Lycée Français de New York: Citizens of Culture and Courage
This past week, some happy news came out of Paris: after five years of quiet in the middle of the bustling city center, the bells of Notre Dame were finally rung for the first time since the terrible fire that destroyed much of the cathedral in 2019. The restoration continues, but this was a major step forward for the team of experts working to bring the Parisian landmark back to its former glory.
When I read this headline, the little cassette player in my brain automatically began playing “The Bells of Notre Dame” from Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It’s actually a movie I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. Growing up, it was one of my favorite Disney movies, which perhaps lends a bit of insight into the moody, goth child I was.
I continue to be surprised that Disney ever tackled a musical adaptation of Victor Hugo’s monumental work of historical fiction, whose primary themes are sexual assault, genocide, and religious corruption. Yet, to take these heavy topics and make them digestible for children is a rather admirable task—certainly more admirable, I would posit, than teaching little girls to give up their voice in return for great legs and a rich man. The film’s incredible score definitely helps land its moral messages; “God Help the Outcasts” stings a little more each year.
I’ve never read Hugo’s Hunchback of Notre-Dame, perhaps because I know that, unlike the Disney movie, it doesn’t have a happy ending. But I’ve always been intrigued by the original intention behind the book. Despite having written a tempestuous tale of the human struggle for acceptance and survival, Hugo was always more interested in the Notre Dame itself than its fictional bell-ringer. A lover of Gothic architecture, the writer was a fierce advocate for historical preservation, and had been enraged that Paris’s most famous cathedral had fallen into disrepair by the time he started writing about it in the early 19th century. The attention he was able to draw to the cathedral through the popularity of this novel was instrumental in prompting restoration efforts that have helped Paris maintain its iconic look to the present day.
Funny how one man’s love for a building could become the vehicle for a story that would resonate centuries later with children and parents alike. It’s one that feels more salient every day, and I may need to give the movie a rewatch in honor of the Notre Dame’s progress—at least, until I can walk through its storied halls once more.
On my reading list…
Colombe Schneck’s Swimming Paris: A Life in Three Stories. This highly rated trio of memoirs (which has been oft compared to the works of Annie Ernaux) covers topics ranging from swimming to teen abortions, and one writer’s experience navigating the many shapes of womanhood in France.
What I’m drinking…
If you watch Emily in Paris, you’re probably familiar with the fake brand names and activations used in the show, which by virtue of their presence on this ultra-popular series have become household names of their own variety. But one group is bringing a fake Emily in Paris beverage into the real world: Chamère, the canned Kir Royale cocktail that Emily pitches to the Domaine de Lalisse champagne house in the show. Now, I’m pretty picky when it comes to canned cocktails. But I love a Kir, the classic French apéritif of cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) added to a dry white wine, as well as its cousin the Kir Royale, which uses sparkling wine. Chamère managed to surpass my expectations. It’s super refreshing, with a strong tangy attack on the first sip that mellows into an absolutely crushable beverage.
