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.

Anti-riot measures

Four months after the rioting that convulsed much of urban France in June, the prime minister has unveiled a plan intended to prevent future urban violence – the result, apparently, of months of careful consideration.

The measures include joint police-social work teams in tense areas, fines and parenting courses for the parents of juveniles who cause trouble, extra civics classes in schools and some (vague) plans for ‘military schools’ for delinquent youths.

The reason that so much of it focuses on parents and schools is the striking youth of the rioters in June – three quarters of these arrested were under 25 and a fifth were still at school. 

While these plans might help cut anti-social behaviour, I can’t imagine that the type of wild anger and orgy of destruction that we saw in June would be halted by the thought of your parents possibly having to go on a course. 

The summer riots were sparked by the actions of one police officer – who shot a 17-year-old boy and then lied about it – but the roots of the trouble were simply that this type of thing happens too often and a wider sense among many young people of colour that they will never be accepted as truly French.

Their feelings were confirmed in the aftermath of the riots but the politicians who blamed ‘foreigners’ or ‘immigrants’ for the violence and who – when it was pointed out that the majority of the rioters were born in France – said: “OK, they’re French, but these are French people in their official identity, and unfortunately for the second and third generations (of immigrants), there is a sort of regression towards their ethnic roots.” That quote comes from the Senate leader of Les Républicains party.

France is far from the only country to struggle with ingrained racism and police violence, of course, but it seems particularly hard for the country to have an honest conversation about its problems. 

Talking France 

In this week’s Talking France we’re looking at the latest travel situation after bomb alerts at French airports, plus how easy it is to retire to France and whether the second-home visa is likely to become a reality (quite frankly, I’m telling my second-home owner friends not to get too excited about this). Plus museum and Halloween recommendations and ‘buttergate’. Listen here or on the link below.

Les rosbifs

And yes, I know that Google autocorrect is not hard science, but I still had some fun looking at the most commonly Googled questions on ‘pourquoi les anglais/britanniques . . .’  Along with the expected questions about loving tea and Dordogne, one of the queries was ‘why don’t the English have shutters?’.

And honestly, that’s a great question. After six years in France I can’t imagine why anyone doesn’t have shutters – they keep your place warm in winter (far more efficient than curtains), cool in the summer and your bedroom dark enough for a lie-in. Plus there’s something unfailingly satisfying in throwing open the shutters and discovering that it’s a beautiful morning. 

Sort it out, England. 

French pun of the week 

Indeed, Je m’appelle Gemma Pell would be confusing for all concerned. 

But it’s still not as bad as as boys/men called Ken (in French a slang term for having sex), Peter (péter means to fart), Colin (a type of tasty white fish) or Connor (sounds perilously like connard – dickhead).

READ ALSO 9 boys names that sound very different in French

One of The Local’s readers recalls one of her son Connor’s school-friend calling out hello to him when they met on the street, only to receive a clip round the ear from his grandmother for his ‘foul’ language!

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.