Inside France: Snow, historic heroes and cow-pats
From the political showdown among the cows to making history in Paris, via vanishing snow and award-winning films, 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.
Bouse de vache
Political showdowns don't usually happen under the gaze of prize-winning cattle and champion sows, but this seems to be where we are heading in France this week.
The Paris Salon de l'Agriculture - the country's biggest farm show - is always a must-visit for France's politicians to demonstrate that they are proche du peuple (a man/woman of the people) by petting cows and chatting to farmers, but this year the political stakes have been raised by the recent Europe-wide farmers' protests.
President Emmanuel Macron, as has become his habit, will visit the show on its opening day of Saturday where he's likely to face protests and will possibly take part in a debate with farmers and environmental activists.
In the village where I grew up we had an event called 'cow roulette' where you bought a ticket for a certain square of grass - a cow was then released and the ticket-holder for the square upon which it dropped its first cow-pat won the prize. If anyone from the Elysée is reading, I offer this method up as a means of solving the issues - it's about as likely to produce an answer to the intractable problems of French farming as any debate.
Politics aside, the show is a great day out and one of my personal 'must do' events in France.
21 things you should do in France at least once
Hope for the future
Armenian-born WWII resistance fighter Missak Manouchian was formally inducted into the Panthéon this week - the first foreign resistance fighter and the first communist fighter - in a moving ceremony in Paris.
Read out during the event was Manouchian's last letter, written to his wife the evening before he was executed by the Nazis, and it's truly remarkable for its sense of love, forgiveness and hope that the world is heading inexorably towards a better future.
La dernière lettre de Missak Manouchian à son épouse, Mélinée. pic.twitter.com/h2slDGroWb
— Élysée (@Elysee) February 21, 2024
Something to listen to
The Talking France podcast is on a break this week - we'll be back next week once Ben McPartland is back from trying to find some snow in Alpine ski resorts.
READ ALSO Is it worth booking a ski holiday in France?
If you're looking fro something to listen to in the meantime, this short (just 9 minutes) BBC interview with French actor and director Mathieu Kassovitz about the continuing impact of his film La Haine is a very interesting insight. Listen here (available worldwide).
And something to watch
This week was the César awards, the highlights of the French film calendar. Genevieve and I have put together a list of our favourites among the nominated films this year, plus where you can watch them.
7 of the best French films of the past year
I cheated a bit by also including my favourite French film from the past year, which I cannot believe was overlooked by the César judges.
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.
Bouse de vache
Political showdowns don't usually happen under the gaze of prize-winning cattle and champion sows, but this seems to be where we are heading in France this week.
The Paris Salon de l'Agriculture - the country's biggest farm show - is always a must-visit for France's politicians to demonstrate that they are proche du peuple (a man/woman of the people) by petting cows and chatting to farmers, but this year the political stakes have been raised by the recent Europe-wide farmers' protests.
President Emmanuel Macron, as has become his habit, will visit the show on its opening day of Saturday where he's likely to face protests and will possibly take part in a debate with farmers and environmental activists.
In the village where I grew up we had an event called 'cow roulette' where you bought a ticket for a certain square of grass - a cow was then released and the ticket-holder for the square upon which it dropped its first cow-pat won the prize. If anyone from the Elysée is reading, I offer this method up as a means of solving the issues - it's about as likely to produce an answer to the intractable problems of French farming as any debate.
Politics aside, the show is a great day out and one of my personal 'must do' events in France.
21 things you should do in France at least once
Hope for the future
Armenian-born WWII resistance fighter Missak Manouchian was formally inducted into the Panthéon this week - the first foreign resistance fighter and the first communist fighter - in a moving ceremony in Paris.
Read out during the event was Manouchian's last letter, written to his wife the evening before he was executed by the Nazis, and it's truly remarkable for its sense of love, forgiveness and hope that the world is heading inexorably towards a better future.
La dernière lettre de Missak Manouchian à son épouse, Mélinée. pic.twitter.com/h2slDGroWb
— Élysée (@Elysee) February 21, 2024
Something to listen to
The Talking France podcast is on a break this week - we'll be back next week once Ben McPartland is back from trying to find some snow in Alpine ski resorts.
READ ALSO Is it worth booking a ski holiday in France?
If you're looking fro something to listen to in the meantime, this short (just 9 minutes) BBC interview with French actor and director Mathieu Kassovitz about the continuing impact of his film La Haine is a very interesting insight. Listen here (available worldwide).
And something to watch
This week was the César awards, the highlights of the French film calendar. Genevieve and I have put together a list of our favourites among the nominated films this year, plus where you can watch them.
7 of the best French films of the past year
I cheated a bit by also including my favourite French film from the past year, which I cannot believe was overlooked by the César judges.
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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