Versailles, for all its reflection of historical French grandeur, authority, nobility, art, craftsmanship, and etiquette, is also a reflection of American power. Versailles may well be the French monument that most symbolizes American power, after the Statue of Liberty that is.

I’m not sure when my transformation from dread of Versailles to curiosity occurred—while listening to our guide, while visiting the Little Theater, while strolling through the bucolic Hamlet, while having an enjoyable lunch at La [...]

Part I: Marie-Antoinette’s Versailles Featuring Lolly Winston Until recently I’d cringe when visiting friends would ask me to take them to Versailles. Too crowded, too baroque, too empty of furniture, too bold and muddled at the [...]

The French electorate doesn’t necessarily vote according to its relative wealth, yet relative wealth is a pretty good indicator of voting strength, particularly in Paris and more dramatically in its surrounding region. There, generally speaking, [...]