P A G E |1

Flix Kir

Le Chanoine

A Local
Culture
Project
`

BY ABINASH PANT, MUHAMMED USMAN, AHMED KARAM

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

NOVEMBER 3, 2013

FLIX KIR LE CHANOINE

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

FLIX KIR LE CHANOINE

sisters of which three of

them died during their
early childhood.

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

Flix was schooled in a

minor seminary in SaintBernard, 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 NotreDame 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

FLIX KIR LE CHANOINE

articles and a
countless
number of
unsigned
smaller
contributions.

The Patriot
replied Et mon cul? L'avezvous vu mon cul? Mirtesvous 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

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 fivemember 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

FLIX KIR LE CHANOINE

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
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

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,

FLIX KIR LE CHANOINE

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.
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.

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.

FLIX KIR LE CHANOINE

Cheers!

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.

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!!