Architecture · Observations · Heritage · Society

Limoges town hall set on fire during protest, building of 1883 partly destroyed

Troublemakers have just burned down the town hall of Limoges At the end of a protest, demonstrators smashed the windows of the Limoges town hall, broke in and set the building on fire. The roof over the lower floors and the 43-metre clock tower collapsed, and about two thirds

London · Museums · Observations · Heritage · Society

Dispute over damage to the Bayeux Tapestry after its move to the British Museum

While the French deputy Jean-Philippe Tanguy calls the damage to the Bayeux Tapestry a scandal, Paris Match offers a denial of the reports of harm to the exhibit: No, the tapestry was not seriously damaged in London. When the tapestry was taken to London in July, the French Ministry

Art · London · Museums · Heritage · Society

Bayeux Tapestry damaged in transit to England, experts had warned of the risk in advance

The Bayeux Tapestry was damaged during its transportation to England, something independent experts had warned of before the masterpiece was sent? The Telegraph reports that, according to a curator of the British Museum, this priceless work will no longer be able to be displayed in France in the same form

Archive · Cinema · Society

Emmanuel Marre's film "Our Salvation", about his great-grandfather in Vichy, is released in France

On 30 September the Belgian-French director Emmanuel Marre's film "Our Salvation" opened in French cinemas; in May 2026 it won the prize for best screenplay in the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Strangely enough, this large political picture pleases audiences from the left

The East · Art · Museums · Society

National Museum of Korea director criticised over misattributed work from his own collection

Yu Hong-jun, Director of the National Museum of Korea, is being criticised for lending the museum a work from his own collection that turned out to have been misattributed. At the exhibition "Korean Table: Food, Nature and Life", which opened on 1 July, the museum displayed a

The East · In the Press · Faith · Cinema · Books · Society

The Ramayana in Hollywood Cinema, from “A Little Princess” to Nitesh Tiwari’s Film

I have read a piece on how Hollywood cinema makes use of the Ramayana, the ancient Indian epic in Sanskrit which tradition ascribes to the poet Valmiki. The epic tells of the exile of Prince Rama, the abduction of his wife Sita by the demon Ravana, and her rescue. In

In a hall of the European Parliament stands a golden sculpture seated on the shoulders of a bronze figure, the plinth reading “The Orange Plague”, with two men walking past.

NB! · Art · Observations · Society

Jens Galschiøt's sculpture “The Orange Plague” is on display at the European Parliament in Strasbourg

It is rather odd that this sculpture, entitled "The Orange Plague", by the Danish artist Jens Galschiøt should be displayed in the building of the European Parliament in Strasbourg

Observations · Society · Paris · People · Humour

Napoleon's Sarcophagus of Shoksha Quartzite and the Unrest near Les Invalides in Paris

Disturbances in Paris, literally at Les Invalides, the tomb of Napoleon. I think it would have taken him less than an hour to remove the cause of the noise, were it not for the 35-tonne sarcophagus of crimson Shoksha quartzite, brought from Russia by order of Nicholas I

NB! · Monarchies · Society · Paris · People

The Trial of Marie Antoinette before the Revolutionary Tribunal on 14 October 1793

When Marie Antoinette was brought before the Revolutionary Tribunal on the first day of her two-day trial, 14 October 1793, the jurors who had received their summonses were informed that "the vengeance of the people is in your hands", which amounts to indicating, in this fashion, the

Old photograph of a shop sign reading “Universal Store Kaztorg”, with a mounted camel and people in warm clothing at the entrance.

The East · NB! · Archive · Society

The first department store opened in Perovsk, later known as Kyzylorda

The first department store in Perovsk, also known as Ak-Mechet and Kyzylorda

Close-up of a glass bottle with a blue label showing STALINE in red letters, along with the words “de source” and “état naturel”.

NB! · Society · Humour

French mineral water Staline, with a name that echoes Stalin's

No one has done more for the rehabilitation of Stalin than a plain French mineral water

NB! · Society · Paris

Paris in May 1968