In french theatre has specific words for left and right. Côté cour et Côté jardin. Courtside and garden side.
In geography left and right banks of a river are always in the direction of the flow
In geography left and right banks of a river are always in the direction of the flow
I suspect the reason he made a meal of this subject (and the reason he insists on using the left/right terminology) is because he finds it challenging.
I learned it with the Seine, in Paris: the left bank is to the south of the right bank. It's also where the bulk of the 1968 political protest happened; the protestors were leftists. The Seine generally flows south to north, emptying into the English Channel.
Isn't there some river where the flow goes either way depending on tide? I'm thinking it might be in Alaska, but there might be more than one.
A better example is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonl%C3%A9_Sap#Geography:
“As the monsoon rain begins, the water level of the river begins to rise. As the water level continues to rise, the flow of the river reverses. The water level of the Tonlé Sap increases by about 10 metres (33 ft), the flow of the Mekong gradually decreases at the end of the rainy season, and the flow of the Tonlé Sap then reverses and began to replenish the flow of the Mekong.”
Although in this instance, I think it's more common to talk about north/island/south in Nantes rather than left/right banks. While Antwerp's part on the left bank is literally called "left bank" (Linkeroever).