Oh, those French

Okay, okay, this is not about Martinique, and it's not about Guadeloupe. It's about those French, though, so please bare, er, bear with me. (Topless alert.)

Eugene Delacroix painted a painting way back in the past. It is called "Liberty Leading the People." For some reason, when the French commemorate something, some woman's dress falls off, and that is the case here. In this case, it's Liberty herself whose dress has fallen off. Here's a link to the painting, showing a topless Liberty leading, uh, the people, so it may not be workplace safe:

Liberty Leading the People (1830. In keeping with their having a different word for everything, the French call the painting "La Liberté guidant le peuple." The incarnation of Liberty is referred to as Marianne, and she appears in busts all over France.)

Now I'm sure you all know of the student protests against a certain French law concerning being able to fire new hires. Well, La Liberté showed up at the barricades to cheer the people on. Here are links to some photos, and Lady Libery's dress in in the same deshabille as in the painting, so again this may not be worksafe, depending on the politics of your office.

Liberty urges the protestors on

Marianne of the 21st Century

Liberty taking it to the streets

Finally, let the mashups begin.

Liberty Leading the Peeps

The incarnation of Liberty is referred to as Marianne, and she appears in busts all over France. The Wikipedia has an article on Marianne. It seems that the mayors of France, no fools they, elected Laetitia Casta to embody the personification of Liberty for the 21st Century. Now we'll see her bust in all the mairies.

Okay, back to the real world.

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