Chevert Revisited: A New Look at the Legend of the Non-Noble General
François de Chevert (1695–1769) remains one of the most famous general officers of the ancien régime, largely because he is regarded as a commoner who rose up the ranks. Yet, as his epitaph reminds us, he never became a maréchal de France. Historians inform us that the reason for this was his lack of nobility, [...]
Sarkozy reels from poll pounding
We expected Nicolas Sarkozy’s UMP party to take a pasting in the regional government elections. Few expected the punishment to be as bad as it was in yesterday’s first of the two voting rounds. The Socialist opposition rose from the… Read More