Oooh, I love that Johnny Halliday:D
Actually, I really like Plastic Bertrand and Indochine, two classic New Wave bands. I spent the summer of '83 (I was 13) as an exchange student outside of Lyon, and these are the two bands I remember best. There was also some dark haired hottie who had a song called “Comme toi”, but I can’t remember his name.
Jacque Lacan.
Jean-Jacques Goldman would be the “Comme toi” singing hot guy of my 13-year-old dreams:D
I admire all the French men & women who helped our troops in what is commonly called the French Resistance.
Also Belgian I’m afraid.
This being a poll we’re not supposed to criticise each other’s choices but I’d recommend a reassessment of Henri Matisse (on the grounds that there’s more to him than his work), Brigitte Bardot (on the grounds that there’s more to her than the pout) and Roger Vadim (on the grounds that there’s more to him than his eye for a pretty girl). The “more” tends to spoil them IMHO.
Some good choices made so far though. I’ll add Jean Vanier (humanitarian), Dominique Rocheteau (footballer) and Raymond Blanc (restauranteur).
On a musical note (bada boom!), I greatly admire the French outfits, Saint Germain and Air. Their albums, Tourist and Moon Safari, respectively are absolutely superb records.
Does that candlestick holder from Beauty and the Beast count?
My grandparents.
They lived in a small town in the Loire Valley. During WWII, they used their positions in the town government (he was a school principal, she was a teacher) to make false ID papers for Jews so they could be smuggled out of occupied France. They also hid a lot of people in their house.
In August, 1943 (when my father was about 8 months old), somone, somewhere got arrested while carrying a list that included my grandfather’s name. He was arrested by the Gestapo and sent to Bergen Belsen prison camp. He never returned.
That’s a family history to be truly proud of, Sublight.
We hear so much self-serving, bombastic rhetoric (especially these days) that it is important to remember and honor the extraordinary sacrifices of “ordinary” people under horrifying circumstances.
Even when we remember the contributions of the “official” French Resistance, we sometimes overlook the fact that a huge number of civilians in occupied Europe resisted in whatever ways they could – sometimes paying the ultimate price.
Je vous salue, grandparents de Sublight.
[BTW, Sublight, which town? I know the Loire valley quite well, having lived in Orleans for a few years.]
Jouy le Poitier. There’s still a school there named after him.
Oh, and by the way, thanks. I am proud of them.
Sublight, that is an inspiring story. Thanks for sharing it with us.
I’ll second that, and add
Edmund Dulac - a fantastic early twentieth century illustrator.
Composers: Ravel and Debussy are two of my favorites. I also like Poulenc, Satie, Bizet and Saint-Saens.
Artists: Monet, Renoir.