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Thank you for bringing it to our attention. * Elephant Appeal * ebooks * i Jobs * Dating * Shop The Independent [ipaper_lrg_masthead.png] * News * Images * Voices * Sport * Tech * Life * Property * Arts + Ents * Travel + News & Advice + Simon Calder + 48 Hours In + Africa + Americas + Asia + Australasia & Pacific + Europe + Middle East + UK + Hotels + Skiing o Skiing Conditions + Video + Secret Escapes * Money * IndyBest * Blogs * Student * Offers Selfie at funeral Welfare cap Elephant Appeal George Osborne Greece Michael Gove Travel > News & Advice Stephen Bayley: The impossible dream of French perfection [67-France-AFP-Getty.jpg] [67-France-AFP-Getty.jpg] Something to Declare Stephen Bayley Saturday 24 August 2013 Print Your friend's email address ____________________ Your email address ____________________ Send Reset Note: We do not store your email address(es) but your IP address will be logged to prevent abuse of this feature. Please read our Legal Terms & Policies A A A Email A recent cartoon in The New Yorker showed a couple glumly facing each other across a kitchen table and the caption read: “Exactly when did all the things you love about me become all the things you hate about me?â€� I am beginning to think that way about France. The idea of France was always a dream. And in dreams begin responsibilities and, it turns out, disappointments too. A few days in Provence, in what the French so didactically declare “one of the prettiest villages in Franceâ€�, has finally taught me that trying to recapture my Gallic dreamworld is like trying to embrace fog. In this hilltop village, there is a fine collection of medieval buildings and each one has been pitilessly molested by either the tourist authorities or middle-brow junk art galleries. I turned into a dark chapel for respite only to find it booming with sub-adult HD video about an “experienceâ€� on offer. Oiky gap-year French youths, escaping the imminent reality of real-world unemployment, walked around officially dressed as troubadours (with trainers). Nearby was something impressive, the La Coste wine estate where Irish entrepreneur Paddy “Claridge’sâ€� McKillen has created a hugely ambitious sculpture park. By the time it is finished, with the golf course and hotel, it will be a World of Adventures with vines. So we went on to Marseille, the 2013 European Capital of Culture, to see the new MuCEM (the politically correct and wearyingly inclusive Museum of the Civilisation of Europe and the Mediterranean), perhaps France’s very last grand projet. Local architect Rudy Ricciotti says he wants to “demuseumify museumsâ€�. Not, if you ask me, a felicitous expression that promises calm and clarity. Still, if you want to find an architectural demonstration of what France has become, visit the Fort Saint-Jean complex on the Vieux-Port. I kept on trying to translate “mink coat and no knickersâ€� as we sweated and jostled through vapid exhibits at MuCEM, trivialised by big swinging architectural rhetoric. And if “cultureâ€� means vast queues of listless tourists gazing at plasma screens, personally I want none of it. At least there were no troubadours. We stayed in Le Corbusier’s Cité Radieuse which has a number of apartments available for brief stays. I am no doctrinaire opponent of strict-observance Modernism, far from it, but here was another test of French dream vs French reality. The cheerful “vertical garden cityâ€� of the propaganda has a haunted and sinister quality. Not sinister in the sense that a demandeur d’emploi troubadour might knife you in a dark corridor, but more that it is solid with a sense of failure. It strikes me as significant that the Toulouse riots of 2005 began in a banlieue designed by pupils of Le Corbusier. Fact: they don’t have riots in Le Panier, the crumbly dense old quarter of Marseille. I reflected on this as we left the city to meet friends for lunch in Peter Mayle country near Ménerbes. Marseille is a difficult place not, I think, at ease with itself. Sweaty and desolate in turns, sullen and grumbly, despite the City of Culture wash ’n’ brush-up. Then we hit the D99 between Saint-Rémy and Cavaillon with its lovely arbres and the dream came rushing back. Suggested Topics * Styles And Clothes * Marseille * Architects * France * Construction * Sculpture * Architecture * Wine * Nice Enter URL: ____________________ Enter URL: ____________________ Voices Pretty ornaments, despicable slaughter: The ugly truth behind ivory elephant appeal News Twitter’s most talked about people of 2013 - and Miley's no-where in sight No wonder she's so sad – Miley's nowhere to be seen in Twitter’s most talked about of 2013 people But who did make the top 10? Arts & Entertainment Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins in a scene from 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug' The desolation of the Weinstein brothers filmFilm producers sue Warner Bros for $75m over Hobbit films News Crowboarding: The bird that goes sledging for fun caught on camera video VIDEO Voices We want women to sit at boardroom tables – but we fetishise motherhood voicesJust when you thought you could find a man, get married, and have a baby by the age of 35... it turns out you’re too late, says Grace Dent Arts & Entertainment Damian Lewis has attempted to make amends with Sir Ian McKellen after offending him in a recent interview Damian Lewis apologises to Sir Ian McKellen after 'fruity actor' jibe arts + ents Voices A cultivator of marijuana smelling a plant at his house in Montevideo, Uruguay If our leaders were brave enough, they'd follow in Uruguay's footsteps voicesOwen Jones on the 'war on drugs' * Uruguay becomes first country to legalise marijuana trade Arts & Entertainment Jenna Coleman and Matt Smith in the Doctor Who Christmas special 2013 Watch Matt Smith's final Doctor Who outing in new trailer TV Sport Olivier Giroud of Arsenal, Fernando Torres of Chelsea, Sergio Aguero of Manchester City and Wayne Rooney of Manchester United Champions League draw: Who will English teams face in final 16? sport Arts & Entertainment Peter Sellers, as President Merkin Muffley in Dr Stragelove, using the mythical red phone Lost Peter Sellers films found in skip to be screened at festival film Arts & Entertainment It is 40 years since Abba won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest Abba appeal for your Money, Money, Money music Swedish stars ask fans for £195 pledges on crowd-funding website Arts & Entertainment Carol singer: Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’, from 1994, is one of the last huge Christmas hits Christmas hits: Jingle sells musicAs Mariah Carey and Noddy Holder rake in the royalties from their classics, why there hasn't been a decent festive hit for 20 years? * Christmas songs: the best and the worst Arts & Entertainment Accidents happen: Diana Rigg in Tom Stoppard’s ‘Jumpers’ at the Old Vic in 1972 Not all right on the night theatreAuthor Daniel Rosenthal recalls the mishaps that almost brought the curtain down on the likes of John Gielgud and Diana Rigg News A cafe in France has started charging extra to customers who forget their manners The French café that charges more if you don't say 'please' newsSometimes it pays to be nice Life & Style The wheel thing: a postman and his trusty companion Is this the end of the road for the postman? lifeAs the Royal Mail plans to phase out deliveries on two wheels, it's no wonder posties are in a spin Arts & Entertainment Sam Smith with his Critics' Choice Award Sam Smith wins Brit Awards Critics' Choice musicThe 21-year-old beat Ella Eyre and Chlöe Howl to win the honour Life & Style Food bank volunteers take a break in Rochdale run by Trussell Trust Volunteering is for life, not just for Christmas lifeFull of the joys and want to help your fellow man? December isn't the time to do it Independent Travel Videos Independent Travel Videos Simon Calder in Amsterdam Independent Travel Videos Simon Calder in Giverny Independent Travel Videos Simon Calder in St John's Independent Travel Videos Travel blogs The top 10 property price rise cities of 2013 Live in a converted church Living with Rett Syndrome: Playing Mary Independent Travel Shop [divide.gif] Bruges by Eurostar Three nights from £259pp Find out more [divide.gif] Classical Spain Six nights from £599pp Find out more [divide.gif] South Africa 15 nights from £1,999pp Find out more [divide.gif] Elephant Appeal donate now > Please provide search keyword(s) ____________________ Go * Advanced Search * Article archive * Topics * Most Viewed * Most Shared * Most Commented * The 50 Best weekend retreats * A spell of fog exposes lack of resilience in Britain's aviation infrastructure yet again * The 10 Best lightweight luggage * The beaches of Mauritius are a welcome break from grey London colours Thought for the day: experience the allure of the Indian Ocean in Mauritius * The 10 Best hiking boots * 1 Obama delivers his speech next to a sign language interpreter, who has been accused of being a fake Nelson Mandela memorial: ‘Bogus’ interpreter made mockery of Barack Obama’s tribute in Soweto * 2 French café starts charging extra to rude customers * 3 Australia: Gay marriage law reversed by high court less than a week after first weddings * 4 Exeter to Edinburgh and back in a day: How one fresher's lost bet left him facing a 900-mile round trip * 5 Australia incest case: Severely deformed children found in remote farming community after generations of inbreeding independent images A general view on opening day at the Wet'n'Wild theme park at Prospect, west of Sydney, Australia Wet'n'Wild theme park in Prospect Women smile as they look at a picture on a mobile phone during snowfall in winter in central Seoul Heavy snowfall hits Seoul Military officers carry the coffin of South African former president Nelson Mandela to the Union Buildings marking the start of a three-day lying in state in Pretoria Mandela lies in state 'Elephant in Mist' by David Gulden. 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View the latest travel & hospitality jobs on iJobs Day In a Page * Sun * Mon * Tue * Wed * Thu * Fri * Sat [12] [December.] [2013] (Submit) Go The death of Nelson Mandela: A last chance to offer last respects for Madiba A last chance to offer last respects for Madiba They came and waited patiently in their thousands for a momentary glimpse of their hero, Nelson Mandela We want women to sit at boardroom tables – but we fetishise motherhood Grace Dent We want women to sit at boardroom tables – but we also fetishise motherhood Church versus state: Scientology faces unholy war after court ruling Church versus state: Scientology faces unholy war after court ruling The Supreme Court judgment has profound consequences, meaning it could gain charitable status – and opens the floodgates to claims by other organisations Your Money, Money, Money please - Abba ask fans for £195 pledges on crowd-funding website Your Money, Money, Money please Abba ask fans for £195 pledges on crowd-funding website Lost Peter Sellers films found in skip to be screened at festival Lost Peter Sellers films found in skip to be screened at festival The two thirty minute films have not been seen for 50 years Volunteering is for life, not just for Christmas Volunteering is for life, not just for Christmas Full of the joys and want to help your fellow man? Volunteering in December isn't the way to go about it Christmas hits: Jingle sells Christmas hits: Jingle sells As Mariah Carey and Noddy Holder rake in the royalties from their classics, why hasn't there been a decent festive hit for nearly 20 years? Is this the end of the road for the postman? Is this the end of the road for the postman? The postman on his bike could become a thing of the past thanks to Royal Mail's plans to phase out deliveries on two wheels. No wonder posties are in a spin Not all right on the night Not all right on the night Author Daniel Rosenthal recalls the mishaps that almost brought the curtain down on the likes of John Gielgud and Diana Rigg The Ashes: The century men: Captains Alastair Cook and Michael Clarke in Test landmark The century men Captains Alastair Cook and Michael Clarke in Test landmark Mo Farah: Breaking marathon world record excites me Mo Farah: Breaking marathon world record excites me With training for his first race in London in full swing, double Olympic champion tells Matt Majendie he is aiming high Steve Bunce: As Nelson Mandela's favourite fighter, 'Baby Jake' Matlala, who also died last week, gave hope to post-apartheid South Africa Steve Bunce on Boxing As Nelson Mandela's favourite fighter, 'Baby Jake' Matlala, who also died last week, gave hope to post-apartheid South Africa Mandela's prison: ‘This is an island. Here you will die’ Mandela's prison: ‘This is an island. Here you will die’ As the world remembers Mandela the hero, the prison where he spent 27 years seems all the more brutal Contenders for Time's Person of the Year Contenders for Time's Person of the Year The American magazine's shortlist is a mixture of the good, the bad and the holy Revealed: how prehistoric 'des res' gave Stone Age Brits a perfect diet Revealed: how prehistoric 'des res' gave Stone Age Brits a perfect diet 25-site survey shows that early humans chose predominantly to live on islands in the flood plains of major rivers * Terms & Policies * Privacy Policy * Cookie policy * Code of Conduct * Complaint form * Email newsletters * RSS * Contact Us * Subscriptions * Apps * Work for us * Evening Standard * Homes & Property * iJobs * Advertising Guide * Syndication * Novaya Gazeta (English) * ES Business Connections * ES Rentals Please provide search keyword(s) ____________________ Go * Advanced Search * Article archive * Topics © independent.co.uk Quantcast