15.09.2015

«Vive la France! Vive l'Empereur!" (5 pictures)

I met with Elena and Alexander by chance. Riding through a Small bridge on the bike, I noticed an unusual couple, dressed in costumes of the Napoleonic time. Drunken passers-by shouted after them, "Vive la France, vie l'Empereur!" (Long live France, long live the Emperor!), Happy Japanese tourists did selfie on their background, policemen, smiling, vainly tried to speak with them in English, Elena and Alexander calmly moved in the crowd in the direction of Quartier latin. Alexander is proud of his Russian artillery officer uniform from the 19th century. Elena also exhibited outfit of ladies of that time, when the aristocracy in Russian had spoken better French than their native language. They arrived in Paris from Moscow just for one day, on the way to the grand reconstruction of the last defeat of the great Emperor, the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo. On this day, June 15, 1815, Napoleon, who is already one step away from defeat, led his last reserve, the Imperial Guard to the front line. He turned to the guards with the words "All behind me!» ( «Tout le monde en arriere!») And led the column forward on the enemy ranks. The British, seeing that the French are waiting for imminent death, asked them to lay down their arms, to which followed the famous reply of general Cambon: «Merde! La garde meurt mais ne se rend pas! » (« Shit! The Guard dies but does not surrender! "). Guards regiment was knocked down and destroyed. On that day there were about 40 000 people killed from both sides.