Yet within that silence came a steady stream of new readers clicking aboard as I met hundreds of Francophiles, citizens with passports, college students dreaming of travel abroad, and armchair travelers curious or passionate about one of the various topics of my talks: WWI and WWII touring in France, the history of wine in Burgundy and Champagne and the pleasures of touring there, understanding patrimoine (cultural heritage) in France, travel and travel writing beyond the clichés.

Toward the end of my East Coast road trip, I was pleased  as all get-out, both personally and on behalf of France Revisited, to learn that one of the articles published on this web magazine had just been awarded top honors as best culinary travel article written for the internet. The Gold Award, as it’s called, was for my 3-part article, Drome Provencale: Eat Like a Sixth Grader, Drink Like a Wine Enthusiast. This Gold is one of the NATJA awards given by the North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA)  recognizing what the jury feels are the best articles published in print and on the web during the period from October 2012 through September 2013.

What’s especially gratifying about being honored for the Drome article is that it represents recognition by my travel media peers that one needn’t be a specialized food writer to write about culinary travel and one needn’t be a chronic foodie to appreciate the pleasures and insights of culinary travel. Wherever there is bread to break and glass to raise there is potential for a good story because the greater part of the experience lies outside the dish or the glass (as those who join me on organized Paris and France Revisited culinary and wine [and beer] adventures well know.)

Not quite Gold but also gratifying, my article Biarritz: The Surfing Lesson was a named a finalist in the NATJA Sports and Recreation category.

As sad as I was to leave the U.S. after 6 weeks on the road, I was happy to return to Paris. What traveler could ask for more when leaving home to come home?

Imagine then further pleasure of returning to Paris on a beautiful March day, wheeling my luggage toward my building, looking forward to further culinary, sports, recreation and other adventures in France, and coming across that surfboard standing on the sidewalk.

I take as a sign of a great new wave of articles, stories, and adventures coming my way… and yours.

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Kraut’s article “Biarritz: The Surfing Lesson” was a finalist in the Sports and Recreation category. It can be read here.

The NATJA awards competition honors the best of the best in travel writing, photojournalism, social media and other aspects of the travel and tourism industry. Now in its 22nd year, the awards announced in February 2014 were given for work represented in print, electronic and online media from October 2012 through September 2013.

“This year’s entries were an outstanding mix of local and international stories with dynamic and creative elements that provided the visual through words or photography to transport the reader to the destination,” said Helen Hernandez, CEO of NATJA. “The judging has become increasingly difficult every year given the abundance of talent in the travel journalism community.”

NATJA is the second largest travel media association in North America. The association also publishes TravelWorld International Magazine.

Gary Lee Kraut is the author of five guidebooks and hundreds of articles France. He is currently the editor of the premier online travel and culture magazine France Revisited. In 1996 he received FrancePress’s Prix d’Excellence for his guidebook to France. In 2012 he was elected to the board of the France’s Heritage Journalists Association, the first non-French journalist to be so honored. He has lectured extensively in the United States. In January and February 2014 he went on a 16-stop East Coast lecture tour, speaking on subjects as diverse as war touring in France, understanding the meaning of heritage in France, culinary travel, wine touring in Burgundy and Champagne, and travel and travel writing beyond the clichés.

Based on his highly personalized approach to travel as expressed in his award-winning work, Kraut also assists individuals, groups and elite travel agents in creating customized tours and itineraries in Paris and throughout France. He has worked directly with a U.S. senator, a Hollywood actress, a best-selling author, corporate presidents, educational institutions, charitable organizations and many curious travelers from across the U.S. and from a half-dozen other countries.

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Of the many annual awards ceremonies great and small that take place in Paris each fall, three are examined for the insights they provide into certain visions of French excellence, heritage and savoir-faire or know-how.

Their recipients represent a wide variety of companies, associations and individuals that embody, each in its/his/her own way, a certain vision of France or of a part of France today, of its history and of its ambitions. Theirs may be a glorified image of France, sanitized of the cult of governmental heavy-handedness and the functionary ambitions that dominate major sectors of the culture and the economy, but that image has its own truth, a truth that gives much pleasure to foreign residents, travelers and stay-at-home Francophiles.

The three awards ceremonies go by the headings Excellence Française (French Excellence), Un Patrimoine pour demain (A Heritage for Tomorrow) and Trésors vivants de l’artisant (Living Treasures of Craftsmanship).

Excellence Francaise

Excellence Française brought together a prestigious array of CEOs and leaders in various fields when it hosted its fourth annual namesake awards in the refined setting of the Hotel Bristol in Paris on November 21, 2012.

“Excellence Française,” its founder and president Maurice Tasler has written, “was established to contribute to this optimistic outlook of our beautiful country, and thereby for each and every one of us.” Mr. Tasler points to the 2012 recipients of these awards as “a shining example and source of renewed confidence for all those who are plagued by doubt.”

These domestic awards are given with international intent. Thanks in part to Exellence Française’s partnership with TV5 Monde, an international French-language station, the Excellence Française imprimatur offers companies, often already with a significant international presence, an additional opportunity to showcase their talents and accomplishments abroad. In addition to filming the ceremony itself, TV5 Monde has produced highly flattering videos about each of the winners.

Reflecting the international intent of these awards, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, Mr. Tasler told the assembly at this year’s awards ceremony, had sent a letter of congratulations also regretting that he could not be in attendance that evening.

Despite bringing together men and women with excellence written all over their detailed curricula vitae and despite best wishes from government officials, Mr. Tasler remains mysteriously discreet about his own C.V. More on that later. First, here are the ten members of the Excellence Française class of 2012.

Sector Category—C ompany/Organization—Represented by
1. Technology—Dassault Systèmes—Bernard Charlès, president and CEO.
2. Enology—Wines of Burgundy—Louis-Marc Chevignard, Grand Connétable (head knight) of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, Burgundy’s brotherhood of wine tasters.
3. Education—Agence pour l’Enseignement Français à l’Etranger, AEFE, the government agency for French education abroad—Anne-Marie Descôtes, executive director.
4. Government institutions—PGHM de Chamonix, Peloton de Gendarmerie de Haute Montagne (Chamonix national high mountain rescue team)—Jean-Baptiste Estachy, commander.
5. Craftsmanship—Aubusson Manufactory Robert Four—Robert Four, founding president.
6. Instrument Manufacturing: Pianos Pleyel—Hubert Martigny, CEO.
7. Luxury Watchmaking—L. Leroy—Guillaume Tripet, CEO.
8. Sports—French Judo Federation—Teddy Riner, gold medalist at 2012 London Olympics.
9. Automobile Equipment—Michelin—Jean-Dominique Sénard, CEO.
10. Luxury Silverware—Christophle—Thierry Oriez, CEO.

These aren’t competitive awards; in many ways they are obvious selections. Categories are largely contrived to fit the awardees rather than the other way around. That doesn’t diminish the importance of the companies and organizations themselves but it does raise the question as to what’s truly behind this brand of award-making.

Mr. Tasler says that his ambition for Excellence Française is to “hoist high the colors of France” and to create an economic and cultural “strike force.” Each year’s awardees represent for him “a widening circle of influence.” That’s a slightly ominous phrase to describe the effect of doling out honorary awards, however merited they may be.

The awards ostensibly honor to companies and organization. In being accepted on their chief or most stellar representatives, though, it was evident that many of them, not simply the owner-bosses, were handed and accepted the award as a personal honor. Emphasizing the mano-a-mano nature of Excellence Française, an equally high-level array of representatives from the class of 2011 presented the awards but to fields of activity different from their own, making for entertaining juxtapositions and often witty introductions by those in unrelated fields but of equal “excellence.”

The physical award received by the honored organizations is a handsome bilingual coffee-table book (for sale and also available for iPad) containing Mr. Tasler’s informative interviews with the leading representative of that organization along with illustrations of their products, participants and employees. The book opens with an introduction by Mr. Tasler in which he writes: “Our [France’s] exceptional creativity and capacity for innovation, together with our art of living, should enable us to compete very effectively. France shouldn’t be hesitant about her success.”Sitting in the elegant setting of the Hotel Bristol, aware that the collective C.V. of those in attendance had excellence written all over it and that the bonhomie between the recipients reflected many shared interests, this writer couldn’t help but wonder who outside of government and a James Bond film would have the influence, the financing and the Rolodex to bring together so many CEOs and directors (with an Olympic gold medalist thrown into the mix) for the purpose of receiving rather obvious recognition.

Maurice Tasler is, however, extremely discreet regarding his background, acknowledging only that he has worked in various fields and that his multidisciplinary past allowed him to constitute the well-appointed address book that served as the launch pad for the Excellence Française enterprise. The addresses have expanded admirably over the past few years thanks to the awards and the awardees. Mr. Tasler is not so much self-effacing—indeed, his presence on the podium and his role as interviewer for the Livre d’Or demonstrated otherwise—as he is elusive.

Excellence Française was nevertheless a lovely, well-orchestrated ceremony with good humor, intelligent commentary and diverse acceptance speeches. Champagne would follow. We were all ready for a glass as the closing remarks were graciously made. Everyone applauded.

Then Serge Dassault came to the podium.

Mr. Dassault is publisher of the right-leaning newspaper Le Figaro, a conservative party (UMP) senator from Essonne (the department just south of Paris) since 2004 and head of a major defense contractor. Now it’s no secret that publishers, politicians and CEOs routinely form a well-massaged ménage à trios in France. Exceptionally, though, Mr. Dassault brings together all three in a single man. Imagine if you will U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell holding sway over The Washington Post and Northrop Grumman.

Mr. Dassault gave a nod to the assembled directors and organizers, he re-applauded the namesake company that had won an award and he indicated that this gathering could teach a thing or two to a certain left-wing politician. While it’s true that certain politicians gladly make common cause with the significant part of the electorate that is highly wary of business leaders, employers and private sector success, this was certainly a missed opportunity for a man with a winning hand to stay silent and simply applaud the brotherhood of successful enterprise. Unless of course…

… Unless of course… Contemplating the forces behind these awards, this writer naturally wondered if one of the forces behind the Excellence Française enterprise—perhaps even the main force—was Mr. Dassault himself and if so then the personal or political agenda involved may not be so broadly excellent after all.

Asked subsequently in a private discussion if this was the case, Mr. Tasler said that there is no governmental agency or political agenda behind these prizes but that he could not refuse his distinguished guest’s request to speak.

Mr. Tasler then spoke about plans for 2013, when he intends to begin expanding Excellence Française beyond the selection of award recipients and the ceremony itself by organizing round-table discussions, private gatherings among awardees and, possibly with the assistance of the Foreign Ministry, trips abroad to promote the French brand(s) of excellence. Mr. Tasler insists that even if the goal of promoting French industry and excellence internationally is also in the State’s interest, Excellence Française is not and does not intend to be an arm of the government.

Mr. Dassault’s graceless endnote deserves mention because it was so remarkably out of tune with the rest of the ceremony, and Mr. Tasler’s elusiveness regarding his own background also deserves mention because it adds a slight discomfort to the overall applause of his initiative. Nevertheless, a largely dignified and entertaining evening presented ten great examples of French excellence that do indeed deserve attention abroad.

© 2012, Gary Lee Kraut

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Many of those elements have their origins in the Catholic Church. Though France is a secular republic, it possess a rich Catholic heritage. As travelers, whether Catholic or of another faith or atheist, exploring that heritage can be as much a part of the pleasure and curiosity of visiting the French countryside as local food, wine and castles.

The Observatory of Religious Heritage, Observatoire du Patrimoine Réligieux, estimates that 100,000 edifices in France were originally constructed on behalf of religious organizations. About 15,000 are protected as historical monuments, with 94% of those being Catholic. Many of those are far off the beaten track. And the remaining tens of thousands and the treasures they hold are scarcely known beyond the community in which are they’re found. Among them are many paintings, sculptures, windows and altarpieces that, along with structure elements of the buildings themselves, are slowly, quietly decaying and in desperate need of restoration if they’re to be preserved. Due to their sheer quantity, however, many are ignored or simply deplored until a small group bands together to take on the mission of securing financing for their restoration and preservation. This often begins with the creation of a non-profit association, known in France as an Association Loi de 1901, the year that legislation on such associations was put in place.

Numerous small but passionate associations exist throughout France to preserve a wide array of edifices and works of art and of craft. To complement their meager resources for restoration projects, they seek funding from various levels of government (the primary source of “giving” in France), from cultural foundations and from other private sources.

Pelerin’s A Heritage for Tomorrow Prizes

One of those private sources is the French Catholic magazine Pèlerin (Pilgrim), which each November since 1990 gives a helping hand to a dozen or so projects through its “Un Patimoine pour demain” (A Heritage for Tomorrow) Prizes.

“A Heritage for Tomorrow” seeks to “encourage and assist the restoration of French cultural and religious heritage,” according to the prize application information. Pèlerin is particularly interested in transmitting that heritage to future generations—of the faithful, of course, and, potentially, to the wider community.

Transmission may be key here for religious purposes, yet while nearly all of the selected of structures and objects speak of Catholicism, they also tell of the artistry, craftsmanship, architecture, economics and historical events at the time of their creation. As such they have potential interest to foreign visitors who, during their off-track wanderings, may one day benefit, perhaps unwittingly, from the restorations of the 15th– and 16th-century frescoes at Notre-Dame-de-Assomption in Jandun (Ardennes) or the 17th-century statues in Notre-Dame de Chappes (Allier) or a painting of the Crucifixion of Saint Peter in the church of Vic d’Oust (Ariège) or the 19th barn near a church in Saint-Aupre (Isère) or any of the seven other projects recognized by Pèlerin’s 2012 prizes.

Admittedly, foreign travelers are unlikely to know where any of those places are, and it’s unlikely that a traveler would simply pass through any of these villages since many of them are far removed from the major routes of tourism. Nevertheless, these prizes are mentioned here not to encourage readers to seek them out in particular (though that’s not a bad idea) so much as to reminder them of what discoveries can be found by hitting the back roads of France, stopping in a village where nothing much seems to be happening, and getting curious: “Got heritage?”

The jury for these prizes is comprised of specialized curators, editors, journalists and the recipient of the previous year’s Young Artisan Prize, along with an honorary president, who this year (2012) was Franck Ferrand, a writer and radio personality focusing on history and heritage sites. The jury considers the feasibility of each applicant restoration project and the urgency of the situation and, perhaps most importantly, whether the project has local support and potential wider interest.

A total of 30,000€ was awarded in “Un patrimoine pour demain” prizes in 2012, including several prizes given in partnership with other associations and publications interested in specifically Catholic issues or rural preservations. Ranging from 2200 euros ($2860) to 10,000 euros ($13,000), the individual award amount may not fully fund the selected work, but it allows a project to go forward since this financial support that can help close a budget and provide moral support that encourages local interests to pursue their cause.

Twelve prizes were given this year in ten categories, seven involving restorations (chapels, frescoes, statuary, civil buildings, paintings, furnishings, stained glass), one for a creation, one for some aspect of a new religious edifice, and one for a young artisan. This year’s prizewinning artisan is Fanny Kurzenne, who specializes in the restoration of works in stone and also has an interest in polychromy and the preservation of 19th-century plaster copies.

Images and descriptions of the all of the prize winners can be found on Pèlerin’s website (in French). The site also has a video of the 2-hour awards ceremony which was held this year at the Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine in Paris.

Cigale TV’s Living Treasures of Craftsmanship Trophies

Less spectacular than the ceremonies organized by Excellence Française or Pelerin, Cigale TV’s Trophées des trésors vivants de l’artisant (Living Treasures of Craftsmanship Trophies) honor the pursuit, continuity and transmission of little-used but high-quality know-how in various fields of craftsmanship that the award committee considers as specifically French.

The three winners were received their trophies in a ceremony that took place during this year’s International Heritage Show at the Carrousel de Louvre in Paris:
1. Eric Hamers, diamond cutter,
2. Patrick Sébille, mattress maker, and
3. Vittorio Sério, furniture maker/designer.

Two honorary mentions also receiving trophies were:
4. Bernard Dauvet, gold beater, and
5. Jean Michel Desisle, bronze maker.

These five winners were selected out of 20 nominees by eight jurors involved various fields of craftsmanship along with the editor of Cigale TV. Cigale TV, “La télé des savoir-faire,” presents and promotes various types of craft, craftsmanship and know-how.

A sixth aware by public vote on the Cigale website went to Vincent Rivalin, maker of “charentaise” slippers and clogs.

The winning craftsmen are shown practicing their work in their workshops or factories in videos seen here.

Living Heritage Companies

A company itself can join the ranks of an element of French heritage if over 100 years old. It can then receive the label “Entreprise de patrimoine vivant” (Living Heritage Company) from the Finance Ministry.

The directory lists companies chronologically beginning with Prat Dumas, which has been making paper filters since 1460, La Rochère SAS, which has been making glassware since 1475, Saint-Louis, which has been making crystal since 1586, and Poteries des Anduze, creators of ornamental pottery since 1610. The longevity of three of the companies honored this year by Excellence Française, examined in Part 1 of this article—Aubusson (tapestries), Pleyel (pianos) and Chistophle (silverware)—have earned them the label.

The Institut Supérieur des Métiers (Superior Institute of Trades) has compiled a directory of 314 secular companies that are over 100 years old, some of them in the same family for generations.

The full directory can be viewed online here.

© 2012, Gary Lee Kraut

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As foreign travelers in France—atheist, agnostic or theist—we are inevitably drawn to these site and objects, to their artistry, craftsmanship, age and splendor.

A great many of them aren’t be found in guidebooks, even in regional guides. They are nevertheless as noteworthy as they are obscure, as central to the lives of few as they are off the beaten track to most, as revealing of France’s Catholic heritage as they are of its traditions of artistry and craftsmanship. And many of them, if they’re to be preserved, are in sore need of restoration.

Numerous small but passionate associations exist throughout France to honor that heritage, to preserve it, and to carry it into the future. To complement their meager associative resources for restoration they seek funding from various levels of government (the primary source of “giving” in France), from cultural foundations, and from other private sources.

One of those private sources is the French Catholic magazine Pèlerin (Pilgrim), which recently announced its selection twelve sites, structures, and works of art whose preservation and restoration will benefit from its 20th annual “A Heritage for Tomorrow” (Un Patrimoine pour demain) awards.

The names of the villages in which the awardees are located (Saint Martin le Hébert, Puichéric, Andrest, Verniolle, etc.) are unlikely to ring any bells. Many of them are far removed from the general routes of tourisms, even for the French. I mention them here not to encourage you to head their way specifically, rather as a reminder of what discoveries can be found by hitting the back roads of France, stopping in a village where nothing much seems to be happening, and getting curious—“Got heritage?”

The 2010 Pèlerin awards will go to preserving and restoring:
– stained glass windows in Normandy,
– a painting in Burgundy,
– a Way of the Cross and a processional banner in Brittany,
– an organ in Languedoc-Roussillon,
– an altarpiece, a mural painting, a painted ceiling in a chateau and a fresco at different sites in Midi-Pyrénees (southwest),
– a monastery being converted into transit accommodations for pilgrims in Charante-Maritime (central west),
– a pieta in the Alps,
– and an old mill transformed into an electrical generator in the Loire Valley.

The amount of the awards, mostly ranging from 1500 euros ($2100) to 4000 euros ($5600), with 10,000 euro ($14,000) for the mural painting, may not fully fund each restoration, but they allow a project to go forward through financial support that can help coalesce a budget and by providing moral support that encourages local interests to pursue their cause.

A thirteenth award of 5,000 euros ($7000) was given to a young artisan in Languedoc-Roussillon, Emilie Marconnet, to help her develop her workshop specialized in the restoration of furniture and other woodwork.

Pèlerin is particularly interested here in the defense of the historical, spiritual and artistic heritage so as to transmit them to future generations of the faithful, of course, and, potentially, to the wider community, including the back-road traveler. In fact, though the jury’s selections naturally have a Catholic slant, the selection criteria are notably similar to that traveler’s criteria for deciding where to stop, since they include:

– the cultural, artistic or religious interest of the work,
– the accessibility to the public and
– local development surrounding the project

The jury also considers the feasibility of the restoration project and the urgency of the situation and, perhaps most importantly, that the project have a certain amount of local support and potentially wider interest.

Over the past 20 years, Pèlerin has therefore supported 230 projects throughout France, with Brittany and areas southwest France (Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées) being the most prized regions. A jury is comprised of various specialists and members of the press, along with an honorary president, who this year was the designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac. Several prizes were given in partnership with other associations and publications interested in specifically Catholic issues or rural preservations.

Further details (in French) about the Pèlerin’s “A Heritage for Tomorrow” awards along with links to images and descriptions of each of the recipients can be found on Pèlerin’s website.

© 2010, Gary Lee Kraut

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