Salut mes amis!
It is with pleasure we bring you yet another installation of our on going series: Better Know a département. Today, we bring you the capital of France, the only city that is a department all by itself: Paris.
Paris has been around just a little over 6 millenniums. That's all. Archaeological evidence points to humans living in the region since 4,200 B.C. The Parisii, who Wikipedia (yeah, we're still doing our research from the most reputable sources), calls "a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones" (naturally, the Senones!! Who else would it be?) makes up the first group we have a name for, and they were boatmen and traders living near the river Seine from around 250 B.C. to the time Julis Ceasar showed up and smacked the ... daylights out of the Gaulish tribes. The Romans then built a permanent settlement there on the Left Bank Sainte Geneviève Hill (you'll find that in the 5th arrondissement)and the Île de la Cité (island of the city, where the Cathedral of Notre Dame is, which you can see in the photo below and to the left).
Now, here is a fun bit of trivia that you can use to impress the fam at your next get together. Paris, back then, was not called "Paris." The Romans called the city "Lutetia," which means "midwater dwelling." I will again refer you to the photo with the Cathedral of Notre Dame, where you can see why "midwater dwelling" might be a fitting name. This is in the heart of Paris, a literal island in the city! It made a good place to settle with all the water. The name was eventually "Gallicised," if we can say that, by (surprise), the Gauls. They called it Lutèce. It became quite a cool little Roman town, with baths, temples, theaters, palaces, etc... but like most Roman towns, went to shambles when Rome fell (ball park, 400 A.D.). So with the fall, Lutèce regained her old name: Paris.
Paris would regain her grandeur, however. King Clovis I made Paris his capital in 508 A.D. It remained the capital with the exception of the Hundred Years' War; but Charles VII restored her as the capital once he got back (1437). The real power of the nation stayed in the Loire Valley though, until François I, who shifted the power to Paris in 1528, and as you probably know, plenty of noteworthy things have happened there since then: The St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, rebellions against the monarchy, the overthrow of the Monarchy (a few times ... perhaps most notably though, the whole guillotine thing with Louis XVI and the wife), the Bastille, the Commune, the signing of SEVERAL treaties (like the one that ended World War I) ... need I go on? Fine: Eiffel Tower. Some one was flippin' out because I hadn't mentioned that, I'm sure. Be at peace.
So, today, what of it? In short, one of the most influential cities in the world, no matter what you are talking about: business, academics, art, fashion, ideas, culture, geez, even pastries. Probably not baseball, though. I doubt baseball has been affected by Paris much, even if someone there plays (sorry Dr. Lee, we mean no disrespect, we know the game is there, at least). Also, doubt Paris has influenced surfing. I mean, we established there is water, but don't tell you can hang-ten on the Seine. So with these two exceptions, we'll say Paris has influence in about everything else. In closing, here is a nice little pic of Paris at night. Now don't you feel nostalgia for some awesome cheese, fresh bread, and every other positive stereotype that goes along with Paris? For the record, the movie Taken did NOT depict the normal experience of people visiting the city. It's a pretty safe place, all in all. Delta does have a direct flight from Salt Lake to Paris ...
