Musée du Quai Branly is free to visitors until October 11 in memory of Jacques Chirac. A timely exhibition of the acquisitions over the past 20 years opened September 24, two days before former President Chirac passed away. In 1990…
Walking along the narrow rue Galand the sound of a muffled bell ringing reverberated against the walls. Sitting at the café, looking at my watch, it was around 11:20 on a Monday morning. My friend guessed it was a church nearby; I guessed Notre-Dame. Couldn’t be…. perhaps the towers were damaged. The constant soft ringing was not signalling the quarter, half or full hour. Earlier I had heard on French television the time for the funeral ceremony that would pass from Hôtel des Invalides to Saint-Sulpice. We walked toward Notre-Dame from where the mystery sound originated. Emmanuel, the 300 year old was ringing. The ringing was manually orchestrated. The first time since the end of the Second World War.
