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This Happened

This Happened — July 19: Paris Métro Grand Opening

Updated July 19, 2024 at 11:15 a.m. The Paris metro system opened on this day in 1900. The first line to be inaugurated on the Paris metro was Line 1, which connected Porte de Vincennes to Porte Maillot. What was the mode of transportation before the Paris metro was established? Before the Paris metro was […]

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Economy

Nigeria, Journey Through The African Giant’s Economic Growing Pains

The reforms introduced by Bola Tinubu, the new president of Africa’s most populous country, will take time to have an effect on the daily lives of Nigerians. In the meantime, the population is suffering from inflation, corruption and insecurity. The disillusioned youth are impatient and dream of elsewhere.

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Rue Amelot Society special series

Manga Mon Amour: On French Passion For Japanese Anime

The visiting American writer pieces together how the French culture of comics (bandes dessinées) mixes with their deepening love of Japanese anime’.

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This Happened

This Happened—November 7: Happy Birthday To France’s DJ Extraordinaire

Updated Nov. 7, 2023 at 2 p.m. He may be the most well-known DJ of our time: David Guetta’s songs have garnered over 10 billion online streams. His music has become culturally universal and is played on the radio and at parties and clubs around the world, but most know little about the man behind […]

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Food / Travel Society

Simple Takeout To Hipster Fusion: Chinese Cuisine In Paris Gets Chic

Forget about Cantonese fried rice and spring rolls, new-look Chinese restaurants have been multiplying in Paris. They attract French people with increasingly diverse tastes… and a growing number of Chinese tourists.

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Ideas Society

Calmez-Vous, Americans: It’s Quite OK To Call Us “The French”

A widely mocked tweet by the Associated Press tells its reporters to avoid dehumanizing labels such as “the poor” or “the French”. But one French writer replies that the real dehumanizing threat is when open conversation becomes impossible.

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In The News

Pandora Papers, Japan’s New PM, Spicy Medicine Nobel

? Bom dia!* Welcome to Monday, where the financial secrets of the rich and powerful are exposed in a massive data leak, the two Koreas get on the phone for the first time in months, Japan has a new prime minister and there’s a spicy Nobel prize winner for medicine. For Paris-based daily Les Echos, […]

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In The News

Cher BoJo: A French Response To Boris Johnson’s Franglais Scolding

-Essay- PARIS — I’ll admit it straight away: As a bilingual journalist, the growing use of Franglais by French politicians makes my skin crawl. Not because I think this blend of French and English is a bad thing in and of itself (it is!), or because the purity of the French language should be preserved […]

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In The News

Claire Falzone: Veolia’s Startup ”Play” For Smart Energy Solutions

Five Questions for the Head of Business Innovation at Veolia on the launch of its new ‘Open Playground’ program.

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In The News

This Is Not An Omelet: Belgians Try To Crack Surreal Translation Mystery

A road sign for a ‘detour’ gets lost in translation.

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Geopolitics Society

Cancel Napoleon? French West Indies Decry Emperor For Slavery Role

As France and its overseas departments mark 200 years since Napoleon’s death, his role in spreading slavery to the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique is prompting more and more to reverse his heroic legacy.

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Society Weird

Pandemic Forces French To Buy Their Frogs From Vending Machine

You’re hungry and restaurants aren’t serving because of COVID lockdowns, but at least there are always vending machines. Hmmm? What looks tempting from behind that plexiglass?A Snickers bar or a bag of chips? Or maybe a pair of plastic-wrapped triangle sandwiches and a can of Coke? Otherwise, if you’re in the Franche-Comté region of eastern […]

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In The News

Carrefour Says Au Revoir To China: Lessons In Global Commerce

As Carrefour gets ready to sell a majority of its operations in China, lessons can be learned from the history of the French retail giant’s choices over the years.

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In The News

Vegan Or Gluten-Free: Hard To Swallow In France

The ‘exceptional’ eaters are tolerated if it’s part of a medical treatment. But when it’s based on well-being or upsets dinner parties, it can get tricky.

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Geopolitics Society

Brexit Babel: Will The EU Bid Adieu To The English Language?

French was once the international language of diplomacy. In Europe, at least, it may have to resume that role now that English risks losing its status as an official EU language.

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Society

Why French Will Remain The ‘Other’ Global Language

According to the projections of The International Organization of La Francophone, the language of Molière will retain its status in the next half-century thanks to the demographic growth of Africa.

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Food / Travel Ideas

Between Ljubljana And Trumplandia, A French Airport Odyssey

WASHINGTON — If you ever want to fly to America from Charles de Gaulle Airport, be sure that you are not landing in terminal 2F, as you might miss your flight, or even get arrested before reaching your point of departure, Terminal 1. But if you are starting your journey towards the U.S. from Charles […]

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In The News

David Foster Wallace, Finding Empathy Hidden In Red Tape

The author of ‘Infinite Jest’ and ‘The Pale King’, who took his own life 10 years ago, saw a higher meaning in the mundane — even wrestling with the French bureaucracy.

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In The News

When France’s Foreign Legion Becomes French

Each year, about 200 soldiers from the elite military unit become naturalized French citizens.

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In The News

A French Case For Dismantling GAFA, America’s Tech Oligarchy

Large technology companies need to be stopped before they crush our cherished freedoms, argues a new book by two French economists.

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In The News

Extra! Patriotism And Mourning A Year After Nice Terrorist Attack

Nice Matin, July 13, 2017 This year’s Bastille Day celebrations will have special meaning in Nice, as the southern French city commemorates the first anniversary of the July 14, 2016 attack when a truck driven by a terrorist plowed into a dense crowd gathered to watch the National Day’s fireworks. The city’s largest local daily, […]

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Geopolitics iQ

A Crazy Campaign! Q&A With French Reporter Camille Langlade

PARIS — Five days ahead of the showdown between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen in France’s crucial presidential elections, Worldcrunch has asked Camille Langlade, a political reporter at the 24-hour French news channel BFMTV to share her experiences covering the non-stop action of national political campaigns, and more. This is the first installment in […]

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In The News

Macron-Le Pen, 13 French Newspapers On Unprecedented Election

PARIS — After France’s two main political parties fell short in Sunday’s first round voting, next month’s second round will feature a showdown of centrist newcomer Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen. Macron, 39, of the brand new En Marche ! party came in first with 23.7% of the vote, while Le Pen […]

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In The News

French Election: A Nation Of Reason Sliding Into Political Extremism

Four candidates, including one from the extreme left and one for extreme right, are in a virtual dead heat ahead of Sunday’s election. But the problem runs much goes deeper than tight polls.

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Economy Society

France’s Future, Rural Heartland Struggles To Reinvent Itself

Ahead of the high stakes of next week’s French presidential election, a visit to ‘la France profonde,’ deep in the heartland where the country’s fate may be decided.

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blog

Protestors From Above — Video Quote Of The Day

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blog

Wedding Kiss — Video Quote Of The Day

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blog

Burkini Or Bikini, Questions Of “Provocation”

SPOTLIGHT: “PROVOCATIVE” FRENCH BURKINIS In France, like elsewhere in the Western world, summer is about going to the beach. Unlike elsewhere in the Western world, this summer it has also become about what women can and cannot wear at public beaches. In what has become a uniquely French flashpoint, so-called burkinis — swimsuits that cover […]

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blog

Cross That Bridge — Video Quote Of The Day

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blog

Kid Math Problem — Video Quote Of The Day

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blog

Elegant Calligraphy — Video Quote Of The Day

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blog

Bungee Jumping — Video Quote Of The Day

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Society Terror in Europe

Charlie Hebdo Attacks Haven’t Quieted French Comedians

Since the Jan. 7, 2015 killings, many humorists have been struggling to tackle the question of Islamic terrorism, security and freedom of speech. Most are undeterred.

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Geopolitics Terror in Europe

Paris Terror, “Complex” Middle East-Style Assault Strikes The West

-Analysis- PARIS — In terms of terrorist attacks on French territory, this was unprecedented: multiple suicide bombers blowing themselves up late Friday, after launching coordinated massacres in five locations in central Paris and near the Stade de France football stadium on the outskirts of the capital in Saint Denis. The Paris targets included Bataclan, a […]

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Future Society

New Nouvelle Vague – France Flirts With Digital Cinema

Some film distributors are choosing to release movies directly online without theater screenings. Because of cinema regulations, this new model is forbidden in France — for French movies — but foreign films are another matter.

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Economy

In China, Club Med Is A Brand New Idea 65 Years After Its Founding

Rich families from Guangzhou or Beijing are flocking to the new Asian “villages” of the famous French vacation brand. Activities include mahjong and karaoke but the beloved GOs (Genteel Organizers) are still here.

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Society

Patrick Modiano: 7 Passages – In English – From France’s Obscure Nobel Prize Winner

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blog

Fine French Crooning From Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Lead Singer

Berlin-based American musician Anton Newcombe posted a demo of his band the Brian Jonestown Massacre performing a cover of the French composer William Sheller“s “Philadelphia Story” Tuesday. Although he explains that on Twitter singing in French is difficult and that he plans to have a woman perform it for the recording, we at Paris-based Worldcrunch […]

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blog

New Wave Of French Singers Say ‘Merde’ To Life

Photo: Mathi et Mathi. No one quite masters the art of whining and complaining like the French, which means the world’s ultimate râleurs and blasés find the deepest kind of pleasure in cursing. Some French musicians have now taken it to the next level, singing songs essentially based around the use of the word “merde”, […]

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Economy Food / Travel

Why A Three-Star Michelin Restaurant Failed In Beijing

BEIJING — Last week Maison Boulud Beijing, a French restaurant owned by the three-Michelin-star chef Daniel Boulud, shut down. Just before closing its doors for good, the restaurant suddenly became busy. Eating the foie gras, a Belgian expatriate couldn’t help but sigh: “It’s one less place to dine out and experience French haute cuisine.” Maison […]

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