The Sydney Salon emerged from the concept of the Salons of
the Paris Enlightment where discussion was seeded by speakers and moved in the
direction the audience chose to take it.
So it was fitting that the most recent event was held at the Grand Café in the Alliance Française. The guest speaker this
time was H.E. Christophe Lecourtier, Ambassador of France to Australia, and he
was ably balanced by Dr Adam Possamai, Professor of Sociology at Western Sydney
University who grew up in Belgium. The
topic chosen was The New French Culture -
Meeting Tomorrow's Challenges, but it was the challenges of today which
cast a shadow over the meeting. It had
been less than two weeks after the Nice Truck Attack of 14th July, 2016.
The ambassador took us on a walk through French history and
in doing so he made the point that France as a nation had been formed by
different groups coming together around a philosophical view of the rights of
man. It was not always easy. There was
the 800 year long Royal project to bring together a range of disparate peoples
under one King. There was a revolution, Napoleon and his excursion into Europe,
and several revolutions and restorations over the following century. It then
took several attempts to establish a republic, only to see its very basis
shattered by the First World War. The
confidence did not come back into the French psychè until after the establishment of the EU. Now France is faced with terrorism,
challenges to the EU through Brexit and economic issues flowing from Greece and
the challenge to the Euro.
In spite of these challenges, the overall message from the Ambassador
was optimistic. Throughout history,
France has been able to bring groups together, work out how to live and prosper
and find unity in division. It may take
some time, but it is not impossible that it will happen again.
Possamai gave a different view. He noted in a short speech
that his Italian family had lived for four generations in Belgium, but he was
still considered an immigrant. By
contrast, whenever he applies for a re-entry visa to Australia, where he now
lives, he is invited to become a citizen.
Belgium is not France and Australian immigration officials don't
necessarily make everyone welcome, but the point about integration was well
made.
As is always the case, it took me until 4am the next day to
articulate the question that was troubling me.
After watching the SBS series on Versailles, it is hard to avoid the
impression that the eight century long royal project was based on
violence. It also met a violent end, for
although the revolution was based on noble philosophies, it ended in a reign of
terror. Napoleon continued the tradition, as did the later republics in 1871,
although not as successfully. Modern
France thought nothing of exploding nuclear bombs in the pacific and sabotaging
the Rainbow Warrior. France was keen to
involve itself in the Arab Conflicts and has made several incursions into
former colonies to put down rebellions even as far away as New Caledonia in
1988.
In addition, the French enthusiasm for export of arms to
many of the world conflict zones (for example Mirage Jet fighters to the South African
Apartheid regime in the 1970s) continues unabated.
A different view of the current troubles is that perhaps
France is reaping what it has, for so long, sown.
Sydney Salon, in the meantime, maintains its provocative
edge.
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