Fiona Alderman: Fires, markets and the 14th July

Home » Fiona Alderman blogging from The Salignac Foundation France » Fiona Alderman: Fires, markets and the 14th July

Fiona Alderman: Fires, markets and the 14th July

A busy month and still hot. I have never experienced such heat here before.The highest ever record in France apparently .

Everyone is complaining and very irritable at the same time. However, as I said to someone the other day, Vivement la neige . Which loosely translates as Bring on the snow !

Anyway because of this exceptional heat so many things have suffered From flowers and crops ruined to no fireworks on the Fete National. As too great a risk of fires. In the forests of Fontainebleau near Paris many acres have been destroyed .

Near here in the Gironde the flames reached heights of nearly 15 metres and the skies here were cloudy and smokey and it was very unpleasant.

Our local markets have changed too , because of the excessive heat and now with the drought there are fewer stands and much less produce than before . Sad. How well I remember it before !

A typical French market selling everything and with typical French flair. Colourful and friendly where we all met around the Square.

The scandal of Violette Noziere

I mentioned this last month with my piece on Claude Chabrol and his film. I was intrigued to find out more about her.

She was born in 1915 and from an early age was headstrong and given to both lying and petty theft.At just 18 years old, she accused her father of sexual abuse and she subsequently tried to poison him.

She gave both her parents sedatives saying the doctor had prescribed them and even took some herself. However she gave her father a lethal dose and he subsequently died. Her mother survived. A fire broke out in their apartment and they were all treated for smoke inhalation.

She was convicted of murder in 1933 in Paris and what would become a long battle through the courts. There were conflicting opinions both politically and the Surrealist movement in France. Writers, artists and poets of the day would argue for her release. She was sentenced to death but received a pardon later from the then President Albert Lebrun.

The case would dominate the press for many months as incest was then a subject of taboo.The twist to the story was that it was never even established that the father had abused her. Medical exams would prove nothing and her earlier claims that her father had given her syphilis wasn’t proved either. The prosecution believed she wasn’t motivated by the incest but in fact to inherit a large sum of money on her parents death.

After her release she met a man who would become her husband and she would have 5 children who never knew of their mother’s past. She reconciled with her mother and in 1963 after a long campaign to clear her name she was granted rehabilitation. Quite some story ?

French Etiquette

The basic form of French politeness I have always known, is always to say Bonjour or Bonsoir when entering a bar, shop or restaurant. It includes everyone and also the word Merci is important to thank them for their service.

There is a blackboard now outside one of the bars here which gently reminds customers to do this.

My young friend who works there tells me it is not young people who forget to do it, but the older generation, which surprised me.

I don’t know if it is a general thing but I am always very careful and I am listening out now for the rude ones !

That’s all for this month’s ramble through rural France.

July 2026

This section: Fiona Alderman blogging from The Salignac Foundation France, Pat's Home Page Blog

Prevous page or post | Next page or post

Written by : Pat Byrne

Publisher of Pat's Guide to Glasgow West End; the community guide to the West End of Glasgow. Fiction and non-fiction writer.

Comments are closed.