The race restarts at
Reims, heading initially South-East towards (but not quite reaching)
Vitry-le-Francois, on 18 June 1961 site of the deadliest terrorist attack in France prior to the Paris attacks of 2015. A train was derailed by the OAS, with 28 killed. The town was built from scratch in 1545 on the orders of King Francis, hence the name. It was established to replace another Vitry (en-Perthois, or le-brulé) destroyed in 1544 by the Spanish. The salamander no doubt reflects the re-birth, though the new town was not built on the site of the old one.
Turning East the route heads for
Bar-le-Duc. Bar was a quasi-independent duchy from 1354 to 1480 owing fealty to both the Holy Roman Emperor and the King of France. From 1508 to 1737 the Duchy was combined with that of Lorraine. For a short time in the 18th century the Duke was the deposed King of Poland, Stanislaus Leszczynski. The arms consist (dexter) of the ancient canting arms of the Dukes and (sinister) of three
pensées au naturel (pansies proper), the origin of which I have yet to discover.
The problem with pansies "au naturel" is that - as every gardener knows - pansies come in all sorts of colours. This has foxed many an heraldic artist it seems, as I have discovered the arms with yellow, white and purple flowers, and there may well be more. The fish in the arms of Bar are known in France as "bars" (hence the cant), which in English would be "bass".
From Bar-le-Duc the route continues eastward, passing South of the Argonne and Saint-Mihiel, where the US army came to grips with the Germans in the Autumn/Fall of 1918.
The finishing line is at
Nancy, historical capital of the Duchy of Lorraine, whose arms appear as the chief in the city's coat of arms. The thistle, as well as the motto
Non Inultus Premor (I am not touched with impunity) relate to the many unsuccessful attempts by France and Burgundy to wrest control of Lorraine from its rulers. France eventually prevailed in 1766, losing parts to Germany in 1871 and regaining them after WW1. The chief consists of: 1) Kingdom of Hungary, 2) Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, 3) King of Jerusalem, 4) King of Aragon, 5) Duchy of Anjou, 6) Duchy of Guelders, 7) Duchy of Jülich, 8) Duchy of Bar; inescutcheon: Lorraine (ancient arms). All except the inescutcheon were in fact elements of the arms of King Ferdinand of Aragon, who seems to have managed to combine the rule of Lorraine with that of much of the rest of Europe.