Cause of FRENCH revolution? Cruising CANALS gets up close and PERSONAL at Fontainebleau.

Ep 15: Forced into a free mooring! Sailing to the Mediterranean Sea through French Canals and Rivers hides some horrible history beyond banks, towpaths and bridges. Travel away from the waterways to reveal the lives of more complex people than mere water gypsies. Louis XVI, Marie Antionette, "not tonight Josephine", Louis Napoleon and more, have secrets to tell. Victor Hugo, politician and novelist, captured the turmoil in his rambling book - Les Misérables, more recently the catalyst for a stage musical and big screen film. Marie Antionette, probably misrepresented, remains accused of not caring for the poor - yet she is reported to have been charitable, but fell to the antimonarchist propaganda driving a sharpened edge through the neck of sovereign France. We encounter Napoleon 1st in different guise through the fall after the rise. #travel #sailing Our Long Way Down journey is sadly interrupted to return home briefly before continuing again on our passage. Acknowledgments and links: Paris Arsenal Marina: http://www.fayollemarine.eu/en/ River Seine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seine Ecluse Port l'Anglais: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrage_%C3%A9clus%C3%A9_de_Port-%C3%A0-l%27Anglais Halte Saint Mammes: https://www.msl-tourisme.fr/en/msl-tourist-office.html Château de Fontainebleau: https://www.chateaudefontainebleau.fr/en/ Montereau Faulte-Yonne: https://www.destination-napoleon.eu/montereau-fault-yonne/?lang=en Les Miserables - Film: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1707386/ Marie Antionette: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Antoinette Napoleon : https://www.napoleon.org/en/ VNF Main Site: https://www.vnf.fr/vnf/ VNF Route Planner: http://www.vnf.fr/calculitinerairefluvial/app/Main.html French Waterways Main Site: https://www.french-waterways.com/ French Waterways Routes: https://www.french-waterways.com/practicalities/canal-depths/ European Waterways, best 6 canals: https://www.europeanwaterways.com/blog/top-6-canals-cruise-france/ Dutch Barge Association: https://barges.org/9-uncategorised/347-wg-intro Fluviacap Route Planner: http://www.fluviacarte.com/en/fluviacap Navionics: https://www.navionics.com/gbr/navionics-plus-france-lakes-and-rivers-4.html