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FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY

French Word of the Day: Grenelle

If you follow the news in France you will have seen this everywhere recently, but what does it actually mean?

French Word of the Day: Grenelle

Why do I need to know grenelle?

If you follow French news or politics you will have seen the term all over the TV and the papers as the government launched its Grenelle des violences conjugales – but what is that exactly?

 

What does it mean?

A grenelle is basically a super-charged version of a plan or a consultation and when it's wheeled out by governments, it means they think that the issue is serious. The current grenelle is on the issue of domestic violence (violence conjugale) which is certainly a crisis – 100 women have been killed by a current or former partner so far this year in France.

But by using the term grenelle, Macron's government is invoking memories of the big moments in France's history.

The term grenelle was first used in 1968, when the government finally reached agreement with the unions, who had been leading huge waves of popular protest against wages and living conditions in France. The agreement between the government and the unions was signed at the Ministry of Labour, which was situated on Rue de Grenelle, so the agreement became known as the Accord de Grenelle.

Since then, it then moved into the language to signify a major consultation or agreement designed to calm deep public discontent.

It was used in the 2000s for programmes to tackle youth poverty and scientific issues but became a more widespread part of the language following Nicolas Hulot's Grenelle de l'environnement in 2007.

For more French words or expression, check out our word of the day section.

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FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY

French Word of the Day: Flipper

This French word does not have anything to do with marine mammals.

French Word of the Day: Flipper

Why do I need to know flipper?

Because this anglicism is used a bit differently in French than it would be in English.

What does it mean?

Flipper – roughly pronounced flea-pay – is a colloquial French term and these days it means to be upset or overly anxious. People often use it similarly to the English expression ‘to freak out’.

As you may have expected, the term is an anglicism, and it comes from the English word ‘to flip’. 

However, in French it does not mean to literally flip something over – you would use renverser for that. It comes from a different usage of the word ‘flip’, more in line with ‘losing one’s head’.

The word started being popular in France in the 1970s, and at that time it was almost exclusively used to describe the experience of ‘freaking out’ or having a bad trip after taking LSD or other hallucinogenic drugs, according to Le Figaro.

Over time, it started to refer to the period of depression many people experience after feelings of euphoria when high, as well as the anxiety that one might feel due to withdrawal. 

Nowadays, people mainly use it to refer to any irrational response. You can also call something flippant (shocking).

A more formal synonym for flipper might be paniquer.

And if you find yourself in an arcade, you may hear the word a few times, as flipper is also the French term for a pinball machine.

Use it like this

Arrête de flipper, on va être à l’heure.  – Stop freaking out, we’re going to be on time.

Les résultats des élections m’ont vraiment fait flipper. Mes amis n’ont pas été surpris pour autant. – The results of the election really freaked me out. My friends weren’t surprised though.

J’ai flippé en regardant le film d’horreur. – I freaked out when I was watching the horror movie.

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