Alphonse Karr

Alphonse Karr was a French novelist, journalist and wit, editor of Le Figaro and author of the satirical review Les Guêpes, whose line "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose" has outlived his novels. His story Les Willis, on the Central European legend of the Vila that also lies behind the ballet Giselle, was the source of Puccini's Le villi (1884). He settled at Nice in 1855 and later at Saint-Raphaël, and practically founded the Riviera's trade in cut flowers.