While France is today a fantastically democratic nation with Liberté, Egalité, et Fraternité on every federal building and at least a dozen presidential candidates every five years who hope to guide the country, this was not always the case. The French Revolution remains one of history's most startling examples of what a population will do to create a democracy, and with good reason. In one of the courses with my program - a general explanation of modern French government, social issues, economics, and general culture - we have spent the past five weeks covering French politics from the revolution to today, with an emphasis on the period after WWII. Now in their 5th Republic a little over 200 years after executing the royal family, the French are determinedly committed to the republican democracy they have worked so hard to perfect. However, vestiges of France's monarchical history are everywhere and I can't help but become excited every time I come in contact with a piece of royal history. Living in a country founded to avoid monarchs has left me sadly unexposed to palaces throughout my life, and I was frankly ecstatic to come to Paris and see the chateaux that all classic Disney palaces are based on. While France is much better off as a republic, some oppressive regimes are just too pretty to tear down.
Today I visited Versailles and it was a dream come true. Though the grounds aren't quite green yet and it was overridden with tourists, the idea of walking through the same bedrooms and salons that once held Marie Antoinette and dozens of members of the Bourbon Dynasty was more than enough to make the visit fantastic. The Hall of Mirrors was just as mesmerizing in real life, and the grounds were far larger than I could have imagined. I like to think it's hard for any American to not romanticize the royal family a bit, but it seems that even the French have largely come to terms with their past and hope to preserve as much of the glory and culture as possible. The palace is filled with much of its original works, though they have since been acquired by the Louvre and are owned by the state. It's possible to walk through many of the palaces original rooms, but several spaces dedicated to general French history and the rise of Napoleon have also been installed. Versailles is in fact a melange of past and present where anyone can visit one of the most spectacular palaces ever built, while understanding what such opulence cost and what its result was. While some may find the gilding and continuous murals a bit excessive (it does become a bit Drag-Queen-Baroque after a few dozen rooms, in the best possible way) I think the grounds are far more telling of what the sentiments of the French court were in the years leading up to the revolution.
Today you'll find hundreds of Parisians and tourists alike picnicking in the gardens, playing with their children and dogs, or sketching by the ponds, but in the 18th century Versailles really did create a completely independent world. My favorite spot was L'Hameau de la Reine or the small peasant village that Marie Antoinette built on the far end of her property, and it's by far the most telling. When the pressures of court life were too much, she escaped to her My-First-Farm-Village to relax, milk goats, and work in the garden with the French families she purchased to live in this picturesque town. The spot is beautifully rustic and an ideal fairy tale setting, but also tragic in its construction as you realize how little she understood about the country she ruled. Coming from a country with such a short history that has been influenced by the will of the many, it's astounding to experience the products of dynasties that managed to persevere for hundreds of years, and control so much through the will of the single man (occasionally woman). Each night when I watch the news with my host family I hear about political debates, updates on the war in Mali, and new manifestations and economic troubles throughout the country. However it is impossible to consider this France without its historical context. It is a country that believes in beauty in all things, but with strong convictions and principles. And a few hundred chandeliers to dress up the official state rooms never hurt anyone.