France Politics

Two-time president of France, mayor of Paris, and international politician, Jacques Chirac stands with Mikhail Gorbachev, Helmut Kohl, and Margaret Thatcher as one of the most iconic statesmen of the 20th century. In this revealing and informative memoir, Chirac looks back at his 50 years in politics, giving us both an intimate window onto the challenges of leadership and a broad reference for much of our recent history.

Détenir une vérité que le monde refuse mais dont la portée pourrait bouleverser l'avenir de l'humanité. Cette certitude a un nom : le syndrome Copernic. Vigo Ravel a trente-six ans et a développé les symptômes de ce mal étrange. Diagnostiqué schizophrène et amnésique, il s'est résigné à accepter sa maladie, notamment grâce à l'aide de son psychiatre et de nombreux médicaments. Mais Vigo souffre-t-il vraiment d'une schizophrénie paranoïde aiguë ou connaît-il simplement la vérité ? Les voix dans sa tête sont-elles des hallucinations dues à ses troubles psychiques ou entend-il les pensées des gens ?

Aujourd'hui, en France, plus de 60 000 petites filles sont excisées. Chaque année 2 millions de jeunes filles sont excisées. 130 millions de femmes dans le monde ont subi ces mutilations. La tradition voudrait que l'excision augmente la fécondité des femmes, qu'elle garantisse la pureté et la virginité d'une fille ainsi que la fidélité d'une épouse... Dans les faits, cette mutilation barbare met en péril la vie des jeunes filles qui la subissent et les prive à jamais de plaisir, brisant leur vie de femme.

Napoléon Ier (1769-1821) est le premier empereur des Français, de 1804 à 1815. Napoléon Bonaparte est un militaire, général dans les armées de la Première République française, née de la Révolution, commandant en chef de l'armée d'Italie puis de l'armée d'Orient.

In 1789 a group of sober-minded, concerned citizens set in motion a series of events which were to end up leading to the deaths of thousands of perfectly innocent persons. How did this reasonable movement of level-headed civic leaders spin out of control? At a glance, the French Revolution appears a bewildering series of political factions sweeping in and out of power, massacre and counter-massacre, terror and guillotine, and one economic crisis following another.

We live in an age of unprecedented prosperity, yet everywhere we see signs that our pursuit of happiness has proven fruitless. Dissatisfied, we seek change for the sake of change - even if it means undermining the foundations of our common life. In Why We Are Restless, Benjamin and Jenna Storey offer a profound and beautiful reflection on the roots of this malaise and examine how we might begin to cure ourselves.

Louis-Charles, Duc de Normandie, enjoyed a charmed early childhood in the gilded palace of Versailles. At the age of four, he became the dauphin, heir to the most powerful throne in Europe. Yet within five years he was to lose everything. Drawn into the horror of the French Revolution, his family was incarcerated and their fate thrust into the hands of the revolutionaries who wished to destroy the monarchy.

Socrate est souvent qualifié de "père de la philosophie". S'il n'en est peut-être pas le fondateur, il est le premier à se détourner de l'étude de la nature et à insister pour que la réflexion philosophique s'intéresse désormais, et exclusivement, aux "affaires humaines". En raison de cette stature, et du fait qu'il n'ait jamais laissé d'écrit, on a longtemps cherché dans les œuvres de Platon, de Xénophon, d'Aristophane ou encore d'Aristote, la trace du vrai Socrate, du Socrate historique.

Alan Furst's latest novel takes place in the secret hotels, nightclubs, and cafes of occupied Paris and the villages of France during the spring of 1941, when Britain was losing the war. Many of the characters are resistance fighters who run an escape line for British airmen down to Spain; they include men and women, old and young, all strong - an aristocrat, a Jewish teacher - and the hero is a hero, has a gun, and uses it.

Raised in a lush suburb of 1920s Paris, Noor Inayat Khan was an introspective musician and writer, dedicated to her family and to her father’s spiritual values of harmony, beauty, and tolerance. She did not seem destined for wartime heroism. Yet, faced with the evils of Nazi violence and the German occupation of France, Noor joined the British Special Operations Executive and trained in espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance. For crucial months of the war, Noor was the only wireless operator in France sending critical information to London.

Discover the remarkable history of the Napoleonic Wars. The Napoleonic Wars were a series of conflicts fought between France and various coalitions in Europe between 1803 and 1815 (though some put the start date at 1799). The prelude to the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Napoleonic Wars is the French Revolution, and the conflicts that continued after Napoleon seized power would radically affect Europe and indeed political philosophies not confined by artificial boundaries.

L'opposition entre de Gaulle et Mitterrand met dos à dos un homme qui lutte contre l'effondrement d'une civilisation et un individu qui se moque que celle-ci disparaisse pourvu qu'il puisse vivre dans ses ruines à la façon d'un satrape. Le premier donne sa vie pour sauver la France ; le second donne la France pour sauver sa vie. L'un veut une France forte, grande et puissante, à même d'inspirer une Europe des patries ; l'autre la veut faible, petite et impuissante, digérée par l'Europe du capitalisme. L'un ressuscite Caton ; l'autre réincarne Néron.

“Citizenship in a Republic” is the title of a speech given by Theodore Roosevelt at the Sorbonne in Paris, France, on April 23, 1910. In the speech Roosevelt discusses the attributes required of its citizens and leaders to sustain a thriving national character, not least of which are a high moral character and energetic engagement.

Nul ne peut échapper au droit. Celui qui naît se voit déjà doté d'une filiation, d'un nom, d'un prénom, et aussi sans doute d'un domicile et d'une nationalité. Tout au long de la vie se nouent de multiples liens juridiques créateurs d'obligations diverses (achats les plus quotidiens, mariage, contrat de travail, etc.). Même la mort est soumise à de nombreuses règles de droit (sort du cadavre, respect dû à la mémoire des morts).

"In December of 1776 a small boat delivered an old man to France." So begins an enthralling account of how Benjamin Franklin - 70 years old, without any diplomatic training, and possessed of the most rudimentary French - convinced France, an absolute monarchy, to underwrite America's experiment in democracy. When Franklin stepped onto French soil, he understood he was embarking on the greatest gamble of his career. By virtue of fame, charisma, and ingenuity, Franklin outmaneuvered British spies, French informers, and hostile colleagues....

Understand a crucial part of the history of French monarchy, with this collection of portraits of some of the most spectacular rulers of France. This catalog lists the kings named Louis, from Louis XIII the Just who stood up against political intrigues, to Louis XVIII who reigned during the Restauration of the French Monarchy after the fall of Emperor Napoleon. For each one of these Kings, you will find a detailed description of the style of his reign and his political achievements.

The profound emotion felt around the world upon seeing images of Notre-Dame in flames opens up a series of questions: Why was everyone so deeply moved? Why does Notre-Dame so clearly crystallise what our civilisation is about? What makes ‘Our Lady of Paris’ the soul of a nation and a symbol of human achievement? What is it that speaks so directly to us today?

Combining impeccable scholarship and literary elegance, David Wetzel depicts the drama of machinations and passions that exploded in a war that forever changed the face of European history.

Une heure de promenade auditive dans les pas des anthropologues, en compagnie de Marie-Armelle Deguy, pour interroger nos sociétés humaines.

A major biography of the Marquis de Lafayette, French hero of the American Revolution, looks past the storybook general and selfless champion of righteous causes who, at the age of 19, volunteered to fight under George Washington, casting aside fortune and family (from one of France's oldest families; his ancestors served in the Crusades and alongside Joan of Arc) to advance the transcendent aims of liberty and justice.