Vie

Vie (IPA: /'vi.e/), is a district (or quarter), of Oradea, a city in Bihor, Romania. The name means vineyard in Romanian.

Geography

Vie is situated in the hills overlooking Oradea, in the northern part of the town. It spans quite a large area, from a part just north of the hillow but the centre extending quite far into the Oradea hills. Vie is bounded in the south by Republicii Street (Strada Republicii), the mainline railway tracks crossing Oradea and the Oradea central railway station (everything south of the railway station is considered part of the city centre, or Centru, everything north is considered part of Vie.

Infrastructure and demographics

The range of infrastructure in Vie is quite broad - the southern part of the quarter, which is in proximity to the city centre, can be described as suburban, containing either low-rise houses or apartment blocks with up to five storeys. However, as one proceeds north, away from the Oradea city centre, the quarter becomes increasingly rural, with larger houses and larger gardens. Many of the roads in the northern part of Vie are unpaved. The northern part of the quarter contains several vineyards and wine-growing estates.

Nathalie Simard

Nathalie Simard (born 7 July 1969) is a pop singer from Quebec, Canada, and the sister of performer René Simard.

Simard was born in Île d'Orléans, near Quebec City, and was discovered by producer Guy Cloutier. Her first role was in a Laura Secord pudding commercial at age 2. She also appeared on some television shows, the first being Le Village de Nathalie, a children's TV show where she wore a princess dress. She also hosted Les Mini-Stars de Nathalie.

Abuse

Simard revealed she had been sexually abused by Cloutier since 1980. She sued him and his company Productions Guy Cloutier (PGC), for more than $1.2 million, but settled out of court. Cloutier was convicted of criminal charges in 2004 regarding this assault and that of another unidentified child. He subsequently received a 3.5 year prison term.

Michel Vastel's biography on Simard, Briser le Silence (Break the Silence), was published in 2005 (ISBN 978-2764802434) amid controversy. Vastel blasted Radio-Canada for continuing to work on television programs with Cloutier through his new company, Novem Communications. The book also charged René Simard with mishandling his sister's finances when he was her legal guardian, and with attempting to bribe her to keep details of Cloutier's abuses from the public. René Simard responded to these claims with a news conference denying details of Vastel's account.

Matthieu Chedid

Matthieu Chedid (born 21 December 1971, in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France), better known by his stage name ‑M- , is a French rock singer-songwriter and guitar player.

Biography

Matthieu Chedid is the son of French singer Louis Chedid, and the grandson of the Egyptian-born French writer and poetess of Lebanese descent Andrée Chedid who has written lyrics for him. His sister is the music video and concert director Émilie Chedid.

Chedid, a talented multi-instrumentalist, took an interest in music early on. In 1978, at the age of six, Chedid lent his voice to the chorus of his father's hit song T'as beau pas être beau alongside older sister, Émilie. During his teenage years and early twenties, Chedid formed a few short-lasting groups such as Mat Mat (Checkmate Checkmate), Les Bébés fous (The crazy babies) and Les Poissons rouges (The "red fish," a French expression equivalent to the English "goldfish") with Mathieu Boogaerts and with the sons of Laurent Voulzy and Alain Souchon, Julien Voulzy and Pierre Souchon. He has collaborated with a number of artists, both on stage and in the recording studio. Early into his solo career, Chedid was the opening act for Texas concerts. He has recorded with NTM, Sinclair, Billy Ze Kick, and more recently with Brigitte Fontaine, Sean Lennon, Vanessa Paradis, and Johnny Hallyday, with whom he recorded the come-back album Jamais Seul (2011).