A Few Stories From France That Are Capturing My Attention This Week

....from the full restoration of Carcassonne's medieval walls & towers to the long-lost Parisian drugstore, and a horrific public trial for rape

Starting this month, for the first time in hundreds of years, visitors can walk the entire 300-meter circuit around the remparts of the medieval fortress of Carcassonne. I’m in. Image: Sammy Billon/CMN

Dear Subscribers,

My apologies that things have been a little quiet on this front. It’s been an intense month, with family-related matters requiring my time over the past few weeks. I appreciate your patience with the ebbs and flows in energy/output that inevitably mark an endeavor manned (or, rather, womaned!) by a single person.

This week, there are several stories from France that have caught my attention, however fleetingly. (Side rant: I had vowed to trade in my smartphone for a dumbphone, at least for basic daily use at home. But I realized quickly that since none currently on the market enable WhatsApp— a tool I use to stay in touch with something like 90% of friends and family, including overseas— this was a no-go. So my attention-and-infinite-distraction issues continue, as they do for most of us.)

On with it, already. The story I’m probably the most excited about is this month’s re-opening of the medieval fortress of Carcassonne (in the southwestern French city over which it dominates).