Each currency has its own history. This formula, which is generally short and expresses a thought, phrase, or ideal, often provides an opportunity to follow the thread of a significant event in the city with which it is associated. The editorial made you discover the slogans of Fréjus or Lyon, post today in Bayonne, Nancy, Arcachon and Le Havre.
Bayon:never soiled»
Vauban, a famous military architect, is known for his prolific work throughout France, spanning castles and impregnable sites. Bayonne is a good example. A citadel can indeed be found on the coast of the Basque Country, built by an engineer at the request of Louis XIV following military tensions with Spain. Therefore, the motto of this city is completely military.nunquam polluta:“, translating”never soiled– We quickly understand the connection with the inviolability of the place.
Nancy:If you look for trouble, you will find it»
Between the places of Stanislaus and Saint-Epvre there also grows a plant known for its magnificent flower, but above all for its thorns, the thistle. The city’s coat of arms, representing its resilience in times of conflict, would influence the creation of the motto of the city of Nancy in the 16th century.non inultus premor“or French…”if you go looking for trouble, you’ll find it“, as stated on the city’s website.
Arkakhon:Yesterday desert, today city»
The name Arcachon evokes the sun, the beach and its swimmers, but very little of the city’s youth. However, it was founded in 1857 by decree of Napoleon III and then developed in the middle of the sand dunes of the Gironde, thanks in particular to the Perrière brothers. Currency design then affects geography and city building. The website of the Historical and Archaeological Society of Arcachon states that the first mayor, Alphonse Lamarck de Pleasance, announced in 1859 upon the arrival of Napoleon III.Yesterday solitude, today city, tomorrow city“(“Heri solitudo, Hodie vicus, Cras civitas“). For the sake of modernization, the motto has been shortened to “yesterday desert, today city“.
Le Havre.I feed on the good fire, extinguish the bad»
As in the case of the city of Frejus, the motto of Le Havre is intrinsically linked to the founding of the city and, above all, to its creator. Although there was already a human presence in the area of Le Havre, it was really Francois Yères who founded the city and brought dynamism and grandeur to it. In 1517, Havre de Grasse (which would become Le Havre) was chosen by the king to build a port, after which the city’s founding charter would be signed, the encyclopedia reports. Universal. In 1520, Francis I visited the city and granted it privileges, including its own coat of arms. Thus, the city of Le Havre adopts as its symbol the royal salamander surmounted by the motto:Nutrisco and Extinguo“. Guy de Tervarent (Attributes and Symbols in Secular Art1997) states that in French it means “I feed on the good fire, extinguish the bad“. With this motto, the city of Le Havre is typical of the policy of the king who wants to be the protector of his people (put out the bad fire.paying off“) and the defender of his homeland (feeding the good fire”,nutrisco“).
Source: Le Figaro
