Napoleon

Two pistols that Napoleon Bonaparte once intended to use to kill himself were sold in France on July 7 for 1.69 million euros ($1.8 million), the auction house said, with the government insisting that they stay in the country as national treasures.

The Louvre museum in Paris announced on April 23 that it planned to organize yoga and sport sessions in its famed galleries as part of a city-wide cultural program ahead of the Olympics.

Apple has had its first box office flop.

"Argylle," the $200-million star-studded spy thriller from Apple Studios, debuted with $18 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates on Feb. 4. The film, directed by Matthew Vaughn, managed to lead the weekend box office, but still found little interest from moviegoers.

An anonymous marble bust picked up in a Paris art market has turned out to be a 200-year-old sculpture of a young Napoleon Bonaparte, Sotheby's said on July 1.

The auction house said the once-famous bust was going up for sale on July 5 in London, expected to fetch between £120,000 and £180,000 ($145,000 and $217,000).

“After the last two years especially, people are burned out and so we’ve got to be innovative as we go forward”

We’ve come to that…

The Greek Revolution of the 1820s was the first liberal-national movement to succeed in the Old World of Europe - after the United States, more or less at the same time as the similar liberation movements in South America (between 1811 and 1825), and before every one of the new nation-states that would soon become the norm throughout Europe.

More than 200 years after he died of his battlefield wounds in Russia, archaeologists believe they have found the remains of one of Napoleon Bonaparte's favorite generals buried in a park beneath the foundations of a dance floor.

PARIS - Serbian PM Aleksandar Vucic on Wednesday arrived in Paris, where he was welcomed by French State Secretary for European Affairs Harlem Desir outside the Les Invalides memorial complex.

After the welcoming ceremony, Vucic visited Napoleon's grave and laid a wreath at a plaque commemorating Serbian soldiers who fought as French allies in in the two Great Wars.

The summer is almost over, but I guess some of my readers have not had a chance to hit the beach, as I am still getting questions on book recommendations on Turkish politics and economy. As your friendly neighborhood economist, I am delighted to offer a few.