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INSIDE FRANCE

Inside France: Beer scandal, climate summit and naked tourism

From naked tourism to climate summits, via the 'scandal' of the presidential beer, our weekly newsletter Inside France looks at what we have been talking about in France this week.

Published: 24 June 2023 08:30 CEST
Inside France: Beer scandal, climate summit and naked tourism
Photo by GEORGES GOBET / 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.

Down-in-one

This week began with perhaps the stupidest ‘scandal’ I’ve seen in France so far – furious criticism of president Emmanuel Macron for downing a bottle of beer with the Toulouse rugby team as they celebrated their crowning as French domestic champions. 

From being accused of promoting binge drinking to labelled as an ‘example of toxic masculinity’, this brief clip created quite a storm.

Surely there are many more genuine criticisms that one can make of Macron?

Climate

On a considerably more serious note, Paris is this week hosting a finance summit, which sounds dull but could end up being extremely important in tackling the climate crisis.

It’s a joint initiative between Macron and Barbados prime minister Mia Mottley and it looks at how countries in the global south can access the funds required to make the necessary changes to reduce emission levels, while also tackling the after-effects of climate-related catastrophes such as floods, droughts and landslides, which disproportionately affect poorer countries. 

It’s likely that there won’t be any big announcements immediately, but it’s the start of Mottley’s ‘Bridgetown Initiative’ to look at tackling the global catastrophe that is climate change on a global financial level. 

Body parts

I fell down something or a research rabbit hole while preparing this week’s podcast, when the question ‘are people actually buried in the Panthéon in Paris?’ turned out to have an unexpectedly complicated – and gory – answer.

As well as talking random body parts, we’re also discussing the real problems of rural France, off-the-beaten-track tourist spots, why France is so popular with naturists and recommending some books to help understand France and the French. Listen here or on the link below.

READ ALSO Naturism: Why France is the best country to get naked

The history of us

And if you’re anywhere near Paris, I really recommend the Musée de l’histoire de l’Immigration at Porte Dorée, which reopened last weekend after a three-year refurbishment.

It’s absolutely packed with fascinating stuff on the long history of migration to France, and also includes a playlist of pop music by immigrants in France – going right from Louis Armstrong and Josephine Baker up to the present day, which I’ve been enjoying listening to on my commute this week. 

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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