Funeral In Saint-Tropez

This bistro is just outside the Palais-Royal.

Any Bright Ideas for Concorde?

Paris:- Sunday, 20. February 2000:- I should have left off that Valentine nonsense last week and written something about the death of Roger Vadim, but I thought he was sort of a 'Valentine-type' guy and my thing would be sort of a homage, even if I didn't mention him by name.

French television, instead of rushing historic-obits onto the little screen, usually deprograms whatever 'entertainment' it has ready in the can, and substitutes it with a handy film. In Vadim's case, the film was, 'And God Created Woman,' made in 1956.

This is shown once every five years anyway so I've already seen it two or four times. Curt Jurgens was pretty good in it, as the nasty real-estate hustler and slimy get-rich-quick guy. Jean-Louis Trintignant was about as young as BB in this film, and I can't remember who played his older brother.

Anyhow, the fall of the final curtain of the Vadim saga has managed to spread itself over two weeks with his death on Friday, 11. February, the Saint-Germain-des-Prés service last Monday, and the funeral in Saint-Tropez on Friday.

This sad event was attended by four ex-wives out of four, and his widow, Marie-Christine Barrault. Jane Fonda arrived directly from the US to follow Brigitte Bardot past the casket; Catherine Schneider and Annette Stroyberg also attended the ceremony.

Le Parisien wrote that it could have been a traditional 15th of August, with all the limos and their personages in Saint-Tropez present, but it is winter.

Cinema-wise, Roger Vadim jerked France out of its post-war doldrums, much like the effect rock-and-roll had on American popular music a year or two earlier.

This entire fun part of the history of the funky western world lasted until the 1959 release of Fellini's 'La Dolce Vita,' which pre-announced our dismal future and it has been downhill ever since.

The ghost of rock is still around, but cheaky French 'chic' seems about as rare as the Dodo.

After all the recent stories of dangerous food - which are continuing with brand-new stories - now it is the turn of medicines derived from plants.

Perhaps in fear of food, the French are turning more and more to diet supplements made from plants. But are they a good defense against microbes, or parasites; do they really combat stress?

The British medical journal 'The Lancet' has recently warned that products based on herbs can conflict with other medicines that are being used for serious illnesses - such as AIDS - or medical procedures such as heart transplants.

Other scientifico types think that plant remedies are being over-done and over-sold. The French ingested 37,500 tons of wild plants in 1997, compared to 12,500 tons in 1986.

The big pharma companies are in on it too. They are going as far as Madagascar to consult local herbalists in the search for the magic plant. One company barters aspirin for Centella asiatica, which, when rendered into packages and advertised on TV, sells in pharmacies for 25 francs per box.

Meanwhile, other firms who have seen their plant-based business develop at dizzying rates, warn that exploiting sources like Madagascar to extremes, will kill the golden bushes and weeds.

Basically, if you are going to self-medicate yourself with para-pharmaceutical products, make sure in advance that what you intend to take won't conflict with anything else you are taking.

I thought there was going to be something humorous in this, but there doesn't seem to be any 'mad-dog killer weeds' in this report. Maybe I should switch back to the mad-cows or listeria - which aren't much funnier.

Despite all of the plans that have been announced over the past few years for the Place de la Concorde, the city has now decided to ask its citizens what should be done with it.

Before doing anything, the city must conduct a public enquiry in any case, but the present action which continues until Saturday, 20. May - seems to indicate that nobody has the 'master' plan yet.

Paris' mayor Jean Tiberi is on record with a desire to reduce Concorde's daily traffic by 80 percent by 2005. This could permit pedestrian paths between the Tuileries and the Champs-Elysées, if north-south traffic were suppressed entirely.

The city is supposed to have a kitty of 160 million francs for whatever project emerges, but expects - what else? - the state to toss in some too.

This seems like an excessive amount of money simply for erecting a barricade to keep cars, taxis, scooters, tour buses, trucks and the Bastille Day's army tanks out of the huge place.

At the moment, the entire Place de la Concorde is classed asa national historical monument - and I assume this includes its traffic as well.