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My french chronicles, episode 1: After Charlie Hebdo
A belgian national residing in France for the past 15 years, I thought it might be interesting to write about what is going on here from a personal viewpoint. This might even get read by my...
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My french chronicles (2): Did you say “Front National”?
Putting it very simply, the first round of departmental elections last Sunday saw a fairly strong showing from the far-right National Front (in French: Front National, or FN), around 25%, just behind...
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My french chronicles (3): Books, Big Brother, warplanes and spoof
French politics have become such a farce that it’s getting difficult to know where to start. Thankfully, popular author Emmanuel Todd, has just come up with a new essay entitled “Who is Charlie?...
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My french chronicles (4): Rififi in Charlieland
Remember last January 7th and the Charlie Hebdo shooting that decimated the satirist journal, boosted Hollande’s opinion ratings (for a short period), enabled that mostly irrelevant journal to go from...
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My french chronicles (5): Republic at stake.
The “République” was the focus of french political action this week. Attachement to “republican values” and to the very concept of “the republic” was hotly contested between the governing socialists...
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My french chronicles (6): Valls attitude
France has a real problem. Well it has a multitude of real problems, but it has one particular real problem identified by its screams and finger-pointing: Prime Minister Manuel Valls. Born in Spain in...
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My french chronicles (7): Grapes, coyotes, shantytown and ferryboats
I don’t know if it’s El Niño’s fault but it’s been hot around here for the past few days. Good weather for the grapes here in Southern Burgundy, at the same time as the UNESCO includes the Burgundy...
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My french chronicles (8): Migrants, clowns and green politics.
That’s it: end of summer vacations, back to work, school or, preferably, the french chronicles. France is gripped by the difficult question of the massive arrival of migrants in Europe, symbolised here...
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My french chronicles (9): Decision time
We all had a good laugh this week when ex-and-would-be-next-president Sarkozy said that “France, throughout eternity, as always been on the side of the oppressed and always on the side of the...
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My french chronicles (10): Satire, junk politics and old stones.
This week’s Charlie Hebdo satirical drawings relating to the drowning of the Syrian toddler on a Turkish beach, and more generaly to the migrant/refugee flux into the EU, drew international salvos of...
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