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INSIDE FRANCE

Inside France: Pensions, Paris flooding and love in the presidential palace

From pension strikes to the president's love life, via the history of complaining in Paris and the 'French bastards', our weekly newsletter Inside France looks at what we have been talking about in France this week.

Published: 14 January 2023 08:50 CET
Inside France: Pensions, Paris flooding and love in the presidential palace
Unions are promising the 'mother of all battles' against pension reform, invoking the spirit of May 1968. Photo by 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.

Aux barricades !

After three years of pandemic and general strangeness there is something comforting about coming back to familiar scenes and topics – and in France this of course means strikes. 

Unions have promised the ‘mother of all battles’ as they unite to oppose Emmanuel Macron’s planned pension reform. The first strike day has been called for January 19th but I highly doubt it will be the last – the notoriously militant CGT oil refinery workers are already talking about blockades on petrol depots.

My weekend plan is buy a new pair of trainers in the winter sales – I foresee not many Metro journeys and a lot of walking in my immediate future, since I don’t anticipate Macron or his government backing down on this issue. 

Talking France

After a Christmas break the Talking France podcast is back and we are of course talking pension strikes, as well as the threat of violence from far-right extremists, Emmanuel Macron’s love life, property taxes in south-west France, the future of the French ski industry and how to save money on train tickets.

And if you want to learn more about Macron’s love love – check out this really interesting interview that he gave to a group of journalists with autistic spectrum disorders. It’s a fascinating insight into both the work of specialist magazine Papotin (entirely staffed by people with ASD) and the president. 

Thread of the week

If you have a spare couple of minutes I highly recommend giving this thread – about Haussmann’s remodelling of Paris – a read. It’s all fascinating but particularly interesting to me is how many people hated it at the time and accused him of destroying the historic charm of central Paris.

Still on a Paris theme, check out this amazing film from the great flood of 1910, when the Seine rose eight metres above its normal level and flooded huge parts of the city.

Franglais

Yes, I am a fool, but I’ve only just realised that the French chain Izipizi is supposed to sound like ‘easy-peasy’ not ‘izzy-pizzy’ – part of an ever-increasing trend of French businesses choosing English or ‘franglais’ names.  Although my favourite is still the ‘rock’n’roll boulangerie’ of Oberkampf named The French Bastards . . .

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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