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.

Face off

Primetime TV in France on Thursday night consisted of two men in blue suits talking about EU policy – in other words, the much-hyped European election debate between Macronist representative Gabriel Attal and Jordan Bardella of the far-right Rassemblement National.

EN DIRECT | Je débats face à Jordan Bardella sur France 2. https://t.co/0e52JlrJ8v

— Gabriel Attal (@GabrielAttal) May 23, 2024

Attal is widely agreed to have ‘won’ the debate – although whether that will make any difference at all to the election result remains to be seen. Current polling shows Rassemblement National with a commanding lead while the Macronists may struggle to even reach second place ahead of the centre-left Parti Socialiste.

Whether you agree with the policies he is peddling or not, it’s hard not to admire Attal’s skill as a debater – eloquent, pugnacious and detail-orientated, and with a cute little half smile that appears when he knows he’s got his opponent on the run.

I was also interested to note that throughout, Bardella addressed his rival as ‘Monsieur Attal’ while Attal called him ‘Jordan Bardella’ – one of the many ways that the French language allows subtle digs. The other minefield being, of course, ‘tu’ versus ‘vous’ with all sorts of sly slapdowns possible through the choice of the informal or the formal ‘you’.

I think my favourite comes from 1981 when François Mitterand had just been elected France’s first socialist president – one of his party colleagues cheerfully asked him Alors, camarade président, on peut continuer à se tutoyer, non ? (So, comrade president, we can still call you ‘tu’ huh?) to which Mitterand glacially replied Si vous voulez (if you want).

READ ALSO When can you drop the ‘vous’ in French?

Putting a value

‘Respecting the principles of the French republic’ will be a new requirement for foreigners in France, and you might be relieved to know that there is actually quite a precise definition of this somewhat vague sounding concept.

Article 1 of the French constitution lays out the four pillars of the republic – indivisible, secular, democratic and social – while the website of the president’s Elysée palace clearly defines what each one means in practice and how it might relate to everyday life.

Explained: What are ‘French values’?

Many people are not thrilled at the idea of having to formally promise this, and see it as the thin end of the wedge when it comes to anti-migrant sentiment. I don’t necessarily disagree, but at least those ‘values’ are clearly defined and are something that I personally would have no problem agreeing with.

As the native of a country with an ‘unwritten constitution’ (by which they mean no constitution at all, and instead a system cobbled together over centuries of precedent, custom and compromise) I can at least appreciate the clarity.

Talking France

We discuss French values in the latest episode of the Talking France podcast, along with the violence in New Caledonia and what it means for France’s complex and conflicted system of overseas territories, plus Paris strikes, overrated French tourist attractions and why Kylian Mbappé is so famous. Listen here or on the link below

Splash down

And Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo has set a date for a very special swim. On June 23rd she will apparently take a dip in the River Seine – all part of the city’s long-running project to make the river clean enough to swim in.

If all goes according to plan (and the opening of the enormous new underground water treatment works at Austerlitz is a big part of this), open-water swimming events will be held in the Seine during the Olympics and Paralympics and then swimming spots will open up in the river for public use.

All of which explains why the mayor is getting her swimming cap ready – and she won’t be the first member of her family to take a dip there. Her son Arthur Germain, who is a champion endurance swimmer, swam the entire length of the Seine from its source near Dijon to Le Havre in 2021.

Will she be joined by Emmanuel Macron? Maybe. He has promised to swim in the river ‘soon’ – although the two don’t exactly see eye-to-eye politically and there’s only one thing more awkward than having to make polite chat with a bitter rival, and that’s having to do it in swimwear. 

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.