The Palace of Versailles was the principal royal residence of France from 1682, under Louis XIV, until the start of the French Revolution in 1789, under Louis XVI. It is located in the department of Yvelines, in the region of Île-de-France, about 20 kilometres southwest of the centre of Paris.
Jacques Laffitte was a leading French banker, governor of the Bank of France (1814–1820) and liberal member of the Chamber of Deputies during the Bourbon Restoration and July Monarchy. He was an important figure in the development of new banking techniques during the early stages of industrialization in France. In politics, he played a decisive role during the Revolution of 1830 that brought Louis-Philippe, the duc d'Orléans, to the throne, replacing the unpopular Bourbon king Charles X. Laffitte was named president of the new Citizen King's Council of Ministers and Minister of Finances. After a brief ministry of 131 days, his "Party of Movement" gave way before the "Party of Order" led by the banker Casimir-Pierre Perier. Laffitte left office discredited politically and financially ruined. He rebounded financially in 1836 with his creation of the Caisse Générale du Commerce et de l'Industrie, a forerunner of French investment banks of the second half of the 19th century such as the Crédit Mobilier (1852). The Caisse Générale did not survive the financial crisis caused by the Revolution of 1848.
Antoine Houdar de la Motte was a French author.
Françoise Sagan – real name Françoise Quoirez – was a French playwright, novelist, and screenwriter. Hailed as "a charming little monster" by François Mauriac on the front page of Le Figaro, Sagan was known for works with strong romantic themes involving wealthy and disillusioned bourgeois characters. Her best-known novel was her first – Bonjour Tristesse (1954) – which was written when she was a teenager.
Joseph Méry was a French writer, journalist, novelist, poet, playwright and librettist.
The Paris Opera is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra, and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the Académie Royale de Musique, but continued to be known more simply as the Opéra. Classical ballet as it is known today arose within the Paris Opera as the Paris Opera Ballet and has remained an integral and important part of the company. Currently called the Opéra National de Paris, it mainly produces operas at its modern 2700-seat theatre Opéra Bastille which opened in 1989, and ballets and some classical operas at the older 1970-seat Palais Garnier which opened in 1875. Small scale and contemporary works are also staged in the 500-seat Amphitheatre under the Opéra Bastille.
Eugénie Ricau Rocherolle is an American composer, pianist, lyricist, and teacher who began her composing career with choral and band music.
Château du Tertre, or Le Tertre, is a winery in the Margaux appellation of the Bordeaux region of France, in the commune of Arsac. The wine produced here was classified as one of eighteen Cinquièmes Crus in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855.
Régis Wargnier is a French film director, film producer, screenwriter and film score composer. His 1992 film Indochine won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 65th Academy Awards. His 1995 A French Woman was entered into the 19th Moscow International Film Festival where he won the Silver St. George for the Direction.
Beynac-et-Cazenac is a village located in the Dordogne department in southwestern France.
Wailly-Beaucamp is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.
Château Romer du Hayot is a sweet white wine ranked as Second Cru Classé in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. Belonging to the Sauternes appellation in Gironde, in the region of Graves, the winery is located in the commune of Sauternes.
Éloi Tassin was a French professional road bicycle racer. Tassin won a stage in the 1939 Tour de France, and another stage in the 1947 Tour de France.
The Cruse family is a well-known French Protestant wine-merchant family from the Bordeaux region of France. Family members also own several renowned wine estates.
Château d'Ainay-le-Vieil is a 14th-century castle built on the grounds of an earlier 12th century castle in Ainay-le-Vieil, Cher, France. Château d'Ainay-le-Vieil is situated at an elevation of 168 meters. After having bought the castle from Jacques Cœur, Charles de Bigny built a pre-Renaissance Louis XII style chateaux from 1500 to 1505. The castle has been listed as a Monument historique since 1968 by the French Ministry of Culture. The castle, now part of Jacques Cœur's tourist route, has been nicknamed "the little Carcassonne" because of its circular shape. Today the castle is one of the best preserved fortresses of the 14th century.
Rennes-le-Château is a small commune approximately 5 km south of Couiza, in the Aude department in Languedoc in southern France.
Castel Group is a French beverage company. It was established in 1949 by Pierre Castel, who continues to run the company as a family-owned concern.
Philibert Audebrand was a French writer, journalist, author of medieval chronicles, satirical verses and historical novels. In Mémoires d'un passant, he dedicated a tasty portrait to Bernard-François Balssa, Honoré de Balzac's father whom he considers as a prodigious person.
Stéphen François Emile Liégeard was a French lawyer, administrator, deputy, writer and poet. He gave the name "Côte d'Azur" to the French Riviera.
