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INSIDE FRANCE

Inside France: Holidays, puns and Irish-flavoured French

From seasonal closures to Franco-American vacation jokes - via a very special speech from an Irishman-in-France - our weekly newsletter Inside France looks at what we have been talking about in France this week.

Published: 12 August 2023 09:11 CEST
Inside France: Holidays, puns and Irish-flavoured French
Ronan O'Gara - rugby coach, French learner and author of a very special speech. Photo by GAIZKA IROZ / 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.

One video has been setting social media alight in France in recent days – the team talk given by France-based rugby coach Ronan O’Gara, who has delighted many with his distinctly Irish-flavoured French.

His habit of liberally scattering the English ‘fucking’ into his French produced gems such as Je m’en fucking fous (I don’t fucking care) and c’est fucking énorme (this is fucking huge).

On a serious note, you’ll notice that his team are hanging on his every word and not laughing at all – and they went on to win the game and have a stunning season, which just goes to show that language is far more about sincere communication than it is about a perfect accent or faultless grammar.

I know that I spend a lot of time worrying about my imperfect French, but in my experience it’s rare for French people to judge or scorn your efforts if you’re doing your best. 

Summer chill

Here in Paris we’re firmly into the August season, which in my case means walking an extra 200 metres to get my baguette as my neighbourhood boulangerie is closed for the month while the family who run it take a very well-earned break.

The August seasonal staple on social media is various variations of this joke – comparing attitudes to holidays in Europe and the USA. 

The ‘should I stay or should I go’ conversation is an annual staple among the residents of France’s cities – should you stay in the city in August and enjoy the peace or head to the beach/mountains along with everyone else?

READ ALSO 5 reasons to spend August in Paris (and 5 to stay away)

Personally I’m in the ‘stay’ camp, I enjoy seeing a slightly different face to the city as it empties out (apart from the tourist areas) and the shop and bar closures force you to get out of your usual routine and try new places.

Whichever camp you fall into, it’s likely that you will spend the final week in July having farewell drinks with your friends before they all go on holiday, followed by the ‘welcome back’ drinks in la rentrée when they all return. Frankly, you need a holiday after that.

Policing

With the politicians all on holiday too, the news agenda tends to slow down in August – but this week much attention has been focused on Marseille when three officers were charged over the death of a man during the riots in early July.

This comes after four other Marseille officers were charged with assault of a man who was so badly injured that surgeons had to remove a large part of his skull. 

As an outsider, it does seem to me that France will sooner or later have to have some kind of reckoning about its police – not just the actions of individual officers but the culture in which senior officers and police unions refuse to even use the word ‘police violence’, never mind discuss whether there might be structural or organisation issues. 

But my French friends say this is very unlikely to ever happen. 

Boulangerie of the week 

Shops in French cities seem increasingly keen on a franglais pun for their name – and this week’s winner is Marseille’s ‘House of Pain’. Pas mal. 

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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