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INSIDE FRANCE

Inside France: Streets on fire, Alpine lakes and accidental insults

From violent protests to insouciant French people, via Alpine scenery and rude songs, our weekly newsletter Inside France looks at what we have been talking about in France this week.

Published: 1 April 2023 16:26 CEST
Inside France: Streets on fire, Alpine lakes and accidental insults
French President Emmanuel Macron (C) speaks to journalists upon his arrival in Savines-Le-Lac, southeastern France. Photo by Sebastien NOGIER / POOL / 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.

Burning question

In what is, I suspect, a common experience for foreigners living in France, in recent days I’ve been getting an increasing number of messages from friends and family overseas saying ‘are you OK? I see Paris is burning?’.

Although there have been some violent clashes at the ends of demos in Paris, Bordeaux and Rennes I can confirm that the French capital is not on fire and life pretty much continues as normal.

I had to factcheck the below video because it seemed almost too perfect – but it is in fact real, filmed in Bordeaux, and just goes to show that you shouldn’t let a tiny bit of arson come between you and a nice drink and a chat on a cafe terrace . . .

Risky business

I’m interested in the difference between the perception of ‘risk’ in France though, so really enjoyed speaking to the professional risk and crisis management adviser who told me how travel alerts and advisories are decided on (before telling me that she’s coming to Paris next week and isn’t worried at all).

Business as usual

The government too seems to have decided on a ‘business as usual, everything is fine’ approach, although in their case it might be more of a pretence.

In recent days we’ve seen a flurry of new announcements and initiatives on everything from regulating online ‘influencers’ to dealing with drought. France’s water reduction plan was announced by Emmanuel Macron, standing in front of a beautiful lake in Hautes-Alpes, eastern France.

According to journalists who covered the event, however, the location was picked less for the scenery and more for the fact that it is extremely inaccessible, therefore lowering the risk that the president’s announcement would be disrupted by protests.  

Language fails

All language-learners have embarrassing stories to share, and we’re grateful to all The Local readers who shared their tips on things they wish they had known about the French language before moving to France, but one really stuck out . .  I was sweating in embarrassment for poor Seb in Montpellier, who accidentally told his son’s teacher to “go f*ck yourself” by getting his sa and ta mixed up.

Musical moments

We are of course talking about protests – and how the current demos link to France’s history of violent protest – in this week’s Talking France podcast, as well as practical jokes, after-dinner tipples and whether France is a good place for women to live. We also sing some of our favourite French protest songs and chants. Listen here or on the link below.

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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