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INSIDE FRANCE

Inside France: Burning barricades, political upheaval and ‘le French flair’

From the rapidly rising political temperature in France and increasingly serious street violence to weird tourist selfies, Emily in Paris' politics and French sporting excellence, our weekly newsletter Inside France looks at what we have been talking about this week.

Published: 25 March 2023 13:41 CET
Inside France: Burning barricades, political upheaval and 'le French flair'
French gendarmes in riot gear in Paris. Photo by Thomas SAMSON / 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.

Temperatures rising

France is a country where strikes are far from uncommon and where political discontent frequently takes the form of street demos. All of which is to say that people who live in France, especially the big cities, are used to strike days, marches and the occasional whiff of tear gas if a protest turns violent.

But even by those standards, the past week has been unusually dramatic as the government sparked fury by using a constitutional tool to push its highly controversial pension reform through without a vote of MPs. Notwithstanding the fact that Article 49.3 is perfectly legal and has been regularly used since 1958, it’s not hard to see where opponents were coming from when they branded it ‘undemocratic’.

Paris and several other cities have seen nightly protests – albeit from very small numbers of demonstrators – in which bins and piles of rubbish were set on fire and police, as they love to do, fired tear gas. 

The government is clearly hoping to just wait it out until the heat goes out of the protests, but the level of anger on the streets is unusual even by French standards.

READ ALSO Is France facing a rerun of the ‘yellow vest’ protests?

Despite their fury, the French have not lost their sense of humour, as witnessed by this excellent protest banner – ‘If we wanted to get fucked by the government, we would have elected Brad Pitt’. 

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Michel Denisot (@mdenisot)

Tourists seem to be enjoying the chaos too, if the slightly odd trend of posing for photos in front of piles of uncollected rubbish is any indication . . .

We of course discuss all the latest in the new episode of Talking France – listen here or on the link below. 

Emily at the ballot box

On the lighter side of politics, I hugely enjoyed this thread looking at who the characters in Emily in Paris would have voted for in the 2022 presidential elections (if they were eligible to vote, that is, since only French citizens can vote in presidential elections).

Poetry in motion

And I was lucky enough to be at Stade de France at the weekend to witness this gorgeous try in person (enjoy the commentator crying “Le French flair, voilà !” as the ball goes over the line). They didn’t win the Six Nations, but I’m going to make a prediction that this superlatively talented team will be victorious at the World Cup later this year . . .

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by France Rugby (@francerugby)

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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