'Napoleon was a great man.' Thump.
The reason that Grandpa and Granny chose to live in Golfe Juan was, in part, because Grandpa was an admirer of Napoleon.
At the beach there is a Jetty and in a flowerbed near the jetty is a stone with an inscription. Ici débarque Napoléon. And you can follow the route Napoléon up to Vallouris.
We were in the little Peugeot 204 with the sliding roof. It smelt of leather, Granny's Eau de Cologne and Grandpa's cigar smoke. Quite pleasant.
I was 16 years old.. The twins were in the back and Grandpa was being overbearing. I was bored and tired of listening.
'Grandpa, why do you think Napoleon was a great man? He wasn't?' .... I watched.
Grandpa started to puff harder and faster on his cigar. The muscles along his short hairy arms tensed as he held the wheel. Sweat glistened a little on his top lip.
'Why do you say that? he said.
'What did he achieve in the end?' I asked casually. 'Wasn't everything swept away in the end. Didn't France get useless king Louis Phillipe because he failed? It was his fault.'
'Nonsense' said Grandpa. Banging the padded wheel of the little car with both hands.
'He introduced the Napoleonic code: he introduced good laws. He brought freedom and equality to French society. He won many battles. He achieved many things.'
Grandpa reversed the Peugeot at high speed out of its space. Stopped it with a stamp. Turned the wheel hand over hand. We rushed forwards out of the parking lot and he jerked us to a halt again at the edge of the main road. Three heads bowed forwards with the momentum, but Grandpa's remained erect.
Waiting to filter into the Avenue de la Liberté. Grandpa was silent.
I continued. 'But the revolutionaries were far greater. Marat, for example. They actually fought for liberty and equality. Napoleon simply codified what they had already won for France. Surely Marat is deserving of far more praise than Napoleon. I admire Marat, not Napoleon.
It was exhilarating the way Grandpa launched us into traffic. He pressed on the accelerator, spun the wheel and thumped it similtaneously.
What do you know. Thump. Nothing. Have you achieved anything in your life? Napoleon was a great man. Thump. I looked at the wheel wondering when it would crack.
The twins sat in the back. silent, wide-eyed and entertained.
Re-enactment of Napoleon returning from Elba on March 1st 1815
The reason that Grandpa and Granny chose to live in Golfe Juan was, in part, because Grandpa was an admirer of Napoleon.
At the beach there is a Jetty and in a flowerbed near the jetty is a stone with an inscription. Ici débarque Napoléon. And you can follow the route Napoléon up to Vallouris.
We were in the little Peugeot 204 with the sliding roof. It smelt of leather, Granny's Eau de Cologne and Grandpa's cigar smoke. Quite pleasant.
I was 16 years old.. The twins were in the back and Grandpa was being overbearing. I was bored and tired of listening.
'Grandpa, why do you think Napoleon was a great man? He wasn't?' .... I watched.
Grandpa started to puff harder and faster on his cigar. The muscles along his short hairy arms tensed as he held the wheel. Sweat glistened a little on his top lip.
'Why do you say that? he said.
'What did he achieve in the end?' I asked casually. 'Wasn't everything swept away in the end. Didn't France get useless king Louis Phillipe because he failed? It was his fault.'
'Nonsense' said Grandpa. Banging the padded wheel of the little car with both hands.
'He introduced the Napoleonic code: he introduced good laws. He brought freedom and equality to French society. He won many battles. He achieved many things.'
Grandpa reversed the Peugeot at high speed out of its space. Stopped it with a stamp. Turned the wheel hand over hand. We rushed forwards out of the parking lot and he jerked us to a halt again at the edge of the main road. Three heads bowed forwards with the momentum, but Grandpa's remained erect.
Waiting to filter into the Avenue de la Liberté. Grandpa was silent.
I continued. 'But the revolutionaries were far greater. Marat, for example. They actually fought for liberty and equality. Napoleon simply codified what they had already won for France. Surely Marat is deserving of far more praise than Napoleon. I admire Marat, not Napoleon.
It was exhilarating the way Grandpa launched us into traffic. He pressed on the accelerator, spun the wheel and thumped it similtaneously.
What do you know. Thump. Nothing. Have you achieved anything in your life? Napoleon was a great man. Thump. I looked at the wheel wondering when it would crack.
The twins sat in the back. silent, wide-eyed and entertained.
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