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.

Far-right on the march

As the dust settles from the riots and the clean-up begins, we’re seeing a lot of hot takes on what it all means, and one of the most common is that they make a Marine Le Pen presidency an inevitability.

I was pleased to read the opinion from our columnist John Lichfield that this is far from inevitable, even with the caveats that of course predicting the results of an election in four years’ time is very difficult.

Polling does suggest that in short term Le Pen and her far-right party Rassemblement National have benefited politically from the social unrest, but interestingly she has mostly achieved this by saying very little. That was also her strategy during the pension protests, when she was conspicuous by her absence from most of the debates.

Her ‘dédiabolisation’ strategy is basically to say little and ensure her MPs turn up in parliament, dress smartly and don’t say anything overtly racist. 

And it seems to be working for her – but if she wants to run for president again in 2027 (and every sign indicates that she does) then surely at some point she will have to explain her policies to the French people? And try to present an economic plan that comes somewhere close to adding up?

Jardin-travail 

The Local has been partly produced from the Charente ‘branch office’ this week – aka our extremely overgrown garden in the pretty south-west département which also encompasses the lively town of Angoulême, best known for its cool street art and annual comic book festival. 

Working from @TheLocalFrance Charente branch office . . pic.twitter.com/bNL0dVs85f

— Emma Pearson (@LocalFR_Emma) July 11, 2023

Among the many nice things about small villages in France is going for an evening stroll and bumping into the mayor, who welcomes you to the commune. Anne Hidalgo never did that . . .

READ ALSO Why are village mayors so important?

French viewing and listening

The Talking France podcast is now on its summer break, we’ll be back in September, in the meantime we have a year’s worth of previous episodes to catch up with here. 

Hip-hop

If you’re looking for more France-based entertainment I really enjoyed the mini-series Le Monde de Demain (Reign Supreme), a based-on-a-true-story drama about the growth of hip-hop in France in the 1980s. Originally made by Arte, it’s also now available on Netflix.

The drama is great in its own right with amazing music and fabulous 80s fashions (especially the main character’s mullet) but it felt especially nice to be watching something about the Paris banlieues that wasn’t about riots, crime and poverty but instead showcases the creativity and energy that is also found in the suburbs.

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.