‘British’ Cassoulet re-ignites 100-Year-War
Cassoulet — pride of rural French kitchens — comes from Castelnaudary in the south-west, right? Well… imagine now for a moment that it originated in Britain. How might the locals react to this usurping of their pride and gloire? (Read more here online) All totally hypothetical of course. Everyone knows the ‘C’ in Castelnaudary stands for Cassoulet. Ah, [...]
Might Merkel’s Words Lead To This?
The Euroland summiteers believe their 14th effort at resolving the crisis has done the trick. Sceptics and doomsayers claim its just sticking plaster and will soon fall off. Meanwhile a controversial British historian posits a shocking ‘what-if’…. British historian and author Dominic Sandbrook traces this scenario based on the widely reported remarks of Chancellor Angela [...]
Zap that iApp Remotely Demands Lawyer
Apple is embroiled in a bizarre argument in a French High Court against lawyers seeking an order to have the North American IT giant remotely destroy all paid-for copies of a controversial App currently on anyone’s iPod or iPhone anywhere in the world. (Read more online here) Breathtaking you might well say. But that is [...]
US Prosecutors to Hold Banks to Account
At last, three years on and millions of critical words later, US prosecutors are to move against bankers, the institutional ‘crime gangs’ as Prof Michael Hudson — with total impunity –calls them. Here for instance is the good professor in a recent transcript on his website: “Bank of America is a fraudulent enterprise. It’s a [...]
Should We Worry About French Banks?
As the Euroland disaster powers along thanks to electorally hamstrung European leaders, should we be worrying about French banks? Look at the clip below from a much larger datapoint graph in the New York Times, highlighting interlinked Eurozone weaknesses. The NYT seems to suggest French banks should be watching their exposure to Italy even more [...]
Occupy Wall Street – a Global Protest
Have the indignados — initially Spanish but now pan-European — struck a global chord of despair and disgust among well-educated youth with no job prospects? This article republished from ProPublica looks at national differences in a movement driven by social media. Globalizing Occupy Wall Street: From Chile to Israel, Protests Erupt by Lois Beckett ProPublica, [...]
The Butcher and His Burqa are Back
The Halal butcher from Nantes and his bevy of burqa-wearing “concubines” is back in the news and for all the wrong reasons. (Read more online French News here) A year ago Algerian-born Lies Hèbbadj, 36, hit the headlines just as government was discussing plans to outlaw the wearing of the burqa in public space. At the [...]
No Hay? Let Them Eat Carrots
If your milk (or your beef) comes from cows pastured in Perigord you may soon find it has a slight sweet and minty aromatic whiff and even perhaps a light orange tinge. If that’s so, worry not, just blame the drought. For as Sudouest.fr newspaper reports, Jacques Bregeras and Guy Favard, breeders of limousine cattle [...]
Heads-up Kindle Readers: Free French Books
Here’s a heads-up for Amazon Kindle Reader book fans, Amazon.fr has launched the French Kindle Store with access to more than 4,000 free classics in French. An Amazon press release said its store offers more than 35,000 French-language Kindle books and to help readers get into the e-book habit it’s also launching a 99 euro [...]
BB’s Braves Clash Over Rodilhan Bullfight
A bloody battle over bullfighting in the small village of Rodilhan (near Nîmes) has provoked an outcry from Brigitte Bardot and animal welfare groups and charges of ‘entrapment’ by the local mayor. (Read more online French News here) The violent clashes occurred ahead of the finals in the Graines de Toréros or “Apprentice Bullfighter” event at [...]
Scandale! Haute Cuisine is Often Boil-in-a-Bag
Now here’s a scandale set to rock the nation to its foundations. Forget the banks, the euro-crisis and dithering politicians, head for your local bistro and brasserie and demand the truth! According to Reuters (hat-tip to Bonjour_Paris ) a new law is on its way “that will oblige eateries to indicate whether or not their [...]
Shale Gas Activists: Three Down 61 To Go
With the repeal now formalised, of shale gas prospecting licenses for Villeneuve de Berg , Nant and Montelimar announced during a presidential visit to Alès on October 4, activists in the Gard and Ardèche départements are pressing for the repeal of the remaining 61 permits. (Read more online French News here) According to Midilibre Gard and [...]
Euroland – a Badly Battered Boxer
The pressure is on as a 17-nation-decision-making Euroland staggers from pillar to post like a badly battered boxer. Here is the latest Open Europe news summary on faltering efforts to resolve the sovereign debt/bank liquidity crisis: Slovakian Government falls as Parliament rejects EFSF expansion; Sulik: “I’d rather be a pariah in Brussels than have to feel ashamed [...]
Straight from the Banker’s Mouth
So there we have it straight from the banker’s mouth — Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England has told a British TV channel we — all of us — are living through the biggest financial crisis the world has ever faced. That is, not the worst in 60 years, not the worst since [...]
Euro Discontent Marches on Brussels
Thousands trek down pilgrim routes across south-western France each year to Lourdes and Santiago de Compostela celebrating centuries of Christian belief… …but now a reverse pilgrimage has united youthful indignados from Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, Greece and elsewhere in a grassroots 2000km protest March on Brussels. (Read more online French News here) The movement began in May [...]
Shale Gas: Three of 64 Permits Revoked
France has revoked three of 64 permits granted to major energy companies to use hugely controversial ‘fracking’ methods for shale gas exploration in sensitive farming, wine and tourism areas.. According to a report in France Soir France has revoked the permits in compliance with a law passed in May by the Assemblée Nationale (the lower [...]
The Disappearing “Pause Déjeuner”
La pause déjeuner has always been a veritable sacré moment in every Frenchman and Frenchwoman’s day. American writer Jamie Schler explains how her French family hooked her on an endangered ritual she greatly cherishes. I was introduced to and initiated into this ritual before I married into a French family; every day at [...]
The Perfect French Storm, or Not….?
An insipid economy, a tornado of scandal, anaemic support, an alienated core, internecine war on the right, a show of opposition unity – France’s president faces a perfect storm all of his making. But are these really Sarkozy’s last days, asks Patrice de Beer. Patrice de Beer a former London and Washington correspondent for Le [...]
Ever Seen One TRILLION dollars?
EU governments trying to save Euroland plan to magick up more than 2 trillion euros as a fire fighting fund. Have you ever seen such a sum? Inconceivable amounts you say, and how right you are. (Where will it come from? Taxpayers of course governments have no money of their own). To help put it [...]
