Grand Prix de Paris

Overview

The Grand Prix de Paris is the flat race for three-year-old thoroughbreds run each June at Longchamp, founded in 1863 by the Société d'Encouragement with a prize of 100,000 francs raised by the Duc de Morny from the city of Paris and the railway companies; it became the richest and most fashionable race of the French season. The first winner was the English colt The Ranger. (Source: Wikipedia, «Grand Prix de Paris», https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Prix_de_Paris.) Winners in Marie's years, same source: 1874 Trent, 1875 Salvator, 1876 Kisber, 1877 Saint Christophe, 1878 Thurio, 1879 Nubienne.

Relevance to Marie

For Marie the Grand Prix is the high point of the Paris season and a measure of how she stands in society.

• 1874 (carnet 020). She is fifteen and does not want to leave Paris before it: «je voudrais rester pour le Grand Prix» (020.0011), and she hopes the Duke of Hamilton «viendra pour le Grand Prix» (020.0096). She goes on Sunday 14 June, but «Le Grand Prix pour moi n'est pas le Grand Prix. Seule, en voiture, ne voyant personne, ne connaissant personne» (020.0268). She keeps Le Figaro of 16 June, where the race is described (020.0306). The earlier RSR note on 020.0244 names Trent as the winner; this agrees with the Wikipedia list.
• 1876. Le Figaro «raconte le jour du Grand Prix» while the duke of Hamilton is in Paris (062.0349, reader footnote).
• 1878. She invites Mme Gavini to the Grand Prix (080.0607); the eve is spent at the circus (080.0620, 15 June, run on Sunday 16 June).
• 1880–1884. The Grand Prix is a fixed point of the Sunday calendar: the rain-soaked return of 6 June 1880 (088.0667), her wish to stay in Paris until it in 1881 (091.0467, with a reader footnote), the return with the Gavinis on 4 June 1882 (095.0134), the Sunday of 3 June 1883 with her aunt, Dina and Mme Gavini (100.0063, after the eve at the circus, 100.0058), and «le grand prix et le retour sont arrosés d'une pluie affreuse» on 8 June 1884 (104.0553).

References in Diary

• First mentioned: 1874-05-30 (020.0011). Also tagged in carnets 062, 080, 085 (1879-06-08, 1879-08-06), 088, 091, 095, 100, 104.