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A little piece of Spain set in the French countryside
Why Llívia is a Spanish enclave inside France, how a 1659 treaty created it, and why road access and border rules still cause tensions today
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Saint-Gervasy: a spiritual place ideal for those drawn to art, religion and nature
The Gard village first mentioned nearly 900 years ago is set in a rugged landscape brimming with notable flora and fauna
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The real history of Mother’s Day in France
The French Fête des Mères takes place on the last Sunday of May most years
What happened 10, 50 and 100 years ago this month in France?
The first written document was sent across the Atlantic Ocean between New York and Paris by fax in August one hundred years ago and more
August, 2011
IMF leader is cleared
Dominique Strauss-Kahn was cleared of all charges on August 23 after allegations of sexual assault and attempted rape made by hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo.
At the time of the arrest, DSK was managing director of the International Monetary Fund and also seen as a likely candidate to run against French president Nicolas Sarkozy in the 2012 elections.
He gave up his planned bid to stand as a candidate for the Socialist Party at the presidential elections. François Hollande ended up as the party’s candidate, and went on to be voted in as president.
The incident sparked a feminist movement in France in defence of women victims of sexual abuse and rape.
August, 1971
France defends bomb test
France carried out about 200 nuclear bomb tests in the Sahara desert and in Polynesia between 1960 and 1996.
The inhabitants of Polynesia and other organisations are still demanding France apologises for the social, health and environmental consequences of the tests.
One TV report on August 5, 1971, made by Vingt-quatre heures sur la deux, shows military officials being very confident about the harmlessness of the radioactive fallout from the tests.
France’s national institute of health and medical research published a report on the health consequences of the tests earlier this year. It could not conclude with certainty if there was a link between the tests and the high levels of cancer on the islands.
August, 1921
First transatlantic fax sent
On August 4, the first written document was sent across the Atlantic Ocean between New York and Paris by wireless technology (a fax).
The message was sent by a Belinograph, a machine invented by French engineer Edouard Belin. It was written by C.V. Van Anda of The New York Times, and addressed to Le Matin newspaper.
It read: “The New York Times congratulates Le Matin upon this new method of wireless transmission”. It took about seven minutes to arrive and was described as an “epoch-making achievement”.
