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INSIDE FRANCE

Inside France: Water clashes, shorter showers and Mbappé memes

From the future of the country's water supplies to memorials at the 'martyr village' via endless discussions on career plans of footballer Kylian Mbappé, our weekly newsletter Inside France looks at the news and talking points in France that you might have missed.

Published: 17 June 2023 08:51 CEST
Inside France: Water clashes, shorter showers and Mbappé memes
Photo by Gabriel BOUYS / 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.

Low on l’eau 

This week the French government wants us to spend less time in the shower – part of the water-saving campaign as temperatures rise and France faces another summer of drought. 

After a record-breaking drought last summer, an unusually dry winter means that 60 percent of the country’s water tables are below seasonal norms and already more than half the country is on some level of drought restriction.

But beyond this summer, the issue of water looks set to become a major battle in France – and not only France – as the planet continues to heat and drought conditions spread.

The violent clashes at Saint-Soline in western France – site of a project for huge underground ‘mega-basins’ for water collection – seems to be a foretaste of a conflict that is only going to get more intense. 

I’ve noticed more and more ‘méga-bassines, non merci‘ graffiti around Paris as the conflict comes to be seen as less of a local planning issue and more of a fundamental question for the future; how to balance the needs of farmers with the protection of the environment, and who should control the vital asset that is water? 

Martyr village

This week has seen France mark the anniversary of the massacre at the village of Oradour-sur-Glane in the south-west. On June 10th, 1944, 643 men, women and children who lived in the village were massacred by Nazi soldiers.

After the men were shot, the women and children were herded into the village church, which was set on fire – along with the rest of the village.

After the war, the government decided to leave the burned-out village as a permanent reminder of the horrors of war. These days it’s still preserved and is open to visitors, with an excellent visitor centre which put what happened into the wider context of World War II. I really cannot recommend it enough – unforgettable barely covers it. 

Decathlon dispute

This week’s episode of Talking France looks at the big news events – from the horrific attack at Annecy to the furious reaction to the destruction of prehistoric standing stones at Carnac in order to build a DIY store – as well as some more perennial questions, like why are the French so keen on philosophy. There’s also a mild dispute about Decathlon, and I must admit I don’t really understand my co-host’s love for the French sportswear chain. Maybe I’m missing something . . . Listen here or on the link below

Football

You might think it’s only a game, but footballer Kylian Mbappé’s decision to (maybe) leave Paris-Saint-Germain at some point in the future has dominated the front pages this week, and not only in the sports press.

Even Emmanuel Macron has given his view on this apparently vital topic and as you would expect, that led to a lot of memes and jokes. 

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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