Happy day after May Day, Fête de Muguet (lily of the valley celebration) and Fête de Travail, Workers Day! In Paris on every May 1st there are worker demonstrations and bunches of lily of the valley - muguet - sold on the street corners.
The French tradition of giving Lilly of the Valley flowers on May Day is said to have begun on May 1st 1561 when King Charles IX was presented with a bunch of lilies of the valley as a sign of luck and prosperity for the coming year. No one knows who gave it to him but Charles took a shine to the idea and began the custom of presenting Lilly of the Valley flowers to the ladies of his court each year on 1st May.
The big election day is coming on May 7th next Sunday for the presidency between Macron and MLP, you know who I mean. A young Parisienne, who's been staying with us, just shrugged when I asked her who she'll vote for. 'I don't like either one.' I think that's what many young people feel and it saddens me. On May day, the elder leP, made a big show of visiting Joan of Arc's statue in Paris, she's the patron saint of the Far Right, or so they proclaim. I doubt Joan would like that.
But because today is the actual release of Murder on the Quai in paperback, I'll beg your indulgence to say a few words about it and shamelessly throw up the cover.
This is the prequel set in 1989, when Aimée Leduc was a student in med school at the Sorbonne. So begins the arc of Aimée's story; the first corpse, the first clue, the first shattered love affair, the first meeting with René, her eventual partner at Leduc Detective and the real story behind her father's trip to Berlin, the weekend the Wall fell. If I told you any more...well, better I let you take a gander and explore off the beaten track Paris and the darker side of the streets behind the Champs d'Elysee.
Then I'll do this again in a month and shamelessly talk about the next book, Murder in Saint Germain, that hits the world on June 6.
Cara - Tuesday crossing fingers for the election on May 7
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Congratulations on both books! I'm particularly looking forward to the prequel!
ReplyDeleteCara, my French friends have been terrified about this election for months. Fingers crossed here also. It's disturbing that young people may be deciding to stay home. They did that in the Brexit election, and to some extent also in the Trump election. The results of their abdication so far has had a deleterious effect. I pray that doesn't happen again.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the new books. I'm looking forward to my vicarious trips to Paris.
Congratulations on both books. I agree on the prequel; sounds fascinating.
ReplyDeleteI think that Joan of Arc would abhor the National Front in every way.
Well, I think the election is complicated. Of course, Le Pen should not be elected, nor should anyone vote for her. The very idea that her father, the uber-nazi went to Joan of Arc's memorial is disgusting.
But the election presents real problems: Macron isn't good on some issues, like his promoting of laws undermining labor protections.
In the U.S., people can vote for third parties, but since the first runoff in France eliminated some candidates, only two are left.
I watched the Presidential debate on French 24. It sickened me. I watched the US Congress in action. It sickened me. I watched the Greek government deal with its latest round of bailout talks with the EU. It sickened me. The only remedy I see on the horizon is a strong dose of Aimee's new adventures---even if one is historically old.:) Congratulations, Cara.
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