WorldcrunchStay informed on France with Worldcrunch. In-depth coverage of French politics, economic trends, societal changes, and cultural events with expert translations. Highlights include Paris, Lyon, Marseille, French cinema, gastronomy, modern literature, and cultural events.
By closing Donald Trump’s social media accounts, the Big Tech platforms have recognized for the first time their fundamental responsibility for the content they broadcast. But for this and other reasons that now also means the regulators must step up.
The Schengen Area is not a “sieve” that lets migrants in but, as recent events have shown, it is not a fortress either. The fundamental rights of individuals will always prevail over security requirements.
A wave of immigrants arrived in France from Chechnya during the early 2000s after the wars with Russia. A minority of this Muslim community has been radicalized, including an 18-year-old who beheaded a French schoolteacher in October.
Europe is moving forward in a united front to force Big Tech that could lead to a historic showdown on the future of how the digital economy functions.
London is using the fishing issue in hopes of breaking the EU’s united front.
Gaspard Koenig has returned after several months spent traveling across Europe on horseback. The journey included a conscious effort to limit his exposure to current events, relying only on the local newspapers and conversations.
Monkeys, lobsters and even guppies … They all have an innate understanding that there’s only one truly effective way to contain an epidemic.
The lockdowns have arrived as technology accentuates the passage from ritually organized time to time without clear limits.
As the European Commission targets U.S. retail giant Amazon for alleged antitrust violations, David Barroux in French business daily Les Echos offers his own take.
The announcement by Pfizer and BioNTech that their COVID-19 vaccine trials have tallied a 90% success rate comes as a second wave of the virus is hitting not only public health, but the public psyche.
While populists toughen their positions and beat their chests, the deep-seated weakness of their policies is driving everything.
Concurrent emergencies have given rise to ‘exceptional’ measures that then have a tendency of being institutionalized.
Things are heating up between Erdogan and Macron, leading to the recall of the French ambassador in Ankara. France’s efforts in training local imams may thwart Turkey’s policy of influence through religion.
Le Monde’s editorial board warns that the brutal killing of a middle school teacher is another direct attack on the same basic freedoms targeted in France since the Charlie Hebdo murders in 2015.
France is just one of many countries that have long shunned online consultations. But now that it’s skyrocketing in pandemic times, there may be a mini revolution in health care.
A leader can, in good conscience, conceal dysfunctions, hide problems or mitigate difficulties. Telling white lies allows him to restore hope for his allies, and rekindle their desire to act. But what happens when it is the very definition of self-serving
There’s plenty of talk these days about forgoing children for the sake of the environment. But are people really opting out of the reproduction route?
The halting of AstraZeneca’s vaccine trial is not only a reminder of the challenge of finding a cure, but will feed growing public mistrust of states and scientists.
With July recorded as the driest month since 1959 in France, farmers — who make up half of water consumption in the country — face a problematic water shortage. The agricultural world is now working on solutions to better manage this precious resource.
Platforms like Tinder have a reputation for facilitating quick hook-ups. But their impact on society is far more profound than that, argues a French economics professor.
There’s been plenty of finger-pointing during the pandemic. But does calling someone out for being ‘reckless’ and ‘irresponsible’ actually effect positive change?
I’ve worked from home long before the coronavirus outbreak forced the rest of the world to go remote. When I used to talk about my job as a freelance writer and video editor — and the fact that virtually all my working hours were spent alone in my apartment, on my computer — my friends […]
French President Emmanuel Macron is among those demanding that an eventual vaccine be available to all. But there’s also money in play, and a market guided by a whole different set of priorities.
Eight months after the initial warning signs, we still know very little about how the coronavirus works. Decision-makers will have to play by ear for many more months.
Owing, it would seem, is a part of the human experience, and not just in modern times … and so is debt forgiveness.
The pandemic has thrown the sector into a tailspin. But if European states are willing to work together, there’s an real opportunity to revamp it — and help the planet in the process.
The super rich are buying residency papers and passports from places like Cyprus and Vanuatu to be able to travel — despite quarantines — for health reasons, business or pleasure.
Summer is normally the time for France’s immigrants or their descendants from Algeria, Senegal and other African countries to head back to the home country. This year? Not so much.
Synthetic meat is on the rise— and this shouldn’t just be big news for vegans. Philosophers and activists agree that closing slaughterhouses is vital for our animals, our planet and ourselves.
The European Union has reached a historic accord, de facto unifying as one state by agreeing on a common debt. The EU now is a new form of society, in which sovereignty is shared reciprocally.
For some, France’s strict shelter-in-place period sank their relationships. Others say it helped. Either way, couples in the would-be land of romance found themselves at a real crossroads.
The country’s ‘principled’ approach to data collection does a disservice to people dealing with real and consequential discrimination.
Some researchers advocate shortening the procedure for clinical trials to develop a vaccine by infecting healthy volunteers with the live virus. This ‘challenge infection’ method raises an ethical dilemma.
-OpEd- As the COVID-19 crisis swept its way across France, some of the products people needed the most — masks, respirators and key electronic components — simply weren’t available. Even more jarring was the fact that factories here couldn’t even respond to the shortages in a timely manner. Indeed, the pandemic was a wake-up call […]
Social distancing measures and face masks will impact not only the atmosphere in theaters and concert halls, but also the bottom line.
Which leaders will be remembered from this moment in history? So asks Catherine Chatignoux.
In France more than anywhere else, employees seem to find it difficult to give up teleworking to come back to the office. They have more or less valid reasons to hesitate. But employers also have their own.
Reunited and it feels so…? In France, a number of young adults chose to spend the confinement period with their parents. Families butted heads, of course, but also bonded.
While it may make sense from a business perspective, healthcare facilities should focus on more than just optimizing space. Hospital architecture lessons from a pandemic.
SAINT-BLIMONT — Two years ago, my partner and I set off across Europe in our campervan. We called it Foxy — and it was our home on wheels and ticket to freedom. In France, they still call it “la vanlife” — that ultimate mix of wanderlust and practicality that was popularized during the 1960s in […]