Hallelujah!- No Smoking in France Restaurants!

Have you ever walked into a restaurant or bar in France and been practically knocked over by the wall of cigarette smoke? That won’t happen any longer since as of Jan 1, 2008 smoking is prohibited in restaurants, bars, night clubs, etc. in France. Smoking has already been banned in other public places for some months, but the aforementioned establishments were given more time to adapt. In other words they held the law off as long as they possibly could.

All this brings back some painful memories that we won’t have to deal with again, like dining in a cute little “Bouchon” in Lyon (a typical type of restaurant in Lyon- there are many of them in the city), and by the end of the meal my poor sinuses were screaming for relief for the smoke. Or how about hopping onto a smoking train car by mistake? I remember too years ago being stuck in the smoking section of a trans-Atlantic flight before smoking was banned completely. For a while all was well, as no one was smoking around us. But then a couple of people who were sitting in the no smoking section came back and sat in empty seats just long enough to puff on a couple of weeds before returning to their regular seats, leaving us to consume the residue of their cigarettes.

I made a blog post about this subject once before and received a comment from an irate smoker who suggested that I was somehow deficient and could not appreciate the unique ambiance of French cafes and restaurants, of which smoking was a part. As if gagging on second hand smoke, not to mention the possibility of developing cancer from it, was somehow “quaint”. It will be a pleasure not to have to worry about this in the future, assuming people comply with the laws. I think it is fair to say that even in many restaurants that had so-called non-smoking sections, these were often very close to the smoking area and didn’t help much at all. It’s about time!

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The Death of French Culture? Yes, says Time

About a week ago on the French national evening news, which airs daily on French language channel TV5, there was suddenly a picture of a Time magazine article, and the anchor person said that the article argued that French culture was essentially dead. He dutifully talked about some of the arguments in the article: very few French novelists or painters are well known outside France, that most French movies are made for the domestic market and few are seen outside the country, etc. The anchor concluded by naming a couple of creative French films that did well in foreign markets in recent years, including the very successful “March of the Penguins”. Not surprisingly, the anchor was clearly defensive about the article.

The article also pointed out that the French government provides large subsidies for the arts, and some argue that these subsidies support mediocrity and are counter-productive. One French commentator said that in the 40’s and 50’s an artist had to go to Paris to make a name, but now one has to go to New York. It concludes that there is an enormous amount of cultural diversity and that the minorities who are more or less on the fringes of society have the energy and potential for innovation that can drive French art to the forefront once again. We’ll see.

In the next edition of Time there were some letters by readers, including a politically correct response from the U.S. Ambassador to France. Another made the point that the article mainly argues that most of the art and culture being created in France is for the domestic market, and he asks “so what”? I think this person is correct. There is no official score card or grand prize for the country with the most popular painters, rock stars, rappers, conductors, film makers, architects, etc. I for one couldn’t name many people for such a list, and I’m OK with that. I also detected a certain desire on the part of the Time correspondent, whose name is Don Morrison, to stick it to the French where it hurts. Everyone knows that as a group the French are uppidy about their supposedly superior culture and their so-called “social model”. So what? Let them be uppidy. We’ll continue to visit the country and enjoy what it has to offer- which is quite a lot.

One last comment- Morrison didn’t complain about the cultural history or the food in France, even acknowledging that the latter is still the world standard. These are the things we enjoy most when visiting the country, and apparently they are still high on everyone’s list, even the critics.

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Current Art Exhibits in France

In Paris-

At the Musee Picasso is an exhibition celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the painting that brought cubism into the world of art, Picasso’s famous “Demoiselles d’Avignon”. A number of his cubist works from 1906 to 1925 are on display. The museum is at 5 rue de Thorigny in the 3^rd arrondissement. The metro station is St. Paul, and the entrance fee is 6.50 euros. The exhibit runs through Jan. 7.

There is a major Corbet retrospective, the first of the great artist since 1977, at the Grand Palais which runs until Jan. 28^th. 120 paintings and 30 graphic works are shown, along with a number of photographs that point out details of his artistic ability and show how his paintings pertained to the social issues of his day. The Grand Palais is at 3 ave du General-Eisenhower in the 8^th arrondissement. The metro stop is Champs-Elysees.

An Impressionism exhibit is taking place at the Musee Marmottan-Monet until Feb 3. On display is the collection of the 19^th century Romanian physician Georges de Bellio and features works by Monet, Manet, Sisley, Pissarro, Renoir, Morisot, and others. The museum is at 2 rue Louis-Boilly in the 16^th arrondissement. The subway stop is La Muette. The exhibition costs 9 euros.

Arcimboldo (1526–1593)- More than 100 works by the mysterious Italian artist, including not only his famous anthropomorphic fruit and vegetable heads but also portraits from the Hapsburg court in Vienna and sketches for costumes and stage sets. Musée du Luxembourg
19 rue de Vaugirard, 6^th arrondissement.
Metro Station: Odéon
01.45.44.12.90
www.museeduluxembourg.fr
Cost is €11. Through Jan 13.

If you like Fragonard, over 100 of his 18^th century paintings and drawings are being displayed at the Musee Jacquemart-Andre at 158 blvd Haussmann in the 8^th arrondissement. The exhibition costs 9.50 euros and is on display until January 13^th. The metro stop is Miromesnil.

Elsewhere in France-

Biennale de Lyon- The major biennial show of international contemporary art, held in four locations: La Sucrière, the Musée d’Art Contemporain, the Bullukian Foundation and the Villeurbanne Institut d’Art Contemporain in or near Lyon. About 60 curators each chose one artist or work they deemed “essential to this decade.” Call 011 33 4.72.07.41.41 (from U.S.) www.biennale-de-lyon.org
Cost is €10. Through Jan 6.

History of Glass- Three exhibits in Nancy dedicated to crystal and glass: Transparences at the Musée Lorrain recounts the history of glass making in Lorraine; Verrerie Art Nouveau at the Musée de l’École de Nancy documents the work of the brothers Jean-Désiré and Eugène Muller; Daum et l’Esthétique des Années 1950 at the Musée des Beaux-Arts sheds some light on the era when the Daum family firm abandoned multicolor glass for pure transparent crystal.
64 Grande Rue, Nancy
011 33 3.83.32.18.74 (from U.S.)
www.nancy.fr
Cost is €8. Through Jan 7.

Going to Paris? Check out Paris Sightseeing Tours for helpful resources, tickets, etc.

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