Lionel is in the city of Schengen in Luxembourg. He talks about the Schengen Area, a group of countries between which European citizens can pass freely, without border checks.

In New Caledonia, the last French colony, two societies continue to coexist: the descendants of the white colonists known as "Caldoches," and the native Kanaks, whose numbers were decimated by the colonists beginning in 1853.

In 1988, New Caledonia was on the verge of a civil war as the native population, the Kanaks, rebelled against economic injustice and demanded their independence. A violent incident on the island of Ouvéa prompted the French government to intervene and even bring in a SWAT team. More violence ensued as negotiations failed.

New Caledonia is still part of France and has not gained its independence despite lenghthy negotiations between loyalists and separatists. Now that the Kanak population is a minority, independence seems unlikely. For more info on New Caledonia, check out these links: https://bit.ly/3cnZgzs, https://bit.ly/2EWfOBG, https://bit.ly/2SyqOrw.

Daniel Benchimol takes us to Médan, a small town to the north of Paris. In addition to a few fifteenth-century landmarks, this town attracted famous poets and writers. Among those writers was Émile Zola, although in this video, he's featured in another capacity that might surprise you.

We continue our visit to Médan, where you will discover some perfectly preserved wash houses, among other things.

We continue our visit to Médan where Daniel Benchimol takes us to the Dreyfus Museum, inaugurated in October 2021. There, you will discover a sad part of French history when anti-Semitism was rife.

Next to the Dreyfus Museum stands Emile Zola's house, which you can also visit. The famous writer financed his estate with the proceeds from his novels, and he even named the two towers he later added after two of his novels. He also hosted many of the biggest names in French literature and art.