Strasbourg, France, likes to think of itself as the Capital of Europe, a city at the intersection of many histories and cultures, sitting along a historic boundary river and more, but its best claim to the title is as the seat of the European Parliament.
The Parliament building, and some other European institutions including the Human Rights Court, occupy quite impressive buildings, not far from the Rhine, and within sight of Germany. When the European Union’s ancestor, the Coal and Steel Community, was formed in 1950, Strasbourg was seen as the site of reconciliation between its two strongest members, Germany and France.
A 1950 cartoon shows the France and German removing barriers between French steel and German coal, and smoking a peace pipe next to a stone that translates as “Here is where the hatchet was buried”
But it’s very much a part-time capital. If you were to compare it to Washington, DC, it would have only the Capitol; the White House would be in Brussels and the Supreme Court in Luxembourg.
But being part-time doesn’t diminish either the symbolism or the importance; unlike all the other European institutions, the Parliament doesn’t represent the 27 member states; its members are chosen in local elections across the continent, and vote not on instructions from their governments but based on their politics. Greens from all over sit together; there are center-left and center-right blocs, and left and right groupings.
On previous visits to Strasbourg, I hadn’t made the trek to the outskirts to visit, but I’m glad I made it this time. Approaching the building, above, looked a bit unpromising, but it turns out just to be a construction site for commercial buildings next door. After passing through a simple security check, I was able to enter this impressive courtyard.
And I had a chance to watch a maintenance crew at work assembling or reassembling a fountain given to the Parliament by the city of Wroclaw, Poland.
As someone who’s visited numbers of public buildings in the past few years, I’m used to a sense that someone, usually quite a few someones, is watching. It was a surprise, therefore, to find this simple sign telling me where to start the ‘Circuite Visite’ and almost no barriers anywhere other than the sort of ropes that separate lines at the airport. Not complaining, just surprised!
Inside, some rather odd seats; they seemed more Star Trek than Parliament. With them, a useful model of the buildings and an image from their construction.
The design of the building, completed in 1999, is generally light and airy, with a mix of indoor spaces with areas open to light from above. While much of it avoids heavy ‘formality,’ it’s clearly a seat of power.
The first stop on the self-guided visitor circuit was an exhibit on the history of the EU’s founding as the Coal and Steel Community, after a speech by French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman calling for Europe to unite. Coming only five years after the end of World War II, and with much of Europe’s industry in ruins, the speech was a closely-guarded secret until it was given.
In fact, the secret was so well-kept that French radio and television didn’t bother covering it, and he had to repeat it the next day for a recording. But action on it moved quickly, and in only a few months the original members, including Italy and the Benelux countries as well as Germany and France had signed on.
“Schuman Plan: the First Step” “Now we are already 155 million!”
In a foretaste of Brexit 70 years later, a contemporary cartoon pointed out the UK’s non-participation in the new Coal and Steel Community.
Brexit appeared again along the visitor path, in an exhibit lobby that featured the flags of the member nations. A close look at the stand shows the now-plugged hole that formerly held the staff of the British flag.
Exhibits throughout the visit focus on explaining the role of the EU and its various bodies; that aspect of the tour made clear how many different bodies, councils, courts and more are part of the EU’s governing structure. Other exhibits focused on the impact of EU programs on member states, and one paid tribute to Simone Veil, the French human rights campaigner who was president of the Parliament.
And, of course, there is a gift shop and a cafe. Unfortunately, the cafe was not open when I visited; it looks lovely.
The visitor circuit arrives eventually at the hall of the Parliament itself, called the ‘Hemicycle.’
Visitors enter through doors that are at the end of short bridges to the wooden structure; members and staff enter through doors below.
There are over 700 members of the Parliament, as well as staff and presiders, so the space is big. Booths built into the walls include those for the interpreters who provide simultaneous translation for all 24 official EU languages used in the chamber (only English, French and German are used in internal papers; they are called the ‘procedural languages.’) The visit to the chamber comes with an audioguide that can be selected in any of the 24 languages.
And congratulations to George G, who recognized our One-Clue Mystery this week from our title photo!
