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INSIDE FRANCE

Inside France: Rising violence, business skills and a presidential crush

From the great debate on manners and civility in politics, via French 'attractiveness' and a bit of swearing and hugs, our weekly newsletter Inside France looks at what we have been talking about in France this week.

Published: 20 May 2023 07:53 CEST
Inside France: Rising violence, business skills and a presidential crush
Photo by GUILLAUME SOUVANT / 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.

Civility

This week in France we’re talking about manners and civility. Not because of the French reputation for rudeness – I’ve always found that most French people, even Parisians, are perfectly polite and in fact the politesse of greetings etc are in my opinion more observed in France than the UK.

No, this discussion is about civility in politics – and in comes as the great-nephew of Brigitte Macron was attacked and beaten in his hometown of Amiens, apparently because of his connection to the president.

It has sparked debate because attacks on elected officials are increasing – with MPs and local mayors reporting a steep increase in vandalism at their offices and even, thankfully more rare, instances of physical attacks. This all comes as a mayor in western France resigned after an arson attack at his home.

Things are, thankfully, not at the stage when elected all officials require bodyguards, but it does seem to be a worrying trend.

‘Attractive’ France

France is still the subject of lazy stereotypes about its workforce – they’re always either on strike or at lunch, apparently – but it seems that business leaders don’t agree, as France took the crown for the most new foreign direct investment in Europe for the fourth year running.

There are caveats to this of course – France was starting from a low base, and the investment doesn’t create as many jobs as in neighbouring Germany – but this ‘business friendly’ France is really down to the vision of Emmanuel Macron.

You can argue whether it’s a good thing or not, but it’s relatively unusual to see a single person change the image of country to such an extent.

OPINION: Macron has made a start, but France’s ‘reindustrialisation’ must move faster

Talking France

We talk about this in more detail – along with politics expert John Lichfield – in this week’s podcast, as well as discussing whether French drivers really deserve their terrible reputation, how priorité à droite actually works, what lies beneath the surface glamour of Cannes and some ideas for things to do this summer.

Listen here or on the link below.

Language learning tip of the week 

If you want to brush up your French swearing, simply head to the Metro on the day there is a breakdown on the line. The delayed commuter next to me as I navigated a badly disrupted Line 11 provided a free masterclass on the many different ways the French use ‘putain‘. My language horizons have been truly broadened.

Video of the week

We’re used to the famously tactile Macron creating ‘bromance’ headlines when he greets other world leaders with hugs, but in this (possibly selectively edited but still amusing) footage, it seems that the shoe was on the other foot when the president visited Iceland for the Council of Europe summit.

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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