BORDEAUX TODAY
BORDEAUX IN THE LASER AGE
Bordeaux and its region are about to be equipped with one of the largest lasers in the worlds, the Megajoule Laser, an exceptional research tool with only one equivalent in the world, in California. Installed in the Centre for Scientific and Technical Studies of Aquitaine (CESTA), the laser has strategic purposes and will be placed under the jurisdiction of France’s Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). But it will be open to the scientific community for a significant part of its utilisation. The laser will help break new ground in the fields of astronomy and the resistance of materials in an extreme environment. The laser will be a chance a to develop optical and science technology industries in the area.
The building in which the laser will take place was finished in 2008 in Le Barp, 25 km from Bordeaux, and the site should be completed by 2011. Public investment in the project is estimated at three billion euros over 15 years.
BORDEAUX : THE STORY
LA BOETIE AGAINST TYRANNY
He might not be as well known as the two other great minds in the history of Bordeaux – Montaigne and Montesquieu – yet Etienne de la Boetie was one the first advocates of individual freedom in a book he wrote at the age of 18: the Discourse of Voluntary Servitude. The text, written in reaction to the ruthless repression of a revolt in Bordeaux against abusive taxes in 1548, pleased Montaigne so much that he became a life-long friend of the young bourgeois raised in an educated family of Sarlat. The ideas exposed in the Discourse are strikingly modern. La Boetie studies the relationships leading to power and wonders how a people can accept the domination of the powerful. A few excerpts from the text speak for themselves: “Be determined not to serve anymore and you will be free” or “Tyrants are great only because we are on our knees.” The youngest member of Bordeaux Parliament, La Boetie was also an inspired poet and a bon viveur: “I love what feeds me, drinks, food and books,” he used to say. In 1560, he turned to diplomacy and led talks to settle the conflicts between Catholics and Protestants. In 1563, dysentery struck and he died suddenly at the age of 33, an early death which later earned him the nickname of “Rimbaud of thought”.
BORDEAUX AND CYCLING
BORDEAUX, THE OTHER CYCLING CAPITAL
Bordeaux is, after Paris, the town most visited by the Tour and thanks to the cycling track on which were set several world records, can be considered as the other capital of cycling in France. Among the many riders hailing from Bordeaux and its region, the Lapebie brothers – Guy, the youngest, left us recently – hold a special place. Roger became immensely popular when he won the first Tour of the post-Desgrange era in 1937. Roger Lapebie was not great friends with the Tour founder, it must be said. 1937’s was an eventful Tour, which was finally decided in Bordeaux when defending champion Sylvere Maes of Belgium called it quits, claiming he had been harassed by French fans. As a result, Lapebie found himself wearing the yellow jersey on his local roads and took it all the way to Paris. Another Bordeaux-Paris ride was not so triumphant for Lapebie. In 1939, in the classic between the two cities, he suffered a knee injury which put an end to his career.
Ten years later, his brother Guy also won a stage in Bordeaux in a mass sprint, the traditional conclusion to most Bordeaux stages. Van Looy, Darrigade, Godefroot, Maertens, Van Poppel or Zabel – most sprint aces won on the Lescure track or on the Garonne banks. The record stage winner here is of course Eddy Merckx, winner of four stages in Bodeaux, including three time trials, another local tradition.
BORDEAUX : PLACES TO SEE
THE BIG BELL
is one of the few civil monuments (with the Cailhau gate) left from the Middle Ages. It has just been restored. It was the belfry of the old town hall and it features on the town’s armouries. It was built in the 15th century over the ruins of the 13th century St Eloy gate. It is composed of two round towers linked by a central building. There were six towers originally. The bell was installed in 1775 and weighs 7,700 kilos. The clock was made in 1759 from plans by mathematician Larroque.
ROHAN PALACE
The palace was built in 1771 for archbishop Ferdinand Maximilien Meriadec de Rohan. Its purpose changed with political tendencies: the archbishop’s residence until the Revolution, it became the department’s headquarters and the Revolutionary court in 1791, the Prefecture hall in 1802, Napoleon’s imperial palace in 1808 and a royal castle under Louis XVIII. It finally became the Town Hall in 1835.
THE QUINCONCES SQUARE
The main square in the centre of Bordeaux was created in the early 19th century on the site of the Trompette Castle, which was destroyed as the symbol of oppression by the central power against a rebellious city. It is called Quinconces (staggered rows) because of the implantation of trees on it.
