Jackie Kennedy wants to bring the Mona Lisa to the United States. Louvre curators fear the journey could damage it. How does a former student of French, with no elected office, help turn a dinner promise into a national art loan?
In this episode of Extraordinary Lives in France, follow Jackie from her year in Paris to her work at the White House, her friendship with André Malraux and the painting’s journey in 1962–63. Listen in clear, slow French, with useful expressions explained as the story unfolds and French and English subtitles in the video version.
Would you like to discuss this story in a small French conversation group? Join the interest list here: https://tally.so/r/0Q4DqZ
Expressions in this episode:
- la soif de connaissances — a thirst for knowledge
- le patrimoine — cultural heritage
- un prêt — a loan
If you enjoyed this episode, listen next to Julia Child’s story about the French meal that changed her life.
Photo credit: Mona Lisa photograph by Fred Romero, cropped for video, CC BY 2.0: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leonardo_da_Vinci_-_Mona_Lisa_(31319341901).jpg | License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
Other archival images: Wikimedia Commons, JFK Presidential Library and Museum, and Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Music: “Cafe Regrette” by Asher Fulero.
#JackieKennedy #SlowFrench #LearnFrench #FrenchListeningPractice
