Cocorico à Washington

 2 heures      env. 3 km

Tour garanti à partir de 4 personnes. Taille maximale du groupe : 12 personnes.

Si vous souhaitez un tour privé, envoyez un email à dorothee@washingtonenfrancais.com avec la date souhaitée et le nombre de personnes participant au tour. Nous reviendrons vers vous sous 48 heures.

This guided walking tour of Washington, DC, in French, highlights the history of Washington and its connections to France since the Revolutionary War. History, architecture, and politics are explored as you tour the White House and the Washington Monument.

But why “Cock-a-doodle-doo in Washington”? Ultimately, it’s very simple: without Lafayette’s influence at the French court, Louis XVI would not have helped the American rebels with money, weapons, and men to fight against England. Also because without a French urban architect, the American capital would be nothing more than a gridded city with no more soul than a slice of melted cheese.

During this guided tour in French , we will make room for history, the history with a capital H but also that of little stories. There is no doubt that once you return to France*, you will remember the Place Lafayette located in front of the White House, the French heroes Lafayette and Rochambeau, but especially L’Enfant, the architect-engineer-urban artist you had never heard of before this Cocorico tour (yes, we are insisting heavily!) 

Let’s take on the chauvinistic spirit of Cocorico in Washington

Today, we’re playing on words and that chauvinistic spirit so often criticized among us, the French. Seen from America, we’re often presented as “chauvinistic, grumbling, and arrogant.” If you want to know more, take a look at this article ! Yet, we have every right to shout “cock-a-doodle-doo” because the American rebels needed the help of a powerful ally to defeat perfidious Albion.

Americans are not mistaken, since his statue has stood opposite the White House for over a century. Without his ardor in combat here, and his pleas to King Louis XVI, the rebels would never have won their war against England. France could even be said to have been the United States’ first ally.

Lafayette distinguished himself several times at the head of his American troops, and American historians recognize his undeniable influence on the fate of the war. On this side of the Atlantic, he is a hero, often called “The Hero of Two Worlds.” Less recognized in France, one biographer called him “The Herald of Liberty”!