The MetroStop Podcast

La Muette is a station on line 9

In 1716 Château de la Muette became the residence of the Marie Louise Elisabeth d'Orleans, Duchess of Berry, daughter of the Regent, a woman born into unimaginable privilege whose life was defined by exploitation, abuse and tragedy, even by 18th‑century royal standards.

The Château de la Muette: a mysterious and forgotten royal building from the 16th century | Le Bonbon 

Le Château de la Muette | OCDE 

The Duchess Of Berry Was The Most Scandalous Woman In France 

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Warm Memories - Emotional Inspiring Piano by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon 

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La Muette is a station on line 9. 

Chateau de la Muette is home to five centuries of French history and in this series I will tell you about some of its residents and events.  

The royal residence in France was the famous Palace of Versailles, but life could get busy and complicated, so they created a retreat for Kings, Queens, and Emperors. Home to mistresses and scandals, a massacre, a hot air balloon and potatoes.  

Let's explore the lives of some of the noble and royal women who have a connection to La Muette. Their lives were lived in the shadow of the Kings of the time, but each one has a story worth telling in its own right.  

The Château de la Muette | OECD 

Margaret Of Valois | French princess, Valois dynasty, Huguenot queen | Britannica 

Wars of Religion | Huguenots, Calvinism, Edict of Nantes | Britannica 

Biography of Margaret of Valois, France’s Slandered Queen

Music by  

Warm Memories - Emotional Inspiring Piano by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon 

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Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

THE DREYFUS AFFAIR – A NATIONAL RECKONING 

Anatole France was one of the country’s most respected writers and he would become the conscience the Republic had been missing. We draw to the conclusion of the Affair.  

What does it mean for France, for the Dreyfusards and for Alfred Dreyfus? 

Sources and reading  

Marie‑Claire Bancquart, Anatole France: La vie littéraire (1984) 

Michel Winock, Le Siècle des intellectuels (1997) 

Émile Bréhier, Histoire de la philosophie (for context on France’s philosophical influences) 

David Bellos, The Novel of the Century (2017) 

Anatole France’s own essays and speeches (1890s) 

Anatole France | Nobel Prize Winner, French Novelist & Poet | Britannica 

Anatole France (Author of The Gods Will Have Blood) - Goodreads 

Academie Francaise The Funeral of Anatole France 

Music Last Hero by Alex-Productions | https://onsound.eu/ 

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THE DREYFUS AFFAIR: DENIED BY A PRESIDENT  

Felix Faure became President of the Republic in January 1895, just weeks after Alfred Dreyfus was convicted. He was elected because he was seen as safe and predictable. He was not a reformer. He was not interested in challenging institutions. He was not associated with any major scandals, yet at least. 

Sam Aronow - The Dreyfus Affair  

Félix Faure | French Republic, Politics, Legacy | Britannica 

Biography Central Margurite Steinheil 

Music Last Hero by Alex-Productions | https://onsound.eu/ 

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THE DREYFUS AFFAIR: THE SOCIALIST INTEREST 

Jean Jaures is a political icon, remembered today as a socialist leader, a defender of workers, and one of the strongest advocates for Alfred Dreyfus. 

Sources and Reading 

Zeev Sternhell, Jaurès et la naissance du socialisme républicain (1983) 

Harvey Goldberg, The Life of Jean Jaurès (1962) 

Geoffrey Kurtz, Jean Jaurès: The Inner Life of Social Democracy (2014) 

Madeleine Rebérioux, Jaurès : La politique et la légende (1975) 

Sudhir Hazareesingh, Political Traditions in Modern France (1994) 

Jean Jaurès, Histoire socialiste de la Révolution française (1901–1907) 

Sam Aronow - The Dreyfus Affair  

The Socialist Interest by Jean Jaures 1898 

The Radical Tea Towel The Assassination of Jean Jaures 

Music Last Hero by Alex-Productions | https://onsound.eu/ 

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THE DREYFUS AFFAIR: J'ACCUSE!

As the situation unfolded with Dreyfus and new evidence came to light, Zola reached his limit of what he could morally tolerate from the lying establishment. By this time, Emile Zola was already a very famous novelist, and he was about to expose the truth to a country that didn’t want to hear it.  

Sources 

Sam Aronow The Dreyfus Affair  

Emile Zola Brittanica 

CNRS How the Dreyfus Affair Went Global 

J'accuse Letter to the President of the Republic by Emile Zola 1898 - A must read! 

Hachette 

Émile Zola (Author of Germinal) - Goodreads 

Music Last Hero by Alex-Productions | https://onsound.eu/ 

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THE CHAMPS-ELYSEE AND THE BELLE EPOQUE 

In this BONUS episode, the Belle Epoque comes to life. The Third republic was a period of social and economic prosperity, and nowhere displayed this, quite like the most beautiful avenue in the world.  

Sources 

Belle Époque or the "Beautiful Age" in France 

Paris Digest - Champs-Elysée Facts 

Everything Explained - The Belle Epoque 

French Moments- The Grand Palais and Petit Palais 

Brittanica Elysium Greek Mythology 

The Good Life France - History of the Champs Elysée 

Music Last Hero by Alex-Productions | https://onsound.eu/ 

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THE DREYFUS AFFAIR: CLEMENCEAU AND THE THIRD REPUBLIC 

In Season 3 we visit five stations and five men whose lives intersected at the Dreyfus Affair.  

Episode 1 sees George Clemenceau fighting for the newly established Third Republic, giving the foundation of a story of a scandal that divided France for nearly a decade.  

Sources 

Sam Aronow - The Dreyfus Affair 

Georges Clemenceau summary | Britannica 

Georges Clemenceau | French Prime Minister & WWI Leader | Britannica 

Panama Scandal Panama Scandal | Corruption, Bribery & Fraud | Britannica 

Treaty of Versailles 1919 

Music Last Hero by Alex-Productions | https://onsound.eu/ 

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I say it every week, we stop by stations named after artists, intellects, innovators; every station's name is a signal or memory pinned to a place. 

Listeners have me asked about how the metro stations get their names, who decides and what the criteria are so, in this inter season -bonus episode, we find out.  

Sources 

Metro: where does the iconic white tiling found in every station come from? - Sortiraparis.com 

Are you familiar with... the friezes in the metro? | Behind-the-scenes 

What about the iconic Street-Name Plaques of Paris? - French Moments 

Wikipedia - List of Metro Stations 

The secrets behind the Paris Metro station names  

Where do Paris Metro stations get their names? - CityMonitor 

12 metro names explained | Un jour de plus à Paris 

16 things you might not know about the names of Paris metro stations | Fabric of Paris 

grandparisexpress.fr 

Les Echos Paris Secret 

Music: Embracing this World by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon 

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Bobigny–Pantin–Raymond Queneau is a station at the north end of line 5. 

Raymond Queneau believed words were toys—tools for invention and discovery. Philosopher, writer and co-founder of Oulipo, Queneau didn’t just write novels—he rewrote the very idea of what a novel could be. 

Oulipo – Wikipedia Wikipedia 

Fnac Site Gallimard Radio France 

Le petit lecteur 

EBSCO Research Starter – Oulipo EBSCO 

Tetragrammaton – Creativity of Limitation tetragrammaton.com 

Gilliam Writers Group – Oulipo’s Legacy gilliamwritersgroup.com 

Oxford Academic – The Oulipo and Modern Thought Oxford Academic 

Music: Embracing this World by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon 

Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ 

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