DAILY AND WEEKLY STATISTICS HERE

▫️ INCIDENCE RATES

As of yesterday evening, there were no departements in France with an Incidence Rate larger than 400, this means that based on this information only, the announced deconfinement steps can go ahead in all regions.

▫️ CARTE DE SEJOUR

I know a couple of people who received their “Carte de Séjour” today and a few more who are expecting theirs in the coming days.

In the event of an identity check or during administrative procedures, only certain official documents are valid to prove your identity.

By the way, this post is aimed at the Brits who do not really know what an national ID card is.

The point is that if you are of foreign nationality, you can, in the same way as the French, present an identity card or passport issued by your country of origin. Your residence permit / “Carte de séjour” is also a valid document.

It is probabbly a better idea to carry your Carte de Séjour in your wallet rather than your passport.

▫️ NAPOLEON BONAPARTE

This is very important for those aspiring to obtain French Nationality and again I know a few. Napoleon Bonaparte is a part of France. He is also an Emperor who revolutionised the way we live today.

Here are some 10 contributions that the child of Ajaccio has made that have changed France, Europe and the world.

▪︎ Street numbering
Like many people, your postal address is like “12 Rue de …”? The number that precedes your street name was introduced by Napoleon during his reign. The aim was not to improve the distribution of mail but to better organise the collection of the tax which was used to finance the countless wars that the Emperor was waging in the four corners of Europe.

▪︎ The sale of Louisiana to the United States

▪︎ The baccalauréat
The famous philosophy subject, the screams, the tears when the results are announced… the Baccalauréat is the diploma that traumatizes everyone. Stress for teenagers, frustration for parents who have to wait until July to go on holiday. What a surprise to learn that this diploma was invented by a decree of Napoleon in October 1808. Surely the Emperor wanted to keep the tourists away from Ajaccio when he used to go back to Corsica to recharge his batteries in his Milelli residence…

▪︎ The Civil Code
It is probably one of his most remarkable contributions to humanity. Under the Ancien Régime, each region of France dictated its own laws, which complicated relations between the different parts of the kingdom. At the beginning of the Revolution, the French deputies decided to draw up a common code for all citizens. This code was drafted in only one month, but it was not implemented until after the coup d’état of 19 Brumaire (10 November 1799), when Napoleon ended the Revolution and established the Consulate. As soon as he took power, he appointed a commission of four magistrates to synthesise the draft drawn up during the Revolution. After 109 sessions of discussion, the Council of State promulgated the Civil Code on 21 March 1804.

▪︎ L’Arc de Triomphe
The postcard of Paris was erected under the orders of the Corsican Emperor. This place had a double symbolic significance for him. Firstly, in the aftermath of the battle of Austerlitz, considered to be Napoleon’s tactical and military “masterpiece”, the aim was to perpetuate the memory of the victories of the French Army. Secondly, before the enlargement of Paris in 1860, the land on which the Arc de Triomphe was built was on the border of the city, and offered a privileged access to the Emperor’s residence, which was the Tuileries Palace, located at the end of the Champs-Élysées. In addition to the commemorative aspect, the Arc de Triomphe was also the gateway to the Emperor’s home.

▪︎ Rubbish collection
At the end of the 17th century, the hygienist movement began to suspect that the air carried all sorts of viruses and microbes that could be dangerous to health. It was by a decree published on 15 October 1810 that Napoleon introduced the collection of rubbish in order to reduce the risk of viruses created by the bad smells in the air.

▪︎ The Lycées
In 1802, he created the first lycée so that fathers could concentrate more on their work and less on the education of their sons. This education was provided by the state with the aim of making the child fit for military or administrative duties, or to help his parents in the performance of their tasks.

▪︎ The Universities
After the progression of secondary education made possible by the creation of the Lycées, Napoleon wanted to go further by creating a strong institution that bore his name: the Napoleonic University. The first French universities were created in 1806, more than 40 years after Pasquale Paoli opened the University of Corsica.

▪︎ The departments
To facilitate administration within the kingdom, the Assembly decides to divide France into 83 départements. Their size is established so that each citizen can reach his or her capital within a day’s ride.

▪︎ The Legion of Honour
Finally Napoleon Bonaparte created the National Order of the Legion of Honour on 19 May 1802. The aim was to reward the merits of citizens, whether civilian or military, for the good deeds they had established. More than 200 years later, more than 93,000 people have received the Legion of Honour.

▫️ MUSIC OF 1969

Another top hit in France at the time.

🎶 / 🎶 / 🎶

▫️ SATIRE

▫️ NEWS FROM ACROSS THE POND 🇺🇸

▫️ EU NEWS From our correspondant in Allegan County, Mi 🇺🇸

A farmer in Belgium inadvertently changed geography by moving his country’s border with France. The farmer was driving a tractor and apparently got annoyed by a large stone blocking his path,BBC News reports. So, he slightly moved it.

Another person recently walking in the forest noticed the stone had been moved. The history enthusiast knew it wasn’t just any stone — it was there to mark the boundary between the two countries. The marker had moved about 7.5 feet, according BBC News, effectively giving Belgium more land. 

“He made Belgium bigger and France smaller, it’s not a good idea,” David Lavaux, mayor of the Belgian village of Erquelinnes, told French TV channel TF1. The move could cause a problem for private landowners — and neighboring countries, Lavaux said. But people in both Belgium and France had a good laugh over it. 

“I was happy, my town was bigger,” the mayor said, laughing. “But the mayor of Bousignies-sur-Roc didn’t agree.” The mayor of a neighboring French village told La Voix du Nord “we should be able to avoid a new border war,” BBC News reports. 

France and Belgium share a 390-mile border, which was established under a 1820 treaty signed after Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo five years earlier. The stones were placed when the border was first decided in 1819. 

Belgian authorities plan on simply contacting the farmer and asking him to return the stone but if he doesn’t, the Belgian foreign ministry could open a Franco-Belgian border commission, something that hasn’t happened since 1930, according to BBC News. The farmer could also face criminal charges if he doesn’t comply.

“If he shows good will, he won’t have a problem, we will settle this issue amicably,” Lavaux told Belgian news website Sudinfo.

© CBS News

▫️ WEATHER

It says cloudy for today but we have a brilliant sunshine for the time being.

▫️ ADDITIONAL READS

🔸 Why do Americans die earlier than Europeans? (Guardian)

🔸 Gummy Bears and Candy Bars Are Casualties of the Pandemic (Wired)

🔸 The man on a remote island keeping Napoleon’s flame alive (CNN)