FRANCE - Notre Dame Cathedral

My heart goes out to France and its citizens.

"‘Catastrophic fire’ inflicts major damage on Notre Dame Cathedral" PBS NewsHour 4/15/2019

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SUMMARY:  In Paris and across the globe, stunned spectators watched in horror as the Notre Dame Cathedral burned Monday.  The fire started in the evening, shortly after the building was closed to the public, and appears to have caused “catastrophic” damage to one of the world’s most famous cultural and artistic landmarks.  Judy Woodruff talks to Kate Moody of the French news channel France 24 for the latest.

"Notre Dame fire prompts global grief for a landmark of civilization" PBS NewsHour 4/15/2019

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SUMMARY:  A devastating fire consumed parts of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Monday.  While the biggest question is whether the structure itself will survive, there is no doubt that the artistic and historic landmark sustained losses that won’t be recoverable.  Judy Woodruff talks to art historian Elizabeth Lev about the “shock” incurred by observing this “iconic monument” engulfed in flames.

"Why Notre Dame is part of France’s national identity" PBS NewsHour 4/15/2019

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SUMMARY:  Notre Dame Cathedral is a seminal touchstone of French history, art and culture, and seeing it sustain devastating damage in a huge fire on Monday sent shockwaves of grief throughout France and the world.  Judy Woodruff talks to Gerard Araud, France’s Ambassador to the U.S., about the structure’s role within French national identity and feeling as if a part of himself were burning.

"Amid the ashes, France vows ‘resurrection’ for Notre Dame" PBS NewsHour 4/16/2019

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SUMMARY:  In Paris, the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral is extinguished, but devastating damage remains.  Parisians stood alongside global travelers at the site Tuesday, paying tribute to the landmark of cultural achievement that has stood for nearly a millennium.  Amid the ashes, the rescue of several of the most beloved artifacts seemed miraculous.  Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports from Paris.

"Investigation into Notre Dame fire accelerates as France plans to rebuild" PBS NewsHour 4/17/2019

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SUMMARY:  French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral within five years, in time for Paris to host the 2024 Olympics.  To meet the ambitious schedule, Macron said architects from around the world would be invited to submit designs for the famous spire that fell in Monday’s fire.  Meanwhile, the investigation continues into what started the blaze.  ITN’s Paraic O’Brien reports.

HEMINGWAY - "A Room on the Garden Side"

"Long-lost Hemingway story captures Paris liberation" PBS NewsHour 8/7/2018

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SUMMARY:  In August 1944, Paris was liberated from Nazi occupiers, and embedded with the soldiers was a giant of American literature.  More than a decade later, Ernest Hemingway captured the mood and the moment in a short story that bears the hallmarks of his classic works.  Now "A Room on the Garden Side" has been published for the first time.  Jeffrey Brown reports.

REF:  "Revisiting Paris: The Story Behind Hemingway's Unpublished 'A Room on the Garden Side'" by Kirk Curnutt, Strand Magazine 8/2/2018

FRANCE - Paris One Year Later

"A visit to Paris one year after devastating terror attacks" PBS NewsHour 11/11/2016

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SUMMARY:  Sunday will mark a grim anniversary in Paris -- the series of coordinated terror attacks throughout the city that killed 130 and injured nearly 400 on November 13, 2015.  The bloodiest site, Bataclan Music Club, where 89 people were murdered, will reopen Saturday with a concert by Sting.  Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant visited Paris to report on how the city is faring, one year later.

JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  Paris will mark a grim anniversary Sunday, one year after a series of coordinated attacks across the city on Friday the 13th, 2015.

The Bataclan music club, where 89 people were murdered during a concert, is due to reopen tomorrow with a concert by Sting.  Gunmen and suicide bombers allied to ISIS murdered 130 people in total, wounding nearly 400.

Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant has been back to Paris to see how the French capital is coping one year on.

MALCOLM BRABANT, Special correspondent:  Paris has returned to a version of normality, but for those caught up in the worst attack on the French capital since the Second World War, nothing will ever be the same again.

In a discreet corner of this cafe is Caroline Langlade, a survivor of the Bataclan.  Along with several others, she hid in a tiny room for over three hours.  They barricaded the door with a sofa and mini-fridge.  The terrorists tried to get in, failed and resumed the massacre they began while the band was on stage.

(GUNFIRE)

CAROLINE LANGLADE, President, Life for Paris (through translator):  I have a really hard time going to closed-up places or dark rooms, movies, concerts, but also restaurants where there's too many people at night.  It makes me quite jumpy.  I tend to panic.

MALCOLM BRABANT:  During the interview, sirens wailed nearby, and Caroline became uncomfortable.  The film director has found it difficult to concentrate on work and instead devotes her energies running Life for Paris, an organization for survivors and families of those murdered on Friday the 13th.

CAROLINE LANGLADE (through translator):  I'm no longer afraid of death.  I have seen it up close, and I almost died several times that night.  I'm no longer afraid of death, but my fear changed.

And, today, what frightens me most is suffering, physical suffering, human suffering.  I had to face a gigantic amount of it that evening, and I think that I have lived through all the suffering I could have had for a lifetime.