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.
The French president has voiced France’s readiness to “contribute more to the defense of Europe” through its nuclear arsenal. It’s a message fro European allies and for Putin’s Russia — and another reminder of how much hangs on November’s U.S. elections.
In an ominous speech in Paris, the French president warned that Europe is in mortal danger. Macron also suggested he may be just the man to save it.
What qualifies as an occupational accident when an employee is working from home? In France, despite regulations intended to be simple in substance and form, many teleworking accidents end up in the courts’ blind spot.
Long the preserve of the elite, caviar is now attracting a wider audience, boosted by its ubiquitous presence on social networks. This new visibility fascinates as much as it questions big names in the sector and Michelin-starred chefs.
The election of the new president of Senegal, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, paves the way for a period of deep uncertainty between Paris and Dakar, amidst the spread of an “anti-French sentiment” in West Africa.
Mama Shelter, pioneer of the lifestyle wave in Europe’s hotel industry, is celebrating its 15th anniversary. For Serge Trigano, the former Club Med President who co-founded it after years of hard work, the chain’s success is a form of revenge.
Despite Israel’s bloody war on Gaza, Jordan participated, on Saturday, in the destruction of Iranian missiles and drones targeting Israel. But it is not the only Arab country involved, a major regional shift that follows years of discreet military contacts orchestrated by the United States.
The Seine, the backbone of Paris’ Olympic celebrations, is being reclaimed as a recreational and transport hub. Does it mean Napoleon’s dream of a “Greater Paris” stretching all the way to the sea will finally happen?
For the past 30 years, the number of wolves has steadily increased in France — great news for biodiversity but not for farmers, who are accusing the predator of attacking and killing their livestock. The topic, which has become explosive, is symbolic of a very contemporary divide in the country.
A telephone call between French and Russian defense ministers on Wednesday gave rise to Russian accusations and threats against France. The terrorist risk shared by the two countries did not allow the slightest progress to be made: this is worrying just a few months before the Paris Olympic Games.
How can we make the city both more dense and more liveable? By opening up its rooftops! At a time of land scarcity and global warming, this vast reservoir of largely unused land is the focus of much interest.
Anonymous customers, confidential prices, private fittings. Even today, haute couture remains a secret world where each fashion house has its own way of operating and communicating.
While Germany’s Scholz has chosen to walk a tightrope, France’s Macron has made a major U-turn on. While differences between Berlin and Paris are not new, the intensifying war in Ukraine has changed the situation.
China’s richest man, Zhong Shanshan, has been pursued for weeks by an online nationalist campaign claiming he is not patriotic enough. Official tolerance questions this ideological hardening, at a time of economic slowdown, strong international tensions and built-in contradictions of China’s statists-capitalistic economy.
The new batch of Michelin-starred restaurants was announced on March 18, with 52 new establishments honored, more than ever before. While the little red guide calls the shots among restaurateurs, it’s also the stuff of dreams for aficionados, for whom the bible of gastronomy has become a true collector’s item.
Long hidden and even seen as shameful, menopause is finally making its way into the public sphere in France, and elsewhere. Celebrities, journalists and sociologists are now talking about it openly, and brands are offering solutions to help reimagine what this physical and psychological change means to some women.
Celebrating his reelection and the 10th anniversary of the annexation of Crimea on Monday, Vladimir Putin showed that he is not backing down. And he signaled that he will redouble his efforts in the invasion of Ukraine as well as his psychological war with the West.
The French President has lost all hope in reasoning with Putin, hardening his tone toward Moscow after trying to position himself at the outset as a mediating force.
From Brad Pitt to Céline Dion and Michelin-starred chefs, the high-end cooking ranges manufactured by La Cornue have seduced celebrities around the world. Despite despite its extra high prices, the French company’s sales have jumped 125% in the past five years.
Paris promised to be a socially responsible host for the 2024 Summer Games, yet multiple testimonies from undocumented migrant workers have revealed mistreatment and workers’ rights violations by the companies charged with building the Olympic infrastructure.
Discreet about its strategy, the Chinese company Temu is proving a fierce competitor to incumbent e-commerce brands, notably Amazon, by operating at a major loss. Some are worried whether its aim is to collect something more valuable: data on the habits of Westerners.
A new study published by LinkedIn Actualités in France, shows a notable gender difference in how companies decide who gets to work from hom. What factors explain this gap? They may (or may not) surprise you.
Breakdancing will make its debut as an Olympic sport at this summer’s Paris Games. Les Echos meets with French dancers of various styles and from different generations, all passionate about this hip-hop dance form.
France is now officially part of the global “no sex” trend, notes French philosopher Gaspard Koenig, who sees a troubling connection between a rising neo-Puritanism and fears of World War III.
The climate crisis could provide an opportunity to invent a new way of discovering the world that is more local and sustainable.
The French president’s suggestion that Western troops could be sent to Ukraine, took Western allies by surprise. Yet Macron wanted to send a double message at a key moment — to ally and adversary alike.
French President Emmanuel Macron crossed a line, at least rhetorically, in saying that the West doesn’t exclude sending troops to help Ukraine defend itself from Russia. Yet it may be time for the Western alliance to acknowledge that they’ve actually entered direct conflict with Moscow long before.
Cakes and dishes that imitate something other than their own form. While culinary trompe-l’œil is not new, it is becoming more widespread, popularized in France on social networks by star pastry chef Cédric Grolet.
Working neither from the office nor from home: the flexible concept of “workation” is appealing not only to digital nomads but increasingly to regular employees who want to find new ways to for peak work-life balance.
The competition dreamed up by Spain’s former soccer star Gerard Piqué is developing at breakneck speed in Spain, and beyond. Thanks to a fun format and rules borrowed from a number of other sports, it is attracting a younger audience, which is something advertisers are keen to see.
It’s what we call lighting a counter-fire. At a time when U.S. support for Ukraine is under threat, Europe is coming together. But can it fill the void that may be left by Washington?
The Skiif navigation app relies on GPS and user data to tell skiers which chairlifts are crowded…and where accidents have backed up traffic on the slopes. Sound familiar?
Four hundred tubes that tell the story of the architectural adventure of the making of Beaubourg, which is about to undergo a major renovation project as its 50th anniversary approaches.
President Macky Sall’s decision to suspend the February 25 presidential election has plunged Senegal into chaos. It’s also grim news for those seeking institutional reform across Africa, where Dakar was long seen as a democratic model.
Greta Thunberg tapped into an growing area of scholarship when she wrote recently that to save the planet, we first need to dismantle ‘colonial, racist, and patriarchal systems of oppression.’
The humble jambon-beurre, the classic ham and butter sandwiches, has long been eaten standing-up at a bistro counter. But now the so-called “neo-sandwich” has arrived on Parisians’ plates — not only in coffee shops and fast food joints but also in restaurants. Garnished with seasonal produce and a chef’s touch, the sandwich is now a dish in its own right.
Haute-Garonne is the starting point of the movement that is now engulfing the entire industry. We report on farmers on the front line of a crisis that has gone national.
Sales of vinyl have tripled in the past five years in France, and Paris trails only Tokyo. In this age of dematerialization, LPs symbolize a return to a ceremonial approach to music, a taste for beautiful objects and a desire to give and collect.
As Russia and China weave more intricate and long-lasting relations within the African continent, former colonizing powers like France need to step up their game in order to maintain their influence and connections.
Organizing summits, placing flags, following schedules, dealing with the unexpected … The agents of France’s Quai d’Orsay who oversee the reception of foreign leaders and promote the country’s image don’t have an easy job.