france - my day 10

My Day 10 was spent in our room on the 6th floor of the Royal Barriere Hotel in Deauville, on the Normandy coast. Larry was heavily involved with past history at the D-Day beaches; I was heavily involved with current day history.


We had been told on our first day of the trip that when we were in Deauville, a meeting of world leaders was scheduled to take place at our hotel. The French President, German Chancellor and Russian President were meeting for 2 days to discuss the delivery of oil through the pipeline from Russia to western Europe. All the trip participants would need to be vetted by the French Secret Service and we would be required to wear special security passes and carry our passports at all times while within 2 blocks of the hotel.


We arrived at our hotel in darkness, the night before the conference. We entered through portable metal detectors and were met by a member of the Secret Service, who checked our passports and gave us our passes, labeled with each of our names and strung on a lanyard to wear around our necks. Then we checked in with the hotel and got our room keys. Security was tight and there were soldiers and police everywhere in the hotel. We found our room, unpacked a bit and I went to bed. I really felt lousy and just wanted to curl up and sleep.


In the morning I made the decision to stay at the hotel, said goodbye to Larry and went back to sleep. The curtains were closed tight and I managed to sleep til about 10:30. When I got up and opened the curtains, I realized I was going to have a bird's eye view of history in the making.


Our room was above and to the right of the main entrance of the hotel. There was a small parking lot in front of the entrance and then across the driveway, there was a large parking area and the beach. A light tower and small grandstand were already set up, facing the entrance. The show was about to begin...


I positioned a comfortable chair in front of the window and proceeded to watch all the preparations for the arrival of the three presidents. I had no idea what time that was to happen, but people were already scurrying around. A group of 8 mounted soldiers, on perfectly matched chestnut horses, walked out in formation to the beach and then galloped as a group along the water's edge, returning at a slow walk. Hotel staff came out in their red uniforms to sweep up the parking lot. Contractors adjusted the red carpet under the see-through canopy and then recovered it with an additional layer of plastic, which was removed about 15 minutes before the first dignitary arrived. Town cars arrived over a period of several hours, delivering staff members of the various delegations. It was easy to figure out who was who: the French men were thin and all wore snappy looking scarves (it was a cold and blustery day); the Germans were older, greyer, heavier versions of the French and carried themselves very stiffly. The Russians were not as old as the Germans but were much more disheveled looking, paunchy and didn't look very happy. No women were seen exiting any of the town cars.


Around 3:30pm, the final prep was done on the red carpet and the cover was removed. In marched a large contingent of soldiers, who I later determined to be the Republican Guard in their dress uniforms. There was also a band, in the same uniforms. Here is what they looked like:


Several groups of citizens were brought in to stand behind police barricades. The press was in place on the grandstand, cameras at the ready, facing the hotel (and me). I noticed 2 sharpshooters on a building across the street, near the beach.

The first motorcade arrived with the president's car flying the French flag. Out came Nicolas Sarkozy, who handed his coat to an assistant and then walked across the drive to greet and shake hands with the citizens who had been brought in to witness the arrivals.

About 30 minutes later, the motorcycles zoomed in again, announcing the arrival of the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel:

Sarkozy was waiting for her at the end of the red carpet, surrounded by a special group of Republican Guards in ceremonial uniforms. She exited her car, the two kissed on both cheeks, and Sarkozy led her over to the citizens to meet and shake their hands. This time he stood back and let her interact with the crowd. They then went inside the hotel to wait for the arrival of the Russian President. All the citizens were led away.
About 6pm the motorcycles arrived for the third time. No town car for this president - he was arriving by armored limo. Sarkozy and Merkel were at the end of the red carpet, awaiting his arrival together. Dmitry Medvedev exited his car, shook hands with both presidents and the band played the three national anthems. No visiting with the citizens, who had been brought back out for this final arrival, and the three presidents went back inside the hotel.

The show was over, I had witnessed modern day history and Larry had returned from the beaches. Feeling better, I decided I'd try to eat some dinner, so we walked into town to an Italian place that had been recommended by Richard. I managed to eat a little and we walked back, meeting soldiers and/or the national police at every corner. When it was time to go through the perimeter, the soldier looked at our passes and politely asked to see our passports. He carefully matched the names on the passes to our passports and looked carefully at the photos. We were allowed back inside the secure 2-block perimeter and headed home to the hotel.
Both Larry and I will remember Day 10 for a long, long time.