RESILIENCE

Sous le ciel de Paris

In a light rain, last night became the first of three evenings that the Eiffel Tower will be illuminated in the highly symbolic colors of blue, white, and red. Blazons of Paris featuring the emblem of Paris, a schooner, flank the city's Latin devise,  Fluctuat nec mergitur.  Rallying resilience, and today resistance, the motto translates into French: "Il est battue par les flots mais ne sombre pas." Battered by the waves, but not sunk. Since the late 12th century the choice of a boat with sails as an emblem for the city has underscored  the importance of the Seine as a source of food, transport, and commerce to Parisians.

Vocabulary

les flots:  waves, flood tides

To listen to Edith Piaf sing Sous le Ciel de Paris click here.

©2015 P.B. Lecron