by Ric Erickson

Number 1.40:- Metropole Paris - Monday, 25. November 1996:- On Saturday evening, André Malraux's remains were carried up the rue Soufflot to the Panthéon, where he was to be installed in a crypt near the remains of Jean Moulin, René Cassin and Jean Monnet.

The event was the accumulation of a long campaign around Paris and France to alert citizens to the idea that citizen Malraux stood just above the normal - that his life was the sum of the best intentions of a man of the 20th century - a century that has seem so many examples of the worst intentions.

Andre Malraux was born on 3. November 1901 in Paris, in Montmartre, and he died on 23. November 1976 at Verrières-le- Buisson in the department of Essonne, in the Ile-de-France.

Many people attended the ceremony on Saturday night: politicians, writers, scientists, artists, foreign dignitaries - as well as his immediate family and the President of the French Republic, Jacques Chirac and his wife, as well as members of the government, the opposition and the city government, lead by the mayor, Jean Tiberi.

There were some theatrical touches to the ceremony, but it was possible to ignore them by thinking of what they represented rather than how they looked.

Students from the College André Malraux placed a set of kerosene lanterns down the length of the rue Soufflot, to represent a 1930's landing strip while the sound of a propeller plane filled the space. It was uncanny, but only lasted a minute - or not a second too long.

When the students returned up the street, each carried a black and white photo-placard, with many of the well-known representations of Malraux.

Maurice Schumann spoke as did the President of the Republic.

André Malraux's companions in the crypt in the Panthéon are a clue to the man's life. Jean Moulin was a leader of the Resistance in France during the Second World War. René Cassin is credited with the authorship of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10. December 1948. Jean Monnet is often called the architect of modern Europe.

The man was a writer. His first book was entitled, 'Lunes en Papier' and it was published in 1921. He wrote two other books before receiving the Prix Interallié for 'La Voie Royale' in 1930. For 'La Condition Humaine' he won the Prix Goncourt in 1933. A book about Spain in 1937, called 'L'Espoir' was filmed in 1939, but censored and not shown. From 1952 to 1955 he was responsible for 'Le Musée Imaginaire de la Sculpture Mondiale.' His 'Antimémories' commenced publication in 1967. 'Les Chênes Qu'on Abat' was published in 1971.

The man was an adventurer. He made an expedition in 1924 to Indochina. He fought for the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War; leading a squadron of fighters in 1937 during the Battle of Teruel, and his book, 'L'Espoir' was based on this experience. In the French army in 1939, he was captured as a tanker, but escaped in 1940. In 1944 he was 'Colonel Berger' in the Resistance in Alsace-Lorraine, and helped liberate it in 1945.

The man was a politician. He met General de Gaulle on 10. June 1945 and became his Minister of Information. In 1958 he was again in the ministry of information, then Minister of State for Cultural Affairs. He spoke the funeral oration at Jean Moulin's installation in the Panthéon in 1964. He marched in support of President de Gaulle on the Champs Elysées in 1968.

André Malraux lived his life and he lived the life he wrote. He was more complicated than a character in fiction; yet he proved that being a man could be stronger than fiction: he was the hero who was, from the beginning of the century nearly to its end.

Coming Events -

Salon Nautique - 36th Annual Paris Boat Show

Sailboats, motorboats, water sports, marine sport activities, stand for the Musée de la Marine, and lots of water. Parc des Expositions - Porte de Versailles From Saturday, 30. November to Monday, 9. December Daily from 10:30 to 20:00; to 23:00 Friday, 6. December Tel.: 01 41 90 47 10

Horse Show - 25th Edition Salon du Cheval Poney et de l'Ane

Horses, riders, riding competitions, judgement of animals and equipment displays. Parc des Expositions - Porte de Versailles From Saturday, 30. November to Sunday, 8. December Daily from 10:00 to 19:00; to 23:00 Friday, 6. December Tel.: 01 41 09 60 00

Sign Up for the Paris Marathon

The Marathon International de Paris - to be run on Sunday, 6. April 1997 - is now taking registrations. Registrations made before 31. December 1996 cost 150 francs for residents and 220 francs or US$45 or 70 DM. After this date the rates rise to 250 francs for residents and to 370 francs - US$75, 115 DM - for visitors. There are rates for registering on the day, but entries are limited to 22,000, and if the quota is full on race day you'll be out of luck.

Interested fast people can not enter by fax. For information or to request an official entry form, fax to (33-1) 53 17 03 13 from outside France. In France the fax number is 01 53 17 03 13. Otherwise write to: Inscriptions A.M.S.P., 8. Rue Crozatier, 75012 Paris.

Payment must accompany the registration. Elite or Preferential runners - the fastest people - must provide some sort of proof of a win less than two years old.

Starting time is 9:00 someplace on the avenue des Champs Elysées.