Île-de-France

Did you know? In May 1940 Claude Simon rode with his cavalry squadron straight into a German massacre at the Meuse – he escaped; almost everyone around him did not. Soon after he was taken prisoner and broke out of the camp. Years later the trained painter shaped that horror into his greatest novel, "The Flanders Road." In 1985 it helped win him the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Did you know? When the great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa saw the films of Iran's Abbas Kiarostami, he offered one of the highest tributes one filmmaker can give another. Kurosawa, a legend of world cinema himself, saw in Kiarostami the worthy heir to the late Satyajit Ray.

Did you know? To the world Jim Morrison was the singer of The Doors. To himself he was a poet first. Even in his lifetime he self-published volumes of his own verse, such as "The Lords" and "The New Creatures" – quietly, away from the stage. The words outlived him: years after his death The Doors set music beneath his poetry recordings to create "An American Prayer."

Did you know? In 1989, French Prime Minister Michel Rocard joined Australia's Bob Hawke to oppose plans for mining in Antarctica. Their stand led to the 1991 Madrid Protocol, which bans mining across the entire continent and preserves Antarctica as a "natural reserve, devoted to peace and science".

Did you know? On 9 April 1987, Diana, Princess of Wales, opened Britain's first dedicated HIV/AIDS unit — and shook the hand of an AIDS patient, without gloves. At a time when many believed a single touch could infect you, it was a quiet revolution. With that one gesture she did more against the fear than many a public campaign.

Did you know? Deported to Auschwitz at sixteen, Simone Veil carried the tattooed number 78651 for the rest of her life. In 1974, as France's health minister, she faced an almost entirely male National Assembly to legalize abortion. The debate was venomous — swastikas even appeared on her car. She stayed composed, and passed the law that still bears her name: the "Loi Veil."

Today marks 31 years since Emil Cioran (1911–1995) passed away. Romanian-French philosopher and essayist.