Information technology was supposed to usher in a new borderless utopia, but instead new walls are reappearing.
Tag: france
In the often tough multi-ethnic neighborhoods on the periphery of French cities, the Catholic youth organizations offer a way out.
Run. h/t Brain Magazine
It’s a business decision, above all.
PARIS — The 3D printing revolution promises to change the very way products are manufactured and sold, across a vast array of sectors. Inevitably this has sparked a race to directly print living cells of human beings. This technology is now available in the US and Japan, dubbed 3D bioprinting, with wide-eyed investors flocking to […]
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Spider Collector In A Web Of Trouble
Main picture: Santa Rosa Press Democrat/ZUMA With great passion comes great trouble: This could be the lesson learnt by a spider-and-bug-lover in northeastern France after he was suspected of trafficking the creepy crawlies. Investigators were puzzled by how the fifty-something man could afford his many trips to Guyana, Brazil and Madagascar despite living off state […]
Like the rest of the Internet, we too at Zoo’d have become momentarily obsessed with that video of the cat running into a French bakery’s glass door. If you haven’t seen it yet, here it is just below. If you’re like us, you’ll probably watch it again… and then three more times after that. Meowch!! […]
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A Champion’s Demise
This may not be the Tour de France, but the atmosphere was definitely comparable. One of my best friends (on the right) and I were watching this unfortunate cyclist struggle with a flat tire, right on the street where I lived then, which is just one block away from where I live now.
How does it twirl? Why does it loop? An American cowboy might take it all for granted. But a French team has explored how the laws of physics can explain this common thread.
The French navy has announced it will allow women to work in submarines starting in 2017. A Le Temps columnist contemplates whether that takes gender equality too far.
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Un-Bear-Lievable
The Toulouse Museum took part in a project that allows viewers to spend a few hours with a female Slovenian bear named Tolosa. A video camera was placed around the animal’s neck for 20 days. The uniquely European project called “Inside the Eyes of the Bear” is linked to an exhibit and has provided valuable […]
The best weapon against insects is often other insects.
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11 Animals In Unlikely Places
In case you missed this gem on our homepage, check out our world tour of animals in places you wouldn’t usually expect them… Read it here. Photo: Dromedar61
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Time Travel With A Top Hat
This picture is not as old as it seems. Back when I was a philosophy student at Besançon University in eastern France, we put a great deal of effort into our Carnival costumes. In 1951, the theme for the festival was “the 1900s.” That’s me on the left, in my father’s wedding suit, on my […]
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The Psychology Of The Most Heinous Crimes
Behavior psychology, first introduced in the U.S. during the 1960s, is now a widely accepted part of criminal investigation tactics. A French special unit handles some 40 extreme cases a year.
Have you ever heard a peacock’s cry? It kind of sounds like a cross between an angry cat and a hungry baby. Now, imagine that video’s audio on an endless loop – for four years. That’s what a couple in Marseille had to listen to, only interupted by the cry the bird makes when it’s […]
Tough on crime and blatently ambitious, Valls was plucked by President Hollande to lead a new government after Sunday’s disaster in local elections. It’s a risky choice, for many reasons.
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Who Built That Bridge?
My wife Claudine was asking our daughter Cécile to guess which architect built the Garabit viaduct we were looking over, in France’s Massif Central region. Does the wrought iron structure look familiar? It should: The railway bridge was constructed by Gustave Eiffel, 10 years before a certain Parisian tower made him famous worldwide.
We bid farewell to eight global notables who died this past month.
BORDEAUX — Jeanne Lacombe, who runs four vineyards owned by wine magnate Bernard Magrez in France’s Médoc region, is used to waiting: for the grapes to ripen, for wines to age — and now, for her drone. It is due this month, and will come equipped with three carbon fiber feet, six propellers and a […]
Amid an ongoing public debate in France on end-of-life palliative care, doctors tell Le Monde how they secretly help their patients die.
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Fishing Through The Ages
Among the most beautiful countries I’ve explored is my own. This is what we call la France profonde, literally “deep France” — the heartland. Aptly enough, the Château de la Bussière in the background is nicknamed the Fishermen Castle and features a collection of works of art related to freshwater fishing. There is still a […]
The singular tale of a young French-Malian who spent three years in the world’s jihad hot spots in an attempt to join al-Qaeda fighters. No one would take him.
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The Village Of My Ancestors
I was 19 when I took this picture of my mother, father and younger cousin enjoying a sunny day in Chaignay, Bourgogne — my ancestors’ village, in eastern France. One year later, I would take (and pass) my driver’s license test in that Peugeot 201 you see in the background. I had nicknamed the car […]
The financial crisis has seen middle-aged French increasingly returning to their family nests. For many, it can be a special kind of shame to move back in with elderly parents.
Two French teenagers, aged 15 and 16, organized their journey in just a few days, via the Internet, to set off on Jihad in Syria. Once there, they were soon disillusioned.
The English chose to build their towns next to rivers. The French instead built on the ruins of Roman cities. A look at how these centuries-old decisions have impacted today’s economy.
Skiing isn’t the only winter sporting activity that can give you snow, speed and the beauty of nature. Follow an amateur in France as he tries to harness the wild icy power of dog sledding.
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French Family Wins Fight To Keep Pet Fox
GARDONNE — A French family have won the right to keep their pet fox, Zouzou. Under French law foxes are considered wild animals and, therefore, cannot be kept as domestic pets. After a nearly three year legal battle, a court last month gave Zouzou the right to remain in the Delanes family care for the […]
Quality matters even if you want to eat-on-the-go, and pay less. Paris is putting its touch on fast food by improving offerings like kebabs, as well as handing out haute cuisine for the masses.
French President Francois Hollande is as popular in official circles in Washington as he is unpopular with the citizens of the country that elected him. Story of a unique alliance.
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Introducing Zoo’d
What’s that? Something happening over there? Welcome to Zoo’d – Worldcrunch’s brand new international blog about all things animal. Arf! Photo by amyfarrar via Instagram
PARIS — Elegance is the watch word here, as a young model walks down the aisle, wearing a pair of astonishingly shaped stilettos, its complex patterns reminiscent of certain architectural constructions. The graceful shoes, created by French designer Pierre Renaux, were made entirely with a machine that is on the verge of changing the world, […]
With French unemployment at record levels, times are tough for clients and workers of an unemployment agency in one of Marseille’s poorest, most crime-ridden areas.
Its early adopters swear by the SF-based car-service app. But as Uber expands internationally, local cabbies in Milan and Paris are fighting back. Will rickshaw drivers in Bangalore be next?
A new French law targeting clients of prostitutes has focused attention on the changing call-girl business. Here’s another world, of ‘escort boys,’ with both male and female customers.
Since the end of the Cold War, from the Middle East to Africa, almost every military intervention carried out by the world’s top powers leads to regime change. But rarely to stability.
Barack Obama made American inequality the central challenge of his State of the Union address. Europe and the rest of the West should be listening too.
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French Infidelity And The Internet
A website created by and for women to arrange discrete extra-marital escapades has attracted 800,000 users in France. Another tale of French sexual morals, now with a digital twist.
Philosophers debate the meaning and sincerity of social network friendships, finding affirmation or disagreement from the words of long-dead forebears. Because there’s no app for that.