Napoleon Will Shine

The Brits are celebrating Nelson's victory at la bataille de Trafalgar. The French have pulled out all the stops, sending the mighty Charles de Gaulle to witness the reenactment festivities. The British side is gratified but can't seem to understand why the French would be willing to do this, after all, it was a great disaster for Napoleon, n'est-ce pas?

Well no, not actually. Napoleon had already given up on invading England, and the French got even by shooting Nelson. Honor was restored. Now here's the real reason the French were so gallant. There are going to be 10 more years of these celebrations, and the British only get to look good again in 2015. Meanwhile, Napoleon will shine like the grand foolish genius that he was.

When I visited Napoleon's tomb in Paris, I saw some tourists from the U.K behaving a bit strangely. They oohed and aahed at everything like normal tourists, but when they came to view the ornate tomb below, they stood like statues with odd looks on their faces. I was puzzled until someone explained that they want to look at the tomb, but without bowing their heads. It has been suggested that the French did this deliberately.

6/29/2005 2:35 PM