Cédric Villani opened the commemoration in January in the capital of the Puy-de-Dôme department, with a lecture entitled "Dad, I Want to Do Mathematics" at Lycée Blaise-Pascal. Numerous events are planned throughout the year to honor the most famous native of "Clairmont."
March 23–25: At the Maison de la culture, a conference entitled "Pascal: Resister and Prophet" will explore both the sense in which Pascal was out of step with his time and his ability to send messages to later generations, which gives him a role that is, in a sense, prophetic.
May 31–June 4: The Art Recherche Technologie Science association will organize an "Arts and Sciences" village in the city's historic center, dedicated to Clermont-born genius Blaise Pascal, with activities and performances inspired by his discoveries and experiments.
June 15–October 15: In conjunction with the 2023 Fête de la science, the Georges-Quilliot Art Museum will host a major exhibition designed to make Blaise Pascal's work accessible to a broad audience. It will offer an experiential approach to the great scholar's writings, creations and scientific experiments, highlighting both their local and international dimensions.
June 19: Blaise Pascal's birthday will be marked by the official launch of a stamp bearing his likeness and activities for schoolchildren, culminating in a "Mega Portrait of Blaise," a giant photograph in which people will be invited to pose with an object evoking his life or work.
First week of December: A performance of "Le trio en mi bémol," based on Éric Rohmer's play, will be staged. Accompanied by the Ars Nova orchestral ensemble, it will explore key ideas in Pascal's thought and remind audiences that, throughout his career, the filmmaker reflected on this historical figure's "wager."
Two festivals organized by UCA will also strike a Pascalian note.
Littérature au Centre, devoted to the theme of "Literature and Science," will feature a lecture entitled "Blaise Pascal, Scientist" at the Maison des congrès et de la culture on March 30 at 2 p.m.
On Saturday, June 17 and Sunday, June 18, Nuées ardentes will feature a presentation on the history of calculating machines, along with an immersive film viewed using 3D glasses, recreating a ride in a "five-sol coach," the world's first public transport experiment, initiated by Blaise Pascal himself (see "Did Pascal Invent Public Transport?").
All these events will be listed on a dedicated website, currently under construction:
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1879 statue of Blaise Pascal by Eugène Guillaume
in Square Pascal in Clermont-Ferrand.
