Category: Paris

Posted on

Les Bleus, Le Collabo et l’Exécution

A message from Stew: We’re one week away from the World Cup final. At this point, we know that France and Uruguay made it out of group play and into the knockout stage. Not too sure how far each country will go in 2018 but I thought I’d reprint this blog from 27 May 2017 to give you a historical perspective of the first World Cup game and one of Le Bleus’s finest French footballers albeit a terrible human being.

We’ve become immune to the stories we hear every day about professional athletes who get into trouble with the law. Their crimes range from acts of violence to murder and everything in-between.

Our story today is about one of these athletes. He was a French footballer. In other words, he played soccer. His saga starts with the first World Cup in 1930 and ends fourteen years later with his execution at the hands of the French Resistance. He was a well-known and vicious Nazi collabo (collaborationist).

Did You Know?

France has a very storied history behind its national football team (even though our blog today talks about a rather unscrupulous French footballer). France’s first international match was against Belgium on 1 May 1904 (a 3 to 3 draw). Its first World Cup appearance was in 1930 and the team has had fourteen subsequent appearances since then. Lucien Laurent became the first player to score in a World Cup (1930) however, France became the first team to not score in a World Cup match after losing 1−0 to Argentina in the same World Cup. Under its captain, Didier Deschamps (the current coach), Les Bleus won the 1998 World Cup defeating Brazil 3 to 0. One of the younger players, Zinedine Zidane, would help guide Les Bleus to victory in the 2000 Euro Cup. Zidane would captain the team that went to the finals in the 2006 World Cup only to lose to Italy on penalty kicks. One of the low points for the national team came at the 2010 World Cup when the team and its manager suffered a meltdown. Due to a disagreement with the manager, Raymond Domenech, the players boycotted training prior to the third game of the group stage. The team lost the third match and exited the tournament without advancing. Domenech was succeeded by Laurent Blanc who promptly suspended all twenty-three players (including the captain, Thierry Henry) for their next international match and disciplined five players deemed responsible for the boycott. Since then, Les Bleus have come back and today are ranked in the top ten of the FIFA world rankings.

Meet Our Villain

Alex Villaplane. Photo by anonymous (c. 1930).
Alex Villaplane. Photo by anonymous (c. 1930).

Alexandre Villaplane (1905–1944) was born in Algiers and between 1921 and 1935 played football (i.e., soccer) for various French club teams. Known for his vicious tackling and headers, Villaplane’s greatest achievement was on the pitch (i.e., field) playing for Les Bleus or, “The Blues.” The national team kit (i.e., uniform) was and remains red, white, and blue. Unfortunately, by 1944, Villaplane was wearing a different uniform and was better known for his cruelty, blackmail, and murders.

Official poster of the 1930 Football World Cup in Uruguay. Illustration by Guillermo Laborde (c. 1930). PD-70+ Wikimedia Commons.
Official poster of the 1930 Football World Cup in Uruguay. Illustration by Guillermo Laborde (c. 1930). PD-70+ Wikimedia Commons.

Learn more about the 1930 World Cup.

The first FIFA World Cup was played in Uruguay from 13 to 30 July 1930 and consisted of thirteen teams including France and the United States (yep, you read this correctly and here’s the other shocker—the United States national team came in third).

Villaplane was named captain of the French National World Cup team. France was one of four teams in Group 1with Argentina, Chile, and Mexico rounding out the group. On 13 July 1930, Villaplane led the team to its only victory of the 1930 World Cup—a 4 to 1 score over Mexico. The next two games (against Argentina and Chile) were both 1 to 0 losses. Only Argentina broke out of the group stage and advanced to the knockout stage. Ultimately, Uruguay would beat Argentina in the finals with a score of 4 to 2. The World Cup was ultimately seen as the highlight of Villaplane’s football career. After this, his club career went into a downward spiral.

Football used in the 1930 World Cup final. Photo by Oldelpaso (July 2009). National Football Museum. PD-CCA-Share Alike 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.
Football used in the 1930 World Cup final. Photo by Oldelpaso (July 2009). National Football Museum. PD-CCA-Share Alike 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

French Football Clubs

After the World Cup, Villaplane went on to resume playing for his club. While players were not supposed to be paid, in reality the clubs paid each of them a salary. Prior to the World Cup, Villaplane had a reputation as a mercenary, moving between teams for the highest payment. Soon after returning to France from Uruguay, a playboy lifestyle replaced Villaplane’s attitude and enthusiasm towards the game. His club career took a U-turn and soon Villaplane would be shuffled off from team to team after managers got tired of dealing with him. Read More Les Bleus, Le Collabo et l’Exécution

Posted on

“Non, je ne regrette rien”

I have to admit that Sandy and I have a grave addiction. We became cemetery enthusiasts as a result of writing the two volumes of Where Did They Put the Guillotine?  Part of our research required us finding various people in Paris cemeteries, past and present (we certainly didn’t want to tell you Jean-Paul Marat was buried somewhere and low and behold, he wasn’t there—we actually never did find him but I suspect he’s buried under the parking lot of Église Saint-Étienne-du-Mont).

Stew sitting next to the Sanson Family grave in Montmartre Cemetery. They were six generations of French executioners. Photo by Dan Owen (2013).
Stew sitting next to the Sanson Family grave in Montmartre Cemetery. They were six generations of French executioners. Photo by Dan Owen (2013).

Years ago, during one of our trips to Paris, we started by visiting some of the more well-known cemeteries (e.g., Père Lachaise, Montmartre, and Montparnasse) and then in subsequent trips, moved on to several lesser known cemeteries (e.g., Picpus and Versailles). At some point during our many visits to Paris, Sandy managed to find her way down into the Catacombs (I have claustrophobia so I didn’t go and if you suffer from it, you shouldn’t go). Once she ascended the stairs back to the living, we hopped on a Métro and visited several famous parish cemeteries—at one, we were hoping to find Louis XVII’s grave (like with Marat, we were unsuccessful).

Courtyard of the Sainte-Marguerite Cemetery. Reportedly, Louis XVII was buried here. Photo by Dan Owen (2013).
Courtyard of the Sainte-Marguerite Cemetery. Reportedly, Louis XVII was buried here. Photo by Dan Owen (2013).

While the permanent residents of these Paris cemeteries are the main draw for visitors, it is easy to become infatuated with the architecture and symbols of the memorials: from the simplest of markers to the most ornate structures you’ll ever see in a grave yard. It seems there are memorials built in architectural styles compatible to every conceivable era: Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Gothic, Romanesque, Classical, Egyptian, Italian Renaissance, Baroque, Modern, and others. Then there is a second overlapping theme to each memorial: the funerary architecture adorning the grave. Join me as I take you through a quick explanation of some of the most common symbols and icons used in cemeteries. Knowing what they mean can fill in a lot of information about the resident who lies below.

Did you Know?

I never met Mr. Louis Wilson but if I had, I think I would have liked him (for those of you who know me, I like people with a good sense of humor). Mr. Wilson passed away in 1991 at the age of sixty. He’s buried in Whiskeytown, California and his grave is marked with two tablets: a photograph of Mr. Wilson and his epitaph which reads, “Here Lies Louis Ovell Wilson. Wanted To Be Buried Face Down So The World Could Kiss His Ass.” I think Mr. Wilson was probably a curmudgeon but hey, at least he was a humorous one. Based on his epitaph, I suspect Mr. Wilson didn’t place any value on symbolism and it’s likely he is having the last laugh.

Tombs, Sculptures, Memorials

Besides the mausoleum, the oldest funerary monument is the sarcophagus. The remains of the deceased lie inside their sarcophagus. These are typically found in the large European churches. My favorite is Saint-Denis where the French kings, queens, and their relatives were laid to rest in beautiful sarcophagi with carved marble recumbent statues on top. It’s too bad they all got dumped out during the French Revolution and thrown in the river or a giant pit. Another famous example is Napoléon’s tomb in Paris. He lies inside six coffins. The first is made of tin, next is mahogany, then two lead coffins, an ebony one, and then the final coffin we all see—oak. Read More “Non, je ne regrette rien”