Hailing from Guadeloupe, the 30-year-old Yohann Gène’s presence in the Tour de France is a watershed, challenging a competitive cycling world described as “homogeneous” and even prone to racism.
Tag: france
With major doubts about the reliability of the alleged victim, France is buzzing again with conspiracy theories around the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case. The latest focuses on the Sofitel hotel, site of alleged act.
Original Pablo Picasso ceramics made between 1947 and 1973 – the year the famous Spanish painter died – are sold at quite reasonable prices: between 500 and 8000 euros a piece.
Is cycling up and down the Alps, and around every other corner in France, not tiring enough? Now cyclists are expected to tweet in between exhausting stages. And from their bikes?
Since Strauss-Kahn’s arrest on attempted rape charges, and with the latest news that his accuser’s credibility is in doubt, those who know him best paint the picture of a public enigma whose desire for freedom – and women – always risked undermin
In France, where accusers enjoy something akin to a “right to lie,” the latest twists in the DSK investigation follow questions about Strauss-Kahn’s treatment as a common criminal.
From Day One, the African-born New York hotel maid who accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault has either been seen as the most innocent of victims, or the center of a plot to take advantage of an influential leader with a weakness for women.
The Socialist party primary to challenge Nicolas Sarkozy in 2012 is in full swing. Politicians react to sudden news that Dominique Strauss-Kahn may be back in the running.
Rebels in the southern mountains have advanced on government troops, and France believes they may have best chance of reaching Tripoli, which could lead to Gaddafi’s overthrow.
Categories
Gay Marriage: Meanwhile In France…
Trailing other Western European countries — and several U.S. States — in gay rights laws, France has again opted against legalizing gay marriage. Still, same-sex French couples are increasingly making sure civil union ceremonies walk and talk like a wed
Airbus engineers are coming up with startling new ideas for how planes could look – and operate – 40 years from now. By 2050, commercial aircraft may have transparent cabins, fly in formations and shuttle some 9 billion passengers.
Categories
When Your Dog Needs A Shrink
Unruly — and unhappy — dogs and cats can be a real nightmare for their human masters. One option? Therapy. Specialized dog and cat psychologists can work wonders with perturbed pets, but only when their owners are willing to open up as well.
Le Monde reports on new documents that may prove costly for French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde. The documents suggest Lagarde may have known that members of an arbitration panel involved in state dispute with a French tycoon were biased.
Op-Ed: Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel were able to hammer out a deal late last week over a new bailout for Greece. The agreement, however, is shaky – and will remain so until the German Chancellor is willing to take a clear stand on the issue.
Its picturesque surroundings aside, what’s bringing crowds to the French village of Bugarach are rumors that it will survive world destruction. A craze that is pushing up property prices, annoying inhabitants, and worrying the authorities.
Members of the so-called Generation Y look very differently than their elders at working life and careers. This creates new challenges for traditional French firms, which must find ways to keep young talent in their ranks.
Categories
The End Of The Organic Myth
Op-Ed: The bean sprouts identified as the culprit in the recent E. coli crisis in Germany has cast a shadow over the virtues of organic food. Expensive, environmentally demanding — and not always so tasty or healthy — organic food is not the idyll that
Le Monde reveals new medical report that recommends a strengthened guardianship for billionaire Bettencourt, 88, who has been battling with her daugther over the family fortune.
Asian millionaires want the best Bordeaux wines. This permanent demand on a limited number of bottles has sent prices skyrocketing for the most prestigious Chateaux at Hong Kong auctions. It risks skewing the market as a whole.
According to just released interviews, the famed existentialist and leftist activist was also a foul-mouthed taker of hard drugs who underestimated Hitler, insulted his French colleagues (and lovers) and praised international terrorism.
Categories
Are The Smurfs Crypto-Fascists?
A French academic takes a critical look at the classic blue characters, suggesting there may be more than meets the eye when it comes to “Smurfology.”
The French Ministry of Defense plans to follow the example of the United States and house all of its various departments and offices under a single roof. The winning design for the French “Pentagon” – which will actually be a hexagon – was made public thi
Categories
In France, Barbers Are Back
Once a dying institution, barbershops are staging a comeback in France, where men are turning to the classic coiffeurs for everything from oh-so perfect stubble to some much needed guy time.
Editorial: Without offering any hard details, Ex-Education Minister Luc Ferry went on television to say that a former cabinet minister took part in an orgy with young boys. Le Monde says Ferry is the one who’s guilty here – either of not reportin
Changes are afoot along the Champs-Elysées, where big-name clothing brands like Abercrombie & Fitch and Marks & Spencer are occupying more and more commercial space. Critics say soaring rents and new business regulations threaten to turn t
A controversial Turkish-born preacher, who never appears live in public, is spreading a Koran-inspired defense of creationism. For some young French Muslims, this frontal attack on Darwin rings true.
French authorities recently launched a campaign aimed not at the causes of cancer, but at one of its more debilitating effects: the social stigma that still persists.
Categories
Meet Claude Monet’s Master Gardener
Gilbert Vahé has devoted much of his life to the picturesque Claude Monet gardens in Giverny, a living legacy he not only preserved, but helped recreate.
After European campuses open in China and India, a top French business school has set up shop on the North Carolina State University campus to give its students a shot at American jobs. Other European institutions hope to follow.
Top French brands L’Oréal and Christian Dior are leading the hunt for fashion “ambassadors” who have a story, and substance, behind the pretty face.
With Internet piracy taking a major bite out of their bottom line, adult film producers are going three dimensional in an effort to lure new, paying customers.
Editorial: At the E-G8 in Paris, world leaders and digital stars could build the foundations of a new dialogue — and expand the ‘infrastructure’ — to allow for the Internet to bloom, and the economy to reap the benefits.
The “spectacle” that the American judicial system has made of Dominique Strauss-Kahn is not only “unbearable,” it is also “disgraceful,” argues French sociologist Michel Fize.
Editorial: The next IMF chief should hail from the Old Continent, and the best European candidate is (another) French Finance Minister, says France’s top business daily
Editorial: Just as with the Sep. 11 attacks, a surprisingly large chunk of French society is prone to turn to conspiracy theories to explain Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s sex scandal. It’s a bad sign for the health of public debate in France, says Le Monde.
Just as the Dominique Strauss-Kahn storm hits, a well-timed book by an American reporter in Paris tries to make sense of the French codes of power, sex and gender. A review by Le Monde’s New York correspondent.
With the IMF chief facing allegations of attempted rape of a hotel maid, the French left’s paper of record profiles Strauss-Kahn’s “women problem,” described as hedonistic and on the verge of harassment.
The author of a controversial French book about politics and seduction, which cited Strauss-Kahn’s approach to women and power, says the French media must reexamine its relationship with the ruling elite and the pursuit of the truth.
Editorial: As far as his political future is concerned, it hardly matters whether Dominique Strauss-Kahn is found guilty or innocent of the sex assault charges being levied against him in New York. That’s because the intersection of politics with the fren
Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s arrest in New York City is likely to result in his withdrawal from the 2012 presidential elections. What’s not yet clear is how much of a benefit that would actually be for President Sarkozy, who stands to lose both a rival and a