Argentinian soccer players celebrate after winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup
Credit: © Moritz Muller, Alamy Images

Yesterday, Sunday, December 18th, Argentina and France faced each other in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Final in Qatar. In a tournament charged with controversy over the use of migrant workers to build the stadiums, a dramatic final game unfolded for millions of fans around the world. Argentina, with star player Lionel Messi, won the tournament for the first time since 1986, defeating France, the defending champions. French player Kylian Mbappé scored all three of France’s goals in regular time, securing a hat trick. It was the first hat trick in the World Cup final in 56 years. The game tied 3-3 after regulation time and two periods of extra time, bringing the legendary game to a penalty shootout. In the tie-breaking penalty shootout, Mbappé and French player Kolo Muani scored on Argentinian goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, but their teammates missed. Messi scored Argentina’s first shoot-out penalty kick on French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, followed by goals from Paulo Dybala, Leandro Paredes, and Gonzalo Montiel. In his first World Cup, Montiel scored to win the game for Argentina.

Argentinian Lionel Messi scores in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar
© dpa picture alliance/Alamy Images

In what is being called the “best World Cup final ever,” star Messi clinched his first World Cup title and a legacy as one of soccer’s best players. He scored one goal in regulation time, one in extra time, and one of the penalty kicks to win the game. Argentina’s Angel Di Maria scored the other goal in regulation time. Messi and Mbappé competed for the Golden Boot, the award for the player with the most goals in the World Cup tournament. France’s Mbappé scored three goals in regulation time and one penalty kick, rightfully earning the Golden Boot. Messi and Mbappé play for Paris Saint-Germain FC, one of soccer’s top teams, competing against each other in the World Cup with their respective home countries.

Argentina’s pride and joy, Messi won the 2022 Golden Ball awarded to the best player in the World Cup, becoming the first player to win the award twice in tournament history. Messi plays as a striker, an offensive position. He has played for FC Barcelona in La Liga, Spain’s highest league, and has played for Argentina in the Olympics and the 2018 World Cup in Russia. In 2006, he became the youngest Argentine to play in a World Cup match. In 2008-2009, Messi scored 38 goals to help Barcelona win a rare “treble” of the La Liga and Copa del Rey championships in Spain, and the European Champions League title. On March 7, 2012, Messi set a Champions League record by scoring five goals against Bayer Leverkusen. In 2012, Messi scored 91 goals, the most by a player during one calendar year in professional soccer history. He holds the record for most career goals in La Liga competition with 474. Messi was awarded the Golden Ball in the 2014 World Cup tournament. Argentina lost to Germany in the final, 1-0. He again played for Argentina in the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Messi signed with Paris Saint-Germain in 2021. Despite his reputation as a soccer star, this was his first World Cup win in his 22-year career.

French soccer player Kylian Mbappé
Credit: © ph.FAB/Shutterstock

Left-wing Mbappé carried France’s team, securing all three of the country’s goals before the penalty shootout. The star won the Golden Boot award and brought his total goals scored in World Cups to 8, a few days before his 24th birthday. He won the World Cup in Russia or France in 2018, holding up the trophy as a 19-year-old. While Messi and Argentina stole the show from Mbappé this year, Mbappé has an entire career ahead of him to win the Golden Ball and another World Cup title.

French soccer player Kylian Mbappé
Credit: © ph.FAB/Shutterstock

France secured a spot in the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar after defeating England this Saturday, December 11th. France’s star player Kylian Mbappé is stealing the show as the top scorer in the entire tournament. Scoring 5 goals in 4 games, 23-year-old Mbappé is solidifying his reputation as one of the world’s best soccer players. Mbappé has also clocked speeds up to 22 miles (35 kilometers) per hour, the fastest speed in the tournament so far. In another historical record, Morocco beat Portugal on Saturday, becoming the first African and first Arab country to reach the World Cup semifinals. France will pair up against Morocco on Wednesday, December 14th, to see who moves on to the finals.

Kylian Mbappé Lottin was born on Dec. 20, 1998, in Paris. Mbappé’s mother is from Algeria and his father is from Cameroon. He grew up in Bondy, a suburb of Paris. Mbappé began playing soccer at a young age. He stars for France’s Paris Saint-Germain FC (commonly known as PSG), one of soccer’s top teams. FC stands for football club. Mbappé also plays for the French national team, commonly known as les Bleus (the Blues). As a forward, Mbappé’s primary responsibility is scoring goals. Mbappé is known for his dexterity in using both feet, speed, intelligent plays, and composure in front of the goal.

Mbappé is used to the spotlight. Mbappé began his professional career with AS Monaco FC of Ligue 1, France’s top soccer league, in 2015, when he was only 16 years old. AS stands for association sportive, or sporting association. In 2017, Mbappé helped Monaco win the Ligue 1 title. Later that year, he joined PSG. Mbappé has helped PSG win four Ligue 1 titles, in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022. He has been named the Ligue 1 player of the year three times. Mbappé has led Ligue 1 in goals scored four times.

In 2017, Mbappé debuted for the French national team. The following year, he helped France win the FIFA World Cup. During the 2018 World Cup tournament in Russia, Mbappé became only the second teenager, after the Brazilian star Pelé, to score a goal in a World Cup championship game. He scored the final goal to defeat Croatia 4 to 2, securing his first World Cup championship. Mbappé was named the French Player of the Year in 2018 and 2019.

March 2, 2020

Yesterday, March 1, an exhibition on the French impressionist painter Edgar Degas opened at the National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Washington, D.C. The exhibition, called “Degas at the Opéra,” celebrates the artists’ many works set in the Paris Opéra. The exhibition includes about 100 of the artist’s most famous paintings, pastels, drawings, prints, and sculptures. “Degas at the Opéra” runs until July 5. Prior to its run at the NGA, the exhibition had been at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris since September 2019, shortly after the Opéra celebrated the 350th anniversary of its founding in 1669.

The Dancing Class by Edgar Degas
credit: The Dance Class 1874 by Edgar Degas. Oil on canvas/The Granger Collection

Like the other impressionists, Degas portrayed situations from modern life. However, he did not share his fellow impressionists’ concentration on light and color. Degas emphasized composition, drawing, and form more than did the other members of the movement. He is best known for his paintings of people in both public and unguarded private moments. He showed his figures in awkward or informal positions to free himself from what he felt were outmoded styles of portraying the human body. But, he composed his pictures carefully both for formal balance and to indicate the social interaction of his figures.

Hilaire Germain Edgar Degas was born on July 19, 1834, in Paris, of wealthy parents. From 1854 to 1859, he spent much time in Italy studying the great Renaissance painters to perfect his draftsmanship and style. Degas intended to become a painter of historical scenes, but he abandoned this career because he felt a need to paint modern subjects. Probably under the influence of the painters Gustave Courbet and Édouard Manet, Degas began to paint scenes from everyday life. He especially enjoyed painting pictures of race-track and theatrical life. Degas painted many pictures in oil, but he also excelled in pastel. In addition, he was a fine sculptor and made many clay or wax figurines. Degas died on Sept. 27, 1917.

December 6, 2019

Yesterday, December 5, the annual Festival of Lights (Fête des Lumières) began in the central French city of Lyon. The four-day festival, which dates back to 1852, is famous for the many light installations that illuminate the city. Houses in Lyon display candles in their windows during the festival, and public buildings and structures glow with elaborate and colorful light patterns. Traditionally, the festival marks the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8), an important event on the Roman Catholic calendar.

Waterfront buildings glow during the Festival of Lights in Lyon, France. Credit: © Nicotrex/Shutterstock

The festival’s roots date back to the 1600′s, when the city was spared from an outbreak of the plague. In thanks, city officials began an annual tribute to the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. In 1852, after a period of social unrest and recurring floods, a statue of Mary was unveiled on December 8 on Lyon’s Fourvière Hill. Poor weather delayed the ceremony until nightfall, and the people of Lyon lit candles to illuminate the event, honor the Virgin Mary, and show a spirit of solidarity. The lighting of candles on December 8 became the Festival of Lights, then, which expanded with the advent of electric light in the late 1800′s.

By the 1960′s, the Fête des Lumières had grown to include shop window lighting competitions marking the start of the Christmas season. In 1989, Lyon adopted an artistic lighting policy (the Plan Lumière) throughout the city, with particular attention paid to the city’s historical buildings and landmarks. Nearly all Lyon’s lovely parks and squares were soon aglow during the festival, as were the city’s bridges and banks along the Rhône and Saône rivers. Today, more than 2 million people attend the festival every year.

Lyon was founded in 43 B.C. by Roman soldiers. The town, then known as Lugdunum, served as an important administrative center of the Roman Empire until the middle of the A.D. 200′s. Lyon became part of the kingdom of France in the early 1300′s. During the 1400′s, the city became a prosperous trading and banking center and home to many book printers. The introduction of silk manufacturing from Italy in the 1500′s brought greater, and long-lasting, prosperity. Lyon was a center of French resistance to German occupation forces during World War II (1939-1945).

December 2, 2019

Tomorrow, December 3, marks 100 years since the death of the celebrated French artist Pierre Auguste Renoir in 1919. Renoir, an Impressionist painter, was famous for his pictures of young girls and children and intimate portraits of French middle-class life. He loved to show lively groups in sensuous surroundings. He often used his friends as models and frequently painted his wife and children.

The French artist Pierre Auguste Renoir died 100 years ago on Dec. 3, 1919. Credit: National Library of France

Art museums around the world highlighted their collections of Renoir works to mark the centenary of the artist’s death. In the United States, a special exhibit, “Renoir: the Body, the Senses,” was held at the Clark Art Institute in Massachusetts during the summer. The exhibit then moved to the Kimbell Art Museum in Texas, where it is showing until January 2020.

Madame Georges Charpentier and her Children by Pierre Auguste Renoir. Credit: Madame Georges Charpentier and her Children (1878), oil on canvas by Auguste Renoir; Metropolitan Museum of Art

In the 1870′s, Renoir and Claude Monet together developed the broken color technique of the Impressionists. Instead of mixing paints completely, they left small dabs of color in a sketchy manner. But Renoir was more interested in rich color effects and a sense of volume than Monet. Renoir also preferred figure painting to landscapes. During the 1870′s, he painted a large number of portraits on commission. Perhaps his most famous is Mme. Charpentier and Her Children. Many Impressionists brought Japanese qualities into their work. However, Renoir revived the rococo style of such artists as Francois Boucher and Jean Honore Fragonard.

The Swing, an Impressionist painting by Renoir, shows the effects of sunlight on figures set against an outdoor background. Credit: Oil painting on canvas (1876), Musee d’Orsay, Paris; Giraudon/Art Resource

Renoir visited Italy in 1881 and 1882. His study of Renaissance painters there led him to a new appreciation of the importance of line. He returned to France, where he gave up his broad, coloristic manner and spent several years concentrating on drawing. Renoir painted a famous series, The Bathers, during this time.

The happy quality of Renoir’s later work does not show the agony he suffered from arthritis, which finally crippled his hands. He had brushes tied to his hands and developed a final style of painting in broad brush strokes and vivid colors.

Renoir was born in Limoges, France, on Feb. 25, 1841. He was apprenticed to learn porcelain painting after he showed an early talent for drawing. He painted window shades and fans in Paris. He studied at Charles Gleyre’s studio. There, he met Monet and other young painters who were to form the Impressionist group. He was influenced also by Édouard Manet and the color methods of Eugene Delacroix. Renoir’s three sons were also artists, the most famous of whom was the film director Jean Renoir.

July 31, 2019

On Sunday, July 28, the Colombian cyclist Egan Bernal raced to his first victory in the Tour de France (Tour de Francia in Bernal’s native Spanish). Bernal is the first Colombian cyclist to win the Tour de France, and at just 22-years old, he is the youngest champion since 1909. Bernal completed the race 1 minute and 11 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher and last year’s champion, the Welsh rider Geraint Thomas. The Dutch racer Steven Kruijswijk finished third, 20 seconds behind Thomas. The Tour de France, nicknamed la Grande Boucle (the Big Loop), is one of the most popular sporting events in the world.

Colombian cyclist Egan Bernal wears the yellow leader jersey as he rides by the Arc De Triomphe near the end of the Tour de France on July 28, 2019 in Paris, France. Credit: © Justin Setterfield, Getty Images

In the race’s largely ceremonial 21st and final stage on Sunday, Bernal entered Paris wearing the leader’s distinctive yellow jersey as he coasted in a comfortable peloton (pack of riders) amid thousands of cheering fans and multiple layers of police and other security. After crossing the finish line on the famous Avenue des Champs-Élysées, a jubilant Bernal saluted his home country, which was well represented in the race: the Colombians Rigoberto Uran and Nairo Quintana also finished in the top ten.

Tour de France racers pedal through the tough mountain stages in the Alps of southeastern France. Credit: © Bogdan Cristel, Reuters

In 2019—the 106^th Tour de France—Belgium hosted the Grand Départ (Big Start) on July 6 and 7 with stages that began and ended in Brussels, the Belgian capital. The racers then biked into northern France, passing through Épernay on the way to Reims and Nancy. The racers chugged through Alsace-Lorraine before angling 143 miles (230 kilometers, the longest daily stage) to Chalon-sur-Saône on July 12. A transfer to Mâcon sent the cyclists through the regions of Auvergne and Occitanie, where the racers took a well-earned rest day in the picturesque town of Albi on July 16.

A pass through the city of Toulouse preceded the tough mountain stages in the Pyrenees along the Spanish border. A transfer to Nîmes gave the riders another rest day on July 22 ahead of a race to the Alpine town of Gap and further mountain stages to Albertville. On July 27, an air transfer took the riders to the Parisian suburb of Rambouillet, where the riders ceremoniously pedaled their way to the big finish in central Paris.

Bernal ran steadily through race, slowly advancing through the front ten. In the mountainous stage 18, Bernal crept into second behind the French cyclist Julian Alaphilippe, who had thrilled the home crowds by wearing the yellow jersey for 14 of the first 18 stages. Alaphilippe’s bid to become the first French champion since 1985 ended during the weather-shortened 19th stage, however, when he permanently fell behind Bernal (Alaphilippe finished fifth). Bernal clung to the overall lead through the tenacious 20th stage and eventually crossed the finish line with the best time of 82 hours and 57 minutes. The 2019 Tour de France began with 176 riders from all over the world, and 155 cyclists completed the grueling 2,162-mile (3,480-kilometer) race.

The Tour de France leader wears the maillot jaune (yellow jersey) for each stage he maintains the overall advantage. (This year marked the yellow jersey’s 100th anniversary—the first race took place in 1903, but the tradition of the leader’s yellow jersey did not begin until 1919.) Bernal earned the yellow jersey as well as the maillot blanc (white jersey), worn by the race’s best young rider. Romain Bardet of France earned the maillot à pois (polka dot jersey) as the race’s best climber in the tough mountain stages. The maillot vert (green jersey) went to Slovakia’s Peter Sagan as the overall leader in points (awarded for consistently high stage finishes).

The Tour de France is one of three major touring races of cycling; the others are the Giro d’Italia (every May to June in Italy) and the Vuelta a España (every August to September in Spain).

July 10, 2019

On Sunday, July 7, at the Stade de Lyon in Décines-Charpieu, France, the United States Women’s National Team defeated the Netherlands 2-0 to win the FIFA Women’s World Cup soccer championship. It was the fourth world title for the U.S. women, who first won the tournament in 1991, the year it was first held. For the Netherlands, it was the team’s first trip to the World Cup final. FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football). Soccer is called football or association football in much of the world. FIFA is soccer’s world governing body. Held every four years, the Women’s World Cup is the world’s most important and prestigious women’s soccer tournament.

Members of the United States Women’s National Team celebrate winning the FIFA Women’s World Cup on July 7, 2019, at the Stade de Lyon in France. Credit: © Philippe Desmazes, AFP/Getty Images

The United States, the defending champions, entered the 2019 World Cup as heavy favorites. The team thumped Thailand to open the group stage, 13-0—the largest winning margin in World Cup history (men or women). They then took down Chile, Sweden, and Spain on their way to the quarterfinals, where the U.S. women eliminated host France, 2-1. A tough 2-1 semifinal victory over England sent the Americans to the title match against the Netherlands. The Dutch women, playing in the team’s second World Cup, also rolled through the tournament undefeated. The Oranje (Orange) allowed just three total goals in their wins over New Zealand, Cameroon, Canada, Japan, Italy, and Sweden before reaching La Grande Finale in suburban Lyon.

Before 57,900 fans crammed into the Stade de Lyon, the Dutch did what no other team had yet accomplished: they held the vaunted U.S. offense scoreless in the first half (45 minutes of play). A penalty in the 58th minute, however, gave U.S. star Megan Rapinoe the opportunity to break a 0-0 tie. Sporting a pinkish-purple mop of normally blonde hair, the veteran midfielder calmly stuck home a penalty kick to give the Americans a 1-0 advantage at the 61-minute mark. Eight minutes later, U.S. midfielder Rose Lavelle drilled a left-footed strike into the net for what turned out to be an insurmountable 2-0 lead. Emotions built on the U.S. sideline as the clock steadily counted toward 90, and after the final whistle blew, the U.S. women rushed the field for a joyous celebration.

The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup was played in nine stadiums in various French cities. The 24 entrants included 4 teams making their Women’s World Cup debuts: Chile, Jamaica, Scotland, and South Africa. The opening group stage of the World Cup divided the entrants into six groups of four. The top two teams of each group advanced after playing the other three teams in their group, as did the four best third-place teams. The round of 16 then trimmed the field to 8, and the quarterfinals reduced the tournament to a final 4. The United States downed England in the semifinals, and the Netherlands beat Sweden. The day before the United States took the final, Sweden beat England 2-1 in the anticlimactic battle for third place. All four semifinalists received automatic bids to the women’s soccer tournament at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Japan.

U.S. manager Jill Ellis, who also led the 2015 championship squad, became the first head coach to win two Women’s World Cup titles. The U.S. team set a record by scoring 26 goals during the tournament. Rapinoe earned the Golden Boot Award as the leading goal scorer (6), and she was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. Sari van Veenendaal of the Netherlands earned the Golden Glove Award as the World Cup’s top goalkeeper. The U.S. Women’s National Team returned home to cheers and numerous honors, including a ticker tape parade down a section of Broadway in New York City known as the “Canyon of Heroes.”

Sunday, July 7, was a busy soccer day elsewhere in the world, too. Shortly after the end of the Women’s World Cup, the Brazilian national men’s team defeated Peru 3-1 to win the Copa América, the championship of South American soccer, at the Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro. That night, at Soldier Field in Chicago, the Mexican national men’s team beat the United States 1-0 to win the Gold Cup, the championship of Caribbean, Central American, and North American soccer.

April 16, 2019

Yesterday, on April 15, a destructive fire broke out at the famous Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. The fire, which most likely started accidentally during restoration work, destroyed the central spire and much of the cathedral’s roof. However, the main structure and the famous bell towers survived. French President Emmanuel Macron pledged that the historic symbol of France would be repaired and reopened.

Flames and smoke billow from Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, on April 15, 2019. Credit: © Veronique de Viguerie, Getty Images

Notre Dame Cathedral stands on the Île de la Cité, a small island in the Seine River in the center of Paris. The Catholic cathedral is dedicated to Notre Dame, French for Our Lady (the Virgin Mary). The cathedral is one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture. A number of other cathedrals are also named Notre Dame, including those in Amiens, Chartres, and Reims, France.

Notre Dame’s steeple and central spire collapse during a destructive fire on April 15, 2019. Credit: © Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt, AFP/Getty Images

The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris stands on the site of two earlier churches. Construction of the present building occurred from 1163 to 1250. Notre Dame was one of the first buildings to have flying buttresses (arched exterior supports). The buttresses strengthen the walls and permit the use of large stained-glass windows that allow light to enter the building. The cathedral’s main entrances are elaborately decorated with stone sculptures.

During the French Revolution in the late 1700′s, Notre Dame was heavily damaged by mobs that regarded the church as a symbol of the hated monarchy. Beginning in 1845, the French architect Eugene Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc directed extensive restorations of Notre Dame. He also added the tall central spire (destroyed in yesterday’s fire) to replace an older wooden spire that had been removed some years earlier because it had fallen into disrepair. Viollet-le-Duc was responsible for much of the cathedral’s present appearance.

October 24, 2018

On Oct. 24, 1260, 758 years ago today, Chartres Cathedral was consecrated in the city of Chartres, France, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Paris. Chartres Cathedral, one of the most magnificent examples of Gothic architecture, is also known as the Cathedral of Notre Dame (Our Lady) because it is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Most of the present cathedral was built between 1194 and 1260. The cathedral is legally recognized as a Roman Catholic building.

Chartres Cathedral is a masterpiece of medieval Gothic architecture. The cathedral is particularly known for its stained glass windows and its two giant towers topped by steeples. Credit: © Shutterstock

Chartres Cathedral was designed like a typical Gothic cathedral. From a distance, the most striking features are two giant towers topped by steeples. The south tower was built from about 1140 to 1160. The spire of the north tower was begun in 1507. The main entrance to the cathedral is called the west facade. The west facade has three doorways, called the Royal Portal. They are decorated with many sculptures portraying figures from the Bible. Above the Royal Portal is a rose window (ornamental circular window). It contains beautiful examples of medieval stained glass. The interior of the cathedral is dominated by stone vaults (arched ceilings) 118 feet (36 meters) above the floor. Stained glass windows are set into the lower walls and into upper walls called clerestories.

Click to view larger image
Chartres lies southwest of Paris in northern France. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

France’s King Louis IX, who was known for his piety and later canonized as Saint Louis, attended the cathedral’s consecration in 1260. Chartres was later the coronation site of Henry IV in 1594. Unlike many cathedrals in France, Chartres was not looted or badly damaged during the French Revolution (1789-1799). The cathedral also escaped damage during World War II (1939-1945), when the city of Chartres and much of the surrounding region were largely destroyed.

Chartres Cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Such sites are places of unique cultural or natural importance, as designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

October 8, 2018

On Oct. 8, 1918, 100 years ago today, Alvin York, a soldier in the United States Army, killed more than 20 German troops and forced 132 others to surrender during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in France during World War I (1914-1918). York was a member of a patrol sent to silence German machine-gun nests. An expert marksman, York shot about 25 enemy soldiers and forced a German major to order the survivors to surrender. For his deed, York received the Medal of Honor, the highest award for courage given by the U.S. military. Marshal Ferdinand Foch of France called York’s action “the greatest thing accomplished by any private soldier of all the armies of Europe.” Although he became famous as “Sergeant York,” he held the rank of corporal at the time of his incredible feat.

Sergeant Alvin C. York is seen here in 1919 aboard the USS Ohioan, the troop transport that returned him to the United States after the end of World War I. Credit: National Archives

York’s Medal of Honor citation reads, “After his platoon had suffered heavy casualties and 3 other noncommissioned officers had become casualties, Cpl. York assumed command. Fearlessly leading 7 men, he charged with great daring a machine gun nest which was pouring deadly and incessant fire upon his platoon. In this heroic feat the machine gun nest was taken, together with 4 officers and 128 men and several guns.”

Alvin Cullum York was born on Dec. 13, 1887, in Fentress County, Tennessee, and grew up on a mountain farm. He developed amazing marksmanship with the rifle and pistol while a boy. He became deeply religious and sought exemption from the draft because he believed war was wrong. But he was denied exemption.

The 1941 motion picture Sergeant York told York’s life story and detailed his exploits of October 1918. York died on Sept. 2, 1964.