5th May 2021. History buffs will have noted that it's 200 years to the day that Napoléon died in exile at Saint Helena - six years after his defeat at Waterloo. I suspect there will be a ceremony at Les Invalides today to mark the occasion.
He was a remarkable man - a true visionary and a modernist who changed the face of France in many ways: he introduced the administrative system of the prefects, the Napoleonic Code, the judicial system, the Banque de France and the country’s financial organization, the centralised university, and the military academies. Despite these great achievements, he remains a divisive figure: it could be argued that he was also a tyrannical dictator whose military exploits led him and his feared Grande Armée around Europe. He rose like a rocket through the ranks and was a General by the age of 24. It is estimated that 5 million people died in the course of these adventures.
I've mentioned Ramiro Arrue several times before here. Born in Spain, he spent most of his life in the Pays Basque where his distinctive style captured the Basque spirit. This excerpt from a programme on ARTE really captures the strength of the bond that Arrue had with his adopted homeland:
* Geoffrey Chaucer
