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Paris Nanterre University

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Paris Nanterre University (French: Université Paris Nanterre), formerly University of Paris West, Paris-X and commonly referred to as Nanterre, is a public research university based in Nanterre, Hauts-de-Seine, France, in the Paris metropolitan area. It is one of the most prestigious French universities, mainly in the areas of law, humanities, political science, social and natural sciences and economics. It is one of the thirteen successor universities of the University of Paris. The university is located in the western suburb of Nanterre, in La Défense area, the business district of the Paris area.

Paris Nanterre University
Université Paris Nanterre


Former name
University of Paris-X, University of Paris West
TypePublic
Established
  • 1964; 60 years ago (1964) (as a satellite campus of the Sorbonne)
  • 1970; 54 years ago (1970) (current legal status)
PresidentCaroline Rolland-Diamond (since 2024)
Students32,000
Location
Nanterre, France
CampusUrban, Nanterre, Ville-d'Avray, Saint-Cloud, La Défense,
75 acres (30 ha)
ColorsGrey   and   Red
NicknameNanterre
AffiliationsChancellery of the Universities of Paris
European University Association
Renater
Couperin (consortium)
Websiteparisnanterre.fr

Paris Nanterre University alumni include more than 15 cabinet officials, heads of state or government from France and around the world, like Emmanuel Macron, Nicolas Sarkozy or Dominique de Villepin. Alumni also include heads of central banks, legislators and business people, like Christine Lagarde, Dominique Strauss-Kahn or Vincent Bolloré.

History

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The Nanterre campus of the University of Paris

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The Nanterre campus was built in the 1960s on the outskirts of Paris as an extension of the University of Paris. On November 2, 1964, the Nanterre Faculty of Arts and Humanities opened as an annex to the Faculty of Arts of the University of Paris (La Sorbonne), which it relieved. It became one of the largest teaching campuses in Paris.

Nanterre became famous shortly after its opening by being at the center of the May '68 student rebellion. The campus was nicknamed "Nanterre, la folie" (Mad Nanterre) or "Nanterre la rouge" (Red Nanterre, in reference to communism).

When it was founded in 1965, Nanterre “raised great hopes” and “was to be a place of experimentation for renewed teaching, the outline of tomorrow's university”, benefiting from the contribution of “famous professors” who “voluntarily left the University of Paris to take part in the Great Adventure”.[1] Henri Lefebvre, professor of sociology from 1965 to 1968, influenced the students who initiated the May 68 movement, and then provided an on-the-spot analysis of the events.

These “great hopes” were soon disappointed. To be modern, “it's not enough to use concrete and glass”, as one student would denounce four years later, quoted by L'Express. In 1964, Nanterre was home to 2,300 students, and by 1968 it was expected to absorb 12,000.[2]

Paris-X, then the University of Paris West

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It was set up as an independent university in December 1970 as "University of Paris-X". Based on the American model, it was created as a campus (as opposed to the old French universities which were smaller and integrated with the city in which they were located). When the new autonomous university was created, the Ville-d'Avray University Technical Institute was attached to it.[3]

In 1985 and 1989, decentralized branches were founded. In 1984, the promulgation of the Savary law, which created the current university departments (UFR), led to the opening of a satellite campus in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines in 1985, followed in 1989 by the opening of another satellite campus in Cergy-Pontoise. In 1991, the University of Versailles - Saint-Quentin and the University of Cergy-Pontoise became full-authority universities.

In the 1980s and 2000s, the university was the scene of student protests. In 2008, the University of Paris-X became the "University of Paris West".

The Paris Nanterre University

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In 2016, it became "Paris Nanterre University". During the same year, the new Max Weber Humanities and Social Sciences Centre was inaugurated. It includes 1 amphitheater, several meeting rooms and 124 offices, mainly for teacher-researchers.[4]

In September 2023, five "Youth with Macron" activists were attacked by a dozen militants from the ultra-left group La Jeune Garde, who had come to put up posters for a demonstration "against police violence".[5]

In November of the same year, in reaction to the Israel-Hamas war, pro-Palestinian and anti-Semitic tags proliferated on the university campus.[6]

Campus

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Nanterre is the second largest campus in France after Nantes, with its own Olympic-sized swimming pool and a stadium. It welcomes 35,000 to 40,000 students every year in all fields of studies: Social Sciences, Philosophy, Literature, History, Languages and Linguistics, Economics, Law and Political Sciences, as well as Teacher Training, Acting, Cinema, Physiology and Sports.

The university's facilities:

  • La Contemporaine Library and Museum;
  • Le Pixel Library;
  • the Bernard-Marie Koltès Theater;
  • and the University Sports Centre.

The university is known for its speciality in the fields of Law and Economics. Even though French universities are required by law to admit anyone with a Baccalauréat, strain is put on the students from the start and the first year drop-out rate consistently hovers in the 60% region. At the postgraduate level, the university offers very competitive programs (highly selective master's degrees in Law and Business) and partnerships with some grandes écoles such as the Ecole Polytechnique, ESSEC, Ecole des Mines de Paris, and ESCP Europe among others.

The Rene Ginouves Institute for Archaeology and Anthropology (Maison de l'archeologie et de l'ethnologie Rene Ginouves) is another important institution on campus, merging the departments of the CNRS, Paris I-Panthéon Sorbonne and Paris X-Nanterre.

As in most Parisian universities, there is a large minority of foreign exchange students.

Innovative programs

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Over the years, Nanterre has developed innovative programs such as the double bilingual courses in French Law and Anglo-American, Spanish, Russian, German or Italian law; in Economics & Management (with half of the courses in French and half of the courses in another foreign language); and in History (with half of the courses in French and half of the courses in another foreign language). These programs have inspired many universities and grandes écoles throughout the country and are now renowned on a national level.[citation needed]

Nanterre Network

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The Franco-German Summer and Winter Universities with higher education institutions of third countries (Nanterre Network) are an expression of the increasing internationalization of studies and research (Erasmus program; Bologna process, EU enlargement). In legal sciences, the management of the Franco-German studies at the University of Paris Nanterre[7] plays a pioneering role in the establishment of Summer and Winter Universities. Thus, within the framework of its Europe-wide network for university cooperation (Nanterre network), in collaboration with German and other foreign partners, Summer and Winter universities have been emerging since 2004 in Central and Eastern Europe, in the Balkans and in the Mediterranean region[8] − with financial support from the German-French University (DFH/UFA), the Franco-German Youth Service and the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research (Parceco-Program). Since 2013, these tri-national Summer and Winter Universities have also extended to non-European countries.

Objectives, function and functional principles of the Summer and Winter Universities

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In September 2012, Bernard Cazeneuve, France's Deputy Minister for European Affairs and patron of the 2nd Franco-German Summer University for Energy and Environmental Law at the University of Paris Nanterre, saw in this type of Summer University a “successful” approach to bridge the lecture-free period; approach which can even be “exported” and is therefore “conducive to the prestige of Franco-German cooperation in Europe”.[9][10]

Lithuania

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The oldest trinational Summer University in Vilnius, Lithuania, focuses on EU legal harmonization. It was founded in 2004 by the University of Paris Nanterre, the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University in Frankfort on the Main and the University of Vilnius in the year of EU enlargement to countries particularly in Central and Eastern Europe. With their accession, the Baltic States were obliged to take over the entire law of the EU (acquis communautaire) and to implement the goals of the political Union as well as those of the economic and monetary Union.[11] In the first few years, this Summer University was the joint end-of-year event for two binational law schools: the German-Lithuanian Law School (Goethe University of Frankfurt) and the Franco-Lithuanian Law School (Paris Nanterre).

Belarus

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The Summer University in Minsk, founded in 2011 by the universities of Paris Nanterre, Potsdam and the Belarusian State University, is devoted to topics of general European relevance, such as “alternative dispute resolution”, “new information and communication technologies”, environmental issues and other current issues.[12] As in the EU, in the post-Soviet Community of Independent States (CIS) the tendency towards regional integration goes hand in hand with the attempt to harmonize national legal systems. Belarus is part of the Russian-Belarusian Union and a member of the (2014 contractually agreed) Eurasian Economic Union.

Balkan countries

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The Franco-German Summer University founded in 2014 by the University of Paris Nanterre and the Westphalian Wilhelms-University of Münster with the Balkan region has (for the first time in the history of these Summer Universities) an itinerant character. It takes place through several sessions with changing locations: starting in 2014 at the University of St. Cyril and Methodius Skopje (North Macedonia), the University of Pristina (Kosovo) and the European University of Tirana (UET: Albania). Since then, the scientific and intercultural dialogue between universities from EU countries (Germany, France, Greece) and from countries in the Balkans has intensified and expanded to other destinations in the region, through the progressive inclusion of new partner universities (previously Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria). Based on the self-image of both – of Western Balkan states candidate to EU accession, as well as that of the EU member states - the prospects of development of North Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro and other Western Balkan countries are discussed. The itinerant Summer University should determine to what extent the candidates already meet or will be able to meet the Copenhagen criteria for accession to the EU in the various legal areas concerned (private law, public law, private international law, international criminal law).[13]

Turkey

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Founded in January 2016 by the University of Paris Nanterre, the Friedrich Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and the University of Yeditepe Istanbul, this first German-French-Turkish Winter University in Istanbul is devoted to the theory and practice of private law enforcement. Against the background of the hesitant negotiations between the EU and the permanent candidate Turkey (which so far has at best been granted a “privileged partnership”) since 2005, this issue is of great relevance for European Union law and the law of its member states, and for Turkish law (especially for consumer law, contract law, competition law, security regulations, constitutional law, labor law, arbitration or mediation).[14] As a result of the tense domestic political situation in Turkey, the Winter University has not yet continued. After the failed coup against the Turkish president in July 2016, the state wave of cleansing did not omit the universities. The professors affected also included colleagues who were responsible for the cooperation with the French and German partner universities.

Maghreb states

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In April 2013, Paris Nanterre, Potsdam et El Manar University founded in Tunis a Franco-German-Maghrebinian Summer University on the subject of "State policy in a comparative perspective". In the context of the Arab Spring, it takes into account the needs of the countries concerned in political, economic and geostrategic terms. It applies above all to the legal aspects of public policies to promote social and economic development, as well as the democratization of the state.[15] In May 2014, at the 2nd (and provisionally last) Summer University at the Hassan II Mohameddia University in Casablanca/Morocco, the focus was on "Law versus Religion - Intersections and Possible Conflicts of Religious Norms for State Law and International Law". For the 3rd Summer University in June 2015 at the Ecole de Gouvernance et d’Economie (EGE) at the University of Mohammed VI-Polytechnique in Rabat/Morocco, the topic "Citizenship/Citoyenneté" was envisioned.

South America

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In September 2013, Paris Nanterre, the Technical University of Dresden and the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru established in Lima the first Franco-German-Peruvian Summer University on the subject of "Democracy and the rule of law".

Given the reform policies in Peru since 2011, human rights issues and strategies to promote the rule of law, the welfare state and to fight corruption are at the center of discussions. The second trinational Summer University, organized in September 2014 by the universities of San Marcos and ESAN (the first graduate school of business in Latin America), was dedicated to the topic of "Economic and cultural foundations of the constitutional state". This Summer University is not limited to the university campus, but is open to civil society by including cultural institutions such as Goethe Institute and Alliance française in its program. Above all, this Summer University has a continuing education character because it specifically offers seminars for the officials of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.[16]

Africa, Asia and Oceania

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Since 2015/2016, the Franco-German studies at the University of Paris Nanterre under the direction of Professor Stephanie Dijoux, also set up trinational Summer and Winter Universities with higher education universities and research institutions in countries in the Eastern hemisphere.[17]

Rankings

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In the QS, Paris-Nanterre University is ranked the 4th French higher-education institution in the field of arts and humanities, next to the Panthéon-Sorbonne University, Sorbonne University and the École normale supérieure de Paris, PSL University. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings considers Paris-Nanterre to be "one of the most prestigious universities in the country" and underlines the quality of its master's degree programs, its partnerships with the Grandes Ecoles, and its list of alumni.

In the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), also known as Shanghai Ranking, Paris-Nanterre University is ranked 50th in Archeology and 51st-100th in Anthropology.

Paris-Nanterre University's master's degree in Psychology is the first in France in terms of employability and professional integration, according to Parisien’s ranking in 2018.

The university offers very competitive programs with highly selective master's degrees in Law and Business. Because of the number of applications submitted each year, this University is one of the most desired French high-education institutions, ranked 3rd in France.

Notable people

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List includes notable people both alumni and faculty of the University. Alumni who also served as faculty are listed in bold font.

Alumni

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Faculty

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Nanterre in fiction

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Jacqueline Giraud (19 March 2018). "L'Express, 18 mars 1968: la révolte des étudiants". lexpress.fr (in French)..
  2. ^ Jacqueline Giraud (19 March 2018). "L'Express, 18 mars 1968: la révolte des étudiants". lexpress.fr (in French)..
  3. ^ « L'université de Paris-X est érigée en établissement public à caractère scientifique et culturel à compter du 1er janvier 1971 », d'après le Décret n° 70-1290 du 23 décembre 1970 portant érection des universités de Paris-VI et Paris-X établissements publics à caractère scientifique et culturel - Légifrance. « Les statuts de l'université Paris-Nanterre (Paris-X) sont approuvés » par Arrêté du 24 décembre 1970 APPROBATION DES STATUTS DE L'UNIVERSITE DE PARIS-NANTERRE (PARIS X) - Légifrance.
  4. ^ "Bâtiment Max Weber - Université Paris Ouest Nanterre". Ekopolis. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
  5. ^ Shaya Baldassari, Université de Nanterre : cinq militants macronistes agressés par un groupuscule d’ultragauche, lefigaro.fr, 27 septembre 2023
  6. ^ Emma Ferrand, Jeanne Paturaud et Paul-Henri Wallet, «Mort aux Juifs» : à la fac de Nanterre, l'antisémitisme prospère, lefigaro.fr, 17 novembre 2023
  7. ^ Stephanie Rohlfing-Dijoux (2015): Internationalization of studies and research: the example of the integrated Franco-German-Law curriculum at the University Paris Ouest Nanterre La Defense, in: Miscellanea Historico+Iuridica on the legal education 2015, University of Bialystok, pp. 159-170, online http://pbc.biaman.pl/Content/46865/Mis_Tom_XIII.pdf; Joachim Gruber (2013): Der deutsch-französische Studiengang der Universitäten Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense und Potsdam, in ZEuP, pp. 205–209; Otmar Seul (2003): Les cursus binationaux - une étape vers l’harmonisation des études en Europe. Le cas des cursus intégrés Paris X / Potsdam en sciences juridiques, in O. Seul, B. Zielinski, U. Dupuy (eds): De la communication interculturelle dans les relations franco-allemandes, Ed. Peter Lang, Bern, Frankfurt a. M., New York, Oxford, Wien 2003, pp. 285–310, online https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwS6msy80fPZNTczOGNiZTUtOTBjMC00MDEyLWFhZTItMTE3ZmUyODk3ZjBh/view?pli=1; Otmar Seul (2006): Interkulturelles Management im Dienste der Europäisierung von Lehre und Forschung, in : Deutsch-Französische Gesellschaft für Wissenschaft und Technik (DFGWT) (ed.): Wissenschaftliche Karrieren in Deutschland und Frankreich, Tagungsband zum gleichnamigen Kolloquium, Berlin 21./22. Oktober 2006, Bonn, DFGWT, 2006, 16 pages, online https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwS6msy80fPZMTRjN2JlYzYtNGVlZC00MmZiLTk0NGMtMGI2YmY0N2FjNzI0/view?pli=1; Otmar Seul (2010): 25 ans de formations franco-allemandes en sciences juridiques à l’Université de Paris Ouest-Nanterre-La Défense – Historique et impact international. Speech of March 18, 2010 in Paris, German translation, online http://www.uni-potsdam.de/db/dfs-jura/html/joomla/images/stories/pdf/bundesverdienstkreuz_oseul_danksagung.pdf; Otmar Seul (2013): La réussite d’un cursus intégré franco-allemand ouvert sur le monde, l’implication de toute une vie – Interview de l’ACFA (Association des Cursus Franco-Allemands des Universités Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense / Potsdam), online https://acfananterre.wordpress.com/2016/03/12/interview-otmar-seul-co-fondateur-du-cursus
  8. ^ Activités en matière d’internationalisation des études et de la recherche depuis 1989, online https://www.parisnanterre.fr/m-otmar-seul--698797.kjsp; Otmar Seul (2017) : Opening speech, Annual Meeting Nanterre network, , Porto, online http://www.uceditora.ucp.pt/resources/Documentos/UCEditora/PDF%20Livros/Porto/LAW%20AND%20INTERCULTURALISM.pdf (p. 8-11); Otmar Seul (2015): Un ́réseau international de coopération universitaire: la réussite d’un cursus intégré franco-allemand ouvert sur le monde, in Miscellanea Historico+Iuridica on the legal education 2015, University of Bialystok, p. 170-180, online http://pbc.biaman.pl/Content/46865/Mis_Tom_XIII.pdf; Un réseau international de coopération universitaire en sciences juridique et politique, online https://www.campus-mundus.eu/cooperation-universitaire-internationale, chapitre 1°.
  9. ^ Message from the Ministre délégué chargé des affaires européennes, Paris, from September 18, 2012 to Professor Otmar Seul, Université Paris Nanterre.
  10. ^ Universités d’été et universités d’hiver franco-allemandes en sciences juridiques en partenariat avec des Etats tiers, online https://acfananterre.wordpress.com/les-seminaires-et-publications/les-universites-dete/; Universités d’été/d’hiver tri-nationales des cursus franco-allemands en sciences juridiques, organisées en partenariat avec des établissements allemands et des établissements de pays tiers, online https://www.campus-mundus.eu/cooperation-universitaire-internationale, Chap. no. 3.
  11. ^ For the programs of the Summer University since 2004, see http://www.tf.vu.lt/en/international-relations/summer-schools/europos-teises-vasaros-mokykla/archive/; for the concept of the Summer University, see https://www.campus-mundus.eu/cooperation-universitaire-internationale - section 3° Genèse des Universités d'été et d'hiver tri-nationales (choix): aspects géopolitiques: Liste complète (Vilnius). Conference proceedings on the Summer University 2008 are available: Otmar Seul, Tomas Davulis (eds): La solidarité dans l’Union européenne / Solidarität in der Europäischen Union, Bern, Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, New York, Oxford, Vienna (Ed. Peter Lang) 2012, 294 p.
  12. ^ For the programs of the triational Summer University, see https://www.uni-potsdam.de/de/ls-hellmann/auslandskooperationen/belarussische-staatliche-universitaet-bsu.html. For the concept of the Summer University, see https://www.campus-mundus.eu/cooperation-universitaire-internationale - section 3° Genèse des Universités d'été et d'hiver tri-nationales (choix): aspects géopolitiques: Liste complète (Minsk).
  13. ^ The geopolitical and cultural intentions of this itinerant Summer University are presented by Professor Otmar Seul (University of Paris Nanterre), at a preparatory meeting in Bitola (North Macedonia) in July 2012, in the presence of representatives from several Balkan universities, the Kosovar Minister of Education and Science and the Montenegrin Minister of Culture. The initiator of the Summer University explains: “The innovative character of our project lies primarily in the fact that neighboring countries, whose relations have long been conflict-laden, encourage cooperation. The aspired membership in the European Union requires similar sustainable developments in these countries. Increased cooperation in the areas of social education, science and culture can therefore help the reconstruction of the region (...). Nothing is more inspiring than the history of Europe: in the end, hostile peoples have reconciled - like France and Germany, which have become the motor of European integration (...). European law has become the vector of peace in "old" Europe. It could become a guideline for the Balkan countries for the transition to the rule of law, democracy and a social market economy” (see Une Université d'été itinérante franco-allemande en sciences juridiques dans les Balkans occidentaux - un projet franco-allemand (extraits), https://www.campus-mundus.eu/forums - part «Challenges», section 1°). The Ambassadors of France and Germany in North Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and Montenegro welcomed the founding of this itinerant Summer University in joint statements in May and July 2015, as it is in line with the objectives of the Western Balkans conference held annually by the European Union (ibid; see also the opening speech of the French Ambassador in Skopje: https://mk.ambafrance.org/Ouverture-de-la-premiere). For the concept of this Summer University, see https://www.campus-mundus.eu/cooperation-universitaire-internationale - section 3° Genèse des Universités d'été et d'hiver tri-nationales (choix): aspects géopolitiques: liste complète (Les Balkans occidentaux). See the program of the last Summer University, online https://www.jura.uni-muenster.de/de/institute/lehrstuhl-fuer-oeffentliches-recht-voelker-und-europarecht-sowie-empirische-rechtsforschung/balkan-summer-school/balkan-summer-school-2018/skopje-session-programme; https://juridiku.uni-pr.edu/getattachment/fd4375c6-7d85-41fb-b244-59d07054eece/PRG_PRISTINA-Final-14-9-2018--.pdf.aspx.
  14. ^ For the program, see https://docplayer.org/7330134-Les-actions-privees-en-droit-private-rechtsdurchlassung.html; see also https://www2.mystfx.ca/sites/mystfx.ca.international-exchange/files/General%20Brochure%20Yeditepe%20University.pdf, page 42.
  15. ^ For the program and the concept of this Summer University, see https://www.parisnanterre.fr/medias/fichier/programm-tunis2013-session-ii_1366640089989-pdf; https://acfananterre.wordpress.com/les-seminaires-et-publications/les-universites-dete/; https://www.parisnanterre.fr/recherche-/droit-et-religion-a-casablanca-2eme-univ-d-ete-franco-germano-maghrebine-527961.kjsp.
  16. ^ For the concept and program of this Summer University, see https://idehpucp.pucp.edu.pe/notas-informativas/se-inauguro-universidad-de-verano-democracia-y-estado-de-derecho-en-el-campus-pucp/; Carlos Gonzales-Palacios, Thilo Rensmann, Otmar Seul, Manuel Tirard (2013): Foreword to Democracia y Estado de derecho / Démocratie et Etat de droit / Demokratie und Rechtsstaat, ed. by Carlos Gonzales-Palacios, Thilo Rensmann, Manuel Tirard, Lima, Ambassade de France au Pérou, pp. 27–31; Nahe Zeitung (Rhein-Zeitung, Koblenz) from November 11, 2013: Otmar Seul initiiert Sommer Uni-Veranstaltungen in Europa, Afrika und Übersee, p. 9.
  17. ^ Overview in preparation.
  18. ^ "Curriculum Vitæ: Alain Ehrenberg" (PDF).
  19. ^ Been, José (10 December 2021). "A chat with cyclist-philosopher Guillaume Martin". CyclingTips. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  20. ^ "Paloma Picasso: the woman behind the jewels". Vogue Australia. October 8, 2015.
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48°54′14″N 2°12′50″E / 48.90389°N 2.21389°E / 48.90389; 2.21389

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