Here in Paris, the Fourth of July is just an ordinary day. So ordinary that one July 4th, I actually showed up at the American consulate to get something done and was surprised to find it closed. (The embassy employees take all American and all French holidays.)
The U.S. ambassador marks the Fourth of July by a huge annual party in his gorgeous big garden, with the Marine Band playing. 
Very few of us Paris Americans, though, are ever invited to this party, even though as (unrepresented) taxpayers we are paying for it. No, the party is mostly for important French people and foreigners, embassy employees, and Americans who live here a few days a year. I wouldn't even know about it except that my British neighbors get invited every year.
I was complaining about this to my Australian friend Jenny and she said, "I used to work for the Australian embassy and people would write in all the time to ask to be invited to things. Why don't you just ask?" So I did, and sure enough, the next year I was invited. The band played, the champagne poured freely, and I went and chatted to the Brits and the once-a-year expats. There was a huge crowd, mostly French as I could see from the guest book, and I didn't even see the ambassador. Of course, there were no fireworks. It was kind of boring. My thirst for fairness was quenched.
Today I attended the dedication of a new statue of Thomas Jefferson on the quai d'Orsay, next to the Passerelle Solférino [a pedestrian bridge across the Seine] and across the street from the Palais de la Légion d'Honneur.
I ran into Kate, a woman I know. She is a Southerner and a passionnée of Jefferson. "I was actually born on the same day he was," she said. "It's perfect for his statue to be here. You know, he modelled Monticello on the Palais."
It was very hot and people actually had brought umbrellas as parasols. 
You could easily tell the Americans from the French: Americans know how to dress comfortably and yet formally in the heat. There were a lot of elegant Virginians. I retreated out of the sweltering invitation-only enclosure into the shade where the hoi polloi were gawking. The white-jacketed band sweated in the blazing sun on the bridge. The statue stood looking very cool, like a rolled-up mummy. The donor Guy Wildenstein, the Mayor of Washington (who very inappropriately asked the audience to applaud his wife's presence), and then Paris Mayor Delanoë all gave speeches. The U.S. ambassador Craig Stapleton was supposed to speak but he didn't-- I didn't see him either. Delanoë was eloquent. He talked about how the United States and France have stood together in all the important wars and questions, and how Thomas Jefferson was a President who understood other countries (was that a snide reference?) and loved France. It was a good speech-- I like him at times like this.
Happy Fourth!
Have a good one over there.
Posted by: The Utah Senate | 04 July 2006 at 19:25