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INSIDE FRANCE

Inside France: Wedding rules, winter woes in the Alps and working until 65

From the woes of French ski resorts to wedding rules and the sheer horror of working until you're 65, our weekly newsletter Inside France looks at what we have been talking about in France this week.

Published: 7 January 2023 09:54 CET
Inside France: Wedding rules, winter woes in the Alps and working until 65
Photo by JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK / 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. 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.

Disappearing snow

The unseasonably warm weather in France is good news for energy supplies, with the risk of planned power cuts now ‘increasingly unlikely’ according to the government spokesman.

But it’s wreaking havoc at the country’s ski resorts, almost half of which are currently closed because of a lack of snow.

This is of course a long-term problem linked to the climate crisis, and means that many of the businesses in the Alps, Pyrenees and Jura mountains that have previously relied on the ski industry are being forced to change their business model.

Not wishing to make light of the obviously very serious situation that is climate change – but the diversification of the tourist experience is good news for non-skiers like me – an Alps trip now offers dozens of different activities from snowshoeing and hiking to the terrifying-but-fun summer luge and the more relaxed spa experience. 

Picture of the week

The snow problem is now so acute that local authorities in the Alps have a team dedicated to taking down the rusting and abandoned chair lifts in the lower-altitude areas where ski resorts have closed for good.

Workers dismantle the site of a ski lift in Saint Firmin after the resort closed because of a lack of reliable snow. Photo by OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE / AFP

Rugby dreams

This week’s Talking France is a special episode looking ahead to the year in France – travel rule changes, politics, pension reform, (possible) riots etc.

Plus the things we’re most looking forward to in 2023 – mine is obviously the Rugby World Cup, held in 9 cities across France in September and October. Allez les bleus!

You can listen to the Podcast HERE or in the player below.

Getting hitched

Over Christmas I made myself quite unpopular during a family viewing of Escape to the Chateau by pointing out that being legally married in France if you don’t have residency or citizenship is actually very difficult.

Yes, OK maybe I should have just relaxed and watched the show – but instead I started researching this article about your options for getting married in a romantic French chateau. The secret is, that for most people it’s basically just a party in the chateau, and the legal bit comes later. 

Cartoon of the week

As French President Emmanuel Macron vows to push ahead with pension reform and unions vow to fight him every step of the way, we can expect social unrest in 2023.

But the other thing we can expect is a lot of jokes and satire based around the proposal that French people stay in work until they are 65 (quelle horreur) – here’s Libération’s cartoonist Coco kicking things off with Macron’s New Year wish to the nation “And good health above all . . . until the age of 65”.

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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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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