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“Known in the whole world”
“Known in the whole world” – (PIP #24)
By Louise Peloquin
On March 20th, the International Day of Francophonie, it is fitting to remember that, for decades, French echoed in the streets of Little Canada.
L’Etoile’s main objective was offering its readership a wide variety of articles in French. Since September 8th, 23 peeks into the past (PIP’s) have given a sampling of the newspaper’s menu.
On October 29th 1917, an editorial entitled “Our struggles judged in France,” attests that L’Etoile’s quixotic mission was recognized abroad. Here is an excerpt.
The last postal delivery from Europe brings us an issue of “Libre Parole” (Free Speech) where our struggles to help French survive in America are appreciated as they deserve.…In “How the French-Canadians maintain our language…,” the Parisian newspaper recognizes the French-Canadians’ tenacity in defending France’s old tongue….pointing out its usefulness by reminding readers: Do not forget that French is known in the whole world….” (1)
That “whole world” where French is spoken is called “la Francophonie.” The latest report from the “Observatoire de la langue française” (2) states that an estimated 321 million people on 5 continents speak French. Hence, the language is no longer “France’s old tongue.” Today, French is spoken the most in Africa. In fact, many recent linguistic publications have highlighted that the vitality of the language, and therefore its standing on the world stage, is closely linked to its use in sub-Saharan countries. Thus, one can deduce that French learners today would do well to lend an attentive ear to speakers from Senegal, Ivory Coast and Cameroon for example rather than to limit their focus on Parisian lingo. Check it out “Emily in Paris!”
Since 1986, Francophonie Summits have taken place every 2 years in a country belonging to the International Francophonie Organization. Heads of state and government officials from Algeria, Cambodia, Laos, Lebanon, Monaco, Québec and Vietnam, to name a few, attend. America’s historically francophone enclaves, Louisiana and the New England states, send observers. (3)
The Francophonie Summit agenda includes a wide range of items from encouraging cultural diversity to promoting academic exchanges. Facilitating economic development by using French in trade, technology and tourism is increasingly important.
This year, the summit will be held in Villers-Cotterêts in the Picardy region north of Paris. Why would a town of some 10,500 inhabitants host such an important international meeting? Sure, Alexandre Dumas, author of The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo and other bestsellers, was born there in 1802.
Dumas’s renown certainly put his hometown on the map but there’s another reason why Villers-Cotterêts is a most fitting venue for the next summit. In 1528, King François 1 built a castle in the forest there, a place where he could indulge in his favorite pastime – hunting. He rarely resided in Villers-Cotterêts but enjoyed meandering in its lush woodlands full of deer and fowl. It is vital to point out that François 1 was responsible for jumpstarting the French Renaissance. Indeed, he is the one who invited Leonardo Da Vinci to reside at his royal castle in Amboise along the Loire. Later he offered the illustrious artist an estate nearby – Le Clos Lucé. When he settled in France, Leonardo brought with him La Gioconda, AKA the Mona Lisa. Whether or not Leonardo gave the masterpiece to the king to express his gratitude is not absolutely certain. Leonardo is buried at Amboise and today the royal residence and Le Clos Lucé attract countless tourists as does La Gioconda at the Paris Louvre.
An innovative and farsighted leader, François 1 wanted to unify France, a country with numerous regional languages or working vernaculars. (4) A crucial step in reaching unification was François’s decision, in 1539, to sign “L’Ordonnance de Villers-Cotterêts,” an edict mandating the use of French to replace Latin in all official acts like birth certificates, marriage licenses, death certificates and so forth. “L’Ordonnance de Villers-Cotterêts” is considered the first step in making French the official language of the nation and marks the beginning of a long history where it gained prestige, influence and global exposure in diplomacy.
Over the past couple of years, francophonie member states have pitched in to renovate François’s Villers-Cotterêts castle and transform it into “La Cité internationale de la francophonie.”
Next October 4th and 5th, this cradle of the French language will host the 19th Francophonie Summit with an agenda focused on “Créer, innover et entreprendre en français.” (5)
Although the term “francophonie” was not widely used a century ago, today we recognize that Lowell and L’Etoile are part of francophone history.
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- Translation by Louise Peloquin.
- Observatory of the French language.
- I served as Franco-American observer at several of these summits for example at Versailles in February 1986; in Québec in September 1987; in Dakar in May 1989 and in Paris in November 1991.
Lowell Politics Newsletter: March 17, 2024
March 17, 2024
Much of Tuesday’s Lowell City Council meeting was devoted to discussing the implementation of the new citywide 25 mph speed limit. Councilors seemed confused about it which is understandable: The new speed limit is citywide, yet it doesn’t apply to every street in the city.
According to the report, the sign department this week began replacing existing 30 mph speed limit signs with new ones that say 25 mph. Also, there is a state requirement that on all roads entering the city, a special “citywide speed limit of 25 mph unless otherwise posted” sign is required. The city is erecting these now.
I believe the new speed limit is already in effect, however, for the foreseeable future, the police will emphasize public education over strict enforcement of the law. For example, even when someone is stopped for driving in excess of the speed limit, instead of a ticket, they will be given educational materials.
There are 17 roads on which road-specific speed limit rules have previously been established. These will remain as is and won’t be subject to the new lower limit. A map on the city website identifies these streets. North of the river, the affected roads are Bridge Street, Lakeview Ave, and the VFW Highway/Pawtucket Boulevard. In Belvidere, they are Andover Street, Nesmith Street, and Rogers Street. In South Lowell, Gorham Street. In the Highlands, Chelmsford Street, Stevens Street, Westford Street, and part of Princeton Boulevard.
The purpose of this change is to make our roads safer. Given the built-up, heavily populated nature of much of Lowell, slower-moving vehicles should translate into safer conditions for drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists.
I do expect it will be difficult to achieve widespread compliance with the new speed limit. People are creatures of habit and for decades the habit has been to drive at a certain speed, and it will be tough to get people to change. Still, if the new limit means more people are driving closer to 30 mph than are driving at 35 mph, that will be a good outcome. And no matter what the posted speed limit, the supreme law of the road is “a speed safe under the circumstances” which in Lowell, often should be slower than what is posted.
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Also on Tuesday’s agenda was an informational report on the use of ARPA funds to pay for certain improvements to affordable housing units owned by Lowell Housing Authority and Community Teamwork. This part of the meeting began with a triumphant tone from the City Manager but ended with sour feedback from several Councilors.
In his opening remarks, City Manager Tom Golden framed this investment as continued evidence of the city’s efforts to assist the neediest among us. The pushback from Councilors took several forms. Some argued that the money could be better spent on city-owned facilities and projects rather than providing it to a separate governmental agency like Lowell Housing Authority which should have its own funding sources. The other objection was the more familiar, “We already do so much for the homeless in Lowell, but we don’t want to spend any money helping homeless who come from other places since those other places aren’t doing enough.”
The criticism wasn’t universal. Several Councilors adopted a “the money may be going to LHA but it’s residents of Lowell who live in LHA properties so it’s a legitimate expenditure of city funds.”
I anticipated a dramatic roll call vote to end the discussion, but that’s not what happened. Instead, Mayor Rourke simply said, “motion to place on file” and moved the meeting along. It turns out this item was just for informational purposes and needed no Council action.
While the case for spending the money on LHA and CTI projects seemed logical, the report was light on justification for such an extra-jurisdictional expenditure. For example, is the city even allowed to divert money provided to the city by the Federal government for expenditures by other agencies like this? Presumably it is but it would have been nice to affirmatively hear that explanation. Similarly, there is an ever-lengthening list of things that need to be done to city-owned properties that perhaps could be funded with ARPA money. In the big picture, why is this project more important than those other things? Hearing the thinking behind that decision may have pre-empted some of the questions.
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The “we shouldn’t be paying to care for homeless people from other communities” mantra gets at a bigger question on the power relationship among individual cities and towns and between those municipalities and the state. Last week I wrote about this conflict in the context of the state’s MBTA Communities Zoning Law and the fight between the Commonwealth and the town of Milton over its implementation.
CommonWealth Beacon, a nonprofit, non-partisan, online news site on Massachusetts politics, provided an update on that dispute. “A divided Milton heads into court” reports that with filing deadlines rapidly approaching in the suit filed against the town in the Supreme Judicial Court by the state Attorney General, the town has not yet even hired legal counsel to represent it in this case, mainly because the Select Board of the town is itself bitterly divided over the issue. Attorney General Andrea Campbell, on the other hand, is marching ahead, objecting to continuances requested by the town, and urging the SJC to keep to a tight schedule in deciding this important issue of government authority.
According to the CommonWealth story, here is what Campbell wrote in her opposition to further delay:
“The public interest strongly favors prompt resolution of the issues presented by this case, in view of the 129 cities and towns that are obligated to enact compliant zoning by December 31, 2024,” Campbell’s office said in a brief filed with the SJC last week. “Those cities and towns need this court’s guidance on the important issues that this case presents, and they need that guidance as soon as possible so that they have time to take the necessary steps to meet their own end-of-year deadlines.”
The importance of this issue transcends the MBTA Communities Act. It goes to the heart of “local control” of things like housing and education. Consider where the housing crisis might stand if zoning decisions were made statewide rather than by local planning boards. Or how the state’s achievements in K-12 education might improve if school assignments were made without regard to town boundaries.
Cities and towns are creations of the state, not the reverse, so my guess is that the SJC will side with the Attorney General in this case. If that is what happens, it will be interesting to see how much further the legislature will go in trying to dilute local control in this and other areas.
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Happy St. Patrick’s Day.
Happy Evacuation Day.
Happy Blog Birthday
This blog celebrates its 17th birthday this week. It was born on March 11, 2007. I purchased the URL “richardhowe.com” a year or two earlier in preparation for my 2006 reelection campaign for register of deeds. Once that campaign was over, I added Lowell City Council election returns to the site which was static in that the content remained the same day after day. But by 2007, blogs were surging in local politics, led by leftinlowell.com. So when Marty Meehan announced that he was leaving Congress to become Chancellor of UMass Lowell, I decided to activate a blog on my existing richardhowe.com website to cover the special Congressional election that would fill the vacant seat. Seventeen years later, it’s still going strong.
I’ve copied below a selection of posts or partial blog posts from that first week.
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Welcome to the new richardhowe.com
March 11, 2007
Welcome to the new look of richardhowe.com. In one way, this site hasn’t changed: it’s always been about politics in Lowell and that will continue to be the case here. But this latest iteration will balance the historical with the contemporary. City council election results from 1965 through 2005 are still available by clicking on the appropriate “page” link in the right-hand column and in the coming weeks I hope to add much more about the fascinating story of politics in Lowell. But with a special election for the Fifth Congressional District and another city election both looming, it’s the perfect time to launch a new website/blog offering observations about local politics.
“The Column” – March 11, 2007
March 11, 2007
Like all political talk in Lowell these days, The Column was dominated by the expectation that Marty Meehan will become the next chancellor of UMass Lowell and the resulting speculation about who will succeed him in Congress. Everyone (me included) in Lowell, it seems, expects the position to be offered and accepted by Marty this Wednesday which will set off the race – make that the sprint – to succeed him. That contest will be especially interesting because, unlike the traditional congressional campaign that is often decided by who raises and spends the most money, the nature of a special election creates an entirely different dynamic. For the candidates, this race will be all about identifying their voters and getting them to the polls. But based on the timing suggested by the Sun (a primary in August and the general election five or six weeks later), Representative in Congress might not be the only office on the ballot. With the Lowell city election already scheduled for early November with a primary in October, wouldn’t it make sense to hold the special Congressional election at the same time? In terms of minimizing the cost to the taxpayers of Lowell it certainly would. Lowell might have to move up the date of its primary in this scenario, but the city primary used to be in September up until 15 or 20 years ago so moving it back should be easy. This would become a bit dicey for the governor (who sets the date of the special election) and Congressman Meehan (whose resignation will start the clock running) since combining the special and city elections would certainly benefit the candidates from Lowell. And what of the city election? Here it is, mid-March, and the city election didn’t warrant a single word in the column. It will certainly get plenty of mention here, but you’ll have to wait until another day.
D-Day for the Fifth
March 13, 2007
Frank Phillips reports in today’s Globe that UMass President Jack Wilson will announce his choice for UMass Lowell Chancellor later today and all signs indicate that Marty Meehan will be that choice. The announcement will be made today and not tomorrow as originally scheduled to allow the new Chancellor to appear at a dinner of the UMass trustees tonight. (By way of background, Phillips is a former Lowell Sun reporter who, along with Kendall Wallace, made The Column the “must-read” section of the Sunday Sun).
Even though the still unofficial race to succeed Marty has dominated political discussion in Lowell, most of us have severely underestimated the attention this race will draw from outside the district. For example, a post on Blue Mass Group yesterday ignited a vigorous debate about the relative strengths of the candidates and Adam Reilly criticized the Fifth District’s state senators for not stepping up and joining this race.
In other news, State Senator Steve Baddour (D, Methuen) announced yesterday that he would not run for Congress this time. This was reported on the Sun’s website yesterday and in today’s print edition (not yet online). Today’s Sun also reports that a new candidate has emerged: Stephen Kerrigan of Lancaster, a 35-year-old former top advisor to both Ted Kennedy and Tom Reilly, has formed an exploratory committee. Jim Miceli (D, Wilmington), another candidate, will appear with Jim Campanini on NewsTalk Live tonight (call (978) 364-8255 at 7 p.m. to listen in). I’m sure there’s much more, but that’s it for now.
Tick … Tick … Tick …
Tick … Tick … Tick …
By David Daniel
I am haunted by clocks.
Last weekend brought the semiannual conspiracy of mass self-deception wherein we pretend to alter the space/time continuum. Sure, I know. It’s good to have a little more daylight at the end (or the beginning) of the day. And what does it cost, really? A small disruption in sleep, maybe a late appointment or two, and a meager expenditure of effort as we reset clocks. Because I rarely look at clocks, however—one of the perks of retirement—this would not be a big deal, but there are those in my household, nameless here, who attend to time assiduously, and for whom an inaccurate clock is anathema. So in the interests of peace, local if not world, I set about synchronizing our house with the others in this small corner of the galaxy.
Fortunately, technologies have alleviated some of the burden. As I walk through the house, phone in hand as guide, I recognize that the television and several computers have quietly taken care of this themselves. Their small glowing eyes wink at me, as if to say, “No worries, bro, gotcha covered.” But there are other clocks that do need my assistance. There’s the stove, the microwave, the Cuisinart coffeemaker, and the Bose Wave radio (I know; so yesterday), each with its own digital display and method for adjustment. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.
The work comes with the wall and table clocks. There’s at least one in every room. These are battery-powered analog clocks in many styles. They require a step stool and, in one case, a stepladder. There is a clock that wouldn’t look out of place hanging in South Station, and one resembling a stem-winder pocket watch the March Hare might have left behind in his haste. There’s a faux antique desk clock with Roman numerals. In the foyer stands a tall cabinet clock that my dear father, may he rest in peace, built by hand from a kit. It’s part of his legacy to us. Although the Westminster chimes were a bit much, I always found the steady tick-tock soothing, but I don’t bother setting it anymore. All those chains and counter weights and the frequent rewinding. . . . It’s right twice a day and that’s enough. On its brass face is a reminder: Tempus Fugit.
There’s one other clock that even thinking about makes me break out in flop sweat. The dashboard clock in my car.
The car isn’t new enough to have the time-set be automatic, so this requires human intervention. When I bought the car, certified pre-owned, for some reason the owner’s manual in the glovebox was for the same make and model but one year newer than my car. In the changeover year, although the vehicles are identical in almost every other way, the clocks are not. According to the manual, the process is painless: press this, tune that… voila! Yeah, if only. In truth, performing the two-step process described in the manual does nothing. And when you try it again, more nothing—beyond calling to mind that oft-given definition of insanity (Einstein?) as doing the same thing and expecting a different result.
There isn’t anything intuitive about setting my dashboard clock. It’s the antithesis of intuitive. So, because there’s an answer to every question there, I go to the internet. I enter the make, model, and year and watch a 13-minute YouTube video on how to reset my clock. It involves manipulating buttons on the panel, toggling this, poking that, twisting the other a specified number of turns. It’s a process so convoluted that it takes me repeated watchings and even then it feels like trial and error. And as for recalling it six months later, fuggedaboutit. So instead of wasting all that mental bandwidth twice a year, and since I’m usually alone in my car, I do nothing for as long as I can. I simply make the mental one-hour addition or subtraction. If the occasional passenger sometimes expresses dismay—“Omigod! The time! We’re gonna be late! – I calm them with gentle words.
But none of us is ever fully absolved of time. As the poet of old wrote… “. . . at my back I always hear/ Time’s wingèd chariot hurrying near…” Generally, at some point in the six months between time changes, having fallen far enough in own estimation of myself as a competent individual who can set an effin’ dashboard clock! I go back to YouTube and then through trial and error do finally reset the dashboard clock. After last fall I managed to avoid this until just a few weeks ago, so the clock showed the right time for about a month. Now it’s wrong again.
Like many, I have attempted to understand time. Once I picked up Stephen Hawkings’ book A Brief History of Time, and over the course of some weeks, I went at it, always hopeful I was on the brink of discovery. But finally—around page 300—I gave up. Those hours might as well have fallen among thieves. I haven’t checked to see if there’s a YouTube video.
Just last week my friend Stephen O’Connor, whom some of you will know from his clever writings on this forum, told me it was his birthday. It was a number, he said with a note of woe, ending with a nine. Stephen is a raconteur of great skill and Hibernian charm. He told me that once, at a wake, he expressed to his friend Jay Linnehan that he was dreading turning 70 because then he’d know the next whistle stop was 80. Linnehan, who has a background in accounting, and his own Hibernian wit, said, “No, Steve, the next whistle stop is 71.”
I had a birthday last month which, too, ended in a nine. Next year, the Good Lord willing, that particular clock will reset to zero. I try to avoid thinking about whistle stops. Still, as with the grand delusion of saving daylight, I know it’s a mind game. Remember the Twilight Zone episode titled “Time Enough at Last”? Where Burgess Meredith plays a milquetoast little guy with coke-bottle eyeglasses, a harried-by-life bookworm who wants only to be left in peace to read. And he finally gets his wish . . . for a short time.