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INSIDE FRANCE

Inside France: Sextapes, lunch, mayors and a Frenchmen problem

From sextape scandals and problems with women via French mayors and predictions of a new Revolution, our weekly newsletter Inside France looks at what we have been talking about in France this week.

Published: 15 April 2023 14:19 CEST
Inside France: Sextapes, lunch, mayors and a Frenchmen problem
Villagers of Lavare reenact the Storming of the Bastille. Photo by JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER / 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.

Sex and lunch

There have been two scandals involving French mayors that have hit the headlines this week – one involving a sextape and the other involving lunch. I honestly cannot decide which of these two is more stereotypically French, but their prominence in the headlines does attest to the importance of the role of the the mayor in France.

One of the oldest roles in the country (dating from the years immediately after the revolution) their role ranges from city mayors who handle multi-billion euro budgets and a staff of thousands to village mayors who have a more hands-on role. Stories from village-dwellers in France include the mayor turning up with a chainsaw to clear a fallen tree from the road and taking part in animal rescues.

Talking France

We’re sharing stories of French mayors on this week’s Talking France, as well as addressing that crunch Constitutional Council ruling on pension reform, the €150 million tree-planting scheme in south-west France, French town nicknames and what you need to know about this year’s tax declarations. Listen here or on the link below.

Man problem

An MP from the far-left La France Insoumise party returned to parliament this week, after a very short suspension after he was convicted of assaulting his wife. Party leader, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, has been widely criticised for appearing to minimise the seriousness of the conviction and praising his MP’s “courageous” decision to stand down from a senior role within the party.

This brings back memories of Emmanuel Macron who, when criticised for appointing as his Interior Minister (the nominal head of the police force) a man who was at the time the subject of a rape investigation, responded that he had spoke to Gérald Darmanin “man to man” about the incident and was satisfied with his explanation. Darmanin was later cleared.

If we include Rassemblement National leader Marine Le Pen, who has always been extremely reluctant to say whether she supports a woman’s right to abortion (and consistently has urgent other business whenever there is a vote in parliament on the issue), that’s the leaders of France’s three largest parties (commanding 70 percent of the vote between them) who all appear to not really get it when it comes to women’s rights. 

Banner of the week 

I think two under-rated guides to understanding French life and politics are graffiti and protest signs.

They’re often funny as well as topical – frequently seen in Paris right now is “16-64 est une bière, pas une carrière”  – 16-64 is a beer [Kronenbourg 1664] not a working life.

But I love the sheer bonkers complexity of the below sign, predicting a new French Revolution on the basis that 64 (the proposed new retirement age) minus 49.3 (the Article of the constitution used to force the legislation through) equals 14.7, or July 14th, the date of the storming of the Bastille. Who knew!

Life inspo of the week

Let’s all get on board with this rather lovely priority list of things that people in France apparently want to do more of. Now, it may be that you don’t actually need to retire to do some (or all) of these, but really, who couldn’t do with a little more of each in their life?

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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