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INSIDE FRANCE

Inside France: English skills, political spats and trampolines

From childish political spats to freak weather, via trampolines and the very cute accent of a certain ex president, our weekly newsletter Inside France looks at what we have been talking about in France this week.

Published: 29 October 2022 12:06 CEST
Inside France: English skills, political spats and trampolines
Autumn sunshine at Wineck chateau in Katzenthal, eastern France. Photo by PATRICK HERTZOG / AFP

Inside France is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in France that you might not have heard about. Members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.

When the results came in for the parliamentary elections in June – revealing that Macron’s centrist alliance remained the biggest group in parliament but lost their overall majority – some optimistically predicted that this would usher in a new era of more consensual politics and lofty, platonic debates in the Assemblée nationale.

And if anyone was still in any lingering doubt, I think this week has finally killed off that notion.

In a single week we saw the government repeatedly resorting to the constitutional tool known as Article 49.3 to ram their budgets through a blocked parliament, and the various opposition groups staging no less than three no-confidence votes in a single evening. None of them passed, but the one that came the closest saw the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) joining with the leftist alliance Nupes.

In response, finance minister Bruno Le Maire tweeted this extremely grown-up response.

While Macron supporters rushed to push the ‘far-left, far-right, they’re all the same’ line, others pointed out that Le Maire himself – along with several other members of the current government – had also voted alongside far-right MPs in a motion of no-confidence against François Hollande’s government, way back in 2015. 

Highbrow debate indeed. 

Speaking skills

Taking of Hollande, I enjoyed listening to him on the podcast The Rest is Politics, hosted by the British former Labour spin doctor Alistair Campbell and former Conservative MP Rory Stewart.

Unlike many of the current cabinet, Hollande is rarely heard speaking English in public, but he’s apparently been having lots of lessons since his presidency ended in 2017 and he’s now taken the big step of doing a podcast in English. 

It’s a wide-ranging interview taking in lots of topics (including a very blunt assessment of Barack Obama), with a nice ending when Campbell (a fluent French-speaker) asked him a question in French, allowing Hollande to let his eloquence flow. 

Our Talking France podcast is currently acting like a French schoolchild and having a two-week holiday, but we will be back November 10th – catch up with our back catalogue HERE.

Lovely weather?

It’s been hard to get away from talking about the weather this week, as France basked in temperatures of up to 31C. Even here in Paris it got up to 24C, and although sitting typing this with the window open, wearing a T-shirt is undoubtedly very pleasant, it’s hard to get away from the fact that these are not normal conditions for October.

In fact 2022 has been a record-breaking year all round in France, and definitely not in a good way as soaring temperatures mean ongoing drought (30 areas are still on tight drought restrictions) and failed crops. Global climate plans have rarely felt so urgent.

Soothing moment of the week

If you feel the need of a couple of minutes of calm, this staircase and trampoline route from the famous French dancer Yoann Bourgeois is beautiful and strangely soothing to watch.

Inside France is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in France that you might not have heard about. Members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.

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INSIDE FRANCE

Inside France: Violence, QR codes and stuffed animals

From violent unrest in a French territory to the QR codes required at the Paris Olympics, via D-Day and weird taxidermy, our weekly newsletter Inside France looks at what we have been talking about in France this week.

Published: 18 May 2024 07:38 CEST
Inside France: Violence, QR codes and stuffed animals

Inside France is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in France that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.

High tension

After a relaxed week with a double holiday and most of the country taking a break, it seems that the news has come roaring back this week – first a highly dramatic jailbreak that left two prison officers dead and a fugitive at large, then the worst rioting in 30 years on the French island of Nouvelle Calédonie which left five people dead, and finally a man shot dead by police while apparently trying to set fire to a synagogue in northern France. It seems that there’s barely been time to breathe. 

These three things are, of course, not connected and in the case of Nouvelle Calédonie have followed years of political and ethnic tensions on the Pacific islands.

But it’s not surprising that people feel a bit punch-drunk at this series of events. Already right-wing parties are attempting to make capital out of this ahead of the European elections – a favourite tactic of the far-right in recent years has been trying to portray France as in the grip of an uncontrolled wave of crime and violence.

While no-one would deny that France has crime and that there are problems with violence, the statistics do not bear out this image of a ‘lawless’ country’. 

QR codes

Talking of security, the big topic in Paris this week has been whether we need QR codes to get around the city during the Olympics, after the security plan for the Games was unveiled in detail.

For many people this will bring back bad memories of Covid restrictions, attestations and health passes – although once you dig into the detail of the Games QR codes you realise that they won’t actually affect all that many people.

The areas that they cover are limited and the most onerous restrictions are only in place for the week leading up to the Opening Ceremony. You can find a complete guide to whether you need a code, and how to get one if you do, HERE.

Talking France

We look at the QR code situation on this week’s Talking France podcast, as well as France’s economic reality, the quirks of the French health system and the new ‘drive like a woman’ campaign.

Plus John Lichfield talks about his involvement in projects to commemorate D-Day in his Normandy home, and why the 1944 landings still hold such a special place in French hearts. Listen here or on the link below. 

Get stuffed

But my biggest question about France remains unanswered – why is weird taxidermy furniture so popular? If you’ve spent time at a French brocante you will likely have come across stuffed animal parts made into a variety of items from coathooks and ashtrays to – as below – chairs or stools.

Answers on a postcard, please.  

Inside France is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in France that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.

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