DC NFL Team Moving to the French Riviera?

Washington DC’s professional football team fled the District of Columbia back 1997 for a grand-new stadium in suburban Maryland. It’s pretty shabby now, and owner Daniel Snyder has been trying to get a sweetheart deal on a shiny new stadium in Maryland or Virginia, but locals aren’t eager to pony up. He’s now in Cannes, France, for a “business meeting.” Is he looking for a French stadium deal? After all, the Riviera has featured gladitorial sports before, in its ancient Roman amphitheaters.

On the other hand, Mr. Synder refused to testify before a U.S. Congressional committee about alleged financial and sexual irregularities with his team management, and he brought his 305-foot yacht and private jet to Cannes. Several non-extradition countries are only a short hop away across the Mediterranean.

Billionaire Dan Synder, long regarded as pro football’s worst owner, stubbornly retained the team’s former racist name until well into the 21st century, meddled in team coaching, and was long rumored to fiddle with the books and his female employees. There was an NFL investigation of the latter charges, but Mr. Snyder tampered with it, hence the Congressional investigation into his “workplace misconduct.” After the testimony no-show, the House Oversight and Reform Committee will issue a subpoena for Dan Snyder.

More:

“Commanders owner Dan Snyder interfered with NFL probe: House panel,” Emily Crane, NY Post

“Dan Snyder’s plane, yacht arrive in Cannes as attorney pushes back against Congressional committee,” Michael Phillips, Richmond Times-Dispatch

“4 Entirely Plausible Reasons Dan Snyder Is in Cannes Instead of Appearing Before Congress,” Andrew Beaujon, Washingtonian

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Will Tony Blinken Get Cancelled By His High School Alumni Association?

Australia nixed a $66 billion submarine contract with France and made a new deal with the USA and UK. France is so angry that it recalled its ambassadors to the US and UK. This Biden Administration move was even more of a shock since his french-speaking Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, spent his youth in France and went to high school at prestigious École Jeannine Manuel in Paris, receiving his baccalauréat in 1980. So, is Tony still a member in good standing of the school’s alumni association, or do they want le sweat-shirt back?

Update:

“Blinken Faces an Awkward Visit to Paris, His ‘Second Home,’” Michael Crowley, New York Times

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La Zone Rouge

The Zone Rouge is a 42,000-acre area of France that was No Man’s Land in World War I. A century after that global conflict it remains littered with unexploded ordnance and too hazardous for human habitation. A short video by Dominique van Olm.

More:

“A century on from WW1, 100 years of work remains to clear munitions,” Claudia Wyatt, Reuters

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Paper Mill

The Moulin Richard de Bas paper mill in Ambert, France has been in operation for 700 years. It supplied paper for Diderot’s Encyclopédie and for artists including Salvador Dalí and Picasso.

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Operation Dragoon

Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of occupied Southern France during World War II. Troops from France’s African and Carribean colonial garrisons took part, and thousands of them died. Their contrubution has been largely ignored, until now.

More:

“France commemorates its ‘forgotten’ African veterans,” Christina Okello, RFI

“African leaders join Macron at commemoration of WWII landings in Provence,” France 24

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Despite Bone Spurs, Trump to Attend D-Day Anniversary

High School Cadet Capt. Trump. Thank you for your service.

President Donald J. Trump will attend the 75th anniversary commemoration of the WWII D-Day landings, the President told a group of veterans last week. You may recall that Mr. Trump has a service-connected disability. He was gravely wounded as soon as he became eligible for the Vietnam draft lottery, and was treated (on paper) at a Queens NY storefront a podiatrist rented from Fred Trump, his dad. We expect the President to storm Normandy’s Omaha Beach in an amphibious golf cart (weather permitting). France, a grateful nation, says “S’il vous plaît remplacer les divots” (“Please replace the divots”).

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Top image: Cadet Capt. Trump’s high school picture. Download a copy here.

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Nutella Riots Rock France

While French President Emmanuel Macron talked trade in Davos, back home the République was rocked by retail riots. The Intermarché supermarket chain slashed the price of Nutella by 70%, causing chaos across the country. Customers fought, employees were punched, les flics were called.

The French really love that chocolate hazelnut spread on their baguettes in the morning. They consume 26 percent of world Nutella production.

Elvis français a quitté le bâtiment.

Elvis français a quitté le bâtiment. Johnny Hallyday, the “French Elvis,” has left the building. He died Wednesday at age 74. He was best known for his versions of American pop hits with French lyrics.

More:

“Johnny Hallyday, Gallic rocker worshiped as the ‘French Elvis,’ dies at 74,” Dennis McLellan, Los Angeles Times

“Johnny Hallyday, the Elvis Presley of France, Is Dead at 74,” William Grimes, New York Times

“The Untranslatable French Love for Johnny Hallyday,” Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker

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French Town Upholds 62-Year-Old Ban on UFOs

The mayor of the French town of Châteauneuf-du-Pape has upheld a 62-year-old law banning UFOs.

The 1954 law was established after a man in northern France said he had seen two figures that looked like ‘deep sea divers’ emerging from a ‘cigar-shaped’ space ship.

But don’t make yourself a tin foil hat yet. Lucien Jeune’s son, Elie Jeune, has dismissed his father’s decree as a “publicity stunt”, telling reporters: ‘At that time, people were talking a lot about extraterrestrials and the unknown, it was in fashion, and there were loads of stories circulating.’

‘He wanted to make a bit of an advertisement for Châteauneuf. It was an excellent publicity stunt… and free.’ Journalists flocked to Châteauneuf-du-Pape from all over the world and, predictably, the public couldn’t get enough of the story.

— “‘No UFOs allowed’: French mayor refuses to overturn town’s bizarre extraterrestrial ban,” Hazel Plush, The Telegraph

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Oysters

A typical workday for sixth-generation oyster farmer, restaurateur, author and actor Joël Dupuch, of Arcachon, on the southwestern coast of France, with the words of symbolist poet Léon-Paul Fargue. M. Dupuch is “the most famous oyster farmer in France.” Directed by Douglas Guillot; produced by Panthalassa. Selected for the National Geographic Short Film Showcase.

“J’adore les huîtres: on a l’impression d’embrasser la mer sur la bouche.”

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