A different kind of red for Valentine's Day

In keeping, sort of, with the theme of the day, since many of us will be seeing "red," let's find out about another celebration that took place last fall outside of Paris, the Fête de l'Humanité, a three day rock concert featuring Iggy Pop, Grand Corps Malade, and several other acts (Sydney Morning Herald). L'Humanité, in this case, refers to a French Communist newspaper. While the organizers may have been Communists, they are French communists, which meant there was lots of cheese and champagne served under those pictures of Che Guevara.

A factor in the French political scene for a long time, the Communist French Party has not shown significant strength recently. The two Communist candidates in the last presidential election won only six percent of the vote in total, but one of them, Olivier Besancenot, was young, charismatic, and attracted a following, so more may be heard from him in the future. If you're interested in learning more, selected articles from L'Humanité are available in English.