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Prince Sixtus Enrique of Parma

b. 1940

Born
22 Jul 1940, Pau
Country of birth
France

Living person. The family sees only the name, dates and photo; everything else stays private unless they choose to share it.

facts
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sources
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Facts and their sources

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A life in time

  1. Born · Pau

    Birth, Pau

What was it like?

The world around Pau, 1940: who ruled, who else was alive, how people lived. This is general history, not a record about the family, and every item shows where it comes from.

Prince was born the same year as John Lennon, Pelé, and Bruce Lee.

Born the same year

  • John Lennon

    British musician (1940–1980)

  • Pelé

    Brazilian footballer (1940–2022)

  • Bruce Lee

    Hong Kong–American martial artist and actor (1940–1973)

  • Jair da Costa

    Brazilian footballer (1940–2025)

  • Al Pacino

    American actor (born 1940)

  • Wangari Muta Maathai

    Kenyan environmentalist and politician who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 (1940–2011)

Fashion

One pair of shoes every four years

Under strict rationing during the 1940s, a woman was entitled to only one pair of flat shoes that had to last four years. To cope with this, many turned to resourceful alternatives like making shoes with wooden soles.

Simulating stockings and essential headwear

When stockings became impossible to obtain, women dyed their legs with walnut oil or specialized kits and drew a thin black line on the back of the calf to simulate a seam. Some even wore handmade floral hair nets or turbans, as hats were essential for going out in public.

Music

Clandestine dances during the war

From 1940 to 1945, all collective dancing was officially prohibited by the Vichy regime, forcing youth to hold clandestine balls in barns, fields, and even stables. Despite the ban, these gatherings remained popular for dancing the waltz, rumba, tango, and march.

Instruments for dancing in France

People danced to the accordion, bagpipes, and the vielle, a traditional string instrument played by turning a wheel. Between the wars, the accordion became the dominant instrument for popular dances across France.

Getting around

Continuous London-Paris rail ferry service

Launched in 1936, the Night Ferry allowed passengers to travel between London and Paris by train without changing, as the rail cars were loaded onto a ferry boat to cross the English Channel.

Around 1930–1939

Limited bus service frequencies

In the 1930s, bus services in French provinces were often sparse, frequently offering only one or two daily journeys in each direction.

Daily life

School children's labor and chores

School children performed manual labor for the war effort, such as going to potato fields every Thursday to remove Colorado beetles from the plants. Students also helped clean the local school swimming pool by scrubbing the walls and floor barefoot with brushes.

Traditional food preservation methods

To keep food fresh in homes without modern appliances, families used "garde-manger," which were ventilated cupboards or fine-mesh cages suspended in cool rooms, cellars, or kitchens. Meat was sometimes preserved by covering it in oil or searing it in a pan.

Prices and wages
Around 1947–1947

Bread rationing in 1947

In 1947, the daily bread ration was reduced to 200 grams, a lower amount than during the German occupation.

Around 1948–1948

A metalworker's budget in 1948

In 1948, a Parisian metalworker supporting a wife and three children earned about 16,400 francs per fortnight, often becoming an involuntary vegetarian because meat was so expensive.

Work
Around 1930–1939

The grueling life of baker apprentices

Apprentice bakers in the 1930s often lived and slept in the bakery, starting work as early as midnight or 2:00 A.M. and working up to 15 hours a day.

Around 1948–1948

A worker's income in 1948

In 1948, a skilled metalworker assembling motorcycles in a Paris suburb earned 8,200 francs per month to support his family of five.

News and letters

Smuggling letters during occupation

During the occupation, sympathetic post office staff enabled about 100 letters a month to be smuggled from occupied France to London via the Vichy zone.

Around 1950–1974

Parisian pneumatic 'petits bleus' messages

In Paris, residents used the pneumatic tube network, or 'petits bleus', to send messages across the city in one to two hours, costing about 45 old francs in 1950 for seven grams. Unlike telegrams, these allowed for longer messages because the price was based on weight rather than the number of words.

During their lifetime

  1. 1944

    Women gain voting rights in 1944

    In October 1944, a government ordinance finally granted women the right to vote in France.

  2. 1950

    Creation of the minimum wage

    In 1950, the government established the minimum wage (SMIG) to improve workers' purchasing power.

  3. 1956

    Third week of paid vacation

    In 1956, French workers were granted a third week of paid vacation, significantly increasing their leisure time.

  4. 1967

    Legalization of the contraceptive pill

    The 1967 Neuwirth Law legalized the contraceptive pill, allowing women greater control over family planning.

  5. 1975

    Legalization of abortion

    The 1975 Veil Law legalized abortion in France under specific circumstances, marking a major shift in women's rights.

  6. 1982

    Reduction of work week to 39 hours

    In 1982, the work week was reduced to 39 hours and employees received a fifth week of paid vacation.

Family

Parents

Ancestors and children

Open the full tree

Four generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.