The chapter of common history that deeply marked France and Germany is that of steel. Iron and coal mines, blast furnaces or spoil tips… The iron and steel industry developed in the 19th century in huge industrial areas that have changed the layout of entire regions in both countries.

Flying over the Saarland, we discover on each side of the river the same brown field land - the remains of a shared history that has left its imprint on the landscape as well as on the men. This particular industrial chapter continues to be written elsewhere today: in Germany’s Ruhr region or on the shores of the North Sea and the Mediterranean.
Yet, France and Germany have a very different approach when it comes to memories of this past: memories to be erased on the French side and those to be cherished in Germany.
AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING: French version only.