It's French Week in Kentucky

  Catherine Deneuve (Photo:  WikiMedia Commons)

Kentucky’s governor, Steve Beshear, has proclaimed the week of November 4 – 10 to be French Week in the commonwealth. Quelle grande idée ! Folks here in Louisville know of our close ties to our French cousins; and so do the citizens of Paris (Ky.) and Fayette County.

The county surrounding Lexington is named after Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette, the French aristocrat and military officer who served as a general in the American Revolutionary War. A bust of LaFayette is on display in front of Louisville’s old jail building, at 514 West Liberty Street. And the hero of the French Revolution is gazing across Liberty Street into Jefferson Square; where the flag of France flies in tribute to our Sister City, Montpellier, France.

Not far away, standing majestically in front of the old Jefferson County Courthouse (Mayor Jerry wants us to call it Metro Hall), looking out into the intersection of Sixth and Jefferson Streets, is Louisville’s namesake, King Louis XVI, larger than life. Interestingly, the statue was completed shortly before the King’s execution, in 1793. The French had a lot of reasons for sending Louis to the guillotine; not the least of which was the fact that he bankrupted the treasury by backing the Americans in their revolution against the British.

 King Louis XVI, at 6th & Jefferson Streets (Photo:  WikiMedia Commons)

LaFayette was none too keen on chopping King Louis’ head off, but Max Robespierre (a lawyer, of course) persuaded the French Assembly: “Louis must die, so that the country may live.” So the problem arose: What to do with Louis’ beautiful marble statue? The French are nothing, if not the world’s greatest aficionados of fine art. They just couldn’t destroy such a fine work or art; neither could they put it on public display, after they had just separated the subject’s body from his head.

The French government put Louis’ statue in a storage warehouse, where it remained until 1965, when the kind folks over in our Sister City, Montpellier, paid to have it sent over to Louisville. Now, his royal visage peers down upon all of the litigants and lawyers entering and leaving the Hall of Justice (and, upon all the criminals entering and leaving City Hall).

  Presiden Sarkozy (WikiMedia Commons)

Americans have always had a love affair with the French. We helped them lick the Germans in a couple of serious wars (you could look it up), and boys of our generation still dream about Brigitte Bardot and Catherine Deneuve. Cherchez la femme!

Like any love affair, we’ve gone through some rough spots. Old Abe Lincoln got a mite het up when the French tried to side with the South during the Civil War (known around these parts as “The War of Northern Aggression”). And, a few years ago, there was a plethora of loose talk about “freedom fries,” “cheese-eating surrender monkeys,” and the like. Such rude expressions of nationalistic pique are now considered déclassé.

Since the 2007 election of Nicolas Sarkozy as president of France, our relationship with our French cousins has definitely warmed. After meeting with President Obama in July, he was quoted saying "Obama? C'est mon copain" ("Obama? He's my buddy").

So, let’s all join with Gov. Steve, and proclaim to our meilleurs amis pour toujours (BFF’s):

To All To Whom These Presents Shall Come:

WHEREAS, Education is the process by which one generation passes on to the next generation both the knowledge of how to learn as well as a zest and passion for the joy of learning itself; and

WHEREAS, In the study of foreign languages, people have an immediate bridge to international understanding and cooperation; and

WHEREAS, The study of the French language by generations of American youth has fostered greater understanding of and appreciation for the people and cultures of France and the French-speaking world; and

WHEREAS, This study will continue to bridge the miles that separate the students of the United States with those regions of the French-speaking world;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, STEVEN L. BESHEAR, Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, do hereby proclaim November 4 – 10, 2009, as FRENCH WEEK in Kentucky.

  (Graphic:  Acadian)

Et, dans la traduction (vos Français à peine passés d'examinateur d'hôtel de ville de Louisville dans l'université):

À tous à qui ces présents viendront :
CONSIDÉRANT QUE, l'éducation est le processus par lesquels la génération passe dessus à la prochaine génération toutes les deux à la connaissance de la façon apprendre comme un zeste et une passion pour la joie de s'apprendre ; et

CONSIDÉRANT QUE, dans l'étude des langues étrangères, les gens ont un pont immédiat à l'arrangement et à la coopération internationaux ; et

Presidents Obama and Sarkozy, contemplating
issues of international import.
(Photo: WikiMedia Commons)

CONSIDÉRANT QUE, l'étude de la langue française par des générations de la jeunesse américaine a stimulé un plus grand arrangement de et une appréciation pour les personnes et les cultures de la France et du monde de langue française ; et

CONSIDÉRANT QUE, cette étude continuera à jeter un pont sur les milles qui séparent les étudiants des Etats-Unis avec ces régions du monde de langue française ;

MAINTENANT, DONC, I, STEVEN L. BESHEAR, gouverneur du Commonwealth du Kentucky, proclament par ceci les 4-10 novembre 2009, en tant que SEMAINE FRANÇAISE au Kentucky.

Learn more:  Get your copy of the Governor’s Proclamation (English only, PDF)

Would you like Louisville City Hall Examiner articles delivered fresh to your inbox each day? Simply click on the SUBSCRIBE button under the mug shot at the top of this page. It’s totally FREE, and no salesman will call. Your email address will not be shared with anyone. Ever. And you won’t have to worry about those pesky little plastic bags on your front porch. And remember, all Louisville City Hall Examiner articles are made from 100% recycled electrons.