Sylvain Boulouque (Reims): The Communist Movement and Violence in France: From the First World War to the Cold War. Robert O. Paxton reviews The Shameful Peace: How French Artists and Intellectuals Survived the Nazi Occupation by Frederic Spotts; Art of the Defeat: France 1940–1944 by Laurence Bertrand Dorleac; and Bronzes to Bullets: Vichy and the Destruction of French Public Statuary, 1941–1944 by Kirrily Freeman. In an open letter to President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, an international group of scholars and activists called on France to repay Haiti, its former colony, more than $20 billion that had been “extorted” in the 19th century. The battle for ownership of Le Monde, France's state-subsidised paper of record, has dealt a blow to Sarkozy — could this be a turning point for French politics? Je t'aime, moi non plus: The electorate’s romance with Nicolas Sarkozy is well and truly over — not least because the president no longer seems to know what he wants. A review of books on De Gaulle. Charles in Charge: Why is de Gaulle suddenly back in vogue? From New Left Review, an essay on the changing face of Paris, seen through the eyes of its leading radical publisher. Parisians find playground under the streets: Residents take to an underground network of tunnels and caves to explore city's past, paint murals or throw a party. Not only the urban poor and displaced head for the French countryside — some very determined and creative families have gone back to the land for a better way of life. French Connections: Gallic ingenuity has turned failing farms and rundown chateaus into hidden tourist gems.
