Inside France: Language tests, cherries and 'French flair'
From the latest on the farmers protests to the details of the new French language requirements for foreigners, via the 'French flair', the Basque country and cherries, our weekly newsletter Inside France looks at what we have been talking about in France this week.
Inside France is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in France that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.
Art of protest
After a dramatic couple of weeks, French farmers' protests look to be slowly fading away as the biggest union calls a halt in response to a second package of government aid and concessions.
OPINION French farmers have won this battle, but may lose the war
It's a protest that has grabbed international headlines, and one thing you notice after a while is that French protests tend to produce some striking images. Whether it's a national tendency towards the artistic, a hard-headed PR decision to get maximum media coverage or a combination of the two, the farmers' protests have produced some amazing photos.
This - taken by AFP photographer Ed Jones - is my favourite, a lone shepherdess walking her sheep along the empty (blockaded) motorway, while in the background a plume of thick black smoke rises, probably from burning tyres. It's a striking scene and one that, in my opinion, fits into the French tradition of revolutionary art stretching back to Eugène Delacroix's famous 'Liberty leading the people'.
The A9 autoroute occupied by farmers and winegrowers from Narbonne and the surrounding areas. Photo by Ed JONES / AFP
Poetry
And speaking of 'le French flair' I was amused to note in Netflix's new Six Nations documentary that France coach Fabien Galthié described rugby as "the art of passing the ball with arabesques and parabolas". The coaches of the other five nations, while equally passionate and committed, were somewhat less lyrical.
Learning French
The other big news this week has been something that rather flew under the radar of the French press, but will have a big impact on the lives of many in France - tougher French language requirements for foreigners, including tests in order to get certain long-term residency cards and a raising of the language level required for citizenship.
Your questions answered: New French language rules for foreigners
Most of the people I speak to are not against the basic idea that if you're going to make France your home, you should learn at least some French. And in my experience the vast majority of people who move here do exactly that.
In contrast to some 'expat communities' in the Spanish costas, people who move to France tend to be interested in France itself, its culture, its traditions and its language.
But what is really worrying many people - especially retirees - is the idea of a written test, which is especially daunting for many older people, those with dyslexia or people who didn't have much formal education or who have learned their French informally by chatting to friends and neighbours.
I'm not against the idea of formal tests for citizenship - becoming French is a responsibility and I think it's not unreasonable that you should be able to speak decent French (you may, after all, be called for jury service).
But for long-term residency I think a spoken/listening French test should be enough - which is the norm in some other countries including Sweden. This to me seems to strike a balance between ensuring that people requesting long-term residency in France have the language skills they need to get by, without insisting on daunting (and expensive) written exams.
Talking France
We are of course discussing both farmers and language tests in this week's Talking France podcast, as well as French markets, France's pancake day and some of our favourite wacky French superstitions. Listen here or on the link below.
Cure of the week
The dumb-but-enjoyable French film Mission Pays Basque features a novel cure for allergies - a Paris woman with multiple allergies goes to the Basque country (south-west France), a hot local guy feeds her a cherry fresh from the tree in a beautiful meadow and voilà her allergies are cured. Do not try this at home, folks (not without an epi-pen on hand, anyway).
Inside France is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in France that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.
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Inside France is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in France that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.
Art of protest
After a dramatic couple of weeks, French farmers' protests look to be slowly fading away as the biggest union calls a halt in response to a second package of government aid and concessions.
OPINION French farmers have won this battle, but may lose the war
It's a protest that has grabbed international headlines, and one thing you notice after a while is that French protests tend to produce some striking images. Whether it's a national tendency towards the artistic, a hard-headed PR decision to get maximum media coverage or a combination of the two, the farmers' protests have produced some amazing photos.
This - taken by AFP photographer Ed Jones - is my favourite, a lone shepherdess walking her sheep along the empty (blockaded) motorway, while in the background a plume of thick black smoke rises, probably from burning tyres. It's a striking scene and one that, in my opinion, fits into the French tradition of revolutionary art stretching back to Eugène Delacroix's famous 'Liberty leading the people'.
Poetry
And speaking of 'le French flair' I was amused to note in Netflix's new Six Nations documentary that France coach Fabien Galthié described rugby as "the art of passing the ball with arabesques and parabolas". The coaches of the other five nations, while equally passionate and committed, were somewhat less lyrical.
Learning French
The other big news this week has been something that rather flew under the radar of the French press, but will have a big impact on the lives of many in France - tougher French language requirements for foreigners, including tests in order to get certain long-term residency cards and a raising of the language level required for citizenship.
Your questions answered: New French language rules for foreigners
Most of the people I speak to are not against the basic idea that if you're going to make France your home, you should learn at least some French. And in my experience the vast majority of people who move here do exactly that.
In contrast to some 'expat communities' in the Spanish costas, people who move to France tend to be interested in France itself, its culture, its traditions and its language.
But what is really worrying many people - especially retirees - is the idea of a written test, which is especially daunting for many older people, those with dyslexia or people who didn't have much formal education or who have learned their French informally by chatting to friends and neighbours.
I'm not against the idea of formal tests for citizenship - becoming French is a responsibility and I think it's not unreasonable that you should be able to speak decent French (you may, after all, be called for jury service).
But for long-term residency I think a spoken/listening French test should be enough - which is the norm in some other countries including Sweden. This to me seems to strike a balance between ensuring that people requesting long-term residency in France have the language skills they need to get by, without insisting on daunting (and expensive) written exams.
Talking France
We are of course discussing both farmers and language tests in this week's Talking France podcast, as well as French markets, France's pancake day and some of our favourite wacky French superstitions. Listen here or on the link below.
Cure of the week
The dumb-but-enjoyable French film Mission Pays Basque features a novel cure for allergies - a Paris woman with multiple allergies goes to the Basque country (south-west France), a hot local guy feeds her a cherry fresh from the tree in a beautiful meadow and voilà her allergies are cured. Do not try this at home, folks (not without an epi-pen on hand, anyway).
Inside France is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in France that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.
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