Centenary of the sinking of the liner Afrique, France's forgotten "Titanic" One hundred years ago, the French liner "Afrique" sank off the coast of the Ile de Ré, resulting in the loss of 568 lives in the worst civilian shipwreck in French history. But France's equivalent of the "Titanic" has largely been ignored by history, resurfacing in public consciousness at long last for centenary commemorations in Bordeaux and Les Sables d'Olonne. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES