U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans for a triumphal arch were inspired by visiting France. President Richard M. Nixon, waves through the window of his car in Paris which leaves the Arc de Triomphe, in background, in 1969. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)

Trump wants an ‘Independence Arch’ — How famous arches warn about dangers to republics

Will Donald Trump’s Washington arch celebrate the American republic’s independence from Britain in 1776, or its subsequent ascendance as an imperial power in its own right?
Phryge, the Olympics 2024 mascot, dances at the South Paris Arena, during the men’s handball match between Denmark and Egypt at the 2024 Summer Olympics, July 29, in Paris. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Phryge, the friendly Paris Olympics 2024 mascot, and the real meaning of red liberty caps

While the red Phryge is endearing, the symbol’s fraught global history challenges the narrative of freedom and unity that the Olympics, and its French hosts in particular, want to tell.
Joaquin Phoenix dans le rôle de Napoléon, dans le film de Ridley Scott. Napoléon était un législateur prolifique qui a parrainé le « Code civil des Français » à l’influence planétaire. (Apple TV+)

Napoléon le législateur : la gênante omission du film de Ridley Scott

En mettant l’accent sur les triomphes tactiques, les erreurs de calcul et les frasques sexuelles de Napoléon, Ridley Scott néglige l’héritage paradoxal qu’il a laissé en tant que législateur.
Joaquin Phoenix in Ridley Scott’s ‘Napoleon.’ Napoleon was a prolific legislator who sponsored the Civil Code, later known as the Napoleonic Code. (Apple TV+)

Napoleon the lawmaker: What Ridley Scott’s film leaves out

Ridley Scott’s focus on Napoleon’s tactical triumphs, reckless miscalculations and sexual entanglements neglects his paradoxical legacy as a lawmaker.

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