It has been an eventful week for me! On Thursday evening, a major political figure here in France came to Royan: Jean-Marie Le Pen. Le Pen, the founder of the Front National party, is a rather polarizing figure. He was in Royan for the evening to support a Front National candidate who is running for a major town government position this upcoming March. Le Pen's views and that of his party are conservative and nationalistic. Le Pen additionally has been a controversial figure due to his racist views towards foreigners, he has in fact even questioned that the Holocaust occurred. Why then, did myself and two other foreign assistant friends, stay at the town hall for a half hour to listen to Le Pen speak? Because listening to Le Pen speak, as shocking as some of his comments were, was an opportunity to learn. It was an opportunity to learn about issues in French politics, to learn about people with an extremely nationalistic views. But it was also an opportunity to learn more about the community I am living in this year. I was disheartened Thursday evening to see the Town Hall the most crowded I have seen it thus far during my time here in Royan. But the next day at lunch at school, my colleagues discussed the meeting and seemed to find Le Pen and his remarks of the evening distasteful. Seeing both groups, I learned that I live in a community that values democracy and critical thinking. Le Pen's political stances are controversial, but regardless he should be permitted to speak in a public setting. And from my fellow teachers, I observed a refreshing conversation in which the views of Le Pen were debated, in which they thought beyond the short sightedness that "immigrants are simply stealing social security benefits."
On a lighter note, I had a fun day today in the local city of Angoulême with Demi, the British assistant here in Royan. We decided to make a trip after seeing that a Salon du Chocolat was being held there this weekend! The exhibition featured mostly local chocolatiers, but the selection was good and of course the chocolate was wonderful. I was able to buy a nice selection of small chocolates and macaroons for about ten euros. Because we visited the exhibition, we were given a voucher for free entry to the Cartoon Museum of Angoulême. Angoulême is apparently very famous for this museum, the city even hosts a comic strip festival every February! The museum was interesting to see, especially comics we were familiar with such as Peanuts and Tintin. What impressed me most about Angoulême however, were the spectacular views from around the city. Built on a hill, there are magnificent views of the French countryside to be seen from down even the tiniest of street corners. It is definitely a place to come back to!
On a lighter note, I had a fun day today in the local city of Angoulême with Demi, the British assistant here in Royan. We decided to make a trip after seeing that a Salon du Chocolat was being held there this weekend! The exhibition featured mostly local chocolatiers, but the selection was good and of course the chocolate was wonderful. I was able to buy a nice selection of small chocolates and macaroons for about ten euros. Because we visited the exhibition, we were given a voucher for free entry to the Cartoon Museum of Angoulême. Angoulême is apparently very famous for this museum, the city even hosts a comic strip festival every February! The museum was interesting to see, especially comics we were familiar with such as Peanuts and Tintin. What impressed me most about Angoulême however, were the spectacular views from around the city. Built on a hill, there are magnificent views of the French countryside to be seen from down even the tiniest of street corners. It is definitely a place to come back to!