Brighton & Hove French Circle

To be announced

A Parisian from the suburbs in love with the city will share with you his favourite places among the parks, the museums and other aspects that make his very own Paris! Where is he going to take you?

A great number of people have taken refuge through time in French-speaking Switzerland to escape persecution on ideological or religious or political - and, perhaps more recently - financial grounds. There are controversies too.
My aim will be to use the little stories beneath the subject, whilst weaving in some history and local cultures, personalities and pictures.

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Brian on guitar sings your favourite old French songs, with the lyrics projected on to a screen. Feel free to sing along!

A brief historical and cultural tour of the “French Rome”, capital of the département of the Gard in Occitanie (the region formerly known as Languedoc-Roussillon).

A brief outline of the historical context, before we look at a few key events of these fifteen years which transformed French society.

"Sans toi les émotions d'aujourd'hui ne sont que les peaux mortes des émotions d'autre fois" Amélie Poulain

Jeunet is known all over the world for his film "Amelie". Strange, poetic and fantastic stories. But what inspires this great director ? What are the symbols inside his films? Come and discover Jean-Pierre Jeunet's world!

An aspect of Provence that you had never (perhaps) thought about.

With Ugo Tognazzi and Meichel Serrault

French singer / songwriter Lo Polidoro and accordionist Nigel Broderick have performed on stage all over the south of England, and far beyond. This concert is live, private, via Zoom : well-known or forgotten or original French songs, in a programme devised by this talented duo just for the pleasure of our Circle.

This talk will look at the picture of France circa 1870 painted by Alphonse Daudet in his Contes du lundi, together with the memorable characters that fill it. However, Daudet was not a historian but a novelist: the events that form the backdrop to his stories, such as the Franco-Prussian war and the siege of Paris, are therefore seen from his individual perspective, showing us aspects of history unknown to historians—aspects which, although imagined, contain their own truth.

This chic seaside resort 70 km south of Calais, le Touquet has gained a worldwide reputation since the end of the 19th century, as a fashionable town and centre of elegance. Impressive villas, a casino, luxury hotels attract visitors from all over the world. This presentation will aim to show its past and present splendour.

Charles de Gaulle is a national hero, like Joan of Arc and Napoleon.
He has left an indelible stamp on the history of France of the 20th century. Leader of the Free French after the 1940 defeat, founder of the 5th Republic, his destiny is also deeply linked to the history of the United Kingdom, where he took refuge in 1940. Facing him, a no less eminent figure : Winston Churchill.

Later, as head of State, he opposed the entry of the United Kingdom into what was then the Common Market. This was according to his conception of Europe and of the European idea, but also of the place of the United Kingdom in the European entity.

These are the two themes that the lecturer will aim to clarify and examine in greater depth.

Arriving at the end of the 19th century in Paris from her native Poland, Maria Sklodowska will become Marie Curie, one of the greatest female figures in the history of science. In 1995, when her body was transferred to the Panthéon in Paris, it retained traces of radioactivity; for the safety of visitors, her coffin was covered in a layer of insulating lead.

With Kristin Scott Thomas

The success rate of asylum applications in France is now lower than the average for European countries, and yet, France has historically considered itself a ‘safe haven’. As Maryline Baumard noted in a 2015 article for Le Monde at the time of the refugee crisis, with this development, part of France’s sense of itself, of its traditions, hangs in the balance.

Vincent will tell you about Aznavour's life : - Born in 1924 in Paris, to a couple of refugees from Armenia, he was a friend of Edith Piaf, he began to appear in films, was interested in current affairs, created the "Aznavour for Armenia" foundation....There'll be film clips to watch, extracts of songs to hear. There'll be singing !