A memorial for French teacher Dominique Bernard declaring his allegiance to the Islamic State and his hatred of France and everything it represents including the subjects taught in the schools History seems to be among those subjects that Mogouchkov despises. As he approached the professors, Mogouchkov asked one of them if he taught history this is an odd question for a terrorist to ask But a glance at a calendar makes the question a bit less odd Dominique Bernard died a few days before the third anniversary of the death of Samuel Paty A professor of history at a public high school in suburban Paris Paty was beheaded by yet another young Chechen on Oct which included showing images of Muhammad in his classes Paty had excused from class those Muslim students who did not wish to see the images.) Jamais deux sans trois. Things come in threes, even terrorist threats against French schools. A few days after Bernard’s murder, a student in the southern French town of Sérignan sent a snapshot to one of his teachers at the local high school the message warned “You’re next.” The police promptly arrested the teenager one of 20th-century France’s most influential historians might smile at the irony of this event taking place at the lycée named after him which revolutionized the writing of history It turned the attention of historians away from the traditional actors of history — kings popes — and toward those previously dismissed as the acted upon: peasants which they portrayed as superficial as the slapping of waves Annalistes like Bloch plumbed the depths of human events convinced that history is the stuff of slow demographic In his pathbreaking books on medieval French history Bloch revealed history as a tug of war between a past that pulls us back and a present that pushes us forward This tension between past and present is never resolved yet it always reveals the marvels of our shared humanity must always turned “vers la vie” — toward life Not just the lives of men and women centuries ago but also how our own lives are shaped by those forces from the past Bloch believed that the historical rhymed with the ethical: Getting the past right if only because the truth about the past helps us to better master the present These convictions were not just those of a student of the past Just as his great-grandfather had fought for revolutionary France in 1793 just as his father had fought for France against Germany in 1870 Bloch fought for France in World War I and though in his mid-50s and hobbled by arthritis After the rapid defeat of France and equally rapid rise of the antisemitic and collaborationist regime of Vichy Bloch turned down an invitation to join the New School of Social Research in New York in late 1943 the bespectacled academic joined Franc-Tireur Bloch had no illusions about the risks he ran as an “Israelite” — the polite term used for French Jews of social standing — but still threw himself into clandestine activity Catching sight of Bloch on a street corner in Lyon a fellow resister was astonished to see him with a cane in one hand while with the other hand he “passed out mysterious and compromising scraps of paper to young men as calmly as though he were handing back essays after an examination.” Bloch was caught by the SS in spring 1944 and following several weeks of captivity and torture was executed with several resistance fighters in an open field completing one book — an account of France’s military collapse in 1940 or “Strange Defeat” — while leaving unfinished a second book fails to capture the urgency of Bloch’s task: namely to defend — the literal sense of “apology” — the study Bloch’s brief for history is concise: If we deprive ourselves of the knowledge of the past we deny ourselves the means to master the present “that the lines of connection work both ways Misunderstanding of the present is the inevitable consequence of ignorance of the past But a man may wear himself out just as fruitlessly in seeking to understand the past if he is totally ignorant of the present.” yet another admirable historian of medieval France “If the historian’s calling has a modern saint and hero it is Marc Bloch.” The soul-scalding events now unfolding not just in France remind us why Bloch is a particular kind of saint we need so desperately — namely I feel neither pride nor shame in my origins a sufficiently good historian to know that racial qualities are a myth and that the whole notion of Race is an absurdity … I am at pains never to stress my hereditary save when I find myself in the presence of an anti-Semite.” Bloch knew the many ways in which France failed to live up to its revolutionary and republican values of liberty Yet he also knew that these values remain a standard that secular democracies must always strive to attain And it is for his unwavering attachment to truth that Bloch remains as relevant in 2023 as he was in 1943 Bloch’s simple gravestone is engraved with two words: Delixit veritatum Robert Zaretsky is also a culture columnist at the Forward I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward American Jews need independent news they can trust At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S rising antisemitism and polarized discourse This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up Copyright © 2025 The Forward Association You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed You have successfully joined our subscriber list But my expectations certainly didn't involve anything as licentiously Gallic as a naturist spa straight after breakfast things went all Benny Hill the moment I walked into the large outdoor pool area hydro-massage fountains and perfectly nonchalant I walked around fully dressed for 10 minutes looking for a (non-existent) locker to put my clothes in as bemused naturists looked at me as if Finally derobed I went looking for the showers … and somehow walked straight out of the back door of the spa and into the campsite to horrified looks from my fully dressed fellow campers retreat before most of the kids had looked up from their Rice Krispies But complete loss of dignity was almost worth it for half an hour in the blissfully quiet swimming pool the only one on the site that wasn't an obstacle course of rubber rings Sérignan Plage with the Mediterranean behindThis was day two of our week's stay at Le Sérignan Plage but the seventh day of our 16-day French holiday Most families heading for the family parcs that line the Med either fly there or floor it down the entire length of France (This southward dash becomes a charge after Paris as half the capital packs the car and hits the autoroute.) and miss out on all that beautiful scenery between Calais and the Med we spent five days driving to the campsite stopping off to pitch the tent where and when we liked It was two holidays in one: a week of frolicking by the pool for our two boys plus a road trip taking in bits of "proper" France for mum and dad Instead of spending 12 hours a day on the autoroute we pottered along plane tree-lined main roads Rather than refuelling in motorway services or had an impromptu barbecue on the banks of the Dordogne We cooled off by paddling in streams and rivers and pulled over by a cornfield to get completely soaked by the sprinklers and collapse in hysterics For the first two nights we hadn't booked anywhere to stay; we'd simply stop in a small town and ask for the nearest campsite. There are over 2,000 campings municipaux (camping-municipal.org) in France Most towns or villages have one on their outskirts with spotless washing facilities and hot showers And the sites are so plentiful that away from the tourist hotspots there's no need to book I'm pretty sure they'd have gone the same way as school playing fields long ago and would now be lying dead under Barratt homes We spent our first night at Camping de Châlons-en-Champagne , the second a few hours south at the municipal site just outside Mâcon where our children made friends with Dutch and French kids and the site was so lovely we stayed an extra night The Dutch family were spending a leisurely three weeks driving between campsites in central France The river below is dotted with pebble beaches and rock shelves Upriver was a traffic jam of brightly coloured plastic kayaks crewed by teenagers of all nationalities I joined them for a two-hour jaunt along its most popular stretch the 30m-high natural arch across the gorge In summer this stretch is pretty much rammed with kayaks Wherever I go in France I'm always struck by how good they are at keeping rampant commercialism away from their most treasured sites After five days in the car and under canvas the beds and four walls of our mobile home felt like a mini palace Holiday parcs are perennially unfashionable but long before camping became Cool or morphed into glamping primarily French institutions were taking the pain out of sleeping under canvas have taken camping out of the equation altogether replacing tents with fully furnished mobile homes that look like postwar prefabs the snob in me hadn't expected it to feel so French where we sent the kids each morning to buy hot croissants and baguettes Old boys whiled away their days playing pétanque indifferent to all the family fun and activities on offer We'd chosen Sérignan because it is by a sandy beach but we had trouble getting the kids further than the pool complex after seeing so much country on the drive here we didn't feel bad about missing local attractions and doing absolutely nothing A breakneck dash back to the Channel at the end of a holiday can be even more stressful than the southbound leg the first day of our return drive was the most spectacular of the trip – so stunning that the kids even stopped watching the iPad for a time After leaving Sérignan we stopped briefly at the 17th-century Canal du Midi and pinched a few grapes from the adjacent vineyards then headed for Les Grands Causses in the Massif Central where the narrow valleys and granite gorges are peppered with small villages clinging to the slopes with giant craggy rocks overhanging the road that leads to the Millau viaduct the marvel of modern engineering that stretches for 2½km over the Tarn valley (Be sure to pull off at the small motorway services immediately north of the viaduct to admire the view back across the valley.) riverside campsite in the Upper DordogneLeaving the motorway after Millau we got rather lost and spent a couple of hours driving on back roads through rolling fields and countryside straight out of Jean de Florette the winding road hugging the river on one side and dwarfed by mountains on the other another impossibly picturesque medieval village Our destination at the end of that long hot day was the Château du Gibanel campsite at the confluence of the Dordogne and Doustre in Argentat We were all a bit fractious by the time we got there on a broad sleepy sweep of river in the grounds of a beautiful chateau "It feels like we've driven round the world in a day," said the missus I'd say it was one of my favourite drives ever We pitched the tent under trees right on the river bank while the kids waded in to feed the ducks, and stayed put for a couple more idyllic days of swimming and kayaking. Then it was time for the last push. For our final stop, we'd booked two nights at La Baumoderie a beautiful refurbished farmhouse in the Loire valley Its rustic elegance was a little lost on our now-dishevelled gang but not the crisp white sheets and huge comfy beds And we squeezed in one last activity before heading for Calais – an easy bike ride along the Loire passing several of the region's famous chateaux after doing so much in two weeks that we felt we'd seen half of France Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker your new go-to podcast to spice up your weekday mornings with relevant news and behind-the-scenes from Brussels and beyond From the economy to the climate and the EU's role in world affairs this talk show sheds light on European affairs and the issues that impact on our daily lives as Europeans Tune in to understand the ins and outs of European politics Dare to imagine the future with business and tech visionaries Deep dive conversations with business leaders Euronews Tech Talks goes beyond discussions to explore the impact of new technologies on our lives the podcast provides valuable insights into the intersection of technology and society Europe's water is under increasing pressure floods are taking their toll on our drinking water Join us on a journey around Europe to see why protecting ecosystems matters and to discover some of the best water solutions an animated explainer series and live debate - find out why Water Matters We give you the latest climate facts from the world’s leading source analyse the trends and explain how our planet is changing We meet the experts on the front line of climate change who explore new strategies to mitigate and adapt Flash floods caused by torrential rain in the south of France have left at least four people dead and two missing streets into rivers as the latest in a series of autumn storms caused havoc The bad weather is linked to unusually high Mediterranean temperatures The bodies of three women and a man were found in different locations along the Mediterranean coast between Toulon and St Tropez. The town of La Londe des Maures was among the worst hit, with firemen sent to rescue people from their homes. Some flood victims have been put up in a sports hall – often in a state of shock, with stories to tell but possessions destroyed and homes badly damaged. Further west, at Sérignan near Béziers in the Herault department, a mini-tornado on Friday morning left a scene of devastation. With winds of 165 kilometres an hour, it ripped through a campsite on the outskirts of the village. Rescue workers and locals said it was lucky that it was off-season and no-one died. The bad weather has subsided in many areas as the storms moved off towards the southwest, but eight French departments remained on a state of alert on Friday. Photo: Aurélien Mole; © the artist & VG Bild-Kunst Preview the exhibition below | See Apollo’s Picks of the Week here Photo: Aurélien Mole; © the artist & VG Bild-Kunst Installation photograph of Neïl Beloufa’s exhibition ‘Sustainable Development’ (MRAC Sérignan Event website Irina Dumitrescu Claudia Tobin Michael Prodger Tim Smith-Laing Apollo This episode explores an ancient funeral stele and how digital technologies are helping to preserve Egyptian heritage sites View upcoming auction estimates and receive personalized email alerts for the artists you follow The opening of TEFAF 2025 confirmed that the art market is still doing well despite the ongoing global geopolitical challenges Galerie Derouillon is pleased to present its next group exhibition “The man who lost his skeleton” curated by Marion Coindeau The Musée d’Art Moderne de La Ville de Paris is presenting a new visitor itinerary for its permanent collection Please enable JavaScript to view this page correctly 2017 6:30 PM ESTLong before the invention of the swimming costume Nothing could be more natural than facing the elements while naked and there are plenty of wonderful beaches open to anyone ready to throw caution – and everything else – to the wind is showing local officials' naked ambitions) it may be a while until the East has a strand worthy of this list Whether you prefer the solitude of the wild and rugged California coastline or the camaraderie of a busy European resort beach you only need your birthday suit to go to Mother Nature's party Here are 18 beaches that stand out in the naked crowd Little Beach, HawaiiLittle Beach is one of the world's surprisingly few tropical nude beaches But the quality of experience here helps make up for the lack of other overgrown destinations A popular place with beach visitors of every age and nationality attracts a cheerful and alternative crowd of sun seekers and fun lovers A local tradition of drumming and dancing in the evening makes sunset a particularly great time to hang out and the climate enables naked bathing year-round an active group of local naturists helps safeguard the beach's continued use Baker Beach, CaliforniaWith the Golden Gate Bridge serving as a backdrop to crowds of frolicking free-love types, bearded hippies among them, this beach is unmistakably Californian Baker Beach faces the open ocean and its chilly waters can be too rough for bathing but when the sun is out this is San Francisco's most popular place for naturists It is also extremely easy to reach – a mixed blessing for urban nudists since non-nudists can come to take a peek But its long-standing legal status also ensures a loyal following particularly with the city's welcoming gay crowd Secret Cove, NevadaThe only inland beach on this list, Secret Cove is pretty enough to bear comparison to any of the world's finest skinny-dipping spots and unspoiled pine forest with tanned bodies decorating the sand and smooth boulders the cove is getting less and less secret these days thanks to its accessibility by car or boat Situated on Lake Tahoe's northeast shoreline this nudist haven is within reach of a number of other little bays including Secret Creek Beach and Whale Beach that are also suitable for bathing in the altogether Orient Bay, St. MartinOn an island shared equally between the French and the Dutch, it is not surprising to find locals with European attitudes towards nudity. In times gone by, the entire mile-long sweep of Caribbean white sand was totally nude, but as mass tourism encroached, bare bathers were forced to gather at the southern end of the bay around Club Orient a fabulous naturist resort where you can live The gorgeous colors of the tropical sea and views of the uninhabited islands offshore have been drawing nude beach aficionados for decades which carries out patrols and provides information to visitors on weekends and public holidays Nudity is strictly enforced: Even beach vendors are expected to vend in the altogether Studland Bay, EnglandEngland's most popular naturist beach is a sandy half-mile stretch in the middle of the appropriately named Studland Bay Thousands of bare bathers gather here in a corner of England that feels forever European – at least when the sun is shining – during summer weekends and bank holidays The gently shelving waters offer an invigorating place for nude bathing while the soft sand is ideal for taking a peaceful stroll in your birthday suit custodian of the U.K.'s unspoiled landscapes owns this section of coast and works hard to keep the setting and the beach atmosphere as natural as possible built here by one of Hitler's friends in the 1930s Apart from a small scattering of houses below it that is the start and end of attempts to develop this wild shore doubled in size in 2013 to cater to lovers of Mallorca's many nude beaches Pick your own spot on this stretch of undeveloped shore or head to the far eastern end to find the Calo des Mort and go skinny-dipping and snorkeling in a crystal sea which offers camping pitches and holiday cottages for hire a stunning water park alongside the campsite is open for luxurious nude bathing in a series of pools and spas before turning clothes-only in the afternoons Arnaoutchot Beach and Resort, FranceIn the country that made the birthday suit de rigueur, it is no surprise to find stylish nude beach resorts adorning a long, sunny coastline. Arnaoutchot's Beach and the nearby naturist resort on France's Atlantic coast offer elegant golden sands and back-to-nature living Lifeguards keep an eye on swimmers and surfers in the invigorating waves during the summer months plunge into the rolling surf with hundreds of bare bathers then take a stroll for miles in splendid isolation along the undeveloped coastline to the north Sandy Bay, South AfricaSet beneath the slopes of a bush-clad nature reserve in Cape Town, Sandy Bay is known by regulars as a rare haven for nude bathing in South Africa it offers sand as well as rocky coves to explore though there is little protection here when southeasterly winds are blowing It has been used for decades by both locals and tourists alike and is quite popular with gay visitors You need to walk a mile and a half to get here from the nearest parking lot itself a beautiful and secluded setting for enjoying the African sunshine Some locals advise against visiting alone on a quiet weekday due to concerns about crime – a reminder that this is essentially an urban beach and even "best bum" competitions for men and women – surely something missing from those other Games which had been used informally for decades by nude bathers gained the rare distinction of being officially signposted as a naturist beach following an agreement with a local landowner It is easy to reach from the little town of Russell and its golden sands and great snorkeling make it a perfect setting for getting back to nature the bay can be reached from a footpath at the northwest end of Long Beach The only thing left to do was pick which giant water- slide to take on our journey back down into the pool. It was just the start of our globe-trotting adventures at the Hawaiian-themed Aloha Village — in FRANCE. This Eurocamp site in the Languedoc has its own fabulous waterpark. If slides are not your thing, there’s a lagoon pool, a toddler splash pool, whirlpool and an adult-only pool for those who actually want to swim. The only downside for me is the French rule of no swimming shorts, as I do not look like Daniel Craig in a pair of trunks. After numerous trips down the Rapids and Aqua-toboggan slides, with me screaming in terror and my four-year-old son Sean yelling with delight, we would head to The Shaka Fortress. Think mini adventure playground with water — and a giant bucket that fills and spills to drench unsuspecting passers-by. The cause of much hilarity for the little people guarding the Fortress. Outside the pool area was the main square, which included a supermarket — always our first stop in the morning for a freshly baked croissant — plus two restaurants and a takeaway, serving up an array of treats from pizza and ice cream to fresh seafood and cocktails. Our favourite was the Rooftop 808 bar and restaurant, with its outdoor terrace overlooking the pool and the sea in the distance. Away from Aloha Village, just a short walk along Sérignan Plage, is Restaurant Latino Beach, a popular eatery with locals and holidaymakers alike and the perfect spot to dine while the sun goes down. For me, the real star of the holiday was the beach — sandy, clean, never crowded — and we had direct access to it from Aloha Village. Every evening we would take a walk through the dunes along with other families. Sean was over the moon to discover an old rotting boat and would pretend it was a shipwreck and he a pirate, armed with a makeshift driftwood sword. Other times, we would watch the fishermen and kitesurfers. Back on the holiday parc, there were always plenty of programmed activities going on throughout the day. Evenings are fun for the whole family too — with regular discos and shows. The entertainment team were popular faces around the camp. Sean took a shine to a entertainer named Kevin and the night was never complete until he got his high-five at the end of the kids’ disco. Add to this the arcade machines, climbing frames and slides — and heading back to your accommodation with a small child is always a drawn-out process. Thankfully, the promise of “we will be back again tomorrow” usually worked wonders. The accommodation itself was a three-bedroom chalet with a kitchen diner and all the mod-cons such as microwave, hob, oven and air- conditioning. There was a large private decking area outside and a canopy sail covered the table and chairs, providing shade from the sun. we did not spend a lot of time using the accommodation cosy cabin is the perfect place for putting your feet up and chilling out with a book — or crashing out and dreaming about pirates GETTING THERE: Beziers airport is 16km from the Aloha Village Ryanair flights from Stansted and Luton are from £44 return pp Montpellier and Perpignan are also within an hour’s drive and served by EasyJet and Ryanair Or take your car on Brittany Ferries from Portsmouth and Plymouth to Bilbao or Santander.STAYING THERE: Eurocamp has a mix of accommodation at Aloha Village Seven nights in a Safari tent is from £441 per party; from £440 for a two-bed Avant mobile home from £610 for a three- bed Aspect mobile home Based on May 20 arrivals. See eurocamp.co.uk or call 01606 787391 Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/ Kerlin Gallery presents a new solo exhibition by Nathalie Du Pasquier I don’t mean the city in Tennessee or the ancient capital in Egypt The exhibition—which takes its title from Pablo Neruda’s poem of the same name—highlights the importance of the objects that surround us and the revolutionary possibility of imagining and re-imagining them in space in relation to our bodies and our feelings Museum of Contemporary Art Leipzig (GfZK) Symetria – French Connection is the title of the current exhibition at Hebel_121 Art Space in Basel presents a new group of “Pour paintings” in the company of a furniture sculpture a puddle painting and a glass mosaic.  Explore the innovative installations of John Michael Armleder Discover the biography of this influential Swiss artist Art Brussels opened on 25th April at Brussels Expo the iconic Art Deco building constructed in 1935 for the Brussels International Exposition L21 is pleased to announce its next group exhibition entitled “Ca’n Boom!” in the incomparable setting of Ca’n Marquès As the Art Market Hamptons fair returns to Water Mill these are the must-see shows on the east end of Long Island