Comment du Jour

French Bookstore Opens in New York

Literary Jewel on Upper Fifth Avenue Dazzles



A few years ago, the iconic French bookstore in Rockefeller Center closed.  To be sure the Librairie de France store which started in the 1930's and was part of the magnificent art deco complex near the skating rink could not compete either with the internet nor a fall off in reading habits.

Happily New York, and its large and growing French-speaking community, not to mention beaucoup de Francophiles have a new bookstore set in a jewel-like setting on Upper Fifth Avenue near the Metropolitan Museum of Art and across from Central Park.  Albertine prides itself as "a reading room and bookshop that brings to life French-American intellectual exchange."

The concept of this bookstore comes from Antonin Baudry, the cultural counsellor for the French Embassy, who is himself a celebrated author although under a nom de plume. Baudry wrote the
book Quai d'Orsay  (a serious comic) which was equally made into a  satirical film in France under the same name.  It offers a curious look at the French Foreign Ministry and the political personalities and foibles in the Quai D'Orsay. 

Voulez-vous entrer??

But I digress.  Albertine is situated in a townhouse which is home to the Cultural Services of the French Embassy.  Albertine is both a cultural offering to America and a business offering 14,000 contemporary French and English books, French children's books and art volumes.  Prices are comparable with the cost in France and don't have huge markups.

The vibe is a grand private library.  The setting evokes the superlative Parisian Franco/English bookstore, Gagliani.   The overall feel is a quiet and inviting class which is enhanced by the reading room.

Albertine's mission includes volumes "which were selected with passion and curated with care."

The  store was officially opened recently by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

But besides books, there is a forum for intellectual discussion and the Festival Albertine shall offer a series of lectures from "Women at Work/Mad Men" (yes the TV series) through topics, "Why to we still read Tocqueville?

Do check the extraordinary offering at  www.albertine.com

Bravo for this beautiful bookstore!

Comment du Jour

                                         New York's Steuben Day Parade
                                       German-American Friendship Day

                                  Youth and Sports groups marched in the Parade

        Both the German Consulate and Embassy sponsored floats--Berlin's Brandenburg Gate

                     Celebrating 25 Years since the fall of the infamous Berlin Wall in 1989!
                                            This float was among the most popular

                                           Until next year!!  Auf Wiedersehen!

Comment du Jour

German-American Steuben Parade

The 57th annual Steuben Parade marched up New York's Fifth Avenue with a colorful array of bands, floats and  traditional costumes.  The parade honoring General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, who played a crucial role in training and organizing the American Revolutionary Army, has become an annual event celebrating German-American Friendship.



The Parade which stepped off under beautiful bright skies, saw thousands of marchers and spectators along the route  from 68th Street up Fifth Avenue to 86th Street.

New York TV personality John Muller, from WPIX Channel 11 served as Grand Marshall.

                                            West Point Cadet German Language Club

                                           New York Fire Department Steuben Society

And there were the Beer Floats...

Karnival Marchers!

Folklore Groups...

More Beer!   Zum Prosit!!

And yes the World Cup of Football!!

Germany Won the FIFA World Championship

PART II to Follow soon!!!

Comment du Jour

Scotland the Brave--Staying in the United Kingdom!

Scotland has voted overwhelmingly to stay within the United Kingdom.

Despite what many polls predicted would be a close call for the Scots
choosing independence from Britain, the actual tally showed 55% support for staying
together while 45% wanted independence.

Except for Glasgow city where the Yes vote prevailed most other centers showed nearly two-thirds of respondents wishing to Stay Together with the UK.  Fully 86% of voters turned out in what was a landmark referendum.

A Yes vote would have produced a jolt to financial markets and equally raised serious questions over Scotland's future within NATO and the European Union.

Scotland has been part of the UK for over 300 years.

Beyond Scotland, an independence vote would have stirred separatism throughout Europe and wider afield from Spain to Corsica and Quebec.  

Comment du Jour

        Notre Dame Cathedral





France Surges in Global Tourist Visits

Surprised?


France has again emerged as the world's most visited country with 85 million tourists last year.

The USA comes in second with 70 million visits, Spain follows with 61 million, and now China with 56 million.

Of those visiting France are 13 million Germans and 12.6 million Brits.  Approximately 4 million North Americans--USA and Canadians journeyed last year as well.  Yet it's the Chinese tourists where we see a surge of 24 percent last year to 1.7 million while visiting Japanese were 700,000.

Go to any deluxe boutique or department store and its glaringly apparent that the Mainland Chinese visitors are big spenders and the "new Japanese" or what the Americans were 25 years ago.  Add big spending Arab and Russian visitors and you see the new "bling-bling" clientele.

And what are the top tourist sites visited by those touring la belle France?

1  Disneyland Paris with 15 million

2 Notre-Dame of Paris     14 million

3 Sacre-Coeur                   10.5 million

 4 Le Louvre                         9 million (and all seemingly on the day we visit!!)

 5 Chateau de Versailles     7.5 million


La Vie en Rose?

                                           Courtyard of Le Louvre with the Pyramid

Comment du Jour

Russian Navy Making Waves in France

ST. NAZAIRE, France—Far from the sputtering conflict, the war of words, and the diplomatic jousting between Russia and the West over the future  sovereignty of Ukraine, there’s a lucrative business deal unfolding in the  French Atlantic port of St. Nazaire.  There amid the construction cranes and buzzing machine shops of one of France’s largest naval shipbuilders, two new steel grey ships are taking form; both being amphibious assault ships for the Russian navy. 

Looming menacingly, both on the horizon as well as in relations between France and many of her Western allies, the Vladivostok presents a quiet testament to the proverbial bottom line in business relations between France and Russia—business as usual despite the political problems du jour.  

 

A few years ago, France contracted to build two Mistral class  navy helicopter ships in the port of St. Nazaire.  The business deal between the South Korean owned- STX shipbuilder and the Russian navy exceeds $1 billion for each vessel and plans are to deliver the first of the ships probably later this year, politics permitting.

For Moscow, the deal represents the first major weapons import since the fall of the former Soviet Union.

But for France, the deal has caused political waves with many of its closest allies.

While Washington and London have pressured Paris to scrap or slow down the sale, the French Socialist government, facing near nil economic growth, and fearful of further job cuts, still support the sale which sustains an economically endangered shipbuilding industry.

Though the British government has pressured France not to pursue the sale given the international actions of Vladimir Putin, Francois Hollande has lashed out at London over “its hypocrisy” in hosting so very many wealthy Russian oligarchs.   

The Vladivostok’s steel grey frame is taking form. Over 400 sailors are already stationed on the ship, learning the ropes so to speak, before it returns to Russia for active military service as a helicopter carrier enabling rapid intervention and deployment likely as the flagship of a new Mediterranean squadron.  Each ship will be fitted with 16 K-52 “Alligator” attack helicopters.

Ironically viewing the behemoth has become a kind of spectator sport in the port town.  Curiosity being what it is, locals and tourists come to visit the docks to see the vessel, watch the sailors on drill, and often watch the crews on leave in town hovering near cell phone shops to pick up free wifi signals.                                             

A bit of history. Situated on the Bay of Biscay, St. Nazaire remains one of France’s greatest ports; its shipbuilders constructed such iconic trans-Atlantic ocean liners as the Normandie in the 1930’s, the  France in 1961, and Cunard’s new flagship the Queen Mary 2 just a decade ago.  The modern shipyard routinely constructs many of the cruise ships which ply Caribbean waters.  On a darker side, during WWII and the German occupation of France, the port hosted one of the largest U-boat bases, the fifteen near-intact submarine pens from that era still stand as a silent testament to the past.

When Moscow slapped economic sanctions on the USA and European Union, in response to earlier Western sanctions on Russia, the French agricultural sector felt the financial pinch. French exports to Russia last year totaled $10 billion. Of that sum approximately one billion dollars is formed by agricultural products such as meat, vegetables, and wines.  France’s long pampered and protected farming sector feels the pinch.  The Socialist government thus rationalizes the military sale as necessary.

Both the Vladivostok and the Sevastopol, when delivered will be based in the Black Sea port in  Crimea, annexed by Russia earlier this year to the backdrop of world outrage.  The Mistral class vessels  allow for an enhanced and potent amphibious assault capacity.

Given growing European political and military concerns over Moscow’s policies, there’s a quiet nervousness among the French over the ship deal, despite the economic benefits.  As a former shipyard worker told me sarcastically, “Sure it’s good for business, but they (the Russians) are not going to throw it back at us, are they?”  One wonders.

Comment du Jour

The Guns of August

A Century Passes Since the Start of WWI but Tragic Wounds Remain

On June 28, 1914 the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were murdered in Sarajevo by a Serbian terrorist.   The assassination  a century ago led to a spiral of events which triggered the Great War.  Millions died in the carnage. 

Above,  the Archduke, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Throne is seen just before he was shot in his auto.

The car in which the Archduke was killed, is preserved in  the Austrian Army Museum in Vienna.
The auto is actually quite small and seemed just wide enough for the Royal couple to fit in the rear seat where they where shot by an terrorist from the infamous Black Hand.  This Serb nationalist group was active in multi-ethnic Sarajevo, site of the Archduke's official visit. 

The front of the auto as would have been seen as it approached the 19 year old killer Gavrilo Princip. 

The Royal Couple were both gravely wounded and died before reaching the hospital.  

The auto, an Austrian built Graf & Stift Double Phaeton,  is currently on display as the centerpiece to commemorations of the First World War.