Jewish Gaul
From Asterix to an antisemitic cause celebre, Michael Leventhal discovers Jewish heritage in northern France
I’ll make a confession: despite being a lifelong Asterix fan I had no idea, until earlier this year, that his creator René Goscinny was Jewish. I’m probably not the only person who discovered his heritage thanks to the ongoing Asterix in Britain exhibition at Camden’s Jewish Museum. With hindsight, his origins should be obvious. After all, he’s a plucky, pintsized warrior, his small tribe is constantly under attack, but somehow they always prevail and celebrate with food. They might not eat gefiltefish but the Gauls attack their feasts with a feeding frenzy you only see at the best kiddushim.
Discovering the heritage of Goscinny proved to be the tipping point: I persuaded my wife that a trip to Parc Asterix, just 30km from Paris, would be the focus of a perfect summer break. The fact that our sons, aged three and five, have also discovered the joys of Asterix was the clincher.
When I first read the cartoon books, almost 40 years ago, I never imagined I’d meet the crew. The first time we saw the life-size characters at the park was an odd moment: my two sons looked bemused rather than overjoyed when a seven-foot-tall Obelix leaned over to give them both a high five.
The park has everything you’d expect: the Romulus et Rapidus log flume; the Menhir Express monorail, the Pegasus Express Roman chariots, plus numerous both gentle and more terrifying rides mixed with ersatz Roman, Egyptian or Gaulish taverns and shops.
Another unlikely highlight was the slow boat ride that carries you past scenes from the classic books. Electronic models of exhausted, beat-up Romans, triumphant Gauls and nutty druids all wave as you float through dimly-lit caves. Yes, it’s reminiscent of Disney’s It’s A Small World but, in my opinion, Asterix smashes Mickey Mouse. Disneyland Paris is the most visited park in Europe but it probably has the longest queues too. At Parc Asterix we waltzed straight onto everything. Our children were the ideal age — and passed the minimum height tests — for more than 20 rides.
But while there is an interesting exhibition about the art and origins of Asterix, there’s no nod to Goscinny’s Jewish heritage here.
Instead, for Jewish life, we looked north to Rouen, the capital of the Normandy region. This charming city has a rich cultural heritage that uses, justly, the marketing slogan ‘medieval and trendy’.
Home to more than 50 major historic monuments, beautiful half-timbered houses (almost all reconstructions after the destruction wrought by the Second World War) and a magnificent Gothic cathedral, the key draw is still national heroine Joan of Arc: the city has the dubious distinction of being the place where she was burned at the stake.
The town’s main market square has an expansive black-tiled monu-