# Things I like about France



## Karl89 (Feb 20, 2005)

On a lighter note -

Edith Piaf
Remy Martin Extra Parfais
Hermes ties
Julie Delpy
Victor Hugo
Rene Descartes
Old Citroens
Bernard-Henri Levy
Taillevent
TGV
Nimes
Montesquieu's L'esprit des Lois
Place de L'Etoile
force de frappe
La Chanson de Roland
The Roland surface to air missile
Juliette Binoche

Feel free to add your favorites.

karl


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## Roy_h (May 11, 2005)

Sophie Marceau
Berluti
Aubercy
Corthay
Laetitia Casta


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## Badrabbit (Nov 18, 2004)

Louis XIII (the cognac not the king)
Charvet

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Women thrive on novelty and are easy meat for the commerce of fashion. Men prefer old pipes and torn jackets. 
Anthony Burgess


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## Kav (Jun 19, 2005)

We used to have a marvelous bakery on Ventura Blvd just over in the San Fernando valley. The ladies were from Normandy and cooked croissants and pastrys so good an Air france van arrived every morning for a supply. The speaker played Joni James and Edith Piaf and posters by Tollouse- Lautrec adorned the walls. On June 6th I went in and paid for my coffee and croissant with a $10 and a note of allied invasion script, square with the tricolour printed on it. The women started to cry, handed me back the $10, kept the script and poured a totally unlicensed libation of armanac for us all. The central american housekeepers, a punker in mohawk and 3 bankers looked on without a clue.


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## Curator (Aug 4, 2005)

The marble and brass that line the McDonalds on the Champs D'Elysees

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## Vettriano Man (Jun 30, 2005)

I am quarter French from my mother's side. I admire the hearty way the French get things done - no nonsense and sometimes en masse - like their ability to call a revolution and get rid of a corrupt monarchy, easy as that - off with their heads. 

The British,_ bless,_ and I say this with respect as a three quarter Brit, (Welsh/Scottish/English), they love to procrastinate with words for years and years and never get around to staking the heart of the issue, whereas the French *just do it* (whatever the issue) - grasping the nettle without inhibitions and with absolute pride. However, please don't misunderstand me - I am appalled and disgusted by the violence used in the current conflict and I trust that my comment isn't considered bad taste at such a time.

Edited: I now realize the topic is more about France than the French, so I would add that I have a passion for the daily open air food markets, particularly the fish markets, and the boulangeries selling every conceivable type of bread and pastry.


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## 16128 (Feb 8, 2005)

Kav, that reminds me of the spring I visited Normandy - what an amazingly friendly area and wonderful people. I had camped on the cliffs with a bunch of Cub/Boy Scouts from all over since a friend of mine was a scout leader and enlisted our help corralling and cooking for the kids.


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## EL72 (May 25, 2005)

15. Charvet
14.Small drugstores
13. Veuve Clicquot
12. Charles Aznavour
11. Croque Monsieur
10. Mille feuilles and most any pastries
9.That you can buy virtually any cheese (Bleu de Bresse, Rocquefort...)in small individual portions
8. Anne Sinclair []
7. Steak frites
6. Le jardin des tuileries
5. Baguette/ficelle
4. L'Avare de Moliere
3. Joe Dassin
2. My old Aunt Alice - God bless her!
And the number one thing I like about France is ........

that it's 5,000 miles away!


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## jbmcb (Sep 7, 2005)

Jean-Pierre Jeunet
FranÃ§ois Truffaut
Jean Reno
Pastries in general (Napoleons, Croissants, etc...)
Chocolate mousse
Stereolab
Hot air balloons
Marie Curie
Seurat, Rodin, Monet
Brie, Roquefort


Good/Fast/Cheap - Pick Two


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## Kav (Jun 19, 2005)

I was stationed in Tillamook Bay Oregon. It was a pretty miserable tour of duty. I was one of 3 californians and the oregon native majority, both on the lifeboat station and in town were decidedly hostile. That, and Tillamook cheese in these huge bricks 3 times a day 7 days a week didn't help. Somehow I stumbled on the recruiting address for le legion etranger and, in a moment of dispair wrote them. Within a few weeks this magnificient watermarked and stamped letter came with a recruiting poster, pamphlet giving all the recruiter depots and a personal letter explaining the benefits after 7 years service with citizenship, the option of assuming my true name again, a total disinterest in my present obligations and the cryptic comment brie was better for the palate than le Tillamook. I immediately began brushing up my high school french rereading le Petit Prince, acquired flight charts from Group Astoria Airstation and salvaged several weather balloons. The base CPO relented and gave us californians liberty after 47 straight days of bar patrol and midwatches and granted my transfer to the godless realm of San Francisco, where I arriveed on Bastille Day via Greyhound singing the Marseisse next to a Hare Krishna devotee. Freedom in my homestate[8]!


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## crazyquik (Jun 8, 2005)

24 Hours of Le Mans

red wines

baguettes

Melissa Theuriau

Alizee

Chapius double rifles

and of course Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roche Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette


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## Rich (Jul 10, 2005)

A lot of what I like about France is already only a memory. The Deux-Chevaux, the Citroen DS, Solex mopeds, the smell of French tobacco, girls in navy pleated skirts and tight buns (not a spelling mistake - I'm talking about hair), small provincial family-run restaurants with neat waitresses in frilly aprons, two-hour lunch breaks, LÃ©o FerrÃ©, Serge Gainsbourg... a lost world. Fortunately thereâ€™s still the French flag â€“ a perfect balance of colour and form â€“ and the French national anthem.


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## Curator (Aug 4, 2005)

Corot, Daubigny, Diaz de la Pena, Millet, Courbet etc, all of whom I am studying this term.

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## Rich (Jul 10, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by Curator_
> 
> Corot, Daubigny, Diaz de la Pena, Millet, Courbet etc, all of whom I am studying this term.
> 
> ...


Lucky you - I suppose you know the MusÃ©e d'Orsay in Paris. If not get there ASAP.


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## Literide (Nov 11, 2004)

Pro;
Hermes Ties
Berluti Shoes
Shipton & Heanage paris collection
My French Grandmother

Con;
The French political class


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## Curator (Aug 4, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by Rich_
> Lucky you - I suppose you know the MusÃ©e d'Orsay in Paris. If not get there ASAP.


Know it but unfortunately haven't been, hope to get there in the Spring. This week's essay is on Daubigny, Troyon, Dupre, Jacque and the other lesser Barbizons if you care.

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## Rich (Jul 10, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by Curator_
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Great stuff.


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## zegnamtl (Apr 19, 2005)

What is there not to love about France?
You can't go and not fall in love and be completely mesmerized,
Unless there is no blood in your veins!
One of the great destinations.


Badrabbit wrote:

Louis XIII (the cognac not the king)

yet again, you are a man of great taste!


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## tom22 (Feb 19, 2004)

I love virtually everything about France. Of course the last time I was there I was deeply in love with a Smith college girl taking her junior year in Paris. My French was lousy but everyone treated me well because I was wearing a couple of Arthur Rosenberg suits (from New Haven) and knew a couple of phrases and had a good accent. My gosh the city was so lovely. So perfect for a left bank romance, walks along the Seine and all. Oh what did Heminway say? Paris was always worth the journey. it rewarded you for whatever you brought to it. I was very young and very poor and very happy. and all of you punks who have never been there, no nothing about europe, no nothing about culture, no nothing about history and hate the french,
well fold it five ways and stick it where the moon don't shine. you have no life, and never will.


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## Karl89 (Feb 20, 2005)

Tom,

Easy does it big fellow, easy does it.

Karl


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## jbmcb (Sep 7, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by tom22_
> and all of you punks who have never been there, no nothing about europe, no nothing about culture, no nothing about history and hate the french, well fold it five ways and stick it where the moon don't shine. you have no life, and never will.


I know how to spell 'know' (sorry, couldn't resist,) and I'm pretty sure the skiing is better in British Columbia, but that's just my set of priorities 

Good/Fast/Cheap - Pick Two


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## Curator (Aug 4, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by jbmcb_
> I'm pretty sure the skiing is better in British Columbia.


Thoroughly agreed, Whistler is a pretty special place.

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Ruskin was right...

www.williamlcoleman.com


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## Vettriano Man (Jun 30, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by Badrabbit_
> 
> Louis XIII (the cognac not the king)


It's all thanks to him that Versailles exists at all - it was a mere hunting lodge when he first built it and it became the small central core of the overpowering palace built by his son, the Sun King! The seventeenth century was the best period for rich strong furniture design and tapestries in my view, but it all became too 'delicate' after that under Louis XV and XV1.


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## crazyquik (Jun 8, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by tom22_
> 
> well fold it five ways and stick it where the moon don't shine


7 ways!


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## Kav (Jun 19, 2005)

NOOOOOOOOO! Let the unwashed masses cling to jingoistic, xenophobic and parochial world views. Less tourists at the magic places


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## Murrah (Mar 28, 2005)

crazyquik is right on...Melissa Theuriau is amazing.


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## AMVanquish (May 24, 2005)

What about Patrick Hernandez's "Born t be Alive?"


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## Film_Noir_Buff (Mar 3, 2005)

I love french girls. They can do so much and always straddle the line between sexy without being cheap. And of course there's the accent.

Im half french. My father says we can trace our line/crest back to the battle of Agincourt. We were certainly stripped of our titles by the revolution, had them restored under the restoration, and then saw them slowly disappear from view.

Ive always been fascinated with the norman knights (with all English/French chivalry generally) and like to fancy myself with the same attitude the Norman knights were disposed of.


The country is pretty, the food is good and the young people want to be our friends more than the French government would have America believe.


____________________
Get In Touch With Your Sartorial Chi.


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## maxnharry (Dec 3, 2004)

All of the above and:

1. Smash sandwiches in Toulon


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## AlanC (Oct 28, 2003)

Breuer ties
de Tocqueville
help during the American War of Independence



> quote:_Originally posted by Vettriano man_
> 
> I am quarter French from my mother's side. I admire the hearty way the French get things done - no nonsense and sometimes en masse - like their ability to call a revolution and get rid of a corrupt monarchy, easy as that - off with their heads.
> 
> The British,_ bless,_ and I say this with respect as a three quarter Brit, (Welsh/Scottish/English), they love to procrastinate with words for years and years and never get around to staking the heart of the issue, whereas the French *just do it* (whatever the issue) - grasping the nettle without inhibitions and with absolute pride.


Hmmm. That seems to me to be an almost complete misreading of history.


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## Horace (Jan 7, 2004)

> quote:_Originally posted by Film_Noir_Buff_
> 
> I love french girls. They can do so much and always straddle the line between sexy without being cheap. And of course there's the accent.
> 
> ...


FNB: do you have a French first name?

The reason I asked is that it all just clicked: former preppy, cosmopolitan dresser, good with the ladies, and 1/2 French. Unless there are two of you like that in New York (which is entirely possibly).


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## Vettriano Man (Jun 30, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by AlanC_
> Hmmm. That seems to me to be an almost complete misreading of history.


AlanC: Please explain what you mean. Don't misunderstand me - I am referring to the spirit of humanity rather that the results of historical events and I learned my French history in great detail from my grandmother - right up to and including her own experiences of the occupation. We always discussed in French - such a beautiful lyrical language.


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## zegnamtl (Apr 19, 2005)

FNB,

I love french girls. They can do so much and always straddle the line between sexy without being cheap. And of course there's the accent.

The country is pretty, the food is good and the young people want to be our friends more than the French government would have America believe.

~~~~~

So true, well said.

I think every woman in N.A. should spend two weeks in France,
a prerequisite for graduating from college!

In the end, who really wants to fight and dispise others all day long?


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## Film_Noir_Buff (Mar 3, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by zegnamtl_
> 
> FNB,
> 
> ...


I think France suffers from the same angst that a lot of European countries suffer from with the USA. Loss of lime light and a subsequent fear of assimilation. The French girls always loved the American guys, when they can meet themand the reverse is also true. Im sure American women wouldnt want the competition.

England is in the unique position of being a favored nation, (anyone else noticed how much easier it is to receive goods form England now that theyre fighting alongside u in Iraq?)and being a founder and now a sibling. A common language etc. I wouldnt be surprised If England becomes part of the USA in the next 100 years.

____________________
Get In Touch With Your Sartorial Chi.


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## Film_Noir_Buff (Mar 3, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by Horace_
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nope, first name isnt french. Must be some other rakish devil.

____________________
Get In Touch With Your Sartorial Chi.


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## Karl89 (Feb 20, 2005)

FNB,

There will always be an England. I doubt that the UK will ever become part of the US (I wouldn't be shocked if the Western Canadian provinces joined the US in the next 50 years however highly unlikely). However I do think that the EU may fall apart and the UK along with Ireland and perhaps the Netherlands joining some sort of free trade area with the US and Canada.

But if Europe doesn't start having children at a drastically higher rate then considerations such as trade and politics won't matter as much because demographic trends point to a Muslim Europe. What will this mean? I don't know, could be a brutal theocracy or something more akin to a secular Muslim society like Turkey. Maybe Islam will have its Reformation (but alas there will be no Muslim equivalient of the Jesuits to lead the Counter-reformation!!!), maybe not, but Europe will be a very different place if things continue at their current pace.

So my advice to Europe - have more children! How do you spend those seven weeks of holidays anyway? Perhaps we could help by establishing NBA franchises in Europe, something, anything to help with your fertility rates!

Karl


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## Des Esseintes (Aug 16, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by Film_Noir_Buff_
> 
> I love french girls. They can do so much and always straddle the line between sexy without being cheap. And of course there's the accent.


Very well put and particularly true for the 'educated classes' - while this should not be such a surprise, I continue to be appalled by the current fashion for 'chav styles', alternatively called 'white trash fashion' or similar revealing terms, even - or rather, particularly - among very well educated girls from good and well-established families. I don't believe such excrescences of what people believe to be 'ironic' takes on style will ever appeal to the French - and that, in my opinion, is something to be lauded indeed.

A few other things I like about France:
French Baroque music - Lully, Charpentier, Campra et al)
Burgundy wines - the whites even more than the reds
Alsace rieslings - the Germans still produce the best Rieslings of all but the Alsace rieslings have a very distinct style I sometimes like very much
The great Paris hotels - George V, Plaza Athenee, Crillon and a few more
Creed - yes, I know, they were originally from the mighty island but still I would always count them as French
Verlaine's poems
The winding scenic routes along the Cote d'Azur - great for a tour in your convertible (a la 'To catch a thief')
The Restaurant Moulin de Mougins - well, probably quite a few great restaurants but this one in particular
Hermes - not very imaginative but their leather goods are still unmatched in terms of combining highest quality leathers, excellent craftsmanship and a very stylish yet not too outlandish design

... there's probably much more but this should suffice for the moment.

dE

"...there is a difference between an urn and a chamber pot..."


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## ChubbyTiger (Mar 10, 2005)

Wine from Burgandy
Food from Provence (sp?)
Melissa Theuriau

The combination of the three would make for quite the fabulous meal.

CT


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## Patrick06790 (Apr 10, 2005)

I like France just fine. I even remember my high school French enough to sputter along.

Their politicans are pretty awful, but that's hardly unique to France.


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## TheSaint (Jun 28, 2005)

Yes FNB....French Girls are oh so NICE!!


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## CaliforniaDreamer (Nov 17, 2005)

Chateau La Gontrie (my uncle's winery in Bordeaux)
Bouillabaise at a harbourside restaurant in Marseille
Shakespeare and Co Bookshop by the Seine
Normandy cider
The flea market in Lyon
Le Tour
The original 2CV (not the current monstrosity)
The memoirs of Marcel Pagnol
Daniel Pennac's "scapegoat" novels
Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources
The Musee d'Orsay
Cyrano de Bergerac (he gives us all hope)
Charvet at Place Vendome
Asterix




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"If one takes pride in one's craft, you won't let a good thing die. Risking it through not pushing hard enough is not a humility." - Paul Keating


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## gmac (Aug 13, 2005)

> quote:
> 
> I think France suffers from the same angst that a lot of European countries suffer from with the USA. Loss of lime light and a subsequent fear of assimilation. The French girls always loved the American guys, when they can meet themand the reverse is also true. Im sure American women wouldnt want the competition.
> 
> England is in the unique position of being a favored nation, (anyone else noticed how much easier it is to receive goods form England now that theyre fighting alongside u in Iraq?)and being a founder and now a sibling. A common language etc. I wouldnt be surprised If England becomes part of the USA in the next 100 years.


Why do Americans constantly believe that Europeans have some sort of inferiority complex toward the United States? It simply isn't true. You should try visiting Paris or Marseille, London or Glasgow, Berlin, Rome or anywhere else in Europe - very few people fret about American hegemony, if indeed such a thing exists. I'm sure most people look forward to the end of the current US administration but, judging by the polls, that is something they share with most Americans.

The French girls always loved American guys? Rather sweeping statement, no? I'm sure some do, some probably don't, much the same as American women and French men (who are famed as great lovers, not something American men have ever been accused of).

I presume when you talk of England you are actually referring to the United Kingdom. There is more chance of Britain becoming part of the moon in the next 100 years than the United states. Why do you think the British would ever wish to put themselves at the whim of Americans when Europe is so much more our speed. Think about womenâ€™s rights, gun control social responsibility, the environment, religion, etc. â€" your average Briton has a lot more in common with someone from Holland or France than with the residents of Kansas or Mississippi.

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## Roy_h (May 11, 2005)

The British, German and Dutch youth all like to go bozing in Spain and Greece


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## gmac (Aug 13, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by Roy_h_
> 
> The British, German and Dutch youth all like to go bozing in Spain and Greece


Their parents tend to prefer France though.....

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## Horace (Jan 7, 2004)

> quote:_Originally posted by tom22_
> 
> I love virtually everything about France. Of course the last time I was there I was deeply in love with a Smith college girl taking her junior year in Paris. My French was lousy but everyone treated me well because I was wearing a couple of Arthur Rosenberg suits (from New Haven) and knew a couple of phrases and had a good accent. My gosh the city was so lovely. So perfect for a left bank romance, walks along the Seine and all. Oh what did Heminway say? Paris was always worth the journey. it rewarded you for whatever you brought to it. I was very young and very poor and very happy. and all of you punks who have never been there, no nothing about europe, no nothing about culture, no nothing about history and hate the french,
> well fold it five ways and stick it where the moon don't shine. you have no life, and never will.


Though brief, Tom22's post summed up many of my feelings. A few phrases (now much much better), a decent accent (most of the time I think), and well-dressed, which never hurts.

Hemingway said something like if you were lucky enough to live in Paris as a young man, it follows you for the rest of your life, for Paris is a moveable feast,

I've got a lot of observations. I tend to take my holidays or vacations mixed with a bit of work and stay in one country or city for several months, if I can manage.

I have a lot of great things to say about the French -- with reservation -- I'd say they are one of the most civilized people (at least Parisians) in the world. If you understand that they think the same, you're half way to understanding them. They really do care about "the moment" and those little things -- and I've always found them to be sincere in making sure that your meal or your bread or your pastry or coffee is a good one.

This time, I've gone to mostly small bistros. I had, earlier -- much earlier -- done very haute cuisine but give me a fresh omellette, salade, and a few pieces of fresh-baked bread and I am fine.

To be sure there are a few things that I simply cannot brook about French culture -- but for the most part -- I wouldn't change it.

My only regret is that I'm not fluent.


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## Sir Henry Billingsgate (Dec 14, 2005)

Naked women at the beach in St. Tropez.


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## LabelKing (Sep 3, 2002)

Their luggage makers
Their insouciance
Smoking
Le Chic
'40s French style
Yves Saint Laurent
Haute couture
Their love of luxury and aesthetics

*"In truth, I am not altogether wrong to consider dandyism a form of religion."

Charles Baudelaire*


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