On Bastille Day in 2023 the French icebreaking cruise ship Le Commandant Charcot arrived at the North Pole with a band playing “La Marseillaise.” The author described passengers, outfitted in matching parkas, idling at the pole: “After an hour of taking selfies and building snow igloos in the icescape, with temperatures in the relatively balmy low 30s, we head back into our heated sanctuary for mulled wine and freshly baked croissants. Mission accomplished. Flags planted. Now, lunch.”
