French President Nicholas Sarkozy has caused a storm in Paris by suggesting that the remains of writer and philosopher Albert Camus be moved to the Pantheon. The Pantheon is covered in our mp3 tour of Paris, called Paris the Grand Monuments.
Camus, author of the outsider was a proponent of the absurdist view of the world. It’s absurd, argued the Alergian-born writer, to try to see any order or logic in the world, or any higher power running it. It’s more sensible just to make the best you can.
Quite what the French left find so upsetting about a right wing President moving Camus to the Pantheon is not clear, although it is a wonderfully intellectual, esoteric French fuss.
However, it does give me an opportunity to talk about the Pantheon, a magnificent but often looked monument in Paris.
The Pantheon was designed in 1764 by Jacques-Germain Soufflot after whom the street leading up this square is named. It’s said that Soufflot died of stress brought on by his great project – especially when it threatened to subside!
It’s a stunning building. The pillars which support the central dome with the decorations on the top of them are Corinthian and the whole design of the building was based on the ancient Pantheon in Rome.
The relief above the pillars shows a female embodiment of France bestowing laurels on great Frenchmen. It’s interesting to note that although France is female, all her heroes are men.
Beneath the relief and above the pillars are the words ‘Aux Grands Hommes La Patrie Reconnaisante’, in gold letters, meaning ‘To Great Men, the Grateful Motherland.’ Is this appropriate for Camus?
As our mp3 guide to Paris shows, this is the highest point on the Left Bank of Paris and you can climb up to a viewing platform around the edge of the dome. It’s said that St Genevieve, the patron saint of the city, was buried here and the Pantheon came to be built because in 1744 Louis XV swore that if he recovered from a fever he would build a great church in honour of the saint.
You can see a vast mural of St Genevieve inside the Pantheon. It’s one of a number of murals which were painted years after the windows were blocked up during the revolution. The interior is vast and ghostly but the crypt is worth a visit as it contains the tombs of famous Frenchmen from Émile Zola and Victor Hugo to Louis Braille as well as Pierre and Marie Curie, who discovered radium. There are guided tours of the Pantheon in English once a day – check at the entrance for details.
The church beyond the Pantheon over to the left, St Etienne du Mont, is also worth looking at if you’ve got time. It’s a lovely mixture of Gothic as we saw at Notre Dame and Renaissance architecture. It’s dedicated to St Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris and contains the remains of the great dramatist Racine and the philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal. The pulpit shows Samson sitting on the lion he has just defeated.
The church is open daily except Mondays during July and August and also closed at lunchtimes.