, athletics (Haverstraw, New York); Conor Ferguson, swimming (Belfast, U.K.); Jude Gallagher, boxing (Newton Stewart, U.K.); Ben Healy, cycling (Kingswinford, U.K.); Danielle Hill, swimming (Newtonabbey, U.K.); Liam Jegou, canoeing (Huningue, France); Stephanie Kallan, golf (Phoenix, Arizona); Abigail Lyle, equestrian (Bangor, U.K.); Imogen Magner, rowing (Ely, U.K.); Max McCusker, swimming (Harlow, U.K.); Ciara McGing, diving (London, U.K.); Rory McIlroy, golf (Jupiter, Florida); John McKee, field hockey (Banbridge, U.K.); Peter McKibbin, field hockey (Belfast, U.K.); Ryan Mullen, cycling (Colwyn Bay, U.K.); Chay Mullin, rugby (Bristol, U.K.); Kelly Murphy, cycling (London, U.K.); Sean Murray, field hockey (Lisburn, U.K.); Matthew Nelson, field hockey (Belfast, U.K.); Christopher O'Donnell, athletics (Loughborough, U.K.); Ashleigh Orchard, rugby (Belfast, U.K.); Nick Page, field hockey (London, U.K.); Jake Passmore, diving (Leeds, U.K.); Michael Robson, field hockey (Belfast, U.K.); Shane Ryan, swimming (Haverford Township, Pennsylvania); Alice Sharpe, cycling (Cambridge, U.K.); Nathan Timoney, rowing (Enniskillen, U.K.); Aidan Walsh, boxing (Belfast, U.K.); Michaela Walsh, boxing (Belfast, U.K.) & Daniel Wiffen, swimming (Magheralin, U.K.)

[theleadersglobe]

Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix: Why Montreal is urging fans to leave their cars at home

Grand Prix weekend is fast approaching, and tens of thousands of spectators are expected to flock to Montréal.

The three-day Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix is the largest sporting event in the country.

“It’s a big weekend,” city spokesperson Philippe Sabourin told reporters Tuesday.

“On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we’re expecting merely 100,000 people per day are going to the event.”

Montréal is preparing for the annual race, and officials are strongly advising fans to leave their cars at home. There will be no parking available for the thousands of spectators at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

“Forget about it,” Sabourin said, emphasising there will be “no way” for ticket holders to park on either Île Notre-Dame or neighbouring Île Sainte-Hélène.

Read More:(https://theleadersglobe.com/life-interest/sports/formula-1-canadian-grand-prix-why-montreal-is-urging-fans-to-leave-their-cars-at-home/)

[xtruss]

The Burning Cathedral on the Night of April 15, 2019: A National Trauma. Foto: Houpline/Sipa/Action Press

Rebuilding Notre-Dame: The Resurrection of Fire-Ravaged Cathedral Brings France Together in Unexpected Ways

Five years after the fire at Notre-Dame, the iconic cathedral in Paris now has a roof and a tower again. The reconstruction is almost complete in what is no less than a national tour de force that has led to rare unity in a divided republic.

— By Britta Sandberg in Paris • April 11, 2024

You can see it again from afar, the narrow crossing tower that has reliably risen into the Parisian sky for 160 years. A 96-meter-long monument made of wood and lead, built in the mid-19th century. The spire.

It is rare that gaps need to be closed in the sky. In this case, though, it was urgently needed. For almost five years, Parisians looked into a sad emptiness when they walked past Notre-Dame and looked up. The void reminded them of a national trauma: the evening of April 15, 2019, when smoke first rose from the Gothic building and flames then shot out of the roof.

With every catastrophe, there is a moment when the hope dies that the drama can still be averted. On that evening in April, it was the minute the glowing tower plunged into the depths. On both banks of the Seine to the left and right of the Île de la Cité, people stood and shouted, unable to believe what they were seeing.

Television stations sent images of the burning "flèche" around the world, just as they had shown the collapsing towers of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. And in November 2015, the footage of desperate people fleeing from Islamic State (IS) terrorists via windows in the Bataclan concert hall in Paris, hanging helplessly from the façade.

On this April evening, France once again felt it was the victim. After the terrorist attacks in 2015, in which 146 people died, the IS attack in Nice the following year and the weeks of violent demonstrations by the yellow vests in the winter of 2018, now Notre-Dame was also burning. The "epicenter of our lives," as President Emmanuel Macron would later state. A statement that was, of course, infused with hyperbole.

Macron's Risky Bet on the Future

Many French people last visited the cathedral as a child, during a school or family trip. Many of them are atheists, Muslims or Jews. Strangely touched, they nevertheless realized that night how much connects them with this building. If only because it was always there.

Notre-Dame may be Catholic, but somehow it belongs to everyone. The church survived the revolution, the Paris Commune and two world wars. The first bells to ring after fierce fighting in liberated Paris in August 1944 were those of Notre-Dame. On the night of the fire, Jean-Luc Mélenchon of the left-wing populist party La France insoumise, an avowed atheist, said it felt as if something had happened to a close family member.

The need to comfort the grieving nation was great, even though there were no fatalities and there was no terrorist attack behind the disaster. The next day, Macron announced in a speech to the nation that he wanted to have the monument rebuilt within five years – and that it would be even more beautiful than it had ever been before. The ruins of the cathedral were still smoking. But we can do this because we are "a nation of builders," Macron said.

It was a risky bet on the future. Macron knew that he would ultimately be measured against that promise. But he is also a player. Many French presidents have taken risks with large construction sites: Socialist President François Mitterrand had the Louvre renovated in the 1980s and commissioned a glass pyramid. Georges Pompidou left Paris the avant-garde and long controversial Centre Pompidou building. The history-conscious Macron should be pleased that he is now the youngest president since 1958 to become the builder of one of the country's oldest monuments.

Philippe Villeneuve has been chief architect of Notre-Dame since 2013 and is responsible for the conservation and restoration of the cathedral. He had applied for the national job posting, it was his dream role. "Without the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, who made decisive changes to Notre-Dame in the 19th century and also designed the crossing tower, I would never have become an architect myself," says Villeneuve. For almost five years, his office has been a portacabin set up right behind the church. Relics of the fateful night still lie on the cupboards and desks to this day: Parts of old clock faces that fell into the nave. Molten lumps of lead from the roof of the church.

"I didn't look at any images of the collapsing tower. I couldn't have handled it."

— Philippe Villeneuve, Chief Architect of Notre-Dame

Foto: Sophie Carrère/Der Spiegel

Villeneuve wasn't in Paris on April 15, 2019, so he neither saw the crossing tower collapse nor the flames blazing on the roof. "And that was a good thing because I couldn't have handled it. I didn't look at any pictures of it afterward either." – Really, not a single one? – "I know, it sounds strange. Only since the tower has been back on the roof have I been able to do that to myself."

Tables with elongated rectangles in different colors hang in Villeneuve's container office. They each show the beginning and end of a construction phase – like an abstract art work that only insiders can understand. The Notre-Dame construction site is a complex logistical undertaking. It was divided into 140 individual construction sites, otherwise the technical challenges of reconstruction wouldn't have been met.

Tattoos to Keep What You've Lost with You at All Times

For the past five years, Villeneuve has dedicated himself exclusively to this construction project – the kind that only comes alone once in a century. The first one and a half years after the fire were spent securing the church, which was long considered to be in danger of collapsing. Villeneuve had hundreds of stones inspected to check how badly the heat had damaged them and whether they were still usable. He and Notre-Dame are now practically a single entity.

The 61-year-old pulls up the left sleeve of his cardigan, revealing the top of the spire beneath. "It takes up the entire arm, and there are more tattoos on the chest," says Villeneuve. Since the fire, he has had half the cathedral tattooed onto his body: the rescued north tower, the south tower, two mythical creatures on the façade and the copper rooster. He says he had to do something to keep what he had almost lost with him at all times.

Is that not a bit crazy though? – "Let's call it passion. I built a model of Notre-Dame when I was 16. I love this church, and I'm far from the only one."

When the crossing tower was erected on the roof again in mid-February, even the broad-shouldered carpenters are said to have had tears in their eyes. In the run-up to this, the country's four leading wood processing companies, who are actually competitors, had spent a year-and-a-half working together. Given the tight deadlines, a single company would never have been able to complete the task on time. All four companies worked to produce the thousand oak elements for the tower.

The restoration of stained glass in the cloister of the sacristy at Notre-Dame: more colorful and prettier than before. Foto: Patrick Zachmann/Magnum Photos

The reconstruction of the tower from the 19th century: a 96-meter-long monument made of wood and lead. Foto: Patrick Zachmann/Magnum Photos

Some 250 companies and numerous trades are working here in parallel, including painting restorers, stonemasons, roofers, specialist carpenters, air conditioning and heating technicians, archaeologists and scaffolders. More than 2,000 men and women are involved in the resurrection of the cathedral.

This national tour de force is being financed by 340,000 private donors who are raising a total of 846 million euros. Within only three days after the fire, the sum exceeded the total donations that the French transfer annually to the country's 10 largest charitable organizations. That's quite a lot of money for a pile of old stones, some have said critically. But they remain a minority.

The windfall came at the right time for President Macron, who had arbitrarily announced the deadline for reconstruction after the fire without consulting the experts. Five years sounded good. Besides, the Olympic Games would also be held in Paris in 2024.

People accused him of megalomania and the negligent handling of a listed historical monument at the time. Art historians and architecture experts wrote an open letter to the president. They warned against linking reconstruction to a political agenda or setting an actual set year for completion.

A Culture War over Reconstruction – Faithful to the Original or Modern?

There was another worry: Macron had declared that he also wanted to give contemporary architecture a place in the reconstruction. After that, strange designs for a modern tower began circulating. Some architects suggested a crystal spire "as a symbol of the fragility of our history." Others wanted to place a greenhouse and beehives on the roof of Notre-Dame. Yet others wanted to illuminate the roof from below so that it would be visible from a distance At some point, France's star architect Jean Nouvel weighed in. His objection: It isn't necessarily modern to replace something that already existed with something new.

Notre-Dame chief architect Villeneuve says he never tried to stop the discussion about all these idiotic ideas. "I knew that the crazier the designs, the greater the chances of a faithful reconstruction," he says. In July 2020, a national expert commission voted unanimously in favor of an historic reconstruction.

President Emmanuel Macron at the construction site: We can do this because we are "a nation of builders." Foto: Sarah Meyssonnier/AFP

One of the peculiarities of the French political system is that no commission or parliament ultimately decides on the architectural drafts. The president does. It's a monarchical gesture that survived the revolution. But Macron proved to be wise. A short time later, he agreed to a faithful reconstruction.

In the secular Fifth Republic, Notre-Dame belongs not to the church, but to the state. The latter makes the cathedral available to Catholics for the sole purpose of practicing their faith. And this according to a law passed in 1905. It made Emmanuel Macron the chief builder; the government is responsible for all renovation work and its financing.

Just two days after the fire, Macron appointed a former general as special envoy for reconstruction. He bypassed all the authorities – not even the Culture Ministry found out about it. The 70-year-old, Jean-Louis Georgelin, had previously served as chief of the general staff of the French armed forces and as NATO general in Bosnia's capital Sarajevo. He also led missions in Afghanistan and Cote d'Ivoire. And he is devout – a Catholic who knew the state apparatus well. Georgelin agreed. He didn't like being retired, anyway.

He moved into an office close to the president's in the Élysée Palace and explained to all critics that he was experienced at leading a task force in the military, so why not the Notre-Dame rescue operation as well? From then on, the general was primarily responsible for one thing: ensuring compliance with Macron's five-year plan.

Georgelin headed the "Établissement public," the public institution for reconstruction that the government had founded. He had himself photographed with an ax in the forest in front of oak trees selected for the new roof truss and gave everyone the reassuring feeling that the five-year deadline wasn't as crazy as it sounded.

Last August, the then 74-year-old had a fatal accident while on a hike in the Pyrenees. Macron dedicated a national memorial service to "the soldier who believed in heaven," as he expressed it, in the courtyard of the Invalides in Paris.

"What we are experiencing here is an incredible collective undertaking."

— Philipe Jost, general director of construction at Notre-Dame

Today, a glass conference room with a view of Notre-Dame's towers bears the name of the deceased. His successor, Philippe Jost, likes to use it for interviews. Jost, who was the general's deputy, is also a devout Catholic and previously worked in the French Defense Ministry. On this morning in March, he can see the new "flèche" from the large conference table at a height of almost 100 meters, a view that seemed unimaginable five years ago. "It only worked because the whole of France rushed to Notre-Dame's sickbed," says the 63-year-old. "What we are experiencing here is an incredible collective undertaking."

This construction site, he says, is also a demonstration of the will. "In a world of crises and given the often gloomy mood of the decade, the Notre Dame drama offered a unique opportunity to not surrender to fate, to take up the challenge and unite the whole nation behind this project. Emmanuel Macron already recognized that on the night of the fire."

"Do you know what makes scaffolding beautiful?" asks Didier Cuiset. "It's the aesthetics of perfect geometry." Cuiset stands 40 meters above the ground on a platform directly in front of the spire, in the middle of the sky above Paris. You can touch the rebuilt tower from here, touch the matte oak wood, see where the three-millimeter-thick layer of lead with the hook-shaped decorations begins. Even up close, the new tower is deceptively similar to the old one.

"Many people think that scaffolding is just a pile of metal, but that's not true. It can be a work of art."

— Didier Cuiset, chief scaffolder at Notre-Dame

Cuiset is the chief scaffolder here, and his company specializes in listed historical buildings. In the past, the company has put up scaffolding for the cathedral in Metz, the Louvre in Paris as well as Versailles. Cuiset has been living in a shared flat in Paris three days a week for five years now so that he can be part of the reconstruction of Notre-Dame.

"Many people think that scaffolding is just a pile of metal, but that's not true," he says. "It can be a work of art. When I draw one, I add pipes that it doesn't need structurally so that it looks nicer. Because I want it to do justice to the monument it surrounds."

Then, against all safety precautions, the 58-year-old climbs onto a barrier to take photos. This work of art is also ephemeral, it is currently being dismantled. As little metal as possible should obscure the view of Notre-Dame during the Olympic Games in the summer.

Restoration of the statue of St. Denis: 846 million euros for a pile of old stones? Foto: Patrick Zachmann/Magnum Photos

The nave of the cathedral: the stones are now "blonde" again, brighter and more radiant than ever. Foto: Patrick Zachmann/Magnum Photos

A few meters below, in the new roof truss of the cathedral, it smells of Christmas and fresh oak wood. Here you can see the faithful reconstruction of the medieval roof structure that was destroyed by the fire. It was also made possible because an architecture student had remeasured the roof for a research project in 2015. All the oak trunks used were worked manually with an ax by carpenters who still master the old techniques. Not folklore, as they say, but a method that makes the wood more stable. When worked by hand, it is easier to follow the core of the tree trunk. The beams were then joined together with wooden dowels, as they had been for centuries.

The daffodils are blooming in the garden of the Archbishop of Paris, and church bells can be heard from afar. The Catholic Church is not allowed to levy a church tax in France and is poorer than the German Church, but Monseigneur Laurent Ulrich lives very nicely. At the beginning of the 20th century, a wealthy widow bequeathed her 1,600-square-meter city palace and private chapel in the 7th arrondissement to the diocese of Paris, with the sole condition that the archbishop should live there in future. The property is now estimated to be worth over 50 million euros.

The world's richest man lives next door. He has also been the biggest donor in the effort to restore Notre-Dame. Bernard Arnault, owner of the luxury group Louis Vuitton-Moët Hennessy, gave 200 million for the reconstruction – twice the amount given by his eternal rival, the billionaire and art collector François Pinault.

"France has become a divided country, a fractured society. But Notre Dame has managed to unite our nation for a moment."

— Monseigneur Laurent Ulrich, the Archbishop of Paris

Foto: Sophie Carrère/Der Spiegel

It's raining outside, but Monseigneur is in good spirits on this morning. A few days ago, the topping-out ceremony for the newly constructed roof truss of Notre-Dame took place. In December, Laurent Ulrich consecrated the rooster for the crossing tower, which contains the relics of two saints that survived the night of the fire, a small part of the famous crown of thorns of Jesus Christ and, more recently, a parchment paper with the names of the craftsmen involved in the reconstruction.

If there are no storms or other disasters, he will be able to open Notre-Dame on time by December 8, says Ulrich. The originally planned date of April 15, 2024, had to be canceled due to difficult working conditions during the pandemic and strong winds.

The archbishop says he has been worried in recent years. "France has become a divided country, a fractured society," he says. "But Notre-Dame has managed to unite our nation for a moment. That makes me happy."

Monseigneur Ulrich doesn't want the April 15 fire to be forgotten, even if it was perhaps only caused by a short circuit or another trivial cause. The cause has not yet been determined. The archbishop has issued a call for tenders for six new stained glass windows in the cathedral. They are to be designed by contemporary artists "to leave a trace of the event that deeply wounded Notre-Dame. And which nevertheless showed what we are capable of: We were able to close this wound again." Macron has approved the project.

There are many things that divide the archbishop and the president. Just a few weeks ago, the right to abortion was enshrined in the constitution at Macron's initiative. A draft law on euthanasia is currently being prepared – issues that Monseigneur does not support. But when it comes to Notre-Dame, the two are in agreement. "Next December, the president will give the church back to Catholics to practice their religion. And we will thank him and everyone involved for that."

The faithful, Parisians and tourists will then discover a cathedral that is brighter and more radiant than ever before. After extensive work, the stones and columns inside the nave have been restored to their original color. Restorers painstakingly removed the dirt of past centuries, layer by layer. They are now "blonde" again, as the experts say. This color gives the nave something unusually sculptural. A depth that has been overshadowed by shades of gray for decades.

The colors in the neo-Gothic sacristy, once designed by architect Viollet-le-Duc, are also visible again for the first time. The restorers who cleaned it were amazed at how brightly colored this room once was, how deep blue the ceiling, how pink the frescoes.

Notre-Dame is actually more beautiful than before.

At the very front of the altar is an 18th century Pietà, a depiction of Mary with the body of Jesus Christ taken down from the cross. On the evening of April 15, molten lead had flowed from the roof of the church directly into the open right hand of Jesus, staining the entire sculpture with black splashes. There is no sign of it today. The restorers only left the lead in the palm of the hand. As a reminder of a special moment.

[mundillotaurino]

Villeneuve de Marsan dévoile un cartel 100% français pour sa corrida 2023

Dernière danse pour Thomas Dufau dans ses arènes de Villeneuve de Marsan

Le Cercle Taurine de Villeneuve de Marsan a dévoilé le cartel de sa corrida du Mardi 8 août 2023. Les organisateurs ont choisi de présenter une nouvelle corrida 100% française avec la présence du matador de toros local Thomas Dufau, dans sa temporada de despedida. Face à un lot des héritiers de Philippe Cuillé, Thomas Dufau sera accompagné de deux néo matadors de toros, Dorian Canton qui avait…

[double-croche1]

[PREVIEW 2023]

Nos albums et films les plus attendus de 2023 ! 💿🎬✨ - ALBUMS - JANVIER 20/01 : Mac DeMarco - Five Easy Hot Dogs Agar Agar - Player Non Player FÉVRIER 03/02 : Forever Pavot - L'Idiophone Orval Carlos Sibelius - Territoires de l’inquiétude 10/02 : Tennis - Pollen Andy Shauf - Norm Kelela - Raven 14/02 : Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want to Turn Into You 17/02 : Wesley Joseph - Glow 24/02 : Voyou - Les Royaumes minuscules Shame - Food for Worms En Attendant Ana - Principia MARS 03/03 : Kate NV - WOW 10/03 : Fever Ray - Radical Romantics Maraschino - Hollywood Piano Et ceux bientôt annoncés de : Anohni, Flavien Berger, boygenius, Kirin J. Callinan, Daughter, Fenster, Lenparrot, MGMT, Moodoïd, Neon Indian, Romy, Zaho de Sagazan, Saint DX, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Westerman, Jimmy Whispers, Wild Nothing, Youth Lagoon… - FILMS - JANVIER 04/01 : ‘Radio Metronom’ d’Alexandru Belc 05/01 : ‘Copenhagen Cowboy’ (série) de Nicholas Winding Refn 11/01 : ‘De Humani Corporis Fabrica’ de Verena Paravel et Lucien Castaing-Taylor ‘L��Envol’ de Pietro Marcello 18/01 : ‘Babylon’ de Damien Chazelle ‘Earwig’ de Lucile Hadzihalilovic 23/01 : ‘La Nuit où Laurier Gaudreault s’est réveillé’ (série) de Xavier Dolan 25/01 : ‘Tár’ de Todd Field ‘Retour à Séoul’ de Davy Chou ‘Ashkal, l’enquête de Tunis’ de Youssef Chebbi FÉVRIER 01/02 : ‘Aftersun’ de Charlotte Wells 15/02 : ‘La Femme de Tchaïkovski’ de Kirill Serebrennikov ‘La Romancière, le film et le heureux hasard’ de Hong Sang-soo 22/02 : ‘The Fabelmans’ de Steven Spielberg MARS 01/03 : ‘Goutte d'or’ de Clément Cogitore 08/03 : ‘The Whale’ de Darren Aronofsky ‘Mon crime’ de François Ozon 15/03 : ‘Toute la beauté et le sang versé’ de Laura Poitras ‘Le Bleu du caftan’ de Maryam Touzani ‘Alma Viva’ de Cristèle Alves Meira 22/03 : ‘The Eternal Daughter’ de Joanna Hogg ‘Dalva’ d’Emmanuelle Nicot ‘L'Eden’ d’Andrés Ramirez Pulido AVRIL 05/04 : ‘About Kim Sohee’ de July Jung 12/04 : ‘Sick of Myself’ de Kristoffer Borgli 26/04 : ‘Nos cérémonies’ de Simon Rieth JUIN 07/06 : ‘Wahou !’ de Bruno Podalydès 21/06 : ‘Asteroid City’ de Wes Anderson JUILLET 12/07 : ‘Master Gardener’ de Paul Schrader 19/07 : ‘Oppenheimer’ de Christopher Nolan ‘Barbie’ de Greta Gerwig SEPTEMBRE 13/09 : ‘Un métier sérieux’ de Thomas Lilti 20/09 : ‘Acide’ de Just Philippot OCTOBRE 04/10 : ‘Le Règne animal’ de Thomas Cailley  NOVEMBRE 01/11 : ‘Dune : part 2’ de Denis Villeneuve Non datés : ‘Strange Way of Life’ de Pedro Almodóvar ‘The God Beside My Bed’ de Rick Alverson et Lisandro Alonso ‘Las chicas están bien’ d’Itsaso Arana  ‘The Bastard’ de Nikolaj Arcel ‘Eureka’ de Lisandro Alonso ‘The Wonderful Story of Henri Sugar’ (Netflix) de Wes Anderson ‘Beau Is Afraid’ d’Ari Aster ‘Elilia Perez’ de Jacques Audiard  ‘Butterfly Jam’ de Kantemir Balagov ‘Esterno Notte’ (série) et ‘La Conversione’ de Marco Bellocchio  ‘Les Herbes sèches’ de Nuri Bilge Ceylan ‘Shanghai Youth’ (documentaire) de Wang Bing ‘La Bête’ de Bertrand Bonello ‘L’Eté dernier’ de Catherine Breillat ‘Les Blancs’ de Robin Campillo  ‘The Sympathizer’ (série) de Park Chan-wook ‘Priscilla’ de Sofia Cappola ‘Infinity Pool’ de Brandon Cronenberg ‘Humane’ de Caitlin Cronenberg ‘Disclaimer’ (série) d’Alfonso Cuarón ‘Emmanuelle’ d’Audrey Diwan ‘L’Amour et les forêts’ de Valérie Donzelli ‘L’Empire’ de Bruno Dumont ‘Daaaaaali !’ de Quentin Dupieux ‘La Fille qu’on appelle’ de Charlène Favier ‘The Killer’ (Netflix) et ‘Strangers’ de David Fincher ‘Le Grand Chariot’ de Philippe Garrel et Jean-Claude Carrière ‘Io Capitano’ de Matteo Garrone ‘La Zone d’intérêt’ de Jonathan Glazer ‘Selvajaria’ et ‘Grand Tour’ de Miguel Gomes ‘Le Livre des solutions’ de Michel Gondry  ‘I Am Pilgrim’ de James Gray ‘Challengers’ de Luca Guadagnino  ‘Shining Sex’ de Lucile Hadzihalilovic, Sion Sono, Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani, Bertrand Mandico et Kleber Mendonça Filho  ‘Our Apprenticeship’ de Ryūsuke Hamaguchi ‘Where to Land’ de Hal Hartley ‘Club Zero’ de Jessica Hausner ‘May December’ de Todd Haynes ‘Shulan River’ de Hou Hsiao-Hsien ‘Handling the Undead’ de Thea Hvistendahl ‘The Actor’ de Duke Johnson ‘Blossoms Shangai’ (série) de Wong Kar-Wai ‘Memory Police’ et ‘lQ83’ (série) de Charlie Kaufman ‘Dead Leaves’ d’Aki Kaurismaki ‘Mektoub My Love : Canto Due’ et ‘Mektoub My Love : Canto Tre’ d’Abdellatif Kechiche ‘Funny Pages’ d’Owen Kline ‘Kaibutsu’ de Hirokazu Kore-eda ‘Un silence’ de Joachim Lafosse ‘Poor Things’ et ‘And’ de Yorgos Lánthimos ‘El Conde’ de Pablo Larraín ‘Hitman’ de Richard Linklater ‘The Old Oak’ de Ken Loach ‘Les Indésirables’ de Ladj Ly ‘Unrecorded Night’ (série) de David Lynch ‘Jeanne du Bary’ de Maïwenn ‘The Way of the Wind’ de Terrence Malick ‘La Barbare’ de Bertrand Mandico ‘Ferrari’ de Michael Mann ‘Occupied City’ (documentaire) et ‘Blitz’ de Steve McQueen ‘Wizards!’ de David Michôd ‘Comment vivez-vous ?’ de Hayao Miyazaki  ‘Il sol dell'avvenire’ de Nanni Moretti ‘The Orphan’ de László Nemes ‘The Bikeriders’ de Jeff Nichols  ‘The End’ de Joshua Oppenheimer ‘The Island’ de Pawel Pawlikowski ‘The Red Sky’ de Christian Petzold ‘Eat the Night’ de Caroline Poggi et Jonathan Vinel ‘Le Temps d’aimer’ de Katell Quillévéré  ‘Polaris’ et ‘Stone Mattress’ de Lynne Ramsay ‘Showing Up’ de Kelly Reichardt ‘La Chimère’ d’Alice Rohrwacher ’Passages’ d’Ira Sachs ‘The Curse’ (série) de Benny Safdie et Nathan Fielder ‘Musik’ d’Angela Schanelec ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ de Martin Scorsese ‘Napoléon’ de Ridley Scott ‘Limonov: The Ballad of Eddie’ de Kirill Serebrennikov ‘Tardes de soledad’ (documentaire) d’Albert Serra ‘La Colline parfumée’ d’Aberrahmane Sissako ‘Full Circle’ (série) de Steven Soderbergh ‘Anatomie d’une chute’ de Justine Triet ‘Young Sinner’ de Paul Verhoeven ‘Families Like Ours’ (série) de Thomas Vinterbeg ‘The Kingdom Exodus’ (série) de Lars Von Trier ‘Mr Crane Is Back’ de Shujun Wei ‘MaXXXine’ de Ti West ‘Human Flowers of Flesh’ de Helena Whittmann ‘A Family Business’ de Frederick Wiseman ‘What Happens’ d’Andrey Zvyagintsev A&B

[richwall101]

The Pont Saint-Bénézet  also known as the Pont d'Avignon was a medieval bridge across the Rhône in the town of Avignon, in southern France. Only four arches survive.

A wooden bridge spanning the Rhône between Villeneuve-lès-Avignon and Avignon was built between 1177 and 1185. This early bridge was destroyed forty years later in 1226 during the Albigensian Crusade when Louis VIII of France laid siege to Avignon. Beginning in 1234 the bridge was rebuilt with 22 stone arches. The stone bridge was about 900 m (980 yd) in length and only 4.9 m (16 ft 1 in) in width, including the parapets at the sides. The bridge was abandoned in the mid-17th century as the arches tended to collapse each time the Rhône flooded making it very expensive to maintain. Four arches and the gatehouse at the Avignon end of the bridge have survived. The Chapel of Saint Nicholas which sits on the second pier of the bridge, was constructed in the second half of 12th century but has since been substantially altered. The western terminus, the Tour Philippe-le-Bel, is also preserved.

The bridge was the inspiration for the song Sur le pont d'Avignon and is considered a landmark of the city. In 1995, the surviving arches of the bridge were classified as a World Heritage Site, together with the Palais des Papes, Cathédrale Notre-Dame des Doms, and other monuments from the historic centre of Avignon, because of its testimony to Avignon's leading role in the Papacy during the 14th and 15th centuries.

PONT D'AVIGNON - FRANCE

[pascalrenardartwork-blog]

🟡 ENTRÉE LiBRE Tour Philippe le Bel, Villeneuve les Avignon, 11/11 > 11/12 2022. Tous les jours 14h-17h mercredi 10h 12h/ 14h-17h fermé le lundi. #artcontemporain #artiste #artistes #art #exposition #installation #polar #trembler #noir #festivaldupolarvilleneuvelezavignon #villeneuvelesavignon #novembre #onze #tour #monument #patrimoine @juli_about @julien_caidos @juliette_chone_visual_artist @eleonore.descollagesimmediats @eric_fouassier @ldepapier @michelemascherpa @carinemx @isarabarot @pascal_renard_artwork @richardrouxgiuge @festivaldupolar @villeneuve_lez_avignon https://www.instagram.com/p/ClLfFu6IYJo/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[saecookie]

Jean-Pierre Dionnet about Denis Villeneuve March 1st, 2022 - (source)

Translation : I was seeing Denis Villeneuve, who was having a small viewing of his movie. There was a vehicle. I was with Druillet, and the vehicle looked like something Druillet could have drawn. And so he [Villeneuve] lookad at Druillet and all of a sudden the vehicle transformed itself and became kind of a big fly, like that.

Then he [Villeneuve] sat at our feet, and said "I'm glad to meet you, do you have a bit of time?" and we spoke for two hours. It felt completely backward because he had just done the biggest movie of the year!

And he said "I'm gonna call Hans Zimmer" (who does his soundtracks) "he's gonna be jealous." [Miming a phonecall:] "Hans, do you know who I'm with?" [Miming Zimmer's answer:] "Oh no, you should have told me, I would have come!" And then...

Because, I noticed something. When you do something ahead of your time (and that we did, that might be why everything went wrong), generally when you die they say "oh what a loss!".

Well. We were living it!

[ribelluliberta]

Acte 13 ce jour un événement c'est produit à Villeneuve sur Lot

ce jour de l'Acte 13, nous avons été au devant du peuple et nous avons parler échangé ....pleuré , mais des larmes de bonheur alors je vous demande de voir le plant A que je propose en respectant les loi de la Ripoublique   et sans casse et bien si non a titre personnel je passerais au plant B ..... j ai toute les qualifications pour être candidat et oui 10 ans pour escroquerie c est sur mon CV et je déconne pas tapez sur Google hommes politique condamné par la justice vous trouverez 300 noms de soi-disant personnalité   et le pire c'est que les motif son Multiples VIOL-Agressions sexuels -Détournement de fonds Publique - Extorsions et Chantage Si je suis dans l'obligation de faire le plant B: 1 tous faire et le dire sur les chaines publique et je n aurais aucune censure c est la loi je certifierais qu il n'y a aucune  LISTE GILETS JAUNES, aucune et faire en sorte que Macron ne soit pas en tête  le soir du 26 mai 2019 je le ferait sans fric car je ne coûterais  rien pour les français mais attention chaque liste qui feras plus de 3 % a cette farce électorale toute ces liste vont touché 800 000€ voir 900 000€ https://www.lepoint.fr/politique/ces-... https://www.facebook.com/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/33368... https://twitter.com/FanchteinJean