Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (literally "Saint John [at the] Foot of [the] Pass"; ; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France close to Ostabat in the Pyrenean foothills. The town is also the old capital of the traditional Basque province of Lower Navarre. Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port is also a starting point for the French Way "Camino Francés", the most popular option for travelling the "Camino de Santiago". The town lies on the river Nive, from the Spanish border, and is the head town of the region of Cize (Garazi in Basque). The town's layout is essentially one main street with
Pied-Noir French government's changed position towards Algeria. Until independence, Algeria was legally a part of France; after independence many felt that they had been betrayed and were now portrayed as an "embarrassment" to their country or to blame for the war. Most "Pied-Noirs" felt a powerful sense of loss and a longing for their lost homeland in Algeria. The American author Claire Messud remembered seeing her "pied-noir" father, a lapsed Catholic crying while watching Pope John Paul II deliver a Mass on his TV. When asked why, Messud "père" replied: “Because when I last heard the mass in Latin, I thought