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INSIDE FRANCE

Inside France: Language tests, wine prices and Europe’s newest country

From a racist outburst in the French parliament to language tests for foreigners, via the cheapest wine in France and Europe's 'new' country, our weekly newsletter Inside France looks at what we have been talking about in France this week.

Published: 5 November 2022 08:57 CET
Inside France: Language tests, wine prices and Europe's newest country
Photo by Martin BUREAU / 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.

Immigration has come back onto the political scene in France this week, after a relatively long break – which even mostly included the elections earlier in the year, when all polling showed that voters were more concerned about the cost-of-living and other day-to-day issues.

But the appalling murder of a 12-year-old girl in Paris in which the main suspect is a woman who was living in France illegally has seen it hit the headlines again, with far-right activists parading with the girl’s picture (until her devastated parents begged them to stop) and France’s hardline interior minister announcing a new immigration bill.

READ ALSO French exam for foreigners – what we know so far

The upshot of all this is that foreigners in France are again facing the possibility of a language exam in order to get a residency card. While few people would argue with the general idea that foreigners in France should learn French, the prospect of a written test is a deeply stressful one for many – particularly the elderly and those who struggle with exams.   

Racist outburst 

Despite a political landscape that many see as moving firmly to the right, there was shock and condemnation on Thursday after a racist outburst in parliament from one of the newly-elected MPs of the far-right Rassemblement National party.

Grégoire de Fournas, of Marine Le Pen’s RN party, insisted that he yelled “Qu’ils retournent en Afrique” (they should get back to Africa) and not “qu’il retourne en Afrique” (he should get back to Africa) – and that he was referring to the migrants that black MP Carlos Bilongo was asking a parliamentary question about, and not the MP himself.

Either way, it’s embarrassing for Le Pen, whose main goal over many years has been to ‘detoxify’ her party. Although I would suggest that anyone who is shocked by this did not read Le Pen’s 2022 manifesto. 

Good news on the economy

Inflation in France is the lowest in the EU, new data reveals, but that doesn’t mean that French residents haven’t also had to deal with rising prices, especially for food and petrol. In fact, as The Economist journalist Sophie Pedder spotted, wine is now cheaper at the pump than petrol.

This type of arrangement is common in southern France at vineyards and markets – you take along your own container and fill it with wine from the ‘pump’ for the bargain price of between €1.50 – €2 a litre.

It’s fair to say that the wine you get isn’t exactly a grand cru, but in most cases it’s perfectly drinkable.

The average price of petrol at the pump in France is currently €1.70. 

Piss-take of the week

And have you ever heard of the country of Listenbourg?

Before you start to worry about your lack of geographical knowledge, know that Listenbourg doesn’t actually exist.

It’s a fake country, made up by jokers on the internet, apparently in France or at least on French-speaking accounts, and adopted by a surprising number of people and companies – here’s the official account of the Paris 2024 Olympics announcing the arrival of the Listenbourg team.

And the reason for this? I’m sorry to say that it’s taking the piss out of Americans, and their perceived lack of geographical knowledge of Europe (although, in fairness, most Europeans can’t accurately place US states on a map).

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: Political farce, far-right fears and sharks under Paris

This week in France has been heavily focused on politics due to the surprise election, from the soap opera and the memes of the right-wing parties to grumpy faces among the Macronists, plus some light relief in the form of the weird stuff underneath Paris.

Published: 15 June 2024 11:41 CEST
Inside France: Political farce, far-right fears and sharks under Paris

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.

Ciotti chuckles

Anyone who says that the French have no sense of humour has clearly not spent any time on French social media this week as the jokes and memes came thick and fast in response to the ridiculous election shenanigans of the once-mighty right-wing Les Républicains party.

You can find the full details here but to cut a long story short, party leader Eric Ciotti announced an election alliance with the far-right, his fellow party bigwigs were horrified and attempted to expel him, Ciotti locked himself inside the party HQ and refused to allow anyone in, leaders held their meeting elsewhere and voted to expel him from the party, Ciotti refused to accept their verdict and posted a video of him showing up at work as normal the following day, insisting he was still in charge.

The whole thing was a gift for anyone with a Twitter account and a sense of humour. 

Sense of humour

The whole idea that ‘the French aren’t funny’ is an oddly enduring trope. I think it’s to do with the fact that French humour is often highly referential, making it hard for foreigners to get if they don’t understand the references.

READ ALSO 5 tips for understanding French humour and jokes

Far right

Funny as the whole Ciotti episode was, it didn’t quite distract from the widespread horror in France at the prospect of a far-right government, and bafflement over Emmanuel Macron’s high-stakes election gamble.

His announcement on Sunday night of a snap election took the country and the media entirely by surprise and seemed to catch plenty of his own party members off guard too.

The election is a gamble – un pari – Macron is banking on the country to reject the far-right at the polls and hand his party back an absolute majority in parliament. This could happen, or Marine Le Pen’s party could win and Macron would then go down in history as the man who handed the keys of government to the far-right. Or – and most analysts think this is the most likely scenario – no party could win an absolute majority and the parliament could be plunged into an even more messy deadlock.

READ ALSO What do the snap elections mean for France?

One of the most outspoken critics has been Gabriel Attal, the 35-year-old prime minister often described as a Macron protege. This photo of him with a face like thunder has become another meme, embodying all those who think that this election is a very bad idea. 

Talking France

We of course talk about the elections in a special episode of the Talking France podcast – listen here. During the election period we will be releasing the podcast on Mondays, and we will also be doing a bi-weekly election breakdown for anyone who wants to stay in touch with the latest – sign up here.

Sharknado

And if you want something to help you switch off from all the politics, I highly recommend the new Netflix film Sous la Seine (Under Paris). Not because it’s good – it’s not, in fact it’s terrible but it’s so bad that it’s actually hilarious. 

One thing that you might write off as dramatic licence is the idea of an enormous underground lake beneath Paris – but this is actually true. In fact, there’s a lot weird shit under Paris . . .

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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