NEWS FLASH: Classic Citroen Burns; Parisians React with Sadness, Optimism

Kinja'd!!! "Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
04/16/2019 at 09:25 • Filed to: Taketheoutsideline, Satire

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Late Monday afternoon, a vehicle fire suddenly broke out on Paris’s famous Ile de la Cite. Fire brigades were quickly on the scene and, after several hours of work into the evening, were finally able to declare the car – a classic Citroen — salvageable.

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The scene Monday afternoon, just as firefighters arrived.

Onlookers were kept at a safe distance, with a mixed reaction among thousands of locals and tourists: A combination of tears, confusion, and anger.

“How could this happen?” asked Italian tourist Giuseppe Palazzo. “I did not know French cars were so much like Italian cars. We truly are all alike in this world.”

Automotive historians quickly took to social media to explain the significance of Citroen to the world, including a long history of innovation and uniqueness that has remained unmatched in much of the automotive world, even today.

As the fire became contained Monday night, Parisian Mayor Anne Hidalgo announced that the city would rebuild the vehicle exactly as before, but with additional improvements such as braided steel fuel and brake lines. “We Parisians have never been known to stand idly by and let our city be overrun by disaster.”

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From a distance, the smoke can be seen billowing up from behind a church.

Just minutes after the flames were extinguished, insurance inspectors announced the car was actually an early 1980s Citroen Dyane, not a classic 2CV as previously believed. The collective sigh of relief from the crowd reignited the flames, destroying the remains of the vehicle and injuring two firefighters.


DISCUSSION (6)


Kinja'd!!! Maxima Speed > Ash78, voting early and often
04/16/2019 at 09:35

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This was edgey  and golden at the same time. I had to stifle back laughs at the last line 


Kinja'd!!! Ash78, voting early and often > Maxima Speed
04/16/2019 at 09:39

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Yeah, a little cheesy, but I wrote this in 15 minutes this morning so I could avoid actually working.


Kinja'd!!! ttyymmnn > Ash78, voting early and often
04/16/2019 at 09:45

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As for Notre Dame de Paris, here is an excellent piece from this morning’s NYT that brings some perspective to the fire .

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/15/world/europe/notre-dame-france-fire.html


Kinja'd!!! Ash78, voting early and often > ttyymmnn
04/16/2019 at 09:50

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The what now? Holy crap! /s

Honestly, we often talk about people having no perspective of evolutionary or geological timescales. I don’t think we even have perspective on stuff that happened 75 years ago (ie, a ton of European architecture was destroyed; places like Canterbury Cathedral avoided bombing by going dark every night, then lighting barrels on fire nearby so the Nazis thought it was in flames. Others were far less fortunate, especially on the continent ).

To put it in terms today’s culture can understand, this will turn out to be the equivalent of a kitchen renovation in your house.


Kinja'd!!! davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > ttyymmnn
04/16/2019 at 10:00

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It sure is nice of Salma Hayek’s husband to chip in for the rebuilding. 


Kinja'd!!! ttyymmnn > Ash78, voting early and often
04/16/2019 at 10:34

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To put it in terms today’s culture can understand, this will turn out to be the equivalent of a kitchen renovation in your house.

But just on a much larger scale. I think it’s important for people to realize, myself included, that the cathedral we see today is by no means what it has looked like it’s entire life, at least not on the inside. And there’s where the article helps to put yesterday’s fire in perspective. And with all the turmoil in France right now, perhaps this is a fire they needed, if not one they wanted.