I went with this group at Sciences-Po called the Transatlantic Association, and they plan little events here and there to bring students from specifically France and the US and Canada together mostly just to talk and learn about each other to make the foreign exchange easier and more fun for everyone.
My friend, Clément, who I've mentioned before (he's the guy who helped me set up my French bank account and introduced me to macarons), also happens to be dong an internship at the Assemblée Nationale (the French National Assembly, meaning the Parliament), so he helped the group set up a tour of the building.
So today we had the opportunity to tour the Parliament building in the morning, and we could sit in on a questions session in the afternoon, which is basically where the Parliament members (the députés) debate over an issue and there might be some voting processes taking place too. I only got to see the tour in the morning since I still had a lot of work left to finish on that exposé for Friday, but what I saw was really interesting!
When we first got to the building, they led us to a mini-theater to watch a short film explaining the building and how the French Parliament functions. Kind of like what little kids would watch on a class field trip (think animations and corny music). And then as we were leaving after the film ended, we saw a class of elementary students waiting like good little French boys and girls to go inside. Ha ha, wow...
So here's what we saw:
First off, you should know that the building is called the palais Bourbon, or the Bourbon palace, named after the former French monarchy. That's where the French Parliament sits today. There's also an adjoining building called the Hôtel de Lassay, and that's where the President of the Parliament lives.
Here's one of the beautifully decorated reception areas!
Lavish hallway. It's difficult to see, but at the end of this hallway there were two desks that seemed to be permanent workspaces. I wonder if the people working there realize they have to work out in the hall...
We also got to see some of the gardens!
It was such a nice day out! Sunny, no clouds...ah, I love Paris in the Spring!
Here's one of the courtyards.
This was the center hall separating the Left and Right political parties. What happens is when Parliament holds a session, the députés exit into their respective halls. The one to the right in this picture is the hall for members of the Right. The hall to the left side is for members of the Left. 
The 'Right' hall.
The 'Left' hall.Our tour guide was pretty funny... whenever he recognized a député entering the wrong party hall, he would stop presenting to us and stare at the député until they left as if they went temporarily crazy thinking they can walk wherever they want!
Like I said, my friend Clément works here, so he's seen everything before many times. He looks a little bored. :)
Here are some busts of Marianne, symbol of the French Republic!(She's a symbol of France kind of like how the Statue of Liberty is a symbol for the US.)
And here are some of the cute litte clay sculptures made of some famous députés, kind of like 3-D caricatures!
Next, we got to take a peek inside the main session hall!(Not too far off from the US Congress!)
Here's something interesting: the lighting in this hall is made to resemble natural sunlight at a specific time in the afternoon. By keeping the 'natural light' the same, it masks the passage of time, so députés won't be too aware if the session runs an hour or two longer than expected (or so in theory).
Here's a view from the floor.
Minsters' benches.
Tally board for keeping track of votes.
President's podium.It was a quick tour, but afterwards we all went to the lawns at the Invalides to have a picnic lunch!
We ended up relaxing on the lawn for a few hours, talking, laughing, and sharing some champagne. Amazing little picnic!
Once all the food was gone and people started leaving (not everyone went back to the palais Bourbon to see the questions session in Parliament), me and my two friends Joana and Ana migrated toward the shade to do a little homework. After that, I headed back to Sciences-Po to work on the computers there, and then back to my place for some dinner.
So great day! A little tourism, political science, and I got a lot of my exposé work finished! :D
Oh, and as for the mouse... it actually never climbed out the window last night (I know because I heard it in our kitchen as I was trying to get some sleep! sick sick). But that's the last I've seen or heard from it. Fingers crossed that it's gone and that I won't have to go out and buy a mouse trap tomorrow morning!
Bisous XOXO
P.S. Did you hear about that Air France flight? Yikes.. :-/
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1 comment:
Sounds like a fun day! Thanks for the pics.
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