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Flix Kir Le Chanoine

A Local Culture Project

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BY ABINASH PANT, MUHAMMED USMAN, AHMED KARAM NOVEMBER 3, 2013

The Motivation

Our fascination with Flix Kir began the day we arrived at Le Creusot. After an excruciatingly long and exhausting trip from our native country, we had planned to call it a day. All of us barely had any energy left to do anything. But then to our surprise, someone suggested that we took some time to meet our classmates and other foreign students residing here. We mustered some stamina and decided to meet at a bar nearby. After everyone had gathered, and it was time to call for

the drinks, some of the more experienced Creusotians suggested we try out the local favorite Kir. It is a white wine with blackcurrant liqueur. Even though it did not sound so appealing to our tired souls, we decided to give it a try. The waiter brought a handful of this luscious red drink; Voila, enjoy said he and kept the glasses on the table. Everyone looked skeptical at first but after the first sip, Flix Kir was on everyones lips. We were not only impressed but also fascinated by it. Moreover, all the fatigue

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seemed to fade away with a sip of this amazing drink. It marked a wonderful and memorable welcome to France. Thus Flix Kir was the obvious choice for our report.

Thirst for Knowledge

Everything about Flix Kir led to an adventure and excitement. When we started to Google him, much to our disappointment, all we found was half a page on Wikipedia. We finally figured that the only way ahead was a trip to Dijon, the place where it all began. It was the only place where all our

inquisitiveness would be answered. The excitement was sky high as we travelled to Dijon.

This was the place where Flix Kir once roamed the streets. He played a major role in the development of Dijon. There was a certain sense of privilege we felt while walking down the streets of Dijon. After collecting ourselves from the beauty of the city, we finally headed towards Lake Kir, an artificial lake created by the man himself which was later named after him. It was the perfect place to meet the locals and find out more about him.

While we tried to engage with the local people with the little French we knew, it became a known fact that he was a person very much loved and adored by the locals. Not surprisingly though, the drink Kir was mentioned time and again in our conversations with the locals about him. We discovered that Kir had a keen interest in water

sports right from his childhood who thought that a water body would serve as a great attraction for likeminded enthusiasts to enjoy water sports. Further on this quest of his biographical discovery, we were redirected to the monument of Flix Kir which was erected after his death in 1968. It was said to have been inaugurated on 24th January 1976 by the mayor at that time, Robert Poujade. This was quite a moment when we were face to face with Flix Kir. The immense size of the lake, which we found out the hard way having walked all around it for a grueling couple of hours, truly shows the love the

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locals had for their beloved mayor.

After meeting people in Dijon and with invaluable help from the local people who guided us in getting the exact information we needed, here is an attempt at a brief summary of what we learned about him.

Cannon in the Making

Kir belonged to a family from Sarrebourg in Lorraine. He was born to Pierre-Jules Kir, a railway employee and a barber, and Anne Lapipe, a dedicated housewife. Flix had two brothers and two

sisters of which three of them died during their early childhood.

Flix was schooled in a minor seminary in Saint-Bernard, and then 5 years in a bigger seminary in Dijon. In between he joined the military service for one year which proved quite fruitful later in his life. Even though he was not a brilliant student he was quite famous at telling

myths to people in the seminary. June 29th 1901 was a defining date when he was ordained as a priest.

He began his career as a curate in Auxonne and then as pastor in Dree. From 1904 onwards he worked as assistant priest at Notre-Dame de Dijon, where his sermons were highly appreciated by the people due to the power and inspiration they exhumed. He traveled a lot around Dijon

working as a pastor in various communities such as Beze and Nolay. During his tenure in Beze he volunteered in the First World War where he served the wounded as a nurse. He was discharged in 1919 as a sergeant and soon returned to his previous role as a priest. He began his political activity, mainly by performing at political meetings. He showed his talents as an orator and as a comedian, and often won people over with his incomparable sense of humor. During one such discussion with an atheist about how he cannot see god so he was not sure that he exists. He

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replied Et mon cul? L'avez-vous vu mon cul? Mirtes-vous jamais mon postrieur ? Contempltes-vous ne serait-ce qu'une seconde le fond de mon rectum? Non? Et pourtant il existe! Wherever he officiated he was remembered as a jovial priest, who was quite fond of the bottle.

On 21 November 1931 he was appointed as a cannon. Because of his pragmatic nature and his keen acumen at communicative abilities the bishop made him a chief editor of the Catholic magazine "Le Bien du Peuple". In this way he was in Dijon and was a public figure. He was among other editor of Le Bien du Peuple de Bourgogne. During the twelve years in this role, he wrote more than 750 signed editorials and

articles and a countless number of unsigned smaller contributions.

The Patriot

The Second World War was a new beginning for Kir, a life deprived of his regular church activities. When mayor of Dijon was defeated, Kir, a member of the provisional five-member city council was appointed by prefect with part of municipal administration on June 16, 1940. His main concern was to take care of the food supply. On July 5, he was charged by occupying forces for caring for refugees, migrants and prisoner of war.

German brought together 30,000 prisoners of war at the Airport of Dijon located in Longvic. Monitoring of prisoners wasn't good so anyone who wanted to escape could easily

do that. So networks were developed to aid anyone who fled by providing temporary shelter, money, clothes and food. The main role of council was to provide them with identity document, marching orders and other necessary items that could help them flee safely. It was the responsibility of Kir to sign the necessary documents and put the official stamp on it. In short span of time, a large percentage of prisoners escaped. After the war, Kir told that the number prisoners who fled were around 5500 but it is hard to find the exact figure. He was awarded a military award, Legion dHonneur due to his service during war. When some of prisoners were later nabbed again, it was found that they have papers of Cabinet of Canon

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Kir. So he was arrested on 10 October 1940 and accused of helping prisoners of war. This accusation was enough for a death sentence but during his interrogation his good faith was evident because of his behavior, which helped him escape death. He was released on 7th of December. According to Kir he had been twice sentenced to death by a military court.

Kir was now jobless and was living on his meager salary he received from reading to the masses and keeping sermons. He was arrested again on October 23, 1943. However this time man who accused him wasnt able to recognize Kir

during confrontation, so he was released. According to a story the man who accused him got stuck in verbal resistance of Kir. This story became quite popular with the locals and helped him gain more popularity.

The Mayor

When Dijon was liberated, the authority was taken in hand by the 'Committee Departmental Liberation' (CDL), a result of the Resistance. Kir along with nineteen others were in this Committee co-opted and became permanent secretary. This opened the way for Kir to further his political responsibility.

On 29 April 1945, in the first municipal elections. Kir led the tally with 54% of the vote and had won 35 of the 36 seats in the remaining. This was a new beginning for Kir. He was reelected multiple times and held this position for 23 years until his death in 1968.

From 1945 to 1967 he was a member of the General Council of the Cte-d'Or, deputy for the Cote-d'Or and the French party CRF. In the years 1953 to 1967 he was senior president of the French National Assembly.

During his tenure as mayor he took a number of initiatives. His most notable and the most personal was the construction of an artificial lake. Crossed from west to east by the waters of the Ouche, it is the only lake in the city of Dijon. The lake was inaugurated in 1964 and was later given his name. Today it is a recreational area of Dijon. It offers many activities related to the water and its wooded surroundings,

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which are crisscrossed by footpaths and cycle paths. The construction of social housing, comprehensive university campus, schools, a hospital, an indoor pool proved quite sufficient for the city. With water purification, slaughterhouse, covered wholesale market, an incinerator and new housing it worked as a brilliant idea to protect the historic city of Dijon and ward off traffic from the main town. His futuristic vision has definitely helped Dijon and it is evident even now.

The Global Citizen

Kir was very keen of twinning and pairing cities.

He twinned Dijon with about twenty other cities which includes cities like York, Dallas, Mainz, Stalingrad, Reggio Emilia and Meknes. Most of his energy was used while twinning Mainz, which he considered as his own contribution to reconciliation with the former enemy.

Stalingrad, was not twinning as whole but a friendship treaty. During the Cold War Canon Kir was on the side of Soviet Union, which is clearly shown as they took part in Nazis defeat and they devoted themselves to the World. He often took pro-soviet positions with fellow travelers

The Drink

Any report on Flix Kir is incomplete without the mention of his world renowned drink, his namesake. As a great visionary he not only wanted to create the most savory drink but

also a drink that supported the local production from Dijon and nearby cities. This was what he kept in mind when he created Kir, a drink that mixed local peasant white wine, Aligote, which is highly acidic, with the local black currant liqueur Crme de Cassis, to make a sweeter and more appealing cocktail.

Flix Kir's recipe was delicious and a huge success in Burgundy because of how the sweetness of the liqueur balanced with the acidity of the local white wine. This combination of local flavors became so popular that it spread all over France, where people eventually changed the recipe to include other regional wines and liquors.

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And as the story goes, once the French upper class finally found out about this appealing cocktail, they elevated it to royal status by substituting champagne for peasant wine hence the creation of the Kir Royale!

A few years later, in 1960, the leader of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev came to visit the city of Dijon. He invited Nikita to drink a small glass with the mayor of Dijon. Khrushchev, a heavy drinker, had brought his own bottle of vodka. Nikita could have never expected what followed next as Kir grabbed the bottle of vodka and, under the astonished gaze of the Nikita changed the vodka into a luscious red cocktail,

Double K was born. It was a mixture of cassis and vodka and white wine.

The Demise

Flix Kir died in April 1968, a few days before the infamous riots. Everyone came for his funeral the right-winged, the leftist, the atheist and the believers. It was an end of an era. He had won everyones heart with his authenticity and his eccentricity. Not many really know of him yet everyone knows his name. A man with various personality traits, each accentuating the other- just like his drink in its acidity cutting though the sweetness.

Cheers!

The more we came to know about him, the more we found out the brilliance in everything he did. His drink the Kir is living testament to this brilliance. His witty dialogues, his patriotic nature, his futuristic vision and many more anecdotes truly fascinated us. But it was time to bid adieu to this wonderful city and to Flix Kir. It was a memorable trip and Kir, the man and the drink, would definitely remain etched in our memories for eternity. As Ralph Waldo Emerson Life is a journey, not a destination, so we thought it was apt to only commemorate this enlightened journey with a glass of Kir. Cheers!!