Weather Deranges Forest Animals

These people are facing the same way as everybody in
the Luxembourg gardens, across the street.

Hide and Seek for Panthers
While Golden October Drones On

by Ric Erickson

Paris:- Monday, 27. October 1997:- I have erroneously announced the end of 'Golden October' several times prematurely, but the dang thing just keeps lingering on. It is getting quite chilly at night and sometimes there is fog in the mornings, but usually the afternoons are clear and sunny - with temperatures about 15 degrees.

This is causing residents and visitors alike to moult and it is not a pretty sight. All the people sitting in the Luxembourg with their faces pointed like sunflowers towards the sun, reminded me of a photo of an audience at one of the early 3-D movies. There is really something strange going on here.

Take, for example, the case of the wild deer in the nearby forest of Saint-Germain. Over the weekend I had not bothered with TV-news until last night, when I was astounded to see police, firemen, gendarmes and army personnel, hunting through the forest for this wild animal.

I see now that Le Parisien was 'on the story' long before me because they mention it in Saturday's edition. The reports say the animal was sighted by several witnesses and that they had found tracks.

But when I turned on the TV last night, I learned that all the king's horses and all the king's men' could not find anything larger than a large dog. So much for their deer-tracking ability.

And so much for my wretched dictionary. It says a 'fauve' is a deer, but it seems as if this mini-army is looking for some sort of lion or tiger, or cougar, or panther - some big tom cat maybe - but they did catch this large dog.

If it doesn't turn out to be the culprit, and their traps fail, and their plan of encirclement fails - then they will have to call on their helicopter with its heat-detection equipment.

Since this wasn't effective last time they were looking for the hot-car artists, I don't have much hope for their success with this hunt. The much nearer Forêt de Marly is supposed to have wild pigs in it, but you never hear anybody complaining about them.

I drive through the forest several times a week and it looks like it is in good shape - because few leaves have fallen, it is still very dense. I don't know about Saint-Germain, but you are not allowed to hunt in the Marly Forest. It belongs to the Louis.'

Exhibition of photographs, done by five French photographers sent to Berlin by the Archipresse Agency in 1995-96, to capture the urban metamorphosis of the German city as it gets transformed from a stagnant 'Island' into its proper place as a great European capital.

The photographs in this show display more of the urban tissue and human fabric of Berlin, than mere architectural photos. One of the photographers, Vincent von Wroblewsky, was born in Clermont-Ferrand to parents who were born in Berlin. Mr. Wroblewsky took up residence in East Berlin in 1950 and studied and worked there until 1991.

This show is part of Paris' German season this fall - which actually began with the exhibition about the 'Franks' at the Petit Palais last April.

At the Musée Carnavalet, 23. rue de Sévigné, Paris 3.
Starting Wednesday, 5. November, until Sunday, 18. January 1998.
Open daily except Mondays from 10:00 to 17:40.
Entry: 35 francs and 25 francs, reduced.
Entry includes access to the museum's permanent collection, as well as another exhibition entitled, 'Paris et les Parisiens au Temps du Roi Soleil,' which runs concurrently. The bilingual catalogue of 88 pages with 62 photographs is 95 francs.

From the forest from which man feeds to the forest for pastimes, this exhibition retraces for a thousand-year period, the evolution between man and the forest. Over 200 items are on display; documents, engravings, photos, postcards and art objects are used to show the life and history of forests in France.

Until Monday, 19. January 1998.
Open daily except Mondays; from 12:00 to 18:00.
Musée de la Histoire de France, Centre Historique des Archives Nationales,
Hôtel de Rohan,
87. rue Vielle-du-Temple, Paris 3. Bus number 29.

Festival of Marionettes from Europe and from the far east, with films and exhibitions. At various locations in Fontenay-sous-Bois, Val de Marne. Starts Friday, 7. November and runs through to Tuesday, 2. December. The program is varied and a bit complicated, so be sure to phone 01 48 76 59 39 for information and reservations.

Issue 1.36 - 28. October 1996 featured the columns - Metropole Diary's 'Multimedia Leaves French Cold and 'Au Bistro' had - 'Heavy-Duty Education.' The articles in the issue were 'Mellow Yellow in the Jardin du Luxembourg - Another Last Best Day of the Year?' - 'Halloween in France, a Week Early - Witches Haunt Public Marché in Broad Daylight' and 'Weather Report from Buci - Halloween Posters and Concentrated History in the Latin Quarter.' There were two 'Posters of the Week' and Ric's Cartoon of the Week rounded off the issue.

Only 796 days left to go.