The southern tip of the
Luxembourg opens onto one of
those squares so typical of
Paris where half-a-dozen
boulevards are so deliciously
inviting that a beer is in order
to make a plan. On one side is
Boul. du Montparnasse, Port
Royal leads to the Val-de-
Grace and Saint Michel also
beckons. But there are some
names which have a resonance
all their own and I could never
resist the resounding

Denfert-Rochereau.

Denfert-Rochereau - just rolls off the tongue like a cold Guinness - with the same hauteur as
Chateau Laffitte or Cabernet Sauvignon. Denfert-Rochereau was in fact a colonel in the French
army at the time of the Franco Prussian war and defended Belfort with such tenacity that he
received the ultimate French accolade of having a Metro station named after him. The lion
monument sits in the centre of the bustling Place and a few yards away are the catacombs where
millions of bones reside having been displaced from their original resting places in 1785. The
French Resistance had a base here so too did a number of punks and art students at one time
who threw wild parties until they were evicted by the gendarmerie. The Comte d' Artois did
exactly the same thing until the Revolution caused him to flee into exile in England where he
lived on the charity of the British aristocracy -- he stayed for some time in Croxteth Hall in
Liverpool -- until he returned as Charles x of France.

Anyway, I've done exactly what I always
do when in Paris which is to race ahead of
myself to explore the next treasure. So,
before you go on to Denfert-Rochereau

{ I love saying that - I'm always hoping
someone will ask me where it is so I can
say it to them } or wherever else you may
choose, make sure that you pay homage
to Marshal Ney before departing.

"My name is Michel Ney. I was
born at Saarlouis on 10 January
1769. I am the Duke of Elchingen,
Prince of the Moscova and Marshal
of France, a Chevalier of the Order
of St Louis, I wear the Grand
Cordon of the Legion of Honour,
also the decorations of the Iron
Crown of Italy and the Order of
Christ".

The words are those of Marshal Ney at the beginning of his
Court Martial in 1815. He was also known as the " Bravest
of the Brave" and "The Last Man out of Russia".

Michel Ney fought in pre-Napoleonic days at Maastricht, Wurzbourg and Giessen but it was during the
halcyon days of Napoleon that his career really took off. Thereafter, he fought at Elchingen, Jena,
Magdeburg, Friedland and the Peninsular. He distinguished himself during the retreat from Moscow,
saving many lives from the cold and the Cossacks with his incessant urging to keep moving. It was not
in his nature to retreat and his several cavalry attacks did much to keep marauding Cossacks at bay
while the Grande Armee slipped away.

When the Allies entered Paris, Napoleon was sent into exile and Ney entered the service of Louis the
Eighteenth never believing he would be ordered to capture Napoleon on his return from Elba. He
never fulfilled his promise to "bring him back in an iron cage" but once again took up arms in the
service of the Emperor. His last hurrah was at Waterloo where his many cavalry charges broke
upon the British squares like the tide upon the rocks.

The Second Restoration saw him a prisoner in the Luxembourg Palace and his poignant letters to his
wife were no less brave than his battlefield exploits. They ended upon his death by firing squad on
the very place where his statue stands today. There is a story that an exultant Englishman leapt his
horse over the body and he was roundly booed by the crowd.

Facing the statue of Ney is the Fontaine de L'Observatoire which you see above. Erected in 1873
by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux and again representing the continents. Carpeaux failed geography at
school because he has omitted to put in Oceania ---perhaps that's why she looks so ratty on the
D'Orsay parvis.

The Closerie des Lilas is right behind the statue of Marshal Ney. This is quite a famous pub and
like most pubs in Paris has enjoyed a distinguished clientele --- Hemingway of course but he does'nt
really count because he's had a pint in every pub in Europe, Simone de Beauvoir was Captain of the
Ladies darts team in the 50's, Pierre and Marie Curie fostered what could be called an increasingly
glowing relationship here in their lunch hour and D'Artagnan popped in now and then looking for
someone called Richelieu. The drinks are a bit on the dear side which is why I keep hoping nobody
famous shows up at the Gardeners Arms where I drink in Liverpool.