Fast food, fast talking and city living: 6 essential articles for life in France
The US fast food franchises heading France’s way, TV and how to watch it, Paris’s 15-minute city ambitions, French citizenship, language and taxes: they’re all here in this round-up of must-reads from The Local
France may be the home of haute-cuisine and its gastronomy may be on Unesco’s world heritage list - but the French still go mad for a burger.
It is the world’s second largest market for McDonald’s, and you won’t go far without seeing one multinational franchise or another vying for your custom. Now, the US Krispy Kreme doughnut chain and fried chicken outlet Popeyes have both announced plans to break into l'hexagone.
Krispy Kreme, Popeyes, Five Guys: the American fast-food chains taking on France
Once upon a time, all you needed to watch TV in France was an aerial, an electrical socket, a TV, and a TV licence. Today, it’s all a little more complicated - but at least you can watch your favourite programme on a laptop or tablet.
Here, then, is our guide to watching TV in France. We make no promises about the quality of the schedules…
Reader question: What are the best French TV channels and how can I watch them?
Fifteen-Minute Cities. You may have heard a lot about them recently. Paris was an early adopter of the concept, which has been strongly championed by city mayor Anne Hidalgo - but what exactly are they and how is the idea working out in the French capital?
What is a ’15-minute city’ and how is it working in Paris?
Gaining French citizenship is now a (slightly) easier process, thanks to the launch of a new online portal for applications – although the process is still long, complicated and requires a thick (virtual) file of papers.
We take a look at how generous France is in its citizenship rules compared to its EU neighbours.
COMPARE: How generous is France in granting citizenship to foreigners?
France does a lot differently - and that includes the language, which has its own ‘police’ in the Academie française. They made international headlines with their pronouncement that Covid-19 is feminine and are frequently at the centre of language arguments - but just who are the 'guardians' of the French language?
Swords, immortality and wifi: Five things to know about the Academie française
And finally for this week, tax time is coming. Dealing with complicated tax paperwork is no-one's favourite task, but doing it in a different tax system and another language is a whole new level of challenge. Here are some handy tips for dealing with the French tax office.
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France may be the home of haute-cuisine and its gastronomy may be on Unesco’s world heritage list - but the French still go mad for a burger.
It is the world’s second largest market for McDonald’s, and you won’t go far without seeing one multinational franchise or another vying for your custom. Now, the US Krispy Kreme doughnut chain and fried chicken outlet Popeyes have both announced plans to break into l'hexagone.
Krispy Kreme, Popeyes, Five Guys: the American fast-food chains taking on France
Once upon a time, all you needed to watch TV in France was an aerial, an electrical socket, a TV, and a TV licence. Today, it’s all a little more complicated - but at least you can watch your favourite programme on a laptop or tablet.
Here, then, is our guide to watching TV in France. We make no promises about the quality of the schedules…
Reader question: What are the best French TV channels and how can I watch them?
Fifteen-Minute Cities. You may have heard a lot about them recently. Paris was an early adopter of the concept, which has been strongly championed by city mayor Anne Hidalgo - but what exactly are they and how is the idea working out in the French capital?
What is a ’15-minute city’ and how is it working in Paris?
Gaining French citizenship is now a (slightly) easier process, thanks to the launch of a new online portal for applications – although the process is still long, complicated and requires a thick (virtual) file of papers.
We take a look at how generous France is in its citizenship rules compared to its EU neighbours.
COMPARE: How generous is France in granting citizenship to foreigners?
France does a lot differently - and that includes the language, which has its own ‘police’ in the Academie française. They made international headlines with their pronouncement that Covid-19 is feminine and are frequently at the centre of language arguments - but just who are the 'guardians' of the French language?
Swords, immortality and wifi: Five things to know about the Academie française
And finally for this week, tax time is coming. Dealing with complicated tax paperwork is no-one's favourite task, but doing it in a different tax system and another language is a whole new level of challenge. Here are some handy tips for dealing with the French tax office.
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