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Introduction This article grew out of an exchange of a couple of emails between me and Mario Huys dealing with recent events in Paris (e.g. the Bataclan Massacre and the French National Diplomacy Championship). Mario seemed to see them through a pair of dark-glasses and who can blame him for that? I, on the other hand, looked beyond the immediate dark horror of that night to the new light dawning on the next day --- as symbolized by the XXXI NDC. Some people expressed “shock” at what happened in Paris on that Friday night. I don’t know why, given the world we live in; and the history of The City of Light and French nation. First let’s put what’s to come into context. Keep in mind that this is highly simplified and stylized but I’m sure you’ll get the idea. First, unlike the British, the French have a written constitution. Second, unlike the Americans and most republican forms of nation-states, the French do not readily amend their constitution. Instead their unique process of changing their government begins with a small demonstration and then a growing protest which is followed by a strike and then a general strike. Then, if they are still unhappy there may be riots, a revolution; and finally a new republic is created. That’s the way they do it. The “holiday” aspect of it all (Strikes and demonstrations usually include a Friday or Monday so the strikers can have a three day holiday. Students use paving stones instead of bullets and small cars and buses for barricades. In a matter of minutes they can shut down the main boulevards of Paris.) Traditionally there has always been mutual support at such moments between the students and large unions, after all who knows when they will need the support of each other again? Also traditionally only a few key transportation routes and symbolic sites are blocked. Otherwise it is life as usual for the majority of the people. The pseudo-violence (e.g. the students throw stones above the police men’s’ heads and the police fired rubber bullets and tear gas canisters over the students’ heads. It all looks very impressive and frightening on the media but hardly anybody gets hurt. Those arrested are usually released fairly quickly and then adjourn to their favorite bar to brag about how brave they were. I witnessed this during the student riots of the 1960s and the labor strikes at Orly Airport in 1993. I still have my union and press cards; and my Solidarity, Orly, and Teamsters t-shirts to prove it. My labor credentials are impeccable. Interestingly, if you look at old news clips or videos of recent demonstrations and strikes in former French colonies (e.g. in Vietnam against the Chinese for their activities in the South China Sea), you’ll see they run much the same way today. If you’re interested in this subject you may find it useful to make yourself a matrix listing all the mentioned events on one axis and their common features on the other. You might include: Date, Location, Causes, Result, Belligerents, Commanders and Leaders, Victims, Assailants, Perpetrators, Strength, Casualties and Losses, Property Damage, Territorial Changes, Type of Event (Protest, Demonstration, Strike, Riot, Massacre, Act of Terrorism, Rebellion, Revolt, and Civil War), Weapons, Attack Type, and Types of Violence. You might also want to keep a list of the dramatis personae, or at least the villains, for reference. Among them: Pope Innocent III, Catherine de Medici, Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, Gebhard Leberecht von Blucher, Adolphe Thiers, Louis Charles Delescluze, Alfred Dreyfus, Joachim Peiper, Sepp Dietrich, Charles De Gaulle, Alphonse Juin, Maurice Papon, Abdelhamid Abaaoud and many others. Teaser November and December of 2015 may well be remembered in French history as one of the key moments of modern French history. At this time events, great and small, came together to create a cyclone of dramatic forces worthy of Voltaire, Hugo or Dumas. They included: the Bataclan Massacre, the international climate conference, the French election, and, in our own little world of Diplomacy, the XXXIst French National Diplomacy Championship. For France this was a month of profound historical importance in both dip&Dip. To paraphrase Churchill, “This was indeed their finest hour.” I ask you to ask yourself these three questions: 1) Why do we fight? Because we can. 2) Why do we so rarely engage in diplomacy? Because there’s no glory in it. 3) Why do we play Diplomacy? Because it takes our minds off of “real war.” It is not my purpose with this list of a few among many possible examples, to recount history. You can do that for yourself by reading each event’s wiki entry or any of the many excellent histories, web sites, blogs or face book pages written about them, or by watching any of the movies or videos about them. The Playlist An essay on a subject like this demands a play list and so I have created one that draws on a musical form that is even older than our subject, the requiem or “mass for the dead.” The earliest requiem we know of dates back to the 400s A.D. and the oldest composed and notated requiem we have dates to the 700s. Since then there have been thousands of them written by composers great and small. I’ve tried to pick ones that are compatible with our subject;
I had never heard of the Eagles of Death Metal rock band until the Bataclan Massacre; and I found it interesting that they were from Palm Desert, just up the road from where I live. I have no idea why they were playing a gig at the Bataclan that might and why their path crossed that of the audience gathered to hear them. However, these two videos may help explain that. http://search.tb.ask.com/search/video.jhtml?searchfor=Bataclan+massacre+band&p2=^UX^xdm423^YYA^us&n=781c24a6&ss=sub&st=sb&ptb=AEAB7641-A8F3-4985-9E74-16AF625B4E4A&si=245051_working-main-newtest&tpr=sbt (We want to be first band to play at Le Bataclan when it reopens). http://search.tb.ask.com/search/video.jhtml?searchfor=Eagles+of+Death+Metal&p2=^UX^xdm423^YYA^us&n=781c24a6&ss=sub&st=sb&ptb=AEAB7641-A8F3-4985-9E74-16AF625B4E4A&si=245051_working-main-newtest&tpr=sbt (With U2 performing “People Have the Power”, Bono of U2 asks “Is everybody here having a good time?”The crowd roars in the affirmative). But if music is to be part of the healing and reconciliation process that is my goal we need to move beyond the requiem, the Eagles of Death Metal and U2 to something more affirmational and inspirational. May I suggest Gassenhauer nach Hans Neusielder (1536) which was adapted for use in Carl Orff’s Schulwerk during The Great Depression and has since become a cult classic. No matter how depressed I may feel this music lifts me out of it and gets me on my feet wanting to dance. And for something very contemporary I recommend the Requiem Mass written in 2006 by the contemporary American composer Mohammed Fairouz (The work is 20 minutes long and written for mixed chorus. Fairouz was born in 1985 and lives in New York City.) For more about the composer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_Fairouz. The Lesson And now let us go back some 800 years to the beginning of our story. Albigensian Crusade / Massacre (1209 – 1229) In the name of religion tens of thousands, perhaps more, were killed. On 16 March 1244, a large and symbolically important massacre took place, where over 200 Cathar Perfects were burnt in an enormous pyre at the prat dels cremats ("field of the burned") near the foot of the castle. St. Bartholomew’s Eve Massacre (23-24 August 1572) for over a hundred years hundreds of thousands of people, perhaps millions, were slaughtered in the name of religion and for reasons of dynastic politics across Europe. In France it began with a massacre of thousands on the night of St. Bartholomew’s Eve. Battle of Waterloo (18 June 1815) With religion no longer a major casus belli the dynasties of Europe fell to fighting amongst themselves, only united in a common fear of the republican turned emperor, Napoleon. In this battle that ended the conflict and only lasted some 12 hours, tens of thousands were killed. Paris Commune Massacre a/k/a La Semaine Sanglante or “Bloody Week” (5/25/1871 – 5/29/1871) A good account of this particularly horrific event, at least as reported in The New York Times, can be found in the International New York Times 1871: ‘The Paris Agony’ by David W. Dunlap of November 19, 2015. Here we see the shift from religious and dynastic causes to social and economic ones. The Dreyfus Affair (1894 – 1906) Although no one died as a result of The Dreyfus Affair, once again, in the name of politics and the unspoken desires of religion, the soul of a nation was ripped out leaving wounds that still exist. The Massacres of Malmaedy (May 1940 – August 1944) A series of six massacres of POWs and civilians in France and Belgium perpetuated by German SS and other troops. Compared to past Massacres the losses of Malmaedy were fairly small but the exceptional brutality of the killings that included civilians, police and soldiers pointed the way toward the future. The Algerian War (1954 – 1962) Again hundreds of thousands of Frenchmen and Algerians in both France and Algeria died for a variety of political, economic, social and religious reasons. Groups like the FLN, ALN, FAS and OAS battled it out in the streets of Algiers, Oran and Paris with every weapon and pseudo-weapon at their disposal trying to do with blood what reason could not --- persuade, convince or kill those who disagreed with them. When it was all over Algeria was free but at a terrible cost. The Paris Massacre (17 October 1961) Ninety years after the horrors of the Paris Commune Massacre once again the civilian (Algerians) of Paris found themselves in a losing battle with the police forces of the government. Hundreds of protestors were arrested, confined in the courtyard of the Paris police headquarters, beaten, and then dragged to the Pont Saint Michel where their bodies were dumped into the Seine, only to be fished out of the river downstream from Paris days later. It was not until 2001 that the City of Paris took responsibility for this act by its police chief and force. Paris Student Riots of 1968 (May – June 1968) in 1968 students and workers around the world went on strike and then rioted against a wide variety of social and economic injustices. Governments, especially of the extreme right, trembled as the word “revolution” was heard in the streets and media. When nothing else worked the governments and their forces turned to violence that grew increasingly bloody to regain control of the campuses and cities. Paris was on the verge of civil war and it appeared the Republic might fall. Even De Gaulle was forced to leave France for a few hours until order could be restored. Eventually elections were held and order restored and things went back to normal. Paris ( May 10 1968) eleven millions Frenchmen, 22% of the population, went on strike for two solid weeks but amazingly both sides pulled back from the abyss. A good story on the events of the time can be found in the International New York Times ‘Paris, May 1968: The Revolution That Never Was’ by Peter Steinfels, 11 May 2008. Paris General Strikes (November – December 1995) another generation learned in its own way and although violence was less the number of “strike days,” especially among the private and public sector workers went from 3.3 million in the 1970s, to 1.1 million in the mid-1980s to early-1990s. By the mid-1990s the number was at 6.6 million and the cost to the French economy was enormous. Still the French as a whole, especially in the cities, supported the striking workers, public and private, because they knew they might be next. The impression I have is that these strikes were mostly over economic issues and the students stayed on the sidelines and in the cafes. Paris Le Bataclan Massacre ( 13 – 14 November 2015) and then in 2015 what everyone in France had been waiting for happened. The wars of religion and dynastic politics returned with a vengeance to the Mediterranean and France. It was only a matter of time before the conflict would reach Paris. A handful of terrorists, a few hundred victims and thousands of police and soldiers turned Paris, once again, into a quasi-police state for at least a few days and weeks, although I suspect the long term impact will be considerable. I’m sure the memories of what happened are still as fresh in your mind as they are in mine, so there’s no need to rehash that. What did strike me was that once again the Paris district of St. Denis was at the center of the kind of violence we have been looking at. Having ridden the RER through the area between CDG Airport and the Gare du Nord train station I am not surprised at what happened or where it happened --- only that it took so long. Paris XXXI French National Diplomacy Championship (14 – 15 November 2015) what concerns us is what happened afterwards, especially in regard to the XXXlst NDC which was scheduled for that weekend. Here again our memories should be fresh or, if not, you can find out about the planned event here pretty much as planned and as it happened. Note that what follows is pretty much as it appeared and I have not edited it in the interests of preserving the original. http://world-diplomacy-database.com/php/results/tournament_history.php?id_tournament=1491
http://world-diplomacy-database.com/php/results/tournament_class.php?id_tournament=1491
http://www.les-jeux-de-sam.fr/diplomacy-le-31eme-championnat-de-france/
https://www.facebook.com/events/691484297655541/permalink/706490149488289/
NOV 13 Afternoon, Yann Clouet says NDC event will go on. NOV 14 XXXI French Diplomacy Championship (NDC event / EGP step / TDF step)
Patrick Garnier invited you
35 rue de la Boétie, Paris
XXXI FRENCH DIPLOMACY CHAMPIONSHIP – 2015 A – PLACE AND DATE The 31st French Diplomacy Championship will be held 14th and 15th November 2015 in the « Ecole d’Arts et de Culture », (www.groupeeac.com ) located 33-35 rue de la Boétie, 75008 Paris. (less than 100 meters from Mirosmesnil subway station, lines 9 and 13), near from the Élysée Palace. B – TOURNAMENT FORMAT The tournament will be played in 4 rounds, with a final table:
POSTS Patrick Garnier
EN: Hello,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FR: Rappel pour venir/prévenir :
EN: Reminder to come/inform
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FR: Horaires
EN: Schedule
Blitz: Accueil : Samedi 14 Novembre 2015, 15h00,
What it all boils down to is that the organizers and attendees decided to go on with their event in spite of what was happening elsewhere in Paris; and so they did. The rest, as they say, is history. However that is not quite the end of our story. Within hours and days emails and web postings from all over the Diplomacy hobby appeared online as the international hobby took the pulse of and checked the body count of our colleagues in Paris. Fortunately, all was well. Then, a month later, came the world reaction and its affirmation of support for Paris as the 195 delegations at the Paris World Climate Meeting held only a few miles from the site of much of the Bataclan Massacre to ratify their work. I couldn’t help but think as I watched the gavel come down on the meeting that the French Foreign Minister and President looked like a couple of drunken prize-fighters after what they had been though, and perhaps they were. It is still too soon to tell what the lasting effects of the Paris Climate Meeting will be but for the moment the French diplomats and Diplomates can celebrate in their respective triumphs. For once the good guys won. Finally, the next day, 13 December 2015, the voters of France spoke in support of their government and country with an expected and resounding repudiation of the Far Right political extremists and their message of fear and isolation; and a rejection of the religious and dynastic threats to their homeland. Again, it is too soon to tell what the lasting results of that election will be but, for the moment, the French can hold their heads high in the collective knowledge that they have upheld the French ideals of “Liberty, Fraternity and Equality”; and “c’est la guerre”. The Conclusion Usually hatred begets hatred but this time something different happened; Hatred was responded to with a turning of the cheek and a stiffening of resolve. What we saw in the aftermath of the Bataclan Massacre was the French Dip hobby rallying to support its own, the worldwide Dip hobby rallying around the French hobby , the people of France rallying to the support of Paris, and the civilized people of the world rallying to the support of the French. The Vision What is important is that the horrors of the past cannot be allowed to obscure or blind us to the positive possibilities of the future; whether it be in dip or in DIP. For me the dip&Dip curtain is going down after fifty years, but for you it is just going up. Make the best use of the time you have whether you follow the dip path, the Dip path or the fine line between the two. No, make that the fine line that bridges the two. I leave them in your hands.
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