Day 1514 (Saturday) 31st July 2021

We had great fun in Le Phare last night and were pleasantly surprised to Christian’s parents Terry and Felicity were over from Ireland, they are a lovely couple with a great sense of humour. We have invited them to ours one evening this week for a cinq a sept, which means pre-dinner drinks between 5 and 7pm.

Huw worked on the villa this morning and I had a lovely lie in and read my book in the sunshine. We are going for a BBQ at Basque Alex and Jacqui’s place this evening and to watch the Lions v South Africa. Pat and Dee will be there and Sean and Italian Alex, between us we have four and half of the six nations. Me and half of Huw for Wales, the other half of Huw for England, Jacqui is Scottish, Pat, Dee and Sean are Irish and Sean’s girlfriend Alex is Italian, so we’re only missing half an Englishman and a French person.

A lot of young people in France are very anti-vaccination and are protesting often, here’s a list of activities planned throughout France today.

Where Covid-19 health pass protests are planned in France this weekend

More anti-health pass demonstrations are planned in towns and cities across France on Saturday, July 31st. Here's what's happening in your town.

Last weekend, an estimated 160,000 people marched in protests against plans to extend the health pass and the compulsory vaccination of healthcare workers, first announced by President Emmanuel Macron in a televised address on July 12th. 

The health pass bill was agreed by MPs, and is now being examined by the influential Conseil Constitutionnel. It will announce its verdict on the law by August 5th. 

Ministers expect the extended rules to come into force four days after that decision, from August 9th.

Since the beginning of July, more than 7.75 million first vaccine doses have been administered, according to official figures published on Thursday, July 29th.

But the passage of the bill through Parliament prompted a wave of protests – which will continue this weekend. Some 3,000 police officers will be deployed in Paris alone, where four marches are planned for Saturday. More than 10,000 people are expected to join the four protests in the capital.

The largest march is expected to start at the foot of the Tour Montparnasse, Place du 18 juin 1940, at 2.30pm, and end at Place de Fontenoy at 7pm.

Far-right Presidential candidate Florian Philippot, leader of Les Patriotes, called for the latest protest in the capital, after organising a rally at the Place du Trocadéro last weekend. He will be joined by another hard-right candidate, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, leader of Debout la France.

Another three marches are planned in the capital. The first will leave from the Place du Palais Royal at 12pm. The procession will take the direction of Place Laroque, where the demonstrators will meet until 7pm.

The second will start from Place Joachim du Bellay at 2pm and end on Place du Palais Royal at 9pm.

A fourth demonstration will begin at the Villiers metro station at 2pm, and will end at 7pm at Place de la Bastille.

There have also been calls on social networks for a march on the Champs-Elysées, leading to fears that a hard core of the so-called yellow vests may be planning to cause trouble.

Protests have also been confirmed in towns and cities across France.

The key marches are at:

Bordeaux, place de la Bourse, from 2pm

Lille, République – Beaux Arts, from 12pm

Lyon, Place Bellecour or Place Maréchal Lyautey (TBC), from 3pm

Marseille, Vieux Port, from 2pm

Metz, Place de la République, from 2pm

Montpellier, Place de la Comédie, from 2pm

Nancy, Place Maginot, from 2pm

Nice, Place Garibaldi, from 2pm

Perpignan, Place de Catalogne, from 2pm

Rennes, Place de la République, from 2pm

Reims, Town hall, from 2pm

Strasbourg, Place Kléber, from 1pm

Toulouse, Place Jean Jaurès, from 2pm

Some unauthorised marches could take place in towns and cities, similar to the one in Lyon last weekend, while others have yet to be confirmed.

Since the start of the pandemic in France, Covid-19 has affected more than 6 million people, while 112,000 people have died of the virus.

On a much lighter note here are a few more interesting facts about Nice…(these photos are not mine) 

Promenade Des Anglais

Until the end of the 18th century, the Côte d’Azur was a remote and impoverished region, known mostly for fishing and its ancient olive groves. By the end of the 1700s however, a select few novelists and scholars began to write about their time spent on the Southeast coast of France, bringing its attention to the British aristocracy. At about the same time, a Scottish doctor, John Brown, became famous for prescribing what he called climato-therapy (a change in climate) to cure a variety of diseases including tuberculosis. This led to a lot of very rich British aristocrats coming to the Riviera to avoid illness. Over time however, the aristocracy fell in love with Nice and its breathtaking landscape, and soon began returning to the coast for reasons other than their ailments. Within a few short years, Nice and the Riviera became a winter resort for monarchs and aristocrats alike! Queen Victoria was a frequent visitor to Nice. As was Prince Edward of Wales and many of the Russian Tsars and Tsarinas.

Over time, the wealthy British aristocrats, fell out of favour with the once popular Ponchettes Terrace walkways in the heart of the Old Town. As a result, an Anglican pastor set up a charity to collect funds from his compatriots to build a public walkway in place of the dirt track that ran along the shore. And so was born the La Promenade des Anglais or ‘Walkway of the British’. (it actually means walkway of the English not the British, but who’s quibbling?) 

 5. The Blue Chairs

Famous throughout the world, (I’m not sure if they are famous all over the world…) the Blue Chairs are inseparable from the image of Nice. The history of these iconic chairs dates back to the 1950s, when 800 chairs were made to line the Promenade des Anglais. Created by Charles Tordo, these chairs were originally to be rented out. However, people began to steal the chairs and take them home as souvenirs of sorts. As a result, the Blue Chairs were no longer given separately, but instead chained downed together all along the promenade.

Some of the original hand-crafted chairs (or at least what was left of them) are on display at the MAMAC; the Museums of Modern and Contemporary Art.

 6. Nice Carnival

Carnival is one of the most internationally celebrated festivals in the world. Held in February, its usually a two-week long celebration full of spectacular parades, vibrant colours and whimsical performers. Usually, when we think of Carnival, we automatically think of the Rio de Janeiro Carnival. And how could we not? Afterall, it is the biggest Carnival in the world. But did you know that Nice is home to the third biggest in the world? This article didn’t say which is the second so I Googled it and it is in The Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife 

The earliest mention of the Nice Carnival goes all the way back to 1294, when masked balls would be held most evenings and locals would take to the streets of the Old Town to celebrate. Traditions which have mostly been upheld even to this day. Today, the Carnival goes through the city’s main square of Place Masséna and down along the Promenade. Hundreds of thousands of tourists come to Nice specially for the event. The parades give way to extravagant, satirical floats and puppets, while onlookers can enjoy the spectacle from the seating areas or the public stands. The Carnival’s most popular days are that of the Bataille de Fleurs or ‘Battle of the Flowers’. As well as the fireworks display that is often held on the last day.

The Origin of Nice –> Nikaia

The history of Nice is certainly a long and fascinating one. The first known settlers in the city were prehistoric primitive people around 400,000 years ago. However, it was the proceeding civilisation who made the real impact on Nice. Around 350 BC, Greek warriors, returning from a victorious battle in Marseille, decided to establish a permanent settlement right here in Nice. Still celebrating their victory, they called the new city Nikaia, after the Greek Goddess of Victory, Nike. Yes, that’s right, the same name as the sports brand!

Many civilisations followed after, including the Romans. However, the city’s Greek ancestry is still very much celebrated to this day. In fact, within the heart of the city stands our beloved statue of the Greek God Apollo!

The Statue of Apollo

I know I’ve told you the story of Apollo before but there are a few more facts in this article. 

Within the heart of Nice, you’ll find our main square of Place Masséna. In the centre of which sits our beloved ‘Sun Fountain’, or more specifically, our Statue of Apollo. The fountain is somewhat of a designated meeting point for most of us here in Nice. It’s even where we meet for our Walking Tours. The fountain is also often a centre of our celebrations and quite regularly you’ll find Apollo dressed up and decorated to blend in with the theme. However, Apollo wasn’t always as loved by the Niçoise as he is today. When he was originally placed here in 1956, it was a controversial topic for two reasons.

The first issue people had was with the crown of four horses which sat atop Apollo’s head. In Greek mythology, Apollo’s job is to carry the sun across the sky on his golden horse-drawn chariot. The same year as the statue’s creation, the Renault car company came out with a new model called the Renault 4CV or ‘4 Horsepower’. The people of Nice took one look at the four horses perched on Apollo’s head and speculated that it may have been an advertisement for the car. 

The second problem was a little further down the nude sculpture. Some of the more conservative women of Nice thought that Apollo’s manhood was too big (others thought it was too small). And so the artist, in an attempt to appease the masses, did the unspeakable act of taking a chisel, and cutting Apollo down to half size. The people of Nice however still weren’t happy, and petitioned to have the statue removed. And so, the city of Nice dismantled the fountain and banished it to the outskirts of the city where it became a forgotten memory.

Or at least that was the case until 2007 when a local journalist wrote about the abandoned monument in the local newspaper. The people of Nice took an interest in the sculpture, and petitioned to have it returned to its rightful place. Which it was. And since then, Apollo has stood right here for all our lovely locals and tourists to ogle at and enjoy (still only at half size though).

And finally…